Official 2009-10 College Basketball Thread

[mauchow]

Man. If we had Bouldin or Sacre... we'd be a very tough team.

[hoopsguy]

Illini played a solid second half against Wofford in a 78-64 win. The defense really clamped down and the offense executed pretty well in the half court all night long against a team that wanted to slow the pace.

Wofford is no UNC, but they beat Georgia and gave Pitt a major scare early in the year. Those guys just did not miss in the first half from behind the arc tonight (8 threes) but a 12-31 finish suggests that they did not get much in the last twenty minutes.

This is the first of four games in eight days for the Illini, as the competition starts to ratchet up a bit. I'm eager to see how they respond.

[cartman]

Texas pulled away late in the 2nd half to beat Pitt 78-62. But the Longhorns might have lost Varez Ward for a while to a knee injury suffered during warmups.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by mauboy1

Man. If we had Bouldin or Sacre... we'd be a very tough team.

I'm never a big fan of Gonzaga, and think they're overrated every year by beating up teams the quality of Mizzou's schedule, but man, Matt Bouldin has won me over the last two years. I just love watching that kid play basketball.

And while I think the NCAA has done some good things in the past 10 years to become more athlete friendly, they are really jerking Renardo Sidney around. Its a travesty that they have the abilty to levy a "pocket suspension" on him without having the proof they want because they "know" he violated amateurism rules. I am fine with them having those rules, and not allowing athletes to play who violate them, but if you're going to suspend him, have the balls to stand up and say he's suspended, don't take this chickenshit way out.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Mizzou continues to thump some opponents at home. Tennessee-Chattanooga is actually supposed to give Davidson a run for the conference title this year, but Mizzou just kicked them in the junk tonight. MU will be ridiculously difficult to beat when Kimmie English is shooting well.

Should get a couple of great neutral court tests over the weekend. Old Dominion returns all 5 starters from a 25-10 team. Then Mizzou would face either Richmond or Mississippi State after that.

They have been VERY impressive thus far.

[Blade6119]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

They have been VERY impressive thus far.

#1 Defense in the nation according to Kenpom ratings

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Blade6119

#1 Defense in the nation according to Kenpom ratings

[DeToxRox]

Michigan gets its first test in a half hour vs Creighton at the Old Spice Invitational. Creighton is well coached and plays tough. Michigan should win but I wouldn't be shocked if they lost. Can't wait though.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I think we can put away this silly notion that people nationally and some people in this thread had about OU not losing a step when the Griffin brothers moved on. They've now lost to the University of San Diego and VCU and we're not even out of November yet. They've got a LOT of work to do. Capel even admitted they're not very good.

Marquette/Xavier game is a great one on ESPN2 right now. Back and forth game.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Michigan gets its first test in a half hour vs Creighton at the Old Spice Invitational. Creighton is well coached and plays tough. Michigan should win but I wouldn't be shocked if they lost. Can't wait though.

Creighton played real tough but Michigan wins 83-76 in OT. The shots weren't falling for Michigan and the D was bad at times but forced a ton of turnovers (Creighton had 18 total) and was able to prevail.

Manny Harris was solid, though his stat line was misleading. He had 20 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds, but didn't shoot the ball that well. Still, when it mattered he was big.

Now Michigan faces a solid Marquette team tomorrow afternoon for a spot in the Finals.

[DeToxRox]

Dola, subjective I know but Coach B gets high praise from one of the NBA's best GM's:

Daryl Morley is down in Orlando for the Old Spice classic and just tweeted this message following the Michigan win:

"Watching NCAA gms in ORl. Hard fought W by Mich over Creighton. Impressive job at Mich by Beilein-he is best college coach in the country."

[the_meanstrosity]

I don't remember anyone suggesting OU wouldn't lose a step in this thread. You'd have to given that they lost one of the best big men in the college game last year to the NBA. I think the only thing people said was that OU would be "fine" which they will be. The Sooners are a young team led by sophomores and freshmen. They're going to lose games they shouldn't simply because of inexperience. The only concern I have right now is that Willie Warren and Tommie Mason Griffin are logging a lot of minutes which has me wondering about their depth. I still believe once these young players start getting some games under their belts they'll be in the top half of the Big 12 barring injuries.

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

I think we can put away this silly notion that people nationally and some people in this thread had about OU not losing a step when the Griffin brothers moved on. They've now lost to the University of San Diego and VCU and we're not even out of November yet. They've got a LOT of work to do. Capel even admitted they're not very good.

