CSNbbs

Wright State gave Mississippi St. all they could handle but came up short.

Mississippi St. 67 Wright St. 63. Still think MSU goes undefeated at home?

Wright St. is now 6-7 and didn't play with 6'10" Louden Love their biggest rebounder.

(12-22-2018 06:05 PM)Racinejake Wrote: [ -> ]Alabama A&M gets their first win of the year against Tulane. Well done...

I would love to say kick them out, but currently their football team is our only bowl win right now. Sad

(12-22-2018 09:08 PM)bearcat72 Wrote: [ -> ]Mississippi St. 67 Wright St. 63. Still think MSU goes undefeated at home?

Wright St. is now 6-7 and didn't play with 6'10" Louden Love their biggest rebounder.

Game was not on Mississippi State's regular home court in Starkville where we played them.

OSU 80 UCLA 66

And...UCLA's free fall continues with a home loss (and fourth straight) to Liberty.

Liberty 73
UCLA 58

Quote:UCLA hit a new low on Saturday during a season that has been filled with them, falling 73-58 to Liberty on its home floor. It's the Bruins' fourth consecutive loss in a string of disappointing performances, dropping them to 7-6 on the season as they prepare for Pac-12 play next Thursday.

This is not going to quiet the malaise that continues to emanate from Los Angeles about the job security of coach Steve Alford. Alford last week following a loss to Ohio State deflected questions of unease about his employment as the Bruins coach, but it's become too loud to ignore. Adding to the mess, this loss tops a previous most embarrassing moment of the season which came just two weeks ago in a home loss to Belmont, 74-72.

Liberty is good, to be clear. The Flames played a clean game and should be considered a top-two team in the Atlantic Sun. But there is a pecking order in college basketball, and UCLA is -- or at least should be -- multiple rungs up the ladder from Liberty.

Yet it is not.

The Bruins simply are not clicking, and talent is not the issue. Their most-used lineup over the last five games, according to KenPom, features top-50 recruits at every single position-- from point guard Jaylen Hands, to center Moses Brown, a former five-star recruit and fabulous freshman. The parts are good. The sum of the parts, however, has been abysmal.

And abysmal is precisely the word that fits how UCLA looked on Saturday. It turned the ball over 24 times to Liberty's eight, missed 16 of its 22 3-point attempts, and got outscored in the paint 34-28 despite bringing down 17 more rebounds on the evening.

UCLA begins conference play next Thursday against Stanford, but is there any optimism that things will turn around? The Bruins put up a good fight against Ohio State last week, but it feels like it was a one-off based on how it has fared in its three previous losses in December -- including a 29-point beatdown at the hands of Cincinnati.

Perhaps UCLA can right the ship, secure an NCAA Tournament bid and figure things out on the fly, but the league's horrendous nonconference showing -- and UCLA is no different -- almost guarantees the Bruins need to secure the autobid by winning the postseason tournament to get there.

And even then, will that be enough to keep Alford's seat cool? It's impossible to predict, but the Flames, unironically, only heated his bench up higher on Saturday.

Bye Bye Stevie

Really sucks all our wins basically suck now. I feel like whoever we beat just free falls after us.

(12-30-2018 02:13 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote: [ -> ]And...UCLA's free fall continues with a home loss (and fourth straight) to Liberty.

Liberty 73
UCLA 58

Quote:UCLA hit a new low on Saturday during a season that has been filled with them, falling 73-58 to Liberty on its home floor. It's the Bruins' fourth consecutive loss in a string of disappointing performances, dropping them to 7-6 on the season as they prepare for Pac-12 play next Thursday.

This is not going to quiet the malaise that continues to emanate from Los Angeles about the job security of coach Steve Alford. Alford last week following a loss to Ohio State deflected questions of unease about his employment as the Bruins coach, but it's become too loud to ignore. Adding to the mess, this loss tops a previous most embarrassing moment of the season which came just two weeks ago in a home loss to Belmont, 74-72.

Liberty is good, to be clear. The Flames played a clean game and should be considered a top-two team in the Atlantic Sun. But there is a pecking order in college basketball, and UCLA is -- or at least should be -- multiple rungs up the ladder from Liberty.

Yet it is not.

The Bruins simply are not clicking, and talent is not the issue. Their most-used lineup over the last five games, according to KenPom, features top-50 recruits at every single position-- from point guard Jaylen Hands, to center Moses Brown, a former five-star recruit and fabulous freshman. The parts are good. The sum of the parts, however, has been abysmal.

