College Basketball is the trizz-uth.
I really like college basketball quite a bit more than college football, but I haven't actually managed to post anything about it in a long time, mainly due to midterms that I have significantly failed. Columbus is unkind to my self-esteem; really, my mental health could be added into that category as well.
So I thought I would deftly avoid commenting on Louisville's losses to Rutgers and St. John's, mainly because it hurts me. I won't even comment on Kentucky's recent demise, although if the 'Cats don't make the tournament, it's possible that Tubby Smith might be assassinated. Don't laugh, it could really happen.
What disturbs me the most about the Tubby Smith scenario is the fact that it's almost a carbon copy of the Mike Davis scenario up in Indiana, or even the Ty Willingham debacle at Notre Dame. The three coaches have surprisingly similar situations; Davis and Smith both took teams to the NCAA Championship final, but have had less success since, leading fans to call for their heads. Similarly, Ty Willingham was unneccesarily released from Notre Dame, mainly for starting out too well and then failing to meet expectations. I'm literally counting down the days until Tony Dungy starts to hear it from Colts fans.
What's the bottom line? You're allowed to be above average- if you're white.
My little rant aside, I think we're actually seeing a year where there aren't too many legitimate title contenders.
Here are my top 10 contenders, in order:
UConn: They have Rudy Gay, who vaguely reminds me of Carmelo Anthony crossed with Luol Deng. They also have a suitably arrogant point guard, which is a must. But the reasons why UConn has the best chance begin and end with Josh Boone and Hilton Armstrong, who form the most powerful frontcourt tandem in the country.
Duke: I'm going on record as saying that J.J. Redick can lead a team to the Final Four by himself. But this year Duke has Josh McRoberts, who actually takes a lot of pressure off of the rest of the roster. I would almost punch these guys into the Final Four if they didn't have such a small bench.
Memphis: This team is really strange. They don't seem to have anything definable that catalyzes them, but they're so athletic that it doesn't really matter. You have to give some credit to John Calipari, who, recognizing that his team didn't have a chance at the tournament without a killer out-of-conference schedule, found time to schedule Duke, Cincinnati, Texas, Alabama, UCLA, Tennessee, and Gonzaga.
Villanova: This is your quintessential undersized, heart-on-your-sleeve, guard-dominated team that often makes it far into the tourney but rarely wins. In some sense, they're a lot like St. Joe's with West and Nelson, or maybe even Illinois last year. How teams like 'Nova do is completely arbitrary after the Sweet 16. I don't really think there's any need for analysis past this point.
Texas: We would all give the Longhorns more credit if they didn't get blown out when they lost. Still, two of their three losses came without Brad Buckman (in the Duke game, he played seven minutes). You have to give Texas at least some credit for beating both 'Nova and Memphis as well. For them to win, Daniel Gibson will have to be awesome.
Gonzaga: This team is seriously flawed as a title contender, but they can score lots of points, and they have Adam Morrison. I also think that J.P. Batista is about the most underrated big man in the country.
West Virginia: What? No, this team could win, using the same logic as Gonzaga. Keep in mind, they won last year too, and Gansey and Pittsnogle have been fantastic.
Michigan State: This team really needs to play better. I can't believe I'm still endorsing them, but the Big Ten is a really tough conference to be in right now.
Tennessee: Give this team credit. They've won a lot of games against good teams. That doesn't necessarily make them title contenders, but it makes them dangerous.
Pitt: They play so differently and they're due to make a deep run. Has anybody noticed that Jamie Dixon and Ben Howland are amazing coaches?
So I thought I would deftly avoid commenting on Louisville's losses to Rutgers and St. John's, mainly because it hurts me. I won't even comment on Kentucky's recent demise, although if the 'Cats don't make the tournament, it's possible that Tubby Smith might be assassinated. Don't laugh, it could really happen.
What disturbs me the most about the Tubby Smith scenario is the fact that it's almost a carbon copy of the Mike Davis scenario up in Indiana, or even the Ty Willingham debacle at Notre Dame. The three coaches have surprisingly similar situations; Davis and Smith both took teams to the NCAA Championship final, but have had less success since, leading fans to call for their heads. Similarly, Ty Willingham was unneccesarily released from Notre Dame, mainly for starting out too well and then failing to meet expectations. I'm literally counting down the days until Tony Dungy starts to hear it from Colts fans.
What's the bottom line? You're allowed to be above average- if you're white.
My little rant aside, I think we're actually seeing a year where there aren't too many legitimate title contenders.
Here are my top 10 contenders, in order:
UConn: They have Rudy Gay, who vaguely reminds me of Carmelo Anthony crossed with Luol Deng. They also have a suitably arrogant point guard, which is a must. But the reasons why UConn has the best chance begin and end with Josh Boone and Hilton Armstrong, who form the most powerful frontcourt tandem in the country.
Duke: I'm going on record as saying that J.J. Redick can lead a team to the Final Four by himself. But this year Duke has Josh McRoberts, who actually takes a lot of pressure off of the rest of the roster. I would almost punch these guys into the Final Four if they didn't have such a small bench.
Memphis: This team is really strange. They don't seem to have anything definable that catalyzes them, but they're so athletic that it doesn't really matter. You have to give some credit to John Calipari, who, recognizing that his team didn't have a chance at the tournament without a killer out-of-conference schedule, found time to schedule Duke, Cincinnati, Texas, Alabama, UCLA, Tennessee, and Gonzaga.
Villanova: This is your quintessential undersized, heart-on-your-sleeve, guard-dominated team that often makes it far into the tourney but rarely wins. In some sense, they're a lot like St. Joe's with West and Nelson, or maybe even Illinois last year. How teams like 'Nova do is completely arbitrary after the Sweet 16. I don't really think there's any need for analysis past this point.
Texas: We would all give the Longhorns more credit if they didn't get blown out when they lost. Still, two of their three losses came without Brad Buckman (in the Duke game, he played seven minutes). You have to give Texas at least some credit for beating both 'Nova and Memphis as well. For them to win, Daniel Gibson will have to be awesome.
Gonzaga: This team is seriously flawed as a title contender, but they can score lots of points, and they have Adam Morrison. I also think that J.P. Batista is about the most underrated big man in the country.
West Virginia: What? No, this team could win, using the same logic as Gonzaga. Keep in mind, they won last year too, and Gansey and Pittsnogle have been fantastic.
Michigan State: This team really needs to play better. I can't believe I'm still endorsing them, but the Big Ten is a really tough conference to be in right now.
Tennessee: Give this team credit. They've won a lot of games against good teams. That doesn't necessarily make them title contenders, but it makes them dangerous.
Pitt: They play so differently and they're due to make a deep run. Has anybody noticed that Jamie Dixon and Ben Howland are amazing coaches?
posted by mike at 4:57 PM
4 Comments:
There is no doubt that both UK and UofL will miss the tourney. They will both end up in the NIT championship game -- making it the first NIT game worth watching... ever. Near the end of the third quarter, David Padgett will take little 'ol Patrick Sparks and butt-fuck him at half court. This will cause a space-time discontinuum. People will bleed rainbows, and the new world order will be upon us. Also, I'm crazy.
Grant, what do you want for your birthday?
Also, your Sparks/Padgett scenario can't happen because there aren't quarters in college basketball, only halves.
I meant the third quarter such that the length of the game is divided into four equal time intervals.
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