2015-2016 College Basketball Thread

[Arles]

We're all winners after watching Charles work that telestrator.

[RedKingGold]

I mean, can you imagine having a vested professional interest in knowing whether your team made the tournament, and instead you have to watch Charles Barkley figure out how to use a touchscreen?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Nothing more exciting than watching CBS analysts picking chalk on a touch screen in the first round.

[digamma]

There's a full bracket out on twitter.

Sarcastic Prick on Twitter: "Spoiler alert: full bracket https://t.co/kRIb4NSm4x"

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

This is TERRIBLE!

Or as Charles Barkley says, "TURRIBLE".

[digamma]

So assuming the leaked bracket is right, and it is through two regions, then Monmouth, St. Mary's and St. Bonaventure miss and Syracuse, Temple, Pitt and Tulsa get in.

[spleen1015]

45 minutes since #1s were announced and we've only seen half the bracket. This is asinine.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

45 minutes since #1s were announced and we've only seen half the bracket. This is asinine.

It's fine to drag out the analysis over two hours, but the brackets should be done in 45 minutes.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Additionally, putting in Vandy over South Carolina is a joke.

[Atocep]

The selection committee needs to move on from RPI. It's dated and there are far better metrics out there.

Some of the selection decisions and seeding from RPI are a joke.

[spleen1015]

Way to go committee. Syracuse deserves to be in...... /rolleyes.

[Arles]

This delay really kills the team excitement look ins. CBS needs to better manage this.

[Logan]

Surprised Seton Hall ended up as a 6.

Syracuse being in is nuts.

Of course, not as nuts as Tulsa.

[Arles]

The Midwest seems pretty weak. Michigan State and Utah are the only two teams that would scare. That top half looks pretty soft on talent.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Logan

Surprised Seton Hall ended up as a 6.

Syracuse being in is nuts.

Of course, not as nuts as Tulsa.

FAITH IN HAITH

[jbergey22]

These CBS announcers just cringe when someone suggests anything but chalk winning. Kenny seemed to love Providence the #9 seed yet had such a hard time even picking them over a number #8.

And having Barkley a college basketball analysis is like having Peyton Manning be the color commentator of the LA Dodgers.

[spleen1015]

Peyton would do an amazing job calling any sport. His preparation is second to none.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

Peyton would do an amazing job calling any sport. His preparation is second to none.

You are right. Peyton would do a good job. More like Vince McMahon being the lead announcer of a MMA pay per view would be a better example.

[Scoobz0202]

St. Bonnie with a top 30 RPI (30) and tied for regular season championship. Not good enough. That's interesting.

Every year there are snubs, no matter how many teams. That just seems real odd. And some of these seedings. I don't know.

Edit: Their non-conference is a joke, so maybe that is why they were snubbed? I don't know. Syracuse a 10??? Fortunately for them UD has looked fairly mediocre the past month and a half.

[Marmel]

Originally Posted by Logan

Syracuse being in is nuts.

Cuse screwed pretty bad last 2 times on the bubble, so this time they get the nod. I'll take it as some payback. Their 4 team pod is brutal though. Dayton and MSU? Yikes!

[jbergey22]

Saint Mary's and Valpo deserved to be in and Wichita State deserved better than a 11 seed. Wichita St is Kem Pomeroys 12th best team.

Valpo won road games at Rhode Island and Oregon State. Only lost by 6 on the road to #1 seed Oregon.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Saint Mary's and Valpo deserved to be in and Wichita State deserved better than a 11 seed. Wichita St is Kem Pomeroys 12th best team.

Valpo won road games at Rhode Island and Oregon State. Only lost by 6 on the road to #1 seed Oregon.

Reminds me of 1997 when Charleston was ranked higher than Maryland in the polls, but was the 12 seed beating the 5 seed Maryland in the first round.

[murrayyyyy]

I live in Vegas and never heard of the Vegas 16.

Did anyone else know there was a 5th post season tournament?

VEGAS16.com :: Vegas 16 Tournament Official Site

[digamma]

Only because it was being tossed around as a possibility for Harvard (14-16), which may tell you something about the quality.

[Thomkal]

Coastal Carolina will host 19-14 Mercer on Tuesday in the first round of the CIT. Looks like a tough draw for the 18-11 Chants.

Edit: Just saw the brackets for the whole tournament. I think there are three Sun Belt teams in the tourney. Would be fun to match one of them up with Coastal in the next round I think. Of course they need to get by Mercer first...

