College Basketball Thread

[S4L]

Originally Posted by Xiomera

I'm not going to argue otherwise. But I'd like to know more of what we're up against.

Sure. As Ashton Gibbs goes, the offense is likely to follow. He's had an up-and-down year from beyond the arc, but when he is making threes, team is hard to stop. And with an 89% free throw percentage, you do not want to get him to the stripe.

Brad Wanamaker is the other guard to look out for. He is the only other guy on Pitt's team capable of putting the team on his back offensively, as he did when he put up 24 in the win over WVU, and almost did successfully with 16 points in the most recent loss to ND. Wanamaker has also seen great improvement in his ability to distribute the ball this season.

Jermaine Dixon is your standard two-guard on the offensive side. With the exception of a big game against Providence, he's not likely to go off in terms of shooting. But he is an absolute lockdown defender, and will consistently log over 33 minutes per game to keep his defensive skills on the floor.

Our other top defender is center Gary McGhee. McGhee is no longer the lumbering five with no offensive ability he was last year, but also hasn't scored more than 12 points in a game this year. Where he does make his mark is in cleaning the offensive glass and forcing your big men into bad shots.

The only other guys to keep an eye on are: talented but devastatingly inconsistent forward Gilbert Brown (point totals last twelve games: 25, 0, 23, 6, 16, 5, 16, 3, 13, 0, 19, 3), solid rebounder Nasir Robinson off the bench, and raw freshman forward Dante Taylor (a McDonald's All-American).

Jamie Dixon's rotation mostly consists of the starting five of Gibbs, Wanamaker, Dixon, Brown, and McGhee, along with Robinson, Taylor, and Travon Woodall.

[derza222]

Originally Posted by Xiomera

Can someone give me a scouting report on Pitt please?

Very briefly, Pitt plays really tough defense. Ashton Gibbs is a dangerous guard and has confidence with the ball in his hands late in the game. They've got decent size and one of their big guys whose name slips me can be tough down low on the glass and defensive end along with picking up some garbage points, but with Benson that could be neutralized. Overall they're just a very sound team with a very talented guard, so the kind of team that's dangerous in the tourney IMO.

Originally Posted by GB12

Too bad Villanova will beat Baylor.


And Duke.

As somebody who follows 'Nova big time I'm really hesitant to say that. Could we make the Final Four? Absolutely. But I think it's unlikely. Not sure who, St. Mary's is my best guess, but I'd bet that some team upsets us pretty early on.

I won't say it's a lock but I thought as a 12 seed we were going to get to the Sweet 16 two years ago and then lose to Kansas and we did and last year I saw us getting to the Final Four and losing to UNC...which also happened. I don't have the feeling that we're going to make it out of the first weekend, honestly.

When this team is on they'll be tough to beat. Pena is a talented low post scorer, Mouph is very talented inside and makes some spectacular plays. Armwood has great length and can get some dunks in transition and really bother people on the defensive end. King can knock down threes and rebound. Cheek is a really talented all around player and GREAT at the top of a press. Wayns is a flash, finishes well, and can knock down the three ball. Stokes is heating up from deep, Redding is a great glue guy who can distribute and play great D along with crashing glass and scoring some buckets, Fish is obviously great and can do it all on offense and excels getting to the stripe, and everybody knows about Scottie. That leaves out Mo Sutton who looks lost out there sometimes but has some nice length and Russell Wooten who only plays late in games but is still a really cool dude.

However, Pena turns the ball over too much, the frosh (Mouph, Armwood, Cheek, Wayns, Sutton) can be inconsistent, King is slow and a liability on the defensive end plus he fouls at a ridiculous rate, Stokes was ice cold at the beginning of the year and didn't contribute much, Redding has been a liability offensively recently, and Scottie just started picking up his old habit of "I'm the only player on the team who can score so in big situations I'll make it blatantly obvious I'm taking the shot and end up taking a bad one even though I'm ice cold" again which was got old real quick 2 years ago and when the team got more talented and he stopped doing that I was ecstatic.

We'll see but the team hasn't been playing well recently at all right now and I just think they're going to get clipped. Last year the team played better D, scrapped better, had better athleticism (in games at least), was more reliable in late game situations...I had a lot more faith. This year the talent was always there and the hope was it would come out late in the season and just like the previous 2 years we'd play our best ball heading into the tournament...and now we're playing our worst. Perhaps I'm just cynical but I don't have much hope. The easy region gave me a little faith but I still think this year is bound to end in disappointment.