Marquette/Xavier game is a great one on ESPN2 right now. Back and forth game.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Good to see Texas A&M score a nice win over a ranked Clemson team.

On the other end, not so good for Baylor. I'm not sure I've seen a coach like Scott Drew do so little with so much talent in quite some time. That place is a big recruit graveyard under Drew.

[the_meanstrosity]

Turgeon has done a good job with A&M after Gillespie departed. He's got some nice recruits coming in and the guy can coach. I actually didn't know how he would fare after leaving Wichita State, but he seems to have Texas A&M headed in the right direction again.

I'm a little surprised that Scott Drew is still the coach at Baylor given their
talent and the struggles. They had the talent to compete for the Big 12 title last year, but they struggled in playing together. Once the season started coming to a close they suddenly turned it on and you could see why they were one of the pre-season favorites in the Big 12. I know Baylor had some serious issues before he took over and I actually thought he was one of the up and coming coaches after those first two seasons given everything they faced. But now I'm not so sure after last season's struggles.

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Good to see Texas A&M score a nice win over a ranked Clemson team.

On the other end, not so good for Baylor. I'm not sure I've seen a coach like Scott Drew do so little with so much talent in quite some time. That place is a big recruit graveyard under Drew.

[Chief Rum]

I just watched one of the worst coached and prepared teams in UCLA history, maybe worse than any individual performance by Lavin, and that's really saying something.

[Atocep]

WVU gets Ebanks back for the game against A&M today. The Big East is just nasty this year. It doesn't have 3 elite teams as it did last season, but from top to bottom the league is better.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Texas starting guard Ward blew out his knee and is out for the season. Texas is deep, but Ward is a big loss.

[Atocep]

WVU got their first test and walked away with a 7 point win over what looks to be a very solid A&M team. Ebanks looked like he hadn't missed any time and put the game away with a couple late steals.

WVU has ridiculous depth on the frontcourt and wings, but PG depth is a big concern. Mazzulla broke the growth plate in his shoulder last season and has trouble lifting his left arm (shooting hand) above his head. He's been shooting free throws right handed it's so bad. I have a feeling teams are going to be pressing/trapping this team all season.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Atocep

WVU gets Ebanks back for the game against A&M today. The Big East is just nasty this year. It doesn't have 3 elite teams as it did last season, but from top to bottom the league is better.

Really looking forward to the Gophers potential match up with WVU tomorrow. I love watching this team play, they don't really have a standout player right now, but even with 3 players suspended right now they go 10 deep and any one of the guys could be the player to have a big game and lead the team. Playing a top 10 ranked team from a major conference should be a much better gauge of how good this team is right now than the Butler game last night was.

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I just watched one of the worst coached and prepared teams in UCLA history, maybe worse than any individual performance by Lavin, and that's really saying something.

I saw a bit of this game in the wee hours EST this morning and had a "WTF?" reaction when I saw the initial score (UCLA was stuck on 19 as I recall) and who was playing. I watched it for a few minutes and was rather amazed at how badly UCLA was getting trounced (I was also amazed at how staggeringly empty the arena was given the game was in Anaheim...I know it's Thanksgiving, but that was still more empty than a Bobcats game in Charlotte).

How many degrees has Howland's chair risen in the hours since the game ended?

[MJ4H]

You should check out an Arkansas game sometime. I don't think Pelphrey is going to make it to SEC play at this rate.

[hoopsguy]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Really looking forward to the Gophers potential match up with WVU tomorrow. I love watching this team play, they don't really have a standout player right now, but even with 3 players suspended right now they go 10 deep and any one of the guys could be the player to have a big game and lead the team. Playing a top 10 ranked team from a major conference should be a much better gauge of how good this team is right now than the Butler game last night was.

Well, this is one game that is not going to happen.

So far has not been a banner day for the Big Ten in non-conference play. Hopefully the jinx does not catch up to my Illini, who are playing Utah tonight.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

Well, this is one game that is not going to happen.

So far has not been a banner day for the Big Ten in non-conference play. Hopefully the jinx does not catch up to my Illini, who are playing Utah tonight.

Yeah, that went poorly. Portland has looked pretty good, but Minnesota still should have won this one. Terrible shooting today.

Hopefully the Big Ten can have a decent showing in the Big Ten ACC Challenge coming up.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Yeah, that went poorly. Portland has looked pretty good, but Minnesota still should have won this one. Terrible shooting today.

