Semi-official 2013-14 College Basketball Thread

[sterlingice]

Kansas with their 4th loss. They're all to ranked teams but the team looks a bit lost against better teams and that's a lot of losses to have in the non-con, even with the brutal schedule. The team is going to have to grow up quick if they want to make some real noise this season.

SI

[BishopMVP]

I do more than enough hyping of UMass here, so I might as well admit when we're sucking... and right now we are. Beat a depleted Providence in an OT slugfest and Miami (O) by single digits the last 2 games after that FSU loss (where there was a poor call at the end, but we still weren't good the other 39+ minutes). Even our road win against Ohio that'll look great on our resume looked sloppy as it was happening. Hopefully it's just between semester doldrums and we pop out of it now that conference play is starting. (And it is nice that our "poor" stretch of play this year involved 3 wins and a close road loss to a NCAA bubble team instead of a loss to Sacred Heart or something.)

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

I can't tell if this is the sort of maddening season I'd rather have or the one that Carolina's having. Beat good teams, lose to bad ones. Somehow they'll still be in the top 25 this week, though.

Still a top 25 team (though just barely), in my unbiased opinion.

I do mean that, though. Wins against the preseason #1, #2, and #3 -- 2 of them by double digits, 2 of them away from home -- lead to a top of the resume that won't be beaten this season. The losses to the teams in the 50 to 125 range are annoying, and do dampen the impression you take of the team overall, but they're not terrrribllllle except that they're happening in greater numbers than one (other than yourself -- ) would like.

[britrock88]

dola

I think we're sandbagging our way out of a top 5 NCAA seed so that we don't get upset in the round of 64 and can beat better competition all the way to the final four.

[Logan]

Report: FBI is investigating two suspended UTEP basketball players | The Dagger: College Basketball Blog - Yahoo Sports

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Thrilled to land another good player in the 2014 class. Sounds like he'll be able to get a waiver and start playing in the fall semester.

Notre Dame transfer Cam Biedscheid heading to Missouri - CBSSports.com

[hoopsguy]

OSU made one heck of a run at MSU, closing out regulation 20-3 over final 7 minutes to force OT. Lost in final session, but still pretty impressed they were able to find that gear in hostile environment against top 5 team.

[Butter]

And basically blew a layup at the end of regulation that would have won it. I literally turned it off and went to sleep at 55-38 with under 8 to go, because I thought that would be a comeback for the ages if they had come back and won it. Turns out they were close.

[mauchow]

Yep. A steal w 5 seconds to go and missed a layup with the guy coming in from behind to somewhat defend the play. OSU would have had a big leg up in the B1G if they came away with a win. OSU is not very good on offense and I think they'll lose a game they shouldn't and likely end up w four/five losses.

Big Ten should be a fun conference fight for first. MsU, WI, OSU, Iowa and Michigan with Illinois as possibly a slight sleeper.

[digamma]

Very curious to see how Harvard plays in Storrs tonight. We're only a 4.5 point underdog and UConn has been reeling a bit. They are unranked so it wouldn't the marquis win if we were able to pull it off you might have thought a month or so ago, but it would still be a very nice add to the resume. If we can keep our front line out of foul trouble, I think we have a shot.

[digamma]

Harvard's best player is out with a knee injury. Nevermind.

[mauchow]

Originally Posted by digamma

Harvard's best player is out with a knee injury. Nevermind.

Looked like a close one.. bummer.

[mauchow]

Wisconsin smoking Illinois at the half, 50-25. Illinois missing everything and the game being at the Kohl Center means the Badgers are also getting the benefit of some no-calls but still impressive nonetheless.

[cartman]

Where does Oklahoma State keep finding these short white guys that launch ridiculous 3s that always seem to fall? I thought that after Keiton Page graduated last year those days would be over. But Phil Forte seems to have picked up that baton and is running with it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

#21 Mizzou almost inexplicably loses at home in OT to a previously dead in the water UGA (6-6, 0-4 on the road)

[Kodos]

Mizzou must have been disinterested.

[Izulde]

Barf. Losing to UNR by 12 on our home court in basketball? Just another sign the apocalypse is upon us. Either that or Opposites Universe. Either way, the fanbase is furious and the calls to get rid of Rice are growing. We're 10-6 (1-2) right now, and the wins are largely blowouts of non-conf cupcakes.

