2013-14 NCAA College Basketball Thread

[Burmy]

So, Wichita State won AGAIN today...still undefeated and deserving of a #1 seed if they finish the regular season like that. With this success, Gregg Marshall's name is going to come up when the major schools at the bottom start firing their head coaches after the tourney fields are announced (or even when some of the NBA teams start firing their coaches after the regular season ends)...my question is this: Is he gonna go where the big money is (Bruce Pearl, Brad Stevens) or is he gonna stay and continue building his team into perennial contenders (Mark Few, Shaka Smart) and his conference into a very attractive choice (as Few and Gonzaga did for the WCC)?

On another note: I'm expecting Saint Louis to announce their move to the Big East anytime now...it makes all the geographic and competitive sense in the world.

[rams80]

On another note: I'm expecting Saint Louis to announce their move to the Big East anytime now...it makes all the geographic and competitive sense in the world.

So they can join DePaul and Butler?

[Burmy]

On another note: I'm expecting Saint Louis to announce their move to the Big East anytime now...it makes all the geographic and competitive sense in the world.

So they can join DePaul and Butler?

More like so they can serve to fill in the gap between Marquette/DePaul and Creighton...at this point, being in the Atlantic 10 makes no sense to them anymore.

[illwauk]

Saint Louis is a Catholic school that wears blue... they'll fit right in.

[rams80]

On another note: I'm expecting Saint Louis to announce their move to the Big East anytime now...it makes all the geographic and competitive sense in the world.

So they can join DePaul and Butler?

More like so they can serve to fill in the gap between Marquette/DePaul and Creighton...at this point, being in the Atlantic 10 makes no sense to them anymore.

Except if they like winning.

[illwauk]

Am I the only one that hates the idea of conference tournaments determining who wins a conference's NCAA bid? Bids to the big dance should be a reward for a full-season's worth of quality play, not for suddenly getting hot at the right time.

I think an argument could be made against the idea of conference tournaments, period; but I won't go that far just yet.

[Burmy]

On another note: I'm expecting Saint Louis to announce their move to the Big East anytime now...it makes all the geographic and competitive sense in the world.

So they can join DePaul and Butler?

More like so they can serve to fill in the gap between Marquette/DePaul and Creighton...at this point, being in the Atlantic 10 makes no sense to them anymore.

Except if they like winning.

Creighton and Xavier seem to be doing OK in the new Big East, don't they?

If THEY can adapt well, then so can a Top 15 team in the Billikens.

[rams80]

On another note: I'm expecting Saint Louis to announce their move to the Big East anytime now...it makes all the geographic and competitive sense in the world.

So they can join DePaul and Butler?

More like so they can serve to fill in the gap between Marquette/DePaul and Creighton...at this point, being in the Atlantic 10 makes no sense to them anymore.

Except if they like winning.

Creighton and Xavier seem to be doing OK in the new Big East, don't they?

If THEY can adapt well, then so can a Top 15 team in the Billikens.

The run of the last 2-3 seasons is a historic outlier for St. Louis. The reality is that they have hovered around mediocrity for most of their existence. Creighton spends a metric ton on sports and has been a tourney regular for awhile, and Xavier has been consistently in the postseason since the 1980s.

[dfwabel]

So, Wichita State won AGAIN today...still undefeated and deserving of a #1 seed if they finish the regular season like that. With this success, Gregg Marshall's name is going to come up when the major schools at the bottom start firing their head coaches after the tourney fields are announced (or even when some of the NBA teams start firing their coaches after the regular season ends)...my question is this: Is he gonna go where the big money is (Bruce Pearl, Brad Stevens) or is he gonna stay and continue building his team into perennial contenders (Mark Few, Shaka Smart) and his conference into a very attractive choice (as Few and Gonzaga did for the WCC)?

Gregg Marshall is really not on the NBA radar now, it's Fred Hoiberg.

