College Basketball Thread 2015-16

[fondybrewfan]

Tough game but not wholly unexpected. MSU is a tough team especially at home. Valentine is tremendous and UW had a horrible shooting night. You would think after Hayes missed his first 8 jump shots he would try to get to the basket a bit. Happ also missed some bunnies. Come back and beat Illinois this weekend and they will stay on the right side of the bubble

[CheezWizHed]

Agreed. They also couldn't buy a free throw. But MSU at home is tough. Especially after a statement game in Maryland and MIST making sure they weren't sleeping through the game. That was obvious with the energy MIST came out with from the very beginning. Looked like they were on FFWD and we were in slomo the first 5 minutes.

 

Also, looks like Stone's suspension hurt Maryland after all. I wonder how far they will fall after losing to WI at home and to MN in a barn ..er THE barn.

[Funketown]

There should be a tournament of shame for the worst 16 major conference teams. For some reason unbeknownst to me, I turned on the Wake Forest (1-13 ACC) vs. Boston College (0-14 ACC).

 

Four minutes left in the half, Wake leads 37 - 4! Note: Exclamation denotes excitement, not factorial.

[superfly]

Looks like they finally shook off the MSU flatness there in the 2nd half. When they're playing well they really are a joy to watch.

[pacopete4]

Looks like they finally shook off the MSU flatness there in the 2nd half. When they're playing well they really are a joy to watch.

 

That first half was a rough thing to watch. I'm going to the game Wednesday vs. Iowa. I hope they don't start like that or it won't be much of a game.

[fondybrewfan]

Iowa has really been struggling; so long as their shooting is better than MSU or the 1st half last night they should be in that game to the end. Win that game and I have to believe they are pretty much a lock.

[jjfanec]

Villanova is probably going to be the overall #1; but I have come away unimpressed every time I watch them. They haven't been challenged to much in the BE though..

 

Nova played two ranked teams in the Non conference and lost to both by double digits - Oklahoma and Virginia. I know the Big East rates well in the computer rankings but it just feels like a conference that is going to struggle to get teams to the second week of games in the NCAA tourney. Teams like Providence, Butler, Creighton seem like teams destined to be out in the first our second round. Xavier isnt incredibly impressive either.

 

Villanova has not been a good tourney team recently either. Hasnt been out of the first weekend the last 6 years and they were a 1 seed once and a 2 seed twice. As a Badger fan if the Badgers make their way to the 8-9 line Nova is the 1 seed I would love to be with.

[tmwiese55]

Villanova is probably going to be the overall #1; but I have come away unimpressed every time I watch them. They haven't been challenged to much in the BE though..

 

Nova played two ranked teams in the Non conference and lost to both by double digits - Oklahoma and Virginia. I know the Big East rates well in the computer rankings but it just feels like a conference that is going to struggle to get teams to the second week of games in the NCAA tourney. Teams like Providence, Butler, Creighton seem like teams destined to be out in the first our second round. Xavier isnt incredibly impressive either.

 

Villanova has not been a good tourney team recently either. Hasnt been out of the first weekend the last 6 years and they were a 1 seed once and a 2 seed twice. As a Badger fan if the Badgers make their way to the 8-9 line Nova is the 1 seed I would love to be with.

 

I totally agree. Every year I comment on how these teams aren't that good. People defend them based on some rankings system and then Nova loses in the second round almost every year. I'd love to be 8/9 and get them or be 7/10 and get Xavier second round. Would rather not see Kansas, UNC, Oklahoma types.

[fondybrewfan]

I think Xavier is the most likely team in the BE to advance far into the tourney is you ask me. They don't have any marquee wins either but they at least pass the eye test.

 

Lunardi has UW as a 9 taking on Colorado in Round #1 and Kansas in Round #2. Watch out Jayhawks

Palm has UW as a 10 in the Play In Game against George Washington with Notre Dame as the 1st round matchup. Palm has been down on UW for a long time and has consistently had them 4-6 spots lower than Lunardi

USA Today has UW has a 8 taking on Colorado in Round #1 and Kansas in Round #2

Yahoo Sports Big Board has UW as a 10 seed

 

If they lose at Iowa Palm probably takes them off the board but they would still be in the tourney solidly at the other sources. Beat Michigan and they are surely in everywhere.

