NCAA Basketball 19-20 Catch-All

Cards handle Pitt by 20 after the game gets close and chippy mid-second half. #1 for another week.

Louisville is gonna be a load to handle this year. I saw the sequence where they made 8 threes. By 8 different players. Yeesh.

I don't think UNC has 8 players capable of making a 3.

Tyrian wrote:

I don't think UNC has 8 players capable of making a 3.

Which they aptly demonstrated today. Argh.

UNC should fall out of the rankings entirely this time. Unless some other folks on the squad can start hitting shots, this is going to be a reaaaaaallly long season.

Yeah I watched 2/3 of the UVA-NC game. Painful. Saw a tweet from one of the ACC reporters I follow that wondered why anyone not involved with those teams would be watching. I love basketball, but yeah, I had to question my sanity.

Gonzaga bounced back with a win over ranked Washington. #16 Seton Hall drops one to Iowa St.

Texas beat A&M. Longhorns 8-1. Not sure if they'll end up ranked, but earlier this year they did beat that Purdue team that just destroyed Virginia. Interesting to watch.

Now that bowls are announced and there's weeks of no football, I'm ready to really dive into hoops, outside of just Louisville games.

Stele wrote:

Yeah I watched 2/3 of the UVA-NC game. Painful. Saw a tweet from one of the ACC reporters I follow that wondered why anyone not involved with those teams would be watching. I love basketball, but yeah, I had to question my sanity.

Gonzaga bounced back with a win over ranked Washington. #16 Seton Hall drops one to Iowa St.

Texas beat A&M. Longhorns 8-1. Not sure if they'll end up ranked, but earlier this year they did beat that Purdue team that just destroyed Virginia. Interesting to watch.

Now that bowls are announced and there's weeks of no football, I'm ready to really dive into hoops, outside of just Louisville games.

Yeah, I don't know why anyone other than people getting paid or invested with the teams would have watched more of that game. It was brutal.

In other WTF news, UNC is *STILL* ranked in the top 25 after dropping 2 in a row to ranked opponents (which I guess is their only saving grace). Frankly, I think it's ridiculous. They haven't shown any significant grit or toughness with consistency. Flashes of poise, sure. But you don't win games with a 3 basket sequence... and I think that's about all we've really seen this year's Tarheels do.

My only respite is that the season is still young. It's possible these guys will develop some actual chemistry over the next month or so, but I'm not holding my breath!

It's that weird thing that always happens too. Because UNC was highly thought of and ranked preseason, the teams beating them are getting credit for beating a top 10 team and vaulting up the polls themselves. But is that really a good win right now?

They're still 22nd in kenpom, so not terrible.

Was worried about Texas Tech when the schedule released but they're not looking great either. If Louisville can win tomorrow at MSG they have a couple more easy games before Kentucky. Could stay #1 for 4 weeks.

Stele wrote:

It's that weird thing that always happens too. Because UNC was highly thought of and ranked preseason, the teams beating them are getting credit for beating a top 10 team and vaulting up the polls themselves. But is that really a good win right now?

They're still 22nd in kenpom, so not terrible.

Was worried about Texas Tech when the schedule released but they're not looking great either. If Louisville can win tomorrow at MSG they have a couple more easy games before Kentucky. Could stay #1 for 4 weeks.

Yeah, it's one of those weird power calculation redux things. If a team falls significantly are teams later penalized for their fall? Is it taking injuries into account for lack of performance? It's clearly more gut feel than formula and science.

A lot of people are getting onboard the Louisville train, and I haven't seen a lot of teams that could beat them 2 out of 3. It's going to be one of those "any given night, a team on this list could beat a team on that list," kind of seasons. Wheee.

Stele wrote:

It's that weird thing that always happens too. Because UNC was highly thought of and ranked preseason, the teams beating them are getting credit for beating a top 10 team and vaulting up the polls themselves. But is that really a good win right now?

Is this the NCAA Basketball or SEC football thread?

Well, that just happened. I guess we'll have a new #1 next week. Some bad calls down the stretch, but Texas Tech played a hell of a game.

I think it was Seth Greenberg that said it earlier this season, but it was something like "This Louisville team goes as Jordan Nwora goes," and he didn't have a great night.

Penn State took down Maryland as well. Not a good night for the top of the poll.

Just kept trying to force the same pass over and over to the post and Tech stealing it half the time. Really had us scouted on offense.

Jordan ice cold, 1-7 from 3.

Sloppy sh*t.

Enoch and Williams down low were the only ones who played worth a damn but we didn't get the ball to either of them enough to matter.

At least we held #1 for 2 weeks, and lost to the national runners-up on a neutral court instead of some mid-major at home. Still think we're a final four team but need some offensive adjustments.

At least Maryland lost to Penn St too. Might drop to their spot in the top 5

Stele wrote:

Just kept trying to force the same pass over and over to the post and Tech stealing it half the time. Really had us scouted on offense.

Jordan ice cold, 1-7 from 3.

Sloppy sh*t.

Enoch and Williams down low were the only ones who played worth a damn but we didn't get the ball to either of them enough to matter.

At least we held #1 for 2 weeks, and lost to the national runners-up on a neutral court instead of some mid-major at home. Still think we're a final four team but need some offensive adjustments.