As for other jobs within the Power 5 + Big East, there really are not many desirable jobs which could be open. Rick Barnes seems to have saved himself at Texas, but aside from Texas, there are really not many possible openings: DePaul, Georgia, Stanford and possibly in Wake Forest and Clemson.

No football at Wichita State also allows him to be the face of the school, which may not occur elsewhere.

A sleeper could be Oklahoma State. In a conference with six coaches with Final Four appearances (two of them with championships: Tubby and Bill Self), he has had less tournament success than the four without Final Four appearances, even less than Fred Hoiberg and Ford has been a HC for 14 more seasons that The Mayor has. Kruger, Weber, Huggins and Barnes have gotten to the Final Four. Bryce Drew has gotten Baylor to the Elite 8, and Trent Johnson (TCU) has gotten a team to the Sweet 16 once in his career.

[OnWis97]

Am I the only one that hates the idea of conference tournaments determining who wins a conference's NCAA bid? Bids to the big dance should be a reward for a full-season's worth of quality play, not for suddenly getting hot at the right time.

I think an argument could be made against the idea of conference tournaments, period; but I won't go that far just yet.

Growing up in the 80s in Big Ten country with parents who refused to get cable, I did not even realize that conference tournaments existed for the first couple years of my fandom. And when I heard about them, I thought "what the hell? Why? They just played a full season."

So, yeah, I agree that an argument against conference tournaments could be made. Mine is that it waters down the conference race with two champions and cuts into the integrity of the regular season race by taking a couple of games off the schedule.

There is no way conference tourneys are about the integrity of the race in any way. They are about making money. As a big conference fan, I find them to be an annoyance. But for one-bid conference, yeah, they absolutely crap on the integrity of the race to get into the dance. Just so the conference title game can be on ESPN.

If it was up to me, conference tourneys would not exist. I appreciate the conferences that have the regular season champs host (there are a few still, right?). At least the regular season race means something.

[ninersdd]

So, Wichita State won AGAIN today...still undefeated and deserving of a #1 seed if they finish the regular season like that. With this success, Gregg Marshall's name is going to come up when the major schools at the bottom start firing their head coaches after the tourney

fields are announced (or even when some of the NBA teams start firing their coaches after the regular season ends)...my question is this: Is he gonna go where the big money is (Bruce Pearl, Brad Stevens) or is he gonna stay and continue building his team into perennial contenders

(Mark Few, Shaka Smart) and his conference into a very attractive choice (as Few and Gonzaga did for the WCC)?

Gregg Marshall is really not on the NBA radar now, it's Fred Hoiberg.

As for other jobs within the Power 5 + Big East, there really are not many desirable jobs which could be open. Rick Barnes seems to have saved himself at Texas, but aside from Texas, there are really not many possible openings:

DePaul, Georgia, Stanford and possibly in Wake Forest.

It wouldn't surprise me if Obama's brother in law at Oregon State would in trouble. They've finished 8, 7, 9, 9, and 12 in conference in his years, and will probably get around the 8/9 range this year. They just seem to be stuck in mediocrity. Sendek at ASU could've been in trouble if they miss the NCAA's, but barring a massive collapse after what happened on Friday, they should be in.

[ninersdd]

If it was up to me, conference tourneys would not exist. I appreciate the conferences that have the regular season champs host (there are a few still, right?). At least the regular season race means something.

I think the only one is the Ivy League.

[dfwabel]

So, Wichita State won AGAIN today...still undefeated and deserving of a #1 seed if they finish the regular season like that. With this success, Gregg Marshall's name is going to come up when the major schools at the bottom start firing their head coaches after the tourney

fields are announced (or even when some of the NBA teams start firing their coaches after the regular season ends)...my question is this: Is he gonna go where the big money is (Bruce Pearl, Brad Stevens) or is he gonna stay and continue building his team into perennial contenders

(Mark Few, Shaka Smart) and his conference into a very attractive choice (as Few and Gonzaga did for the WCC)?

