Some interesting games tonight. Kansas plays at #14 Oklahoma State, while Gonzaga hosts Santa Clara in what might be their toughest remaining game. Wisconsin is about to tip off at Northwestern.
One game that turned out not to be interesting was Minnesota at OSU. The Gophers seem to be mailing it in at this point. Is Tubby's seat getting warm?
The Only Interesting Thing About It...
Minnesota's collapse is
Minnesota's collapse is perplexing. They looked like they could contend in the Big Ten at the beginning of the year.
Tubby smith's
Seat isn't warm. Minnesota's AD isn't a fool. He knows Tubby is the best they're gonna get up there. He's been doing a good job at recruiting, too.
Marry me, Chantel.
Good point
See Glen Mason
I don't see the Glen Mason
I don't see the Glen Mason comparison. Mason was their best football coach in the last 40 years. Tubby is not doing that well. They were a lot better a decade ago when they had Clem Haskins. Haskins got in trouble for an academic fraud scandal, but on the court his teams were very good (and I don't think Haskins' teams actually gained a competitive advantage from the academic fraud). Haskins' teams were often in contention for the league title and went to the Final Four one year.
Yeah, they definitely have
Yeah, they definitely have more upside in basketball than in football. In football, you need so many players that it's very difficult to be competitive if you're not located in a talent-rich state. In basketball, you only need a handful of recruits to be good.
Minnesota has gone 6-12, 6-12
Minnesota has gone 6-12, 6-12 and now 6-8 the last three years in Big Ten play. They have utterly collapsed in February three years running. This year I thought they had too much talent to pull off the annual collapse but sure enough, it's happening. They started 3-0 in league play (and were actually ranked in the top 10 at that point) and have now dropped eight of 11 games. When a team that is capable of beating MSU by double-digits and taking Indiana down to the wire becomes this anemic (and hasn't suffered a rash of injuries), you have to conclude that something is seriously amiss. When it happens three years running, you've got a coaching problem.
Smith has a nice résumé. Problem is, he's no longer the caliber of coach he was when he accomplished those big things. His Minnesota teams have looked positively Amakeresque out there.
Minnesota's AD
Their AD came from VCU so do not discount him thinking that maybe they could lure Shaka Smart to the Gophers. I do not think Smart would go there but the AD may want to give it a try and get "his guy."
Gonzaga
I am surprised that, long after Adam Morrison graduated, Gonzaga is still a perennial favorite of the media. They would struggle to be a .500 conference team in the Big Ten. They don't have any conference opponents that could win four games in the Big Ten.
Gonzaga will get a 1 or 2 seed this year, and win an easy first game. Then, they will get a 7,8,9, or 10 in the second game. I'm guessing that's a coin flip. I don't see them making it past the third game if they make it that far.
Maybe
not to that extreme, but they did lose to Illinois at home and play in a relatively weak conference (as stated above).
2013 will be the year.
Have you watched Gonzaga
Have you watched Gonzaga play?! They're, like, a very legitimate team. They were good before Morrison was there so it's no surpirse that they're still good. Phew is a helluva coach. Yes it helps to play in the WCC and yes their competition isn't all that great, allowing them to win a load of games each year. Nonetheless, they're good, man. 7-footer Olynyk (sp?) is a heck of a player and scorer on top of the other role players they have (Elias Harris, Stockton's kid, etc.) I don't personally wanna see them in March!
Agree, this is Gonzaga's best
Agree, this is Gonzaga's best team since Dan Dikau led them to the sweet 16 two years in a row (2000,2001). Few is a proven coach, and although they have bowed out of the tournament early in past years, they have a serious post presence in Olynyk this year.
NW vs. UW on the BIG now...
...and I agree those Badger unis look like osu counterfeits.
Also, is it just me, or are the BIG bigs having a horrible time finishing bunny layups this year?
L.S.A. '88
speaking as ref here
but I will say that you see many more misses in games where less fouls are called. The B1G lets people get away with a lot of "50% fouls" (IE slapping, hands-on-the-back, rough body contact). It's those "no-calls" which make it so hard.
For instance, if you call those "50% fouls" three or four times early in the game, and defenders start backing off, you notice a HUGE difference in games. This is why Tim Donaghy landed a job with gambling sites: he has a special knowledge of how games will unfold due to which referee is at the game, and that ref's tendencies.
So yes, bigs are having trouble finishing lay-ups. No, it's not because they're simply worse than before; officiating has a very large impact upon games.
/thinking about writing a diary on this. Here's the head's up.
Speaking of low scores in
Speaking of low scores in college basketball, NW has 12 points at the half. Yikes. Will they hit 30 for the game?
OSU needs to come to form and
OSU needs to come to form and beat IU and MSU, so, that's good
HAIL.
Kansas and OK State are tied
Kansas and OK State are headed to OT.
OSU had the ball at the end of regulation, so naturally they dribbled it for 25 seconds and then threw up a contested three. That's getting tiresome to watch.
I wish I wasn't at work
I wish I wasn't at work monitoring the KU-OSU score updates on espn.com. Looks like I'm missing quite the game.
2 OVERTIMES
I like college basketball, that is all.
This is Michigan Fer Godsakes, We win Sugar Bowls here
OK State had three seconds to
OK State had three seconds to go the length of the court. They inbound it to a guy 80 feet from the basket, who immediately heaves up a prayer. Why?
Everything about this game is
Everything about this game is confusing and infuriating.
the crowds on the shore will always yell "Let's Go Blue."
Calling offensive fouls
Calling offensive fouls appears to be the highlight of a referee's job. They're always way more excited to call that than anything else.
SCU will be lucky to score 15
SCU will be lucky to score 15 in the first half. They are getting taken out Northwestern-style.
Edit: this was not meant to be a reply, sorry.
wow
yeah let me just take this contested 3 with like 8 seconds left while fading away
This is Michigan Fer Godsakes, We win Sugar Bowls here
why on earth would you take
why on earth would you take that shot?
the crowds on the shore will always yell "Let's Go Blue."
EXCELLENT SHOT SELECTION
A freakin contested, fade away, long two with 5+ seconds left.
Brian Cook Memorial Terrible Shot of the Game
Dammit . . . KU survives.
Dammit . . . KU survives. They made one field goal in two OTs but it was enough. Ugly, ugly game.
This is definitely not
This is definitely not Gonzaga's toughest remaining game. They've still got to go to BYU, a team that pummelled Santa Clara twice this season. I very much doubt BYU keeps it close against Gonzaga, but if you're looking for an upset that's your only hope.
My first late night thread
I'm guessing it won't be my last. Up with twin #1.
Best of luck my friend.
Been there, done that.
Thursday Night
Hey, Thursday night here. Stuck at home in a snow storm. Plenty of vodka and snacks. Yeah, I watched the second half of the Penn St. vs. Illinois game. That counts yeah?
Stuck at home in snow and drunk and I watched the second half of the PSU/IU game. Gotta count for something.
Waiting for Sunday...
"I don't know where you people get the nerve."
"From a long, hard winter, Mr. President."
The amazing thing about the Minnesota-OSU game is that, for much of it, neither team was above 40% for effective FG percentage. Right now, as we end this - mercifully for the Gophers - the Buckeyes have managed to lift their effective FG% in a matter of minutes to 44.9%, compared to the Gophers 31.3% There have been almost 40 FTs in this game and over 40 personal fouls too.
"Funny isn't it, how naughty dentists always make that one fatal mistake."
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