Hopefully the Big Ten can have a decent showing in the Big Ten ACC Challenge coming up.

I didn't watch too much of this game, but caught the last few minutes. I'd love to know how many shots Minnesota missed in the final 2-minutes or so -- it had to be close to 15-20 (including tips).

[DeToxRox]

Michigan had another poor shooting day today and lost to a solid Marquette team. Disappointing but it's not like they lost to an awful team. Still it'll end up being the type of team they'll have to beat if they want to make a Sweet 16 - Elite 8 type run.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Michigan had another poor shooting day today and lost to a solid Marquette team. Disappointing but it's not like they lost to an awful team. Still it'll end up being the type of team they'll have to beat if they want to make a Sweet 16 - Elite 8 type run.

That was always part of Beilein's MO as a head coach while at WVU. Once he got the program in good shape, there would always be 2-3 games per season where we shot horribly and lost a game that we should have (it seemed like we always had games like that when we played against Marshall). The good thing is that there are usually 2-3 (or more) games where his teams will shoot ridiculously well and beat a team that otherwise should have clubbed them.

[hoopsguy]

Well, the upset bug caught Illinois as well as they gave away a 32-16 halftime lead to lose 60-58. I watched the first half on a terrible Internet feed and decided I had better things to do than subject myself to that in the 2nd half. I have no idea how they allowed Utah to shoot 16-23 for the second half based on what I saw in the first 20 minutes.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Mizzou got a quality win over a good Old Dominion team. Really good coaching by ODU's coach when he put a zone on Mizzou to slow down the game, but Mizzou's defensive pressure and speed was way too much for them. You can't turn the ball over 17 times in the first half and expect to win a game. Get to play Richmond tonight in the championship game.

Glad to see Illinois struggling early in the season. Really need to break that Braggin' Rights streak and Mizzou is playing well early in the season.

[whomario]

Florida with a huge upset against Michigan State.

State shoots 53%, keeps Florida to 41%, wins the rebound battle 38 to 20 but turns it over 24 times ...

Portland also beats No22 Minnesota with a german kid (Smeulders) contributing with 13/6

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by whomario

Florida with a huge upset against Michigan State.

State shoots 53%, keeps Florida to 41%, wins the rebound battle 38 to 20 but turns it over 24 times ...

Portland also beats No22 Minnesota with a german kid (Smeulders) contributing with 13/6

Yesterday was a heavy hit to the Big 10. MSU, Minn., Illinois, and Michigan all lost.

[hoopsguy]

And things go from bad to worse for the Illini, as they lose again in Las Vegas to Bradley in the consolation game. I did not see any of this game but it looks like the defense was again dismal in the second half. I would hope that the coaching staff has the attention of the young players after this lost weekend.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Tough loss by Mizzou last night to Richmond. Defense was great, but MU couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the floor. Odd that we beat the better team and lost to a team we should have beat, but that's what happens when you have a terrible shooting night. MU's going to have to work on their zone busting, but defense looks outstanding thus far.

More great test games coming up. Mizzou travels to Vandy this week, followed by a home game against Oregon and another good road test at Oral Roberts.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Tough loss by Mizzou last night to Richmond. Defense was great, but MU couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the floor. Odd that we beat the better team and lost to a team we should have beat, but that's what happens when you have a terrible shooting night. MU's going to have to work on their zone busting, but defense looks outstanding thus far.

More great test games coming up. Mizzou travels to Vandy this week, followed by a home game against Oregon and another good road test at Oral Roberts.

With the border war football game and Blues vs Red Wings.. I totally forgot about the basketball game... tough loss indeed!

[the_meanstrosity]

Bradley Beal is announcing on Monday. It's only a verbal and he's a junior so things can change, but at least for now it looks like it's between Florida and Kansas.

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Attention for Mizzou now turns to getting a Bradley Beal commitment (#7 in the nation in 2011).

[Blade6119]

Originally Posted by the_meanstrosity

Bradley Beal is announcing on Monday. It's only a verbal and he's a junior so things can change, but at least for now it looks like it's between Florida and Kansas.

Like a week ago I thought it was Duke vs Mizzou? What changed?

[MJ4H]

Well. John Pelphrey is likely on his last leg as Arkansas coach now. 3 straight HOME losses to:

Morgan State
East Tennessee State
South Alabama

The last two basically complete blowouts.

[kcchief19]

The Lawrence Journal World says Beal is down to KU, MU, Illinois and Florida.

