College Basketball Thread 2015-16

[igor67]

Watching the game just reminded me of Michigan State-Badger games, except Iowa came out working so hard from the get go that they flamed out, and Gard just kept subbing guys in.

[fondybrewfan]

I didn't mean to make the UW win feel any less; I just meant that Iowa certainly didn't feel like the #8 team in the country. They look like a team that will be lucky to make it out of the first weekend. They obviously were playing much better earlier in the year. UW surely had a part in making them look bad; but they also just lost to Penn State. That team is a mess right now.

[tmwiese55]

Iowa will forever be crippled by Fran as the coach. We get up by two and they frantically come up and turn it over several times in a row very badly. Then factor in that he frequently erupts on refs when the call is clearly correct and he has nothing to complain about, and then later on some 50/50 things won't go your way. He doesn't just complain, he completely goes off on the refs. Which should be reserved for only clearly egregious instances

[bani1717]

Yeah, I completely agree with the comment about his demeanor toward the refs, and I feel like it must be rubbing off on the crowd as well, because there were some boos for things that I just didn't get what they were booing. Granted, I probably feel like that more than most people since I used to ref basketball myself, but I especially noticed it last night.

[MrTPlush]

I didn't mean to make the UW win feel any less; I just meant that Iowa certainly didn't feel like the #8 team in the country. They look like a team that will be lucky to make it out of the first weekend. They obviously were playing much better earlier in the year. UW surely had a part in making them look bad; but they also just lost to Penn State. That team is a mess right now.

 

I agree with where you are coming from. They played a Maryland team that the next week lost to a 7 win team. Then they played an Iowa team that lost to IU, barely beat the sad Minnesota squad, and lost to a mediocre PSU team before playing Wisconsin.

 

Regardless if those teams were playing like Top 10 teams or not they are still quality opponents they beat on the road. I don't care who you are it is hard to win road games in today's game. Whether you are a 7 win team or #1 in the nation. You can't just walk into a place and get an easy win. Even the bad teams have a lot of talented players that can make your day miserable.

[fondybrewfan]

So the job was posted. With it being mid-season that means its an almost certainty that Gard is getting the job. No other current coach is going to apply to a job you have to start March 8.

[jjfanec]

The Badgers are peaking at the right time and will likely be a 7 seed or better if they can close well. There are very teams that are playing near the level of the Badgers right now. That said they are not an elite team yet. At the same time there are very few elite teams this year. People can say that Iowa and Maryland dont look good right now but what teams really do? This is one of the weakest year's I have seen in college basketball. Last year's Badger team would be the favorite to win the title this year and by a fair margin.

 

I am going to enjoy the ride with this team but it is hard not to look ahead a little to next year's team. A team that losses absolutely nothing and adds Pritzl and Van Vliet.

[fondybrewfan]

There probably is some non 0% chance that Nigel turns pro. Don't know if he would get drafted but he could get paid in Europe if he wanted. Pritzl and Van Vliet are thought of highly and both would add scoring immediately. Depth might be too much next year; Gard won't be able to play 10-12 guys consistently. Almost a guaranty that whatever recruits they get for next year are going to redshirt or not play.

[AKCheesehead]

If Gard doesn't get the job, that means Barry dislikes him and he had no chance of getting it from the get-go. I can't really imagine what more the guy could have done to earn losing the "interim" tag at this point.

[pitchleague]

Well, they did say the other night on the broadcast that, due to state law, they can't just drop the interim tag. I'll assume that means that since it's, technically, a state job that the public has to have the right to apply for it.

[AKCheesehead]

I get that. Just have to figure that in light of the way he's gotten this team playing, the job is going to officially become his.

[pacopete4]

If they have to interview at least three people, I wonder if I should apply to see if I can be one of them. How awesome would that be?

[MrTPlush]

If they have to interview at least three people, I wonder if I should apply to see if I can be one of them. How awesome would that be?

 

Someone did this for a recent opening(football I believe) and I think he got a nice call...no interview though. Had 15minutes of fame though.

[Funketown]

I will never forget this guy:

 

http://deadspin.com/man-applies-for-und-head-coach-job-cites-playing-madde-1481626884

[PeaveyFury]

Big day for the Badgers today- a win should remove any doubt about being in the Tourney, and probably starts the debate about whether a 7-8 is actually too low.

 

I think they're already exceeding expectations in a 'rebuilding year', as someone previously noted. My remaining goals for this team are in this order:

 

1) Make the NCAA Tourney

2) Play at least two games in the B1G Tourney for experience

3) Get off the 8/9 line for second round match-up purposes

4) Play at least two games in the NCAA tourney for experience

and

Stretch 5) Make it to the second NCAA weekend

 

5 would be a huge accomplishment considering where this team was in January and what was expected of them. Simply accomplishing 1,2, and 4 gives this young team a wealth of valuable preparation for what should set them up for a potentially great season in 2016/17.

[nodakfan17]

I will never forget this guy:

 

http://deadspin.com/man-applies-for-und-head-coach-job-cites-playing-madde-1481626884

This guy had a lot of local support in Grand Forks. UND invests its athletic resources in hockey and will always be "little brother" to North Dakota State in football. I think some fans thought, why not? However, in the case of UW, Gard seems like the obvious choice now that he has had the chance to prove himself.

[pacopete4]

Big day for the Badgers today- a win should remove any doubt about being in the Tourney, and probably starts the debate about whether a 7-8 is actually too low.

