College Basketball 2012-2013

College Basketball started in full force yesterday and continues tonight. Indiana is #1 because of Zeller. The usual teams like Kentucky, Duke and Kansas are in the top 10 too. Figures to be an exciting season with a ton of talent coming in through recruiting, Kentucky is #3 and pretty much replaced their team with the best recruits in the country. What do you expect of your teams this year?

I like watching the Mountain West so I will stay local here and talk about UNLV. They started their season last night and blew out Northern Arizona 94-52. Anthony Bennett, a top ten recruit, had 22 and 7 boards. Moser only had 2 points and they still won by 42. They are ranked #18, but they're a top 10 team for sure. They also have a transfer coming in, Khem Birch, who was a top recruit for Pitt last year. For the first time in almost 20 years, they sold out their opening game. You can expect running basketball and scores in the 80's and 90's all season. They're a title contender, you heard it here first.

The rest of the Mountain West looks good. San Diego State gets a bit better every year and New Mexico is also loaded with talent. The rest of the league is decent with teams like Colorado State and Wyoming proving challenging every year. Should be another good season for the Mountain West.

 

Plenty of time to talk hoops later, but just had to say RIP to Rick Majerus who passed away yesterday, he had been battling heart problems for many years. Anyone that ever heard him talk about basketball or read the fascinating SI article about him knew he was a genius when it came to the game. Sadly he never could get his weight under control and it had to be a huge factor on him never coaching one of the elite schools. His teams had a record of 517-215 in 28 seasons. Always will remember his 1998 University of Utah team that made it all the way the National Title game and led it most of the way before getting worn down by Kentucky. His final season was fitting as he took St. Louis University to the NCAA tourney, won their opening round matchup, before losing a tough and tight game by 4 points to #1 seed Michigan State. Listened to Doc Rivers try and talk about him last night after the Celtics game told you the affect he had on his players.

 

Pretty pumped about this season, I gotta admit. With the resurrection of the Hoosiers, the returnees for Louisville, and the "we don't rebuild, we reload" one and done recruiting by Calipari at Kentucky, we're once again smack dab in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle of college hoops. UK's overrated due to the lack of meaningful, experienced returning players, but it's a long way til March, and I gotta believe Cal will have them ready somehow. The Cards just dominated a decent Charleston team in their first true road game, and Indiana has finally returned from the dark ages.

Lunch at the Final Four at The Varsity in Atlanta, anyone?

 

The Rebels have started out 6-1 and it's clear that they're going to be one of those teams that needs basketball until March to figure things out. They're very young, but one of the most talented Rebels teams I have ever seen. They had a half against Portland the other night with 22 points and ended up with 68 points at the end of the game. And their best player might be on the bench awaiting eligibility, transfer rules. His name is Khem Birch and he will be the center. So the frontcourt will consist of Moser,Bennett and Birch. Good luck stopping that. And if they get shutdown then you have guys like Reinhardt and Hawkins jacking up 3's from NBA distance. So it's a total package for the first time since 1992 and that team would have won the title if they weren't on probation, it was the JR Rider team.

 

We're baaaccckkk. Arizona is loaded and has a great balance of seniors (Lyons, Parrom, Hill) and youth. This team is better than the one that went to the Elite 8 two years ago. Big issue last season was the 5 star point guard Isiash Turner turning into a disaster on and off the court. He transferred out, and so lucky to have Mark Lyons transfer in from Xavier for his senior campaign (already graduated so he can play right away). Looking forward to Florida coming to Tucson this weekend.

 

Cats got lucky against Florida, but I'll take it. The #4 ranking is a little too high for now, but cutting down the nets in Atlanta is a realistic goal. Jump, would lunch be on you? :mrgreen:

 

Arizona got lucky again against San Diego State. Not sure who it was, but an SDSU player had a wide open lane to the basket and got his layup blocked by an Arizona player at the end of the game. Great game.

UNLV has been rolling. Bennett is probably the best player in the country. He dominates everybody he plays against. We will find out how good they are as they go to North Carolina and start off their conference at San Diego State and their third conference game is at New Mexico. Not joking around when I say this team is one of the best in the country. They are loaded and have stars that can dominate games.

 

'Zona looking good - better than expected really, at this point. Would like to see them keep it up. Miller is a good coach and recruiter.

