SilverPhoenix

How is an 7-0 (4 minutes away from possible 8-0) Maryland not a story? A win on the road vs Illinois (51 game non conference home winning streak) has to be impressive, despite how ugly all but the first 10 minutes or so have been for the Terps. This team is legit better than the 2002 championship team, and dare I say better than NC or Duke in the ACC. I'll go over reasons 1 - 5 and tell you why Maryland isn't a top story. 1) Maryland is in the ACC, a power conference. With the schedule they have, which consists of 2nd Tier and 3rd Tier Conference teams, who happen to be rebuilding (Michigan State and Illinois), or are failing to reach even modest expectations. (St. Johns) The rest of that schedule is full of scrubs. Butler is from the Horizon Leauge and was picked to finish sixth in the Horizon-Leauge, a leauge whose best days seem to be behind them. So far in going 7-0, Butler has done this - Beat Indiana (a Top 3 Big 10 team in some polls) - Beat Tenneesee (From a Super-Powered SEC (we'll see)) who is ranked. - Beat Gonzaga to win the NIT, who is a legit powerhouse. Maryland winning is great for Maryland, after an abysmal 2 years. But be serious. Butler is just a bigger story. And it's an awesome one to follow. 2) After George Mason's Final Four Run, everyone expected the Majors and the Mid Majors (escpecially) to fall off after a dream season, and the North Carolinas of the world to run away with it all. With so many surprising results all around the place, namely Oral Roberts and Old-Dominion beating Kansas and Georgetown, respectively, one can conclude that the "Mid-Major" isn't going away. 3) Missouri Valley Profile Ever since 1992, when the Valley was the 21st rated Conference in all of Hoops at the time, the leauge has committed to raising its Basketball profile. It has done so very well, since then...the Valley - Gotten at least 2 bids since then every year, except twice. - Gotten 3 bids in 99 and 2005 - Earned 4 Bids (Deserved 5) in 2006. - Placed teams in the Sweet 16 multiple times (Bradley and Wichita State carred the Valley in 2006) - Placed teams in the Elite 8 if you count Tulsa's amazing run in 2000. And around tournament time, the leauge was bashed endlessly, by the old-guard of College Hoops. Accusing the leauge of gaming the system to inflate their numbers. I think alot of them expected to be vindicated by this year. Instead...The Valley can legitmately say, it belongs alongside the MWC, A-10, WAC, C-USA and even the WCC cause of Gonzaga. It surley belongs above the latter 3, and maybe even above the former 2, as the top Major in the Country. The Valley isn't going away. 4) I'm a Hofstra Student...so this is me being a homer. I'll give you that one. 5) I think 2 and 5 are connected but, go on Yahoo, and check this months past results. The Mid-Majors are asserting themselves quite well. Don't get me wrong, Maryland is a good team, and in my Top 25. Just not a real top story.

I'd happened to watch most of that game. And yeah, it lived up to the hype very much. If there is one thing that we learned last night, was that Florida is not invincible, at all. They can be beaten on the inside with smart ball placement, and on the outside with smart shot selection. Not to mention they made numerous mental mistakes with their ball handling. However, the stories of this month are definitely... 1) Butler 2) Mid Majors 3) Missouri Valley is no longer a Mid-Major (It's a legit Major Conference) 4) Hofstra losing its first 3 games by a combined 5 points. 5) Mid Majors kicking Power Conference Ass. Yeah...2007 is going to be very interesting.

Well, Monday is the first big day of College Hoops. Almost 12 Hours worth starting from 2:30 and ending around 2:00 AM. Should be some good stuff.

And so the first College Games were played this year, yesterday. Vermont Beat New Orleans 82-65 Maryland Trounced Hampton 102-75 These games were part of the Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic College Park Regionals. Vermont will take on Maryland tonight in the first televised game of the year on ESPN2 at 7:00 PM. As for the other games today... New Orleans is edging out Hampton 33-31 at halftime Youngstown State is Burning Central Michigan 45-20 Let the season begin.

Kevin Durant - Texas Brandan Wright - North Carolina Thaddeus Young - Georgia Tech Darrell Arthur - Kansas Vernon Macklin - Georgetown You also forgot Paul Harris from Syracuse as well, and a few others. As far as this season goes....There's so much hype on Florida repeating, and I feel like it's going to be a letdown. Remember now that Florida is the big team to beat, someone will find the formula and will use it to beat the "Baby Gators"