And abysmal is precisely the word that fits how UCLA looked on Saturday. It turned the ball over 24 times to Liberty's eight, missed 16 of its 22 3-point attempts, and got outscored in the paint 34-28 despite bringing down 17 more rebounds on the evening.

UCLA begins conference play next Thursday against Stanford, but is there any optimism that things will turn around? The Bruins put up a good fight against Ohio State last week, but it feels like it was a one-off based on how it has fared in its three previous losses in December -- including a 29-point beatdown at the hands of Cincinnati.

Perhaps UCLA can right the ship, secure an NCAA Tournament bid and figure things out on the fly, but the league's horrendous nonconference showing -- and UCLA is no different -- almost guarantees the Bruins need to secure the autobid by winning the postseason tournament to get there.

And even then, will that be enough to keep Alford's seat cool? It's impossible to predict, but the Flames, unironically, only heated his bench up higher on Saturday.

Bye Bye Stevie

Jesus... You'd think the kids would at least have some pride.

(12-30-2018 03:35 PM)jarr Wrote: [ -> ]Really sucks all our wins basically suck now. I feel like whoever we beat just free falls after us.

Xavier upset DePaul yesterday

Well, it happened.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaabk/...spartandhp

(12-31-2018 07:46 AM)Recluse1 Wrote: [ -> ]Well, it happened.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaabk/...spartandhp

I think Alfy left them no choice. Cant blame UCLA too much for pulling the trigger mid season, he was a lame duck and everyone knew it. I think they take one more swing at Few, then look into Kevin Keats, Tony Bennett, Eric Musselman, and Nate Oats.

Not sure how they ever thought alford was an upgrade over Howland

(12-31-2018 08:03 AM)bearcatmark Wrote: [ -> ]Not sure how they ever thought alford was an upgrade over Howland

I dont think Alford was their #1 choice. I doubt they fored Howland with the belief they would land on Alford.

Mick has to be at the top of their SHORT list.

(12-31-2018 09:46 AM)doss2 Wrote: [ -> ]Mick has to be at the top of their SHORT list.

Or the bottom of their tall list?

(12-31-2018 08:01 AM)jarr Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-31-2018 07:46 AM)Recluse1 Wrote: [ -> ]Well, it happened.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaabk/...spartandhp

I think Alfy left them no choice. Cant blame UCLA too much for pulling the trigger mid season, he was a lame duck and everyone knew it. I think they take one more swing at Few, then look into Kevin Keats, Tony Bennett, Eric Musselman, and Nate Oats.

UCLA has Eric Musselman all over it honestly.

(12-31-2018 09:28 AM)jarr Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-31-2018 08:03 AM)bearcatmark Wrote: [ -> ]Not sure how they ever thought alford was an upgrade over Howland

I dont think Alford was their #1 choice. I doubt they fored Howland with the belief they would land on Alford.

When you run out a guy that recently got you to two championship games and who is widely respected in the sport it is much harder to get your next guy.

(12-31-2018 09:58 AM)bearcatmark Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-31-2018 09:28 AM)jarr Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-31-2018 08:03 AM)bearcatmark Wrote: [ -> ]Not sure how they ever thought alford was an upgrade over Howland

I dont think Alford was their #1 choice. I doubt they fored Howland with the belief they would land on Alford.

When you run out a guy that recently got you to two championship games and who is widely respected in the sport it is much harder to get your next guy.

He was not actually fired, but yea was pretty much being pushed out the door. From my recollection his program was stsrting to stall pretty bad the last 3 or 4 years. UCLA screed the pooch by making a crappy hire to replace him. They should have just stayed with him if that was the best they could do, but I think they were hoping to make a better hire.

Howland's tenure at UCLA ended in disaster. They just should have done better than Alford. He's not terrible, but they should have a top 10 type coach, and he's not that.

(12-31-2018 09:57 AM)BearcatMan Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-31-2018 08:01 AM)jarr Wrote: [ -> ]

(12-31-2018 07:46 AM)Recluse1 Wrote: [ -> ]Well, it happened.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaabk/...spartandhp

I think Alfy left them no choice. Cant blame UCLA too much for pulling the trigger mid season, he was a lame duck and everyone knew it. I think they take one more swing at Few, then look into Kevin Keats, Tony Bennett, Eric Musselman, and Nate Oats.

UCLA has Eric Musselman all over it honestly.

Wonder if UCLA thinks they're too good and too blue blood for Musselman's transfer based philosophy. I still think they throw the bank at Few first.