2021-22 College Basketball Thread

[GeorgiaModerate]

Belmont tomorrow and Stanford Thursday.  I'll pick the rest later.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Well, at least Louisville looks good so far tonight. Tonight they lead Southeast Louisiana 41-32 at halftime.

Problem for them is they have bad losses against Furman and DePaul, to go with their loss against Michigan State.

The Cardinal look like a bubble team at the moment.

DePaul isn't that bad a loss based on their results so far.  They're 8-1, 51st in the NET rankings, and 88th at Kenpom.

[GeorgiaModerate]

In the latest chapter of The ACC suddenly sucks, VMI is leading Wake Forest 42-29 at halftime.

Meanwhile, Furman and North Carolina are tied at 39 at Halftime.

And Clemson trails Miami 47-41 with about 15 minutes left.  Miami of Ohio, that is; not the Miami in Florida.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Somehow Memphis is beating #6 Alabama.

The Tigers lead 53-42 with about thirteen minutes to go.

Memphis, the same team that lost at home to Murray State in their last game, won 92-78.  That's what you call basketball schizophrenia!

[GeorgiaModerate]

Oregon State lost at home to UC Davis to fall to 1-9.  According to the NET rankings, the Beavers are the worst major conference team in the country.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Is Oregon State really that bad? Will the Oregon State-USC game in Los Angeles be such a blowout that USC fourth string center Boubacar Coulibaly makes am appearance in the final minutes of the second half?

I don't know enough about them to have an opinion on the second question.  But for the first one: yes, Oregon State is really that bad.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Is Oregon State really that bad? Will the Oregon State-USC game in Los Angeles be such a blowout that USC fourth string center Boubacar Coulibaly makes am appearance in the final minutes of the second half?

I don't know enough about them to have an opinion on the second question.  But for the first one: yes, Oregon State is really that bad.

How much do you think USC beats Oregon State by at the Galen Center?

It's always hard to predict whether a team will have a good game or a bad one.  But based on analytics, I'd expect the margin to be 20-25 points.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Is Oregon State really that bad? Will the Oregon State-USC game in Los Angeles be such a blowout that USC fourth string center Boubacar Coulibaly makes am appearance in the final minutes of the second half?

I don't know enough about them to have an opinion on the second question.  But for the first one: yes, Oregon State is really that bad.

How much do you think USC beats Oregon State by at the Galen Center?

It's always hard to predict whether a team will have a good game or a bad one.  But based on analytics, I'd expect the margin to be 20-25 points.

A 30+ Point victory for USC guarantees Coulibaly makes an appearance. Do you have the Pac 12 networks?

Nope, but it would be on too late for me anyway. 

[GeorgiaModerate]

Is Oregon State really that bad? Will the Oregon State-USC game in Los Angeles be such a blowout that USC fourth string center Boubacar Coulibaly makes am appearance in the final minutes of the second half?

I don't know enough about them to have an opinion on the second question.  But for the first one: yes, Oregon State is really that bad.

How much do you think USC beats Oregon State by at the Galen Center?

It's always hard to predict whether a team will have a good game or a bad one.  But based on analytics, I'd expect the margin to be 20-25 points.

A 30+ Point victory for USC guarantees Coulibaly makes an appearance. Do you have the Pac 12 networks?

Nope, but it would be on too late for me anyway. 

Ever watch weekend afternoon Pac 12 games?

It would depend on whether there was something of national interest on.  I could see watching something like UCLA-Arizona, depending on what other options there were at the time.  My regional interests are, for obvious reasons, centered on the Southeast.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Is Oregon State really that bad? Will the Oregon State-USC game in Los Angeles be such a blowout that USC fourth string center Boubacar Coulibaly makes am appearance in the final minutes of the second half?

I don't know enough about them to have an opinion on the second question.  But for the first one: yes, Oregon State is really that bad.

How much do you think USC beats Oregon State by at the Galen Center?

