College Hoops '07: November 2006

[SilverPhoenix 0]

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.

[Mik 0]

Down goes Duke already.

 

[CanadianChris 0]

Down goes Duke already.

 

Well, I guess they're out of the national title picture now.

[Mik 0]

Hey, I went to UNC. I always care when they lose.

[CanadianChris 0]

Oh, I was making a BCS joke.

[cabbageboy 0]

Gonzaga 82, UNC 74. Much like the Marquette win over Duke this didn't even seem like that much of an upset. It's amazing the way Zaga replaces players and stays competitive, but I still doubt Mark Few's coaching when it comes to the tourney.

[Danville_Wrestling 0]

I want to know who among us thought that the FINALS of the pre-season NIT was going to be Gonzaga vs. Butler. It's just odd.

[MFer 0]

Anyone else watch that Florida/Kansas game? It was really good. Jayhawks 82-80 in OT, Green I believe missed a 3 at the buzzer.

[SilverPhoenix 0]

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.

[cabbageboy 0]

The SEC did not have a very good day yesterday with LSU and Florida both losing to teams from Kansas.

 

I think the MVC lost its status as a mid major when CBS showed the title game at 2:00 on the Saturday before Selection Sunday. Of course the game ended up being that S. Illinois/Bradley clunker, but Bradley ended up making a good tourney run.

 

Do you guys realize that Pitt may end up being #1 in the nation? If not this week in all polls then likely next week.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

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.

 

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.

[Mik 0]

Homer bullshit. No chance in hell that Maryland is remotely as good as the Tarheels.

 

They have 4 NBA bodies on the floor. By March they will be unstoppable.

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Homer bullshit. No chance in hell that Maryland is remotely as good as the Tarheels.

 

They have 4 NBA bodies on the floor. By March they will be unstoppable.

 

Granted, 1/2 of MDs wins have been vs scrub teams but they've beat some decent teams in St. Johns, Michigan St and Illinois. The huge knock against MD this year is their non-conference schedule, which was only improved by wining the Coaches vs Cancer Tournament where they had to beat St. Johns and Michigan St. They dont play a reputable team until the middle of January when they start ACC play and they dont play NC til Feb. 28th or 2nd to last game of the season and its up here..

 

What I like about MD this year is that they have a core of veterans (Jones/Strawberry/Ibekwe/Gist) and a deep bench. Plus Greivis Vasquez is all kinds of awesome...better than Steve Blake I think.

[RepoMan 0]

The SEC did not have a very good day yesterday with LSU and Florida both losing to teams from Kansas.

 

I think the MVC lost its status as a mid major when CBS showed the title game at 2:00 on the Saturday before Selection Sunday. Of course the game ended up being that S. Illinois/Bradley clunker, but Bradley ended up making a good tourney run.

 

Do you guys realize that Pitt may end up being #1 in the nation? If not this week in all polls then likely next week.

The MAC and the MVC used to be neck and neck not to long ago. But the rest of the MAC cares more about making the Motor City Bowl than actually having in actual playoff. Gonzaga, GMU, and the MVC show that hoops is the right sport for a mid-major school to compete in, but the rest of the MAC is under the illusion they can compete with OSU and UM for attention in football. At least the MAC championship game is at the Q and on ESPN2 in prime time Saturday night, otherwise I'd want Kent State to move to the Horizon League. Sorry for that rant, I know no else cares.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Maryland's good and will probably finish in the top third of the ACC, but yeah, homer nonsense Marv. Not even about them maybe being better than UNC or Duke--no one will have any real idea of that till January at the earliest--but about them going 7-0 against a good but not great slate being one of the "big stories." It's a big story in the state of Maryland and that's really it.

[SilverPhoenix 0]

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.

 

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.

[cabbageboy 0]

I saw Maryland against Michigan St. and to be honest I didn't find either team all that impressive. Maryland will be their usual Sweet 16 type selves, but not much beyond that. No way in hell are they in the class of the 2002 team.

[Vern Gagne 0]

The Gophers need a new coach.