College Basketball Random Chatter 2013-2014 Season

• Heretic

  

  wildcats20;1573283 wrote:The B1G is not getting 8-9 teams.

  6-7, yes. 8-9, lol, no.
• Azubuike24

  

  Dante Exum entering the 2014 NBA Draft. Probably a top 10 pick...
• Laley23

  

  Heretic;1573412 wrote:6-7, yes. 8-9, lol, no.

  
  Yeah, I got:
  Michigan (lock)
  Michigan St (lock)
  Wisconsin (lock)
  Iowa (lock)
  OSU (almost lock)
  Minnesota (looking in/needs work)
  Indiana (looking in/needs work)
  Purdue (needs work and help)
  Illinois (needs work and help)
  NW (no)
  PSU (no)
  Nebraska (no)
  
  Id say they get 6 and then Indiana or Minnesota can make 7 by beating the top teams left on their schedule. Of they BJ lose their big games, B1G is looking at 5 imo
• Classyposter58

  

  Wouldn't be shocked if Illinois and Purdue get hot and win some big games
• Laley23

  

  They would need more than that. They need bubble teams to start losing in max exodus. They are simply not very good teams. I think your buying too much into the B1G. Illinois is 2-6. Has anyone ever climbed out of that to finish .500 in the B1G? I doubt it.
  
  Purdue played a terrible schedule and hasn't beaten anyone good. But at least they are 3-4. .500 in conference will at least get them in the discussion.
• Prescott

  Laley23;1573460 wrote:Yeah, I got:
  Michigan (lock)
  Michigan St (lock)
  Wisconsin (lock)
  Iowa (lock)
  OSU (almost lock)
  Minnesota (looking in/needs work)
  Indiana (looking in/needs work)
  Purdue (needs work and help)
  Illinois (needs work and help)
  NW (no)
  PSU (no)
  Nebraska (no)
  
  Id say they get 6 and then Indiana or Minnesota can make 7 by beating the top teams left on their schedule. Of they BJ lose their big games, B1G is looking at 5 imo

  I think OSU is far from a lock. Their best wins are Marquette and ND, not exactly powerhouses.Minnesota has a better resume and won the head-to-head.
• Azubuike24

  

  And Illinois "get hot?" They've been handled the last 6 games in a row...
  
  vs Iowa and at Iowa
  vs Wisconsin
  vs Michigan State and at Michigan State
  vs Ohio State
  at Minnesota
  vs Michigan
  
  They need at least 10 conference wins to get in. So you're saying they sweep every other game and win 4 of those 8? Zero chance.
• reclegend22

  

  Laley23;1573334 wrote:Im just surprised you cant see the glaring flaw of this team...they cant defend, and its not something that can really be fixed. They are slow and unathletic. There is a reason why Bo is pushing the pace this year and trying to score a lot. He isnt going to win many games in a half-court set.
  
  I keep going back to the Indiana game. Evan Gordon, Yogi and Stan Robinson got to the rim at will. I think combined they took like 36 shots inside of 5 feet. Thats just pathetic. Anyone with quick, athletic guards/wings will have their way with Wisconsin. Lucky for them, Indiana probably has the best combination of athletic wings in the B1G, so they wont have to deal with it too often. But that is what the NCAAs are made of. I could see them going down in the first weekend again if they face a mid-major or average major with quick guards and wings.

  I acknowledged in my original post that Wisconsin has an average defense. However, teams can and often do improve their performance on that side of the ball as a season moves along. Duke, while certainly more endowed with talent, played very similar defense as the Badgers over the first half of the season, repeatedly losing games because it could not stop athletic guards from penetrating the arc and then scoring inside at will against a weak Blue Devil front court. Duke has improved dramatically as the season has progressed and essentially turned their season around.
  
  While not super athletic, Wisconsin is not totally bankrupt in that area in the backcourt. I think Traevon Jackson is quite athletic actually. In the post, Sam Dekker also is pretty athletic, being able to play inside or out. Unlike a team like Duke, Wisconsin already has two All-Big Ten caliber big men manning the post. So the tools are there to improve defensively. Maybe Wisconsin will eventually figure it out, and maybe they won't. Regardless, they still have the offensive power, long-distance shooting, and mismatches in the front-court to get them past the first weekend of the Big Dance. No matter the reason Bo Ryan has upped the pace offensively, he has the caliber of players to do it.
  
