2023-2024 College Basketball Discussion Thread

[GeorgiaModerate]

The new season starts three weeks from tomorrow! Ken Pomeroy's initial ratings are up at https://kenpom.com/.  His top 10:

1. Purdue
2. Kansas
3. Houston
4. UConn
5. Gonzaga
6. Arizona
7. Baylor
8. Tennessee
9. Duke
10. Alabama

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Really excited to see how the Tar Heels fare this season. Last year was woefully disappointing, but it looks like our transfers/freshmen are going to be good this year.

[GeorgiaModerate]

The initial AP Top 10:

1. Kansas (46 first place votes)
2. Duke (11)
3. Purdue (3)
4. Michigan State (1)
5. Marquette
6. UConn (2)
7. Houston
8. Creighton
9. Tennessee
10. Florida Atlantic

I think FAU is getting way too much credit for last year's Final Four run, in which they got some incredibly lucky breaks.  I just don't see them as a Top 10 team.

[GeorgiaModerate]

St. John's, now coached by Rick Pitino, managed to lose an exhibition to Division II Pace University, 63-59.

[Illiniwek]

Rank Illinois #1 you cowards:

https://www.thechampaignroom.com/2023/10/29/23937656/no-25-illinois-upsets-no-1-kansas-in-charity-exhibition-fighting-illini-ncaa-big-ten-brad-underwood

[GeorgiaModerate]

The regular season starts tomorrow! Several of the top 25 are in action, but the only one with a competitive opponent is #21 USC vs Kansas State in Las Vegas.

[GeorgiaModerate]

#4 Michigan State, a 16.5-point favorite, lost its home opener to James Madison, 79-76 in OT.  It was just the second win ever for JMU over a Top 25 team; the previous one was over #19 Cal in 1992.

[NYSforKennedy2024]

#4 Michigan State, a 16.5-point favorite, lost its home opener to James Madison, 79-76 in OT.  It was just the second win ever for JMU over a Top 25 team; the previous one was over #19 Cal in 1992.

Colorado beat LSU in women's CBB as well.

[GeorgiaModerate]

https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1722088322321764856

Someone check on ER.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1722088322321764856

Someone check on ER.

A rough night between this and the election results...

[GeorgiaModerate]

Tonight's the first night with a number of interesting games between good teams.  The slate includes:

#12 Arizona @ #2 Duke
UCF @ #13 Miami
#15 Texas A&M @ Ohio State
#9 Tennessee @ Wisconsin
#17 San Diego State @ BYU
Virginia @ Florida
Memphis @ Missouri

[GeorgiaModerate]

Arizona goes into Cameron and knocks off Duke, 78-73.

[Хahar 🤔]

I think FAU is getting way too much credit for last year's Final Four run, in which they got some incredibly lucky breaks.  I just don't see them as a Top 10 team.

The Final Four run involved some luck, of course, but this was a good team last year (I recall the complaints in January about the team being ranked in the AP Poll, but it ended up top-25 in KenPom by the end of the conference tournament) and as of right now it's giving more minutes to returning players than any team in the country. A top-ten ranking is aggressive but it's not hard to imagine how it could make sense. Vladislav Goldin had a remarkable line on Wednesday against a pretty good Loyola Chicago team: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 blocks, 4 steals.

[GeorgiaModerate]

In more of the usual early-season fun, Nicholls won at LSU on a last-second 3-pointer, while West Virginia lost at home to Monmouth by 8.  Also, don't sleep on Memphis; they went to Missouri last night and won by 15 (after trailing by 14 in the first half).  Deep team loaded with solid, experienced transfers.

[GeorgiaModerate]

#23 St. Mary's blew a 14-point second half lead at home and fell to Weber State 61-57. Ouch.

[GeorgiaModerate]

A pretty good slate tonight.  In addition to the Champions Classic in Chicago (Duke-Michigan State and Kentucky-Kansas) there are some other interesting games:

Marquette @ Illinois
Texas A&M @ SMU
Iowa @ Creighton

[GeorgiaModerate]

Missouri trailed 59-39 at Minnesota with 11 minutes left -- and then went on a 31-9 run to win it 70-68.  Missouri's win probability when they were behind by 20 was 0.6%.

