College Basketball 2018-2019 Season (Men and Women)

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College basketball can be insane. Another season of the good, the bad, and the ugly on the collegiate hardwood will commence. I am pleased to open up another thread on the crazy world of college basketball here on GTPlanet. If you love college basketball, this your thread for the 2018-2019 season.

To a lot of people, a lot of the usual schools you hear of are mentioned a lot in college hoops. But if you are fairly new and coming from college football, you may hear of many schools that don't have proper football programs. Schools like Marquette and Gonzaga are among many schools without proper college football programs. Whereas there are probably a total of 200 or so schools in NCAA FBS and FCS, there are about 330+ schools in NCAA Division 1. Everything from major schools to smaller schools all compete in college basketball.

On the competition front, there is a reason why college basketball is so loved- minor programs beating big programs. Last season saw Loyola University of Chicago- which has won the National Championship before- make it all the way to the Final Four last season. You love to see the little program contend with the big ones. Tournament play will do that. Every team wants to make that resumé to play for a National Championship. Who'll be the best this coming season, though? We'll find out!

Remember- this thread is for any and all college basketball discussion. Heck, if you want to talk about college basketball in Canada or the Philippines (there is an NCAA in the Philippines), that's all good here too. NAIA and NJCAA college hoops are fair game here. Non NCAA Division 1 college hoops is also welcome here. Also, men's AND women's hoops are welcome for discussion here as well.


Here is a look back at last season's champions:

NCAA D1 Men: Villanova
NCAA D1 Women: Notre Dame
NCAA D2 Men: Ferris State
NCAA D2 Women: Central Missouri
NCAA D3 Men: Nebraska Wesleyan
NCAA D3 Women: Amherst (undefeated! Back-to-back titles!)
NIT Men: Penn State
NIT Women: Indiana
CIT: Northern Colorado
CBI: North Texas
NAIA D1 Men: Graceland (Iowa)
NAIA D1 Women: Freed-Hardeman (Tennessee)
NAIA D2 Men: Indiana Wesleyan
NAIA D2 Women: Dakota Wesleyan (South Dakota)
NJCAA D1 Men: South Plains
NJCAA D1 Women: Tallahassee
NJCAA D2 Men: Triton
NJCAA D2 Women: Monroe (New York)
NJCAA D3 Men: Brookdale (New Jersey)
NJCAA D3 Women: Hostos

We'll see who will be this season's champs.


The ball is tipped on college hoops. Want to chat on college hoops? Go!
 
The Preseason AP Poll for NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball was released. So who are the 25 teams of the 330+ that we should look out for? These:

--- AP Preseason Poll: 2018-2019 Season ---
01 - Kansas
02 - Kentucky
03 - Gonzaga
04 - Duke
05 - Virginia
06 - Tennessee
07 - Nevada
08 - North Carolina
09 - Villanova <<< defending champions
10 - Michigan State
11 - Auburn
12 - Kansas State
13 - West Virginia
14 - Oregon
15 - Virginia Tech
16 - Syracuse
17 - Florida State
18 - Mississippi State
19 - Michigan <<< National Champion runners-up
20 - TCU
21 - UCLA
22 - Clemson
23 - LSU
24 - Purdue
25 - Washington

The college hoops fun begins around November 6 for this season. So get ready, folks!
 
It's being reported that the Big XII and the Big East signed a scheduling deal to play each other starting in 2020. So you could see conference battles such as...

* Kansas vs. Creighton
* Oklahoma vs. Butler
* West Virginia vs. Georgetown
* Texas vs. St. John's
* Baylor vs. Marquette

...all among others. It would be pretty cool seeing these two conferences lock up. Only sad thing is that I think the Big East is more stacked with talent than the Big XII.


Another note to pass along is that there was some justice doled out in pay-for-play recruiting at Kansas, Louisville, and North Carolina State. Sentencing for the accused parties will be levied out by about March 5, 2019.


Of Preseason games, people are making kind of a big deal about Duke defeating Virginia Union (NCAA Division 2 school). Rankings don't really mean much in college basketball because we all know you really make your mark when it's Tournament time.


