The Official 07-08 NCAA Basketball Thread

Non-Phish General
#161

And if Sampson’s fired, it might be even easier, especially if the players quit. YAY Cheap Wins!!! Of course, I could tell the Spartans were PISSED on Wednesday. Penn State had a BAD time to play the Spartans. MSU wanted revenge for the PSU loss a few weeks ago, and were pissed because of the IU and Purdue losses in a row and they were visited by Magic for extra motivation…there was no way they were gonna lose. I hope they can ride that wave for the next few games…they can’t win the Big Ten but they could be a tough out in the tournament. Seriously, with Indiana, Purdue, Wisconsin and MSU all being fairly close, it could be a VERY neat tournament this year. No clear favorite at all.

Strangely, I kind of like the Musberger/Lavin team. Musberger’s got a good sense of humor about most things and Lavin’s a good analyst. The jokes about Lavin’s hair have been a running gag all year from what I’ve seen.

Stevo

#162

Turmoil I tells ya!!! Sampson resigns gets $750,000 to keep quiet and not try to bring the University down. All in all it was the right thing to do. Now can the Hoosiers salvage the season. I say yes, but the only tough game left on the schedule is at Michigan State next Saturday. I already consider this a loss, but would be thrilled to finish at 15-3 for the conference season. The team is considering boycotting the game tonight. I don’t think that will happen as the whole team attended the walktrough late last night. This kids have to realize what is at stake. Eric Gordon does as he didn’t skip practice like 6 players did earlier today. He knows that to get paid you have to perform on the court. I think the scouts will like the fact he stuck it out through tough times. Thank god for Northwestern.

#163

Yes, in dissecting the schedule it appears as though the 3 leaders have the potential all to finish 15-3. Purdue still has to go to OSU, IU to MSU, and Wisconsin goes to OSU and also has MSU at home. I think it is fair to say that PU might have the easiest schedule left.

My dad keeps saying that there is no way Northwestern will lose every conference game. I kind of agree…it’s tough to lose every game. Just ask the Dolphins. Having said that, the Hoosiers, in turmoil, travel to Evanston today…

#164

Wow, tight game last night between IU and Northwestern. Northwestern has played IU tough both times this year. For whatever reason they scored at will in both games. IU’s very lucky to escpae with the victory.

What’s the deal with Northwestern. I mean every year they have one good player on their team. This year its Kevin Coble, while in the past it’s been Eschmeyer, Parker, etc. Coble had 37 points last night. It’s just ironic that you know Northwestern is always going to have that one good player on their squad.

Anyways, hoping Ohio State can knock of Wisconsin today. That’d be nice.

#165

I watched most of that NU/IU game. VERy good work. What was appalling was how Coble had 37 and had close to half of Northwestern’s points yet for the final five or six possessions when they had a chance to tie or lead, he didn’t even see the ball. Yes, the IU defense played him well but you can’t tell me you can’t run specific plays to get the dude open. VERY poor coaching by Carmody at the end there. Call a timeout, run a play for Coble. Simple as that. They had their chances.

The best part…the game was on the Big Ten Network and you know what the announcers were talking about?..the fucking game!!! They occasionally mentioned Sampson and his scandal but it was only in passing during breaks in the action. If it was on ESPN we would have heard it mentioned about 126,372 times in the two hour span and they would have largely ignored the game entirely. Nice to hear the announcing crew just call a damn game and ignore the hype for a while. I seriously hope ESPN NEVER gets the tournament…I couldn’t take their hype machine calling these games night in and night out.

By the way, why does Sampson cheat, lie, embarrass his university, possible ruin their tourney chances and yet 750,000 out of the deal? They seriously couldn’t just fire him and easily show that it was justified? Man…I wish I could get paid that for screwing up that badly.