[GeorgiaModerate]

#10 FAU falls at home to Bryant, which was 1-3 coming in.

[GeorgiaModerate]

In the semifinals of the Maui Invitational (possibly the most loaded early-season tournament ever), #4 Marquette clobbered #1 Kansas 73-59, while #2 Purdue held off #7 Tennessee 71-67.  Purdue and Marquette will play for the tournament championship at 5pm (EST) today, and the winner will very likely be ranked #1 next week.

[GeorgiaModerate]

#1 Purdue lost at Northwestern last night, 92-88 in OT.  Purdue is now tied for last place in the Big Ten.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Kentucky loses at home to UNC Wilmington, 80-73.

[Alben Barkley]

You know. I don't ask for much in my life. I really don't. Food, shelter, water, and a consistent Kentucky basketball team. That's about it. Those of you who didn't grow up here will never understand it but the latter is as much an essential need as the rest to those of us who grew up with uncertain economic prospects, parents and/or grandparents dying tragically, problems with healthcare and employment, etc. Kentucky basketball was a comfort. A refuge. Something we could always take pride in. When people in the rest of the country looked down on us for being a bunch of coal mining idiots, we could always fall back on Kentucky basketball. We lived vicariously through these teams, we banked our hopes and dreams on them. I did it, my parents did it, THEIR parents did it, and so on. It was an essential element of our lives.

Calipari, between his losses to Evanville, St. Peter's, and now to his old team of UNCW, has callously robbed generations of Kentuckians of this pride. It is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE and INEXCUSABLE. We DEMAND absolute excellence at this program. We NEED to at least be in the running every year, and frankly that alone isn't even enough when you have the raw talent Cal always has every year and when you're boatracing Miami literal days before a humiliating loss to a nothing team. This team had me genuinely excited for the first time in nearly a decade, and now all that is ruined. I feel like Charlie Brown with Lucy pulling the football out from under me. Now we're back to just another post-2015 Cal team, designed more to push one and dones to the NBA than to bring excellence and pride to Kentucky.

I've had it. There was NO EXCUSE for 2014-15 to lose to Wisconsin, and every season since has basically been more embarrassing than the last. Fire Cal's f--king ass and bring back Rick Pitino. I am dead serious. That man knew how to win championships and build championship caliber teams, more than once every 15 years, I don't care how sleazy he is. if Arkansas can do it with Petrino, no reason we can't do it with Pitino.

And yes, I am drunk, and yes, I might change my opinion by the morning. But tonight I speak for thousands of Kentuckians who are just tired boss. TIRED of disappointing losses that are completely inexcusable. TIRED of teams that have to stumble through rebuilds every year. This program is the Alabama of basketball; we demand consistency at THE HIGHEST level EVERY SINGLE YEAR. And Cal hasn't provided it since that devastating Wisconsin game. Nothing's been the same since. It's time for a change.

[heatcharger]

But tonight I speak for thousands of Kentuckians who are just tired boss. TIRED of disappointing losses that are completely inexcusable. TIRED of teams that have to stumble through rebuilds every year. This program is the Alabama of basketball; we demand consistency at THE HIGHEST level EVERY SINGLE YEAR. And Cal hasn't provided it since that devastating Wisconsin game. Nothing's been the same since. It's time for a change.

This felt very campaign speech.

[GeorgiaModerate]

How many teams trail by 5 with under 3 seconds left, and go on to win -- without even needing overtime!?  That's what Vermont did against Yale last night. 

Yale hit two free throws to go up 65-60 with 3 seconds left.  Vermont responded with a layup with 0.6 left, cutting it to 65-62.  While trying to inbound the ball, Yale committed an offensive foul and gave the ball back to Vermont under their own basket.  They got it in to a shooter who launched a successful 3-pointer and was fouled on the shot.  He made the FT, and the 4-point play gave Vermont a 66-65 win.  Incidentally, the same Yale player committed both of the late fouls.

[GeorgiaModerate]

The Jimmy V Classic in MSG tonight has a couple of really interesting games: #11 FAU vs #20 Illinois, and #9 North Carolina vs #5 UConn.