Official 2009-10 College Basketball Thread

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

I'm certainly not going to go overboard defending the Big Ten after the last week that they had but I'll go ahead and guess that they turn out better than 11th best.

Sure, but they're nowhere near the Big 12, ACC, Big East. To have them as the best is absurd.

[hoopsguy]

I think there is a lot of basketball to be played yet before saying that the Big Ten does not measure up to any of those three conferences.

Teams like Syracuse, Cincinnati, and West Virginia showing up strong early certainly suggests that rumors of the Big East slippage have been exaggerated. But really, we're not even a month into the season. At this point last year Notre Dame and Georgetown were considered Final Four contenders and they did not make the tournament.

Going back to the original comment, I agree wholeheartedly that Andy Katz is an idiot.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Samdari

Big 10 has the 11th best conference RPI in the country.

Andy Katz still thinks they're the best conference in the country. Has anyone ever known less about their job?

Heh, its not even December 1st yet.

UNC is only ranked 67th in the Pomeroy rankings at this point. They're not even going to make the NCAA Tournament. Fire Roy!

[cartman]

Originally Posted by Radii

UNC is only ranked 67th in the Pomeroy rankings at this point. They're not even going to make the NCAA Tournament. Fire Roy!

And Texas is #1!!! Let's go ahead and crown their ass!!!

[cartman]

Originally Posted by the_meanstrosity

Texas A&M knocked off Minnesota today. They had a nice lead before half and wilted near the end before finishing Minnesota off. I would not be surprised to see Texas A&M ranked in the top 25 this week.

Yep. #19 in the AP and #22 in the Coaches Poll.

NCAA Polls - College Basketball , AP Rankings, Coaches Poll, Power Rankings - FOX Sports on MSN

[the_meanstrosity]

Great pickup for Florida. Beal is one of the better scorers in the 2011 class and if they can keep Austin Rivers' commitment then Donovan will have some top notch talent.

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Beal headed to Florida. Glad from a Mizzou perspective that he announced this early, as Mizzou still has two top national SG's in that class that were begging for a Mizzou scholarship. Now MU is able to offer those kids while they're still interested before they look elsewhere.

The people that have to be the most irritated are the beakers in this situation. Beal's HS coach was assuring Self as late as Friday that Beal would be signing with KU. Not sure whether the family was feeding him false information, but that HS coach was hung out to dry by this decision.

[hoopsguy]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Beal headed to Florida. Glad from a Mizzou perspective that he announced this early, as Mizzou still has two top national SG's in that class that were begging for a Mizzou scholarship. Now MU is able to offer those kids while they're still interested before they look elsewhere.

Is one of those SGs Devin Langford? Sounds like he is one of the two main candidates for Illini along with another combo guard named Chasson Randle.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Beal headed to Florida. Glad from a Mizzou perspective that he announced this early, as Mizzou still has two top national SG's in that class that were begging for a Mizzou scholarship. Now MU is able to offer those kids while they're still interested before they look elsewhere.

Begging for a scholarship?

From Missouri?

[the_meanstrosity]

Good news. Glad to see Texas A&M getting acknowledged for their impressive week.

Originally Posted by cartman

Yep. #19 in the AP and #22 in the Coaches Poll.

NCAA Polls - College Basketball , AP Rankings, Coaches Poll, Power Rankings - FOX Sports on MSN

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Begging for a scholarship?

From Missouri?

This might be a surprise, but an Elite 8 appearance with 31 wins and a run and gun system and a discipline-oriented coaching staff is something that is appealing to a lot of kids (and parents). It also doesn't hurt that we have one of the top on-campus arenas in the nation with top-notch training facilities to boot. 17 year old kids like shiny things.

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

Is one of those SGs Devin Langford? Sounds like he is one of the two main candidates for Illini along with another combo guard named Chasson Randle.