Saw the OSU/Wisconsin game too. That was the worst final possession I’ve ever seen by OSU in the final minute. What a frickin disaster. MSU gets to play at Wisconsin this Thursday. On the bright side, Wisconsin doesn’t seem to blow many teams out so if the Spartans can keep it close then maybe they can get some key buckets and steal a win…of course it’s AT Wisconsin, so it’s not likely.

Fantastic game of Memphis/Tennessee. I loved the coaching chess match. Calipari calls a timeout 30-seconds in cuz he noticed that Tennessee wasn’t guarding the perimeter then they proceed to rain threes down in an attempt to pull away quickly. Of course, once Tenn adjusted to defend the threes, Memphis fell in love with them and kept firing them up. I think they hit 8 at that start, then never hit one again. Even more amazing, Memphis completely shut down Lofton and still lost. That’s a surprise. Tennessee earned that #1 spot for sure. But watch out…they’ve got an angry Vandy squad on the road this week. That’s gonna be just as tough.

Stevo

#166

Which is the better state to be a basketball fan right now?

California:
UCLA #4
Stanford #8
St. Mary’s #23

Tennessee:
Tennesse #1
Memphis #3
Vanderbilt #14

Indiana:
Indiana #12
Butler #13
Notre Dame #17
Purdue #19

(ESPN/USA Today poll rankings as of 2/25)

#167

I don’t think Tennessee nor Memphis will make the final 4 this year.

#168

And speaking of Tennessee, don’t say I didn’t warn ya. I knew Vandy would be pissed. They HATE Tennessee at that college…I’ve been there multiple times. Quite a game. And the standings are officially fucked. Thank God this isn’t college football…the championship game would be in shambles.

Stevo

#169

With Wisconsin and IU’s ability to hold off OSU recently, I have no choice but to root heavily in favor of the Spartans in their upcoming meetings with the Badgers and Hoosiers.

#170

Go Spartans!

Go Spartans!

Wisconsin has lost 2 home games this year, so they are indeed beatable at the Kohl Center. MSU has some bad road losses, which worries me a bit. But if Morgan and Neitzel can come out and impose their will early, MSU can win. The only downside is that MSU would stay within 2 games of the Boilers.

#171

I wouldn’t worry about the Spartans catching up to Purdue…I don’t see them losing twice to anyone.

Still, I HOPE we can handle Wisconsin but we never win there and Bo Ryan has had our number for a while. (Of course we knocked them out of the #1 spot last year at home and ALMOST beat them at the Kohl last year except for a last-second shot). Wisconsin doesn’t blow anyone out so I imagine it’ll be a fairly close game so hopefully the Spartans can get some key buckets late in the game. I’m crossing my fingers but the odds aren’t in our favor.

Plus The Great and Mighty Izzo will be on Jim Rome today…we’ll see the ultimate test of the Jungle Karma tonight.

Stevo

#172

Guess who’s doing the game?

You got it: Lav, Mus, and EA!

I think it’ll be a close game, BUT Wisconsin has blown out Penn State (I know, I know) by 25 and Michigan by 16.

However, in their last 11 B10 games, they’re 9-2 and only 4 of those victories were in double digits. Hell, even Michigan went into Kohl and only lost by 3!

#173

Son of a!

Even Lavin and Musberger knew I’d be rooting for Sparty.

Well, IU still has to go to East Lansing. You might chalk that up as an L. Purdue and Wisconsin co-B10 champs? I like the sound of that.

#174

You know I watched that Wisconsin Michigan State game Thursday. I was thinking during the game. You know Wisconsin is a bunch of overachievers. I mean this team should not be this good. I don’ t think there 16-2 Big Ten record good, but that’s what they’re going to be. Look at this team.

Brian Butch. Not a typical center. Think Brad Miller shooting range, but nowhere near as physical. Polar Bear. What the hell does EA feel the need to refer to Butch as polar bear.

Marcus Landry. Decent to good low post scorer. Scrappy player. Logs good minutes. Solid role player.

Flowers. Experienced. Good range. Nothing spectacular here.