Also, last, but not least....Here's the first Complete Top 25 Poll Week 1 ESPN/USA Today Poll 1. Florida (30) 0-0 772 2. North Carolina 0-0 728 3. Kansas 0-0 714 4. Ohio State 0-0 595 5. Pittsburgh 0-0 583 5. UCLA 0-0 583 7. LSU 0-0 556 8. Georgetown 0-0 538 9. Wisconsin 0-0 530 10. Arizona 0-0 478 11. Duke 0-0 477 12. Alabama 0-0 420 13. Texas A&M 0-0 335 14. Memphis 0-0 328 15. Boston College 0-0 284 16. Washington 0-0 240 17. Marquette 0-0 203 18. Connecticut 0-0 200 19. Texas 0-0 172 20. Syracuse 0-0 138 21. Georgia Tech 0-0 137 22. Kentucky 0-0 119 23. Creighton 0-0 113 24. Tennessee 0-0 106 25. Nevada 0-0 101 OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES Gonzaga 88, Wichita State 78, Louisville 77, Southern Illinois 70, Illinois 52, Xavier 44, Villanova 39, Air Force 26, San Diego State 24, Hofstra 20, Oklahoma State 19, Michigan 17, Michigan State 15, Maryland 12, DePaul 11, Florida State 9, George Mason 6, Indiana 5, Houston 3, Brigham Young 2, George Washington 2, Winthrop 2, Utah 1, Bucknell 1, New Mexico State 1, Saint Louis 1.

THURSDAY Virginia Tech at Boston College Colorado State at Air Force SATURDAY [Wake Forest at N.C. State South Florida at North Carolina Oklahoma State at Kansas Rutgers at Navy Missouri at Texas A&M Tulsa at East Carolina Marshall at SMU Maryland at Virginia Toledo at Kent State Ohio at Illinois Florida at Auburn Michigan at Penn State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Florida/Auburn game? 26 Tiebreak #2: How many rushing yards will Rutgers' Ray Rice have against Navy? 167

Sorry I'm late, Bored. SATURDAY <i>Texas A&M</i> at Kansas <i>Navy</i> at Air Force <i>Rice</i> at Tulane <i>Texas</i> vs. Oklahoma LSU at <i>Florida</i> <i>Baylor</i> at Colorado Oklahoma State at <i>Kansas State</i> Washington State at <i>Oregon State</i> Missouri at <i>Texas Tech</i> Central Michigan at <i>Toledo</i> Tennessee at <i>Georgia</i> Oregon at <i>California</i> <i>Wyoming</i> at New Mexico Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Texas/Oklahoma game? <i>58</i> Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will LSU's JaMarcus Russell have against Florida? <i>257</i>

Predictions for the National Champion in 2007 that are way too fucking early. Since this year's off season has produced so much Drama already, this thread is dedicated to following all of that Drama. So Far We Have - CAA Coaches leaving by the ton (Capel to Oklahoma, Bromwell to BallState (What?), and Everheart to Duqusne (WTF Mate?!?!) ) - Mike Anderson saying "screw CUSA" and pack up to Missouri - Mike Davis saying "It's Great to be Wanted" and move on to UAB - Kelvin Sampson going to Indiana and Dama saying "YAY!!!" - Jeff Capel being going to Oklahoma and Dama saying "Yay?" - Bob Huggins heading to Kansas State with the "Best Recurting Class Ever" possibly following him to the "Little Apple" - Andy Kennedy being crazy enough to go to Old Piss...I mean Ole Miss. - Cronin being Hired as the Cincinatti Head Coach. - People Having Sour Grapes over George Mason's Run And the main event of the moment.... - NC State Fans are in meltdown mode with the coaching search going to hell. After being rejected by Barnes and Calipari, the biggest question is "Who the Hell is going to Step Up into this Role, and take on UNC, Duke and Wake Forest for the hearts of North Carolina College Hoops Fans? And here we are. Have Fun Kiddies.

The way I see this season coming down to is this. SEC Vs. Big East - I have a feeling that this will be the big conference debate this year. With the SEC fans promoting their twin towers in LSU and Flordia and their strong 3 in Tennessee (Yes, I am recognizing that the Male Volenteers will be a factor this year, despite being their biggest detractor on this board last year.). While the Big East fans will stand behind their strong depth and myraid of challengers to go to Atlanta. I have a feeling that the Final Four and the National Championship may be decided between these two conferences. Can Greg Oden be as good as advertised - If so, we're going to have a 2 Team Big 10 race between the F*ckeyes and the Badgers. Otherwise the Badgers are going to runaway with the Big 10 Championship. Will Any Major/Mid-Major stand up and try to repeat what George Mason did - I'll be the first to say, that if you're expecting this, then you may be waiting at least 5 years. And if you totally beleive the major conference pundits (who are still pissed at the Valley) then the NBA age requirement will stamp out any revolutions. However, I think this year will prove that these teams will not be going away, and will be a factor. The next thread is going to have a lot of interesting debate.

