A New College Hoops Thread.....

[Damaramu 0]

I can't wait for this game tonight. I'm not a fan of UNC but I hate Duke so much I hope UNC embarasses them.

[JustJoe2k5 0]

Have they given any reason as to why ESPN isn't covering the game? Either way, Duke is looking really good early, although I learned from watching the '95 game this afternoon on ESPN Classics that no lead is too big in this rivalry.

[therealworldschampion 0]

I already want to mute the TV thanks to Vitale...

[JustJoe2k5 0]

So, is anyone else getting ESPNEWS on ESPN instead of Duke/North Carolina?

[nogoodnick 0]

I'm getting the Duke UNC game.

[CanadianChris 0]

I agree, OSU will end up the best team in the Big 12.  OU is a bit up and down (and can't shoot for shit some nights), Texas has too many guys hurt or thrown off the team, Kansas will inevitably choke as they usually do.  Hell I think Texas Tech might be a sleeper in that conf.  Knight has his guys balling.

No way is OSU going to Lawrence and beating the Jayhawks. They lost to Texas and OU (both ranked) on the road already this year, and neither game was particularly close...they're not bucking that trend.

Well that OU loss was like a wake up for them b/c they've appeared to be a different team since then. Plus with Jameson Curry now in the starting lineup they've been doing much better. And Kansas can be so inconsistent that I think they still have a shot.

But who have they played? Before beating OU in the rematch in Stillwater (which I expected, being a home game), they had road games against Colorado and Baylor, and a home game against Kansas State. If they DIDN'T look a lot better in beating those three patsies, they would've been a lost cause for this season.

 

Kansas plays big in big games in the regular season, especially at Allen Fieldhouse. They're going to stomp all over the Cowboys at home.

[Damaramu 0]

Well I guess we'll just have to watch when the game comes around. Pity they don't get a game in Stillwater.

 

Anyways therealworldschampion I agree. Vitale is driving me nuts. Especially with his cries of "Coach K should be the Olympic coach!" I have a feeling the USA basketball team may have to get a restraining order from the threatening calls Vitale is sure to make to get Coach K the job.

[CanadianChris 0]

Well I guess we'll just have to watch when the game comes around. Pity they don't get a game in Stillwater.

That IS a shame. I hate the unbalanced schedule in college basketball...it's unfair when two top-ranked teams in the same conference play only once.

[Damaramu 0]

Well I guess we'll just have to watch when the game comes around. Pity they don't get a game in Stillwater.

That IS a shame. I hate the unbalanced schedule in college basketball...it's unfair when two top-ranked teams in the same conference play only once.

It's the damn divisions and size of conferences(which i know you can't do anything about).

 

It pisses me off in football too. The great rivalry of OU/Nebraska has been reduced to 2 years on and 2 years off. I didn't know a rivalry could go off for 2 years.

 

So yeah I mean we're in agreement there. Was it UNC and Wake that didn't get another game this year? I mean that one sucks to. I want to see a rematch.

[CanadianChris 0]

That was one. The one that pissed me off the most was no Illinois/Michigan State rematch. Although, after seeing MSU get smacked down hard in their own building, the rematch at Illinois probably wouldn't have been as hyped as it might have been.

[Damaramu 0]

I don't watch a lot of Duke games but do they not get a lot of fouls called on them? Because some of these blocks haven't been clean. As a matter of fact I think I've seen May mugged a couple of times with no whistle.

[CanadianChris 0]

Home team always gets the calls.

[Damaramu 0]

Home team always gets the calls.

Well I know that part but I've heard that Duke gets away with more than normal.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Duke does, because Coach K has always thrown shit-fits throughout his career about it and the refs eventually started to give in.

 

I'm shocked, because Virginia basketball won two in a row. Admittedly those were over NC State and FSU, not exactly glorious wins, but jeez, nice to finally get a few ACC victories.

[Damaramu 0]

This ending is getting really good.

[Damaramu 0]

Oh god Duke beats #2. I can hear the BJ's warming up now around the college b-ball road.

UNC should've penetrated better on that last play.

