2024-2025 NCAA College Basketball Thread - Huskers take the Crown! Also Florida did something. (2 Viewers)

[millertyme1]

NIL

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

All sweet 16 teams are from SEC, Big 10, Big 12, and ACC.

When was the last time there wasn't a team outside the power 5 in the sweet 16?

Just a few years ago, no?

San Diego State in 2024?

 

[Brunell4MVP]

All sweet 16 teams are from SEC, Big 10, Big 12, and ACC.

When was the last time there wasn't a team outside the power 5 in the sweet 16?

Just a few years ago, no?

San Diego State in 2024?

I think this is correct. SD St has the #2 budget outside the power 5, and the 56th highest athletics budget in the nation. So they do have money. And an awesome campus

 

[Payne]

7 of the final 16 from SEC

SEC has 7 out of 14 entries = 50%

Big Ten has 4 out of 8 entries = 50%

Indiana deserved to be in.

Indiana deserved to be in because of Michigan St, Purdue, Michigan, and Maryland buzzer beater against a 12 seed?

Indiana deserved to be in because the Big Ten is better than they were given credit for this year.

And, since we have to do this:
Georgia got smoked
Missouri got smoked by Drake
Kansas choked against Arkansas
Michigan beat A&M
Florida by 2 over UConn

The top of both the Big Ten and SEC are great.
But the SEC teams near the bottom were overrated going in and the results show that.

 

[shuke]

All sweet 16 teams are from SEC, Big 10, Big 12, and ACC.

When was the last time there wasn't a team outside the power 5 in the sweet 16?

Just a few years ago, no?

I just looked back a few years. Closest was 2019, but Gonzaga still made it.

 

[shuke]

March Madness will just become a playoff system and lose a lot of the magic (and madness).

Takes a lot of fun out of even doing a bracket.

 

[ChiefD]

NCAA hoops is basically MLB now. The mid majors develop the kids for a year or two and then get poached by schools with the money.

Booooooooooooringggggggg.

 

[General Malaise]

7 of the final 16 from SEC

SEC has 7 out of 14 entries = 50%

Big Ten has 4 out of 8 entries = 50%

Indiana deserved to be in.

Indiana deserved to be in because of Michigan St, Purdue, Michigan, and Maryland buzzer beater against a 12 seed?

Indiana deserved to be in because the Big Ten is better than they were given credit for this year.

And, since we have to do this:
Georgia got smoked
Missouri got smoked by Drake
Kansas choked against Arkansas
Michigan beat A&M
Florida by 2 over UConn

The top of both the Big Ten and SEC are great.
But the SEC teams near the bottom were overrated going in and the results show that.

Dumb question, but why did Indiana fire their head coach if they were so deserving of a bid? In your opinion? I don't follow the team nor the sport closely, just seems odd.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

The mid majors develop the kids for a year or two and then get poached by schools with the money.

Rick Pitino (and other coaches) have already said they won't bother recruiting freshmen - they'd rather just use the transfer portal and poach the developed players from the smaller schools.

 

[General Malaise]

I thought Colorado State was a fun team to watch.

 

[gump]

Hurley postgame tunnel comments update

 

[Phil Elliott]

I thought we all wanted the best teams (at least in the football playoffs). If you want the Cinderella teams and fun brackets, you are just playing into the tv ratings business. As I have said in the past having grown up in the professional sports industry, it will all become curated games for entertainment (and ratings) purposes.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

I thought Colorado State was a fun team to watch.

Minnesota hires Niko Medved as men's basketball coach after 7 seasons at Colorado State

 

[MAC_32]

7 of the final 16 from SEC

SEC has 7 out of 14 entries = 50%

Big Ten has 4 out of 8 entries = 50%

Indiana deserved to be in.

Indiana deserved to be in because of Michigan St, Purdue, Michigan, and Maryland buzzer beater against a 12 seed?

Indiana deserved to be in because the Big Ten is better than they were given credit for this year.