It won't be too long until we begin a new season of college basketball. So get ready if you aren't already!
 
Can you feel it, GTPlanet? It is that feeling of fans packing gyms and arenas anticipating the start of hardwood madness. It is the referee tipping the ball into the air as two teams leave it all on the floor. It is fast-paced, non-stop mayhem. Ladies and gentlemen... college basketball is back! The big deal tonight involves four solid teams ready to play on national TV in some epic encounters. Here's the card for ESPN tonight:

* #10 Michigan State vs. #1 Kansas
* #8 Duke vs. #2 Kentucky

These are among plenty of other games to start the 2018-2019 season. Remember- losing some of these early games can hurt your tournament chances. Every regular season game counts. So the last thing you want to do is lose with regularity. Having said all of this, have a great season of college basketball!


Good luck to all of your favorite teams, men's hoops and women's hoops.
 
Last season's NCAA Division 1 Men's National Championship game was between Michigan and Villanova. Coming soon, the National Championship rematch. Michigan did beat my Houston Cougars last tournament on a fluke shot that broke the Coogs' hearts. Maybe Michigan will find more magic when they take on Jay Wright's Villanova Wildcats.

As of now, Duke is the new No. 1 in the nation on the men's side. They trashed Kentucky earlier this season followed by a nice win against Army (Coach K's alma mater).


Most people don't follow college basketball until maybe December or when conference play begins. Still, I hope you're enjoying the new season so far.
 
I want to take a moment to congratulate Vivian Stringer on 1,000 wins as head coach. Stringer is the head coach of Rutgers' women's basketball team. Current Rutgers fans aren't too pleased about their football team; but if there was one strong link for Rutgers, it is their women's basketball team. So congratulations to Stringer on an amazing career thus far as coach. She got her 1K win back on Tuesday or so.
 
If you watch regular ESPN programming, you may be familiar with "Pardon the Interruption." I saw half of a replay of a game from this past Friday between the two hosts' respective alma maters- Binghamton (Tony Kornheiser's alma mater) at Northwestern (Michael Wilbon's alma mater). The commentary was very fun from what I've seen and heard.

Meanwhile, a lot of the tournaments are being played out, including the Maui Invitational. Though I am a bit miffed that Chaminade wasn't in the tournament this year. I hope you all get to enjoy some college hoops with these early season Tournaments.
 
These are all men's college hoops musings to share.

* My Houston Cougars opened up their new Fertitta center last night, replacing the ancient Hoffheinz Pavillion. We hosted the No. 18 Oregon Ducks. This lovely new arena for the Coogs was Home Sweet Home in taking down the Ducks. To my surprise, the U. of Houston men's team is 6-0 on the season. Maybe they are still hurting from Michigan stunning the Coogs in last season's NCAA Tournament. Speaking of Michigan...

* Michigan is 7th in the Nation and are getting as much national love as Gonzaga and Duke. Yeah- Michigan is not just a football school. Michigan right now is 8-0 on the season. Michigan took down Dolph Drago's Purdue Boilermakers 76-57. Whereas Michigan defeated my Houston Cougars last season, Michigan is wanting another crack at the National Championship.

* The following Top 25 men's teams are currently undefeated as of the time of this post: Gonzaga, Kansas, Virginia, Michigan, Texas Tech, and Buffalo.


Still a lot of season left. A lot of teams have already taken on conference opponents by now. Hope you all are enjoying college hoops so far.
 
RECENTLY WRAPPED UP...

My Houston Cougars defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys 63-53 at Oklahoma State. The Coogs now 8-0 on the season. I didn't think we'd pull this off. Houston splashed some sweet three-pointers. UH is playing very well. Maybe not Top 25 well, but this team does mean business and are pretty baller right now. I can only hope they can keep up this fine form.


Congratulations to all other winners from today in men's and women's hoops, including Seton Hall downing No. 9 Kentucky in Overtime.
 
Atop the standings on the NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball rankings is Kansas after No. 7 Tennessee defeated No. 1 Gonzaga this past Sunday. The Gonzaga Bulldogs dropped down to No. 5 after their loss.