Gregg Marshall is really not on the NBA radar now, it's Fred Hoiberg.

As for other jobs within the Power 5 + Big East, there really are not many desirable jobs which could be open. Rick Barnes seems to have saved himself at Texas, but aside from Texas, there are really not many possible openings:

DePaul, Georgia, Stanford and possibly in Wake Forest.

It wouldn't surprise me if Obama's brother in law at Oregon State would in trouble. They've finished 8, 7, 9, 9, and 12 in conference in his years, and will probably get around the 8/9 range this year. They just seem to be stuck in mediocrity. Sendek at ASU could've been in trouble if they miss the NCAA's, but barring a massive collapse after what happened on Friday, they should be in.

Oregon State is like some of the school I mentioned in that they are not better jobs when compared to Wichita State. Washington is a better gig than Oregon State and still under Wichita.

[crashcarson15]

If it was up to me, conference tourneys would not exist. I appreciate the conferences that have the regular season champs host (there are a few still, right?). At least the regular season race means something.

I think the only one is the Ivy League.

That is correct.

It's a tradeoff for conferences between added revenue from the conference tournament and the potential added revenue of ensuring your best team goes to the Big Dance.

On the flip side, for conferences like the Horizon when Butler was a top dog, the tournament gave them a chance to get two teams in rather than just one.

[OnWis97]

If it was up to me, conference tourneys would not exist. I appreciate the conferences that have the regular season champs host (there are a few still, right?). At least the regular season race means something.

I think the only one is the Ivy League.

Ivy League has no tourney....I was referring to those that have the regular season champs host the tournament....which as least renders the regular season title of some value in a one-bid league.

[DS729]

Am I the only one that hates the idea of conference tournaments determining who wins a conference's NCAA bid? Bids to the big dance should be a reward for a full-season's worth of quality play, not for suddenly getting hot at the right time.

I think an argument could be made against the idea of conference tournaments, period; but I won't go that far just yet.

No, you're not. I've hated them in years, I'd much rather take the champion of a 20-game regular season then the winner of a weekend-long crapshoot. It's not as bad in bigger conferences when the best or a tourney team in general will win 99% of the time, but in smaller conferences when the favorite loses it will steal a bid from a much better power conference school. But all it is is a cash-money grab, it gets smaller schools a chance to be on TV, and that's the reason why they'll keep it. The only thing the NCAA needs is more money, not a better sport in general.

[pianoknight]

Homer post, but I'm shocked at Nebraska's recent success. They're still a long, long shot to reach March Madness, but Tim Miles is doing great stuff in Lincoln, especially since Husker Hoops has largely been an afterthought behind football and baseball. Most Husker fans are also semi-Creighton fans since the Jays are in Omaha and since NU typically sucks at basketball.

Wins over ranked Ohio State and Michigan State, plus wins against Illinois, Indiana and Northwestern are enough to make me consider this a solid season, no matter how it ends.

Also; Petteway is the real deal.

[Billy B]

The Huskers have been amazing at home this year with their only loss coming by 1 to Michigan. That win at Michigan State really gave them a shot to make the tournament. They have a pretty easy schedule the rest of the way and could be on the bubble if they beat Wisconsin.

[pianoknight]

I'll admit, I never watched basketball that much because I didn't have a solid team to root for. Now that Nebraska is Not-Bad (dare I say "Good?"), it's been fun to watch hoops again.

[ninersdd]

If it was up to me, conference tourneys would not exist. I appreciate the conferences that have the regular season champs host (there are a few still, right?). At least the regular season race means something.

I think the only one is the Ivy League.

Ivy League has no tourney....I was referring to those that have the regular season champs host the tournament....which as least renders the regular season title of some value in a one-bid league.

Off the top of my head, I do know that the Big Sky conference does that with the #1 seed hosting. I wonder if Sac State would be allowed to host if they ever get the best team because they basically play in a glorified high school gym.