RaceToTheTop

My current WAR rankings and # of bids that each conference deserves (this is prior to the New Mexico/Nevada game): Multi-bid leagues: AAC (2): Florida Atlantic (18), Memphis (33) ACC (3): Clemson (26), Duke (32), Virginia (44) Big 10 (4): Purdue (1), Wisconsin (6), Illinois (23), Northwestern (28) Big 12 (10): Houston (3), Kansas (5), Texas Tech (11), Iowa St (24), Baylor (27), Oklahoma (29), Kansas St (35), TCU (40), Texas (47), Cincinnati (49) Big East (4): U Conn (2), Marquette (13), Creighton (31), St. John's (42) MWC (6): Utah St (8), San Diego St (12), New Mexico (18), Nevada (22), Colorado St (30), Boise St (43) Pac 12 (5): Arizona (7), Utah (34), Oregon (38), Colorado (39), Washington St (48) SEC (9): Ole Miss (10), South Carolina (14), Auburn (15), Tennessee (16), Alabama (17), Kentucky (21), Florida (37), Miss St (41), Georgia (45) Teams with one bid that are above the at-large cut line: Atlantic 10: Dayton (9), Ivy: Princeton (35), MVC: Indiana St (20), OVC: McNeese St (46), WAC: Grand Canyon (25) Last four byes: Mississippi St, St. John's, Boise St, Virginia Last four in: Georgia, Texas, Washington St, Cincinnati First four out: BYU, Butler, Pittsburgh, Michigan St

I don’t know the details of that. Just know that Alford enlisted the school’s chaplain and Christain athletic group to try to get the victim to drop the case.

I agree that Izzo isn’t the beacon of ethics.

Right now there would be 4 — maybe 5– big ten teams in depending on how you view Nebraska. Bad year for the Big Ten. Michigan State’s remaining schedule, though, is very weak so even at 12-8 now they have an easier path to get in.

Meh. I couldn’t care less about any of that word salad. I do care about Sampson’s inability to avoid NCAA infractions when he knew he would be under a microscope. In today’s more forgiving NCAA rules, I’d love for him to be our coach. Personally, the only coach I have ever called scum on this board is Steve Alford for his actions at Iowa (although you could throw Dave Bliss in there for obvious reasons).

First of my WAR rankings for the season. Calculated it for about 50 teams I thought could be in consideration for top 25, but possible I missed one. Records are against D1 only. Top 25: Purdue, 19-2 WAR +7.74 U Conn 18-2, WAR +5.66 Houston 18-2, WAR +5.42 UNC 17-3, WAR +5.22 Kansas 16-4, WAR +4.84 Wisconsin 16-4, WAR +4.74 Arizona 15-5, WAR +4.01 Utah St, 16-2, WAR +3.91 Dayton 16-3, WAR +3.83 Ole Miss, 17-3, WAR +3.81 Texas Tech 16-3, WAR +3.69 San Diego St 14-4, WAR +3.54 Marquette 15-5, WAR +3.49 South Carolina 17-3, WAR +3.29 Auburn 16-4, WAR +3.28 Tennessee 15-4, WAR+3.10 Alabama 14-6, WAR +3.08 Florida Atlantic 17-4, WAR +2.94 New Mexico 16-3, WAR +2.86 Indiana State 17-3, WAR +2.86 Kentucky 15-4, WAR +2.78 Nevada 16-4, WAR +2.77 Illinois 15-5, WAR +2.75 Iowa St 16-4, WAR +2.61 Grand Canyon 18-2, WAR +2.51 Other WAR +2 teams: Clemson 13-6, WAR +2.26, Baylor 13-5, WAR +2.25, Northwestern 15-5, WAR +2.24, Oklahoma 15-5, WAR +2.19, Colorado St 13-5, WAR +2.18, Creighton 16-5, WAR +2.13, Duke 15-4, WAR +2.10

Body odor question reminded me of a complaint. No matter how much teenage boys think it is, Axe Body Sprary is NOT a deoderant. Signed, a high school teacher

But that's completely irrelevant to you saying that IU's biggest mistake was 'firing Sampson'. Sampson wasn't hired now. He was hired at a time where his actions put him under a five year show cause and out of the NCAA for six season.

