2020-21 College Basketball Discussion and Pick'em Thread

[GeorgiaModerate]

Terrific finish in Oklahoma State-West Virginia.  The Cowboys led 72-69 and WVU had a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie -- and made it, but the player didn't get it off in time.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Terrific finish in Oklahoma State-West Virginia.  The Cowboys led 72-69 and WVU had a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie -- and made it, but the player didn't get it off in time.

And in a weird bit of symmetry, (non-West) Virginia did get their 3-pointer at the buzzer off in time, and won by the same 72-69 score.

[YE]

Hopefully this leaves Syracuse out.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Hopefully this leaves Syracuse out.

I think they're right on the edge now.  It depends on what happens with the teams behind them that can still help themselves (Utah State, Memphis, Seton Hall/St. John's winner) and if there are any bid stealers in conference tourneys.

[YE]

https://twitter.com/goodmanhoops/status/1370089793405734919?s=21

[GeorgiaModerate]

Short-handed Villanova loses to Georgetown 72-71.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Virginia is now out of the ACC tourney due to a positive test.  Georgia Tech advances to the championship game vs the UNC-FSU winner.  There are some rumors that the remaining ACC tourney games will be canceled but nothing solid yet.

This could affect Virginia's participation in the NCAA tourney, as well as Syracuse; the affected player was in action in the UVA-Syracuse tourney game.

Additional thought: I expect any team that's a lock for the NCAA with little chance of improving their seeding in a conference tourney (e.g. Houston) will take a hard look at dropping out of the conference tourney.

[YE]

Yesterday was one of the best days of college basketball I’ve watched. UVA-Cuse, Gtown-Nova, Tech-UT, WVU-OSU, USC-UT all classics.

[YE]

Kansas out of the Big XII tourney.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Seton Hall upset by Georgetown 66-58, very likely popping their bubble.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Oklahoma State, which is playing as well as anyone in the country right now, takes down Baylor 83-74.  The Cowboys finished on a 13-2 run to win it.

[DINGO Joe]

Really hasn't been a bubble team play their way into the tourney yet (maybe Utah St.) but Georgetown and Oregon St. could wreck a couple of the pretenders.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Really hasn't been a bubble team play their way into the tourney yet (maybe Utah St.) but Georgetown and Oregon St. could wreck a couple of the pretenders.

If Memphis beats Houston in the AAC semifinals today, that may get them in even if they lose the final, depending on whether there are any bid stealers.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

ExtremeRepublican's 2021 Bracketology:

*I'm including Kansas and Virginia for now.  If they can't play, my first two teams out would obviously then be in.  Duke has also recently announced that they are not actually ending their season, so I am evaluating them as I would other bubble teams.

1 Seeds: Gonzaga, Michigan, Baylor, Illinois
2 Seeds: Iowa, Alabama, Ohio State, Houston
3 Seeds: Arkansas, Kansas, Tennessee, Oklahoma State
4 Seeds: Virginia, Creighton, Texas, West Virginia
5 Seeds: Florida State, Purdue, Colorado, Loyola-Chicago
6 Seeds: Wisconsin, Texas Tech, USC, UConn
7 Seeds: Villanova, BYU, LSU, Florida
8 Seeds: San Diego State, Oklahoma, North Carolina, St. Bonaventure
9 Seeds: Missouri, Oregon, Maryland, Rutgers
10 Seeds: Clemson, VCU, Georgia Tech, Michigan State
11 Seeds: UCLA, Louisville, Syracuse, Virginia Tech/Memphis
12 Seeds: Ole Miss/Utah State, Wichita State, Winthrop, UC-Santa Barbara
13 Seeds: Buffalo, Western Kentucky, Colgate, Liberty
14 Seeds: UNC-Greensboro, Grand Canyon, Morehad State, Eastern Washington
15 Seeds: Iona, Oral Roberts, Drexel, Cleveland State
16 Seeds: Hartford, Norfolk State, Mount St. Mary's/Nicholls State, Prairie View/App State

Last Four Byes:
Michigan State
UCLA
Louisville
Syracuse

Last Four In:
Virginia Tech
Memphis
Ole Miss
Utah State

First Four Out:
Duke
Drake
Seton Hall
St. Louis

Next Four Out:
Xavier
Penn State
Boise State
Colorado State

Third Four Out:
Indiana
NC State
SMU
Davidson

[GeorgiaModerate]

Georgetown leads Creighton 47-21 with 15 minutes left.  That is not a typo.

Also, the Memphis-Houston game is terrific.  It looked like Houston would run away in the first half, but Memphis has come back to tie it and the game is very intense.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Houston hangs on 76-74, popping the Memphis bubble.

Memphis lost by 2 while missing 12 free throws (15/27).  Houston was 19/22.

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

So great to see Patrick Ewing, who was racially profiled earlier this week, honor his mentor John Thompson's memory and legacy by thumping the racist coach on the other bench and the five white players who had to sulk off the floor with their heads down with so much time slowly ticking off the clock. BIG EAST! Omaha ain't got nothing. Do they play defense in Nebraska?!

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Beavers!!!!!!! DAM NATION!

[YE]

Two P5 bid stealers about to cost two G5 teams spots sadly.

