2024-2025 NCAA College Basketball Thread - Huskers take the Crown! Also Florida did something. (1 Viewer)

[Deamon]

this is whack

 

[General Malaise]

I was really impressed by Tennessee last night. Destroyed my Bruins. Their defense is ferocious. I think they may go far.

Maybe but boy.....Rick Barnes has never been able to get over the hump before. We'll see.

 

[Deamon]

4 point swing because he tried to dunk it too hard.

EDT 5

 

[MAC_32]

Zags lost... behind by a good margin all game long but had resilience enough to make it a game at the end. Houston is a dang good team.

Might finally be there year. Very impressive squad.

What's their flaw? I recall hearing their offense is limited and depth is an issue.

Like all of the top 5, you have to squint.

They're reliant on mid-range, can be vulnerable if those shots aren't falling and opponents are hitting their 3's. Offense lacks creativity, so if the opponent takes care of the ball and keeps the game half court, it'll reduce number of possessions and doesn't play into Houston's strengths. If refs are calling a tight game, that could put this team in a tough spot. Have to match their ferocious energy from the opening tip, a 2 minute lull can swing the game 10 pts just like that.

Nothing else comes to mind. I think there are 3 tiers to this tournament, and the top one is exceptional, which I'm writing as Florida is losing.

 

[Deamon]

HOLY ****

 

[Steve Tasker]

I don't think UConn has the horses in this one.

 

[Chadstroma]

Zags lost... behind by a good margin all game long but had resilience enough to make it a game at the end. Houston is a dang good team.

Might finally be there year. Very impressive squad.

What's their flaw? I recall hearing their offense is limited and depth is an issue.

Great defense and monster rebounding.

Not explosive offense or terribly efficient but enough. Not sure about depth. Did not see anything that screamed lack of depth to me during the game.

 

[Desert_Power]

Baylor needs to get back closer before the half. Duke starting to feel it.

 

[NutterButter]

This duke team is absolutely stacked. Zero weaknesses.

 

[Chadstroma]

This duke team is absolutely stacked. Zero weaknesses.

It is hard to see how they can lose.

 

[ghostguy123]

I'm takin the first half under (70.5) of the Alabama/St Mary's game.
Should be a fun one to watch

 

[MAC_32]

I'm takin the first half under (70.5) of the Alabama/St Mary's game.
Should be a fun one to watch

St Mary's plays slow, doesn't shoot well, and Bama doesn't create turnovers- probably a good bet.

 

[ghostguy123]

I'm takin the first half under (70.5) of the Alabama/St Mary's game.
Should be a fun one to watch

St Mary's plays slow, doesn't shoot well, and Bama doesn't create turnovers- probably a good bet.

Yeah, I don't feel great about it, rooting for slow and misses is fun though.
Also gotta root against Alabama every time they run down and shoot 4 seconds into the shot clock

 

[ghostguy123]

Jebus it's like Alabama coach told them to play with a 5 second shot clock.

They also know St Mary's is gonna use a lot of the shot clock, not sure why they are pressuring them as soon as they cross half court. It's giving St Mary's a lot more of an opportunity to get their down low mismatches. Cause.......they don't appear to be able to shoot at all.

Sad, oh well. Foul the guy with 1 second left.
Oh yeah he misses both.....oh nooo, a lane violation with 1.5 seconds left, makes third free attempt.

What....a...way...to ...lose

 

[phandango]

This is the least competitive men's tournament I can remember seeing in decades. I think all but a couple games have come down to the final shot, and those were misses. Rest have been blowouts. UConn hit a 3-point buzzer-beater -- too bad they were down by 5.

 

[ChiefD]

This is the least competitive men's tournament I can remember seeing in decades. I think all but a couple games have come down to the final shot, and those were misses. Rest have been blowouts. UConn hit a 3-point buzzer-beater -- too bad they were down by 5.

Yeah. Really boring overall.

 

[Desert_Power]

This is the least competitive men's tournament I can remember seeing in decades. I think all but a couple games have come down to the final shot, and those were misses. Rest have been blowouts. UConn hit a 3-point buzzer-beater -- too bad they were down by 5.

Yeah. Really boring overall.

Hopefully this one changes that. Rams have some fight.

 

[urbanhack]

Colorado state fouls on every play one way or another.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

A lot of pretend tough guys n this Colorado ST/ MAryland game.

When did it become acceptable for entire benches to simulate shooting guns ?

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

This is the least competitive men's tournament I can remember seeing in decades. I think all but a couple games have come down to the final shot, and those were misses. Rest have been blowouts. UConn hit a 3-point buzzer-beater -- too bad they were down by 5.

Buzzer beater cover. Shooter had $ on the game.

 

[Desert_Power]

CSU throwing up a lot of bricks.

 

[urbanhack]

Yep..boring tournament

 

[Penguin]

Brutal, cost me 168 quarters

 

[scoobus]

HOW ABOUT NOW???

 

[Don Quixote]

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

 

[BlackCrowes]

Take a bus

 

[Willie Neslon]

Travel

 

[urbanhack]

euro step

 

[phandango]

This is the least competitive men's tournament I can remember seeing in decades. I think all but a couple games have come down to the final shot, and those were misses. Rest have been blowouts. UConn hit a 3-point buzzer-beater -- too bad they were down by 5.

Yeah. Really boring overall.

Reverse jinx is undefeated!

 

[BroncoFreak_2K3]

Terps!!

 

[Phil Elliott]

Terps!!

Heck of a finish!

 

[urbanhack]

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.

 

[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.

 

[FreeBaGeL]

They have to ditch adjusting the clock a few milliseconds via review. It takes too damned long and they do it every stoppage. It's awful.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Is there anything worse in all of sport than the last 2 minutes of a basketball game?

