College Basketball 2011-2012

[brwrsfan]

Just a typical week for the Badgers. Again show that they beat or lose to just about anyone. We need that Rob Wilson to show up for every game, maybe he can be another scoring option the team desperately needs come tournament time.

[thebruce44]

The video quickly went viral.

A few minutes after his team's one-point win at West Virginia Friday night, Marquette coach Buzz Williams waltzed to a few bars of John Denver's "Country Road" as he strolled across the court. While it appeared that Williams was taunting the Mountaineers' student section, he was merely savoring a beautiful moment as he made his way to the broadcast table for a postgame interview. When Williams realized the West Virginia students were angry, he acknowledged his mistake on the air -- "That's my fault," he said as he put on his headset -- and apologized profusely during his postgame news conference.

 

Williams was still awash with contrition when I spoke with him by telephone Sunday afternoon. "Please write this," he urged. "It was an emotional response that was very unprofessional. I was not trying to do anything disrespectful. It's not who I am and I wish I hadn't done it. It's unfortunate, and I'm sorry."

 

Williams was likewise moved by the quiet, intimate words that senior guard Jae Crowder whispered into his ear after the final horn. "He hugged me and said, 'Coach, I love you. I'm so thankful you're here. I'll fight for you anywhere, anytime,'" Williams said. "I put my head in his chest and I was crying. It's why I got so emotional and danced. I mean, that's what all this is supposed to be about."

 

http://cnnsi.com/2012/writers/seth_davis/02/27/Hoop.Thoughts/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_wr_a1

 

Man I love Buzz and this team. I was surprised to hear the taunting card being played, when I saw it originally I didn't see the intent or that it was on the WVA logo at center court. Good to hear Buzz clear it up.

[jjfanec]

The video quickly went viral.

A few minutes after his team's one-point win at West Virginia Friday night, Marquette coach Buzz Williams waltzed to a few bars of John Denver's "Country Road" as he strolled across the court. While it appeared that Williams was taunting the Mountaineers' student section, he was merely savoring a beautiful moment as he made his way to the broadcast table for a postgame interview. When Williams realized the West Virginia students were angry, he acknowledged his mistake on the air -- "That's my fault," he said as he put on his headset -- and apologized profusely during his postgame news conference.

 

Williams was still awash with contrition when I spoke with him by telephone Sunday afternoon. "Please write this," he urged. "It was an emotional response that was very unprofessional. I was not trying to do anything disrespectful. It's not who I am and I wish I hadn't done it. It's unfortunate, and I'm sorry."

 

Williams was likewise moved by the quiet, intimate words that senior guard Jae Crowder whispered into his ear after the final horn. "He hugged me and said, 'Coach, I love you. I'm so thankful you're here. I'll fight for you anywhere, anytime,'" Williams said. "I put my head in his chest and I was crying. It's why I got so emotional and danced. I mean, that's what all this is supposed to be about."

 

http://cnnsi.com/2012/writers/seth_davis/02/27/Hoop.Thoughts/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_wr_a1

 

Man I love Buzz and this team. I was surprised to hear the taunting card being played, when I saw it originally I didn't see the intent or that it was on the WVA logo at center court. Good to hear Buzz clear it up.

 

Shouldnt be too surprising to hear the taunting card get thrown out. In the UConn game Buzz looked back at the student section after the win and yelled "whats up now" Not terrible but he is pretty emotional and excitement after a win can seem like taunting

[paul253]

Watching games like the MU-Cincinnati game right now just gets me absolutely irritated at Buzz Williams (and I had the same problem with Tom Crean) for the utter lack of ability to recruit big men. I'm not even talking about top 100 players. I just mean anyone who is taller than 6'7'' and can play defense and get a rebound. Williams has this idea he can have a token big man on his team and win a bunch of guys standing 6'3''-6'7''. Two injuries later and they play 8 games without anyone taller than 6'7''. And even before Gardner's injury. It's not like he is a true center. He is only 6'8'' and out of shape. Cincinnati is absolutely dominating MU in the paint right now and MU looks helpless to stop it. MU, and don't get me wrong I am a huge fan, but they have no chance of beating teams like Ohio St, Kentucky, or Kansas because they'd have no way at all to stop these teams' big mean. I shudder to think what guys like Thomas Robinson, Anthony Davis, or Jared Sullinger would do to Marquette should they meet up in the tourney.