Later this month or next month will begin most of the conference games.
 
Time for a few college hoops musings. Heading into tonight, here are all of the remaining unbeaten teams in NCAA Division 1 men's basketball:

* #1 Kansas (8-0)
* #5 Michigan (10-0)
* #6 Virginia (9-0)
* #7 Nevada (10-0)
* #11 Texas Tech (9-0)
* #14 Buffalo (9-0)
* #23 Furman (11-0)
* #24 Houston (9-0)
* St. John's (9-0)

I saw Houston last night defeat LSU at home in a game televised on ESPN2. So far, so good with these currently unbeaten teams. Finishing undefeated is nearly impossible in this day and age. I think no men's NCAA D1 basketball team finished undefeated since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers. Maybe one of these nine teams can win it all as an unbeaten team. Or maybe one of these nine could potentially win it all even with a loss or losses.

While preparing that list, I learned of a new team in NCAA Division 1- California Baptist University. They have the same nickname as Longwood- the Lancers. This is a school based in Riverside, California, USA. CBU has a very nice basketball arena. The Lancers play in the WAC. They are not an Independent. In fact, there are no Independents in NCAA D1. So GTPlanet... give a warm welcome to California Baptist University!

There are no Independents in NCAA D1, so all who are part of conferences can even qualify for postseason tournaments. There are also no exclusively male or exclusively female universities in NCAA D1. The only NCAA school I know of that is all-male is Morehouse College. Some exclusively-female universities I know of in the NCAA are Texas Women's University and Mount Holyoke among others. It would be interesting seeing if such schools could upgrade to D1 in the future.

Last note... spare some thoughts for poor Savannah State, as they got trounced at South Dakota State back on Tuesday. The Jackrabbits of South Dakota State put up 90 points on the Savannah State Tigers... in the first half. SoDaSU ended up winning 139-72 over Savannah State.


That's all. I hope your favorite team(s) is/are doing well so far.
 
Last night, Gonzaga achieved their largest margin of victory over an opponent when they hammered Denver 101-40 at Gonzaga. The Bulldogs connected on 15 straight field goals early on. They ended up whacking the Denver Pioneers by 61.

Today, meanwhile, the #19 University of Kentucky thwarted the #9 University of North Carolina 80-72. Always great seeing heavyweights like UK and UNC go at it. You know the Wildcats and Tar Heels will be two of the usual suspects to the NCAA Tournament (men and women). Congrats to the 'Cats!


Hope your favorite team(s) is/are doing well.
 
There was a big win in the women's game to end the 2018 part of the 2018-2019 season. In College Park, MD; it was the unranked Rutgers Lady Scarlet Knights who defeated the #4 ranked Maryland Lady Terrapins with a 73-65 victory. I usually regard Rutgers best for their women's basketball program. So this isn't like some no-name school being a national power. Again- congratulations to the Lady Scarlet Knights on a huge win.
 
The following teams on the men's side of NCAA Division 1 basketball are currently undefeated:

* #2 Michigan (15-0)
* #4 Virginia (13-0)
* #19 Houston (15-0)

So there were about nine undefeated teams before 2019 began. Now three remain unbeaten. Remember that is not college football, where it seems like you have to dominate everybody and be as perfect record-wise to go into the National Championship game. All three of these teams will falter at some point. That is, unless we have a second coming of the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers.

Let me tell you- Michigan looks REALLY good. Most people know Michigan as a football powerhouse. Michigan basketball is not too shabby either. The Big Ten is quite a competitive conference in basketball. More so, the ACC. I haven't seen Virginia go to work, but Virginia knows about solid basketball themselves. Now on to my beloved Houston Cougars. I think Houston's on this torrid streak just to have another chance at the NCAA Tournament and hopefully do better than the back-breaking buzzer-beater from Michigan that downed the Coogs in last season's Tournament. These are three teams to watch for absolute sure.


How are your favorite schools doing so far? This is basically the real part of the season with all the conference matches going on. Good luck to all of your favorite teams.
 