 

I think they're already exceeding expectations in a 'rebuilding year', as someone previously noted. My remaining goals for this team are in this order:

 

1) Make the NCAA Tourney

2) Play at least two games in the B1G Tourney for experience

3) Get off the 8/9 line for second round match-up purposes

4) Play at least two games in the NCAA tourney for experience

and

Stretch 5) Make it to the second NCAA weekend

 

5 would be a huge accomplishment considering where this team was in January and what was expected of them. Simply accomplishing 1,2, and 4 gives this young team a wealth of valuable preparation for what should set them up for a potentially great season in 2016/17.

 

 

These are probably the exact goals that could realistically be done. I like it.

[pacopete4]

Another nice win by the Badgers and all of a sudden they are in 2nd place in the Big 10

[DuWayne Steurer]

Another nice win by the Badgers and all of a sudden they are in 2nd place in the Big 10

 

 

This is absolutely crazy to think about. After home losses to WIU and Milwaukee, and a 1-4 start in B10 play, keeping the streak of "top 4" finishes intact seemed unthinkable. It's still a task, as they're still technically also tied for 5th, and they have a road game at Purdue left on the docket, but to be in this position after the start of the season is a fantastic accomplishment.

[superfly]

And to think there are no graduating seniors (yeah yeah, one technically). This team will be a force next year if Hayes comes back, still will be good without him though.

[Outlander]

Big day for the Badgers today- a win should remove any doubt about being in the Tourney, and probably starts the debate about whether a 7-8 is actually too low.

 

I think they're already exceeding expectations in a 'rebuilding year', as someone previously noted. My remaining goals for this team are in this order:

 

1) Make the NCAA Tourney

2) Play at least two games in the B1G Tourney for experience

3) Get off the 8/9 line for second round match-up purposes

4) Play at least two games in the NCAA tourney for experience

and

Stretch 5) Make it to the second NCAA weekend

 

5 would be a huge accomplishment considering where this team was in January and what was expected of them. Simply accomplishing 1,2, and 4 gives this young team a wealth of valuable preparation for what should set them up for a potentially great season in 2016/17.

 

 

These are probably the exact goals that could realistically be done. I like it.

 

Disagree, if they win two games in the Big ten tournament they are in the championship game. If they make it to the second weekend they are beating a 1 or 2 seed at this point. If you expect them to go to the second weekend might as well just say final four.

[fondybrewfan]

Anything this team accomplishes is really gravy at this point in my book. My expectations were really all that high entering Big 10 play. My hope is that they end up on the 6/7 line. If they make the 2nd weekend that would be tremendous but I don't think I would be totally crushed if they didn't. They have already exceeded expectations and are setting themselves up for a another really nice run next year.

 

That being said, depending on the draw they get, they certainly can knock off that 2 or 3 seed in the 2nd round and then who the heck really knows after that.

[brwrsfan]

Big day for the Badgers today- a win should remove any doubt about being in the Tourney, and probably starts the debate about whether a 7-8 is actually too low.

 

I think they're already exceeding expectations in a 'rebuilding year', as someone previously noted. My remaining goals for this team are in this order:

 

1) Make the NCAA Tourney

2) Play at least two games in the B1G Tourney for experience

3) Get off the 8/9 line for second round match-up purposes

4) Play at least two games in the NCAA tourney for experience

and

Stretch 5) Make it to the second NCAA weekend

 

5 would be a huge accomplishment considering where this team was in January and what was expected of them. Simply accomplishing 1,2, and 4 gives this young team a wealth of valuable preparation for what should set them up for a potentially great season in 2016/17.

 

 

These are probably the exact goals that could realistically be done. I like it.

 

Disagree, if they win two games in the Big ten tournament they are in the championship game. If they make it to the second weekend they are beating a 1 or 2 seed at this point. If you expect them to go to the second weekend might as well just say final four.

 

If they get the B10 championship game, they likely move up past the 7-10 seed range. Not much higher, but a 6 is certainly possible if they keep winning. In which case, they're only beating a 3 seed (which is certainly doable with this field). Almost every major bracket I've looked at today already has them as a 7 seed (other than Jerry Palm, who I find to be a complete and utter moron and quite snippy for no real reason on Twitter). If they keep winning, especially if they make the B10 semis and beat another quality team, they'll like move up further yet.

 

I might be crazy here, but I'm enjoying this team almost as much, if not more than last year. If only because it was so unexpected. To see a team essentially left for dead by just about everyone (myself included) and then to just suddenly click and go on this run has been crazy and really, really fun to watch.

[fondybrewfan]

NBC Sports already has UW as a 6. Lunardi has them as a 7. CBS Sports continues to be more down on UW than the other sites and they have them as an 8. If they take care of business against MN I don't think they are any worse than an 8. If they run the table all the way to playing in the BTT championship I would say their ceiling is a 6; if the committee really likes them maybe a 5 but I doubt it.

 

I don't think there is some monumental difference between the 1's and the 2's this year so I don't know if it matters if they are a 7, 8, 9, or 10. There are certain teams I would rather avoid but I could care less about the actual seeding. Michigan State and Kansas are really the only two teams I want no part of. Even those teams UW could beat if things really go well.

[owbc]

I don't understand why they are being punished so much for losses that happened 2-3 months ago. Win 10 of the last 11 in the Big Ten including three against top-10 teams and STILL no top 25? Are you kidding? Right now they should be a 6 with a chance to move up to 4 if they beat Purdue and pick up a couple wins in the B10 tourney.