2024-25 College Basketball Thread

[tapintoamerica]

Texas is 6-11 in the SEC; Oklahoma is 5-12. I don't care how good your conference is; if you are 5 or 6 games below .500 in your conference and are no better than the 13th or 14th team in that league, you do not deserve an at-large berth. Period.

Oklahoma has ONE road win this season. ONE.

The committee has never extended an At-large bid to a team that lost two-thirds of its regular-season conference games. But the committee can always make new law. And it has never seen a league like the SEC in 2025.

 

[dixiehack]

And has never had multiple jumbo-sized power conferences.

 

[Neutral Corner]

That's why they'll wind up expanding the tournament to 96 teams, so that the B1G and SEC can get 14 apiece in. It's only fair.

 

[tapintoamerica]

It's a joke. A bubble filled with extremely mediocre power conference bubble teams with below .500 records against Quads 1-2 will get chosen. The pooch screwing is upon us.

My rule would be that if you're not .500 or better against Quad 1-2, you're out as fas as being an at-large is concerned. Quad 3-4 losses are added to the percentage too. This will not happen, but it should.

Sounds good in theory, but if that were a rule, the committee would not have been able to find enough teams to fill out a bracket in 2018-19.
The 2020-21 season was stupid because of the remnants of COVID.
In 2021-22, the policy you propose would have removed 10 teams. Their final NET rankings were 16, 31, 34, 37, 38, 42, 44, 49, 53 and 77. They played from 13 to 21 games vs. Q1-22 opponents. Collectively 84-109 vs. Q1-2 for an average of ~ 8-11 record.
In their place would have gone 45, 47, 48, 58, 72, 105, 165, 171, 186, 218. Collectively, those teams went 33-28 vs. Q1-2 for an average record of six games played.
Story is comparable in 2023 and 2024.
Nice idea but practically unworkable.

 

[Gutter]

Dear photogs,

When shooting women's basketball, please cease and desist with the swirling hair photos. I get that they look cool at first, but when you get several from a single game, well, we're getting into cliche land. Not to mention that those pix that obscure the face are unusable for the most part anyway. Also, do we base photos at men's games around physical features? I'm awaiting the dude who wears his hair long with the swirling photo, but strangely enough I never see it! I wonder why? Anyway, enough with this ship.

Yours,
YMCA

When I was working desk, 85% of photos from women's basketball games were some version of wrestling for the ball on the floor.

 

[Neutral Corner]

Would have hit 95% if there was mud or jello on the floor.

 

[I Should Coco]

That's why they'll wind up expanding the tournament to 96 teams, so that the B1G and SEC can get 14 apiece in. It's only fair.

Not sure if you're being serious with this … but as it stands now, only 15 teams make the B1G conference tournament.

 

[Neutral Corner]

Oh, it's completely un-serious... for now.

 

[dixiehack]

Overtime for Bama-Auburn. I cannot cope.

 

[swingline]

Friend just texted, "somehow we're going to end the season losing seven of the last eight games."

For sure. I expect two more games and two more losses to end the season.

I was stupid to buy into this being a new Mizzou. I should have known there is no way the Tiggers are ever going to do anything but disappoint me.

 

[Roscablo]

Sounds good in theory, but if that were a rule, the committee would not have been able to find enough teams to fill out a bracket in 2018-19.
The 2020-21 season was stupid because of the remnants of COVID.
In 2021-22, the policy you propose would have removed 10 teams. Their final NET rankings were 16, 31, 34, 37, 38, 42, 44, 49, 53 and 77. They played from 13 to 21 games vs. Q1-22 opponents. Collectively 84-109 vs. Q1-2 for an average of ~ 8-11 record.
In their place would have gone 45, 47, 48, 58, 72, 105, 165, 171, 186, 218. Collectively, those teams went 33-28 vs. Q1-2 for an average record of six games played.
Story is comparable in 2023 and 2024.
Nice idea but practically unworkable.

Yeah, someone has to get in. Also why the tourney shouldn't be expanded. But you have at least five teams on the bubble this year with one or no Q1 wins. But all those teams have OK enough Q1-2 records (all around .500 and all a decent quantity of wins). I think the quad system needs to be re-examined. I would like them to go more to a straight how'd you do against top 25, top 50, top 100, etc., and then maybe weight road records or something.

 

[Webster]

The Fightin' Sea Shanties of St. John's heading to overtime in a fun game at Marquette. This has been one of the more enjoyable Big East seasons in a while.

That was a rock fight down the stretch and in OT. Refs called it the same both ways, but it was early 90s NBA physical.