(02-24-2021 10:45 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(02-20-2021 11:45 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  I'm starting to think the Big East is very mediocre from top to bottom (notwithstanding Villanova) this season. But to be fair ... most other leagues look similar.

Nope, you are correct. This is easily the worst season the Big East has had since the 2013 split. For the first time, the Big East is not performing like a "power" basketball league, and is being out-performed by the AAC.

Even Villanova is overrated. They lost to Virginia Tech for crissakes.

Ehhh.

Bottom vs Bottom: I think Tulane beats a DePaul and gives Butler SERIOUS issues.

Top vs Top: I also think UH plays Villanova tight. WSU vs Creighton would be an awesome game - and that needs to happen tomorrow IMHO. Memphis vs. UConn is also a game that should happen tomorrow.

The middle 6 of the Big East is still a bit better than the middle 6 of the AAC. X beat Cincy. Johnnies and Hall are probably better teams than UCF/Tulsa at this point (but UCF beat FSU before imploding, so...). Providence is a little better than USF.

I think the gap is small between #3 and #7, and that the A10, MWC, and WCC are WAY closer to ESPN's "Major 7" then what the media ever wants to admit.

(02-24-2021 10:58 AM)oliveandblue Wrote:  Top vs Top: I also think UH plays Villanova tight.

FWIW, I think Houston would soundly beat Villanova. IMO, Houston is a legit Elite 8 team and with a lucky break or two could make the Final Four.

Villanova's ceiling is the Sweet 16.

(02-24-2021 11:07 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(02-24-2021 10:58 AM)oliveandblue Wrote:  Top vs Top: I also think UH plays Villanova tight.

FWIW, I think Houston would soundly beat Villanova. IMO, Houston is a legit Elite 8 team and with a lucky break or two could make the Final Four.

Villanova's ceiling is the Sweet 16.

Wait, so you are saying is Villanova has become Vanillanova?

Villanova has a style or formula. When it’s tight, they’re about as hard a match you can get. But, they get shaky on hard full-court press teams and rely too much on the three.

And they sucker you in for cheap fouls. They are masters of it and that’s how they bring you down.

Marquette with an upset win at UNC. Unreal.

(02-24-2021 09:04 PM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  Marquette with an upset win at UNC. Unreal.

And Duke with the perfect troll here-

Happy for Wojo. Must be one of the most satisfying victories he's had while at Marquette.

I think the laughable part of UNC's loss was that they scheduled the game. I'm sure they didn't see it as a loss.

It does show an interesting point though. The ACC (15) and Big East (11) both have an odd number of teams in men's basketball and among the major college basketball conferences they are the two strongest conferences to have an odd number of teams. This does create sort of an issue with scheduling. During any weekend or midweek set of games, one team always has to not be able to play a conference game. Maybe in the future ACC and Big East teams can play games in February vs. each other during weekend "byes". I do remember at times Duke would play games in Madison Square Garden in February vs. St. John's. How about Duke or North Carolina playing Villanova in February?

To further show the issue with an odd number of teams in a conference, consider the Big East. Now no doubt I'd rather have Connecticut in the Big East than not have them. But with 10 teams and an 18 game conference schedule you need 18 "dates" so you can say 9 Wednesdays and 9 Saturdays with the Wednesday games being spread to Tuesdays/Thursdays, etc and the Saturdays to Sundays for TV purposes. So 18 games can be spread over roughly 9 weeks before the conference tournament. Now bring in an 11th team and go to a 20th team. 20 dates and 10 weeks? Wrong. Now every team needs two bye dates. So the schedule becomes 22 dates and 11 weeks so you've extended the season two weeks instead of one. Compare the Big Ten and ACC. The Big Ten can play 20 conference games over 10 weeks if it wanted to and guarantee every team plays every weekend when once the crowds come back games sell better and TV viewership is up. The ACC needs 11 weeks and teams get stuck with open weekends. An odd number of teams in basketball isn't as bad as it is in football but it isn't that good either.

Of course solution #2 for the ACC and Big East: the ACC just adds Villanova and both conferences have an even number of teams:)

The benefit of that number allows for the round-robin home and home thing, and that’s good for schools with popular rivalries and ties. I don’t like the Big East as much as the A10, but it’s hard not to get excited for fans being able to get back to these games and seeing crowded houses for old-fashion hate.

Being too big doesn’t allow for new rivalries to truly emerge (things seem pre-set in the ACC). Then again, you can be like the WCC with a malcontent like Gonzaga, and resist the home and home arrangement if you have dreck who you don’t feel deserves a return trip from the conference’s top end.

We likely can all agree that outside the Big 12 and Big Ten, the other leagues (power and major, alike) are collectively very mediocre.