*Dusts this Thread off* (Yes, I know, it's College Football season, but what the hell.) It's near October, which means Midnight Madness is in 2 weeks. So some activity should be expected to keep this on the first page from now on. Well, the tradtional College Hoops Lull from June - August has passed, and now the first pre-season rankings are coming out as we speak. I personally need to get my hands on the preview rags to see what these guys are thinking how this season will go. As far as news goes, the biggest story has been the Dunquese shooting, which left most of the team wounded, and one member of the team with a bullet in his head. Here's to hoping that the Dukes can rebuild their program after this. With that said, I leave with the Top 144 for 2006 presented by College Hoops.net, and no one should be surprised who is number 1. (which will be revealed on the first day of the season.) http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/preview/2006/

THURSDAY BYU at TCU FRIDAY Rutgers at South Florida SATURDAY Navy at Connecticut Akron at Kent State Boise State at Utah Oregon at Arizona State Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech Texas Tech at Texas A&M</i> San Diego State at San Jose State Central Michigan at Kentucky Troy at UAB Kansas State at Baylor Ohio State at Iowa Washington at Arizona Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Oregon/Arizona State game? 52 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Iowa's Drew Tate have against Ohio State? 156

FRIDAY Northwestern at Nevada SATURDAY Minnesota at Purdue Kent State at Bowling Green Wake Forest at Mississippi Tulsa at Navy Arizona State at California Penn State at Ohio State Alabama at Arkansas UCLA at Washington Air Force at Wyoming South Florida at Kansas Notre Dame at Michigan State Arkansas State at SMU Oklahoma State at Houston Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Penn State/Ohio State game? 48 Tiebreak #2: How many rushing yards will California's Marshawn Lynch have against Arizona State? 126

FRIDAY Kansas at Toledo SATURDAY Syracuse at Illinois Michigan State at Pittsburgh in a fucking blowout Michigan at Notre Dame Miami at Louisville Oklahoma at Oregon LSU at Auburn Texas Tech at TCU Mississippi at Kentucky Memphis at East Carolina Clemson at Florida State Nebraska at USC Florida at Tennessee Colorado State at Nevada Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Oklahoma/Oregon game? 48 Tiebreak #2: How many receiving yards will USC's Dwayne Jarrett have against Nebraska? 253

THURSDAY Oregon State at Boise State SATURDAY Mississippi at Missouri Penn State at Notre Dame Clemson at Boston College Tulsa at BYU Colorado vs. Colorado State East Carolina at UAB Minnesota at California SMU at North Texas Georgia at South Carolina New Mexico at New Mexico State Ohio State at Texas Texas Tech at UTEP Oregon at Fresno State Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the Penn State/Notre Dame game? 46 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Ohio State's Troy Smith have against Texas? 307

Interception on 3rd Down....Game Over. Miami's Coach may have just lost his job.

10 - 3 through Monday with a victory over my Toilet Bowl Rival...6 Straight Wins since 2005, and a possible ranking. This season is looking bright already. Now all I need is Free Shoes U to beat the Convicts.

THURSDAY Temple at Buffalo: Thanks for toturing us already, bored Northwestern at Miami of Ohio: Upset Special #1 South Carolina at Mississippi State UTEP at San Diego State SATURDAY Rutgers: Upset Special #2, which ain't going to be much of an upset. at North Carolina California at Tennessee East Carolina at Navy Syracuse at Wake Forest Utah at UCLA Virginia at Pittsburgh Army at Arkansas State Notre Dame at Georgia Tech BYU at Arizona MONDAY Florida State at Miami Tiebreak #1: How many total points will be scored in the California/Tennessee game? 51 Tiebreak #2: How many passing yards will Notre Dame's Brady Quinn have against Georgia Tech 342

For the 8 People that Care, ESPN U's Summer Session has begun. The Summer Session breaks down all 31 conferences and the Independents. This week, they're breaking down the Big XII, Northeast, Atlantic Sun, and the Colonial. Big XII Northeast Conference Atlantic Sun CAA A Week by Week Schedule of the Conference Breakdowns

22 in the BCS Rankings....I gotta improve my margin of victory and number of picks made this year. Looks like I will have to pay attention to College Football this year. I want to go a Bored Championship Series Bowl.

I'm back in this. I'll be UConn once again. Time to compete for the Big Atlantic Conference Championship!

I agree. Lets all laugh at Darrius Washington Junior.

ESPN News is talking about this right now. Basically they're saying it was a battle of control, with the wrong person winning (It should be Isiah that should be out on his ass) and now he has complete control, and now the nightmare scenario is here. The good news is that Isiah may be out soon. The bad news is that even if he is out soon, there is so much red tape and pure shit in the damn frachise, that the worst days are yet to come. We're 7 Years (at least) away from being a good team again, and that's if Dolan suddenly grows a brain (hahahahahaha. Not going to happen)

That rumor is old as fuck (It's been around since Janurary), The Sony Zombies of Gaming-Age have debunked the rumor as fake. However, this one never seems to die, and that makes me wonder if it is real or not. I hope to god it's not.

Honestly, Capel is in for a rough first season, unless by some miracle he gets some Super Players from Europe, Asia or Africa that went completely under the radar. All of Oklahoma's offense (whatever little offense they had) is basically gone. It really is going to be hard for them to break 70 a game. And in some evil way, I want Hofstra to put them on schedule.