2023-2024 College Basketball Discussion Thread

[GeorgiaModerate]

And then there were two -- undefeated teams, that is, as James Madison was upset at Southern Miss.  And there might be only one after tonight, as Ole Miss is a big underdog at Tennessee.  The remaining one (Houston) had less than no trouble in its first-ever Big 12 game, beating West Virginia 89-55.

And it's indeed down to Houston, as Ole Miss got run out of Knoxville 90-64.

[GeorgiaModerate]

There are no more undefeated D-1 teams, as Houston loses at Iowa State 57-53.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Top-ranked Purdue lost by 16 at Nebraska. Did not see that one coming.

[GeorgiaModerate]

#3 Kansas loses at 6-11 West Virginia, 91-85.  Conference play is tough.

[GeorgiaModerate]

#3 North Carolina loses 80-76 AT HOME to Clemson (a solid but not great team).  This is notable because the series has one of the most lopsided home advantages around.  This was Clemson's second win in Chapel Hill in 62 games.

[GeorgiaModerate]

It's been an interesting season, and the NCAA Tournament is right around the corner.  UConn, Purdue, and Houston look like locks for #1 seeds, with the fourth one up for grabs between Arizona, Tennessee, and North Carolina.  One interesting storyline is whether Gonzaga makes it; they're precariously on the bubble.  If they don't, it would break a long string of NCAA appearances for the Zags.

Possibly the biggest surprise this year is the remarkable turnaround at South Florida, currently ranked #25 and leading the AAC by 3 full games, under first-year coach Amir Abdur-Rahim.  He previously led a similar resurgence at Kennesaw State, and is definitely a name to watch for more prestigious coaching positions in the future.  What's really odd is that USF might not get an NCAA bid if they don't win the AAC tourney, due to some truly horrible losses early in the season.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Kansas got run out of the gym at #1 Houston, losing 76-46.  It was the Jayhawks' largest conference loss in over 24 years.  Houston won the Big 12 regular season title in its first year in the league, one of the more impressive feats in recent college basketball history.

[GeorgiaModerate]

#5 Tennessee, considered to be one of the contenders for the fourth #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament (the other contenders are Arizona and North Carolina; the other three #1's are pretty much locked in as Houston, Purdue, and UConn) was thrashed by Mississippi State 73-56 in the SEC tournament quarterfinals today, and now is almost certainly out of the #1 seed conversation.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Purdue goes down to Wisconsin in the Big 10 semifinals.  This won't cost them a 1-seed, but probably costs them the overall top seed if either Houston or UConn wins their conference tourneys.

[GeorgiaModerate]

After Purdue's stunning loss in the Big 10 semifinals, #1 Houston says "hold our beers" and proceeds to lose by 28 to Iowa State in the Big 12 final.  If UConn holds on to beat Marquette in the Big East final, the Huskies should be the top overall seed.

[GeorgiaModerate]

And the AAC auto-bid will not go to any of USF, FAU, or Memphis (which had the worst midseason collapse I've seen in decades), but rather the winner of tomorrow's UAB-Temple game.  I love college basketball.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Kent State just lost their conference championship game by fouling UP by 1 in the final seconds (because their player thought they were losing).  I'd say that it was unbelievable except for the fact that it happened to Vandy the last time we were in the NCAA Tournament.

I recall a game years ago with the reverse of that ending: a player dribbling out the clock thinking his team was up 1, when they were actually down 1.

[GeorgiaModerate]

FAU got an 8 seed, which I think is shockingly overrated.  I was pretty much in agreement with ER - had them as one of the last teams in.

[GeorgiaModerate]

My predictions:

Final Four: Houston over Tennessee; Alabama over Iowa State; Houston wins it all.

Biggest upset: #13 Samford over #4 Kansas

Other 1st-round upsets: #12 James Madison over #5 Wisconsin, #12 McNeese over #5 Gonzaga (McNeese is good! I'd pick them to go further except they'll get Purdue in the Sweet 16.)

[GeorgiaModerate]

Cool story about the guy who picked the first two rounds (48 games) perfectly a few years ago -- all while sick and sleep-deprived: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39752102/march-madness-perfect-bracket-gregg-nigl-ncaa-history

I think the best I ever did was in 2000, correctly picking Michigan State over Florida, 3 of the Final Four, and 6 of the Elite Eight.  (TBF, it was a very chalky tournament.)

[GeorgiaModerate]

Virginia

[GeorgiaModerate]

Georgia nearly blew a 23-point lead but held on to beat Xavier 78-76 in the NIT last night.  Xavier apparently tied the game with 1.7 seconds left on a goal-tend call, but review showed it was a clean block on the way up and reversed the call.  Xavier still had possession and one last shot at the buzzer, but it was also blocked.

[GeorgiaModerate]

I'm in, bracket selected.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Looks like we've got 6 people so far.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Oof. Pretty silent at Buffalo Wild Wings right now

It's pretty bad when your championship pick goes out in the first game.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Dayton finished on a 24-4 run to overtake Nevada, 63-60.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Colorado State has 11 points at halftime (after jumping to an early 8-2 lead!)  How bad is Virginia???

[GeorgiaModerate]

Oakland-Kentucky is the game of the tournament so far.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Death.  Taxes.  Kentucky laying an egg in the NCAA's.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Northwestern collapsed down the stretch, blowing a 9-point lead to trail by 2, but hit a late basket to send it to OT.