College Basketball

[DrHibbert]

UNC is back in the top spot again this week. I'm kind of surprised at that - they're definitely good, top 5 or 10 good, but I don't think they're the best and I don't see them winning the NCAA's this year. I think Florida, Wisconsin, and UCLA have all been more impressive.

I was also thoroughly impressed with Arizona when they beat my UW Huskies the other night. I guess you have to be impressed when the other team is bombing up 25-foot 3s and still gets 65% from the field for the whole game.

Freshman of the year? There are TONS of good freshmen this year, but Budinger and Oden would seem to be front-runners.

[Drunkenmaster]

I think UNC's averaging beating their opponents by about 28 pts a game. They have so many horses that nobody can run with them. I might be surprised if they don't win the NCAA's.

UF is definitely good since they returned everyone from last year's team. LSU is improving but another magical final 4 run is highly unlikely. The Pac 10 looks really strong, the Big East will beat each other up and the SEC is probably top heavy. There's some good mid majors out there who could surprise, too like Butler and the Zags. Should be an interesting year.

[DrHibbert]

Yeah I think the mid majors will have another great year in the NCAA's. All these athletes leaving before graduating is helping create more parody in the tournament. The Missouri Valley Conference should get a lot of teams in again, and they'll probably do well again.

[Drunkenmaster]

Well, the new 19 year old rule in the NBA is helping with the parity. Do you think Oden would have otherwise gone to OSU? That guy is a beast.

[DrHibbert]

Haha, can't believe I wrote parody. Well, maybe it's a parody of hte NBA? :\

No, I don't think Oden would have gone to tOSU. And I think he'd be doing ok in the NBA, such raw talent. I'm not sure how that rule passes legal muster, but it's nice for college basketball.

I expect to see a lot of 2nd-round upsets in the tourney this year.

I can't stop talking about the NCAA's because I'm going to Vegas for the opening weekend in March. I've never been to Vegas during March Madness before. I'm going to plop down at a sportsbook and watch 4 games at a time for 2 days straight, with a good amount of liquor and money transfers during the breaks.

[Drunkenmaster]

Is there a tougher thing to bet? You know there's going to be a 5/12 upset, but which one!?!

I wish college football would take notice of this but I'm afraid last night put us further away from a playoff. The northern teams know they'd be knocked out in the first round by the speed of the south and the west and they'd never have another national champ. Besides, I can't see the whole country getting excited about an LSU v UF or a USC v Cal match up if it worked out that way.

[DrHibbert]

It's a tough thing to bet, but you get good odds. Even a heavy favorite like UCLA or UNC will get 4-1 or 5-1 to win it all because obviously that's tough to do. There are hundreds of different bets to make, so that's what makes it a lot of fun. You can bet on each game, and there are 16 or 8 per day on the first four days. Parlays are nice - pick 3 or 4 of the matchups all going on at once. Or long-terms, who gets to the final 4 or wins it all.

Not to mention we'll all fill out brackets and have our own betting pools going on. There's no other time of year I'd rather be in Vegas. In my mind it even beats the super bowl, because that's just one game. This is going to be one great, long weekend.

Wisconsin won again last night, over Ohio State. They are looking very solid. And I know it's ridiculously early, but Lunardi posted Bracketology on the 3rd. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/bracketology

[FrowningSmile]

Wisconsin is definitely tough, but i'm looking for them to have a rough go against Indiana tomorrow night. The Hoosiers are looking tough and they are outrebounding everyone. They finally cracked the top 25, and they aren't going to look back. everyone who watches the Big Ten watch out if IU can get a couple of road wins, but everyone should watch them match up with Wisconsin. PEACE

[DrHibbert]

Wisconsin's been really solid, just toying with people. I'll try to catch that game. That was a big win for Indiana against UConn, even though UConn's been off this year.

[Drunkenmaster]

LSU's done. Bring on baseball.

[DrHibbert]

Wisconsin's up on Indiana, 28-26 at the half. Indiana has a tough home court, but my money is still on the Badgers. Early on I had the Badgers as a sleeper to do well in the tournament this year, but now you can hardly call them a sleeper at 21-1 and #2. Still think they'll do well.

Speaking of which, if anyone has any good sleepers for the NCAA's, please tell me who they are and why. I'll gladly reciprocate with my own.

[FrowningSmile]

HOOSIERS TAKE IT!!!! Even though they are pretty highly ranked I think Oregon could make a good run in the tournament. They have good young guards and they can stiffen up on D if they are playing against a slow, ball control team. Oregon could take a huge leap with a couple of road wins out west and if they get into the West Bracket in the Tourney, they could get a good run going to at least the final 4.