And, since we have to do this:
Georgia got smoked
Missouri got smoked by Drake
Kansas choked against Arkansas
Michigan beat A&M
Florida by 2 over UConn

The top of both the Big Ten and SEC are great.
But the SEC teams near the bottom were overrated going in and the results show that.

...meh. The bubble was soft this year and the top tiers were unusually great. No matter who made the cut was likely to get waxed. This is why only 3 teams seeded 11 and higher made it beyond rd 1, none of them made the sweet 16, only 3 teams seeded 6 and higher are still dancing, and 7 of the top 8 seeds are still alive. It'll never happen cause of the power dynamic, but like every other year, the bubble should've been full of mid-major teams, not proven mediocrity from power conferences.

 

[MAC_32]

Dumb question, but why did Indiana fire their head coach if they were so deserving of a bid? In your opinion? I don't follow the team nor the sport closely, just seems odd.

He announced he wasn't returning weeks (months?) before the tourney began.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

7 of the final 16 from SEC

SEC has 7 out of 14 entries = 50%

Big Ten has 4 out of 8 entries = 50%

Indiana deserved to be in.

Indiana deserved to be in because of Michigan St, Purdue, Michigan, and Maryland buzzer beater against a 12 seed?

Indiana deserved to be in because the Big Ten is better than they were given credit for this year.

And, since we have to do this:
Georgia got smoked
Missouri got smoked by Drake
Kansas choked against Arkansas
Michigan beat A&M
Florida by 2 over UConn

The top of both the Big Ten and SEC are great.
But the SEC teams near the bottom were overrated going in and the results show that.

Not entertaining the nonsense of using one game samples to justify a team that isn't even in that sample.

Just took a peek and Indiana's best non-conference win was Chattanooga? Providence? Their best B1G wins were Purdue and Michigan St and then Penn State? Nothing about their resume says they belonged other than hey we play in a conference with good teams.

In fact, Indiana was so bad they fired their coach in February. Sounds like an NCAA resume!!

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Hurley postgame tunnel comments update

What a bunch of freaking toolbags.

Made even worse given that he was complaining when his team was on the better end of most calls all night and people almost universally agree that it was the other side getting jobbed by soft calls, if anything.

 

[urbanhack]

I thought Colorado State was a fun team to watch.

And New Mexico. NBA draft picks on each team. They both looked really good and after watching their first round wins and close games yesterday I'm amazed that they were both double digit seeds.

 

[Sand]

Looked like traveling, but not going to call the whistle on that there.

I don't see why not.

 

[Navin Johnson]

Looked like traveling, but not going to call the whistle on that there.

I don't see why not.

Seriously. He actually traveled before he dribbled and again after he picked it up

 

[Sand]

Hurley postgame tunnel comments update

What a bunch of freaking toolbags.

Made even worse given that he was complaining when his team was on the better end of most calls all night and people almost universally agree that it was the other side getting jobbed by soft calls, if anything.

Hurley can eat a bag of ####s. UConn has gotten incredible treatment over the years - starting with Tate George who absolutely did not get the ball off.

 

[General Malaise]

Dan Hurley should be forced to ref a game on national TV.

 

[MAC_32]

I thought Colorado State was a fun team to watch.

And New Mexico. NBA draft picks on each team. They both looked really good and after watching their first round wins and close games yesterday I'm amazed that they were both double digit seeds.

Committee has been under-seeding the MWC for several years. I get why the yells were loudest for West Va being snubbed, but I'd much rather have seen Boise make it.

 

[Capella]

I thought we all wanted the best teams (at least in the football playoffs). If you want the Cinderella teams and fun brackets, you are just playing into the tv ratings business. As I have said in the past having grown up in the professional sports industry, it will all become curated games for entertainment (and ratings) purposes.

If we wanted good basketball then watch the nba. This is mediocre basketball with little drama and now a bunch of southerners learning what a charge is all of a sudden.

 

[SayWhat?]

Juju.

 

[Chadstroma]

Juju.

Really sucks for her. Hate to see it.