The University of Houston was finally bested last night, losing 73-69 at Temple. UH is now 15-1 after this fail. Only two unbeaten teams remain in NCAA Division 1 Men's basketball now- Michigan (#2 in the nation) and Virginia (#4 in the nation). Michigan plays tonight at Illinois.
 
JUST WRAPPED UP...

If you heard a loud thud in Cameron, North Carolina; that is because Syracuse downed the #1 Duke Blue Devils in their house 95-91 in Overtime. HUGE win for the Syracuse Orange! I always wondered if Michigan should be ranked No. 1. This might help the Wolverines be atop the men's standings after this fail by Duke tonight.
 
Michigan has finally been bested. The No. 2-ranked Michigan Wolverines lost 64-54 at unranked Wisconsin. The Badgers bested the Wolverines.

If No. 4 Virginia loses at No. 1 Duke later tonight, there will be no more unbeaten teams in NCAA Division 1 Men's basketball this season.
 
Michigan was bested earlier yesterday... and so to was Virginia. So there are no more unbeaten teams in NCAA Division 1 men's basketball. The Duke Blue Devils took down the #4 Virginia Cavaliers 72-70 at Duke last night.


Hopefully your favorite team(s) is/are doing well so far. You all can chime in any time you like in this thread.
 
No. 23 North Carolina State entered a dubious distinction today when they hosted No. 12 Virginia Tech. They scored a total of 24 points in their 47-24 blowout loss. NCSU's 24 points is the fewest ever points scored by a ranked team in the Shot Clock era.


After the Super Bowl tomorrow (what's a Super Bowl?), I'm sure most people will be full college basketball. So you all are still free to chat about college hoops here! It doesn't have to be the Tournament to discuss college hoops.
 
The University of Houston's men's basketball team has cracked the Top 10 in the polls. The Cougars have worked their way up to No. 9 in the men's polls. This is the best UH team since the Phi Slamma Jamma (1983-1984) days. Tennessee is still tops in the nation on the men's side ahead of the likes of Duke, Gonzaga, Virginia, and Kentucky.
 
North Carolina.

Duke.

It's 46th time both are Top 10 ranked. This game tonight is at Duke. UNC is No. 8, and Duke is No. 1. One of the greatest rivalries in all of sports- let alone college basketball. Enjoy tonight's game if you'll be watching or following!
 
"Beware the ideas of March."

To most people, March isthe only time to really care about college basketball. After all, we have March Madness action to come! This is where colleges and universities really begin to shine as the Tournament committee has a lot of decisions to make in terms of who all gets into the Tournament and what matchups are set. A lot is to be determined between now and then. So if your favorite schools still have postseason hope (even if not for National Championship opportunities), keep playing hard!


Good luck to all of your favorite teams.
 
Conference championships are ongoing between now and up to this Sunday. Automatic tournament bids are on the line. We will see who all makes this Tournament(s) this season. My Houston Cougars won the regular season American Athletic Conference championship after their win at Cincinnati back on Sunday.
 
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Today, also... is Selection Sunday. So this is where we fill out the Tournament field for the 2018-2019 season of college basketball for men and women. Who'll make the cut? We'll find out.

Once the brackets are released, do NOT wait on me to post the tournament field. Just come in and chat about the upcoming matches.
 
Welcome to the 2018-2019 edition of March Madness! Today may be St. Patrick's Day, but it is also Selection Sunday for this season. Some teams may not have luck on their side in trying to get into the NCAA Tournament field on this day. It's time I break down the March Madness field for this season. The teams who battle hard enough to make the Final Four will play in Minneapolis, MN for the National Championship. What does this season's field look like? Find out with this post:


TOP SEEDS:
* Duke (top overall)
* Gonzaga
* Virginia
* North Carolina


REGION MATCHES:
* EAST vs. WEST
* SOUTH vs. MIDWEST


FIRST FOUR: (Tuesday and Wednesday)
* North Carolina Central vs. North Dakota State
* Belmont vs. Temple
* Fairleigh Dickinson vs. Prairie View A&M
* Arizona State vs. St. John's