It's always hard to predict whether a team will have a good game or a bad one.  But based on analytics, I'd expect the margin to be 20-25 points.

A 30+ Point victory for USC guarantees Coulibaly makes an appearance. Do you have the Pac 12 networks?

Nope, but it would be on too late for me anyway. 

Ever watch weekend afternoon Pac 12 games?

It would depend on whether there was something of national interest on.  I could see watching something like UCLA-Arizona, depending on what other options there were at the time.  My regional interests are, for obvious reasons, centered on the Southeast.

Do you have Directv (which doesn’t have the Pac 12 networks)? I have all seven with Spectrum. I also have ACCN, ACCNX, SECN, SECN+, BTN and it’s overflow channels, and BYUtv.

My cable package doesn't have Pac 12.  It's got all the other ones you name (except BYU) and a few other sports networks (all the ESPNs, CBSSN, FS1/2, Bally South and Southeast).

[GeorgiaModerate]

UCF just had an 8-point possession against Temple.  The sequence:

A UCF player drove in for a layup and was fouled.  The foul was called a flagrant (very dubious; it was a foul, but not close to flagrant).  While arguing about the flagrant call, the Temple player also got a technical.  After making all four FT, UCF got the ball and the same Temple player fouled again, and UCF made both of those FTs too.  

So in the same possession, UCF scored:

A layup
2 Flagrant foul FT
2 Technical foul FT
2 FT from the final foul

This turned a 9-point lead by UCF into 17 with four minutes to go, effectively putting the game away.  

And to add insult to injury, that Temple player got 3 fouls (since the T also counts as a personal) within a span of 10 seconds.

[GeorgiaModerate]

UCLA's scheduled game against Alabama State last night was canceled due to COVID protocols in the Bruins program.  The status of their game against North Carolina on Saturday is uncertain.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Belmont tomorrow and Stanford Thursday.  I'll pick the rest later.

St. Bonaventure @ Virginia Tech 4:00 PM ESPN2 (in Charlotte)
Furman @ Mississippi State 7:00 PM SEC
Villanova @ Creighton 8:00 PM
Saint Mary's @ San Diego State 10:00 PM (in Phoenix)

Butler @ Purdue 12:00 PM FOX (in Indianapolis)
Tennessee @ Memphis 12:00 PM ESPN2 (in Nashville)  Which Memphis team shows up?
Pittsburgh @ St. John's 12:00 PM
Gonzaga @ Texas Tech 1:00 PM (in Phoenix)
TCU @ Georgetown 2:00 PM
Iona @ Seton Hall 2:30 PM (in New York)
Indiana @ Notre Dame 2:30 PM (In Indianapolis)
UCLA @ North Carolina 3:00 PM (In Las Vegas)  Assuming it's not canceled.
DePaul @ Northwestern 3:00 PM
UCF @ Florida State 3:30 PM (in Sunrise, Florida)
Penn State @ VCU 3:30 PM ESPN+
USC @ Georgia Tech 4:00 PM (in Phoenix)
Marquette @ Xavier 4:00 PM
Utah @ Missouri 4:30 PM SEC/ESPN+
Providence @ UConn 5:00 PM
Ohio State @ Kentucky 5:15 PM (in Las Vegas)
Oklahoma State @ Houston 7:00 PM ESPNU
South Carolina @ Clemson 8:00 PM ACC
Auburn @ Saint Louis 9:00 PM
Baylor @ Oregon 10:00 PM ESPN2

Texas @ Stanford 3:00 PM ABC
Kansas State @ Nebraska 6:00 PM
San Francisco @ Arizona State 6:00 PM

Unusually high number of road team picks for me.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Saturday's Ohio State-Kentucky game has been canceled due to COVID issues at OSU.  This is a pick'em game, so here's a reminder of the policy for game cancellations:

If the game is just delayed until later in the same week, it will be counted as normal.  For this purpose, the week is considered to end on the following Tuesday, since the next pick'em week starts on Wednesday.