[thebruce44]

Watching games like the MU-Cincinnati game right now just gets me absolutely irritated at Buzz Williams (and I had the same problem with Tom Crean) for the utter lack of ability to recruit big men. I'm not even talking about top 100 players. I just mean anyone who is taller than 6'7'' and can play defense and get a rebound. Williams has this idea he can have a token big man on his team and win a bunch of guys standing 6'3''-6'7''. Two injuries later and they play 8 games without anyone taller than 6'7''. And even before Gardner's injury. It's not like he is a true center. He is only 6'8'' and out of shape. Cincinnati is absolutely dominating MU in the paint right now and MU looks helpless to stop it. MU, and don't get me wrong I am a huge fan, but they have no chance of beating teams like Ohio St, Kentucky, or Kansas because they'd have no way at all to stop these teams' big mean. I shudder to think what guys like Thomas Robinson, Anthony Davis, or Jared Sullinger would do to Marquette should they meet up in the tourney.

 

For the most part I agree with you, but there are a lot of teams who would have trouble if their two biggest men went down for an extended amount of time. In terms of how some of those players you listed would match up against MU, are they that much better than a guy like Andre Drummond, who will be the 2nd or 3rd pick in the draft and who Crowder shut down a week or two ago?

[paul253]

For the most part I agree with you, but there are a lot of teams who would have trouble if their two biggest men went down for an extended amount of time.

 

It's not just that their two biggest guys went down. It's that the two were their two only big men. There is absolutely no depth in the area of size. It'd be like the Brewers continually developing and signing top relief pitchers while only having 5 starters in the entire organization. Players like Jamil Wilson and Jae Crowder were already playing out of position, and that was when everyone was healthy.

 

In terms of how some of those players you listed would match up against MU, are they that much better than a guy like Andre Drummond, who will be the 2nd or 3rd pick in the draft and who Crowder shut down a week or two ago?

I think there is a major difference between Drummond and those guys I mentioned. Drummond may be drafted that highly but it would be about 90% on potential and 10% on actual current ability. He's only averaging 10 points a game. The three I mentioned are all putting up better numbers than he is. Robinson and Sullinger's game are much more advanced than Drummond's is. I doubt Crowder shuts them down like he shut Drummond down. And Davis is just a monster on defense. MU would have zero luck in the paint against Kentucky.

 

Like I said, I am a huge MU fan so I don't mean to make it seem like I am bad mouthing the team because I don't like them. But how many 6'4''-6'6'' guys do you need?

[DHonks]

Paul, I guess I don't get the gripe. Marquette has two project big guys that have rounded into good college players. Otule had bad luck. Gardner has the best post moves I've seen at MU since either Robert Jackson or perhaps even Damon Key. He's lost a lot of weight, has great moves, and is only getting better. The only problem is that he needs to get through this knee injury. I'd love to see him get 5 minutes tomorrow and push it to 10-15 minutes by the Big East Tourney. Having him in the NCAA tourney really allows Marquette to adapt and be more versatile

[thebruce44]

And Gardner gets some PT today. Hopefully he can get his legs under him for the tourny. This team could be a dangerous 3 seed.

[Glennron]

I don't have Time Warner and it's blacked out on ESPN3. Why wasn't this game on national TV to begin with?

[thebruce44]

I don't have Time Warner and it's blacked out on ESPN3. Why wasn't this game on national TV to begin with?

 

Not sure, I got it on a channel I've never noticed called UToo from Comcast in Chicago. It was in SD. Mike Kelley did the game though, always nice to see him.

[paul253]

It wasn't even on ESPN3. Anyway, can anyone comment on how Gardner looked? He's a key player down the stretch.

[Menotti80]

From the highlights I saw, Gardner did fine. His knee got real sore before halftime but his limited minutes seemed very efficient.

