College Basketball

[Ohwell]

Finally!  Now I can enjoy the rest of the tournament now that Duke is out.

[Calvada]

What a strange feeling, cheering for MSU and Izzo.  Anything to get Duke out!

I wonder how many brackets had these 4 teams in the Final Four.

Edited April 1, 2019 by Calvada
clarity is a good thing

[ganesh]

I had MSU.

[Ohwell]

I am so fuckin happy.

[Minneapple]

Pretty good Final Four. I would like to see Virginia and MSU in the final game. Best of all, no Duke. Three lottery picks; nice coaching job, K.

[Calvada]

Just now, Minneapple said:

Pretty good Final Four. I would like to see Virginia and MSU in the final game. Best of all, no Duke. Three lottery picks; nice coaching job, K.

Totally agree - would like Virginia/MSU in the finals.  

I didn't watch any postgame interviews.  Did Coach K say in a gallant and noble manner that the fault is with his coaching in such a way that everyone knows he's really thinking "these fucking incompetent kids, how dare they deny me, the greatest coach of all time, another Final Four?"

[vb68]

Words can not express how happy I am that Duke got beat. All I have heard this whole season is how Zion Willamson is the best player in a generation. It drowned out all other conversations. He may be good, but I also feel he's overrated. And maybe not by a little.

How's this for ironies? Virginia is the only number one in the Final Four.  I hope that gets maybe half the media attention that they got for losing last year.

[xaxat]

13 minutes ago, Calvada said:

Did Coach K say in a gallant and noble manner that the fault is with his coaching in such a way that everyone knows he's really thinking "these fucking incompetent kids"

Have you ever heard West Virginia's Bob Huggins after a loss? He always buries the kids and it's never his fault .(Except for that time he said they lost because he was too nice to them.) 

Freakin' hate his act.

[Calvada]

4 minutes ago, xaxat said:

Have you ever heard West Virginia's Bob Huggins after a loss? He always buries the kids and it's never his fault .(Except for that time he said they lost because he was too nice to them.) 

Freakin' hate his act.

At least Izzo screams at them in full view of everyone!  

[Growsonwalls]

Totally random and a blast from the past, but does anyone know if Coach K still has a relationship with Kyrie Irving?

[Crs97]

A quick google search tells me that Kyrie was on Coach K’s Sirius broadcast last November.

[Carey]

Meh on Duke.  Totally anything but a shocker that they went out.  Sure it came close three times, but there was some fear that they would lose right away on March 22.  But it was still a close game against a team that is very good.  Either way, Duke being out is opposite of something I'd lose sleep over.

I would love to see MSU/UVA as well, but I don't know if MSU can survive against Texas Tech.  IMO, these games are going to be the most difficult games I've had to guess from in quite a while.  Virginia has what it takes to knock off Auburn but they were blessed to defeat Purdue

[Kip Hackman]

At 72 years old, Coach K needs to think about hanging it up. He's gone all in on the "one and done" thing for a while now. He doesn't out-coach opponents anymore, he just out-recruits them.

And while the "one and done" players aren't completely going away, the best of them are going to be heading to the NBA. So, no more Kyrie Irvings or Zion Williamsons in Durham.

2015 title notwithstanding, Coach K might've been better served if he had stuck to what had been successful for him, instead of trying to be John Calipari.

[Carey]

While I agree about how Coach K should consider hanging it up I sorta hope he waits for about 4 years or so!

I can't say that following what Coach Cal has done has been a total disaster for Duke.  JMO; in a one-and-done tourney, there is a major difference between going out right away and losing right before end city to a great coach and a great program by one possession.  However, like many other sports, when winning the title is the main objective, criticism is totally fair

With whatever time Coach K has left I'm hoping he could mix seasoned players in with one-and-done players.  At the end of the day upperclassmen are a better bet than ready for NBA players

[KillingAdam]

Can ESPN please just stop with the whole ZOMG ZION WILLIAMSON IS THE BESTEST COLLEGE BASKETBALL PLAYER EVARSSSSS!!!!!!

He isn't even in the top five greatest Duke players of all time. There has been more coverage of him blowing out one of his shoes than anything else he's done.

The greatest college male college basketball player of all time is Lou Alcindor. The greatest Duke basketball player of all time is Christian Laettner.

[AimingforYoko]

Is Charles going to be OK?

[Ohwell]

At least he was gracious in defeat.  I feel bad for the Auburn players, but somebody's gotta win; somebody's gotta lose.  Also, I cannot stand their coach Bruce Pearl. 

So yay Virginia!

[irisheyes]

17 minutes ago, AimingforYoko said:

Is Charles going to be OK?