The Horns are struggling without Kabongo - looks like he can come back in February. Can we get into March Madness w/o him?

 

Justin, the Arizona-SDSU game went back and forth the entire game, but wouldn't call the win lucky. The player that blocked the shot is a Vegas kid, Nick Johnson. His dad nickname was Jumping Joe Johnson in college and Nick has his hops. His Uncle was the late great Dennis Johnson aka 'DJ" of the championship Sonics & Celtics teams.

Even though the game is in Chapel Hill, would expect the Rebels to beat a down North Carolina team. The Heels have lost to Butler by 11, Indiana by 24, and Texas by 18.

 

Of course, I talk up UNLV and they have one of their worst games all season and lose in UNC. That team must be pretty bad as UNLV were pretty crap and could have won.

They play a couple of cupcakes next, Chicago State and Bakersfield, then start their conference schedule at San Diego State. I think they're the best team out west, but they're so young that they have some really bad games and lose to teams they should beat. We are all going to find out how good of a coach Dave Rice is because the best coaches take a young talented team far into the tournament and get them playing good basketball come conference games.

 

Too early to talk about tourney chances, but I'm glad the Hoosiers are back. It makes things much more interesting around here when Louisville, Kentucky and Indiana are in the hunt. I fully expect UK to be much improved by March.

 

Not looking good at all for the defending champs. Don't expect them to make it into the big dance at this point. And I don't think they would have made it with Noel either. Too bad.

 

March Madness is here, without taking a long look at the bracket to make predictions, thoughts on the Pac 12's er' chances :roll:

UCLA; were peaking at the right time only to have a catastrophic injury to star player Jordan Adams..done
Arizona; Loved my boy's chances to make a deep run, until I went to the USC game out here and we played terrible. The lack of a true point guard will probably come back to haunt sooner rather than later, but can't complain about being in Salt Lake City on a court we've played on already this season.
Oregon; Got absolutely HOSED on their seeding (my brother the Duck was shaking his head last night when I talked to him). Won Pac 12 tourney, second in regular season, had an injury in middle of season that caused them to have a blip, won at UNLV, and got a 12 seed?? Tough matchup v OK State.
Colorado; an enigma wrapped up in a conundrum.
California: see Colorado.

Sadly will be surprised if there are any teams in the Sweet 16, but I can hope.

 

Can't say I'm surprised Kentucky didn't make it. Cal's got some 'splainin' to do...after they crash out of the NIT.
Louisville and Indiana, on the other hand, are primed to make deep runs, although both have some pretty big deficiencies for such good teams. I'm going to Dayton later this week to cover the Hoosiers. My spouse would not like me saying this, but the Hilltoppers are not a serious threat to become the first team ever to beat a one seed as the 16th.
The tough part for me is always trying to figure out who the VCU or George Mason is this year. There really wasn't one last year, so it may not happen, but there's no dominant team like last year, either, so....
Louisville's biggest weakness is shooting. That's kind of important to me, so, as much as I want them to win, and as the overall #1 seed, I just don't see it happening.
I hope I'm wrong.
There was some debate about Kansas being a 1 seed over Miami and others. They've got so many players back from last season's national runner-up squad, they've got to be considered more highly than currently seem to be. There's no substitute for experience. They''ll be in Atlanta.
Some of Indiana's weaknesses have been exposed recently by their Big Ten bretheren, but it's a different deal when the big dance starts. They've got toughness and slow game tempo issues, so they're vulnerable as well.
My dark horse? Florida Gulf Coast. They played a brutal schedule and came out on the other side. If they can get past Georgetown, they've got winnable games after that for several rounds.
Let the madness commence!

 

UNLV is going to the Final Four. They have been rolling lately. What people forget is that all of the UNLV players are used to tournaments. These recruits are the best of the best. They already beat California and Bennett should tear up Syracuse. Birch is an athletic big man that can deal with Zeller if they play Indiana. I'm probably going to put some money on them winning the title. The conference was improved so they're tested like any other big conference team. This conference might even better than the Big 12 and ACC.

Staying out west and I like UCLA, but don't like Arizona. I also have no clue how Oregon barely made the tournament. They might have been the best team in the conference.

