2014-2015 College Basketball Thread

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Congratulations, Tarcone! You finally got one. IU teams under Crean just die down the last stretch of the season. Very disheartening after having a better-than-expected first 2/3rds of the season. Blah. Dreaming of Brad Stevens right about now..... Dreaming of the Cheaney years. Even the Oladipo years seem long ago.

Bah.

We'll trade you Crean for Alford. You can even have his kid!

[Atocep]

You know the home cooking is in full effect when the refs call a foul and have to go to the monitor to find out who was fouled.

[Atocep]

Congrats to Kansas on the Big 12 title. Hopefully WVU's freshmen learn from this.

[ColtCrazy]

Kravitz thinks Crean will be coaching for his job against Michigan St. I think it's more likely that he has 2 games. That and the first Big Ten tourney game. Michigan St. is not a good matchup for IU.


Think we can start a petition to bring in Stevens?

[Kodos]

Maybe pass around a collection plate.

[Kodos]

Saw this on an IU board:

If I had to guess, Tom Crean gave up winning for Lent.

[Marmel]

While I was a college hoops fan prior to his couple of seasons at Loyola, that team made me a die hard fan to this day. I still try to emulate that squad in FBCB at times. 25 years ago today Hank Gathers died on the court.

Remembering Hank Gathers on 25th anniversary of his death - ESPN

[Butter]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Dayton vs. Rhode Island on Tuesday and Davidson vs. VCU on Thursday will determine the A10 tournament seeding, provided nobody loses on Saturday.

Dayton beats Rhode Island easily, 75-59. Senior Jordan Sibert (whose first name is not Jordan but "Ohio-State-transfer-Jordan" according to TV) scored 21 on 6-6 shooting and 8-8 free throws.

VCU @ Davidson on Thursday at 9 PM will be a heck of a game, I bet. It's on ESPNU.

Either way, Dayton can no longer finish worse than #2 in the A10 seeding, which is amazing considering they have been playing with 6 scholarship players for more than half the season.

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by Atocep

WVU playing at Phog Allen without Juwan Staten blow a big lead and were headed to OT after a no call under the basket as regulation expires.

Seeing Kentucky and Kansas come back successively last night was deflating. Gears me up to lambaste the third dark-side college basketball K(rzyzewski) this weekend.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by Atocep

You know the home cooking is in full effect when the refs call a foul and have to go to the monitor to find out who was fouled.

As a Mizzou fan, it was a replay of the last game Mizzou played at Allen Fieldhouse where KU rallied from 20 down with a series of questionable calls.

This call from last night was probably one of the worst. There were several no-calls far worse than this one. In case you can't tell (because most couldn't), the foul was called on WVU #4.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

dola

25 years ago today.

Remembering Hank Gathers on 25th anniversary of his death - ESPN

[Thomkal]

Well I'm sure you all have been patiently waiting all season for the Big South report this season. Time to report on it now that the tournament starts today. Coastal Carolina started out on a tear going 5-0 in the conference before the wheels fell off. 12 games in there was a 7-way tie for first. Crazy!

Coming into the final three games had a great chance of clinching the regular season title-they had tie-breakers against the other two teams just ahead of them, High Point and Charleston Southern. Coastal played three of the lowest teams in the conference. Meanwhile the other two played each other in their last game of the season. Every thing seemed perfect for Coastal, they won the first two of the their end of season games, and had just Presbyterian left...a Presbyterian team Coastal had beat something like 12 times in a row...you guessed it they lost it, not even very close.

Meanwhile Charleston Southern took the title from High Point when they won a thrilling 3 OT game against High Point...really disappointed in Coastal for that lost to Presbyterian. They finshed with over 20 wins as did two other teams so the Big South was very competitive with many an upset like Coastal's.

So I don't have lots of confidence in Coastal right now. Not due to injury but because of lack of scorers and inconsistent play. Their leading scorer was their 6th man at just under 13 points PPG. Said 6th man (a senior) got a bit upset over being the 6th man...and got a 1 game suspension as a result. So not exactly harmony in the ranks.

I could easily see 2 or more lower seeds make the finals here given the chaotic season it was. I'd like to see Coastal win at least a couple games so they can make one of the tournaments, but they could lose easily to #6 seed UNC Asheville in the second round if they get by #12 seed Liberty today. Should be fun to watch at least...

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Congratulations, Tarcone! You finally got one. IU teams under Crean just die down the last stretch of the season. Very disheartening after having a better-than-expected first 2/3rds of the season. Blah. Dreaming of Brad Stevens right about now..... Dreaming of the Cheaney years. Even the Oladipo years seem long ago.

Bah.