/rant

[PalmerToCJ]

Originally Posted by adschofield

This conference tournaments have only strengthened my confidence that Kansas is easily the best team in the nation. We just keep on taking care of business while others falter.

I suppose UK at 31-2 is not taking care of business. Neither team is dominant.

[adschofield]

Originally Posted by PalmerToCJ

I suppose UK at 31-2 is not taking care of business. Neither team is dominant.

Read my response to on the page after that post. Sparknotes: Comment was directed more at teams like 'Cuse falling, but I think UK has more holes in their game than KU at this point. But it's March Madness, and there's inevitably an element of luck.

[adschofield]

Originally Posted by jayceheathman

You think UTEP will beat Butler? UTEP lost to Houston twice during the season. Culpepper's vertical is INSANE though. Watch and see if he gets a break a way dunk.

You also think Utah State will beat A&M? I think all of A&M's losses were mostly to Kansas, Texas, and highly ranked teams. Plus they only lost one of those games by double digits so they hung in there well.

I like your upset picks because my New Mexico State team beat UTEP even though we were out our two top players both times we played them and we beat Utah State 2 out 3 times.

Those games were just ones that I think could be upsets/had trouble picking a winner. Eventually, I went with Butler, but it's a close call. Both teams have good inside/outside games, but their tempo's are polar opposites. I went with Butler
a. It's easier to slow a game down then speed it up
b. Butler has tourney experience

And the Cornell hype machine is getting a bit out of control...They're a good team, but their defense is horrid. And Temple is a horrible match-up for them...Temple has one of the best defenses in the country.

I'm still struggling over Xavier-Minnesota...They're extremely evenly matched.

And yes, I think Utah State will beat Texas A&M...A&M plays good defense, and it will be a tough game, but I Utah State beats both A&M and Purdue before getting knocked out by Duke.

[PalmerToCJ]

Originally Posted by adschofield

Read my response to on the page after that post. Sparknotes: Comment was directed more at teams like 'Cuse falling, but I think UK has more holes in their game than KU at this point. But it's March Madness, and there's inevitably an element of luck.

lol Sparknotes work, I can agree with that. I definitely (after this weekend especially) think UK can win it all but they're not perfect. Kansas is the safer bet.

Like I said in another post, the selection was beyond ridiculous. Duke gets the easiest go of it and IMO they shouldn't even be a 1 seed.

I think Kansas' region has the most depth to it while Kentucky has the hardest #2 seed (aka the team that should be the 4th 1 seed.

If you told me it wasn't UK/KU winning it all, I'd have a hard time picking another team.

EDIT: OK I've only had time to glance over the brackets and given the Duke region would play UK if they made it to the Final Four I can't complain much. None of them bother me at all except Baylor (their length along with their guards, don't know if they're consistent enough to make the FF though).

[adschofield]

Originally Posted by PalmerToCJ

lol Sparknotes work, I can agree with that. I definitely (after this weekend especially) think UK can win it all but they're not perfect. Kansas is the safer bet.

Like I said in another post, the selection was beyond ridiculous. Duke gets the easiest go of it and IMO they shouldn't even be a 1 seed.

I think Kansas' region has the most depth to it while Kentucky has the hardest #2 seed (aka the team that should be the 4th 1 seed.

If you told me it wasn't UK/KU winning it all, I'd have a hard time picking another team.

EDIT: OK I've only had time to glance over the brackets and given the Duke region would play UK if they made it to the Final Four I can't complain much. None of them bother me at all except Baylor (their length along with their guards, don't know if they're consistent enough to make the FF though).

Yeah, I think KU has a pretty easy path to the Elite 8, but that potential game against Georgetown/Ohio State should be tough.

But looking at the bracket, I think Syracuse might be the first #1 seed to be dropped. Potential games against Butler and K-State should be tough esp. with 'Cuse stumbling down the stretch.

Do you have any worries about your 3 point shooting?

[adschofield]

And as far as MU vs. Clemson...Go with Clemson...MU has absolutely collapsed down the stretch as they've lost one of their primary post players. They're going to get mauled.

[adschofield]

And the thing that pisses me most is that Duke struggles the most with defensive teams that shut down the perimeter...And of course, their region is filled with the Cal's, Baylor's, and Villanova's of the world (Read: Teams with lots of offensive firepower, but little defense to back it up).

