College Bball Thread

[Rico 2,995]

5 minutes ago, Alford Bailey said:

Purdue will battle for another B1G championship.

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 8,660]

1 hour ago, HoosierX said:

I know, I'm almost ready to give my mea culpa.

Would figure our 5 star Indiana point guard turned out to be terrible (Lander - his stat line at WKU is reinforcing that) while Smith barely cracks the top 200 and is immediately really good.

He brings a lot of energy and fire. Definitely stronger than Lander. 

[HoosierAloha 30,044]

It doesn’t matter what the Big 1.o does in the noncon. We’ve had good noncons in recent years but sucked in the tourney that matters most.

The issue I believe is young talent. That young talent for other conferences isn’t ready to go the first few months of the season. After they develop a bit, individually and as a team, they take off. Whereas, the Big 1.o teams stay similar or are beat up after football on the court is played for several months.


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[WayneFleekHoosier 48,104]

12 minutes ago, HoosierAloha said:

It doesn’t matter what the Big 1.o does in the noncon. We’ve had good noncons in recent years but sucked in the tourney that matters most.

The issue I believe is young talent. That young talent for other conferences isn’t ready to go the first few months of the season. After they develop a bit, individually and as a team, they take off. Whereas, the Big 1.o teams stay similar or are beat up after football on the court is played for several months.


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While all true, still important to dominate the NonCon for strength of schedule and seeding. 
 

Cuz the B1G gonna eat itself alive this season during conference. 

[HoosierX 1,532]

1 hour ago, Rico said:

They just beat Gonzaga by 20 on a neutral court. I think it would be harder to argue the opposite at this point.

[Rico 2,995]

42 minutes ago, HoosierX said:

They just beat Gonzaga by 20 on a neutral court. I think it would be harder to argue the opposite at this point.

Big win for the Boilers for sure.  But it will be interesting to watch the season unfold for the Zags and where they end up in the polls.  I will echo what many feel.  I don't think Gonzaga is the same Gonzaga of the past few years.

[HoosierTrav 7,764]

2 hours ago, Alford Bailey said:

Purdue will battle for another B1G championship. Probably Wisconsin too.

Agree. I think there are 4-5 legit contenders this year. The excuse for the B1G not winning championships in March has been that the league lacked top end talent, or that the way the league officiates games prevents them from being prepared for March. I think it’s bc it’s so damn good top to bottom that they cannibalize themselves 

[HoosierX 1,532]

17 minutes ago, Rico said:

Big win for the Boilers for sure.  But it will be interesting to watch the season unfold for the Zags and where they end up in the polls.  I will echo what many feel.  I don't think Gonzaga is the same Gonzaga of the past few years.

Agreed Gonzaga is a bit overrated at this point, their PG play leaves a lot to be desired. And some of the studs they have brought in haven't panned out so far (e.g., Hunter Sallis). But I think their floor is probably top 20, and a win over a top 20 team by 20 on a neutral court is impressive no matter how you slice it.

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 8,660]

17 minutes ago, HoosierTrav said:

Agree. I think there are 4-5 legit contenders this year. The excuse for the B1G not winning championships in March has been that the league lacked top end talent, or that the way the league officiates games prevents them from being prepared for March. I think it’s bc it’s so damn good top to bottom that they cannibalize themselves 

I don't think that's an excuse either. The Big 12 has been as good as the Big 10 recently and has produced the last two champions. Big Ten teams just haven't performed for whatever reason. And the overly physical play probably has quite a bit to do with that. Why 20 conference games is such a mistake. 

[HoosierX 1,532]

27 minutes ago, HoosierTrav said:

Agree. I think there are 4-5 legit contenders this year. The excuse for the B1G not winning championships in March has been that the league lacked top end talent, or that the way the league officiates games prevents them from being prepared for March. I think it’s bc it’s so damn good top to bottom that they cannibalize themselves 

I guess I don’t understand your argument, what is actually causing the underperformance come tourney time in your mind?