I still the think the Hoosiers are going to win their sixth championship, but i had to find another team to pick.

[FrowningSmile]

Also lets not forget Butler. They are ranked 15th, but they still are a sleeper for me based on their mid-major conference. Graves is amazing. watch out big time squads

[DrHibbert]

Butler and Oregon are very good choices, IMHO. I think a lot will come down to seeding for those two teams. In a couple of bracket projections I've seen Oregon going to the final four - but in others stumbling in the 2nd round, due to matchups. Also, Oregon relies a lot on Aaron Brooks, so if he gets hurt the whole team will go down fast.

Another pretty highly ranked team is Air Force. Many people won't pick them because they have not historically been good, and because they are from the Mountain West conference. But they are a solid team with good guard play. I believe 4 or maybe even all 5 of their starters are seniors. Hammered some good teams in non-conf play, including Stanford and Wake Forest.

I also like Georgetown, who is currently projected as a 7 or 8 seed, if they make it into the tournament. They are actually pretty young, but have gone 15-5 through a very difficult schedule.

How about Florida last night? Down big in the first half at home to Wake Forest, but came back to win. They are hard to predict. Obviously a fantastic team.

[FrowningSmile]

Damn i forgot about Georgetown. That's a good pick they could go pretty deep. Florida still has to be the favorite based on the fact they already won a championship with this team. I think they are just waiting around until tournament time, but they really turned it up in the second half. it was a great win...

Did anyone see Durant's 37 points, 23 rebound game??? AMAZING. This guy could be picked before the all powerful ODEN.

[DrHibbert]

Florida has to be as much a favorite as anyone else to win the NCAA's. But I wouldn't put even money on them - I think UCLA, Pittsburgh, and a couple other teams are just as likely to win it all. It takes luck every year, and I think a lot of past champions were better than Florida's current team. The champions in the last few years, IMHO, have been much weaker than those in the 90s and 80s, simply because it's now so commonplace for players to declare early.

Durant is incredible - I think he is by far the best college player right now, as a Freshman. Wow.

I think Marquette will do quite well in the tournament.

[Drunkenmaster]

GO HEELS!!!!

[DrHibbert]

Madness!! MadnesssssssSsSSssSs!!!!

:pinkeleph:

[Drunkenmaster]

We'll have to start a new March Madness thread after the selections today.

[DrHibbert]

Yeah, definitely. I'd even go for a new thread to dissect each individual matchup :crazy:

[Drunkenmaster]

This is my favorite time of year!!!

[Needs Wasabi]

Our (Kentucky's) coach needs to go.

The team has blown choad ever since he started coaching there.

[Drunkenmaster]

He did win a national championship. This year's team would be total shit without Randolph Morris, though.

[Needs Wasabi]

Yeah. They won the championship the first year he was there. When the team was still mostly made up of Pitino's players.

I really want them to fire him already. So do alot of other people around here.

[DrHibbert]

I don't think it's Tubby so much as it was Pitino. Better get a hell of a replacement...

[Drunkenmaster]

Yep. Hard to sell a job when you fire a coach who makes it to the NCAA's every year. The SEC as a whole has caught up to Kentucky more than everything. For years, the SEC was mainly a football conference but now basketball has become more popular. Besides, Florida wins everything these days.

[FrowningSmile]

who would they even get who is better than tubby? Nobody. Kentucky fans should suck it up they don't want a Mike Davis era like we got here in Indiana. they'll be alright they always get good recruits

[DrHibbert]

Just got back from Vegas. Been a very good tournament to watch, but some disappointing finishes. So many big underdogs have blown big leads. Usually more than a few end up holding on, but not so much this year.. yet. Can't believe Xavier blew a late 8-point lead to Ohio State with about 2 minutes left. And Purdue led Florida by a couple late in that one. All the 1's are intact.

My bracket's still looking pretty good, have UCLA winning over Georgetown. But the Bruins have a tough matchup against Pittsburgh on Thursday.

[Drunkenmaster]

I have 12 of the Sweet 16 still alive save for USuCk, Pitt, Vandy and Tennessee.

[DrHibbert]

Yeah I'm hoping there are a few more upsets this weekend. I hate USC football, but they have decent guys and a decent coach on their basketball team, so I'm sort of rooting for them. Kind of like the guys on UNC's basketball team would be the type of cocky bastards who'd play for USC's football team.

