2024-25 College Basketball Thread

[tapintoamerica]

The Capel Brothers managed to lose to a bum ass Notre Dame team that Micah Shrewsberry couldn't motivate to eat if it hadn't been fed in a week. And since the illustrious former AD extended him through 2030 it's not going to get better. So glad we ran off Jamie Dixon for this thief.

This is remarkable. Getting an extension for the sort of thing you're supposed to do from time to time -- make the NCAA tournament -- is really silly when institutional payment to players is on the horizon.

 

[swingline]

Mizzou's worst game of the season. Tigers deserved to lose.

 

[tapintoamerica]

Gonzaga-UNC is going to be a jarring NIT game.

Probably should be, but both teams are getting in the big show.
Carolina will have ≥ 20 wins, a tough non-conference schedule and their AD as committee chair. Combined, those factors will outweigh the question that should be most important in such scenarios: Whom did you beat? They may have only one Q1 win, but it'll be enough.
As to the Zags, they were 10th in the NET this morning. I have no idea how. But if they're 10th with these results to date, it's hard to imagine they'll fall below 20 in the final pre-selection rankings. The committee has only passed on one top-30 team in the five tournaments selected in the NET era: No. 28 Indiana State last year. You can't have a system and hold it out as the best thing at your disposal and reject a team that the system says is a no-brainer.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

This is remarkable. Getting an extension for the sort of thing you're supposed to do from time to time -- make the NCAA tournament -- is really silly when institutional payment to players is on the horizon.

He's been here seven seasons and made one NCAA tournament in that time. Keep in mind that Dixon, who albeit was not the same coach in the ACC that he was in the Big East, still managed to limp this team into the NCAA Tournament in two of his last four seasons as an 8-9 seed. Capel technically didn't even make the NCAA Tournament: he made the play-in game.

 

[micropolitan guy]

St. Mary's has a very good chance of extending the WCC's streak of at least one team in the Sweet 16 to 10 years. This might not be one of GU's best teams, but they are plenty NCAA-worthy. St. Mary's is just that good.

 

[Chef2]

No dog in the fight whatsoever, but Arizona just lost in a most interesting fashion.

 

[Della9250]

As to the Zags, they were 10th in the NET this morning. I have no idea how. But if they're 10th with these results to date, it's hard to imagine they'll fall below 20 in the final pre-selection rankings. The committee has only passed on one top-30 team in the five tournaments selected in the NET era: No. 28 Indiana State last year. You can't have a system and hold it out as the best thing at your disposal and reject a team that the system says is a no-brainer.

I've been asking this about Gonzaga for a month -- I don't get what the formula is that they are ranked that high. especially when a team in their conference has beaten them twice and has a better resume but is 10 spots below them

 

[dixiehack]

Strength of schedule and efficiency ratings have to be what props up Gonzaga's computer numbers (No. 11 KenPom even after last night). But go over their resume and there just isn't a lot of meat on the bone.

They blew out Baylor in the opener for their best win, but the Bears are also more of a computer darling than a real-life one (No. 30 KenPom at 16-12). After that it's No. 42 San Diego State, No. 57 Indiana, No. 62 Arizona State and No. 63 San Francisco. Right now I see about 1.5 tournament teams from that group.

 

[Della9250]

Strength of schedule and efficiency ratings have to be what props up Gonzaga's computer numbers (No. 11 KenPom even after last night). But go over their resume and there just isn't a lot of meat on the bone.

They blew out Baylor in the opener for their best win, but the Bears are also more of a computer darling than a real-life one (No. 30 KenPom at 16-12). After that it's No. 42 San Diego State, No. 57 Indiana, No. 62 Arizona State and No. 63 San Francisco. Right now I see about 1.5 tournament teams from that group.

I guess. I know everybody benches about how the SEC is so deep they'll get 14 teams in the tourney or whatever but at least they killed everyone out of conference and they have big wins over each other. There's no great wins, let along a win on Gonzaga's ledger.

The frustrating thing to me is you have this collective body of work which says in NET they are 10th (and didn't suffer a drop after losing to then 20, now 17, at home.

They lost twice to No. 17 (St Marys). They lost to No. 12 (Kentucky). And yet they are still ahead of them. Plus their eight losses are, besides those, to 27, 35, 47, 53 and 78.

How is that the resume of a top 10 team? If they had beaten Kentucky, or split with St Marys or had some other huge win I could maybe see them up there.


Of course I don't get how NET has Maryland as the best team in the Big 10 and FOUR spots ahead of Michigan State

 

[Cosmo]

VCU-Mason was a bloodbath for a good 30 minutes before the Rams got going. Loudest I've heard Siegel Center in years. Mason did a great job early of contesting passes and shutting down lanes. But I knew VCU was in decent shape when they were only down 1 despite shooting 24 percent from the field in the first half. Kept calling Tony Skinn "Coach Nut Punch" and had to educate the fans around me on why he deserves that moniker.

 

[Batman]

No dog in the fight whatsoever, but Arizona just lost in a most interesting fashion.

Just saw the clip of that finishing sequence on Twitter. Wow. The BYU guy sold it a little bit, but I'm not sure the Arizona guy even brushed him.
This was after Arizona's Caleb Love was fouled — with contact not quite as light as this, but close — while driving to the basket and they called it a foul on the floor instead of an and-one that would have put Arizona ahead 96-94.
And in case you were wondering, the game was way over the total (154) and this didn't affect the spread (Arizona -7).

 

[micropolitan guy]

Just saw the clip of that finishing sequence on Twitter. Wow. The BYU guy sold it a little bit, but I'm not sure the Arizona guy even brushed him.
This was after Arizona's Caleb Love was fouled — with contact not quite as light as this, but close — while driving to the basket and they called it a foul on the floor instead of an and-one that would have put Arizona ahead 96-94.
And in case you were wondering, the game was way over the total (154) and this didn't affect the spread (Arizona -7).

Arizona has gotten thousands of calls at home over the years so I shouldn't feel bad for them, but that is just an absolutely atrocious call. An official five feet away, with a perfect view, doesn't call a foul but the trail official 30 feet away blows his whistle? WTF, he's in no position whatsoever to make that call.