Running 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Thread

Through long-standing habit, I do not watch college basketball too carefully until after the Super Bowl and never before Christmas. If a random game catches my interest on a January evening, I'm happy enough to watch, but that's about it. This season, one notable trend for me is that every time I see a team and think, "hey, they look pretty good to me" that team immediately has gone out and gotten vaporized within the next week. Marquette last night was the latest example, Kansas State probably the most notable one. Based on this completely anecdotal evidence, I feel projecting future results, let alone tournament results, conference or NCAA, is a dangerous activity.

 

I've watched enough this year to know that there are no sure bets. The top five teams in the NET right now (Houston, Tennessee, Alabama, Purdue, UCLA) have all proven to be vulnerable.

Houston lost at home to Temple (NET 117) and blew a significant lead to lose at home to Bama.
Tennessee lost to Colorado in Nashville, Kentucky at home and by double digits at Florida.
Bama got smoked by Oklahoma.
Purdue seems the safest bet just because Edey is such a monster, but they've had an off night here or there.
UCLA doesn't have any bad losses but their best win is ... at Maryland?

I think the tournament's going to be pretty wide open. I wouldn't be shocked to see any of those five win it, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a 5 or 6 seed win it either.

 

The other thing to note if you are just catching up is that the Big 12 is an absolute street brawl with a ridiculous surplus of talented teams. West Virginia is 3-7 in league play and firmly in bubble contention, if that gives you some idea. So I wouldn’t dismiss K-State on the basis of a single game.

 

And only UAT will make the sweet 16.

Didn't just lose. Looked as though they had zero concept of what to do on offense. The kind of thing that just makes you scratch your head and wonder, "What do these guys DO at practice?" I'm so tired of "athletes" that are great at decathlons, so-so at putting a ball in a basket.

 

I wouldn't dismiss them at all, just noting they were a part of what was a weird coincidence for me but what is also apparently an overall trend in college basketball this season. It has long been my belief that every NFL team, even the best, turns in one absolute stinker of a game each season. For example, the Eagles lost to the Commanders and the Chiefs lost to the Colts. So if this is happening in another sport, I'm not surprised.

 

And we're deep in the dogs days of the college hoops season too. Conference tournaments are just far enough away and these guys have been grinding since October. Off nights will happen, for sure.

 

The Mitchell twins sure look good with proper coaching, instead of just being able to freelance for 30 MPG. #bitterURIfan

 

Based solely on the couple times I’ve seen them play, I love K-State.

 

I'll believe in the Big Ten once they cut down a net for the first time in 23 years and as a lifelong Purdue fan, I'm always expecting them to eff up a good thing, but the Boilermakers sure look like a good bet to me. At least as good as we're going to get this year. Their two losses were close and to conference rivals. Their play has improved significantly over the course of the season. Not surprisingly that corelates to freshmen Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith getting better as the season progresses. I wasn't able to watch the IU game this weekend, but in the three games leading up to it - @Michigan, home against MSU and PSU - they looked so much better than in the early season wins against Marquette, Gonzaga and Duke, and much better than any other team I've watched this season.

I'm sure after I wrote that, they'll join Virginia as the only No. 1 seeds to lose in the first round. But I sure have my hopes up for at least a final four, if not more.

 

Well St. Peter's isn't going to make the field this year so at least that hurdle is safely out of the way.

 

Memorial Magic!!!!!!!

 

Vols’ heads have been in their asses for a couple of weeks now.