 

[Phil Elliott]

I thought we all wanted the best teams (at least in the football playoffs). If you want the Cinderella teams and fun brackets, you are just playing into the tv ratings business. As I have said in the past having grown up in the professional sports industry, it will all become curated games for entertainment (and ratings) purposes.

If we wanted good basketball then watch the nba. This is mediocre basketball with little drama and now a bunch of southerners learning what a charge is all of a sudden.

NCAAM tournament >>>>NBA.
FWIW: March Madness ratings best since 1993...https://x.com/claytravis/status/1904560094479527985?s=46&t=sB97txzPHo78S6e754HUZQ

 

[General Malaise]

It's NOT great basketball, but it can be thrilling entertainment. I'll still take the first weekend of NCAA March Madness over the first round playoff games for NBA. Much rather a win or go home between two blue bloods in college hoops than a game between Boston and (looks at East standings) Chicago (a team EIGHT ****ING GAMES BELOW .500). That's like a 2 vs 15 except we have to watch four of them.

Yeah, no thanks.

 

[Navin Johnson]

It's NOT great basketball, but it can be thrilling entertainment. I'll still take the first weekend of NCAA March Madness over the first round playoff games for NBA. Much rather a win or go home between two blue bloods in college hoops than a game between Boston and (looks at East standings) Chicago (a team EIGHT ****ING GAMES BELOW .500). That's like a 2 vs 15 except we have to watch four of them.

Yeah, no thanks.

Yeah, you basically get 48 game sevens on four days. The quality however, has really deteriorated over the last twenty years. I have taken a liking to the women's tournament, especially after the first weekend, and prefer it to the men's side.

 

[Yo Mama]

The transfer portal opened only two days ago (while the ncaa tourney is still going on) and already there are more than 1,000 D1 men’s basketball players that have entered the portal.

 

[gump]

https://x.com/EvanMiya/status/1904584564800205104

 

[Payne]

The transfer portal opened only two days ago (while the ncaa tourney is still going on) and already there are more than 1,000 D1 men’s basketball players that have entered the portal.

Absolutely ridiculous

 

[tri-man 47]

I’m surprised you never see college teams doing the 2 for 1 possessions with 30 to 40 seconds left at the end of the halves. NBA is notorious for it…but almost never in college.

Kansas will do this.

When they don’t suck like this year.

As a Michigan man, it just breaks my heart to see Hunter Dickinson abandon Michigan to pursue his glories with Kansas …only to see Kansas have two miserable tourneys with him.

 

[ChiefD]

I’m surprised you never see college teams doing the 2 for 1 possessions with 30 to 40 seconds left at the end of the halves. NBA is notorious for it…but almost never in college.

Kansas will do this.

When they don’t suck like this year.

As a Michigan man, it just breaks my heart to see Hunter Dickinson abandon Michigan to pursue his glories with Kansas …only to see Kansas have two miserable tourneys with him.

He was terrible.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

I've always been a "second weekend is better" guy but don't have much interest in most of the games this Thursday/Friday. Maybe the Sat/Sun games will be better.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I remember a few years ago when it went almost chalk to the S16 and there were few upsets by lower seeds. IIRC, 7 of the 8 S16 games were won either by one score or in OT.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

The transfer portal opened only two days ago (while the ncaa tourney is still going on) and already there are more than 1,000 D1 men’s basketball players that have entered the portal.

Opening the portal while the NCAA Tournament is still underway is an interesting decision.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

The transfer portal opened only two days ago (while the ncaa tourney is still going on) and already there are more than 1,000 D1 men’s basketball players that have entered the portal.

Opening the portal while the NCAA Tournament is still underway is an interesting decision.

It makes sense when you remember this is all about the academics because these kids are amateur students first, athletes second. The university academic calendar is surely more important to the kids, the NCAA, the sponsors and us fans than a silly billion dollar amateur tournament right?

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Rumor that Kevin Willard has quit at Maryland

This is wild

Any inside intel @Uruk-Hai ?

