College Basketball Thread 2013-14

[adamb100]

UWM is going to the NCAA tournament. Did not see that coming!

[homer]

Fairly OT, but I was reading this article today. Least likely hairdresser ever. Like a lot of guys, he had a bad bleach job in the mid 90's, but still:

 

http://host.madison.com/sports/high-school/basketball/boys/hometown-history-from-small-town-roots-cassville-s-sam-okey/article_c579170c-e041-5b34-ade7-2eae2671f794.html

 

 

Wow. Too bad they didn't touch on the reasons he left UW.

[brwrsfan]

UWM in the tournament is pretty cool and unexpected. Not going to lie, as someone that cheers for the state teams, I'm happy about it. Makes the tournament that much more fun (especially with Marquette likely not in it), but I was really hoping that GB would have made it. I think they had a chance to win a game or two. I've seen UWM play quite a few times this year and this is the best they've played basically all season, but I think their seeding is going to make them an extreme longshot. CBS currently has them as a 15 seed against Syracuse (in Buffalo). You never know, but they're going to be huge dogs. At least they are in though, that's still cool and very surprising.

[bani1717]

How crazy would it be if the 2nd-seeded Badgers took on the 15th-seeded Panthers in Milwaukee?

[fondybrewfan]

Well I would hope the committee wouldn't actually give home court advantage to a 15 seed. I am sure there are rules and regulations in place so that can't happen.

 

I have seen UW in Florida's bracket a lot lately

 

No one has them lower than a #2 right now; but man I would rather be a #2 with Villanova Wichita St, or Arizona than Florida. We should probably be more worried with who the #3 seed is should the Badgers get through Milwaukee to the Sweet 16.

 

Yahoo has our 2nd round game against VCU. I don't know if I would like that match up or not. Jackson would probably turn the ball over like crazy but part of me thinks UW could really mess with "Havoc".

[homer]

Jackson might turn it over 4 or 5 times but in general the team is excellent at preventing turnovers. I think VCU would be a decent matchup for Wisconsin because they're so short. I think Frank and Hayes would eat em up down low.

[brwrsfan]

How crazy would it be if the 2nd-seeded Badgers took on the 15th-seeded Panthers in Milwaukee?

 

While that would be cool...it's not possible.

 

1 - They played in the regular season. The committee can't schedule rematches until the second round at the earliest (or later if you played more than once).

 

2 - A 15 seed isn't going to get to play in their own hometown

 

I think a 15 is probably where they wind up, maybe as high as a 14 if a few crappy teams wind up getting automatic bids, but most of those really small conferences are just about finished up.

 

Marquette catches a break with the Xavier big guy missing tomorrow's game. They're going to have to win all 3, but that should give them a big edge inside tomorrow night I would think.

 

For UW, their best shot to get in the Midwest is for Kansas to lose to Oklahoma State tomorrow. They could drop out of the Midwest, plus the injury to Embiid could be a factor in their seeding potentially as well. All of this is contingent on the Badgers winning Friday, and ideally Saturday as well.

[homer]

I'd be surprised in UWM is a 15. The Horizon is a decent league. They reserve the 15 and 16 seeds for the Appalachian States of the world.

[brwrsfan]

I'd be surprised in UWM is a 15. The Horizon is a decent league. They reserve the 15 and 16 seeds for the Appalachian States of the world.

 

ESPN and CBS both have them projected as a 15 seed in their most recent projections (from today). One against Kansas, the other against Syracuse.

[fondybrewfan]

If UWGB would have won they were slotted in the 11/12 range. You can't give UWM any higher than a 14. The only team they beat that is worth anything is UWGB.

[Baldkin]

I'd be surprised in UWM is a 15. The Horizon is a decent league. They reserve the 15 and 16 seeds for the Appalachian States of the world.

 

They literally haven't played ANYONE this season. Comparing them to.... Harvard:

 

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE AND RPI

HOME AWAY NEUTRAL SOS SOS RANK RPI RPI RANK

All Division I games (20-13) 6-6 10-6 4-1 0.4811 210 0.5169 129

Non-conference D-1 games (9-4) 2-1 4-2 3-1 0.4641 273 0.5309 118

 

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE AND RPI

HOME AWAY NEUTRAL SOS SOS RANK RPI RPI RANK

All Division I games (25-4) 10-1 11-3 4-0 0.4805 213 0.5824 50

Non-conference D-1 games (12-3) 4-0 4-3 4-0 0.4926 204 0.5868 43

[FVBrewerFan]

This time of year always reminds me of how the term "mid-major" conference is used, and why it annoys me for some reason.

 

The Horizon for example, is not a mid-major. It's not even a major conf period. The Big East isn't even a mid-major, it's a low-major. I think this term has been used so long, nobody pays attention to it anymore. I should have put this in the "What's bugging you" thread, but it is hoops related. I'm guessing I'm the only one bothered by this?

[fondybrewfan]

Well Villanova losing to Seton Hall certainly opens the door for #1 again. I still don't think I care if they are a #1 or #2 though; it all comes down to matchups.

[lcbj68c]

Well Villanova losing to Seton Hall certainly opens the door for #1 again. I still don't think I care if they are a #1 or #2 though; it all comes down to matchups.

