College Basketball 2010-2011 Season

[JohnBM01]

There's still quite a lot of college football left, but it's time I offer this thread to discuss college hoops for 2010-2011. This is your thread for the upcoming season of college hoops. This is the thread to discuss everything from March Madness, to exhibition matches, to big non-conference games, the conference games, the big rivalry games... all the way up to the heartbeat of college basketball- March Madness!

I wonder how this season will go. I often wonder how teams like Houston, Kentucky, Gonzaga, and others will do. I also wonder how the newer playoff format goes. I debated in my blog about what should be the best format. I do love the idea of a 68-team playoff, but I'd hate to see a 96-team playoff.

Welcome to the 2010-2011 season of college basketball! I'll be sure to chime in every now and then to offer my thoughts through the season.

 

[JohnBM01]

Here is the AP Top 25:

Men's Preseason AP Polls (from Oct. 28, 2010):
01 - Duke
02 - Michigan State
03 - Kansas State
04 - Ohio State
05 - Pittsburgh
06 - Villanova
07 - Kansas
08 - North Carolina
09 - Florida
10 - Syracuse
11 - Kentucky
12 - Gonzaga
13 - Illinois
14 - Purdue
15 - Missouri
16 - Baylor
17 - Butler
18 - Washington
19 - Memphis
20 - Georgetown
21 - Virginia Tech
22 - Temple
23 - Tennessee
24 - BYU
25 - San Diego State

Women's Preseason AP Polls (from Oct. 29, 2010):
01 - Connecticut
02 - Baylor
03 - Stanford
04 - Tennessee
05 - Xavier
06 - Duke
07 - Ohio State
08 - Texas A&M
09 - Kentucky
10 - Oklahoma
11 - West Virginia
12 - Notre Dame
13 - Georgetown
14 - St. John's
15 - North Carolina
16 - UCLA
17 - Texas
18 - Florida State
19 - Georgia
20 - Iowa State
21 - Maryland
22 - Iowa
23 - TCU
24 - Vanderbilt
25 - Michigan State



It will be interesting to see if these teams can grind it out long enough to make a difference come March. A little interesting that Kentucky's WOMEN are ranked ahead in their poll ahead of the Kentucky men. All I care about locally is the continued progress of my beloved Houston Cougars. I am skeptical, though, since Tom Penders resigned as James Dickey will try to coach my Coogs to be a threat in Conference USA.

 

[JohnBM01]

This week marks a boatload of college basketball games. I was mostly entertained by the Siena at Minnesota match earlier tonight. There will be a handful of other matches this week. Among others include... Miami University (I use "Miami University" to mean Miami of Ohio) at Duke, Belmont at Tennessee, Marist at Villanova, and countless other games.

Some say college basketball begins in February, but the rock is pounding again on the hardwood nationwide. I just hope my Houston Cougars can have a great season under new head coach James Dickey. They're 2-0 so far, and I'll see how far they can go this season. And remember- the Men's March Madness tour ends right here in my hometown of Houston at Reliant Stadium. Best of luck to all teams- both men's and women's teams!

 

[JohnBM01]

In stunning fashion, Chaminade upset Oklahoma 68-64. This is the Silverswords' seventh or eighth-ever win in the Maui Invitational all-time. This was their first victory since beating Princeton in 2007. And of course, almost every college basketball fan knows their victory over #1 Virginia back in 1982.

As far as who won the Maui Invitational, Connecticut hammered Kentucky for the win (to the dismay of one proud undisclosed UK Wildcat).

 

[JohnBM01]

The 90 game winning streak of UConn's women's team lost on the road at Stanford. It's still a great accomplishment to do what they've done. I saw a little bit of #12 Kentucky at #?? Louisville earlier today, but didn't get to see the results.

 

[JohnBM01]

A crazy Men's game wrapped up about a half-hour ago as #9 Connecticut battled #12 Texas in Austin. Kemba Walker for UConn had a funky-looking buzzer-beater that went in. He sank the basket from very deep. It was a thriller- an 82-81 victory for Connecticut in Overtime.

A few ranked teams went down today. What I think is the biggest upset will be shown first:
* Penn State upsets #18 Michigan State 66-62 at Penn State.
* West Virginia beat #13 Georgetown 65-59 in Washington, D.C.
* Oklahoma State upsets #17 Kansas State in Stillwater 76-62.
* It was an 89-76 upset win as Colorado won at home against #9 Missouri.