 

Congratulations to MU for a great season (so far)

[owbc]

It was definitely on ESPN3 out of state. Great season for MU and nice to see the Bradley Center full again.

[brwrsfan]

Gardner seemed to have a slight limp pretty much the whole time. Still was effective but he was either real tentative or not close to 100%. Not sure why he wasn't wearing a brace?

 

As far as the game not being on, that made no sense. I got it in the sports package, but to have 2 top 12 teams playing and not be on (and Cincy/Villanova was) made very little sense at all.

[Menotti80]

Crowder and DJO both make big east first team. Gives MU a 33% chance of having the player of the year.

[Glennron]

Buzz said Gardner is probably at 80%, but who really knows I guess. There was also a funny quote from Buzz about him returning, "I think he's tired of hearing from the doctors and the trainers," Williams said. "He's probably at the point emotionally where he needs me to holler and scream at him so that he'll progress the rest of the way."

 

Also, Joe Lunardi currently has Marquette as the top #3 seed and Wisconsin as the top #4. It's crazy to think each could get a 2 and a 3, but realistically they'd both have to probably win at least two games in their conference tourneys.

[Oldcity]

Yeah, all of Buzz's quotes about Gardner are great. There was one a while ago that was something like, "He played pretty well for a fat guy."

 

I actually think he'll end up being their best post player in several years. He's already the best one they've had in the last five or so.

[LouisEly]

"Watching games like the MU-Cincinnati game right now just gets me absolutely irritated at Buzz Williams (and I had the same problem with Tom Crean) for the utter lack of ability to recruit big men."

 

This isn't true. He signed Liam McMorrow in 2008, but he chose to retire due to injury. He signed Youssoupha Mbao in 2009, but he transfered. He recruited a 6'9" top juco player IIRC two years ago, but he did something really stupid (I think got arrested) and Marquette rescinded their scholarship offer. IIRC, Gardner wouldn't be here if Marquette hadn't rescinded that offer - I believe he replaced that guy with Gardner.

[Menotti80]

Congrats to jae for winning big east poty

[Funketown]

What a great week for college hoops. I love these mid-major conference championship games. The atmosphere is typically outstanding, small gyms are rocking, and without sounding too cliche, these teams leave it all on the floor. St. Mary's - Gonzaga, Davidson - WCU, and South Dakota State - West Illinois all settled in overtime.

 

I've seen a few articles about possibly eliminating the automatic bid for these teams winning their conference tourneys (Jay Bilas, I'm looking at you). I couldn't disagree more. The opportunity for teams like VCU, George Mason, Bucknell, Vermont, etc. to make a big splash in the tourney and knock off a big team is the most exciting part of the NCAA tournament. I really don't care if a team like USF, NC State, Northwestern is better than a team like Davidson. The opportunity for those teams to make it into the tourney and make a big splash gives us so much more interesting college basketball to watch, and it's really what makes championship week so enjoyable.

 

I'm sure I'm not the only one hoping for a Carolina-UK title rematch, and a bit of redemption for the Heels. The way they came out against Duke was just incredible. Up 22-5 a few minutes in, 24 at the half, Kryschzckzyzzky facepalming within the first ten minutes of the game. Now with Mike Kelly out for Duke for the ACC tournament, you can't help but feel good about Carolina's chances to secure a #1 seed.

[fondybrewfan]

Someone has actually indicated that they might want to eliminate the auto bids? That truly would be the dumbest thing I have ever heard and the problems with the BCS would pale in comparison to the joke the BBALL tourney would be without autobids. Yeah the tournament would be realy exciting filling out the fields with Big 6 teams finishing below .500 in conference. The underdog truly is what makes March Madness so unique.

 

The next 5 days are a great time in college hoops; only topped by next weekend. I can't wait; I have next Thu and Fri off to watch the games.

[hawing]

What a great week for college hoops. I love these mid-major conference championship games. The atmosphere is typically outstanding, small gyms are rocking, and without sounding too cliche, these teams leave it all on the floor. St. Mary's - Gonzaga, Davidson - WCU, and South Dakota State - West Illinois all settled in overtime.

