College Basketball 2011-2012

[heresrobin]

The consensus seems to be North Carolina and Kentucky as the front-runners for the National title. Both teams returned some really good talent (with a few surprises spurning the NBA Draft). I would say that perhaps UConn, Ohio St., and Duke sort of seem like the next tier.

 

Any thoughts on some Final Four "sleepers" beyond that? I'm actually pretty interested to see what Marquette and Wisconsin can do this year. Marquette returns some pretty key guys and I'm curious to see how Wisconsin handles the departures of Leuer and Nankavil. Somebody always steps up...

 

Milwaukee seems like they could be one of the top 4 or so teams in the Horizon as well. They don't have great size down low, but they returned some decent guys and got some transfer guys who are going to have an immediate impact.

 

A handful of my "deep sleeper" teams that I've got my eye on to maybe make nice runs are in no particular order: Cincinnati (maybe not a deep sleeper but whatever), St. Louis, Wichita St., Drexel, and Kent St. to name a few.

[Glennron]

I haven't seen either of their first two games, but it sounds like Brust is off to a hot start. Does anyone know if there's a chance he'll eventually be a starter (over maybe Evans)? He played more minutes yesterday than anyone but Taylor or Bruiser.

 

Side note, but when did KenPom become a pay site? Sort of expected I guess, but it still sucks.

[Baldkin]

It looks like they are only going to play 3 guards this year (Brust seems to be the backup at PG and 2-Guard right now), so I don't see him moving into a starting role. He'll get a lot of PT spelling both Gasser & Taylor.

 

I could see them going 3 guards down the stretch in a game if the matchup favors them, but I keep holding out hope that Evans will step up. He had 3 bad TO's in the Kennesaw St game, and Bo pulled him right away each time. Rob Wilson might see a lot of time at the 3 this year.

[heresrobin]

Yeah, at least early on here it looks like Bo Ryan is settling in with Brust, Wilson, and Kaminsky being the first guys off the bench. But as Glennron alludes to, Brust could end up being a quasi-starter anyways because he'll end up getting a ton of minutes - he just won't be on the floor for the jump ball to start the game.

 

Kenpom just became a pay site starting with this season. I gladly paid the fee - I love looking at that stuff. I always felt a little guilty anyways it was out there for free in previous years.

[homer]

Smart for Marshall and Uthoff to redshirt. That team is going to be absolutely stacked in two or three years.

[yoshii8]

I watched Marquette dismantle Ole Miss last night, and it was very fun to watch. They have a very deep and talented roster this year. I think they will be in the top 3 of the big east for sure, w/ a chance at winning it. Jae Crowder is an absolute beast this season.

 

I can't wait to see the Wisconsin vs. Marquette game. I'm a fan of both teams, but I think Marquette is going to have the better team this season.

[hawing]

Every time Jared Berggren makes a basket off an assist, I want to say, "He went to Jared!" So I do, and I'm sure the S.O. is tired of it by now.

[heresrobin]

Yeah, my name is Jared too. Between Jared from Subway and Jared the Galleria of Jewelry, the name is ruined...

 

Anyways, nice starts for both Wisconsin and Marquette. Like every year, this Marquette team plays hard and is not going to be an easy out for anybody. They can get a little sloppy at times though and I still worry about their 3 point shooting. But they have some interesting depth, size, and athleticism this year and I can't question their effort. Quite an intriguing match-up between Marquette and Wisconsin this year.

 

The following players have taken more field goal attempts than Jordan Taylor so far this year even though Taylor leads the team in minutes:

Jared Berggren - 40

Ben Brust - 38

Ryan Evans - 34

Mike Bruesewitz - 29

Jordan Taylor has 28. This distribution will undoubtedly change, but I found it sort of interesting. It will be nice to see the Badgers play some non-terrible teams soon.

 

Did anybody catch our old buddy Jeronne Maymon's 2OT performance against Memphis last night? 32 points and 20 rebounds. He's had a really nice start to the season. I'm sure his dad is very proud.

