College Basketball 2009-2010 (part 2)

[LouisEly]

Another nail-biter for Marquette, winning in OT after a bad foul on a 3-point shot gave Seton Hall a 4-point play and then a 3-point shot that went in-and-out for Hall. As they say, any road win is a good win and now with 10 Big East wins they have a very good shot at getting in. Now 5-4 on the road in the Big East.

[heresrobin]

That's 3 straight wins for Marquette, and they all came on the road, in OT. I have to believe that's a rare thing. Anyways, big wins for Marquette.

[danzig6767]

Another nail-biter for Marquette, winning in OT after a bad foul on a 3-point shot gave Seton Hall a 4-point play and then a 3-point shot that went in-and-out for Hall. As they say, any road win is a good win and now with 10 Big East wins they have a very good shot at getting in. Now 5-4 on the road in the Big East.

If they beat either Louisville or Notre Dame at home, i can't see how MU isn't then a lock? Has an 11 win team in the Big East ever been left out of the tournament?

 

Big props to Buzz. When he was hired, he had a great reputation as a recruiter, but obviously his coaching abilities were a big question mark. Well, when i look at last years team and what Buzz has got out of this years squad, i'm incredibly impressed with him as a coach. He's got this short on bodies and height roster to play very hard, with discipline, and without any ego whatsoever. I have a really hard time believing that Crean could have taken this roster and coaxed out as many wins and besides the great coaching job, Buzz looks to be recruiting well also. I'm very pleased that he was given the head coaching job and confident that Buzz will allow the program to continue being quite successful.

[crewcrazy]

Looking at the Big Ten standings, am I wrong in assuming if Ohio State beats Illinois tonight, they'll clinch the #1 seed in the Big Ten tournament? It's their last game of the regular season, they split their two games with Purdue and beat Michigan State in their only meeting, but I'm not sure on tiebreakers after head-to-head results.

[heresrobin]

Milwaukee gets a quarterfinal game at home tonight against UIC to start the Horizon League Tournament. They are 11.5 point favorites. Gametime is at 7pm.

 

It appears as if the Panthers have actually been playing pretty well over the last month and a half (I haven't seen them live once this year). Even in the games that they've lost, they've been very competitive. Ricky Franklin has had a fine senior campaign and the Panthers have been in the top 20 in terms of defensive rebounding in the country during the whole year, according to kenpom. I'm crossing my fingers for a little run here in their tournament.

 

Go Panthers!!!

[razzzorsharp]

Louisville at Marquette in a late one.

 

UWGB plays at home versus Youngstown State who has lost 9 in a row.

[razzzorsharp]

Milwaukee and Green Bay both won. I wish I could see the Marquette game.

[razzzorsharp]

Marquette punched their ticket today I think even if they lose their next two.

[thebruce44]

They looked damn good too even with Butler and Lazer being off and in foul trouble. Really encouraging stuff from Fulce and the always solid DJO.

[Oldcity]

Wow was that a dominating performance. Marquette hasn't looked that good all year. Not only are they safely in, but they are heading for a nice seed.

[jjfanec]

Marquette played a great game today. Just demolished Louisville. Now Marquette is playing for a seed. Most had them around a 10 earlier, they could move up a couple seeds depending how the last few games go. It is better for them to be a 7 or a 10 though. The 8/9 is rough considering who you get the next round and the top 4 are tough teams this year.

[Menotti80]

i dont think the top 4 teams are as tough as you are saying. marquette hung with syracuse and they would hang with duke also. i am a huge duke fan and have seen just about every televised game of theirs in the past 12 years, and i think there is no question marquette would play them tough. the only #1 seed that i think would handily beat MU would be kansas. cole aldridge or whatever his name is would absolutely destroy marquette.

 

kentucky vs MU is interesting. kentucky hasn't played that many good teams, and they are very unpredictable. cousins inside is a beast but they are very inexperienced and are very streaky shooters. i could see marquette beating them if they have a good game and they catch kentucky on a semi-off night.

 

and look at the 2-3 seeds. kansas state, new mexico, purdue, villanova, pitt, vandy, ohio state.

 

i think marquette could beat almost any of those teams on a given night if they keep playing this well. it will all be about their match up and if they can make 3's, stay out of foul trouble, and make their free throws.

[Glennron]

Joe Lunardi's recently updated bracketology is pretty favorable to both Wisconsin and Marquette. Wisconsin as a 5 playing Saint Mary's, who at best has beaten one tournament team, and that's if SDSU even makes it. He also has Marquette as a 7 which personally at this point I think seems a bit high considering the best team they beat has lost 4 of their last 5 games, but I'd certainly take it.

[jjfanec]

i dont think the top 4 teams are as tough as you are saying. marquette hung with syracuse and they would hang with duke also. i am a huge duke fan and have seen just about every televised game of theirs in the past 12 years, and i think there is no question marquette would play them tough. the only #1 seed that i think would handily beat MU would be kansas. cole aldridge or whatever his name is would absolutely destroy marquette.