Iowa out-bigged Indiana and was almost perfect at the free throw line.
But it was a very good game by Iowa. A big win on the road.
Crean isnt the guy is he?

With that win, Iowa has 20 wins including on the road at UNC, OSU and Indiana.
Iowa is slotted as a 7 seed right now. We cannot lose to NW.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

We'll trade you Crean for Alford. You can even have his kid!

HAHAHAHHAHAHA. Alford is a joke. Terrible coach. And a D-bag to boot.

[britrock88]

But hey, you're still hosting!

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

As a Mizzou fan, it was a replay of the last game Mizzou played at Allen Fieldhouse where KU rallied from 20 down with a series of questionable calls.

This call from last night was probably one of the worst. There were several no-calls far worse than this one. In case you can't tell (because most couldn't), the foul was called on WVU #4.

I would have called a foul on #4. He slapped down. That will get you a foul most of the time.

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by britrock88

But hey, you're still hosting!

Meant this from Thomkal/CCU.

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by britrock88

Meant this from Thomkal/CCU.

Sorry. I was making up for lost time and cut in front.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Sorry. I was making up for lost time and cut in front.

<---spanks tarcone for cutting in line

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by britrock88

But hey, you're still hosting!

Yeah meant to mention that but forgot. Only makes it more embarassing if they lose to a 12th seed at home though but yeah it should be an advantage for them.

In first round action, Longwood has beaten Presbyterian so at least Coastal won't have to face them further down the road. That might be Longwood's first Big South tournament win. Gardner-Webb has beaten Campbell as well. GW swept Coastal this season so not good news there. Liberty/NC Asheville is about to tip off for the final game of the 1st round.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I would have called a foul on #4. He slapped down. That will get you a foul most of the time.

Good, then where were the five similar 'foul' calls in the last four minutes against KU? I think we all know exactly where they were.

And yes, I actually counted as did several other national CBB writers.

[INDalltheway]

That's not a foul. Just sayin.

Also Stevens isn't coming back to IU after this year. He has a terrible Boston team just 2 games out of the playoffs (which isn't saying a lot). But unless he hates the pro game or misses recruiting there isn't much of a chance of him leaving the C's job.

[Kodos]

Probably not. But a guy can dream.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by tarcone

I would have called a foul on #4. He slapped down. That will get you a foul most of the time.

That's not what the call was. The call was for using the body.

It was frustrating to watch. Brandon Watkins got a technical for doing nothing. Blocked a shot, stood there for a couple of seconds, walked away, and a tech was called. Announcers couldn't figure out what the technical was for as closeups showed he never said a word.

Nate Adrian was fouled on the final play of the game. Replay showed the hand want across his hand/wrist with maybe a finger getting ball.

Kansas player (Mason, I believe) started to pass and changed to a crossover (obvious carry) that wasn't called on the basket at the end.

The last 3 minutes of regulation plus all of overtime was the most one-sided officiating I've seen this year. Gottlieb and Fran Fraschilla tweeted about it with Fraschilla calling for the big 12 to give refs more rest and require 4 days rest before officiating the Big 12 tourney.

WVU turned the ball over too much down the stretch and missed free throws. The game should have been won, but the refs also played a heavy role in the outcome as well. The bright side is the team that played last night is the team that comes back next year with top 50 recruit Esa Ahmad giving WVU an actual skilled wing player with size.

[tarcone]

I didnt see the game. Sorry it was poorly officiated. Thats a bummer when games are taken away from players.

I agree there was no body contact. Which ref called the foul? If it was the guy under the basket, I could see him thinking he bodied him. And the other guys usually wont over turn another ref.

Again, reffing can be bad. And Ive heard the Big 12 is a bad reffing league. Too bad they helped out Kansas.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Yeah meant to mention that but forgot. Only makes it more embarassing if they lose to a 12th seed at home though but yeah it should be an advantage for them.

In first round action, Longwood has beaten Presbyterian so at least Coastal won't have to face them further down the road. That might be Longwood's first Big South tournament win. Gardner-Webb has beaten Campbell as well. GW swept Coastal this season so not good news there. Liberty/NC Asheville is about to tip off for the final game of the 1st round.

NC Asheville will take on Coastal Carolina in the 2nd round tomorrow.

[INDalltheway]

Purdue passes the eye test, but has a brutal resume. Hopefully they can hang on @ MSU tonight unlike Sunday at Ohio State so we can presumably punch our ticket to the dance.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Again, reffing can be bad. And Ive heard the Big 12 is a bad reffing league. Too bad they helped out Kansas.

Two hours later and I'm still laughing.

The role of referees in games at Allen Fieldhouse is legendary. Even regional and national commentators/writers who are KU fans will point it out.

