Running 2023-24 NCAA Basketball Thread

They've had one of the weirdest seasons I've ever seen. Shaky-looking but decent for the first part of the season, one of the best teams in the country for a couple of weeks, and abjectly terrible ever since.

 

Virginia Tech's Liz Kitley went down last night at UVA with a potentially serious knee injury. Apparently Kenny Brooks doesn't know the extent yet, but when it happened, he rushed out to the floor and both of them were nearly in tears. She managed to come back out on to the bench on her own power but there was visible bruising below the kneecap. Suffice to say, with Kitley, the Hokies are a Final Four contender. Without her, they may not get out of the first weekend. Hoping for the best, not only for the team, but for her considering she was likely a top-10 WNBA draft pick and could potentially miss a season if the injury is serious.

 

This would truly suck. I fear she’s out.
Almost a non-contact injury, sports medicine’s irony.

 

It did not look good. Really a bummer. Was a great showcase for women's hoops last night. Arena was packed, great energy.

 

Former Oregon State head coach Jimmy Anderson died on Monday at 86. He coached the last OSU team to win a Pac-10/12 regular-season title, in 1990, Gary Payton's senior season. He was associated with the program for 66 years, as a player, assistant coach, head coach, coach emeritus and program ambassador.

He was Ralph Miller's prime recruiter (Payton, AC Green, Steve Johnson, Charlie Sitton, Lester Connor, Freddie Boyd, among some). Also coached Brent Barry.

RIP to a truly fine human being, totally accessible as a head coach, hopefully some of you had the good fortune to interact with him.

 

Two of Lunardi's last four in are Virginia and Wake Forest. My prediction: Only one of them will make it. At most.
The first team out is St. John's, which sports the rare record of 5-9 vs. quad 1.

 

I needed to call him one time, and the SID gave me his home phone number. I called and his wife said, "He's not here, he's at the bar. Here is the number." I called the bar. When I told the woman who answered that I wanted to speak to Jim Anderson, she called out, "Hey Jimmy, phone's for you." I talked to him for about 20 minutes. Terrific person. RIP, sir.

 

https://nypost.com/2024/03/02/sports/davidson-womens-basketball-cancels-rest-of-season/

Why don't they raise the number of scholarships women's teams can give out? Wouldn't it help with Title IX? I realize the women's game has a tighter market for walk-ons - most players who could walk-on at a DI school could get a full-ride in I-AA or DII. But the injury situation impacting teams is getting ridiculous.

 

Don't they already get more, 15 vs. 13 for the men? For the vast majority of the women's teams and under normal circumstances, giving more than 15 scholarships would seem to be a waste.

 

I was looking into it yesterday because it came up on the other board I'm on, which is for another A-10 team. From the outside looking in, they got very unlucky with injuries (5 season ending), but they also didn't use the rest of their roster spots effectively. They have two players on their roster who haven't played at all this year - injuries? ineligible? not sure - and two walk-ons that have combined for 2 minutes, and a 6'3" project center that seemingly can't play for more than 5 to 10 MPG.

 

You could make the case that if the need for scholarships No. 16, 17 and 18 is the deciding factor whether you get to finish a season or not finish a season, then you shouldn't finish the season - and maybe shouldn't have a program.

 

?????

Is he on some HGH project that isn't working?