If the game is not played within the originally scheduled week, it's treated as a "no contest".  If the game is rescheduled later in the season, it may or may not show up on a future week's list (this is up to NYE).  If it does show up again, you'll need to pick it again; the original picks do not carry over.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Saturday's Iona/Seton Hall game, which was part of the pick'em has been canceled due to COVID issues at Seton Hall.

A reminder once again of the policy for cancellations, for COVID, or for any other reason.

If the game is just delayed until later in the same week, it will be counted as normal.  For this purpose, the week is considered to end on the following Tuesday, since the next pick'em week starts on Wednesday.

If the game is not played within the originally scheduled week, it's treated as a "no contest".  If the game is rescheduled later in the season, it may or may not show up on a future week's list (this is up to NYE).  If it does show up again, you'll need to pick it again; the original picks do not carry over.

This cancellation won't really affect the pick'em because everyone picked Seton Hall.  The other canceled game was 3-2 for Ohio State.

[GeorgiaModerate]

In last night's only pick'em game, Stanford was down by 7 to Dartmouth with a minute left but came back to tie it at the buzzer, then ran away in OT to win it 89-78.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Both games in tomorrow's CBS Sports Classic in Las Vegas have now been canceled, Ohio State-Kentucky and UCLA-North Carolina, due to COVID issues with the Buckeyes and Bruins.  It's possible that Kentucky will play UNC instead, or that both may try to find other opponents, or they may call the whole thing off.

Meanwhile, Iona coach Rick Pitino is offering to travel to play anyone after their game with Seton Hall was canceled.  It would be hilarious if they ended up playing Kentucky.

[GeorgiaModerate]

The ACC's OOC woes continue as NC State falls to Richmond 83-74 at a neutral(ish) site (Charlotte).  This wasn't an upset, though; Richmond is a solid team and was a 1.5-point favorite.

[GeorgiaModerate]

#9 Villanova trailed Creighton 56-54 with about 8:30 left, but went incredibly cold and scored only five points the rest of the way, losing 79-59.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Three more of tomorrow's pick'em games have been canceled: Penn State-VCU, DePaul-Northwestern, and UCF-Florida State.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Tennessee-Memphis has also been canceled.

[GeorgiaModerate]

The NCAA needs to start enforcing some consistency in COVID responses.  Tennessee-Memphis has been canceled due to COVID protocols in the Tigers' program.  Rumors are that no player or staff member has tested positive, but some were exposed within the last couple days to a person who subsequently tested positive.  However, Pittsburgh-St. John's is still on despite the fact that St. John's forward Julian Champagnie tested positive yesterday.  He won't play, of course, but the game is still on even though the rest of the team has clearly been exposed.

EDIT: it's subsequently been announced by the school that two Memphis players tested positive, one who woke up sick this morning and his roommate.

[GeorgiaModerate]

In the continuing ACC OOC saga, Louisville just lost to Western Kentucky 82-72.  This was not a horrible loss (on the road to a solid mid-major team) but was at least a mild upset.

However, this was offset by Pittsburgh finally pulling one out, upsetting St. John's 59-57 at MSG.  St. John's was without its star player Julian Champagnie due to COVID.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Another loss in the ACC OOC saga. Georgia Tech lost to USC 67-53.

That one at least wasn't surprising.  USC is good and Tech is meh.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Another loss in the ACC OOC saga. Georgia Tech lost to USC 67-53.

That one at least wasn't surprising.  USC is good and Tech is meh.

It wasn’t an upset. Were any ACC losses upsets?

Within the last week, at least these ACC losses were upsets:

Syracuse to Georgetown
FSU to South Carolina
Virginia Tech to Dayton
BC (a 15.5-point favorite) to Albany
Louisville to Western Kentucky

If Clemson loses to South Carolina they would join the list.  Clemson leads by 6 at the half.