Official 2011-12 College Basketball Thread

[ColtCrazy]

So that sound I heard outside my door was the Big Ten crashing back to Earth, right?

Ugh. I had so much hope for my conference. Instead, I witnessed the worst final play I've ever seen (Wisconsin) and one of the worst 40 minutes of basketball I've ever seen (Michigan St.)

If Ohio St. messes around and loses to Cincinnati, then all that hype of 4 Big Ten teams in the Sweet Sixteen will be down to 0 in the Elite Eight. (I want my Hoosiers to win, I hope my Hoosiers win, but I'm being realistic and hoping we keep the final score within 10)

[mckerney]

Damn, hate MSU losing. Hopefully OSU can win for the Big Ten.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

So that sound I heard outside my door was the Big Ten crashing back to Earth, right?

Ugh. I had so much hope for my conference. Instead, I witnessed the worst final play I've ever seen (Wisconsin) and one of the worst 40 minutes of basketball I've ever seen (Michigan St.)

If Ohio St. messes around and loses to Cincinnati, then all that hype of 4 Big Ten teams in the Sweet Sixteen will be down to 0 in the Elite Eight. (I want my Hoosiers to win, I hope my Hoosiers win, but I'm being realistic and hoping we keep the final score within 10)

I was hoping Michigan State would be able to win it all, but at least Wisconsin's version of slogball is out of the tourney.

[Marmel]

Originally Posted by Radii

I'd hate to see that. Come on ACC, give us a legit 3rd consistent team (syracuse doesn't f'ing count). This one even gets wins over Duke and UNC with reasonable consistency.

Hey, WTF??? We are crashing the tobacco road monopoly in the ACC. Watch out.

[Matthean]

Reports of a couple couches burning near MSU housing because 'tis the season I guess.

[Marmel]

hey, check out my wife's picks in the ESPN bracket challenge:

PTS PCT Rank
660 100.0 155

I should have taken her to Vegas.

[Scoobz0202]

wait what how

[mckerney]

Not a good night with both Michigan State and Marquette going down.

[Matthean]

Not sure after tonight, but one of my pastor's knows the guy who was #1 in the ESPN bracket.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Not sure after tonight, but one of my pastor's knows the guy who was #1 in the ESPN bracket.

Yeah, but Jesus shouldn't be allowed to fill out a bracket. Omniscience is cheating

SI

[mauchow]

Originally Posted by mckerney

I was hoping Michigan State would be able to win it all, but at least Wisconsin's version of slogball is out of the tourney.

Fuck that - the game last night should have dispelled the notion that Wisconsin's offense sucks. Scoring 1.2 points per possession would have won nearly every game for the Badgers this year with a normal defensive outing; Syracuse hit a lot of shots tonight at a high %. Badgers hit a lot of threes, wide open threes. No question, Syracuse had a lot of talent difference in this game but it was a great game and if you can't see that.... I don't know why, but that just pisses me off.

Slowing down the game to ensure GOOD shots is bad offense? Yeah, being fast-paced like the Goophers is fun to watch...

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

So that sound I heard outside my door was the Big Ten crashing back to Earth, right?

Ugh. I had so much hope for my conference. Instead, I witnessed the worst final play I've ever seen (Wisconsin) and one of the worst 40 minutes of basketball I've ever seen (Michigan St.)

If Ohio St. messes around and loses to Cincinnati, then all that hype of 4 Big Ten teams in the Sweet Sixteen will be down to 0 in the Elite Eight. (I want my Hoosiers to win, I hope my Hoosiers win, but I'm being realistic and hoping we keep the final score within 10)

The Hoosiers can win tonight. I'm not saying they will, but they have a fighter's chance.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by mauboy1

Fuck that - the game last night should have dispelled the notion that Wisconsin's offense sucks. Scoring 1.2 points per possession would have won nearly every game for the Badgers this year with a normal defensive outing; Syracuse hit a lot of shots tonight at a high %. Badgers hit a lot of threes, wide open threes. No question, Syracuse had a lot of talent difference in this game but it was a great game and if you can't see that.... I don't know why, but that just pisses me off.

Slowing down the game to ensure GOOD shots is bad offense? Yeah, being fast-paced like the Goophers is fun to watch...