No, Mizzou isn't looking at either of those guys. The current list for Mizzou has half of it from the Memphis area. The big class by Pastner this year has some kids looking elsewhere for playing time. Adonis Thomas (5 star/Memphis, TN), Anthony Wroten (5 star/Seattle, WA), Cedric McAfee (4 star/Memphis, TN), and Bobby Parks Jr. (Olive Branch, MS) are the main targets. Mizzou is looking to land one of these kids pretty quickly since they only have one scholarship in 2011 and then can move on to start recruiting 2012, where they have 6 scholarships available. Mizzou's staff is hoping to land one of the Memphis kids in 2011 if possible. That would help them in their recruitment of Jarnell Stokes, the #3 national player in the 2012 class.

[Radii]

I thought the ACC/Big 10 Challenge usually did a very good job getting ACC #1 vs Big 10 #1, etc and down the line to provide a good set of as even as possible matchups. What went wrong this year?

Michigan State vs UNC is hopefully a good one, but:

Wake Forest at #6 Purdue
#5 Duke at Wisconsin

FSU at #15 Ohio State
Illinois at #19 Clemson

#23 Georgia Tech is the odd team out this year and isn't even playing. It seems like the scheduling is just way way off this year.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Radii

I thought the ACC/Big 10 Challenge usually did a very good job getting ACC #1 vs Big 10 #1, etc and down the line to provide a good set of as even as possible matchups. What went wrong this year?

Michigan State vs UNC is hopefully a good one, but:

Wake Forest at #6 Purdue
#5 Duke at Wisconsin

FSU at #15 Ohio State
Illinois at #19 Clemson

#23 Georgia Tech is the odd team out this year and isn't even playing. It seems like the scheduling is just way way off this year.

Let's not forget that Penn State beat Virginia last night!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

For the Mizzou fans, Mizzou's top recruits for next year draw rave reviews at recent camp.......

Recruiting: Future Missouri Tigers Tony Mitchell and Phil Pressey steal the show at Texas Jamboree - ESPN

[dawgfan]

Rumors out of UCLA that Drew Gordon will be transferring at the end of his current academic term (not sure if UCLA is on the quarter or semester system).

News just keeps getting worse for Bruins basketball...

[dawgfan]

And I see now that Howland has confirmed it today at his press conference.

[MrBug708]

UCLA is imploding

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

UCLA is imploding

This is not good for the conference - I'd rather UCLA was strong and winning a lot of games.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

UCLA is imploding

To early to judge what's going on. That said, it seems to be the climactic conclusion of things we have heard bits and pieces about, really, since last year.

Last year's class came in with, let's face it, a bit of a big head. Every one of those recruits was extremely well-regarded. Collison's decision to come back (unexpected) led to Holiday not being played at the position he thought he would be (PG), which meant that Lee, the natural SG, wasn't playing as often as he thought he would be. There were tons of rumors about Holiday's dissatisfaction with things, so no surprise, he goes pro. Meanwhile, Lee gets next to no development time on the court. Collison coming back also kept Jerime Anderson's development back further than it would have been.

So now Lee and Anderson are barely better than freshmen and expected to lead the team from the backcourt. Toss in Gordon, who is good friends with the other four main recruits. Gordon got the most PT of the frosh outside of Holiday, but he has a temper (which he displayed last year), and he also has shown signs of being a bit of a primadonna, just like Holiday. Fact is, Gordon didn't take single step in his development forward in the past year, and he chafed under Howland's control system. Between his temper issues, his lack of development and his poor fit for the system, it's not a surprise Gordon ends up blowing up at Howland or that we have been hearing of the disatisfaction/attitude issues coming out of practices.

Toss on top of that the rumors that Holiday has been whispering in Lee and Gordon's ears about going pro...

This is a bad situation. Howland said it himself, that it was a long time coming. Wasn't a decision just made in a hurry.

IMO, Holiday and Gordon, and to an extent, Lee, came in with bloated self-images and didn't realize you actually have to work at it to get better. They were take over the game types in high school and then they joined a team where control is from the coach, and there are three seniors the coach trusts to run his system (Collison, Shipp, Aboya).