Crazy stuff!

 

[JohnBM01]

Texas snapped Kansas' 69-game home winning streak with a 74-63 victory. This Texas team is looking VERY good. A rather disappointing season of Longhorn football is becoming a great season of hardwood dominance by the Texas Longhorns.

Also today, Connecticut was sharp as a tack while Ohio State survived at Illinois. I tell you what- Texas, Connecticut, and Ohio State seem like locks for Final Four bids. Remember that the men will be playing right here in my home town of Houston for the Division 1 Men's Final Four.

 

[JohnBM01]

After all of the head-knocking of the regular season, it's time to see who all are heading to the NCAA Division 1 Men's Tournament. The Final Four this season will be down here in Houston.


* North Carolina-Asheville (Big South champs)
* Morehead State (Ohio Valley(?) champs)
* Belmont (Atlantic Sun champs)

Congratulations to these and other conference champions!

 

[JohnBM01]

The Missouri Valley champs are... Indiana State! They took down Missouri State to go to this year's tournament.

 

[Joey D]

Excited to see how OU does in the tourney! They will probably get blown out in the first round but still kind of cool to have the alma mater win back to back Summit League titles!

 

[JohnBM01]

I realized something since starting up college basketball threads. No one really cares about college basketball... until tournament time. We'll find out how the road to Houston will shape up as the field of 68 will be determined. The field will be set at the top of the hour. You know who's in based on who gets the automatic bids. Question is... what will be the tournament alignments? Feel free to chime in. As I've noted in the past- don't wait on my reports. Just come on in and post about the brackets. I'll likely read everything and make my own thoughts.

The NCAA D1 Men will play this year's Final Four in Houston, and the NCAA D1 Women will play this year's Final Four in Indianapolis. Best of luck to all teams who made the Dance.

 

[JohnBM01]

--- #1 Seeds ---
* Ohio State!! (Big 10 champs)
* Kansas! (Big XII)
* Pittsburgh
* Duke


--- East Region ---
#1 Ohio State!! vs. #16 (UTSA/Alabama State)
#2 Villanova vs. #15 George Mason
#5 West Virginia vs. #12 (UAB/Clemson)
#4 Kentucky vs. #13 Princeton
#5 North Carolina vs. #12 Long Island
#7 Washington vs. #10 Georgia
#7 Syracuse vs. #10 Indiana State
#8 Xavier vs. #9 Marquette

--- West Region ---
#1 Duke! vs. #16 Hampton
#2 San Diego State vs. #15 Northern Colorado
#3 Connecticut vs. #14 Bucknell
#4 Texas vs. #13 Oakland
#5 Arizona vs. #12 Memphis
#6 Cincinnati vs. #11 Missouri
#7 Temple vs. #10 Pennsylvania State
#8 Michigan vs. #9 Tennessee

--- Southwest Region ---
#1 Kansas! vs. #16 Boston University
#2 Notre Dame vs. #15 Akron
#3 Purdue vs. #14 Saint Peter's
#4 Louisville vs. #13 Morehead State
#5 Vanderbilt vs. #12 Richmond
#6 Georgetown vs. #11 (USCal/Virginia Commonwealth)
#7 Texas A&M vs. #10 Florida State
#8 UNLV vs. #9 Illinois

--- Southeaest Region ---
#1 Pittsburgh! vs. #16 (UNC-Asheville/Arkansas-Little Rock)
#2 Florida vs. #15 California-Santa Barbara
#3 BYU vs. #14 Wofford
#4 Wisconsin vs. #13 Belmont
#5 Kansas State vs. #12 Utah State
#6 St. John's vs. #11 Gonzaga
#7 UCLA vs. #10 Michigan State
#8 Butler vs. #9 Old Dominion


Snubs: Saint Mary's, Colorado, Alabama, Virginia Tech, Missouri State, Boston College

Congratulations to all who got in; tough luck for those taken out. Have at it, ladies and gentlemen!

 

[JohnBM01]

Get excited, players- March Madness 2011 has arrived! Arkansas-Little Rock and North Carolina-Asheville are going at it right now. This is one of the First Four games to be played. The winner gets #1 Pittsburgh on Thursday. The other is UAB vs. Clemson. The winner of that match gets #5 in the next round.

68 will play, four will come to Houston, one champion. Who takes it this year? We're about to find out! I'm not doing any brackets, but two of my favorites to win it all are Ohio State and Duke.