I’d be a little surprised if more than 1 of Wichita State, Utah State, and Drake were selected.

[NewYorkExpress]

Two P5 bid stealers about to cost two G5 teams spots sadly.

I’d be a little surprised if more than 1 of Wichita State, Utah State, and Drake were selected.

I wouldn't call the Big East a Power Five conference.

[YE]

Two P5 bid stealers about to cost two G5 teams spots sadly.

I’d be a little surprised if more than 1 of Wichita State, Utah State, and Drake were selected.

I wouldn't call the Big East a Power Five conference.

Should have said P6 but you get my point.

[Donerail]

Two P5 bid stealers about to cost two G5 teams spots sadly.

I’d be a little surprised if more than 1 of Wichita State, Utah State, and Drake were selected.

I wouldn't call the Big East a Power Five conference.

The Big East is a power conference in every sense of the term — it is routinely stronger than the SEC and (as much as it hurts to admit it) the Pac-12. In general, the college P5/G5 division does not import well to basketball, because there are good basketball leagues (the Big East, WCC, A10 and MVC) that don’t sponsor football, as well as a clear division in quality between “G5” leagues like the Mountain West and American that have multiple bubble teams (4 apiece this year) and 1-bid leagues like the Sun Belt.

[NewYorkExpress]

Two P5 bid stealers about to cost two G5 teams spots sadly.

I’d be a little surprised if more than 1 of Wichita State, Utah State, and Drake were selected.

I wouldn't call the Big East a Power Five conference.

The Big East is a power conference in every sense of the term — it is routinely stronger than the SEC and (as much as it hurts to admit it) the Pac-12. In general, the college P5/G5 division does not import well to basketball, because there are good basketball leagues (the Big East, WCC, A10 and MVC) that don’t sponsor football, as well as a clear division in quality between “G5” leagues like the Mountain West and American that have multiple bubble teams (4 apiece this year) and 1-bid leagues like the Sun Belt.

I wonder, if it weren't for the constant cross-country travel, would the Big East be a good landing spot for Gonzaga?

Gonzaga's a Catholic University, and so is every other member of the Big East, except for Butler and UConn.

I'm not even sure travel is a major barrier, as DePaul is in Chicago, Creighton is in Omaha, Butler is in Indianapolis, and one of the Conference's associate members, the University of Denver (plays lacrosse in the Big East, their primary conference is the Summit League), is in Denver. Gonzaga's a program with a national profile, so it would seem to work for the Big East.

And it would be a great match for Gonzaga. Move to a conference that's largely similar to the WCC in terms of which schools are members, increase the level of competition in-conference (getting to play a Villanova every year, or St. John's at Madison Square Garden every year would be a major draw in recruiting, I would think), and maybe get more regular shots at #1 seeds in the NCAA tournament if all goes right (also, their women's team would benefit from playing UConn every year- that's a huge draw in recruiting.)

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Two P5 bid stealers about to cost two G5 teams spots sadly.

I’d be a little surprised if more than 1 of Wichita State, Utah State, and Drake were selected.

I'll take another look this afternoon, but I don't think I'll have any of those three in.  I'm a little higher on Ole Miss and Memphis than most, though.  My Saturday projection would have one of them getting knocked out if Cincinnati beats Houston today.  I'll re-evaluate this afternoon, though.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Two P5 bid stealers about to cost two G5 teams spots sadly.

I’d be a little surprised if more than 1 of Wichita State, Utah State, and Drake were selected.

I'll take another look this afternoon, but I don't think I'll have any of those three in.  I'm a little higher on Ole Miss and Memphis than most, though.  My Saturday projection would have one of them getting knocked out if Cincinnati beats Houston today.  I'll re-evaluate this afternoon, though.

I like Memphis and have followed them for a long time, but I don't think they've done enough to earn a bid this year.  They have two decent wins (SMU and Wichita State, both at home).  They've had plenty of chances to win close games and consistently fallen short.  They're a terrific defensive team, but offensively they're a mess.  They turn the ball over way too often -- partly due to the frantic pace they use, but more because of too many ill-advised attempts at highlight-reel plays. 

But their biggest Achilles heel is their free throw shooting (which always seems to be a problem for them).  From an AAC forum:

I went back and checked all of Memphis's box scores this season to take a closer look at their free throw shooting. What I found is even worse than I expected. Apart from the two early losses in South Dakota, when the Tigers were pretty awful, EVERY other loss could have hypothetically been avoided by decent FT shooting. Details:

Auburn: lost by 3, missed 12 FT (14-26, 48%)
Tulsa: lost by 7, missed 11 FT (10-21, 48%)
Tulsa: lost by 1, missed 6 FT (9-15, 60%) - TBF, Tulsa was also bad at FT in that game (15-26)
SMU: lost by 2, missed 5 FT (10-15, 67%) - SMU was 12-13
Houston: lost by 3, missed 10 FT (10-20, 50%)
Houston: lost by 2, missed 12 FT (15-27, 56%)

If they'd made just *half* of their missed FT in those games, Memphis would have won all of them except the first Tulsa game and maybe SMU. And that's not even considering that some of the misses were front ends of 1-and-1's.