Blame can go many ways here. Maybe the kids have bad attitudes. Maybe Howland goes at it a little too hard and isn't quite the genius at human nature that he is with basketball. Maybe there was just overall disappointment from last season's poor year, or theexpectations that are regularly heaped on UCLA basketball players.

Fact is, attitude rumblings have been a constant for a whole year, and Gordon was by far the most vocal about it. If him leaving the program, for all his talent, means Lee and Anderson can return to concentrating on playing the game, and we get more time for the talented freshmen--even at a cost of any chance of a rebound this season--then by all means, I think this is for the best of the program.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

This is not good for the conference - I'd rather UCLA was strong and winning a lot of games.

Be patient. This is obviously not good. But I think in the long run, this is for the better of the remaining players on the team. It also removes an obstacle for Josh Smith coming in next season, and likely makes the program more enticing to Terrence Jones.

And I really like what Brendan Lane brings to the court. This will mean more time for him.

UCLA's gonna suck this year, but, guess what, we weren't winning any awards with Gordon on the team either. The outlook this year is essentially the same. Only the outlook in the future will be that much more advanced because of what will be a trying season for a young team this year.

[dawgfan]

Sure, I would guess that this is probably just a bump in the road for UCLA. Unless this drags out over multiple seasons, recruiting shouldn't really be affected for Howland. And Gordon leaving probably does make UCLA more attractive for Jones, which is tough news for the UW - he'd be an ideal big man for Romar's system.

If the UW wins the conference again this year, it will likely feel rather hollow with what appears to be a dearth of quality teams in the conference this season.

[spleen1015]

Looks like the Big 10's year to finally win the ACC/Big 10 Challenge.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

Looks like the Big 10's year to finally win the ACC/Big 10 Challenge.

Once a decade is ok, but no more. Though if Maryland holds on to win, and UNC and Va Tech can win, its not over just yet...

[Radii]

That first half vs Michigan State is better than I thought UNC was capable of at this point in the season, extremely impressive.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

For the Mizzou fans, Mizzou's top recruits for next year draw rave reviews at recent camp.......

Recruiting: Future Missouri Tigers Tony Mitchell and Phil Pressey steal the show at Texas Jamboree - ESPN

I'm so happy Mike Anderson stayed..

btw.. any games you going to be at? I can pretty much name my date and sit in a private box.. I'm sure I can get you up there too.

[Radii]

Terrifying final two minutes... steals on inbounds plays, missed free throws, but MSU just couldn't capitalize. That was a very satisfying win though after getting dominated by Syracuse and struggling to put away Nevada a couple days ago. At Kentucky Saturday!

[Radii]

Big 10 - 3
ACC - 3

Tomorrow will be the only game of the year where I sink to rooting for Duke *shudders*

[ntndeacon]

Originally Posted by Radii

Big 10 - 3
ACC - 3

Tomorrow will be the only game of the year where I sink to rooting for Duke *shudders*

I won't say it is the only time Iroot for duke, as anytime it is benificial for Duke to win for Wake, they have my support. Otherwise, implosion in UNC-Duke game and losses othertimes.

[JeeberD]

I'm trying not to drink the orange koolaid, but I got to see the Miners play for the first time last night and they absolutely dominated the NMSU Aggies in Las Cruces. The Miners are a deep team that will only get deeper once Caracter becomes eligible in a week and a half, are playing ferocious defense (held NMSU to 27% shooting for the game), and are playing smart ball. Arnett Moultrie, our current stud PF, had a very off game and we still managed to win by 21 points, the highest margin of victory for the Miners in Las Cruces in the 93 year history of the rivalry (the previous best was a 19 point win in Don Haskin's second year, 1963).

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

once Caracter becomes eligible in a week and a half

And then becomes ineligible when grades come in two weeks after that....