 

When we finally got cable in 1993, it was right at the start of Championship Week and we watched games like last night's pretty much the whole first week of cable. That got me hooked. It wouldn't be March at the hawing household without our watching some mid-major conference champion go crazy while I chant "16 seed, 16 seed" or, nowadays, "You're the play-in!" (clap clap clap-clap-clap). Like with Western Kentucky.

 

Honestly, in some ways I enjoy Championship Week more than the actual big dance. Same goes for the WIAA hoops tournaments.

[brwrsfan]

Someone has actually indicated that they might want to eliminate the auto bids? That truly would be the dumbest thing I have ever heard and the problems with the BCS would pale in comparison to the joke the BBALL tourney would be without autobids. Yeah the tournament would be realy exciting filling out the fields with Big 6 teams finishing below .500 in conference. The underdog truly is what makes March Madness so unique.

 

The next 5 days are a great time in college hoops; only topped by next weekend. I can't wait; I have next Thu and Fri off to watch the games.

 

The argument I hear is that the auto-bid should go to the outright league regular season champion. For a lot of smaller conferences, this assures that their absolute best team makes it in and has the greatest chance of an upset. Often times in a smaller conference the best team can lose in the tournament and get left out (like for example Iona this year). If there is a tie, then do a playoff like the Ivy league does to determine who gets in. I don't think conferences will do it though because they lose all that money and excitement the league tournament generates, not to mention it's likely the only time all season some of the conferences get on ESPN and have a national audience.

 

Jay Bilas likes to think that the best 68 teams don't include some of these "lesser" conference teams, but to me thats not right. Every one and again one of them DOES win a game and thats why everyone loves March Madness. Not to mention that if those schools don't have autobids, what do the kids really have to play for? For a tiny school, just making the dance is a dream normally, why take that away just so more crappy big conference teams can get in and be mediocre?

[Glennron]

I totally understand the argument that the auto-bid should be given to the regular season champion as opposed to the tournament winner. I've already seen two conference tournament finals where at least one team in the final had a below .500 conference record. That said, the automatic bid going to the tournament winner goes along with the "win or go home" nature of the NCAA tournament. There's a reason all four number one seeds have made the Final Four once or twice.

 

And totally agree about the great conference tournament finals the past couple nights. The four games Monday night all went down to the final minute and/or overtime, and there were a couple more very close games Tuesday night. It really makes me miss when UWM was really good in the middle part of the decade and being able to see them clinch a bid a couple times in Milwaukee.

[LouisEly]

"I've seen a few articles about possibly eliminating the automatic bid for these teams winning their conference tourneys (Jay Bilas, I'm looking at you). I couldn't disagree more. The opportunity for teams like VCU, George Mason, Bucknell, Vermont, etc. to make a big splash in the tourney and knock off a big team is the most exciting part of the NCAA tournament. I really don't care if a team like USF, NC State, Northwestern is better than a team like Davidson. The opportunity for those teams to make it into the tourney and make a big splash gives us so much more interesting college basketball to watch, and it's really what makes championship week so enjoyable. "

 

Here's the list of teams Wisconsin has lost to in the tourney in the last five years:

 

Butler

Cornell

Xavier

Davidson

UNLV

 

UW hasn't lost to a "power conference" team in the tourney since 2006 (Arizona - if you can even call the Pac-10 a "power conference" in basketball anymore). The success of teams like Butler, VCU, George Mason, Davidson, Cornell, Bucknell, and others is proof that they belong in the tourney just as much as any .500 team from a Big Six conference. They can't rack up the strength of schedule because they don't have RPI top 50 teams in their conference that they play by default, and teams don't want to play them in non-conference for fear of losing. I'm pretty sure those teams could rack up 9 wins in a conference with Penn State/Nebraska/Illinois/Minnesota/Northwestern/Iowa or De Paul/Providence/Villanova/St. Johns/Rutgers/Seton Hall/South Florida. They would probably be 14-4 in the Pac 10.