WVU just learned last night what the rest of the B12 and former B12 teams already know. Get used to it or you'll slice your wrist once a year for thinking it's an even playing field when you enter that arena.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

Two hours later and I'm still laughing.

The role of referees in games at Allen Fieldhouse is legendary. Even regional and national commentators/writers who are KU fans will point it out.

WVU just learned last night what the rest of the B12 and former B12 teams already know. Get used to it or you'll slice your wrist once a year for thinking it's an even playing field when you enter that arena.

Huh. I thought as a neutral watching it that West Virginia going 2-6 from the FT line (including missing the front ends of 2 separate 1&1's) in the last couple minutes and 1-11 from the field in the last 7:30 of regulation was to blame for the loss.

Btw, nice idea from the Oregon State coach that looks really bad in hindsight. Oregon Ducks vs. Oregon St Beavers - Recap - March 04, 2015 - ESPN

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Huh. I thought as a neutral watching it that West Virginia going 2-6 from the FT line (including missing the front ends of 2 separate 1&1's) in the last couple minutes and 1-11 from the field in the last 7:30 of regulation was to blame for the loss.

That tends to happen when you're getting hacked and the ref is swallowing the whistle. Frustration sets in when you realize what's happening and you lose focus.

But, if you want to convince yourself otherwise, you're welcome to face the annual ritual with that view of things.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Mizzou B-ball fan

That tends to happen when you're getting hacked and the ref is swallowing the whistle. Frustration sets in when you realize what's happening and you lose focus.

But, if you want to convince yourself otherwise, you're welcome to face the annual ritual with that view of things.

You miss FT's because your getting hacked and the refs are swallowing the whistle? That doesn't add up.

Every conference has their horror stories. (Come play a game at St. Bonaventure!) You need to be mentally tough to win on the road, and WV missed a number of shots, including FT's, that would've clinched a win.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

(Come play a game at St. Bonaventure!)

I'm going to take a hard pass, but thanks for the offer.

[Lathum]

Between the time change and Directv not carrying the PAC 12 network I haven't seen many Huskies games, but I dont ever remember seeing the arena so empty.

[digamma]

Get ready to strap it on tomorrow night. Harvard vs. Yale in Cambridge. The game is on the American Sports Network, which is apparently available in a few places across the country, but not Boston or New Haven.

The game may not be pretty, but if you like hard nosed defense for all 35 seconds of the shot clock, it will be fantastic.

A brief preview:

What's at stake: First place. Both teams are 10-2 in the Ivy League. The winner has an excellent shot to win the league the next night. Harvard plays Brown at home on Saturday. Yale plays at Dartmouth. Both Brown and Dartmouth are 5-7 in the league. Both teams will have to show up Saturday night--the first Harvard-Brown game went to OT and Dartmouth has been the third best team in the Ivies over the second half of the season (4-1 in their last 5).

What happened last time: Harvard won at Yale 52-50 in a game it controlled defensively throughout. Yale hit a 3 at the buzzer to pull the game back to one possession.

Who to watch: For Yale, Justin Sears. He's the best inside force in the league and though it is not pretty he will step out and take a jumper. He can take over games when you let him.

Javier Duren is Yale's off guard. With Sears they form a great duo.

For Harvard, Wesley Saunders. He is an all around #2 guard, shooting about 40% from 3 and playing great defense. When the game is on the line, expect #23 to have the ball.

Steve Mondou-Missi will match up against Sears. He locked him down in New Haven.

Siyani Chambers is Harvard's point guard who has had a down year by his standards. His shooting percentage is down and his turnovers are up. He's turned it around a bit the last two weekends. He could be a key.

Hidden match-up to watch: Jack Montague vs. Corbin Miller. Sixth men, three point specialists. Montague shoots 45% from 3 for Yale; Corbin Miller shoots 39% for Harvard. If one of these guys gets going, it could be the difference.

How it plays out: My sense is Sears and Duren and Saunders and Mondou-Missi cancel each other out. If that happens, and it is up to the supporting casts, that's a meta-game win for Harvard. Over the last three seasons Harvard has had at least a half dozen of these must win games. It's a first for Yale. I think that gives the Harvard supporting cast a bit of an edge over Yale. That said, at +4, I'd be tempted to take the points with Yale, banking on this going down to the final possession.

In truth, I haven't had a great feel for this Harvard team all season. They've struggled when I've expected them to play well and played well when it seems like they're struggling. That said, I think they've got one more good game in them.

Harvard 61-59.

[britrock88]

Awesome preview.