[CheezWizHed]

Last night was a tale of two halves. They couldn't buy a bucket in the first half, then got every single lucky bounce (and ref call) in the second half. Of course, Illinois was streaky in the game too. They threw up some lucky shots in the middle of the game (late 1st half, early 2nd) then went cold late.

[MrTPlush]

Being a 8/9 seed is an awful place to be no matter what. Oklahoma or Kansas would probably be the worst teams to get...Villanova has the history of being poor in the tourney, but I don't know if that is a good reason to hope for them. I don't know a whole lot about Virginia to know what kind of draw they would be.

 

From brackets I saw being on the opposite side of the bracket to Villanova or Kansas might be the best road for Wisconsin.

[fondybrewfan]

I think if they can beat Michigan and Minnesota and one of Iowa or Purdue they will be a solid 7 seed. I think a 7 seed would be a pretty solid place to be in this years tourney so long as Michigan St isn't your #2. Maryland, Iowa, Virginia, Xavier, Oregon, West Virginia, and Miami are on the 2/3 line right now and absolutely none of those teams should really strike a ton of fear for any 6/7 seed. Or 10/11 for that matter

[pacopete4]

No matter where they are placed in the tourney, they can beat anyone. Will they beat anyone? Well, that will depend if they are hot or not. That's really all this year's winner will be. Who is the hottest team come the end of March.

[MrTPlush]

I don't think being the hottest team really matters. One team can stop you pretty quickly. Like every year it takes a mixture of skill, coaching/experiencing, , luck of course, and something a lot of people don't think of...match ups. Being a Kansas fan I have seen some really good teams get knocked out early because of a bad match up. Historically Kansas teams have big bodies to get at it in the paint...when they matched up against a team that could counter that it usually ended in a tourney departure.

 

I can see Wisconsin losing opening weekend or I could see them making it to the Sweet 16...most of that will depend on what teams they draw.

[LouisEly]

Yep. UW can match up with a team that has a big front-court. But teams with really quick guards (meaning more than just one)... not so much.

[MrTPlush]

Well I guess one can officially take Wisconsin off the bubble watch.

 

Maryland and Iowa have both looked bad of late.

[CheezWizHed]

Do the Badgers get in the top 25?

[MrTPlush]

Do the Badgers get in the top 25?

 

I bet they will. They were getting some votes from ESPN this past week so a big win like this on the road should get them in there somewhere. Will be interesting to see if they can nab a 7 seed for the tourney. Now they will really be floating on that 8/9 line.

[brwrsfan]

Yep. UW can match up with a team that has a big front-court. But teams with really quick guards (meaning more than just one)... not so much.

 

Not sure I agree with that. Both are problems. Iowa KILLED Wisconsin on the boards tonight. Iowa had 20 offensive rebounds tonight, that's a massive number and it was a huge reason they were able to stay in the game despite shooting only 32% (the FT shooting discrepancy was a big deal too, as at one point before they started fouling, Iowa had a 20-6 FT advantage).

 

Yes, they won the game but the size was certainly a factor. If they had lost, it would have been THE factor. They need to work on boxing out a bit more - they play straight man to man 100% of the time, there's no reason to not be able to get a body on guys and box out a bit better.

 

That said, still a great great win. Hard to imagine they miss the tournament at this point. Win a couple more and they can maybe even move up out of that 8/9 seed range....and maybe Gard is B10 coach of the year. Hard to believe how well they've played in the last 6 weeks - wins over IU, MSU, Maryland and Iowa, that's crazy.

[PeaveyFury]

They're almost a lock after tonight, with Minnesota being the only possible way I think they could mess it up (we can't afford any additional 'bad' losses).

 

A loss vs. Michigan makes it tough if it becomes an us vs. them scenario, but I still think we get in if we lose two of our last three.

[brwrsfan]

I have a really hard time seeing Michigan pass the Badgers, even if they beat WI on Sunday.

 

Michigan has an SOS of around 60 (Badgers are in the top 10). They have an RPI around 60 as well (Badgers were around 43 BEFORE the Iowa game).