[dawgfan]

Washington hangs on at home to beat Utah. This team might just turn out to be not terrible this year...

[JonInMiddleGA]

In fairness, I should have picked some word other than inexplicable. UGA head coach Mark Fox lost his father to cancer over the weekend, seems as though the team put out a major effort into trying to support what has become a steadily embattled coach.

[panerd]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

In fairness, I should have picked some word other than inexplicable. UGA head coach Mark Fox lost his father to cancer over the weekend, seems as though the team put out a major effort into trying to support what has become a steadily embattled coach.

It never hurts to have Frank Haith on the opposing bench either.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

Washington hangs on at home to beat Utah. This team might just turn out to be not terrible this year...

Was just coming in here to post about that.

Our young guards are really playing well and CJ is healthy and showing some leadership. We get Colorado at home on Saturday with a chance for a signature win. 2-1 in conference so far with nice wins as ASU and Utah. We also played Arizona tough.

I still think it is a rebuilding year and we are likely NIT bound, but I like the heart I am seeing.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

In fairness, I should have picked some word other than inexplicable. UGA head coach Mark Fox lost his father to cancer over the weekend, seems as though the team put out a major effort into trying to support what has become a steadily embattled coach.

Terribly disappointing loss for Mizzou, but give credit to Fox. He had those guys ready on the defensive end and it you could tell that Mizzou's scorers were very frustrated with the defense and the way the game was being called.

[BishopMVP]

UMass struggles before pulling out a late win again, this time vs. St. Joe's Down 9 with ~6 min to go, down 1 with 1min left before a mid-court steal and breakaway dunk (by 6'8 PF Maxie Esho) gave us the lead. Esho's been our 2nd best player for about a month now, and it'll be interesting to see if he keeps coming off the bench.

Interesting story out of the Wyoming-New Mexico game NM won in OT - New Mexico nearly had to shoot at a rim that was too high at Wyoming | The Dagger: College Basketball Blog - Yahoo Sports

[Chief Rum]

For you college basketball junkies who only watch (old) Big East, Big Ten and ACC games, one of the more underrated rivalries has its only scheduled matchup of the season tonight when #1 Arizona visits UCLA at Pauley Pavillion tonight at 6 p.m. local time (9 p.m. EST) on ESPN.

I expect UCLA to really give the Cats a game, but unfortunately fall short in the end. There should be two lottery picks (Gordon, Lavine), likely first rounders (Ashley, Johnson, Anderson) and some other future pros (York, the big AZ center, Adams, Parker) playing.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by mauchow

Looked like a close one.. bummer.

Yup. Just couldn't generate enough offense without Wes Saunders. Defensively Harvard was as good as Connecticut, despite the front line size difference. We even had the ball down 3 with 9 seconds left but turned it over.

I think it was probably the right call to rest Saunders for conference play. With no tournament, every Ivy game matters.

[Marmel]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

For you college basketball junkies who only watch (old) Big East, Big Ten and ACC games, one of the more underrated rivalries has its only scheduled matchup of the season tonight when #1 Arizona visits UCLA at Pauley Pavillion tonight at 6 p.m. local time (9 p.m. EST) on ESPN.

I expect UCLA to really give the Cats a game, but unfortunately fall short in the end. There should be two lottery picks (Gordon, Lavine), likely first rounders (Ashley, Johnson, Anderson) and some other future pros (York, the big AZ center, Adams, Parker) playing.

Really looking forward to this game. It should be a great one and I am pulling for UCLA (so Cuse can be #1 on Monday if they can get by UNC on Saturday afternoon).

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Was just coming in here to post about that.

Our young guards are really playing well and CJ is healthy and showing some leadership. We get Colorado at home on Saturday with a chance for a signature win. 2-1 in conference so far with nice wins as ASU and Utah. We also played Arizona tough.

I still think it is a rebuilding year and we are likely NIT bound, but I like the heart I am seeing.

You're actually more optimistic than me if you think we'll make the NIT - I would think the CBI is more likely.

But it's encouraging to see how they've started conference play. Beating Colorado would be huge, and seeing them struggle to beat the Cougars gives me some hope.

[Scarecrow]

Just wondering (don't care one way or the other), but how many other schools do this....

KU Hoopsters need a place to live

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

Just wondering (don't care one way or the other), but how many other schools do this....

