2022-2023 College Hoops

[Dickie Dunn]

That's a nice house.

[King Colby]

Eh. Do what you gotta do

[DigitalGypsy66]

[Ad@m]

@RonnieFranchise ??

Yeah it’s been discussed for a while now, all involved claim it wasn’t but hard to believe them shitting the bed down the stretch and in the postseason was not related.

He says it is related to family needs but… something needs to have changed drastically since he just signed a contract extension in September.

I don’t have any illusion that PC is some blue blood or something but the guy has become the face of the school. For him then to pick up and leave what he’s built, 8 tourneys in 12 years I believe, for a conference rival, one that hasn’t been relevant since the ‘90s,even if it’s a “better job” is really hard to swallow.

[Ad@m]

[RonnieFranchise]

Well, it could always be worse….



Good news for the Red Flash, they can just be St. Francis and not St. Francis (PA) in the NEC standings now.

[meow]

Kevin Harlan is a national treasure

[Ad@m]

[willeyeam]

Shots fired

[willeyeam]

[CBear3]

Shots fired

ISWYDT

Finally read the Patch article. Honestly reads as though it was written by the defense attorneys.

More likely that Miller didn’t know what was going on, and never saw the text about the gun. More of an indictment of the kind of crap that goes on in Tuscaloosa.

[RonnieFranchise]

dis gun b gud

[willeyeam]

[dodint]

With the best college basketball players being one and done and the rise of the transfer portal and NIL for players I see a coach moving on to be a big nothingburger. There is no loyalty and any notion of it is just a ploy to sell merchandise.

[RonnieFranchise]

I get it, but after watching this show about him that came out 3 months ago, where he talked about how much he valued the school and his hometown, and now he bails with no warning, the flamethrowers are going to come out. My bad for believing in anybody.

[meow]

Surprised metallica didn’t try to sue

[willeyeam]

[dodint]

Haha!

[MR25]

Despite having Purdue final 4 bound and getting cheeky with some picks (Oral Roberts besting Duke and all 10 seeds winning, for example), I still have the most possible points remaining for our office pool bracket.

I'll be screwed if UConn loses though.

[RonnieFranchise]

Well that was a fast coaching search. Played at Misssouri and briefly for the Pistons. Assisted Rick Barnes at Tennessee. Improved GMU in his second season.

That’s all I know about him. Let’s effing go Friars!

[Orlando Penguin]

THURSDAY'S MATCHUPS

Michigan State (-2) vs Kansas State @MSG
The battle of players from NYC. Kansas State point guard Markquis Nowell is from Harlem and has dazzled with the way he conducts the orchestra. Tyson Walker went to Christ the King and he'll be making his MSG debut as well. The name of this game is going to be how well K State gets out on Sparty's shooters and how well Sparty can keep Keyontae Johnson and Nowell from getting comfortable within the offense. Tom Izzo teams are 10-4 in this round and has won 16 times as the lower-seeded team, as they are in this matchup. My feel is that conference pedigree will take over and K State will have a final gear like they did against Kentucky.
PICK -- Kansas State outright

Arkansas vs. UCONN (-3 1/2) @T-Mobile
I'm not sure how Eric Musselman does it but he's been to the Elite 8 each of the last 2 seasons. But just to get to this point, they needed some timely rebounding, missed free throws out of Kansas, and a career 2nd half by Davontae Davis. UCONN has 2 things that the Hogs can't contend with and their names are Sanogo and Clingan. Those are the two Huskies centers (Sanogo starts) who go 6'9, 245 & 7'2, 265 respectively. Sanogo has been a force in the first 2 games of the tournament averaging 26 ppg and 10.5 rebs per game. Arkansas's biggest hope is to get UCONN in foul trouble and hope that Hawkins stays asleep at both ends of the floor. Just think that UCONN has a little too much for the Hogs.
PICK -- UCONN

Florida Atlantic vs Tennessee (-5 1/2) @MSG
The name to know here is FAU's Johnell Davis. He led the team in scoring this season and only started a 1/3 of their games. He had a big 29 vs FDU on Sunday. I'd expect the Vols to come out with the same physical nature they brought on Duke on Saturday. If I'm a Vols backer, I worry about where my offense comes from. They have the sharpshooter in Vescovi (#25) and Nkamhoua (#13) had a career day with 27 vs Duke but those were the only two players in double digits vs Duke. FAU has won 33 games this year for a reason and they're not afraid of a muck-it-up type of game. They're 8-1 in games decided by 4 or less. I think Tennessee wins the game but FAU keeps it tight.
PICK-- FAU (but Tennessee wins outright)

