NCAA Basketball Thread 2024-2025
Quick OP here just to get us up and running
Things to watch for this year:
1. Can UConn 3-peat? Hurley won back to back championships with Clingan, Tristen Newton, and company. Can he make it a third with only one returning starter?
2. Who will be this years national player of the year? Zach Edey was the best player I've seen play college basketball in my lifetime. People throw the term generational talent around alot and Edey was truly a generational talent winning back to back national player of the year awards. But, now he's gone. So who can win the award?
- the 5th year guards in Mark Sears(Alabama) and RJ Davis(UNC) are a good spot to start. Both elite shooters and engines of an offense, they should lead two really good teams.
- the 5th year centers in Hunter Dickinson(Kansas) and Ryan Kallbrenner(Creighton) are also viable options. They'll be the anchors to what should be two really good teams.
- The phenoms: Cooper Flagg(Duke), Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper(Rutgers), VJ Edgecombe(Baylor), and Tre Johnson(Texas) lead a loaded freshman class.
3. Who are the contenders?
Spoiler
Lettuce college basketball
Randy Bennett, also. Coming off four straight conference COYs.
That's 13 straight NCAA tourney wins for UConn, obviously.
In the 1993 season, Duke coming off of back-to-back titles, won their first game of the tourney for 13 straight NCAA wins, then lost to Jason Kidd and Cal in the next round.
When Florida won back-to-back titles in '06 and '07, it took them a few years to make the NCAA's again. They lost their first round game then in double OT, so their streak stopped at 12. Gators were somewhat comparable to UConn in all but one routs in each of their title runs.
In a different era UK won 11 straight NCAA games from 1948-'52, winning 3 titles in the process. Interestingly the streak was stopped by St. Johns.
UK again won 11 in a row in 1996 title and '97 final game appearance.
It looks like San Fran and Russell won 11 in a row with their back-to-back titles in 55 and 56, and then a couple games the next year with Russell gone.
UNLV won 10 in a row with their '90 title and '91 Final Four appearance, losing in the semis to Duke. In that title year, they won 3 games in the tournament by exactly 30.
Georgetown and Ewing won 10 straight in 1984 and '85 seasons (5 games for the title in '84, then losing in the finals to Nova the next year).
It's all way up the track to UCLA of course, who won 38 NCAA games in a row from '64 thru '74, not making the tournament in '66 when Alcindor was on the JV team, freshman then ineligible. Streak ended in double OT in the Final Four by NC State.
I long insisted that Izzo would be a two title coach. A dominant title and an insane amount of Final Fours among the reasons. The game seemingly began to pass him by and I had to get off my long shot Spartan title bets. Wow, why wasn't I just betting them to Final Four?
What they did in round one was a carbon copy of what Pitino and St. Johns did. Challenged, scared a bit, both up 33-28 at half ... they both obliterated the challenge in the second half. It's a little more impressive when this happens in later rounds, but nowadays the lower seeds are not to be discounted. That's for sure.
I hope I didn't back off my two title thing too soon. His schema just looked more and more obsolete. But he ain't done. Bring on the popcorn.
2017 was also the last time no team worse than a 12 seed won a game.
another one of the NCAAT's great streaks is Dean's 13 year stretch of making at least the S16 ('81 - '93)
are the Cowboys going to play any defense today?
the worst NCAAT continues
Did feel like mcneese just ran super pure to beat Clemson.
worst start to March Madness ever
If Purdue holds in here, the B1G moves to 9-0 in this tournament. Apex predator conference.
If Purdue holds in here, the B1G moves to 9-0 in this tournament. Apex predator conference.
counterpoint:
solid read on the B1G's 25 years of March Madness futility
"Big Ten’s March Sadness: A 25-year absence from the men’s basketball mountaintop"
Isn't there a site to look up conference and team performance in the tourney compared to seed?
One of you linked it before.
can we McPleese start the next game
As of now, it looks like the successful conferences have won as many games as they've been favored to win:
B1G 8/8 (soon to be 9/9)
SEC 8/14
XII 6/7
BEast 4/6
WCC 2/2
In that regard, nothing has really "happened" yet. By the data, it's still the SEC with the most true title contenders, but there's a gap between those teams and the next tier of {Kentucky, TAMU, Ole Miss} with B1G and XII occupying most of the space between. Doesn't seem like there's any real story to this until that pecking order is materially rearranged.
Feels like Tennessee should be favourites to come out of the Midwest tbh.
This Arkansas St Johns game rocks
Tennessee will choke
Can't hit a 3 and can't convert underneath on layups. Meh. Men against boyz ... Arkansas over St. Johns.
Barnes should never be considered a favorite in the NCAAT.
Can St. Johns abuse them in the 2nd half as they tend to do? I don't think so.
I hate the foul trouble crap. Let's say Tom Brady throws a pass over the line of scrimmage, takes a delay of game, and has to sit out the rest of the half because he has two infractions. WTF???!!!!!
I hate the foul trouble crap. Let's say Tom Brady throws a pass over the line of scrimmage, takes a delay of game, and has to sit out the rest of the half because he has two infractions. WTF???!!!!!
I like it. It's akin to being on a yellow card in soccer, adds an extra element of strategy for both teams.