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Rumor that Kevin Willard has quit at Maryland

This is wild

Any inside intel @Uruk-Hai ?

Nothing concrete or official yet.

This whole thing has been bizarre.

Willard hated the AD and the AD quit. Willard (supposedly) wanted more money for the hoops program and himself.

Willard then thinks he's got leverage to go national with his demands, though not into any $$ details, right before the NCAAT starts & said the AD was out before MD announced it. And he wanted all of those demands written into his new contract.

He then doubles down a few days later, even as he was pretending to walk it back a little.

Football coach Mike Locksley - who's not on solid ground himself - comes out and says stuff like this should be kept in-house.

At yesterday's press conference, when asked if his demands were being met, answered with what they had to do to stop Florida's best player.

REPORTEDLY, Maryland (who has no AD) offered him most or all of what he asked for and that the contract is on his proverbial desk for signing.

Also REPORTEDLY, Willard wasn't at the team dinner last night.

Some think he overplayed his hand which, on the surface, it sure looks like.

I'm starting to think he's been going to Nova for a while now. Why haven't they seemed too hot to hire anyone since they hacked Neptune? The portal has been open since Monday and they have no coach. That's one of the premier hoops programs in the country.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Big East schools have the same NIL allowances as the SEC or B1G. What they don't have is D1 football to pay for. Meaning they can spend a whole lot more on basketball players.

At best, he comes across looking like a jerk - no matter which way this goes. I have no problem with him wanting more for his program. Maryland's athletic department has been a joke for decades.

I was listening to a local radio sports talk show this morning and the Terps fans that called in - almost to a man - said they want Willard gone. As soon as Maryland loses in this tournament, they are going to accuse him of ruining a good run (unless they win the whole thing).

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Rumor that Kevin Willard has quit at Maryland

This is wild

Any inside intel @Uruk-Hai ?

Nothing concrete or official yet.

This whole thing has been bizarre.

Willard hated the AD and the AD quit. Willard (supposedly) wanted more money for the hoops program and himself.

Willard then thinks he's got leverage to go national with his demands, though not into any $$ details, right before the NCAAT starts & said the AD was out before MD announced it. And he wanted all of those demands written into his new contract.

He then doubles down a few days later, even as he was pretending to walk it back a little.

Football coach Mike Locksley - who's not on solid ground himself - comes out and says stuff like this should be kept in-house.

At yesterday's press conference, when asked if his demands were being met, answered with what they had to do to stop Florida's best player.

REPORTEDLY, Maryland (who has no AD) offered him most or all of what he asked for and that the contract is on his proverbial desk for signing.

Also REPORTEDLY, Willard wasn't at the team dinner last night.

Some think he overplayed his hand which, on the surface, it sure looks like.

I'm starting to think he's been going to Nova for a while now. Why haven't they seemed too hot to hire anyone since they hacked Neptune? The portal has been open since Monday and they have no coach. That's one of the premier hoops programs in the country.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Big East schools have the same NIL allowances as the SEC or B1G. What they don't have is D1 football to pay for. Meaning they can spend a whole lot more on basketball players.

At best, he comes across looking like a jerk - no matter which way this goes. I have no problem with him wanting more for his program. Maryland's athletic department has been a joke for decades.

I was listening to a local radio sports talk show this morning and the Terps fans that called in - almost to a man - said they want Willard gone. As soon as Maryland loses in this tournament, they are going to accuse him of ruining a good run (unless they win the whole thing).

Yikes, what a mess. Can't see ow this whole thing doesn't affect the kids playing a huge game tonight. These circumstances have certainly made me change my perspective on Willard.

Pulling for a big upset tonight. Go Terps!

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Rumor that Kevin Willard has quit at Maryland

This is wild

Any inside intel @Uruk-Hai ?

Nothing concrete or official yet.

This whole thing has been bizarre.

Willard hated the AD and the AD quit. Willard (supposedly) wanted more money for the hoops program and himself.

Willard then thinks he's got leverage to go national with his demands, though not into any $$ details, right before the NCAAT starts & said the AD was out before MD announced it. And he wanted all of those demands written into his new contract.