[Thomkal]

[quote=murrayyyyy;3089494]I live in Vegas and never heard of the Vegas 16.

Did anyone else know there was a 5th post season tournament?

VEGAS16.com :: Vegas 16 Tournament Official Site [/quote

do we really need 5 tournaments? Just greed at work here.

[murrayyyyy]

LSU turns down an NIT bid so Simmons college career has to be over, correct?

[MizzouRah]

Did Mizzou make it?

[cuervo72]

[quote=Thomkal;3089505]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

I live in Vegas and never heard of the Vegas 16.

Did anyone else know there was a 5th post season tournament?

VEGAS16.com :: Vegas 16 Tournament Official Site [/quote

do we really need 5 tournaments? Just greed at work here.

They mentioned this on Czaban last week (week before? I forget now). They didn't think it seemed like a bad deal for schools, given that they don't have to open up facilities to host (likely paltry crowds) and teams wouldn't have to travel from venue to venue. Plus it's a destination location.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

LSU turns down an NIT bid so Simmons college career has to be over, correct?

I didn't think you could turn them down once the ncaa took it over?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

I didn't think you could turn them down once the ncaa took it over?

I think a team can take itself out of the post-season, they just couldn't turn down the NIT and take another tournament.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

I live in Vegas and never heard of the Vegas 16.

Did anyone else know there was a 5th post season tournament?

VEGAS16.com :: Vegas 16 Tournament Official Site

No this seems strange. Maybe this is just prep for the new arena? Most teams already hate going to the CBI, but given the CIT is mid-majors only and the CBI ticket buys are really expensive (and kind of a waste) for most programs, I can see where a 5th tournament (or really a parallel 3rd tournament) could have some appeal since it's cheaper.

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

LSU turns down an NIT bid so Simmons college career has to be over, correct?

Correct. Some people - not sure how accurate - are saying he's not even on campus anymore and is "back in Australia" or whatever. He clearly wasn't doing school last semester, so..can't see the incentive for him wanting to stick around for anything else.

Plus they had two other injuries, so probably hard to get anybody inspired about a NIT run.

[Young Drachma]

Dola:

More about the Vegas16

You can be sure that schools have already identified these benefits of this tournament format, as well as the nominal expense involved in participating- $50,000 per school for airfare and hotels and all they have to pay beyond that is meals

Compare that with the CBI:

The CBI has a minimum ticket guarantee, the amount a school pays to host a game: The guarantees are $35,000 for first-round games, $50,000 for the quarterfinals and $75,000 per game for the semifinals and the best-of-three finals.

CIT is cheaper, but you'll only break even if you draw well.

Host schools in the 32-team tourney have to pay CIT organizers $30,000-plus to cover things such as travel for the visiting team, television and streaming expenses
It’s a pretty good deal for home teams, though, since they keep money from ticket sales. Well, for programs that can draw a nice crowd, anyway.

“If you host a game, you have to guarantee a certain level of money,” Ball State athletic director Mark Sandy said. “You could break even if you have a great crowd, but based on our normal attendance, we’d probably lose money, a little bit.

[IlliniCub]

I'm excited, I have all session tickets for the St Louis games. It'll be my first time seeing the NCAA tournament live!

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

St. Bonnie with a top 30 RPI (30) and tied for regular season championship. Not good enough. That's interesting.

Every year there are snubs, no matter how many teams. That just seems real odd. And some of these seedings. I don't know.

Edit: Their non-conference is a joke, so maybe that is why they were snubbed? I don't know. Syracuse a 10??? Fortunately for them UD has looked fairly mediocre the past month and a half.

Dayton hasn't been able to hit threes for quite a while now. This game against Syracuse will be a struggle. Be surprised if either team breaks 60.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by IlliniCub

I'm excited, I have all session tickets for the St Louis games. It'll be my first time seeing the NCAA tournament live!

The Dayton Flyers need your support! Then after that, Middle Tennessee over Michigan State! It's our only hope.

[Young Drachma]

Apparently the Vegas 16 can't get 16 teams. They might end up with just a Vegas 8. Oops. Apparently most major programs preferring not to pay to play. No shock there. Fan bases aren't having it. Not like you can raise a CBI or Vegas 16 banner.

So far teams to publicly turn down the #Vegas16: Marquette, Georgetown, Northwestern, Kansas St, LSU, Evansville. Nice tourney you got there

— Nathan Baliva (@nbaliva) March 14, 2016

[murrayyyyy]

Last I heard they had these 8 and having problems finding any big name team to come.