 

CBSporstline has Wisconsin a #1 seed, with Villanova falling out. It appears the Villanova loss to an .333 Seton Hall team is a much much worse loss than Wisconsin to Nebraska. If we can win Saturday....

[FVBrewerFan]

Wow, opens the door for Marquette too. Now if only someone can upset Creighton....cuz there's no way Marquette can beat them.

[RockCoCougars]

I don't see the Badgers getting a #1 without a bunch of help. Three are pretty much locked in with Florida, WSU and Arizona. For the fourth my money would be on whoever comes out of the ACC tourney Syracuse/Virginia/Duke. Even though the ACC seems down quite a bit this year, there is still a good deal of bias for that conference. When is the last time they haven't had a #1? I also wouldn't write either Kansas or Louisville off if they were able to win their conference tourney. For the Badgers to get a one, I think they are going to need a dark horse to win the ACC for sure.

[RobDeer 45]

Well how do you think UW does tonight against the Goofers? I really would like it if MN didn't make the tournament, just so I can tease all my friends from there. Hope the Badgers play well and stick it to them.

[fondybrewfan]

The next 3 days of Bball are really a blast; just a ton of good matchups everywhere.

 

As far as the UW-MN game; Minnesota is fighting for the tourney lives so I would expect this to be a pretty tight game. Minnesota is probably in if they win. Even the Badgers lose they are probably still a #2. That being said I still think UW comes out on top.

 

Syracuse has been playing terrible lately and I wouldn't expect that to win the ACC tourney. I think realistically if Virginia ran the table they would probably be the 4th #1. Duke I would still not be sure about. Michigan could grab that spot if they make it to the B10 title game.

[homer]

I'd be surprised in UWM is a 15. The Horizon is a decent league. They reserve the 15 and 16 seeds for the Appalachian States of the world.

 

ESPN and CBS both have them projected as a 15 seed in their most recent projections (from today). One against Kansas, the other against Syracuse.

 

I stand corrected.

[jjfanec]

Great win for the Badgers blowing out Minnesota.

 

Kansas, Syracuse and Villanova have all already lost. Beat MSU tomorrow and 1 seed is a very good possibility. I would say the Badgers are only competing with Duke and Virginia at this point and they have better resumes than both

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

This time of year always reminds me of how the term "mid-major" conference is used, and why it annoys me for some reason.

 

The Horizon for example, is not a mid-major. It's not even a major conf period. The Big East isn't even a mid-major, it's a low-major. I think this term has been used so long, nobody pays attention to it anymore. I should have put this in the "What's bugging you" thread, but it is hoops related. I'm guessing I'm the only one bothered by this?

 

I think it has a lot to do with $$$. Even this year's version of the Big East is going to outspend Horizon schools by a HUGE margin. The great thing about the new BE is that these are all basketball-first schools, which might actually be a sustainable model for college athletics. I'm skeptical of the football bubble being able to sustain itself for much longer, especially if rights fees continue to climb. We'll see, I guess.

 

By weird bracketing paradox, I think it's actually better for the Horizon if UW-M gets slotted in the play-in. Won't happen, but those schools get a chance to win an NCAA tournament game, which is important for the cash that gets distributed to the conference members. For the small leagues, that can make a major difference. Look how Gonzaga's success has lifted the overall quality of the WCC, or how some sustained runs from Xavier and Temple can help out the A-10, enough that it's still churning out quality hoops even after their departure. A 15 is probably most likely, so hopefully they get a friendly draw. Of the teams in the hunt, Virginia might be the best matchup simply because they'll probably play a low-possession game. Creighton might be a decent draw as well. No one can stop McDermott, but the Jays can't really stop anybody, so if Wragge and co. have an off-shooting night, then anything's possible.

[RockCoCougars]

As a follow up to this statement I made in my post yesterday regarding the ACC:

When is the last time they haven't had a #1?

 

I used this on my friend today, and he said 'last year'. Poor argument on my part.

[TooLiveBrew]

The Badgers looked good enough to beat anyone tonight. They're deep enough that they could make a really deep run in the tourney.

[brwrsfan]

Both Michigan and Duke win when the opponent fails to convert down one in the final seconds. Illinois even had a pretty wide open 5 footer to win. Sure would have been nice if they had lost. I think we're the frontrunner for the last #1 seed right now, but it's going to take beating MSU tomorrow for sure. Be awful nice if Michigan and Duke would lose tomorrow. I'm not really concerned with Virginia. Their resume just simply isn't very good, and we beat them head to head. I guess Louisville is in the mix too, but they've played a very weak schedule as well.

 

On another note, I'd sure like it if Iowa State would lose to Baylor tomorrow. Mainly due to the placement in Milwaukee. They're closing the gap on Michigan/WI for that spot in Milwaukee. They beat Kansas today and they're likely in the 3/4 seed range right now. Likely a 3, which is certainly high enough to get preferential seeding. Doesn't mean they'd pass us, but it certainly could happen if they beat Baylor and MSU blows us out. I guess Creighton could be in there too, but they're not really that close to Milwaukee and I think they're pretty far behind. They also can't beat Villanova again, so they aren't going to improve the resume much.

[RockCoCougars]

I'd think that the Badgers are already penciled in for Milwaukee. Money talks, and placing the Badgers in Milwaukee will easily sell the place out. The tickets start at $195 each for the six games.