You had Pitt losing? I was surprised VCU took them to overtime. And I had Virginia beating Tennessee but they pooped out. Can't believe WSU didn't make the sweet 16 with the draw they got. I thought Bennett was a good coach until that game - that was unbelievable. All Vandy could do was shoot 3's and they still sat back and let them have the perimeter. And then on offense the Commodores had 3 guys with 4 fouls even before regulation was over, and WSU never drove the ball and exploited that. Terrible coaching job there. Was happy to see Duke go down.

I hope fFlorida loses this weekend, and I hope UCLA gets by Pitt because I think UCLA/Kansas would be a great game. And go Hoyas!

[Drunkenmaster]

I had Duke in the Sweet 16 because it just seemed like a safe bet but they really did blow this year. I also thought Texas would make it on the heels of Durant, but he didn't get much support. Tim Floyd is the guy I wish LSU would've fired Brady to get 2 years ago. He's been good everywhere in college and he's still recruiting Louisiana well. Oh, well, Brady's F4 run last year f'd us from dumping that chump for at least another year. I hope we can tank next year with Davis gone and get a real coach with the mix of young and experienced players we have.

[Needs Wasabi]

Kentucky doesn't have to worry about Tubby anymore.

Minnesota hired him. :D

I hope we get a decent coach this time around.

[Drunkenmaster]

That's a great move for Minnesota. Good luck trying to get Billy Donovan or Billy Gillespie or whoever.

The tale of the Tubby:

10 seasons and 10 NCAA Tourney Appearances
1 Final Four
6 Elite 8's (I think 6, maybe 5)
1 National Championship
26 wins per year

I would love to have that record for my school over the past 10 years. Don't make me compare Tubby to John Brady!

[DrHibbert]

I agree, great move by Minnesota.

And now Kentucky can move on to another puppet who isn't Rick Pitino.

[Drunkenmaster]

Or maybe the the real thing. I'm sure Rick wouldn't be opposed to returning. Kentucky is a big step up from Louisville.

[Needs Wasabi]

Dude...Randolph Morris just signed to the Knicks.

Gah..we're so fucked next year. No matter who we get as coach.

[Drunkenmaster]

How could he sign with the Knicks? They haven't even had the draft yet.

[Drunkenmaster]

Oh, I see. That's a pretty unique situation and I don't remember it happening before.

[DrHibbert]

Yeah, maybe they will get Pitino. I was just thinking that this morning. But he's doing pretty well with Louisville...

[DrHibbert]

UCLA!!! Final 4 bound. This is why I was thrilled to see them lose their last 2 Pac-10 games. Everyone thinks the world is falling, and all of a sudden the best team in the nation is a 2-seed!, under everyone's radar. I've had them winning it all since January, and now only 7 people out of 140 in my pool had them.

[Drunkenmaster]

I still have UNC so hopefully they can outlast Georgetown tomorrow. That's pretty much what they've done since the opening round. Nice win for OSU. I like the Heels and Fla tomorrow.

[Needs Wasabi]

Hey. One of my sister-in-law's friends knows Tubby Smith and said that the main reason he left KY is because alot of people in Lexington were harassing him and his family.

Sure, he's a shitty coach. But, there's really no need for people to have done that.

:(

[Drunkenmaster]

I've been hearing that for a while. It's not just Lexington. Unfortunately, sports sometimes brings out the worst in people. Minnesota, though a big step down for him, is a great fit for Tubby. He's still in a major conference, their football team sucks, and he doesn't have near the pressure that he had at Kentucky. Win for Tubby, win for Minnesota, and depending on who they can get it will be a win for Kentucky.

[DrHibbert]

I'm really looking forward to this final 4. Both semifinals should be fantastic games. I get $200 if UCLA wins it all (from a $20 bet), so you know who I'm rooting for. But any 1 of the 4 could win it all. I had UCLA winning over Georgetown in my office pool too, but it looks like that'll lose anyway because I picked a few teams that crapped out, namely Louisville, Washington State and Wisconsin. :\

This is gonna be a classic weekend.

[Drunkenmaster]

Yeah, UNC f'd me.

[DrHibbert]

I'm surprised Ohio St didn't f everyone, they should have lost to Xavier AND Tennessee. How on earth are they still in it?

[FrowningSmile]

definitely a power final 4

[Drunkenmaster]

I don't know but I'm pissed because Georgetown shouldn't have even been in the 8. Vandy won that game and was screwed.