Its not BAD offense, its BORING offense to watch, especially if you have no emotional investment in the game.

Not all of Wisconsin's 3's were wide open - they hit at least 4 with someone in their face, including two during the 6-in-a-row stretch. I feel like the game was decided by Beoheim making better coaching adjustments than Ryan. After the 6 3's in a row stretch, the zone started guarding the 3 point line exclusively, essentially abandoning the entire area inside the line to one defender. Wisconsin never tried to exploit that, kept trying to work for a wide open 3 that wasn't going to be there. I really did not understand them acting like they needed a 3 on the last possession. Did they not know they were only down 1?

Its not like Syracuse was shooting the lights out. Given how they could get to the rim at will, I thought their percentage was too low. They shot 55% for the game, they should have shot 75% - they missed several layups, and should never have taken anything but.

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Hey, I just sawGT play G'town for a trip to the women's S16 with what looked like a crowd suited for for a mid-week HS b'ball game featuring two tiny schools with sub-500 records ... but that was better than seeing the higher seed stuck playing on the road at the lower seed (as happens too often in the women's tourney).

(Neutral site in Chapel Hill in a year when UNC didn't make the tourney)

Did they play in Carmichael, or was there an error in judgment that led them to play in the cavernous Dean Dome?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by britrock88

Did they play in Carmichael, or was there an error in judgment that led them to play in the cavernous Dean Dome?

Carmichael, there simply wasn't very many people around who cared. It's a tough deal, you know that both the NCAA & UNC were probably expecting the Lady Tar Heels to be in the field when the hosting bid was made & accepted. And then they weren't.

I have to at least wonder if GT might have considered a hosting bid themselves if not for the fact that they're basically homeless at the moment, with the demolition of Alexander & the construction of McCamish in full swing.

It worked out just fine for the Lady Jackets, at least the crowd wasn't hostile like they've faced in the past.

[spleen1015]

Austin Rivers to the NBA.

[korme]

I'm so depressed

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

I witnessed the worst final play I've ever seen (Wisconsin)

Let's give Purdue some extra credit here for pissing away 2 consecutive possessions with less than a minute or so to go in the exact same fashion. They didn't just blow a game-winning final possession to lose, they lost the lead and somehow gave Kansas a fairly comfortable win by tripling the amount of time Wisconsin took to blow the game by dribbling around looking for the best last-second off-balance 35-foot 3-pointer they could find. And at least one of those possessions, they chewed about 30 seconds off the clock before losing the ball and not even getting a shot off.

Personally, I think Purdue wins hands down.

[hoopsguy]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

I think there are quite a few good candidates out there, but in my heart I had hoped it would either be Smart or Brad Stevens. It doesn't sound like there have even been conversations with Stevens, which seems odd. I don't think he can count on the Indiana job opening in the next couple of years like he might have planned ...

Might get my wish, as there is a lot of smoke this afternoon about Illini pursuing Stevens. Twitter + FlightTracker = busy Friday afternoon on Illini message boards.

[DeToxRox]

Gary Parrish ‏ @GaryParrishCBS

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I'm told Brad Stevens' coaching friends advised him against the Illinois job -- basically said, "That's not the job for you."

[Warhammer]

What is so bad about the Illinois job?

[Kodos]

You have to live in Illinois?

[MrBug708]

Stevens will be a good coach for Indiana here soon enough

[britrock88]

Brad Stevens and Shaka Smart get paid enough at their schools, and have about as much job security as anyone. Why not stick with the program you've already built up?

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by britrock88

Brad Stevens and Shaka Smart get paid enough at their schools, and have about as much job security as anyone. Why not stick with the program you've already built up?

This.

[MrBug708]

Because it plateaus eventually. Mark Few was once a hot commodity and probably could have had the Indiana, UCLA, and Kentucky jobs at one time and decided to stay where he was comfortable. It's admirable, but other coaches like to keep an eye on the prize and fight for a national title. Stevens and Smart obviously have proven you can fight for it at their schools, but they could end up like Few, where the options dwindle and you just are a big fish in a super small pond without much of a shot to win a title anymore.