[CU Tiger]

What a week to be a Tiger fan....up 22 at half and tied 6 minutes into the 2nd....geez.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by Radii

I thought the ACC/Big 10 Challenge usually did a very good job getting ACC #1 vs Big 10 #1, etc and down the line to provide a good set of as even as possible matchups. What went wrong this year?

Michigan State vs UNC is hopefully a good one, but:

Wake Forest at #6 Purdue
#5 Duke at Wisconsin

FSU at #15 Ohio State
Illinois at #19 Clemson

#23 Georgia Tech is the odd team out this year and isn't even playing. It seems like the scheduling is just way way off this year.

According to the announcers during the Clemson game, Georgia Tech is out because they finished 12th last year.

[Radii]

god usually its hilarious watching the yearly Clemson "wait no we're not actually good at all lololol!" collapse but the ACC needed that win, that was godawful.

[hoopsguy]

Originally Posted by bronconick

According to the announcers during the Clemson game, Georgia Tech is out because they finished 12th last year.

Man, would be nice to drop our worst team from the shootout. Indiana was an auto-win for ACC.

But enough about that - I'm pumped to see my Illini come back from 20 down at the half for a win! I had a rotten day at work, then came home to see the team getting smoked at the end of the first half. I decided that I needed to play with my kid instead of cursing out the TV set and did not see any of the second half comeback.

Shame on me for not setting up the Tivo for this one. Anyone feel like sharing the details on the comeback? Was it more Clemson gift-wrapping it or did the Illini take it away?

[JeeberDMack]

Originally Posted by Samdari

And then becomes ineligible when grades come in two weeks after that....

Well, grades will come in a week and a half from now...that's why he'll become eligible then. And from all accounts he's been working hard in both the classroom and on the court...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

Anyone feel like sharing the details on the comeback? Was it more Clemson gift-wrapping it or did the Illini take it away?

Anytime a team blows a 20+ point lead, I don't see how it could be anything other than a gift-wrapped win (but I'm sure the Illini will take it because they needed it). You have to make some terrible decisions on numerous occasions to blow that big of a cushion.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by JeeberDMack

Well, grades will come in a week and a half from now...that's why he'll become eligible then. And from all accounts he's been working hard in both the classroom and on the court...

As I said earlier in this thread (I think), I'm very interested on how he looks as a Miner.

[jbergey22]

Duke on fire pulls to 2.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Samdari

Sure, but they're nowhere near the Big 12, ACC, Big East. To have them as the best is absurd.

Big 10 returns a lot from last year while the other conferences took some heavy hits. Kind of early to say how it will all play out but Id be very surprised if the Big Ten didnt finish in the top 3.

[lungs]

Badgers win!

[Radii]

Congrats to the Big 10. If it had to happen, I am glad it was an upset of Duke that was the final blow

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

Anyone feel like sharing the details on the comeback? Was it more Clemson gift-wrapping it or did the Illini take it away?

Illini deserve a lot of credit. They played lights out, turned us over and didnt miss many shots. That said it looked to me like Clemson came out flat and never could get back in gear. That is in no way an excuse, Illinois won and I am not sure that the result would be any different if we played 2,3 or 5 more times.

We knew coming in this could be a tough year as Clemson is very, very young....but 2 losses this early is a surprise.

That plus Jennings at least now doesnt appear anywhere near as good as advertised.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Radii

Congrats to the Big 10. If it had to happen, I am glad it was an upset of Duke that was the final blow

Well, next-to-last, since there was the formality of OSU finishing off FSU. Still, congrats to the Big 10. You're now on pace to catch the ACC in, what, 2018?

(Yes, I'm aware that my own team's skills at masonry contributed to the ACC's defeat this year....)

[mauchow]

I said a few weeks back that the Badgers are better than everyone thinks. They played well and hit some big shots early on but our 'best' three point shooter didn't make a three tonight, missing all six of his attempts. The Badgers shot poorly, by their standards at the free throw line and Duke went crazy at the end to make it a close game.