[Kodos]

Rumor is that Crean will be resigning. I have mixed feelings on the whole thing. He came to Bloomington and cleaned up the dumpster fire when nobody else would. For that, IU fans should be forever in his debt. He got the academics back to where they should be, got rid of the rampant drug problems. Brought in players with better character. He made a lot of things right that we terribly wrong under Sampson and to a lesser extent under Davis.

On the other side, he just hasn't been able to achieve the results on the court that are expected at Indiana. Unfortunately for him, patience from fans has run out after this terrible performance down the stretch. If he does go, I wish him nothing but the best wherever he goes next. Yes, he has shortcomings as a coach, but he seems to be a good person.

[Logan]

Syracuse penalties announced and from what the media is saying, seems harsher than what was expected. Boeheim suspended 9 conference games, they lose three basketball scholarships for 4 years, and probation for 5 years. Also a bunch of wins vacated for both football and basketball.

[Kodos]

Syracuse did not control athletics; basketball coach failed to monitor | NCAA Home Page - NCAA.org

Penalties and measures prescribed by the panel are below:

Five years of probation from March 6, 2015 through March 5, 2020.

Vacation of all wins in which ineligible men’s basketball students played in 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2010-11 and 2011-12 and ineligible football students played in 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07. The public decision contains additional details.

Fine of $500 per contest played by ineligible students.

The school must return to the NCAA all funds it has received to date through the former Big East Conference revenue sharing for its appearances in the 2011, 2012 and 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Suspension of the head basketball coach from the first nine conference games of 2015-16.

Reduction of men’s basketball scholarships by three for the 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 academic years. If the school has already executed scholarship offers for the 2015-16 year, the school may begin the four-year penalty with the 2016-17 year.

Reduction in the number of permissible off-campus recruiters from four to two during June 1, 2015 through May 31, 2017.

The panel also accepted the school’s self-imposed postseason ban for the 2014-15 season, but noted that self-imposition of penalties after the conclusion of infractions hearings does not influence the outcome.

Additional self-imposed penalties can be found in the public decision.

[molson]

Probably time for a fresh start minus Boeheim and Gross. And whoever the football coach is, if they still have a football program.

Edit: It's kind of hilarious that they have to vacate their 1 win from the 2005 football season. You can change the record books but you can never take away the glory of that September win against Buffalo!!!

And, is this roughly the baseline we can expect for UNC? Some of the UNC academic stuff sounds worse, but I'm not sure the investigation goes as far back in time.

[Kodos]

Oooh. Didn't notice it was the first 9 conference games. I figured it'd be the piddly games at the beginning of the season. Nice.

[Kodos]

From another board:

Furthermore, the NCAA will force Jim Boeheim to play man to man for a whole year.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Between the Syracuse penalties and the Crean (possible) resignation, I'm suddenly liking Mizzou's chances to land Thomas Bryant.

[Lathum]

Longwood!

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Longwood!

Told ya one of those crazy upsets could happen this year. Eliminates the conference champion and a big thorn in Coastal's side. But unfortunately Longwood is on the other side of the bracket, so if Coastal wins they get the winner of #2 seed High Point and #7 seed Gardner-Webb next.

Fun Fact: NC-Asheville has not won here in Myrtle Beach since 2011-hope that trend continues. They will be the last game on the court tonight, starts at 8pm.

Another potential upset brewing with Wintrop over Radford in the second half-close though.

[Thomkal]

#2 upset of the day-Winthrop #5 seed beats Radford the #4 seed by a point after Winthrop was up by about 5 with 25 seconds to go.

[Thomkal]

Gardner-Webb vs High Point next. Strange as it might seem, I may want the #1 seed High Point to win this one-Coastal took both games vs HP this season while going 0-2 vs G-W.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

#2 upset of the day-Winthrop #5 seed beats Radford the #4 seed by a point after Winthrop was up by about 5 with 25 seconds to go.

Winthrop was -1 in the game, so not really an upset.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Winthrop was -1 in the game, so not really an upset.

Nope not really, but Winthrop was still the higher seed, so its an upset

[britrock88]

I forgot to post this in the thread last time I thought of it, I think...

I run the Easy Bubble Solver calculation as a way of keeping up with things. If you haven't heard of EBS, it's simply a sum of a team's KenPom and RPI rankings, and it's as good as any bracketologist at picking the NCAA field, though a tisch worse at seeding.

So, uh, I suppose I'll share it out.

Easy Bubble Solver 2015

[Thomkal]

Would you believe 3rd upset of the day in the Big South tournament? #2 seed High Point loses in OT by one point to #7 seed Gardner-Webb! G-W beat Coastal by 15 points here in Myrtle Beach, so another good chance for an upset if Coastal avoids Upset Friday and beats NC-Asheville tonight. Game just starting, cross your fingers!