--- EAST REGION ---
Columbia, SC (Friday and Sunday)
#1 Duke vs. #16 (North Carolina Central/North Dakota State)
#8 Virginia Commonwealth vs. #9 Central Florida

San José, CA (Friday and Sunday)
#5 Mississippi State vs. #12 Liberty
#4 Virginia Tech vs. #13 Saint Louis

Jacksonville, FL (Thursday and Saturday)
#6 Maryland vs. #11 (Belmont/Temple)
#3 LSU vs. #14 Yale

Des Moines, IA (Thursday and Saturday)
#7 Louisville vs. #10 Minnesota
#2 Michigan State vs. #15 Bradley


--- WEST REGION ---
Salt Lake City, UT (Thursday and Saturday)
#1 Gonzaga vs. #16 (Fairleigh Dickinson/Prairie View A&M)
#8 Syracuse vs. #9 Baylor

Hartford, CT (Thursday and Saturday)
#5 Marquette vs. #12 Murray State
#4 Florida State vs. #13 Vermont

Tulsa, OK (Friday and Saturday)
#6 Buffalo vs. #11 (Arizona State/St. John's)
#3 Texas Tech vs. #14 Northern Kentucky

Des Moines, IA (Thursday and Saturday)
#7 Nevada vs. #10 Florida
#2 Michigan vs. #15 Montana


--- SOUTH REGION ---
Columbia, SC (Friday and Sunday)
#1 Virgina vs. #16 Gardner-Webb
#8 Ole Miss vs. #9 Oklahoma

San José, CA (Friday and Sunday)
#5 Wisconsin vs. #12 Oregon
#4 Kansas State vs. #13 California-Irvine

Hartford, CT (Thursday and Saturday)
#6 Villanova vs. #11 Saint Mary's
#3 Purdue vs. #14 Old Dominion

Columbus, OH (Friday and Saturday)
#7 Cincinnati vs. #10 Iowa
#2 Tennessee vs. #15 Colgate


--- MIDWEST REGION ---
Columbus, OH (Friday and Sunday)
#1 North Carolina vs. #16 Iona
#8 Utah State vs. #9 Washington

Salt Lake City, UT (Thursday and Saturday)
#5 Auburn vs. #12 New Mexico State
#4 Kansas vs. #13 Northeastern

Tulsa, OK (Friday and Sunday)
#6 Iowa State vs. #11 Ohio State
#3 Houston vs. #14 Georgia State

Jacksonville, FL (Thursday and Saturday)
#7 Wofford vs. #10 Seton Hall
#2 Kentucky vs. #15 Abilene Christian


LAST FOUR IN:
* Belmont
* Temple
* Arizona State
* St. John's

FIRST FOUR OUT:
* North Carolina-Greensboro
* Alabama
* TCU
* Indiana


So there you have it. The men's field is set! There are 68 teams with a chance to become National Champions of NCAA Division 1 men's basketball. If there are changes I need to make, I will make the needed changes in edits.


Good luck and congratulations to all teams in this season's tournament.
 
The men will be playing the Final Four in Minneapolis. The ladies will be playing to play in Tampa Bay. So here's the field for the ladies:


Before I begin, I apologize that I don't have full details on cities or anything. So just follow the different Regionals.


--- GREENSBORO REGION ---
* (Saturday and Monday)
#1 Baylor vs. #16 Abilene Christian
#8 California vs. #9 North Carolina

* (Friday and Sunday)
#5 Florida State vs. #12 Bucknell
#4 South Carolina vs. #13 Belmont

* (Friday and Sunday)
#6 Kentucky vs. #11 Princeton
#3 North Carolina State vs. #14 Maine

* (Friday and Sunday)
#7 Missouri vs. #10 Drake
#2 Iowa vs. #15 Mercer


--- PORTLAND REGION ---
* (Friday and Sunday)
#1 Mississippi State vs. #16 Southern
#8 South Dakota vs. #9 Clemson

* (Friday and Sunday)
#5 Arizona State vs. #12 UCF
#4 Miami (of Florida) vs. #13 Florida Gulf Coast