If ever there were a year for Gonzaga to win it all ... this is the season.

(02-25-2021 09:23 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  We likely can all agree that outside the Big 12 and Big Ten, the other leagues (power and major, alike) are collectively very mediocre.

If ever there were a year for Gonzaga to win it all ... this is the season.

Well there is mediocre and mediaocre. We have a plethora of teams making various pundits lists in spite of the fact that an analysis of wins and losses would quickly show just how average, or even below average they are. It's one thing to be legitimately average. It's quite another for the sake of copy sales and media shares to hype some truly down big names as being seeds and on the in list for the tourney.

The ACC has been woefully mediocre this year, but they've been even more mediaocre in that I promise you 6 or 7 will easily make the tourney, likely 1 more and more deserving teams will get lower seeds and early outs because of it.

I also remind you Bill Dazzle that the SEC won the Big 12 / SEC challenge this year. So I think you are giving a big pass to the Big 12. I think they are deeper than most conferences for sure, but at the top? Suspect.

I don't see any P5 shoe ins right now, let alone any that I would call a final four for sure.

It's wide open, but it won't be seeded that way out of network fear that large fan bases normally associated with the tourney may be absent. I think Kentucky is a lock for that fate. Duke should be out but probably won't be. Virginia has bad losses but will get a higher seed than they deserve and somebody will find an excuse to make the Tar Heels a #3 if not #2 seed.

My hat's off to the mid majors this year and I wouldn't be surprised if the SEC got 3 in the sweet sixteen and maybe 1 in the elite 8 but I think they sputter out at that point.

So as usual you are being too kind. The ACC is as spent as the only $100 dollar bill in the last whore house open in a Thai beach resort. The Big 12 will hit the pine with the zest of a Spring Buck in his first rut, but rut is what they will find in the elite 8. The PAC will place 2 or 3 and not really deserve those slots. They have about as much bounce as a pair of my holey shorts hitting the floor between the washer and the dryer. The Big 10 is another one that has talent, but about as much momentum as bowling shoes on a wheel chair scuff barrier at Shoneys.

So I'm counting on some solid outings and serious upsets like the one Marquette had the other night to make this year's tourney one to remember as no P5's make the final four! Even though many will be seeded to do so in order for the networks to make ad revenue from the remember when ratings.

(02-25-2021 09:23 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  We likely can all agree that outside the Big 12 and Big Ten, the other leagues (power and major, alike) are collectively very mediocre.

If ever there were a year for Gonzaga to win it all ... this is the season.

NC State beats Virginia and the ACC is weak.

Michigan State beats Illinois and the Big Ten is a strong conference.

(02-24-2021 11:07 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(02-24-2021 10:58 AM)oliveandblue Wrote:  Top vs Top: I also think UH plays Villanova tight.

FWIW, I think Houston would soundly beat Villanova. IMO, Houston is a legit Elite 8 team and with a lucky break or two could make the Final Four.

Villanova's ceiling is the Sweet 16.

Idk about this. I mean on one hand I love the Houston praise but Nova still has a realistic shot at grabbing a #1 seed. And at worst their a #2. That alone should get them through the S16. Although I will fully admit that the only game I've watched of theirs was the win against UT (which I guess might've been their best game), so maybe my impression of them is overinflated.

(02-25-2021 09:49 PM)esayem Wrote:  

(02-25-2021 09:23 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  We likely can all agree that outside the Big 12 and Big Ten, the other leagues (power and major, alike) are collectively very mediocre.

If ever there were a year for Gonzaga to win it all ... this is the season.

NC State beats Virginia and the ACC is weak.

Michigan State beats Illinois and the Big Ten is a strong conference.

Well, but the NET!!!

Because you have so many fewer games played, don’t be surprised by the marginal records of teams getting into the tournament this year. The Big Ten is polluting the NET top 50-60. And many of them will get in. And then this year will soften the blow for when it starts happening again, with more frequency, during uninterrupted full seasons.

I miss RPI...

(02-24-2021 09:34 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(02-24-2021 09:04 PM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  Marquette with an upset win at UNC. Unreal.

And Duke with the perfect troll here-

I beat ‘em for ya coach!

I suppose it is laughable to beat a good team by 50 and lose to a crappy one by 20 the very next game.

(02-25-2021 09:49 PM)esayem Wrote:  

(02-25-2021 09:23 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  We likely can all agree that outside the Big 12 and Big Ten, the other leagues (power and major, alike) are collectively very mediocre.

If ever there were a year for Gonzaga to win it all ... this is the season.

NC State beats Virginia and the ACC is weak.

Michigan State beats Illinois and the Big Ten is a strong conference.