Trevon Hughes. Good shooter. Notice a lot of good ratings not great ratings.

Krabbenhoft. Probably my most despised player in the Big Ten a la Brian Cardinal. Does everything okay, nothing great, but the announcers are constantly sniffing his jock.

Brian Bohannon. White 3-point shooter. I think every college team has one of these.

Nothing spectacular. Alot of decent to good players with no stars. You know this team is so predictable. They’ll play solid in the Big Ten tournament as well. Damn I hope IU plays them again. However, I guarantee you they will be out of the NCAA tournament in round 2. This is the same team minus Alando Tucker as last year. When did they lose in the tournament last year? Oh yeah round 2. So get excited all you want Wisconsin about your little Big Ten title, which I really think they shouldn’t have a claim to since Purdue beat them twice. But come tourney time you’ll be old news.

Go IU beat Sparty. I seriously don’t see it happening, but one can hope. They gotta lose once at home this year right?

#175

The general consensus of the stuff I read online is that this Badger team is better than last year’s team. You read that right. No Tucker or Taylor and they’re better? They play better defense, that’s for sure. Number-wise they’re probably the best in the B10, but I still Purdue has a better overall, tougher scheme.

Flowers might give Kramer a run for B10 Defensive Player of the Year.

I hate Brian Butch, he has zilch in terms of NBA potential IMO.

The others are just scrappy role players, yes. But they play well as a team, and that’s what counts.

Go Spartans! :slight_smile:

(FWIW, I see Wisconsin getting a #3 seed and losing in the second round)

#176

I’m sitting here about ready to throw up. Michigan State’s up 46-19 against Indiana. On the bright side it will be the last time barring a Big Ten tournament game that I have to see Drew Neitzel play. Neitzel absolutely kills IU. I didn’t expect to win, but shit I didn’t expect this either.

Maybe if Michigan State could win a significant road game they would be in on the Big Ten title discussion. Would have been nice to seen this team against Wisconsin on Thursday.

Gotta give credit where credit is due though. Sparty is unbelievable at home and unlike Wisconsin I think they can do some damage in the tournament. Mighigan State is a versatile team that can play a number of different styles. So Congrats to Purdue and Wisconsin for the title as I’m conceding.

As much as I hate to say it I hope Purdue wins out so Wisconsin doesn’t get the title alone. I too hate Brian Butch. Seems like a European type player and if he wants to pursue basketball that’s where he’ll be playing.

#177

As I’m typing this IU has “cut it” to 63-41 and they’re about ready for the under-16:00 media timeout in the 2nd half.

I’m incredibly worried about Purdue having to go to Columbus on Tuesday night. I’m glad it’s on ESPN so I can see it, but still.

I’m really looking forward to the B10 tourney, though!

#178

Don’t worry. Ohio State is soft. They play no D. I too was worried unitl I saw how the Indiana at Ohio State game started out. Ohio State just doesn’t have the talent to stay with the top teams. Hello NIT.

Now onto the projected Big Ten Tournament. The top 4 seeds seem locked in. There could be a couple changes in the seeds in the lower portion, but here goes:

The First Round

#6 Ohio St.
#11 Northwestern

#8 Iowa
#9 Michigan

#7 Penn State
#10 Illinois

Of course I’m biased towards Indiana winning this tournament, but I honestly think the top 4 teams are far and away in a league of their own. The top four teams should duke it out for the tourney. I give the edge to Purdue and Indiana for playing so close to home. Although any of the top four seeds could win the tourney.

Do you think the Big Ten winner will get a 2 seed or is the best seed a Big Ten team will get is a 3 seed?

#179

The Second Round:

#1 Purdue
#6 Ohio State

#2 Wisconsin
#9 Michigan

#3 Indiana
#10 Illinois

#4 Mich. State
#5 Minnesota

#180

Third round:

#1 Purdue
#4 Mich. State

#2 Wisconsin
#3 Indiana