College Bball Thread

[Alford Bailey 12,317]

4 seed dominated the tournament…..

[Hoosierfan1901 5,958]

11 minutes ago, Alford Bailey said:

4 seed dominated the tournament…..

Wished it was that 4 seed in the Midwest

[str8baller 4,937]

8 hours ago, HoosierAloha said:

Looking back over the season how many teams had a dominating stretch?

UConn, Creighton, purdoodoo (figured they would pull a purdoodoo in the tourney) who else?

Marquette had a week or so where they looked really good. I think Kansas coming off their pre-conf thru the very beginning of conf looked tough.  
 

Mostly it was wide open this year. 

[str8baller 4,937]

12 hours ago, HoosierHoopster said:

But that last group of years under CAM or Crean’s last isn’t 20 years or post-RMK. Really just an inaccurate picture flowing from disgust over the end of diet coke man and what CAM did to us, imo.

I mean, it was a slow descent into irrelevance. Realistically Woody isn’t here to win a bunch of titles, just right the ship. You have to crawl before you walk.   
 

UConn and UNC went through rough patches after HoF coaches. They lasted about 3-5 years. Kansas hasn’t missed a beat in 35 years and 3 coaches. Bumbling UCLA goes to the final four every few years.   
 

I would argue that IU’s situation really is as bad as it seemed. I am hopeful that Woody’s first two years are indicative of his ability and he’ll get this thing turned around. Then we’re one great coach away from being great again. 

[Rico 2,978]

 

[Stuhoo 78,654]

1 minute ago, Rico said:

 

Shouldn't Purdoo be third? I heard FDU is returning most of their starting lineup.

[cthomas 6,172]

23 hours ago, Dave from Dayton said:

My wife and I graduated the year IU went undefeated.  I would not trade that for...well, what's the offer?

I was in grad school and spent the spring semester in 1976 on campus. What a fantastic experience.

[OliviaPope40 6,368]

[Class of '66 Old Fart 83,215]

Rothstein - Tyler Wahl tells me that he's returning to Wisconsin next season and will use his additional year of eligibility.

[WayneFleekHoosier 47,641]

44 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Rothstein - Tyler Wahl tells me that he's returning to Wisconsin next season and will use his additional year of eligibility.

Doesn’t hurt them that’s for sure. Arguably their best player. He’s reached his ceiling imo but it’s not a bad ceiling. 

[Uspshoosier 44,753]

2 minutes ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

Doesn’t hurt them that’s for sure. Arguably their best player. He’s reached his ceiling imo but it’s not a bad ceiling. 

Kid couldn’t hit a layup to save his life this year.   Never seen anything like with a really good player.   He figures that back out he will be back to normal 

[RaceToTheTop 24,682]

Final WAR ratings for the year.  U Conn ended at #6 but automatically gets bumped to #1 for winning the title.

1. Connecticutt, 31-8 +9.84
2. Alabama, 30-7, +10.60
3. Kansas 27-8, +10.34
4. San Diego St, 30-7, +10.25
5. Texas 29-9, +9.94
6. UCLA 31-6, +9.92
7. Gonzaga 30-6, +9.48
8. Purdue 29-6, +8.95
9. Houston 33-4, +8.43
10. Marquette 29-7, +8.39
11. Kansas St 26-9, +7.12
12. Arizona 27-7, +6.77
13. Miami 29-10, +6.57
14. Florida Atlantic 33-4, +6.40
15. Xavier 27-10, +6.24
16. Baylor 23-11, +6.05
17. Duke 27-9, +5.10
18. Memphis 26-9, +4.92
19. St. Mary's 25-9, +4.90
20. Missouri 25-10, +4.77
21. Tennessee 25-11, +4.55
22. Utah State 25-9, +4.32
23. Indiana 23-12, +4.18
24. Michigan State 21-13, +4.15
25. Texas A&M 25-10, +4.05

[Stuhoo 78,654]

Final Coaches Poll. IU at #24. Purdoo drops to #13. MSU the other B1G team in at #20.

USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

 

 

Rank	Team	Record	PTS	1st	Prev	Chg	Hi/Lo
1	Connecticut	31-8	800	32	12	11	1/NR
2	San Diego St.	32-7	688	0	18	16	2/NR
3	Miami-Florida	29-8	665	0	15	12	3/NR
4	Alabama	31-6	629	0	2	-2	1/19
5	Florida Atlantic	35-4	615	0	25	20	5/NR
6	Houston	33-4	614	0	1	-5	1/6
7	Texas	29-9	587	0	7	—	2/12
8	UCLA	31-6	532	0	6	-2	2/21
9	Kansas State	26-10	516	0	13	4	5/NR
10	Gonzaga	31-6	514	0	9	-1	2/18
11	Kansas	28-8	434	0	5	-6	2/11
12	Creighton	24-13	426	0	22	10	7/NR
13	Purdue	29-6	424	0	3	-10	1/NR
14	Marquette	29-7	422	0	4	-10	4/NR
15	Xavier	27-10	332	0	14	-1	8/NR
16	Tennessee	25-11	284	0	21	5	2/21
17	Arizona	28-7	282	0	8	-9	4/17
18	Duke	27-9	232	0	16	-2	8/NR
19	Baylor	23-11	216	0	11	-8	6/NR
20	Michigan St.	21-13	203	0	NR	20	15/NR
21	Arkansas	22-14	174	0	NR	—	7/NR
22	Saint Mary's	27-8	149	0	19	-3	14/NR
23	Virginia	25-8	112	0	10	-13	2/23
24	Indiana	23-12	97	0	19	-5	8/NR
25	Texas A&M	25-10	88	0	17	-8	17/NR