He then doubles down a few days later, even as he was pretending to walk it back a little.

Football coach Mike Locksley - who's not on solid ground himself - comes out and says stuff like this should be kept in-house.

At yesterday's press conference, when asked if his demands were being met, answered with what they had to do to stop Florida's best player.

REPORTEDLY, Maryland (who has no AD) offered him most or all of what he asked for and that the contract is on his proverbial desk for signing.

Also REPORTEDLY, Willard wasn't at the team dinner last night.

Some think he overplayed his hand which, on the surface, it sure looks like.

I'm starting to think he's been going to Nova for a while now. Why haven't they seemed too hot to hire anyone since they hacked Neptune? The portal has been open since Monday and they have no coach. That's one of the premier hoops programs in the country.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Big East schools have the same NIL allowances as the SEC or B1G. What they don't have is D1 football to pay for. Meaning they can spend a whole lot more on basketball players.

At best, he comes across looking like a jerk - no matter which way this goes. I have no problem with him wanting more for his program. Maryland's athletic department has been a joke for decades.

I was listening to a local radio sports talk show this morning and the Terps fans that called in - almost to a man - said they want Willard gone. As soon as Maryland loses in this tournament, they are going to accuse him of ruining a good run (unless they win the whole thing).

Yikes, what a mess. Can't see ow this whole thing doesn't affect the kids playing a huge game tonight. These circumstances have certainly made me change my perspective on Willard.

Pulling for a big upset tonight. Go Terps!

The players are saying all the right things (or were, before last night). I think they'll play hard. Queen already knows he's gone. Reese and Miguel are out of eligibility. So, they have nothing to lose.

The guy whose tweet you posted has been around D.C. sports for decades. He's full of himself and sometimes full of something else, but he's also really plugged in.

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Rumor that Kevin Willard has quit at Maryland

This is wild

Any inside intel @Uruk-Hai ?

Nothing concrete or official yet.

This whole thing has been bizarre.

Willard hated the AD and the AD quit. Willard (supposedly) wanted more money for the hoops program and himself.

Willard then thinks he's got leverage to go national with his demands, though not into any $$ details, right before the NCAAT starts & said the AD was out before MD announced it. And he wanted all of those demands written into his new contract.

He then doubles down a few days later, even as he was pretending to walk it back a little.

Football coach Mike Locksley - who's not on solid ground himself - comes out and says stuff like this should be kept in-house.

At yesterday's press conference, when asked if his demands were being met, answered with what they had to do to stop Florida's best player.

REPORTEDLY, Maryland (who has no AD) offered him most or all of what he asked for and that the contract is on his proverbial desk for signing.

Also REPORTEDLY, Willard wasn't at the team dinner last night.

Some think he overplayed his hand which, on the surface, it sure looks like.

I'm starting to think he's been going to Nova for a while now. Why haven't they seemed too hot to hire anyone since they hacked Neptune? The portal has been open since Monday and they have no coach. That's one of the premier hoops programs in the country.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Big East schools have the same NIL allowances as the SEC or B1G. What they don't have is D1 football to pay for. Meaning they can spend a whole lot more on basketball players.

At best, he comes across looking like a jerk - no matter which way this goes. I have no problem with him wanting more for his program. Maryland's athletic department has been a joke for decades.

I was listening to a local radio sports talk show this morning and the Terps fans that called in - almost to a man - said they want Willard gone. As soon as Maryland loses in this tournament, they are going to accuse him of ruining a good run (unless they win the whole thing).

Yikes, what a mess. Can't see ow this whole thing doesn't affect the kids playing a huge game tonight. These circumstances have certainly made me change my perspective on Willard.

Pulling for a big upset tonight. Go Terps!

The players are saying all the right things (or were, before last night). I think they'll play hard. Queen already knows he's gone. Reese and Miguel are out of eligibility. So, they have nothing to lose.