I was wondering the same thing. Poor guy, he was so excited to have Auburn in the Final Four, and then to lose it like that. Pretty sure there were some tears in his eyes when they went to the post game shots. 

[vb68]

Whew! I thought that was over. Thankfully Kyle Guy came through when it mattered the most! UVA keeps winning by the skin of their teeth. I'm at the edge of my swat constantly!

Edited April 7, 2019 by vb68

[AimingforYoko]

Texas Tech-Virginia, just like I predicted! 

I hope it's watchable, though.

[mojoween]

I know they just lost, which is a bummer to me, but I saw a stat today about Notre Dame that if true is crazy.

In the last 11 years, ND has beaten UConn nine times.  UConn has lost eight times total to every other school.

[xaxat]

5 minutes ago, forumfish said:

And a big shout out to Kim Mulkey -- the only coach (male or female) to have won the NCAA Championship as a player (La. Tech, 1982),

Her grandson wrestling with the cup during the quarterfinal pres conference was adorable. 

I also loved the moment when she had the team out on the court for the shoot around before the final and pointed to the banner commemorating her La. Tech team. "See that! I was on that team!" It was like a scene from Hoosiers.

I also think it was good that this wasn't another "Geno" show. In addition to Kim's run, you had Muffet McGraw's speech on gender inequality get the coverage it deserved.

And the game was really good.

[mojoween]

Huh.  As the game goes on, I find myself not rooting against Virginia, but instead for Texas Tech to keep it a close game.

I guess in the end I'm rooting for the ACC but not a rout.

[Spunkygal]

5 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Huh.  As the game goes on, I find myself not rooting against Virginia, but instead for Texas Tech to keep it a close game.

I guess in the end I'm rooting for the ACC but not a rout.

The biggest asshole of a boss that I ever had went to Tech so I’m rooting for VA.

[ganesh]

I'm not a fan of the current drive the lane and kick out when you have a clear and open look. Poor defense on Tech's part on the VA 3 to tie because you have to know they're looking for one, and giving up an easy 2 is a better play for them. 

[mojoween]

The idea of OT was exciting but then UVA kind of rolled Tech and made it anti-climactic.  In the end I was happy for Virginia but sad for Hall of Famer Patrick Mahomes, who looked like he was having a great time.

[Ohwell]

Go Virginia!   😄

[Carey]

5 hours ago, mojoween said:

The idea of OT was exciting but then UVA kind of rolled Tech and made it anti-climactic.  In the end I was happy for Virginia but sad for Hall of Famer Patrick Mahomes, who looked like he was having a great time.

Yeah that sucked for Mahomes, and now he has to deal with life following being on the wrong end of two OT results.  Though I really don't feel that bad since it looks like Kansas City will be okay for years to come, while Texas Tech could be very good going forward.  It's more probable than not that TTU won't get back to this stage as there are so many teams that are good and you have to win 4-6 games before losing in order to be there in End City

In the end, while one off night is all it takes to be done, Chris Beard has done well and IMO is the guy that will have the team in the conversation as being a team that can win it all.  Of course, the coach will have to succeed before the typical thing of going a more prominent school happens!

[Ohwell]

Given the ugliness of what happened in 2017, I'm so glad that the people of Charlottesville have something to celebrate.  There will be hangovers for days. 😄 

[xaxat]

For any of you who are like me and are too old to stay up past the post game.

[ganesh]

I don't know why they bothered to show Duke highlights of them all standing around waiting for all of their opponents to miss. 

[anyanka323]

On 3/31/2019 at 10:27 AM, Minneapple said:

TBH there are/were some real slimeball coaches in this tournament. Kelvin Sampson, Bruce Pearl. The standard joke on other college basketball message boards is that it doesn't matter what Auburn does, it will be vacated anyway in a couple years. 

I'll include Coach K on the slimeball list. Now he's whining about what happens if the NBA does away with the one and done rule. Sorry your relatively new gravy train is going to go away. At least Calipari never pretends to be something he's not.

The Purdue/Virginia game was nice because it involved two coaches who are clean as a whistle. Matt Painter and Tony Bennett are among a handful of coaches who really do things the right way. 

Two coaches that Illinois basketball fans really dislike for justifiable reasons.  One, Pearl, for being the cause of an NCAA investigation and the other, Sampson, for poaching a recruit that had verbally committed to us.  Houston likely will have to vacate a bunch of wins and be under NCAA sanctions if Sampson's history at Oklahoma and Indiana repeat itself there.  Indiana still really hasn't recovered from his tenure there.