  I do agree, however, that Wisconsin's defense, as it is right now, is bad. If not improved over the next month, the Sweet 16 is probably as far as they could hope to go.
• reclegend22

  

  Baylor on the ropes at home against West Virginia. Trail by a basket at the half. With a loss, the Bears would drop to 1-6 in the Big XII. That is one giant yikes.
  
  You'd have to think Isaiah Austin is as good as gone. But is he even that hot a commodity at this point? He's looked hugely unimpressive to me for a guy possessing such immense physical gifts. If he can't be "the man" at Baylor...
• birddog23

  Wow. What a terrible non travel call against Appling.
• birddog23

  Great game between Sparty and Iowa so far
• reclegend22

  

  St. John's has erased an 18-point second half deficit in Omaha to tie up Creighton at 58 with a 1:22 left.
  
  It's been a good one.
• reclegend22

  

  Dougie hits a 22-footer with two ticks on the clock to give the Bluejays a three-point lead. St. John's is done. He's got 39 points tonight.
  
  The National Player of the Year is in the books, folks.
• se-alum

  

  How in the world is UK still ranked in the top 20?
• Azubuike24

  

  They should be, considering their losses not all that bad. However, they don't play any defense. They got torched on the same stuff consistently tonight. Calipari is starting to really become stubborn in his approach...
• se-alum

  

  Azubuike24;1573647 wrote:They should be, considering their losses not all that bad. However, they don't play any defense. They got torched on the same stuff consistently tonight. Calipari is starting to really become stubborn in his approach...

  They've had 1 "good" loss against MSU, and one good win against Louisville. 3 bad losses and another one coming.
• reclegend22

  

  Another thing with Kentucky, and we saw this a lot last year, is that it is awfully tough to notch a victory on the road in conference play with as young as the 'Cats are (namely at point guard). Experience is an absolute must in such encounters. While not a world-beater conference, road games in the Southeastern Conference are brutal, especially at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. And LSU has the bodies to compete down low with UK.
• Azubuike24

  

  Eh, I won't hold road losses against Arkansas or LSU against them. Those are 2 decent teams. Also, teams play UK at home bigger and better than anyone else.
  
  UNC and Baylor were both uninspiring and bad losses. I'll give you that. Especially Baylor. They really just went limp that whole second half. Were in complete control.
• reclegend22

  

  Agreed about not being able hold this loss against UK. LSU is a strong team. Johnny O'Bryant is as good a post player as there is out there.
• Azubuike24

  

  I will say this.
  
  Willie Cauley-Stein, the Harrison twins and Julius Randle...pretty pathetic most of the night tonight.
  
  James Young, Alex Poythress and Dakari Johnson. Really bringing it.
• se-alum

  

  Azubuike24;1573652 wrote:Eh, I won't hold road losses against Arkansas or LSU against them. Those are 2 decent teams. Also, teams play UK at home bigger and better than anyone else.
  
  UNC and Baylor were both uninspiring and bad losses. I'll give you that. Especially Baylor. They really just went limp that whole second half. Were in complete control.

  A 7 loss Arkansas squad and a 6 loss LSU squad are good losses? I root for UK any time they aren't playing OSU, but this team doesn't deserve to be in the top 20. They're just not very good right now.
• Laley23

  

  Prescott;1573492 wrote:I think OSU is far from a lock. Their best wins are Marquette and ND, not exactly powerhouses.Minnesota has a better resume and won the head-to-head.

  Probably true, as I look more into it. That was really quickly off the top of my head. Maybe its just because Tubby has me accustomed to it, but it just seems like Minny will melt down again and OSU will finish 10-8 in the B1G lol.
• Azubuike24

  

  OSU's schedule does them favors too. Sure, they lost to NU, but they should rattle off a decent run here soon. I think they will win like 6 of 8. Near the end of the year, there are a few iffy games that could go either way.
• reclegend22

  

  Per Az's post in the Fantasy thread, Florida adds Chris Walker to the lineup. He'll be a welcome addition to help out Patrick Young in the paint. He essentially possesses the same skill set as Aaron Gordon, only two inches taller and perhaps more athletic.
  
  Obviously, the Gordon we see today has only gotten better over the course of his almost three full months of playing college ball, so I'm not sure what we should expect of Walker at this point. But this could really give Florida a boost in its pursuit for a third national title under Billy Donovan.
• reclegend22

  

  Why in the fuck are the Stanford students chanting "overrated" at Arizona with Stanford up by 3 and 15 minutes to go? I've got the Cardinals +6 and that pissed me off. Don't give the unblemished, number one team in the country any extra motivation, you idiots. Ha.