The guy whose tweet you posted has been around D.C. sports for decades. He's full of himself and sometimes full of something else, but he's also really plugged in.

Ah gotcha. Yea, hoping for the best for tonight. I really like this team. Would have loved having a few of them wearing green this past season.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

To be clear, a lot of what I laid out above is what's been said by those outside of the program (though I'm sure some are using sources, others may be connecting dots that might not be there). The only things known for sure are what Willard has said on the record and Locksley's comments. Maryland has said nothing and, as far as I know, neither has Villanova.

 

[urbanhack]

Rumor that Kevin Willard has quit at Maryland

This is wild

Any inside intel @Uruk-Hai ?

Nothing concrete or official yet.

This whole thing has been bizarre.

Willard hated the AD and the AD quit. Willard (supposedly) wanted more money for the hoops program and himself.

Willard then thinks he's got leverage to go national with his demands, though not into any $$ details, right before the NCAAT starts & said the AD was out before MD announced it. And he wanted all of those demands written into his new contract.

He then doubles down a few days later, even as he was pretending to walk it back a little.

Football coach Mike Locksley - who's not on solid ground himself - comes out and says stuff like this should be kept in-house.

At yesterday's press conference, when asked if his demands were being met, answered with what they had to do to stop Florida's best player.

REPORTEDLY, Maryland (who has no AD) offered him most or all of what he asked for and that the contract is on his proverbial desk for signing.

Also REPORTEDLY, Willard wasn't at the team dinner last night.

Some think he overplayed his hand which, on the surface, it sure looks like.

I'm starting to think he's been going to Nova for a while now. Why haven't they seemed too hot to hire anyone since they hacked Neptune? The portal has been open since Monday and they have no coach. That's one of the premier hoops programs in the country.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Big East schools have the same NIL allowances as the SEC or B1G. What they don't have is D1 football to pay for. Meaning they can spend a whole lot more on basketball players.

At best, he comes across looking like a jerk - no matter which way this goes. I have no problem with him wanting more for his program. Maryland's athletic department has been a joke for decades.

I was listening to a local radio sports talk show this morning and the Terps fans that called in - almost to a man - said they want Willard gone. As soon as Maryland loses in this tournament, they are going to accuse him of ruining a good run (unless they win the whole thing).

Yikes, what a mess. Can't see ow this whole thing doesn't affect the kids playing a huge game tonight. These circumstances have certainly made me change my perspective on Willard.

Pulling for a big upset tonight. Go Terps!

The players are saying all the right things (or were, before last night). I think they'll play hard. Queen already knows he's gone. Reese and Miguel are out of eligibility. So, they have nothing to lose.

The guy whose tweet you posted has been around D.C. sports for decades. He's full of himself and sometimes full of something else, but he's also really plugged in.

Good luck tonight!

 

[Uruk-Hai]

What's the O/U in the BYU/Bama game? 200?

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

It feels like it's going to take a nuclear fun & gun all out sprint to neutralize Maluach impact on floor/defensively for a team to beat Duke. Duke is so ridiculously FN good defensively.

I think Bama is the one that presents the best opportunity of anyone left to knock off Duke. Florida feels like the only other squad that'll present them with any issues. I personally can't see anyone beating Duke in some grind it out defensive affair with Maluach manning the lane.

 

[gump]

What's the O/U in the BYU/Bama game? 200?

I posted it earlier…175…20 more than any other game…I think 4 of the highest O/U in tourney history have involved Bama the last 2 years.

 

[gump]

It feels like it's going to take a nuclear fun & gun all out sprint to neutralize Maluach impact on floor/defensively for a team to beat Duke. Duke is so ridiculously FN good defensively.

I think Bama is the one that presents the best opportunity of anyone left to knock off Duke. Florida feels like the only other squad that'll present them with any issues. I personally can't see anyone beating Duke in some grind it out defensive affair with Maluach manning the lane.

Yeah…BYU had the worst D that Bama has played in several weeks…

 

[ChiefD]

Willard nuking his current team makes him the biggest massive doooooosh ever.

Ever.