[yoshii8]

Went to UW vs. UMKC game last night, and the Badgers looked very solid, much better than the game vs. Colgate. I really like Ben Brust, I think he is going to be a big time player. I can't wait to see how they look vs. UNC and Marquette.

[jhart05]

"Milwaukee seems like they could be one of the top 4 or so teams in the Horizon as well."

 

 

Yes we are. This is the most talented team we've had since the Sweet 16 team, no question about that.

 

We expect another Horizon League Championship game down at the Mecca again this year, except this time with a different result.

 

Still the cheapest ticket in town that not many know about. Without the Bucks playing, come on down and see a game. $10 gets you a decent seat.

[heresrobin]

jhart05, do you know when Tony Meier is going to be back?

[DHonks]

jhart05, even with the Bucks the Panthers are still the #3 hoops team in the state. I've stated for a while that Wisconsin is college hoops, not pro hoops. If you polled people who their favorite hoops team is, I would bet the poll would go Wisconsin, Marquette, UWM, and then Bucks

[Oldcity]

Wisconsin once again jacking the threes. As of the other day, half of their shots were three pointers. I hated watching that crap last season, so hopefully they get out of that soon.

[LouisEly]

My concern with UW is lack of depth. Even in their blowouts they have only had seven players play more than 10 minutes in a game. Maybe Ryan will become more comfortable with Kaminsky and Jackson as the season goes on, but if you're not getting more than 10 minutes in a 77-31 game I don't think you are going to get many if any minutes in a close Big 10 conference game. My fear is their 7-man rotation will wear down come tournament time, and a tired squad will get bounced in the 2nd round. They really can't afford to have any of those seven to go down with an injury.

[homer]

My concern with UW is lack of depth. Even in their blowouts they have only had seven players play more than 10 minutes in a game. Maybe Ryan will become more comfortable with Kaminsky and Jackson as the season goes on, but if you're not getting more than 10 minutes in a 77-31 game I don't think you are going to get many if any minutes in a close Big 10 conference game. My fear is their 7-man rotation will wear down come tournament time, and a tired squad will get bounced in the 2nd round. They really can't afford to have any of those seven to go down with an injury.

I dunno. These are 20, 21 year old kids. I don't think they get run down.

[Oldcity]

KenPom has Wisconsin number 2 (!) and has them favored AT UNC on Wednesday. Crazy. Looking forward to that game for sure.

[bjkrautk]

Between UNC and Marquette, it's a big week for Badger hoops. I just hope they didn't leave their hot shooting in Chicago.

[brettac1]

Wow, I just don't think I can see them winning at UNC.

[Funketown]

I think I'm going to try the walk-up line for the UNC game tonight, so we'll see how that goes. I was at the Tennessee State game Tuesday and it was a great time; I had never seen a college basketball game played at that speed, having grown up in Madison.

 

UNC has a history of talented teams dropping games early in the season. It seems like they sometimes need a bit of time to come back to earth before they can really play solid ball.

 

It wouldn't shock me to see UW win tonight, but calling them the favorite seems a bit odd.

[jhart05]

jhart05, do you know when Tony Meier is going to be back?

He's back on the court now. Haven't heard how much he's doing yet thou.

 

They were saying it would be this week. We'll see on Thursday night.

 

Can't wait for him to come back. We could have used him against Michigan State. We make a few more 3's that Tony usually gives us, and that game gets a bit more interesting.

 

 

[Oldcity]

Wisconsin down only one at halftime despite some poor shooting. They're playing really well otherwise. I have a good feeling here.

[brettac1]

Now that UNC has really turned up the defense, the Badgers can barely even pass the ball, let alone get a good shot off.

[Oldcity]

Two free throw attempts all game is terrible. UNC has turned up the defense, but Wisconsin has helped them out with some bad shots.

[jason21nl]

If the Badgers end up losing, they'll kick themselves. This is a game they could have and should have won. They missed a ton of wide open 3's.

[Oldcity]

Eh. Sometimes shots don't fall. They played well overall. Too bad, but this isn't a bad loss or anything. UNC was impressive defensively in the second half.