[Mik 0]

I have nothing to say about last night except it was a travesty. NOT GETTING A SHOT OFF?!

[cabbageboy 0]

I'm shocked at the lack of U of L badmouthing from last night, so I'll do it myself. We fucking SUCK. I said a couple months ago that I'd start wearing a sack over my head if we lost EITHER game to Memphis this year...and lo and behold we get this shit kicked out of us by Memphis' worst team in years. Seriously, that was "plane crashing into the mountain" level bad. It looks like yet another Feb. tank job for U of L at this point and it just makes me sick. Not like I wasn't waiting for it either, I just figured if anything it'd happen last week vs. Cincy or UAB.

 

I'll be so glad to not have to play these assholes like Memphis anymore. It's just one of those rivalries where they care more than we do...frankly we're just sick of Memphis and want them to go away. Now we get to job out to them again at their place in a couple weeks, and maybe again in the CUSA tourney. Fuck Calipari. I used to kinda like him at UMass but now I see him for the ref baiting scumbag that he really is. No wonder John Chaney threatened to kill him some years ago.

[Damaramu 0]

Did Vitale claim that the Final Four would have 3 ACC teams last night?

I'm sorry but Vitale and ESPN's ACC blow jobs are getting out of hand. I know that it's the best conference and all but 3 FF teams!? That's a little obsessive. I bet they get Wake and UNC though. Duke.....I really don't think so.

Duke has no depth and it's going to show in the tourney I think.

[cabbageboy 0]

Hell, I'll go further. I don't think ANYONE in the ACC will make the FF. Duke is still lame this year and will be ripe for a Sweet 16 type loss. Wake plays no defense to speak of which will kill them at some point (maybe a regional final). UNC is still the best bet I guess, but I haven't seen them beat anyone good on the road.

 

On ESPN they had the 1 seeds right now as Illinois, Kansas, Wake, and UK. Illini aside that is possibly the weakest bunch of 1s ever. Hell, 2 of them are bound to lose the 2nd round.

[Damaramu 0]

I'd put UNC abuot UK as a #1. I think UNC would eat them alive.

[Alro 0]

I'd put UNC abuot UK as a #1. I think UNC would eat them alive.

Correction... UNC HAS eaten them alive. I've already said it once in this thread. Kentucky will win out and get an undeserving 1 seed because a high ranked team will meet another high ranked team (like last night) and UK will benefit because one of the teams has to lose.

 

And sorry to let you down, cabbage boy, but I used all my Lousville badmouthing last night. I don't know if you listen to Terry Meiners, but I like to do his "Beasman" character for my girlfriend because it pisses her off. She doesn't seem to get that the character is making fun of both teams.

[Damaramu 0]

I'd put UNC abuot UK as a #1. I think UNC would eat them alive.

Correction... UNC HAS eaten them alive. I've already said it once in this thread. Kentucky will win out and get an undeserving 1 seed because a high ranked team will meet another high ranked team (like last night) and UK will benefit because one of the teams has to lose.

 

And sorry to let you down, cabbage boy, but I used all my Lousville badmouthing last night. I don't know if you listen to Terry Meiners, but I like to do his "Beasman" character for my girlfriend because it pisses her off. She doesn't seem to get that the character is making fun of both teams.

Is the SEC the worst of the "big" conferences in b-ball? I mean beyond Alabama and Kentucky who is there?

[CanadianChris 0]

I'd put UNC abuot UK as a #1. I think UNC would eat them alive.

Depends on where the game is. Is Carolina ever going to beat a decent team on the road? A 7-3 road-neutral record isn't exactly the stuff legends are made of.

[Alro 0]

Even in Rupp I'm not sure it would make a difference. It sure didn't help against Kansas.

 

This year the SEC is weak and I really don't have an explanation as to why. There are usually more than two teams from the SEC in the Top 25.

[iggymcfly 0]

Did Vitale claim that the Final Four would have 3 ACC teams last night?

I'm sorry but Vitale and ESPN's ACC blow jobs are getting out of hand. I know that it's the best conference and all but 3 FF teams!? That's a little obsessive. I bet they get Wake and UNC though. Duke.....I really don't think so.