Northern Illinois, Boise State, UCSB, Oakland, Towson, ODU, ETSU, La. Tech

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by murrayyyyy

Last I heard they had these 8 and having problems finding any big name team to come.

Northern Illinois, Boise State, UCSB, Oakland, Towson, ODU, ETSU, La. Tech

Makes sense. Those big name teams are the ones that will generate income even after paying the CBI guarantees.

[murrayyyyy]

Not sure how true but sounds like it will in fact be the Vegas 8

Jeremy Rincon ‏@Jermcon 10m10 minutes ago
Confirmed: Vegas 16 will be announced as Vegas 8 here within the next 15 minutes. The big names they were expecting bailed altogether.

[Young Drachma]

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles vs. Old Dominion Monarchs, 3 p.m.
UCSB Gauchos vs. Northern Illinois Huskies, 5:30 p.m.
Oakland Golden Grizzlies vs. Towson Tigers, 9 p.m.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs. East Tennessee State Buccaneers, 11:30 p.m.

Probably still cheaper to have the event than not to have it. They probably need to start letting bad major teams in. I bet there are some programs that'd be okay with doing this at .500 or so. But programs on the bubble pissed about missing out on the tournament aren't having it.

Vegas 16: Field of 8 set for inaugural year of tournament - Mid-Major Madness

[Butter]

Headed to the First Four tonight and tomorrow night. Talking heads have been saying Wichita State / Vandy is the best matchup ever.

Maybe, but I'd prefer to see a great game rather than a theoretical matchup. Last year had some great games, including the once-in-a-lifetime Dayton home win over Boise State. Ole Miss/BYU was a pretty great game too, as was Robert Morris / North Florida.

Hopefully they are all close and competitive, although I'm not optimistic about Fairleigh Dickinson competing.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

Probably still cheaper to have the event than not to have it. They probably need to start letting bad major teams in. I bet there are some programs that'd be okay with doing this at .500 or so. But programs on the bubble pissed about missing out on the tournament aren't having it.

Vegas 16: Field of 8 set for inaugural year of tournament - Mid-Major Madness

I saw this morning the CIT didn't draw enough either. 26 of 32 slots filled. Definitely too many tourneys

[Thomkal]

and of course, go Coastal Carolina! I'm thinking Mercer might not be as much of a threat than I thought. One of their seniors was shot and killed in Feb., and they have been reeling ever since, lost 8 or 9. Maybe they will regroup for their tourney though.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

I saw this morning the CIT didn't draw enough either. 26 of 32 slots filled. Definitely too many tourneys

Yeah, so they're going to get down to 13 teams and then.... ?????

I will cop to watching a bit of Grand Canyon vs. SC State last night. Majerle has done a nice job with Grand Canyon. He has to be getting looks at some bigger jobs soon.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

and of course, go Coastal Carolina! I'm thinking Mercer might not be as much of a threat than I thought. One of their seniors was shot and killed in Feb., and they have been reeling ever since, lost 8 or 9. Maybe they will regroup for their tourney though.

While the shooting of Jibri Bryan was, by all accounts, a horrible tragedy the losing streak for Mercer likely has more to do with the suspension of both their leading scorer and their starting center (two different players) less than a week later. They went from a +10 rebounding edge to even or below

In fairness to those guys, the suspensions were said to be completely unrelated to the shooting.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

While the shooting of Jibri Bryan was, by all accounts, a horrible tragedy the losing streak for Mercer likely has more to do with the suspension of both their leading scorer and their starting center (two different players) less than a week later. They went from a +10 rebounding edge to even or below

In fairness to those guys, the suspensions were said to be completely unrelated to the shooting.

I had not heard that part-probably does explain the losing streak more. But Mercer is up by 1 at the half.

[Thomkal]

Coastal wins their first ever post-season game 65-57! Very happy for them-big accomplishment for the program heading into the Sun Belt. I'm guessing they will face long-time foe Furman in the second round, but we shall see,

[Marmel]

Dunk City looked impressive tonight. This team won as a 15 seed a few years ago. Can they possibly put a scare or even pull of the unthinkable against a UNC team who has struggled at times and might come in over confident after their ACC tournament run?

[murrayyyyy]

Vegas 16 adds up to being a better tournament than we thought | Las Vegas Review-Journal

Article (or spin) on the Vegas 16's quality of teams.