* (Saturday and Monday)
#6 South Dakota State vs. #11 Quinnipiac
#3 Syracuse vs. #14 Fordham

* (Friday and Sunday)
#7 Texas vs. #10 Indiana
#2 Oregon vs. #15 Portland State


--- CHICAGO REGION ---
* (Saturday and Monday)
#1 Notre Dame vs. #16 Bethune-Cookman
#8 Central Michigan vs. #9 Michigan State

* (Friday and Sunday)
#5 Marquette vs. #12 Rice
#4 Texas A&M vs. #13 Wright State

* (Saturday and Monday)
#6 DePaul vs. #11 Missouri State
#3 Iowa State vs. #14 New Mexico State

* (Saturday and Monday)
#7 BYU vs. #10 Auburn
#2 Stanford vs. #15 UC-Davis


--- ALBANY REGION ---
* (Friday and Sunday)
#1 Louisville vs. #16 Robert Morris
#8 Michigan vs. #9 Kansas State

* (Saturday and Monday)
#5 Gonzaga vs. #12 Arkansas-Little Rock
#4 Oregon State vs. #13 Boise State

* (Saturday and Monday)
#6 UCLA vs. #11 Tennessee
#3 Maryland vs. #14 Radford

* (Friday and Sunday)
#7 Rutgers vs. #10 Buffalo
#2 Connecticut vs. #15 Towson


Those are the brackets. Here are some other observations (Source: Twitter)

LAST FOUR IN: Auburn, Indiana, Tennessee, UCF
FIRST FOUR OUT: Arkansas, James Madison, Ohio, TCU


And that is how the women's field of NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball goes for the 2018-2019 season. I am sorry for not getting all of this out sooner.





Meanwhile, the "First Four" games occur tonight in the men's NCAA Tournament. Within tonight and tomorrow, 68 teams will become 64 as four teams' National Championship aspirations will turn into dust. The fun begins in Dayton, OH.

Good luck to and congratulations to all teams in all college basketball tournaments this postseason.
 
Hoping Purdue can make a run, but I'm sure someone important will get hurt and that'll be that. Seems to happen every year.
 
People have had kind of their complaints about three ACC teams making up the No. 1 seeds. Looking further at the brackets, it is possible to have Duke vs. North Carolina for the National Championship! It would surely be crazy for a glorified rivalry game be for the National Championship. Heck, college football fans probably wouldn't fathom Michigan vs. Ohio State for the National Championship in NCAA FBS football.

College basketball can be very tricky. Besides, who thought the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (as a No. 16 seed) would thwart No. 1 Virginia last season? The unpredictable nature of college basketball can lead to all kinds of chaos. I'm still smarting after seeing my Houston Cougars get defeated last season on an absolute fluke 3-pointer by Michigan. ANYTHING can (and probably will) happen in college basketball tournament play. All it can take is one lucky moment to change the course of one's postseason forever. And if you lose, it's over. You're done. Better luck next season. That is... unless you play in the 3rd Place Game come Final Four.


So enjoy these "First Four" games that lead up to the meat of the college basketball madness.
 
Now that the "First Four" is complete, the madness of March Madness begins in full anger. I am told I was being too nice once in saying that every team in the NCAA Tournament has a chance at a National Championship once. Well, it's true. Even past champions that are nowhere near elite today can win it all over even powerhouse programs. Schools in the past like Holy Cross, San Francisco, Texas Western College (now UTEP), and Loyola UC have won the title back in their day. How many of these schools are powerhouses today? Any of the remaining 64 teams can win the National Championship even if they don't have otherworldly talent.

So having said all of that, let the madness begin. At least... among the NCAA Division 1 Men for today. I hope your favorite team(s) go as far as possible if you have any favorites playing in the Tournament. Oh, and one last thing... don't worry if your bracket gets busted. I heard once that there are usually a 9,000,000,000-to-1 ratio that someone has a completely perfect bracket. So don't worry if you don't accurately pick every single team that ends up winning every game.


Enjoy March Madness 2018-2019! :) 👍
 
The NDSU - Duke game will likely be a blowout but it will amazing to see the Bison on national television... and not for football!
 

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