I'd go with hiring Sampson in the first place. IU wasn't going to keep Sampson on board if he violated NCAA rules. Doesn't matter if you consider it minor or if it's legal now. After Davis was fired, the job was still very, very attractive. IU could have gotten a Sampson type of coach with the risks that accompanied. After Sampson was fired, the job has been going downhill on attractiveness. If you think that firing Sampson was the worst thing that IU did in the last thirty years, then you are willfully ignoring that the NCAA issued a show cause on Sampson for five years. It's not like he immediately went from IU to Houston and turned them into a contender.....he was never given that option. If IU hadn't fired him, then that five year show cause they issued would have turned into all kind of recruiting sanctions for that period of time.

THANK YOU. Or how about refs not allowing a player to wear a compression shirt under their team jersey unless they have a documented medical reason to do so? The IHSAA is such a joke a joke with these sorts of things.

We have plenty of guys who could be shooters. We don't have plenty of guys who could be makers.

Rumors surrounding the situation. https://x.com/JacksonCollier/status/1751386789955207505?s=20 https://x.com/JackPilgrimKSR/status/1751382814417670491?s=20 Basically, Jay Bilas had reported a few days ago that the Arkansas program had considered Davis AWOL after he no showed a practice and after the situation, the team considered him to no longer be with the team. Second tweet is from Jack Pilgrim, probably the leading Kentucky basketball talking head, saying that Davis was kicked off the Arkansas team minutes before the Razorbacks played Kentucky today. My guess is that Davis isn't happy with his situation/role at Arkansas (and truth be told, he's has a very bad season) and has been vocal about it and Musselman probably had enough.

Washington might be as well. Mike Hopkins has the Huskies headed toward another lower division Pac 12 finish and is 64-78 in the last five years with no NCAA or NIT appearances. Would have one year left on his contract and the buyout would be about $3 million.

That makes no sense. CJ Gunn has a lot of issues, but he doesn’t turn the ball over. Asking why Gunn got benched but X just saw a temporary decrease in minutes is a legitimate question.

Hey, Hummel, is Indiana 0 of 8 from three? I missed you saying it the first 10 times

No excuse for X to be 2 of 7 from the line. None.

Big ten

Yeah, **** that. There is nothing ******* magical about a 15 team tournament as opposed to 18. And **** the ******* 20 game league schedule. GIVE TEAMS THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONTROL MORE OF THEIR SCHEDULE. If playing more conference games is such a positive, how come the last time the Big Ten won a national title there were only 16 conference games?

FWIW.....in the past two season, Conner Essegian is 83 out of 234 from three, or 35%. I wouldn't call that pure shooting. I wouldn't say he's so much a pure shooter but rather more of a guy who had a decent freshman season whom people assumed would follow the normal trajectory of Wisconsin players. He's been pretty bad this year.

High school basketball in Indiana has a running clock rule for 35 point leads in the second half of games. That's fine with me. Once you get to the fourth quarter, that's time to get your subs/JV players that are dressing and have a quarter to play time on the court -- particularly if you are the team in front. If you are the team ahead and are still pressing....your coach is kind of dick. But at least I can understand it.....I guess.....if you want to give your players 'time to run your system' (although the players in the game should be mostly JV guys who are already running that system in JV games). But....if the trailing team has pulled their starters and is playing their JV/subs while the leading team has all five starters and is pressing in the fourth, your coach is a piece of ****. Witnessed it in a high game tonight, winning team was ahead 38 to start the fourth quarter and kept their starters in and pressing against a team that had pulled their starters and did so until there were about three minutes to go.

Well, sometimes he has to continue recruiting players that had already committed because they started making overtures about not playing at Purdue. Looking at you, Kanon Catchings.

There are most certainly things that he isn't very good at -- particularly his dwindling assist rate this year, his immaturity on the court -- but he gets to the line at a pretty high rate. Only Ware has more free throws per game and only Walker has more free throws per minute played. And unlike most of the team, he actually shoots pretty well when he gets there. And that aspect has been pretty consistent throughout his career. Six years he's shot between 75 and 80% from the line and other than last year's season cut short by injury, he gets 4+ free throws per game. Since he's been at IU, only TJD was getting to the line more than him.

No, because this isn't AOL and there is no chat.

Unless that actually takes place, it means nothing. And it sure as hell has nothing to do with a contract that IU signed in 2015.

Yes, that Kentucky roster had players who were top twenty recruits in their class and eight players went on to play in the NBA including Karl Towns, Booker,and Willie Cauley-Stein. But they actually could have really used a shooter like Blackmon despite going undefeated in the regular season. They were 311th in three point attempts and 285th in three pointers made and in their loss in the final four to Wisconsin only took five threes all game.