 

[Joey D]

I'm hoping my Golden Grizzlies can pull out a win over Texas! I'm really excited!

 

[Joker-GTBR]

I just hope Ohio State don't win

 

[Joey D]

I just hope Ohio State don't win

You and me both, yup, you and me both.

 

[JohnBM01]

I thought Arkansas-Little Rock won... until they lost in Overtime against UNC-Asheville. Clemson pounded UAB. Tonight's matches:

* Texas-San Antonio vs. Alabama State (I'm heavily favoring UTSA)
* USCal vs. Virginia Commonwealth

68 will become 64 after these two matches. Better news- Gus Johnson will be calling these two games. NOBODY makes sports fun to watch than the nerdy (but very cool) Gus Johnson. Enjoy your college 'ball, folks!

 

[JohnBM01]

Now, the madness officially begins! You now can pick what game you want to see in its entirety. This is the Second Round of competition. Clemson vs. West Virginia is on right now as 64 will become 32. Who will survive? Whose March Madness will last all of at least 40 minutes (unless you played in the First Four)?

Let the madness begin, players!

 

[JohnBM01]

Yesterday would be a great day for one FoolKiller- Kentucky wins (beating Princeton) and Louisville loses (to Kentucky's own Morehead State). I don't have the full list of 2nd Round winners, but here are some of them:

* Texas tames Gonzaga 85-81 (sorry, Joey D...)
* George Mason upsets Villanova
* Cincinnati takes down Missouri
* Pittsburgh hammers UNC-Asheville
* Butler survives against Old Dominion on a last-second basket (that I saw live on TV)
* Wisconsin hammers Belmont
* Gonzaga overrates St. John's

These are just some of the many games completed. Good luck to all teams and congratulations to all survivors.

 

[JohnBM01]

Sorry I haven't been updating this.

* Thanks for not showing up, Duke... a 16-something beatdown by Arizona. BOOM goes the dynamite! So much for Duke being a favorite. Now, I have Ohio State and... KANSAS as favorites to win the title.
* Jimmer Fredette(?) and his boys were done in OT against Florida.
* San Diego State gets knocked out by Connecticut
* Butler takes down Wisconsin.

More Sweet Sixteen matches are coming up. The weekend features Elite Eight action. The winners come down to H-Town to play for the championship.

 

[JohnBM01]

If "anyone but Ohio State" is your wish, your wish was the heavens' command. #1 Ohio State bit the dust thanks to Kentucky. It was the best game (to me) last night. UK's win over Ohio State has eliminated the Buckeyes. They will take on North Carolina. UK vs. UNC after UNC overrated Marquette. I'm worried about UK because Kentucky doesn't usually play well against UNC. With the opportunity to play in the Final Four, I don't really like Kentucky's chances at their 8th National Championship if they don't get past the Tar Heels.

Elsewhere, Virginia Commonwealth held on against Florida State in a thriller. VCU has a date with Kansas as Kansas beat down the Richmond Spiders.


Elite Eight this weekend! The four survivors come to Houston next weekend!

 

[JohnBM01]

ELITE EIGHT:
* Butler takes down Florida in Overtime
* Connecticut takes good care of Arizona
* Virginia Commonwealth stuns #1 Kansas; KAN's biggest loss as a #1 seed losing by 10
* Despite my fears in their match, Kentucky takes down North Carolina.


Alright, players... Final Four is set! Here to throw down in H-Town next weekend:

* #8 Butler vs. #11 Virginia Commonwealth
* #4 Connecticut vs. #3 Kentucky (be proud, FoolKiller!)

So one thing is guaranteed: it's going to be a power conference vs. a mid-major conference for the National Championship. So the Butler/VCU winner will have one big fight ahead of them with the winner of UConn/UK.

 

[FoolKiller]

* #8 Butler vs. #11 Virginia Commonwealth
* #4 Connecticut vs. #3 Kentucky (be proud, FoolKiller!)

I guess I should post in here. My head hasn't been in basketball until post season.

But this is looking like a revenge tournament for UK. We had to get past West Virginia, who knocked us out last year. Then we had, what was many people's favorite to win it all, Ohio State. That upset victory was the obligatory "because we can" victory. Then we had to face UNC, who beat us by two points in the fall. And now it is UConn, who embarrassed us before we were meshing as a team.