It's why some people leave companies to move on and others are happy where they are at.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Because it plateaus eventually. Mark Few was once a hot commodity and probably could have had the Indiana, UCLA, and Kentucky jobs at one time and decided to stay where he was comfortable. It's admirable, but other coaches like to keep an eye on the prize and fight for a national title. Stevens and Smart obviously have proven you can fight for it at their schools, but they could end up like Few, where the options dwindle and you just are a big fish in a super small pond without much of a shot to win a title anymore.

It's why some people leave companies to move on and others are happy where they are at.

Its not like Gonzaga is a struggling program. There are a lot of jobs Few could still land.

And BTW, I dont get the Indiana comment. Is something up with Crean?

[Young Drachma]

Stevens is from Indianapolis and his wife is his agent, I think that guy isn't going anywhere until at least his kids get older or something. Smart, I think might be yearning for a challenge and would've bit on Illinois if not for the fact that his wife just had a kid. The possibility of uprooting his entire family for a hot seat job where fans will want results immediately, coming off a surprising year where his young team made a tourney run two years off a Final Four seemed like too big a risk.

Because for both of them, it only takes one bad job to have you wishing where life was easy. Could see Stevens taking the Few route, especially with Butler moving to the A10 possibly.

Smart, with less ties to the area he's in...I feel will eventually leave. It'll just take the right job where it's a no-brainer to go. And you have to figure with all of the old coaches out there, that it's going to happen sooner or later. I don't buy this illusion that either of these guys is going to turn their programs into the next Duke though. It's a far cry from either of those programs to the upper echelon even if they're paid like in a major conference. And I'm a big mid-major fan, but...it's night and day.

[DeToxRox]

Well the rumor with Smart turning down Illinois was that he didn't want to be forced into recruiting Chicago and that is a must with the Illinois job. Chicago AAU ball may be the most corrupt in the entire country and that says an awful lot.

Now that doesn't mean someone like Smart couldn't come in and try and change some of that, but if it's as bad as a lot of people say it is than it makes perfect sense as to why Smart would just say no.

As far as Stevens goes, he could be a Butler lifer but likely won't be. I have heard Duke and Indiana mentioned as the two schools he'd likely end up bolting for but neither is quite attainable yet. Indiana could be an option sooner than later if Crean can't follow up on this year with all the talent he is bringing in, while with Duke I really have no idea when Coach K may ever retire.

I do think that whenever Stevens does leave it is to take a job at a Midwest power though.

[Izulde]

I didn't know Durham, NC was in the Midwest.

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Izulde

I didn't know Durham, NC was in the Midwest.

I should have written it more clearly but Duke has been mentioned by national writers. It was not intended to be my opinion. I don't think he'd get the Duke job and that he is more likely to end up at an Indiana, or if crazy things happened like Izzo retiring or Matta leaving for the NBA or something, then he might end up at a school like MSU or OSU. Just based on how he has talked in the past it seems like he isn't someone ready to ever leave the Midwest.

[DeToxRox]

Also it appears SMU is planning on taking its move to the Big East seriously. Reports from Dallas are they are going to make Buzz Williams from Marquette a big offer to come back to Texas. Would be a hell of a coup for SMU if they could pull it off but I don't see it happening.

[wade moore]

This has been alluded to here, but it's starting to hit he national rumor level.

This would be very bad for the CAA:

VCU, George Mason, Butler in discussions to join Atlantic 10 - CBSSports

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Its not like Gonzaga is a struggling program. There are a lot of jobs Few could still land.

And BTW, I dont get the Indiana comment. Is something up with Crean?

They arent struggling really, but if his goal is to be a 5-8 seed every year, he should stay with the Zags

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Also it appears SMU is planning on taking its move to the Big East seriously. Reports from Dallas are they are going to make Buzz Williams from Marquette a big offer to come back to Texas. Would be a hell of a coup for SMU if they could pull it off but I don't see it happening.

SMU has a lot of money. That's why they were able to get and keep June Jones

[hoopsguy]

Saw this posted on the Illini job this morning:
Just can't get enough of Illinois coaching search - City/Suburban Hoops Report

Whole lot of depressing in there. I'm glad the AD went after candidates like Smart and Stevens, but if the list is really this long on "swing and misses" already then I wonder if the right guy is doing the selling.

