College Basketball 2016-17

THE game around here was played last night in downtown LUH-vull. The Cards pulled the upset of the higher ranked Big Blue after four consecutive losses in the series. They held the high scoring Kitty Kats to 70...they've been averaging mid 90's. After his 47 point outburst against the Tar Heels, Malik Monk managed a very quiet 16 while sitting a lot with foul trouble. Whatever else Rick Pitino's teams will do or not do in a given season, they WILL defend, and defend vigorously. The surprise to me was how John Calipari allowed U of L to run their offense on the perimeter with token pressure. If he had turned the screws just a little tighter, I think they would've caused the Cards more problems than they did in their half court offense. Ballard High's Quentin Snider was the star, despite not being highly rated enough in HS to warrant an offer from UK. Several other of the Cardinal's less heralded recruits also had big games...Jaylen Johnson, Donovan Mitchell, Deng Adel and Mangok Mathiang all made positive contributions to the upset. Kentucky is still Kentucky, which means they'll right the ship for another dominating SEC and NCAA run, but don't be surprised if Louisville makes one also. They've got the kind of talent that fits Pitino's blueprint for post season success, and he's a VERY good tournament coach.

 

James, have been waiting for you to start this thread . Out here in the west, the return of the sleeping giant aka UCLA along with the usual suspects Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Oregon, and my Arizona Wildcats head a very solid group of teams. USC, Colorado, Cal are all good squads as well (especially the Trojans). The Bruins are very dangerous as evidenced of them going into Rupp and being the first team to beat Kentucky.

Sean Miller has done his best coaching job in Tucson. We are down to 7 scholarship players available with devastating season ending injuries, a prize freshman bolting for the pros in Australia, our point guard out (about to return), and fingers crossed our top player Alonzo Trier hopefully becoming eligible for conference play. Trier has been out due to a mysterious situation. My buddy who has inside info said he used a new medication for his asthma and didn't have it cleared and it contained a substance on the no-no list. He's been allowed to practice and travel, so it looks good for a return. The kids that are playing have been excellent with neutral court wins over Michigan State and Texas A&M (@AggieMatt )

@FulhamDC, congrats to WVU coach Bob Huggins on winning his 800th career game. To put that in proper perspective, that 32 seasons of winning 25 games.

 

All hail the start of conference play, where the odds for an upset narrow markedly due to, mainly, familiarity. Can't call Virginia's thumping of Louisville at home an upset, though. The 'Hoos have Rick's number since Bennett took over. And 'Nova almost got bit at home against DePaul. Indiana wasn't as lucky, falling at home to Nebraska. Kentucky will have some hiccups here and there, but will still run through the SEC without too much trouble. They've got room for improvement, and Cal can get it out of them. The U of L loss was a bit fluky. He'll have them playing better defense, lickety split. They've tended to peak too early in recent seasons, perhaps this year they'll peak closer to tournament time, then, look out. He's still got the horses.

 

@FulhamDC, congrats to WVU coach Bob Huggins on winning his 800th career game. To put that in proper perspective, that 32 seasons of winning 25 games.[/QUOTE]

Thanks! At DubV, we go right from an embarrassing end to our football season to fast starts in Men's basketball and dreams of a final four - usually to see them crushed in the Conference tournament. And did I mention the Number 1 ranked Women's soccer team suffering their biggest loss in 2 years - in the National Championship game?

Well, we've still got the Rifle team!

 

So, Grayson Allen's "indefinite" suspension lasted all of one game...a beat down at Blacksburg to Va. Tech. Shocking. Not.

 

And the Cards are 0-2 in the ACC, the Cats are 2-0, with dominating victories over Ole Miss on the road and Matt's Ags at Rupp. If they learn how to defend, the sky's the limit. On the other hand, Louisville FORGOT how to defend, especially last night at South Bend. Too many easy baskets. Rick can fix that, the question is, does he have the talent to carry it out? They're also challenged offensively, but he's done more with less, so we'll see.

 

Stoked to be going to the House that the Wizard Built aka Pauley Pavilion mañana for what has been the best rivalry in the west for decades, Arizona v UCLA. Cats still unblemished in conference play and already guaranteed an LA split after beating USC last night. Really excited to see Bruin phenom Lorenzo Ball in person.

 

After the arse whoopin' we put on the Bruins at their house I must say anything but a trip to the Final 4 will be a disappointment....Bear Down!!!

 

This might be Sean's best team in Tucson. I agree. Unless they get some guys hurt, I'm gonna pencil them into my bracket for the last weekend.

 

@tim I know any comment from you might lead to a jinx (or perhaps NW alumni don't acknowledge basketball ) , but Northwestern, who have precisely made ZERO appearances in the NCAA Tournament, is 18-4 (7-2 in the Big Ten) and ranked in the Top 25.

 

And their latest victory over Indiana has Tom Crean on the hottest of hot seats.

 

Nothing in the world makes sense anymore.

 

Around here, Louisville has picked it up, Kentucky has lost two straight, and my Racers are making a nice conference run after a slow start to the season. Louisville is an enigma. Currently down TWO point guards, they've upped the ante by combining very good defense with some offensive surprises. Donovan Mitchell has emerged as a go to scorer, and former walk on David Levitch, from my neck of the woods, has rewarded Pitino's faith in him by stepping up to fill the void. UK needs to improve a LOT defensively. They're way behind where Cal normally has them this time of year. But that can be fixed, and they've still got loads of talent, so we'll see. The Hoosiers are in trouble. They HAVE to win their next three home games, or they, and Tom Crean, are done. Four of the last five on the road. They'd have to win the conference tourney to get into the Big Dance. Don't see it happening. Who do you like as the next men's basketball head coach in Bloomington? Pretty sure it's going to happen. Think Jay Wright would ever leave 'Nova?

 

Tom Crean is on the hot seat because IU cannot execute offensively or defensively. With the volume of turnovers IU commits they may want to consider a test for color blindness as part of the recruiting process.

 

I thought this was a home run hire, and when Crean got it going after a total rebuild I assumed even in this 'One and Done' era that IU would be a permanent fixture come March. Instead they've been inconsistent at best, haven't made any deep runs in the tourney, and Hoosier supporters expect far more than what he's delivered.

To Jump's question, Wright is a Philly guy, his wife went to Nova, not sure how old his kids are, but unless it's an offer he can't refuse I can't see him leaving.

 

IU alum Mark Cuban can write a check big enough to qualify as "an offer he can't refuse," eh?

 

IU won last night....in triple overtime.....with three guys having career high scoring nights....at home.....and were completely unimpressive against a Penn State team that was pretty much equally unimpressive.

They will get Blackmon back soon. However, I doubt it will help to save Crean and keep IU from missing the NCAA tournament.

 

I doubt it as well. They've got two more must win home games coming up. Don't think Blackmon, or anybody else, is going to save Crean's job this time. So, who do you like as the next boss to try and fill the large footsteps of Bob Knight?

 

Chris Collins from Northwestern who would be the protege of Knights protege sounds like a nice fit. No idea if it's realistic but I want a guy who can handle tactics.