Gonzaga vs UCLA (-2) @T-Mobile
I can hear Michael Buffer now -- WELCOME...TO THE MAIN EVENT. Hell, it's even being held in Vegas. The last 2 tournament games these two have played against each other are classics. This one has all the makings to be one as well. Big question for UCLA -- can you handle Drew Timme with your less-than-100 percent frontline? Gonzaga has guards for days and when one guy is struggling like Strawther was against TCU, another guy steps up like a Malachi Smith or Rasir Bolton. UCLA has a ton of experience between Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez and they will drive the Bruins bus. Guard play is enormous in March and I feel like Gonzaga has enough of an edge to get the Bulldogs home. But if Timme gets in foul trouble or has a crap night shooting, then UCLA has a real shot.
PICK -- Gonzaga outright


Friday matchups out tomorrow.

[willeyeam]

Gonzaga vs UCLA is gonna be so good

[Orlando Penguin]

Well that was a fast coaching search. Played at Misssouri and briefly for the Pistons. Assisted Rick Barnes at Tennessee. Improved GMU in his second season.

That’s all I know about him. Let’s effing go Friars!

I like that pickup. I've been high on English for a while. I think there will be some growing pains at the beginning because he really didn't have time to establish a winner at Mason but they were getting there. See how that translates to the Big East.

[dodint]

You mean it's possible the program won't have to fold after all?

[Orlando Penguin]

FRIDAY'S MATCHUPS

San Diego State vs Alabama (-7 1/2) @Louisville
A classic clash of styles and whichever side you're on here indicates what you prefer in the game. If you like high-flying offense with lots of 3's, then Bama is your squad. If you're a 'defense travels' advocate, then you're rooting for the Aztecs. We know about the turmoil swirling around the Tide's program but they've seemed to close ranks and ignore all of the scrutiny. Brandon Miller is #1 pick talent but he's joined by a couple of great guards in Jahvon Quinerly and Jaden Bradley who really drive this bus. But SDSU's identity is built on their defense and they have the personnel and the physicality to frustrate Miller and extend out to defend the 3-point line. The Aztecs are largely homogenous on offense with just one player (Matt Bradley) averaging double figures in points. That's the one spot where I'd worry about a San Diego State pick but I think they keep the tempo down and limit the possessions. When I originally crafted my bracket, I had this matchup in this round...and I took the Aztecs. I'm sticking with it.
PICK -- San Diego State (cover and outright)

Miami vs Houston (-7) @KC
I keep trying to find a hole in Houston's game and each time I think I've found it, they quickly bring in the cleaners to patch it up. Defense and rebounding are the keystones to their game as we saw them choke Auburn like a boa constrictor in that 2nd half on Saturday night. But in that game, they also showed that they can score in bunches. Having a healthy Sasser back in the lineup really helps with that. Miami has been a chameleon team all season -- they can get out and run and score a ton of points and win and they can also get into a slog and also win. Of their 7 losses, only one was by more than 7 points and that was way back in November. They showed against a bigger Indiana team that they're not afraid to mix it up, showing to be a lot tougher than Indiana. In the end, I think Houston has more of the horses but it'll be a tighter game than the experts think.
PICK -- Miami (Houston wins outright)

Princeton vs Creighton (-10) @Louisville
I've picked on Princeton in both of the games they've played thus far and have been grossly wrong both times. That's sort of the reward for having not seen them play all year. Now that I have seen them play, I'm impressed by how they have been able to take both of their opponents out of their game and exploit the fact that neither was very good defensively. Enter Creighton. They've got a fantastic rim protector in Big East Defensive POY Ryan Kalkbrenner and a group around him that can lock down when necessary. Their performance against Baylor was incredibly impressive. As nice as the Princeton story has been, I don't think they have the firepower to contend with Creighton's offense. A lot of models want to swing this toward the Tigers but I don't see it.
PICK -- Creighton

Xavier vs Texas (-4) @KC
It's amazing how resilient Texas has been to weather the Chris Beard situation and rally behind Rodney Terry. If he doesn't get the permanent job, then I don't know what Texas really expects in their athletic department. I really like the Xavier team and they would probably have a better chance if they were 100% but they've missed Zach Freemantle since the beginning of February. It's plenty of time to adjust but Texas has a well-rounded group that has the ability to score along with any team they've faced lately.
PICK -- Texas