I feel your pain. Watching your team completely flub offense and defense on back to back to back to possessions is just so aggravating. The team that played last night was completely different than the team that absolutely destroyed Michigan.

I'm sure Coach Mack will have plenty of teaching material from the tape.

Oregon at Michigan was a fantastic second half and overtime.

Georgetown was in total control vs Syracuse all day.

Checking out Memphis State and Tennessee now.

Louisville crushed Eastern KY, as expected.

Stele wrote:

Oregon at Michigan was a fantastic second half and overtime.

Georgetown was in total control vs Syracuse all day.

Checking out Memphis State and Tennessee now.

Louisville crushed Eastern KY, as expected.

Damn, I missed that Oregon v Michigan matchup. Sounds like it was a heck of a game!

Syracuse seems like they're in a downward spiral this year. Which means they'll beat at least one of the following during the ACC regular season; UNC, Duke, Louisville. Likely money is on UNC, given their recent performances.

Yeah Oregon had a miss, offensive rebound, kick out for a 28 footer at the buzzer. Good, but released a few tenths of a second late, so they went to OT. Both teams with lots of chances in the final minute.

Memphis State looked awful for the first 10+ minutes but rallied to lead by half at 1 and held off Tenn by 4.

Kentucky v Ga Tech looked close for a bit but now double digits.

I think Arizona v Gonzaga could be fun tonight. 10pm eastern, I'm up for it.

Stele wrote:

Yeah Oregon had a miss, offensive rebound, kick out for a 28 footer at the buzzer. Good, but released a few tenths of a second late, so they went to OT. Both teams with lots of chances in the final minute.

Memphis State looked awful for the first 10+ minutes but rallied to lead by half at 1 and held off Tenn by 4.

Kentucky v Ga Tech looked close for a bit but now double digits.

I think Arizona v Gonzaga could be fun tonight. 10pm eastern, I'm up for it.

Sounds like a good time, I'm in!

Well, UNC's already in-peril season just took another hit. Cole Anthony reported to be out indefinitely with some kind of knee injury. Leaky Black also not playing today? Sooooo... jury is honestly out on whether they even survive Wofford, much less Gonzaga.

Argh.

Gonzaga pulled away from Arizona last night.

#7 Louisville women went into #14 Kentucky today and survived with a 1 point win. This year's seniors have never lost to their rival, 4 straight.

Wow, so yeah. I am pretty close to done with the Tarheels this year. It's just frustrating to watch them completely flub offense and defense time after time, sequence after sequence.

Down goes presumptive #1 Ohio State to 5-5 Minnesota. Hahaha.

Guess Kansas #1 by default

Kansas 1, Louisville falls to 3.

UNC finally falls out of the top 25 (and I'm not even sure should be in the top 50). With Cole Anthony likely gone for a significant portion of the season, other injuries piling up, and a team that can't seem to throw the ball in the ocean, they shouldn't be anywhere near the rankings. Pretty much all expectations for the season are out the window, and I honestly think they'll be lucky to stay above .500.

Sigh.

Gonzaga jumped to 2, as expected. A little surprised Louisville stayed above Duke. Think we play them in 4 weeks anyway so we'll have our chance.

Ohio St vs Kentucky still probably the highlight game this week on Saturday. Kansas v Villanova a close second.

Did everyone see what happened to Cincinnati yesterday? Holy crap what a way to lose a game.

That flushing sound you heard is sourced from Orange county, NC as the reports put Cole Anthony out for 4-6 weeks. Given he was the teams leading scorer, primary ball handler, and generally the only player on the floor willing to take any shot... I'd say UNC is definitely out of any kind of running for anything.

The only upside? Every victory from here on will be a complete surprise.

Gonzaga deserves that #2 ranking, I think. They're still playing with periods of inefficiency and lack of energy, but when they start coming on strong for the whole game, they'll become a force to be reckoned with.

The only bright spot for last night's relative curb-stomp of UNC was that we finally scored more than 80 points! The 'zags had 94, but whatever!

Yeah caught the tail end after Louisville won. UNC not good.

Cards have 10 days to prepare for Kentucky while they have Ohio St on Saturday. And I had a nap the first half last night but stayed awake after that to watch them lose to Utah. Good thing they got that neutral court in Vegas instead of a real road game or they'd have really got beat. Hah.

Hoping to give them their 3rd loss in a row on the 28th. Go buckeyes, go Cards.

And down goes the fifth #1 team of the season before January. I'm pretty sure being ranked is a curse in some fashion!

UNC showing some actual scoring today, must be weak gravity in Vegas.

Indiana barely survives against Notre Dame, and Florida St. had a dogfight against South Florida.

Yeah my buddy said Gonzaga will decline the #1 ranking.

Wow, that Dayton / Colorado game ended up being pretty tight too! Felt like a 2nd round NCAA tournament game at times!

So... San Diego State had an okay night, hopefully we don't drop too far in the ranks.

WizKid wrote:

So... San Diego State had an okay night, hopefully we don't drop too far in the ranks.

Haha, destroyed Utah after they beat Kentucky. Well done.

And Ohio St beat Kentucky again today. So 2 game losing streak heading into Louisville game next Sat. Not sure that makes me more confident because strange things happen in that arena. But giving your rival a 3 game losing streak would be fun. I hope we can pull it off.