[the_meanstrosity]

I've never heard Duke and Missouri leading. Duke was very late to the game and I don't believe he's even visited their campus yet. Missouri was on his final four list, but they've normally been listed after Kansas, Illinois, and Florida as far as his favorites. Florida was long thought to be the favorite because of the ties with David Lee (same AAU coach?) and potentially wanting to play with current Florida commit Austin Rivers. The last rumor I heard before this recent one was that it was between Illinois and Florida. Now it seems Illinois has been replaced with Kansas. We'll find out for certain tomorrow, but the rumors are saying Kansas. Of course the rumors earlier this weekend were saying Florida so take these rumors for what they're worth...not much.

Beal's only a junior so he has plenty of time to change his mind. I'm actually surprised he's committing so early. I know a lot of juniors are committing early now, but I've never understood it for top rated players like Beal. He'll be a very good player wherever he ends up.

Originally Posted by Blade6119

Like a week ago I thought it was Duke vs Mizzou? What changed?

[Atocep]

To say it's been a rough week for the Big 10 would be an understatement.

DeTox, the past couple games for Michigan are why I was never a big fan of Beilein and his system. He's a good coach that wins games and pulls out games the team has no business winning, but at the same time his teams can be maddening to watch because when they're not hitting shots his indifference to defense and rebounding makes it tough to win. It can be a really frustrating thing to watch.

[MizzouRah]

Who would want to play for Florida?

[Atocep]

WVU takes the 76 Classic with an easy win over Portland. Really disappointing tournament, though, considering the field. WVU missed out on playing Clemson, UCLA, and Minnesota and instead settled on Long Beach State, Texas A&M (really good team), and Portland in the finals.

[Swaggs]

It was a strange tournament -- I think there were 4 ranked teams + UCLA, and WVU somehow won the tournament without facing any of them. Texas A&M and Portland made WVU break a good sweat and challenged them some, which will be helpful down the road. Hopefully, those two teams will continue to do well throughout the season to boost our RPI.

I cannot remember WVU ever being this deep and having the ability to play so many different styles of basketball. My two biggest worries, right now, are getting the rust off of Ebanks, as his shot is off right now, and the health of Joe Mazzula (and whether he is going to be able to survive the season and give us 12-15 minutes off the bench this season at the point).

[the_meanstrosity]

Hopefully not Beal, lol. Don't count Donovan out though.

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Who would want to play for Florida?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

It was a strange tournament -- I think there were 4 ranked teams + UCLA, and WVU somehow won the tournament without facing any of them. Texas A&M and Portland made WVU break a good sweat and challenged them some, which will be helpful down the road. Hopefully, those two teams will continue to do well throughout the season to boost our RPI.

I cannot remember WVU ever being this deep and having the ability to play so many different styles of basketball. My two biggest worries, right now, are getting the rust off of Ebanks, as his shot is off right now, and the health of Joe Mazzula (and whether he is going to be able to survive the season and give us 12-15 minutes off the bench this season at the point).

I worry about Mazzula. I don't see why anyone would do anything other than play 10 feet off of him once they realize he literally can't shoot an outside shot. He could really be exploited in Big East play.

Love the guy's determination, though. I wonder how many kids would have made it back as far he has after that injury.

[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.

Originally Posted by Atocep

WVU takes the 76 Classic with an easy win over Portland. Really disappointing tournament, though, considering the field. WVU missed out on playing Clemson, UCLA, and Minnesota and instead settled on Long Beach State, Texas A&M (really good team), and Portland in the finals.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I worry about Mazzula. I don't see why anyone would do anything other than play 10 feet off of him once they realize he literally can't shoot an outside shot. He could really be exploited in Big East play.

Love the guy's determination, though. I wonder how many kids would have made it back as far he has after that injury.

Yeah, it is a shame and I don't know if he will ever regain his range of motion. It is unfortunate that Mazzula's ability to help break presses, penetrate, and help control the ball are negated by his inability to even shoot free throws.

Still, if he can give Truck a 2-minute breather a couple of times per half, I think his defense and ball handling will help throughout the season.

[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.

[cartman]

You've gotta love the sports fans at Rice. They are some of the most irreverent in the country. Just Google "Rice Mob Band" to see some examples. After Texas beat Rice by 18 yesterday, the band got the crowd to start chanting "OVER-RATED"

[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?

[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.

That said, I'm not looking forward to the B10/ACC shootout. The bottom of the B10 conference (Indiana + Iowa) is almost certain to lose their games and the teams in the middle have underwhelmed so far this year.