KU Hoopsters need a place to live

The article kindof says it all:

Housing for athletes at big-time programs has become more and more lavish. In 2012, the University of Kentucky built the Wildcat Coal Lodge, a $7 million, privately-funded dormitory designed to house the school’s basketball players.

The nation’s top football programs are in the housing game as well. In the last year, Auburn built a $51 million residence hall designed to house close to 415 students, including the school’s football players.

I think most of the big boys do it

SI

[Butter]

For those interested in getting an early start on hoops tomorrow morning, the 11AM ESPNU game is an early one to help shake out the A10. St. Louis @ Dayton.

Dayton was ranked briefly after their strong showing at Maui, beating Gonzaga and Cal and losing to Baylor by a point. Since, they have dropped a home game to Southern Cal and a road game to Illinois State to lose a bit of luster off of their non-conference, but they finished up at 12-3 with an OT win at Ole Miss.

St. Louis has lost their 2 toughest non-conference games, vs. Wisconsin on a neutral floor, and @ Wichita State. Other than that, they have only played 2 other teams in the top-150 of the RPI, beating Indiana State and Vanderbilt.

SLU has one of the toughest defenses in the country, ranking 7th in points allowed per game, while UD has one of the most efficient offenses in the nation scoring 1.124 points per possession and shooting over 48% from the field.

Should be a good one.

As a Flyer fan, fully expecting us to win this one, then drop a bullshit road game at Fordham or something to ruin it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I think most of the big boys do it

UGA actually went the other direction a few years ago, doing away with the athletic dorm (the name of which escapes me at the moment).

The end of "the football dorm" has been pointed to by some as a contributing factor in the increase of disciplinary issues that program has experienced since then.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

For those interested in getting an early start on hoops tomorrow morning, the 11AM ESPNU game is an early one to help shake out the A10. St. Louis @ Dayton.

Dayton was ranked briefly after their strong showing at Maui, beating Gonzaga and Cal and losing to Baylor by a point. Since, they have dropped a home game to Southern Cal and a road game to Illinois State to lose a bit of luster off of their non-conference, but they finished up at 12-3 with an OT win at Ole Miss.

St. Louis has lost their 2 toughest non-conference games, vs. Wisconsin on a neutral floor, and @ Wichita State. Other than that, they have only played 2 other teams in the top-150 of the RPI, beating Indiana State and Vanderbilt.

SLU has one of the toughest defenses in the country, ranking 7th in points allowed per game, while UD has one of the most efficient offenses in the nation scoring 1.124 points per possession and shooting over 48% from the field.

Should be a good one.

As a Flyer fan, fully expecting us to win this one, then drop a bullshit road game at Fordham or something to ruin it.

Hey, Fordham's more cromulent than most years! The "bad" A-10 team that really scares me is LaSalle - you just know with Tyreek Duren getting healthy they're gonna go like 10-6/11-5 in conference and knock some A10 team that had a strong non-con resume off the bubble (they already beat GW in their A10 opener).

As for the game, good luck - St. Louis is good, but their style is so exceedingly ugly I hope they lose every game. Jordair Jett is very good though.

[Butter]

I'm hoping SLU's gaudy defensive numbers are the product of playing a bad non-conference slate and that we can put some points on the board. If we get 70, we win I think.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

I'm hoping SLU's gaudy defensive numbers are the product of playing a bad non-conference slate and that we can put some points on the board. If we get 70, we win I think.

KenPom's got them basically tied for 2nd in adjusted D - http://kenpom.com/

[mauchow]

Because a team doesn't turn the ball over makes it ugly basketball.. yuuup

[Buccaneer]

It's really cool to see a packed Carrier Dome with fans in orange and navy blue.

[Buccaneer]

and Cuse's patented 20+ points run.

[Wolfpack]

Duke and Carolina going down in the same day. Yes, this looks bad for a conference strength standpoint, but, yeah, whatever.

(and yes, I say this before State likely gets battered and bruised by Wisconsin-East when they play UVa in a little bit)

[mauchow]

WI East showing some good offense today..

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

Duke and Carolina going down in the same day. Yes, this looks bad for a conference strength standpoint, but, yeah, whatever.

(and yes, I say this before State likely gets battered and bruised by Wisconsin-East when they play UVa in a little bit)

No no no...it's that brutal sec....errr ACC schedule where every loss in conference doesn't count because the in conference teams are really NBC lite teams.