 

kentucky vs MU is interesting. kentucky hasn't played that many good teams, and they are very unpredictable. cousins inside is a beast but they are very inexperienced and are very streaky shooters. i could see marquette beating them if they have a good game and they catch kentucky on a semi-off night.

 

and look at the 2-3 seeds. kansas state, new mexico, purdue, villanova, pitt, vandy, ohio state.

 

i think marquette could beat almost any of those teams on a given night if they keep playing this well. it will all be about their match up and if they can make 3's, stay out of foul trouble, and make their free throws.

I just do not see how Marquette would cover Patterson and Cousins from kentucky. Like Kansas they would be a very tough match up for a smaller team. Marquette hung with Syracuse and could beat them but I would definitely put heavy money on Cuse in that game. They would not be in Cuse's bracket anyway because they avoid rematches in the first two rounds. Duke is the matchup that would favor Marquette the most. So if it held Marquette at an 8/9 would have a 66% chance at a rough match-up in my mind and a 33% chance at a good match up. Not bad but I would much rather be a 7 or 10 seed.

 

The two and three seeds are much weaker than the one seeds. Of that list none really strike fear into me. You can add Michigan State, Wisconsin, WV and Butler as teams that could compete for a 3 seed if they play well in their conference tourneys, but againt none of those teams is head and shoulders above marquette.

 

Marquette is an interesting case because they have struggled with some bad teams, either losing or squeaking out wins, but they have played very good teams really tough. Should be a fun team to watch in the tourney

[Menotti80]

Kentucky beat:

north carolina by 2 at home

uconn by 3 at home

louisville by 9 at home

vandy by 13 at home

tennessee by 13 at home

vandy by 2 on the road

 

lost to:

tennessee by 9 on the road

south carolina by 6 on the road

 

 

north carolina by 2 at home is not a good win. uconn by 3 at home is an ok win. sweeping vandy is the only impressive thing kentucky has done all year.

 

i agree that cousins and patterson are big matchup problems, but the ketucky big guys have to guard butler and hayward away from the basket, which is a matchup problem in favor of marquette on the offensive end. kentucky has beaten 2 teams that are currently in the top 25.

 

marquette has played 5 teams that are currently projected to be top 3 or 4 seeds.

 

thats why i think a kentucky/MU matchup is not a "rough matchup"

[Oldcity]

I see Kansas as the clear favorite, but every team has its blemishes. Kansas, as someone mentioned, would be a near impossible matchup for Marquette (think 2003).

[Oldcity]

Jon Leuer is good.

[crewcrazy]

Kentucky's like every other team Calipari has coached the past few years: they're ridiculously talented, but they never fail to play down to their competition. I would give Kansas the edge over Kentucky as the toughest projected #1 seed, but at the same time Syracuse is ridiculously hot right now.

[Buckylovesbeer]

When Jon Leuer plays well, the Badgers can be a very good team. 5 starters that are able to score 20 ( They all have this year - remember that Jarmuz does not start anymore) makes the Badgers an interesting matchup for anyone.

[TooLiveBrew]

Jon Leuer is good.

He was incredible tonight... but Iowa was dreadful. 18 points on 8/9 shooting. Gotta love that. This game & performance by Leuer really makes you feel like the team is getting the gears oiled up very well at the right time.

[jjfanec]

Jon Leuer is good.

He was incredible tonight... but Iowa was dreadful. 18 points on 8/9 shooting. Gotta love that. This game & performance by Leuer really makes you feel like the team is getting the gears oiled up very well at the right time.

I will wait to see if the Badgers can beat Illinois the next couple games before I feel like they are back fully. The Purdue game where Leuer got hurt was where the team seemed to peak. However, they could be even better now because JBo, Keaton, Taylor and Wilson all made big strides while Leuer was out. I am hoping for a nice BTT run to jump them to a three seed.

[Buckylovesbeer]

It is cool to see Maryland knock off Duke for a share of the ACC title.....then realize that the Badgers beat both of those teams. That will help the RPI!

[hawing]

My fan crush on Jon Leuer is large enough to distract me for one night from waiting impatiently for baseball. Missed you, Jon. Missed you big time.

 

During the playing and singing of our time-honored Varsity tonight, the videoboard at the Kohl Center showed two grandma-aged women, one wearing a #3 jersey and the other sporting a #12. That was pretty cool and I wish I'd had my camera at the ready.

 

Another nice touch: the first-half introduction of the Badger women silver medalists for USA hockey. I think the UW arranged that specially for tristarscoop. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[jjfanec]

If the Badgers can win at Illinois and make the BTT finals it will be interesting to see if the committee factors in the 3 losses the Badgers had without Leuer and the one the had when he was just coming back. They are definitely going factor in Turner's loss for Ohio State. I know Leuer is not Turner but Leuer makes the Badgers a lot better. The Badgers have a really solid resume. Wins against Duke, Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State (albeit without Turner) and Maryland. Those are some really quality wins.

[Oldcity]

Marquette is sure looking like a quality win as well.