[PalmerToCJ]

Originally Posted by adschofield

And the thing that pisses me most is that Duke struggles the most with defensive teams that shut down the perimeter...And of course, their region is filled with the Cal's, Baylor's, and Villanova's of the world (Read: Teams with lots of offensive firepower, but little defense to back it up).

I was about to post the same thing but didn't for fear of being labeled a Duke hater simply because I'm a UK fan. I mean, it's not that I like Duke but a large majority of NCAA fans dislike them more than I do. It's not like they're a rival or anything.

I'm only concerned about UK's 3 point shooting when they don't rebound. Rebounding is far more important to this team (along with playing smart defense) than offensive production. The points will come, it's just a matter of keeping the other team off the board.

Teams pack it in but Bledsoe/Wall still get into the lane so it's not like shooting the 3 well opens things up a large amount.

[yodapoop]

Gosh darn it, just did my picks for SWDC, its chalk city. No #1 seeds losing til the elite 8 when Nova beats Duke. Then, Syaracuse only losing to Kansas. And Kentucky beats Kansas. Thats pretty much chalk and I hate it.

[El Peefs?????]

Originally Posted by yodapoop

Gosh darn it, just did my picks for SWDC, its chalk city. No #1 seeds losing til the elite 8 when Nova beats Duke. Then, Syaracuse only losing to Kansas. And Kentucky beats Kansas. Thats pretty much chalk and I hate it.

Didnt you win last year because of your ballsy Michigan State prediction. Go out on a limb homes !

[yodapoop]

Originally Posted by El Peefs?????

Didnt you win last year because of your ballsy Michigan State prediction. Go out on a limb homes !

I won last year??????

[El Peefs?????]

Originally Posted by yodapoop

I won last year??????

Mayhaps ?

[yo123]

Damnit I wanted to pick Cornell but the sexy upset picks never win.

[adschofield]

I really want to pick St. Mary's as a Cinderella...They have some really favorable match-ups...Not sure if I have the balls though.

[JFLO]

did anyone else catch Doug Gottlieb's remark about his four #1 seed reaching the final four?

He said something like, "My picks are just like the color of my Connecticut skin, chalky."

It's not racist, but it's kind of awkward nonetheless.

[Chucky]

Can anyone give me some info on BYU. I mean do you guys think they can beat K. State? because of they do they could really have a chance to pull the upset over Cuse especially if onuaka is out

[JFLO]

I like BYU to definitely get past Florida, but I think K-State will play some stellar perimeter defense. BYU likes to gun it from outside and I think Pullen and Clemente will put a stop to that.

[YAYareaRB]

Originally Posted by Chucky

Can anyone give me some info on BYU. I mean do you guys think they can beat K. State? because of they do they could really have a chance to pull the upset over Cuse especially if onuaka is out

When they're hot they're hot. When they're cold, they're average. They seem to struggle against more physical defenses (UNLV and New Mexico) Their only losses are to all teams that are in the dance right now. I have full confidence that they'll get past Florida but after that, it's up in the air. Kansas State is a very strong team and as JFLO pointed out, Clemente is an excellent perimeter defender.

[PalmerToCJ]

Always interesting to look at these from the past 10 champions.

• All 10 had at least two future first-round NBA draft picks on the roster
• 9 of 10 had at least one winning streak of 10 games or more prior to the NCAA tournament
• 9 of 10 finished the season with a scoring margin of plus-14.1 ppg or better
• 9 of 10 had an opponents’ field goal percentage of .410 or lower
• 8 of 10 had a percentage of .480 or better
• 8 of 10 were ranked in the top four of the preseason AP poll
• 8 of 10 won at least a share of their conference’s regular-season title

Kansas and Kentucky fit all of these.

[tjsunstein]

I was watching games from years past and UCLA-Gonzaga was ridiculous. Adam Morrison crying on the floor was priceless.

[DiG]

games im struggling with:

baylor vs nova (leaning towards baylor)
washington vs new mexico (leaning towards washington)
purdue vs a&m (completely undecided)
utep vs vandy (leaning towards utep)

insight appreciated.

[yodapoop]

Originally Posted by Dirty Thirty

games im struggling with:

baylor vs nova (leaning towards baylor)
washington vs new mexico (leaning towards washington)
purdue vs a&m (completely undecided)
utep vs vandy (leaning towards utep)

insight appreciated.

I'd go with A&M against Purdue. I am kinda leaning toward picking Siena against Purdue myself. I just think the Hummel injury hurt them so much.

[HawkeyeFan]

YAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's official, Iowa fired coach Todd Lickliter, thank goodness!