 

[millertyme1]

7 of the final 16 from SEC

 

[hagmania]

Is there anything worse in all of sport than the last 2 minutes of a basketball game?

Do you prioritize entertainment or a fair outcome?

I am not demeaning your opinion. I personally feel that with AI setting the line AND breaking open bad lines, sports are going to become more unwatchable as nationwide sports gambling grows in popularity, as pressure will mount for even more digital involvement in outcomes.

With that said, sports entertainment is seeing a popularity uptick. Pro wrestling is on an upswing and the Savannah Bananas are selling out 65,000 seat stadiums.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Is there anything worse in all of sport than the last 2 minutes of a basketball game?

Under the current rules for a team behind there is no reason not to keep fouling and dragging the game down to a FT shooting contest. Have to take away incentive to foul somehow.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Terps!!

Heck of a finish!

They won’t continue to win if the 4 guys without the ball just stand around watching the guy with the ball.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Is there anything worse in all of sport than the last 2 minutes of a basketball game?

Under the current rules for a team behind there is no reason not to keep fouling and dragging the game down to a FT shooting contest. Have to take away incentive to foul somehow.

Yes, but this (turning a game into a FT contest when behind) has been going on in one form or another for 50 years. Dean Smith was famous for it back in the 70s and NC State won the '83 title doing it.

That said, there's no reason for the refs to take so long on many of these calls nowadays. They're doing what they're told to do, but it's trying to cut it too fine vs keeping an entertaining product. I want the calls right, too, but spending two minutes trying to decide which 10th of a second is right gets old.

 

[lsutigers]

I almost always fade the SEC but somehow ended up with 7/14 in the Sweet Sixteen. Go big or go home!

8 SEC teams in the Sweet 16 seems like a realistic possibility. You're not crazy for picking 7.

7/16! Sadly, missed on A&M/Missouri (out) and Ole Miss/Arkansas (in).

 

[Da Guru]

Is there anything worse in all of sport than the last 2 minutes of a basketball game?

College or NBA. I was working out at home and got on the bike during a close game with 3:30 left on the clock. I did a 30 minute workout and the game was still going.

The TOs and reviews ruin the flow of the game. The Michigan -A&M had reviews on 4 possessions in a row that took forever.

 

[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.

 

[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?

 

[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?

 

[Dr. Octopus]

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?

With NIL the gap between the Majors and the rest of the field will just keep growing and growing. March Madness will just become a playoff system and lose a lot of the magic (and madness).

 

[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?

Big 12 4 teams left
Big 10 4
SEC 7
ACC 1

It's just a fact of life in the current NCAA. The transfer portal used to keep kids at a smaller school or lesser program for longer. They didn't want to sit out a year. The reasons to leave were small if they weren't going pro anyway. Now if a mid-tier/small school has a kid that can start on a top program, they will go get him. And on top of it they can offer NIL $s to make it all that more attactive.

Perfect example is Sean Pedulla at Ole Miss. Never going to NBA, but a solid PG at VT. Now he's putting up 20 at Ole Miss in the tourney. I don't follow it enough anymore to know all the players switching around, but my guess is every team in those 16 has grabbed 1-3 players that get PT from another school.

The NCAA is going to have to go to some type of salary cap/contract scenario just like pro sports leagues. If I'm offering a kid a full ride and NIL $s, I probably want 2-3 years on that contract with an out only to turn professional.

 

[urbanhack]

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?

 

[urbanhack]

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?

Big 12 4 teams left
Big 10 4
SEC 7
ACC 1

It's just a fact of life in the current NCAA. The transfer portal used to keep kids at a smaller school or lesser program for longer. They didn't want to sit out a year. The reasons to leave were small if they weren't going pro anyway. Now if a mid-tier/small school has a kid that can start on a top program, they will go get him. And on top of it they can offer NIL $s to make it all that more attactive.

Perfect example is Sean Pedulla at Ole Miss. Never going to NBA, but a solid PG at VT. Now he's putting up 20 at Ole Miss in the tourney. I don't follow it enough anymore to know all the players switching around, but my guess is every team in those 16 has grabbed 1-3 players that get PT from another school.

The NCAA is going to have to go to some type of salary cap/contract scenario just like pro sports leagues. If I'm offering a kid a full ride and NIL $s, I probably want 2-3 years on that contract with an out only to turn professional.

The opposite is true in other cases as well. McNeese had a number of kids that started off at big schools but then left because they wanted more impact elsewhere.

 

[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?

Big 12 4 teams left
Big 10 4
SEC 7
ACC 1

It's just a fact of life in the current NCAA. The transfer portal used to keep kids at a smaller school or lesser program for longer. They didn't want to sit out a year. The reasons to leave were small if they weren't going pro anyway. Now if a mid-tier/small school has a kid that can start on a top program, they will go get him. And on top of it they can offer NIL $s to make it all that more attactive.

Perfect example is Sean Pedulla at Ole Miss. Never going to NBA, but a solid PG at VT. Now he's putting up 20 at Ole Miss in the tourney. I don't follow it enough anymore to know all the players switching around, but my guess is every team in those 16 has grabbed 1-3 players that get PT from another school.

The NCAA is going to have to go to some type of salary cap/contract scenario just like pro sports leagues. If I'm offering a kid a full ride and NIL $s, I probably want 2-3 years on that contract with an out only to turn professional.

The opposite is true in other cases as well. McNeese had a number of kids that started off at big schools but then left because they wanted more impact elsewhere.

And they won one game. Congrats I guess. The days of George Mason and Florida Gulf having more mature players that can make a final 4/8/16 run is lesser now. That's a fact.