It's going to be interesting where Sam and Joey Hauser, who announced their intent to transfer from Marquette, end up.  Supposedly, MSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Virginia are on their lists.  All but MSU have scholarships available.  It seems that they're more interested in Virginia than Virginia is in them. 

[Calvada]

I know this is not exactly breaking news, but the NCAA is fucked up.  Micah Potter transferred from Ohio State to Wisconsin last year in December.  He practiced with the Buckeyes last fall leading up to the season but never played one minute in a game, instead making the decision to transfer.  He finished the first semester at Ohio State, maintaining better than a 3.0 GPA (which he did during the spring semester at Wisconsin also) and thus he didn't affect Ohio State's APR.  He sat out all of last year, but the NCAA says he has to sit out the first semester of this year too.  I could list many players who actually PLAYED in multiple games last year who have been granted immediate eligibility, so why not Potter?  The assholes at the NCAA don't have to give a reason.  Ohio State has given their blessing to letting him play for the first semester, he's in good standing academically, and did I mention he DID NOT PLAY AT ALL LAST SEASON?  The Badgers have appealed the decision, were denied again, and now Potter has retained a lawyer, and Wisconsin has requested a teleconference so Potter can make a personal appeal.  I'm not sure if the NCAA is pissed at Potter or at Wisconsin, but their inconsistency is glaring.  Why are others allowed to play and not this guy? 

[xaxat]

So Jim Boeheim whined (something he is very good at) about having to play a conference game in the first week of the season. He called it a "money grab".

You willing to stop cashing them big checks they pay you?

[xaxat]

Stephen F Austin!

[Ohwell]

49 minutes ago, xaxat said:

Stephen F Austin!

I'm so sorry I didn't watch the game because, naturally, I expected Duke to massacre them.   Then I find out this morning that Stephen F Austin won!  

I loved the stunned look on Coach K's face at the post game interview. 😈

[AimingforYoko]

A Coach K-led Duke team had beaten its previous 150 unranked non-conference opponents at Cameron.

[JTMacc99]

As more of a general sports take on this, rather than a college basketball or Duke specific take, I think that by the end of the season I'll look back at that game and think one or more of these things:

1. A November loss for a super talented but super young team was probably a good thing for the overall development. (The old coach uses this as a lesson for the rest of the year.)
2. Stephen F Austin might be one of those teams that is way better than they would appear on paper.
3. This was when we all should have realized that this isn't going to be one of the better Duke teams.

Gut feeling, 1 and maybe 2.  

[AimingforYoko]

The defending Nat'l Champs scored 46 points today. And won by 20. Tony Bennett's a hell of a coach, but man do his teams play some ugly ball.

[Sew Sumi]

The Kansas/Dayton game was a great early season matchup. It was a shame that one team had to lose. I thought Dayton had them for a while. I'd like to see them in the next top 25 poll.

[mojoween]

#22 for Kansas has to be ejected from the entire season.  He was so beyond out of line from minute one.

[woodstock]

10 hours ago, mojoween said:

 

#22 for Kansas has to be ejected from the entire season.  He was so beyond out of line from minute one.

 

Very ugly ending. Every time I see video of him picking up that chair...

Just waiting to see who gets suspended and for how long after TPTB review the video.

[Ohwell]

That was sad and ugly.  I hope these young men learned a lesson when they saw themselves in that video.  

[Sew Sumi]

20 hours ago, mojoween said:

#22 for Kansas has to be ejected from the entire season.  He was so beyond out of line from minute one.

Suspended 12 games. That's what you get for wielding a chair.

[mojoween]

That’s not even through the Big XII tourney...?

[Sew Sumi]

No clue how many regular season games they have left. It should hopefully cover the rest of that. 

Other suspensions were handed down, but no one else got more than 8 games.

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

No clue how many regular season games they have left. It should hopefully cover the rest of that. 

Other suspensions were handed down, but no one else got more than 8 games.

Looks like he returns for the season finale and is then available for the postseason.

[Sew Sumi]

1 hour ago, doodlebug said:

Looks like he returns for the season finale and is then available for the postseason.

Well, that sucks. 

[mojoween]

Still think he should have been gone for the year but this is a very good apology.  
 

 

[anyanka323]

Bobby Knight returned to Indiana for a basketball game for the first time in almost 20 years, since he was fired.  He's been having health problems, likely dementia.  Last year, Don Fischer, IU's basketball announcer gave an interview in which he said that Knight had been having health problems.  Given the bad blood between Knight and IU, perhaps it was best that both parties seemed to have come to a compromise of sorts and he got a triumphant homecoming when he's still able to enjoy it. 

It was very nice seeing the former players there and especially Gene Keady, the former Purdue Coach.  Purdue ended up winning the game.