[TheWatShot 13,536]

I thought the AP poll usually did one the last week as well? I haven't seen it anywhere. I guess the voters just couldn't stand to drop their precious Purdue all the way out of the top 10, so they didn't bother doing one. 

 

Saw an interesting bit of trivia this morning: the last 4 national champions were never ranked #1 at any point during the season. 

[Uspshoosier 44,753]

UConn was a really good team this year.   They started the year off with 14 double digit wins and won the PK event.  They hit a wall during conference play but they were a team that always had the pieces to do what they did.   Having said that the path that opened up for them was helpful.
 

13, 5, 8, 3, 5, 5

MEAC

2 WCC

MWC  

SEC (Finished 8-10) in conference tied for 9th 

ACC- Finished 1st in conference 

Depending on how each person views Zags that is a pretty favorable path to a championship 

 

[Alford Bailey 12,317]

Kinda feels like Purdue as a 1 really screwed up seeding this year

[Alford Bailey 12,317]

This year NC game had the lowest rating ever. I admit I only watched like 3 minutes as I knew what was gonna happen.

[Hovadipo 54,319]

13 minutes ago, Alford Bailey said:

This year NC game had the lowest rating ever. I admit I only watched like 3 minutes as I knew what was gonna happen.

Probably the worst one since UConn beat Butler. It was interesting for about 6 real-time minutes late in the 2nd half and otherwise - like someone said on this board - it felt like a standard 2nd round 4/5 matchup.

[monskisprodigy 1,796]

55 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

Probably the worst one since UConn beat Butler. It was interesting for about 6 real-time minutes late in the 2nd half and otherwise - like someone said on this board - it felt like a standard 2nd round 4/5 matchup.

I'll admit...I am a basketball junkie, and I turned it off at half time and went to bed. 

Granted, they did themselves no favors with the 9:20pm EST Tip. 

[Home Jersey 6,026]

6 hours ago, Uspshoosier said:

UConn was a really good team this year.   They started the year off with 14 double digit wins and won the PK event.  They hit a wall during conference play but they were a team that always had the pieces to do what they did.   Having said that the path that opened up for them was helpful.
 

13, 5, 8, 3, 5, 5

MEAC

2 WCC

MWC  

SEC (Finished 8-10) in conference tied for 9th 

ACC- Finished 1st in conference 

Depending on how each person views Zags that is a pretty favorable path to a championship 

 

I don't disagree some aspects of their path being favorable (a few matchups, scouting intel on SDSU from Bobby Hurley who played them a lot). But seeds don't tell the whole story - and in a single game elimination tournament - neither do conference standings, necessarily. In a win or go home scenario - where anything can happen - the roster and coaching staff are what IMO you truly need to look at. 

In terms of measuring how good of a season any given team had, absolutely agree conference standings and player stats are the main inputs. But in the tournament, those "glimpses" of player potential and coaching abilities of a staff can't be discounted. It doesn't show up on paper all the time but when it makes an impact in any given tournament game, it can end your season.

• Iona: Coached by Pitino, a legend, was a common upset pick.
• St. Mary's: We've seen what this program is capable of. Just because they're WCC doesn't make them any less of a threat.
• Arkansas: This was one of the most talented rosters in the nation. Yes they underperformed during the regular season. They did beat the #1 seed Kansas - they were clearly a capable team 
• Gonzaga: Few is a future HOF coach, Timme was a 3 time all-American. 31-6 team. Arguably elite program in the modern era. If not Elite, firmly in the "very, very, very good" category.  
• Miami: Ended our season. We saw what their backcourt is capable of when they get hot.
• San Diego State: 32-7 team. Yes, clearly less talented/capable but a very tough squad. They won their conference and made it all the way to the NCAA championship. I acknowledge this could be considered an "easy" game, but SDSU clearly knows how to win. 

I am a huge Hurley fan - grew up going to St. Anthony's and St. Benedict's games. Those are the experiences that made me love basketball. Danny Hurley built a squad this year and they kicked @$$ in the tournament. Nobody outside of the Big East beat them this year. When they were focused, they were the best team in CBB and many said as much before their January slump. 

Not saying you are spreading this view - but the narrative this was an "easy" path for UConn - is 110% going to motivate their team next year and depending on their roster turnover this offseason, could easily fuel another run.

Dan Hurley famously said after a loss to Villanova that teams better get them now, because they were coming. Fast forward a bit and they are there. If you know anything about the Hurley coaching legacy, you won't be surprised at all if they stay here for a long, long time.