[mauchow]

Iowa finally gets over the hump!!

Wisconsin and MSU now the faves to win B1G with Iowa and OSU looking in. Basketball season is so much fun.

Now Wisconsin needs to win at Indiana to keep the streak going for 8 years.

[dawgfan]

Another nice win for Washington today, beating Colorado to snap a long losing streak against ranked teams. It obviously helped that Dinwiddie went down with an injury, but if they keep playing defense like they have since Pac-12 play started, they'll be a dangerous team to face.

[hoopsguy]

Illini peed on their leg tonight, losing @ Northwestern.
I believe it is now safe for mauchow to remove Illinois from "possibly a light sleeper" status in the Big Ten.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

KenPom's got them basically tied for 2nd in adjusted D - http://kenpom.com/

Welp.

[mauchow]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

Illini peed on their leg tonight, losing @ Northwestern.
I believe it is now safe for mauchow to remove Illinois from "possibly a light sleeper" status in the Big Ten.

Yup. Ouch.

Northwestern is really bad..apparently so is Illinois.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Welp.

We weren't that far off from joining you - down 13 with like 6 to go before pulling it out.

Originally Posted by mauchow

Because a team doesn't turn the ball over makes it ugly basketball.. yuuup

I like watching teams that play up-tempo and push the ball in transition. Sue me. And fwiw, a slow, methodical pace on offense doesn't annoy me if the offense is still trying to score. It's when teams hold the ball up top for 15-20 seconds before starting their offense, or have a 3 v 2 in transition but pull it out rather than risk missing the shot and allowing transition back the other way. (and ftr, St. Louis hasn't been as bad at this the past season or two since Majerus left.)

[mauchow]

Wisconsin hasn't changed their offense but it looks better than years past because we have a few scorers now.. the Badgers do actually push the pace more than usual this year too.. but again, their lack of turnovers and bad shots cause the games to be 'slower'. Have you watched any WI games this year? And I don't think I've watched games where teams intentionally hold the ball at the top for 15-20 seconds every possession. Maybe at the end oglf halves/games.

That UNC game was pretty impressive the other day. All I saw was bad shot after bad shot and turnover after turnover. They eclipsed 40 points...but they looked good and fast doing it.

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

We weren't that far off from joining you - down 13 with like 6 to go before pulling it out.I like watching teams that play up-tempo and push the ball in transition. Sue me. And fwiw, a slow, methodical pace on offense doesn't annoy me if the offense is still trying to score. It's when teams hold the ball up top for 15-20 seconds before starting their offense, or have a 3 v 2 in transition but pull it out rather than risk missing the shot and allowing transition back the other way. (and ftr, St. Louis hasn't been as bad at this the past season or two since Majerus left.)

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by mauchow

Wisconsin hasn't changed their offense but it looks better than years past because we have a few scorers now.. the Badgers do actually push the pace more than usual this year too.. but again, their lack of turnovers and bad shots cause the games to be 'slower'. Have you watched any WI games this year? And I don't think I've watched games where teams intentionally hold the ball at the top for 15-20 seconds every possession. Maybe at the end oglf halves/games.

That UNC game was pretty impressive the other day. All I saw was bad shot after bad shot and turnover after turnover. They eclipsed 40 points...but they looked good and fast doing it.

No, which is why I don't tend to make comments when you guys are talking about them (fwiw, I actually saw most of their game vs. Florida). You're the one jumping into a discussion about St. Louis and trying to defend every team who plays at a slower pace. Wisconsin "looks better" on offense because they are - they're currently 4th in Adjusted Offense (i.e. points per possession) after being 108th last year. I still don't want to watch Wisconsin play Virginia in a 48-38 slugfest, but I can admit they're a good, albeit slow, offense. St. Louis is 165th - they're not just a slow team, they're also a bad offensive one. (UNC is 118th.)

[Butter]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

We weren't that far off from joining you - down 13 with like 6 to go before pulling it out.

Yes, I don't want to see UMass falling back to the pack. A10 needs a top-25 standard bearer to lend the conference legitimacy, much like Villanova is doing for the Big East this year. Plus, it's been a while since UMass has made the tourney, and I would legitimately like to see them in the tournament and doing well in it.

[Kodos]

Judging from the Penn State game, this season may be even more painful than I was expecting.