Duke has no depth and it's going to show in the tourney I think.

The ACC could easily get three teams in the Final Four, but North Carolina's not going to be one of them. Duke is way better than anyone gives them credit for. If you remember last year, they were the best team in the country, only losing to UConn because both of their big men fouled out.

 

Compare that team to the one they have now. They're missing Chris Duhon and Luol Deng. Deng was the weak link on the team for much of the season, as he didn't really learn to fit into the system until about the tournament. I remember him going something like 0-11 when they lost to Maryland in the ACC Championship. Meanwhile, Duhon got injured and was completely ineffective down the stretch to the point where he couldn't score worth a shit for their last oh.... ten games.

 

The heart and soul of that team were Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick who are both still playing for Duke now. They just beat Carolina, and they almost beat Wake on the road, so I don't see any reason whatsoever that they shouldn't be a Final Four team.

 

Wake is pretty much agreed with, so I don't need to go too in-depth with them, but the team everyone's forgetting about is.......

 

Georgia Tech! Yes, I know I've been whoring them all season, but listen. They were 9-1 with a 16 point lead on the road against Kansas when BJ Elder got hurt. Then, they proceeded to go 4-6 without him, and all of a sudden, they're completely off everyone's radar.

 

Last year, GT actually had a similar record, only losing one non-conference game and then going 9-7 in the ACC, and look what happened. They went to the national championship. The only significant player they lost to graduation was Marvin Lewis, and honestly, he was only about the fourth most talented player on the team. The difference this year has simply been no BJ Elder. Now that he's back, the Jackets will probably finish about 9-7 or 10-6 in the ACC this year, win the ACC tournament and make a run to the Final Four.

 

I'm not even really all that sure about Wake Forest, but I will make a bold prediction.

 

Unless they get matched up against each other or Illinois in the tournament, Duke AND Georgia Tech will both make it to the Final Four.

[Damaramu 0]

Yeah Duke has good starters but who else do they have on that team? I think the lack of depth will finally show in the tourney when they don' have the ref advantage to prevent them from fouling out.

 

How long is BJ Elder going to be hurt? Without him GT will probably run into someone in the tourney that will take them out.

 

The Final Four will definitely include a Big XII team. If it's OSU or Kansas is up in the air right now. Hell I'll go as far as to say that one of them will be playing for the national title. I don't think Sutton will retire until he gets to that title game.

 

I doubt the Big East will have a team in the Final Four honestly. Maybe Syracuse but that's all I can think of right now.

[therealworldschampion 0]

Did Vitale claim that the Final Four would have 3 ACC teams last night?

I'm sorry but Vitale and ESPN's ACC blow jobs are getting out of hand. I know that it's the best conference and all but 3 FF teams!?

 

You're suprised that Vitale is blowing the ACC? This happens all of the time...

[Damaramu 0]

Did Vitale claim that the Final Four would have 3 ACC teams last night?

I'm sorry but Vitale and ESPN's ACC blow jobs are getting out of hand. I know that it's the best conference and all but 3 FF teams!?

 

You're suprised that Vitale is blowing the ACC? This happens all of the time...

I don't watch a lot of ACC games on TV b/c they show mostly Big XII in my area so I don't get the pleasure of hearing it too often.

[cabbageboy 0]

Oh jesus, here's this Ga Tech crap again. Look, right now these guys would be hard pressed to MAKE THE TOURNEY. Sure, Elder being back will help them probably get in at least, but their run last year was a blatant fluke (I don't think they beat anyone by more than 5 pts. the whole tourney). If anything they might be a pick for a 5/12 or 6/11 type upset.

 

Carolina is basically invincible at home, but take them away and friggin IU got close to beating them. That's the game that has made me wonder about UNC, it really is.

 

But hey, at least UK doesn't do stuff like U of L did last night. If they had lost to FL by 17 at Rupp, that's basically what we're talking here. Actually wait, FL is decent....how about if SC beat them by 17 at Rupp?