But we are all feeling confident that this will be an all-Kentucky schools years. Pikeville College won the NAIA Championship, Bellarmine won the NCAA Div II Championship, and now the University of Kentucky will win the NCAA Championship.

 

[JohnBM01]

I saw most of the NCAA Division 2 Men's title game. BYU-Hawaii got into too much foul trouble. The best thing about this year's Final Four is that it will be a guaranteed battle of small school vs. major power school. As much as I like Butler to return to the Title Game to get revenge, part of me wants to see Virginia Commonwealth make the title game. If VCU beats Butler, the Rams will show EXACTLY what is possible by going from Play-In Game to having a chance to becoming champions. People hated on VCU for making the tournament over teams like Boston College or Missouri or anybody like that. Now, look at them- a chance to win the championship. VCU's ultimate way of saying "kiss our black and gold asses" is to win the Final Four round followed by the National Championship.

As for the UK/UConn match, I'm not sure who to go with. I want to see Kentucky return to power and get their first championship since 1998 (and of course, UK's eighth title). Then too, UConn and Kemba Walker can be too tough.

So there are four possibilities for the Title Game here in Houston Monday next week:
* Butler vs. Kentucky
* Butler vs. Connecticut
* Virginia Commonwealth vs. Kentucky
* Virginia Commonwealth vs. Connecticut


One last note... I would be delighted to see (the winner of Butler/VCU) become National Championship just to show that even "the little man" can still win the National Championship. It's more refreshing to see a smaller school become champion apart from all the major conference schools. You know it's sad when you have 330-something schools, and most of the ones getting all the attention and glory are the "BCS" and "BCS" conference schools.

That's all from me. I haven't been following college hoops much myself, but I'm trying.

 

[ranhammerR34]

Yes! Butler wins. Randy

 

[TheGranVette]

UConn goes to the national championship. CAN'T COME SOON ENOUGH!

 

[JohnBM01]

So it's going to be Butler vs. Connecticut. VCU just got too sloppy, and Kentucky played like my Houston Rockets sometimes do- jack up threes and not hit a good percentage of them. They (UK) relied too much on the 3, and it cost them. That even included a meaningless three at the end by Kentucky.

Butler or UConn are both deserving of the championship. So Butler will get another chance at a National Championship. I think UConn is much more talented. Having said this, I'd like to see Butler win it all just to give the small schools and the mid-majors hope. I know it isn't a popular pick to go with Butler, but when you have 330-something schools with only those from power conferences on display and usually getting all the glory, those non power conference schools just feel like also-rans. Fluff. Filler. One of these days, a certain team from a non-power conference will emerge. If you're talking about little schools that could and could be a beacon for smaller schools to become champions, then Butler is your last hope for this season. I have nothing against UConn, but I just want to see Butler (or some other smaller school) become champion.



Monday Night should be a smashing good time between the Butler Bulldogs and Connecticut Huskies.

 

[FoolKiller]

So it's going to be Butler vs. Connecticut. VCU just got too sloppy, and Kentucky played like my Houston Rockets sometimes do- jack up threes and not hit a good percentage of them. They (UK) relied too much on the 3, and it cost them.

I'm not even sure the 3 did it though. People keep saying it was a live by the 3 die by the 3 scenario, but they had a nearly five minute scoring drought in the second half where they weren't even making layups. Just one of those shots would have changed the game. What I think it does show is that the defense by Kentucky was excellent. We started the half 10 points down, didn't score for 25% of the half, and still had it within a point at the end. I think in the end Kentucky's focus on defense kept them in the game but with basically only six players they were too fatigued to pull off the offense necessary.

That even included a meaningless three at the end by Kentucky.

The one they missed or the one they made? A lot of fans are questioning shooting the 3 that they missed, but truth be told, I think the team was too fatigued to win it in OT. The last shot was in vain hope he got fouled. Nothing else to do.

 

[JohnBM01]

In the Women's game... Notre Dame stunned Connecticut, and Texas A&M stunned Stanford. So here are your fixtures for the next two days:

* Butler vs. Connecticut (Men's title - Houston)
* Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M (Women's title - Indianapolis)

Part of me wants to go for the Lady Aggies over Notre Dame, but Notre Dame is too good. The college basketball season's coming to an end. Who'll close out strong? We'll find out both tonight and tomorrow night!

 

[spiker]

I am a graduate of a university in the Horizon League so I'm pulling for Butler tonight.