One was at home, one was on the road. Good teams don't lose to teams they're not supposed to at home. Good teams often lose to teams they're not supposed to on the road. Even without crowds, they're playing away from home and they have to travel and deal with unfamiliar courts and situations.

One was to a perennial NCAA Tournament powerhouse having a bad season (and we may have spoken too soon on whether MSU is really having a bad season). One was to a team that last won a national championship in 1983.

(02-26-2021 06:58 AM)schmolik Wrote:  

(02-25-2021 09:49 PM)esayem Wrote:  

(02-25-2021 09:23 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  We likely can all agree that outside the Big 12 and Big Ten, the other leagues (power and major, alike) are collectively very mediocre.

If ever there were a year for Gonzaga to win it all ... this is the season.

NC State beats Virginia and the ACC is weak.

Michigan State beats Illinois and the Big Ten is a strong conference.

One was at home, one was on the road. Good teams don't lose to teams they're not supposed to at home. Good teams often lose to teams they're not supposed to on the road. Even without crowds, they're playing away from home and they have to travel and deal with unfamiliar courts and situations.

One was to a perennial NCAA Tournament powerhouse having a bad season (and we may have spoken too soon on whether MSU is really having a bad season). One was to a team that last won a national championship in 1983.

Home crowds don’t matter because they don’t exist.

The past does not dictate a current team’s rank. Otherwise the top ten would have UCLA, UNC, Duke, Kentucky etc.

(02-25-2021 09:43 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(02-25-2021 09:23 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  We likely can all agree that outside the Big 12 and Big Ten, the other leagues (power and major, alike) are collectively very mediocre.

If ever there were a year for Gonzaga to win it all ... this is the season.

Well there is mediocre and mediaocre. We have a plethora of teams making various pundits lists in spite of the fact that an analysis of wins and losses would quickly show just how average, or even below average they are. It's one thing to be legitimately average. It's quite another for the sake of copy sales and media shares to hype some truly down big names as being seeds and on the in list for the tourney.

The ACC has been woefully mediocre this year, but they've been even more mediaocre in that I promise you 6 or 7 will easily make the tourney, likely 1 more and more deserving teams will get lower seeds and early outs because of it.

I also remind you Bill Dazzle that the SEC won the Big 12 / SEC challenge this year. So I think you are giving a big pass to the Big 12. I think they are deeper than most conferences for sure, but at the top? Suspect.

I don't see any P5 shoe ins right now, let alone any that I would call a final four for sure.

It's wide open, but it won't be seeded that way out of network fear that large fan bases normally associated with the tourney may be absent. I think Kentucky is a lock for that fate. Duke should be out but probably won't be. Virginia has bad losses but will get a higher seed than they deserve and somebody will find an excuse to make the Tar Heels a #3 if not #2 seed.

My hat's off to the mid majors this year and I wouldn't be surprised if the SEC got 3 in the sweet sixteen and maybe 1 in the elite 8 but I think they sputter out at that point.

So as usual you are being too kind. The ACC is as spent as the only $100 dollar bill in the last whore house open in a Thai beach resort. The Big 12 will hit the pine with the zest of a Spring Buck in his first rut, but rut is what they will find in the elite 8. The PAC will place 2 or 3 and not really deserve those slots. They have about as much bounce as a pair of my holey shorts hitting the floor between the washer and the dryer. The Big 10 is another one that has talent, but about as much momentum as bowling shoes on a wheel chair scuff barrier at Shoneys.

So I'm counting on some solid outings and serious upsets like the one Marquette had the other night to make this year's tourney one to remember as no P5's make the final four! Even though many will be seeded to do so in order for the networks to make ad revenue from the remember when ratings.

I'd like to request that the mods cease operations for csnbbs.com. We have reached the pinnacle of enjoyment with the below zinger from JRsec. No need for any of us to continue posting.


The Big 10 is another one that has talent, but about as much momentum as bowling shoes on a wheel chair scuff barrier at Shoneys.

(02-24-2021 09:04 PM)GoldenWarrior11 Wrote:  Marquette with an upset win at UNC. Unreal.

Arguably the upset of the year. I didn't give Marquette one chance in thirty to win this game. Great result for you.

(02-25-2021 09:49 PM)esayem Wrote:  

(02-25-2021 09:23 PM)bill dazzle Wrote:  We likely can all agree that outside the Big 12 and Big Ten, the other leagues (power and major, alike) are collectively very mediocre.

If ever there were a year for Gonzaga to win it all ... this is the season.

NC State beats Virginia and the ACC is weak.

Michigan State beats Illinois and the Big Ten is a strong conference.

To be clear, my fellow Tar Heel fan, I did not suggest the ACC is "weak" or the Big Ten is "strong." (And I'm not suggesting that you felt I was suggesting such.)