 

Sorry Justin, don't see UNLV beating Indiana in Indianapolis in the round of 16 (if they get that far). The Rebels lost 9 games (Fresno State twice, and to Air Force??) and have their hands full in the first round. They beat Cal albeit in Berkeley by a point on a last second shot, and this game is in San Jose (how did the Bears get to play 20 minutes from campus??). Don't be surprised if they are one and done, hope I'm wrong as I do have them winning twice.

My bracket: Midwest: Damn, this is a brutal region. Have Louisville, but Sparty, Duke, or even dark horse St. Louis are dangerous. First round upset alert (I hate they call it the second round): #12 Oregon v #5 Oklahoma State, could go either way, but not a huge upset since this is more like a #7 v #5. Super Upset alert. #14 Valpo has got all seniors and #3 Michigan State can get cold shooting.

West: Obviously rooting for Arizona, but after sitting threw our performance against USC, no way I can pick them. Would love to see Gonzaga advance, but I have WIsconsin upsetting them in the round of 16. I have Ohio State, but wouldn't be shocked if Steve Alford gets New Mexico to their first ever Final 4. Upset Alert: Ugh, it could be Belmont over Arizona if Belmont hits their 3's. Super Upset Alert: Kansas State is overrated as a #4 seed, they will play the winner of LaSalle v Boise State in the play in game.

East: I want to pick Miami, love their coach, and some of their wins, but Arizona did beat them by 20, so they ain't that great. 30,000 Hoosier fans in Indy will see them through. Upset Alert: Shoe on the other foot as #11 Bucknell knocks off #6 Butler. Super Upset Alert. #13 Montana v #4 Syracuse. The Orange better be ready, because the Grizzlies will give them all they want. Game is also in San Jose, so if the game is close, all the neutral fans will hop on the Montana bandwagon.

South: Up for grabs, want to pick VCU, but will take the Jayhawks. Upset Alert #11 Minnesota v #6 UCLA. Jordan Adams doesn't get hurt and the Bruins had a good shot at the Final 4, but he did, and you don't overcome it. Super Upset Alert: #13 South Dakota State v #4 Michigan. Nate Wolters is one of the best players in college basketball, and he could carry the Jackrabbits to a stunner, if this wasn't in Michigan's backyard the Wolverines would be going down, but they will have a fight on their hands.

 

Air Force is all seniors. Like I said, the Mountain West was probably the third best conference in basketball. I don't understand the Fresno State losses, but I can see any team going to Air Force and losing or playing a close game.

If Boise State wins their play in game, I would take them over Kansas State. They can get hot shooting and Marks is a good enough player to carry a team.

New Mexico is another Mountain West team that can get to the final 4. They can all shoot, even their big man, Kirk, can hit the outside shot, and Williams is a player who can get going and not miss. Hate what Alford is doing as he has this program set up to compete for titles.

 

:banana-dance: Arizona dishes out an arse whooping on Belmont. As usual, the Pac 12 gets no respect, and goes 3-0 today. bscene-drinkingbuddies: Oregon dominated Ok State from the get go (who as a #5 seed was hosed having to play Oregon in the first round). Belmont was an #11 seed, but after seeing their talent they would finish dead last in the Pac 12, while the champions Oregon were a #12...laughable. Sorry Justin about your Rebels. Very unfair Cal got to play in San Jose, but UNLV picked the wrong day to shoot it poorly, Crabbe is a great player for the Bears.

- Gonzaga doesn't look like a #1, and were lucky to survive.
- Davidson absolutely blew it and should of upset Marquette.
- Congrats to Harvard, biggest upset of the day over #3 New Mexico

 

Cards took care of business against NC&T, Hah-vahd showed they're now more than just, in the immortal words of Milt Wagner, "one of them academic schools," and things haven't even started here in Dayton. Judging solely from what I saw in several of the open practices today, this could be the most competitive first/second round site in the tournament. Indiana, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and NC State here, along with some lower seeded folks who've got serious game.
CBS has their flagship team here, Nantz, Kellogg and Wolfson to call them, and the vibe is pretty electric. I'll be very surprised to see anything like some of the blowouts we saw Thursday. Adventure time!

 

I don't understand why we choose to have our worst games come the tournament. We did it last year against Colorado and then did it against Cal. I am pissed off and don't know what to say. People on this forum could probably shoot better than we did. It was pathetic. Such a bullshit performance.