I mean, Buzz Williams is floating SMU but saying no to Illinois? What kind of bizarro college basketball world is that?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

Saw this posted on the Illini job this morning:
Just can't get enough of Illinois coaching search - City/Suburban Hoops Report

Whole lot of depressing in there. I'm glad the AD went after candidates like Smart and Stevens, but if the list is really this long on "swing and misses" already then I wonder if the right guy is doing the selling.

I mean, Buzz Williams is floating SMU but saying no to Illinois? What kind of bizarro college basketball world is that?

The Buzz Williams thing is only possible because he's from Texas and SMU is willing to pay their next coach quite a bit. Supposedly they're willing to go well beyond the $2.6 million Williams is making now.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Reports here in KC and out of South Carolina that Frank Martin will get an offer to become the new basketball coach at South Carolina. Wouldn't be surprised at all to see him take the offer. His kids are in Miami.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Reports here in KC and out of South Carolina that Frank Martin will get an offer to become the new basketball coach at South Carolina. Wouldn't be surprised at all to see him take the offer. His kids are in Miami.

Hearing he's accepted. Haven't seen confirmation anywhere yet though.

[Young Drachma]

Frank Martin to South Carolina

http://m.espn.go.com/ncb/story?storyId=7739256

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by wade moore

This has been alluded to here, but it's starting to hit he national rumor level.

This would be very bad for the CAA:

VCU, George Mason, Butler in discussions to join Atlantic 10 - CBSSports

There are now multiple reports that both the AD of Mason and AD of VCU deny all of this.

Who knows.

[panerd]

Frank Martin said he was glad the whiners (A&M & Mizzou) were leaving to the SEC so the real men could stay in the Big 12. Guess in the end he wanted to join the whiners.

[Logan]

I thought this from Grantland column did a nice job on Harrison Barnes. I kept watching him and thinking "what am I not seeing?"

Brand Gone Bust: Harrison Barnes's two years with the North Carolina Tar Heels - Grantland

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Logan

I thought this from Grantland column did a nice job on Harrison Barnes. I kept watching him and thinking "what am I not seeing?"

Brand Gone Bust: Harrison Barnes's two years with the North Carolina Tar Heels - Grantland

I thought the same when I watched him. He's a nice player, but top 10 pick good? I never saw it. He's an average athlete and a streaky shooter. He was also exposed when he had to play without Marshall.

When he was knocking down shots his offensive game reminded me a bit of Glenn Robinson. Robinson was a far more consistent shooter though and did everything else a bit better than Barnes as well.

Remove the hype and he's a late 1st-2nd round pick IMO.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by wade moore

There are now multiple reports that both the AD of Mason and AD of VCU deny all of this.

Who knows.

Rumors all started with Duquesne firing their coach, stating "with the upcoming potential addition of quality programs to the A10" (paraphrasing, despite the quotes)... emphasis on the "s" in programs.

Next thing you know, the A10 is taking VCU, GMU, and Butler. I don't see it. Big reason to expand would be to get more media markets, and the A10 already has teams in both VCU's and GMU's markets. I guess we shall see.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by panerd

Frank Martin said he was glad the whiners (A&M & Mizzou) were leaving to the SEC so the real men could stay in the Big 12. Guess in the end he wanted to join the whiners.

And he clearly sees where the lines are being drawn. KSU has no options other than a mid-major conference if UT and OU bail in the next five years (which is something that I'd give better than 50/50 odds). He built KSU up along with Huggins from a point that was just as bad as South Carolina. If he follows that same blueprint, he'll have a well-paying job in a much more stable school/conference.

[Lathum]

Watching the UW-Minn NIT game and man the officiating is horrible. Refs have to let them play at some point.

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Watching the UW-Minn NIT game and man the officiating is horrible. Refs have to let them play at some point.

Certainly got your wish. UW fan must've made the call at Buffalo Wild Wings.

[mckerney]

Yeah, certainly let them play at the end of regulation.

[Matthean]

81-69
77-58
80-65
80-49

All of the scores for #1 vs. #2 match ups in the women's Elite 8.