2012-13 College Basketball Running Cordial Discussion

Crean overcelebrates everything. They had a ceremony to give out rings to last year's Sweet 16 team.

I appreciate this group and how they have brought Indiana basketball back from the dead. But tonight they cut down nets after blowing a shot at the outright conference title. This could end in a four-way tie.

And they cut down the nets.

 

Tirico and Dakich call a good game together.

 

All this bitching about Creen is making me wish Obama could send Mike Davis back to Bloomington to become Coach for Life.

 

When did net cutting become commonplace for regular season conference titles? Pretty soon an upset of a top 25 team will lead to net cutting, after Coach K gets court storming banned.

 

So given this result, who the hell are the four number one seeds anyway?

 

Kansas
Indiana
Gonzaga
Duke

 

Calling it now: Indiana will lose in the second round.

 

I'm not sure why you think Indiana or any other team "should be by far the best team in the country." It's college basketball. No team plays up to its potential. Look at UCLA. Moreover, Tom Crean built this team, so to blame him seems asinine. This team wouldn't exist without him. And Cody Zeller is what he is. Some big men aren't meant to bang inside on every play. It's working out OK for Brook Lopez.

 

Your defense of Crean is the eternal frustration of college sports. People used to say that Pete Carroll didn't deserve Coach of the Year awards because he had so much talent. Same with Saban now. But didn't he recruit that talent?

But it's only half of the formula. Bully for Tom Crean for putting together a team with two veteran lottery picks. But he doesn't get carte blanche then to coach them down - did they run an offense last night? - when it starts to matter most. Followed by a net-cutting ceremony. What will they do if they lose to Michigan? A banner raising?

And as far as Zeller goes, every game I get to hear about how he's a straight-A student and he and his two brothers were valedictorians at their backwater little high school and how he smiles at everyone he meets and goes to church and helps little old ladies cross the street. And while the hosannahs are being sung, squeezed in between the nightly series of Bob Knight Memorial Sermons from Dick Vitale, he plays like he doesn't want to hurt the other team's feelings.

Sick of this team right now.

 

It's stupid to celebrate anything immediately after a loss. And Tom Crean deserves frustration if he can't take this team anywhere because it absolutely is about more than recruiting. But pining for Mike Davis isn't the answer. And Indiana hasn't been in position to demand national championships for 20 years. No one should complain about a Final Four for this team.

 

I'm not going to complain about a Final Four. That would be terrific.

But if they blow the Big Ten title, after it was on the table, I'm going to complain. Loudly. If they blow a No. 1 seed - they've already blown the Midwest No. 1 seed, I'd imagine - I'm going to complain. Loudly. If they exit in the second round, which I expect, I'm going to complain. Loudly.

 

They clearly have not blown the No. 1 seed in the Midwest yet. They still can win the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles. Why not be patient?