Glad to see the Badgers get their key win for the NCAA Tourney Resume. This will be key for them in a number of ways. Everyone picks them to get a double digit seed but this win along with a top five finish in the Big Ten should get them 4-7 seed.

[hoopsguy]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

Well, next-to-last, since there was the formality of OSU finishing off FSU. Still, congrats to the Big 10. You're now on pace to catch the ACC in, what, 2018?

(Yes, I'm aware that my own team's skills at masonry contributed to the ACC's defeat this year....)

I don't think you'll hear too much gloating from Big Ten fans with a clue. Obviously the ACC has owned this rivalry over the past decade and many of the teams in the conference don't have the record right now that they probably projected before the start of the season.

The exception is Northwestern, who is playing great even after losing their best player and another guy in the rotation before the first game. Wins over ND and NC State (on road) were both surprises to me.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by mauboy1

I said a few weeks back that the Badgers are better than everyone thinks. They played well and hit some big shots early on but our 'best' three point shooter didn't make a three tonight, missing all six of his attempts. The Badgers shot poorly, by their standards at the free throw line and Duke went crazy at the end to make it a close game.

Glad to see the Badgers get their key win for the NCAA Tourney Resume. This will be key for them in a number of ways. Everyone picks them to get a double digit seed but this win along with a top five finish in the Big Ten should get them 4-7 seed.

Badgers will always be tough as long as Ryan is there.

Im a little disturbed here with the 3 straight losses the Gophers have had. Bringing back their entire team from last year youd think they come out of the gates fast,

Michigan State just makes a person shake his head sometimes. They look like the best team in the nation one game then they get drilled the next. Id expect them to be a top 5 team but they sure dont look it at this point.

Is there any doubt Roy Williams is the best coach in the nation?

[hoopsguy]

MSU seems to always play a tough non-conference schedule and pays the price for it with some early losses. But their results in February/March have validated that approach in my eyes. I'm expecting more of the same from them this year, as long as Summers/Lucas don't take a step back. I certainly expect their bigs to gel with more court time.

[the_meanstrosity]

Not a good night for the Big 12 tonight. Oklahoma State gets roughed up by Tulsa, Missouri drops a foul fest to Vanderbilt, and Iowa State loses to Northern Iowa. At least Oklahoma was able to keep Arkansas on the slide. The Big 12 Pac 10 challenge is coming up so hopefully the Big 12 can bounce back.

[RedKingGold]

Yarou (a top recruit and one of our best big big men) is out indefinitely for Villanova after being diagnosed with Hepatitis B. Wright doesn't expect Yarou back at all this season and could get a medical redshirt (he's only played in two games this year).

On a positive note, it looks like 'Nova will get a commitment from Jayvaughn Pinkston today (in most rankings a top 100) who with James Bell and Marcus Kennedy would add up to a solid recruiting class. Not quite the Top-Five class of last year, but not too bad.

Oh, and 'Nova's toughest remaining non-conference game looks to be Maryland on Dec. 6th. However, never know what can happen in the Holy War.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by the_meanstrosity

Not a good night for the Big 12 tonight. Oklahoma State gets roughed up by Tulsa, Missouri drops a foul fest to Vanderbilt, and Iowa State loses to Northern Iowa. At least Oklahoma was able to keep Arkansas on the slide. The Big 12 Pac 10 challenge is coming up so hopefully the Big 12 can bounce back.

Yeah, the ref blew a key call at the end that cost Mizzou two free throws to take the lead with less than a minute left. Vandy's a good team, but it's unfortunate that the refs dictated the finish of that game. With that said, certainly not a big deal for Mizzou overall. There's no shame in losing at Vandy.

Can't believe that OU/UA score. Oklahoma is an average team at best right now. Losing to an average team by 20 points at home is a good way for Pelphrey to get fired.

[MJ4H]

Oklahoma is a bad team and Arkansas is much worse right now.