[Uspshoosier 45,428]

Wining big in college basketball is hard.  March is all about matchups.   All you can ask from a conference is to put themselves in position once March starts. Clearly the B1G has found a way to do that and they are well on their way to do that again.   Unfortunately for the conference most people could care less how good they have done from Nov-Feb.    until they prove it in March there will be a perception that the B1G is a failure.   Doesn’t matter how great the coaches are in the league or that they beat each other up throughout the season.  Until a B1G team breaks through and wins it all that cloud will hang over the league.   

[Loaded Chicken Sandwich 8,660]

7 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Wining big in college basketball is hard.  March is all about matchups.   All you can ask from a conference is to put themselves in position once March starts. Clearly the B1G has found a way to do that and they are well on their way to do that again.   Unfortunately for the conference most people could care less how good they have done from Nov-Feb.    until they prove it in March there will be a perception that the B1G is a failure.   Doesn’t matter how great the coaches are in the league or that they beat each other up throughout the season.  Until a B1G team breaks through and wins it all that cloud will hang over the league.   

Even just getting multiple teams into the 2nd weekend would be a change. Sent 9 teams teams and how many made the Sweet 16? Purdue? Who lost to a 15 seed(which I was still happy about).

[IU Scott 2,375]

21 minutes ago, HoosierX said:

I guess I don’t understand your argument, what is actually causing the underperformance come tourney time in your mind?

Overall top end talent and the style of play hurts the big ten in the tournament. Our guard and wing players are not as athletic as other conferences have.

[HoosierX 1,532]

3 minutes ago, IU Scott said:

Overall top end talent and the style of play hurts the big ten in the tournament. Our guard and wing players are not as athletic as other conferences have.

I don’t disagree, but he was basically arguing against this line of thinking.

[RaceToTheTop 25,269]

21 minutes ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

Even just getting multiple teams into the 2nd weekend would be a change. Sent 9 teams teams and how many made the Sweet 16? Purdue? Who lost to a 15 seed(which I was still happy about).

Michigan was in the sweet sixteen as well.

[Rico 2,995]

29 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Wining big in college basketball is hard.  March is all about matchups.   All you can ask from a conference is to put themselves in position once March starts. Clearly the B1G has found a way to do that and they are well on their way to do that again.   Unfortunately for the conference most people could care less how good they have done from Nov-Feb.    until they prove it in March there will be a perception that the B1G is a failure.   Doesn’t matter how great the coaches are in the league or that they beat each other up throughout the season.  Until a B1G team breaks through and wins it all that cloud will hang over the league.   

Wouldn't it be something if the FF was comprised of 4 B1G teams?  

[Alford Bailey 12,373]

IMO style of play has hurt the conference in the tournament with the exception of Michigan a couple of years who could get up and down the court.

[Uspshoosier 45,428]

14 minutes ago, Loaded Chicken Sandwich said:

Even just getting multiple teams into the 2nd weekend would be a change. Sent 9 teams teams and how many made the Sweet 16? Purdue? Who lost to a 15 seed(which I was still happy about).

Michigan as an 11 seed made it to the sweet 16 last year as well but still should have been more.      Problem is the top end B1G teams have underperformed big time in the last couple tourneys.  Getting 9 teams in the tourney is a huge accomplishment  but 5 of those 9 were 7 seed or worse (2 being last 4 in).   Until the top seeds preform like top seeds the league won’t be successful.  When Wisconsin and Illinois your regular season champs struggle to get out of the first round and then not even make it to the second weekend and your dark horse hot team that won your conference tourney Iowa loses in the first round you might want to look into some changes.  Going back and looking at how the top B1G teams either lose or even struggle during the first weekend should be alarming.   we can blame matchups all day but at the end of the day Illinois should not be losing to Loyola like they did or even struggle with Chattanooga last year where they should of lost.   Purdue shouldn’t be losing to North Texas and St Peters’s.  Ohio st shouldn’t be losing to Oral Robert’s as a 2 seed.    When the B1Gs top teams start acting like top teams in March then things will change but until then there is no reason to be high on any B1G team come March until they prove it 

[OliviaPope40 6,482]

Can we get the Iowa State kid for Wednesday night?

[Rico 2,995]

2 minutes ago, OliviaPope40 said:

Can we get the Iowa State kid for Wednesday night?

Is he in the portal?  lol