 

Michigan does have more wins (20-18) and 1 fewer loss and every loss is to a top 100 RPI team. But their resume quite frankly isn't very good. They have no bad losses (WI has 3 at least), but Michigan is 15-0 against teams with an RPI of 100 of worse (including 9 wins against sub 230 teams). They are 3-9 vs the Top 100....that's just simply not a great resume. They have 2 good wins at home (Maryland and Purdue) and one on a neutral floor (Texas). That's it. Their next best win would be Wisconsin, if they beat them. After that...it's two wins against Penn State at 102.

 

Yes, the Badgers have worse losses, but they just have so many more quality wins - Iowa, Maryland, MSU, Indiana, etc. Badgers now have 9 top 100 wins. That's going to be more than enough to erase those bad losses (and a couple of those losses are to teams close to the top 100 - Marquette and NW). And I don't care what the committee says, they do the eye ball test (they are human after all) and I believe how teams are playing now is a huge factor. There's almost no way the Badgers miss the tournament IMO barring losing 4 straight games - and even then, I feel pretty solid they'd sneak in.

[pacopete4]

Was at the game tonight. Badgers just never quit. They would be an annoying opponent to play but you probably respect the crap out of them when he game is done and you're reflecting on it. That team has a big, gigantic heart that could've died with Bo retiring. On Wisconsin!

[fondybrewfan]

Badgers are really playing for seeding at this point. Yes if they lose out there is a chance they miss the tourney but that seems highly unlikely to me.

 

If they end up a 7-9 seed they are going to put up one hell of a fight against the 1-2 seed in the 2nd round. There isn't a top seed out there that isn't beatable. As long as UW is hitting their 3's they can hang with anybody.

 

Also Iowa just didn't look very good at all; they definitely were playing better a month ago. Woodbury played his butt off and Jok had a good 1st half but Uthoff was soft and broke and their PG play was pathetic to put it mildly. I can't see them doing much in the tourney.

[superfly]

This team feels as special to me as the one last year, if not more. MUCH less talent, MUCH younger, and a retired hall of fame coach midseason & they've become arguably amongst the hottest team or two in basketball heading into March. If they get a Des Moines draw i'll be making the 4 hour drive down, that's for sure.

 

This was supposed to be a rebuild year...instead who knows how far they can go. Gard trusting the freshmen is something Bo could never do, and it's paying dividends.

 

Also Iowa just didn't look very good at all; they definitely were playing better a month ago. Woodbury played his butt off and Jok had a good 1st half but Uthoff was soft and broke and their PG play was pathetic to put it mildly. I can't see them doing much in the tourney.

 

I don't think Iowa is playing their best, but UW is physically imposing their will on people. Woodbury looked like he just ran 50 miles without stopping. Maryland got whipped too, I think it's a product of our play more than Iowa stinking up the joint.

[pacopete4]

This team feels as special to me as the one last year, if not more. MUCH less talent, MUCH younger, and a retired hall of fame coach midseason & they've become arguably amongst the hottest team or two in basketball heading into March. If they get a Des Moines draw i'll be making the 4 hour drive down, that's for sure.

 

This was supposed to be a rebuild year...instead who knows how far they can go. Gard trusting the freshmen is something Bo could never do, and it's paying dividends.

 

Also Iowa just didn't look very good at all; they definitely were playing better a month ago. Woodbury played his butt off and Jok had a good 1st half but Uthoff was soft and broke and their PG play was pathetic to put it mildly. I can't see them doing much in the tourney.

 

I don't think Iowa is playing their best, but UW is physically imposing their will on people. Woodbury looked like he just ran 50 miles without stopping. Maryland got whipped too, I think it's a product of our play more than Iowa stinking up the joint.

 

Couldn't agree more. Too often people want to tell you how bad a team played rather than how good the other team played. I saw an Iowa team live, look lost late in the second half because the Badgers just didn't let them breathe. The team that is mostly seniors was discombobulated as was their couach and there stood Gard, a man cool as a cucumber not worried with freshman running all around the court as four juniors (Koenig, Brown, Hayes, and Showalter) steadily ran the show. Last night was a perfect example of how special this team is. Down 6 around the 12 minute mark in the second half and the Iowa fans were rocking. The Badgers get two defensive stops and answer with back to back three's to tie it up. They are just relentless. Like you said, much less talented but hearts are just as big and it shows. I'm hoping this team somehow finds its way to the Sweet 16.