College Basketball

[GeauxLSU]

No, it's not March but football is over and conference play is in full swing!

So, who is your team and how are they doing?

LSU was picked to finished dead last in the SEC. They have FAR exceeded expectations. They have a new coach who finally has some fire and somehow they got a kid that was committed to Georgetown and recruited by Duke etc to go to LSU. Not sure how that happened but he defies physics the way he plays. They already have more wins (overall and conf) vs last year and are to be reckoned with (even though they got cheated out of a win with Bama yesterday ) They spanked then ranked Arkansas by 21 points at Arkansas this week.

So.... anybody have UGA/LSU tickets for Feb 24th they want to get rid of?

 

[mfoster]

I don’t start watching until final 16 and the teams are more evenly matched.

 

[diacnik]

Could be anybody's year in the SEC - more talent overall. Probably have more schools in the NCAA tournament than ever. But does not look like any obvious national championship contenders. I like Kentucky, but this one and done bunch does not seem to take coaching very well and not very tough, although very talented. Could still make a run, but Fla, Aub, A&M, UGA, LSU, Tenn, and ARk all look competitive.

 

[GeauxLSU]

LSU's glimmer was fleeting. They lost to UGA by 1 point (61-60) and then to Vandy by 6 last week. They're now 11-7. UGA is 12-6.

 

[GeauxLSU]

It's a new year and the SEC is looking possibly more competitive in basketball than football. When Kentucky may not even be the third best team in the conference, you know there's a new reality setting in.
SEC currently has 5 ranked schools, likely to be 6 next go round.

Watched temporarily unranked LSU go to a very motivated #18 Ole Miss last night and hand them a convincing defeat. LSU is filled with freshman and the future is bright. Going to go try and see them when they come to Athens.

 

[JWC]

Basketball, especially college basketball, is my favorite sport. In the SEC, UT stands out to me mainly because, they have not peaked yet. They actually are getting better, and they are really good now. The only down side is they don't play with a lot of discipline. Their coach, Rick Barnes, is known for having really good teams, but he is not known for having disciplined teams, and he get bounced in the tournament because of that. I am not surprised at LSU winning. Good coach who recruits really good players, will win.

Scottie Pipen, a college basketball analyst for ESPN, has said something that I find disturbing because I am afraid that it will soon be embraced by a lot of highly talented player. Pipen said that Zion Williamson, player at Duke, should "shut it down" and get ready for the NBA. Man, that does not bode well for the future of college basketball. We already have the "one and done" rule, now supposedly knowledgeable analysts want college kids to stop playing and just get ready for the NBA. Dang, the regular season of college basketball is starting to become like the bowl season of college football in that it means nothing unless you make the tournament. Dang, I hate that.

 

[GeauxLSU]

Basketball, especially college basketball, is my favorite sport. In the SEC, UT stands out to me mainly because, they have not peaked yet. They actually are getting better, and they are really good now. The only down side is they don't play with a lot of discipline. Their coach, Rick Barnes, is known for having really good teams, but he is not known for having disciplined teams, and he get bounced in the tournament because of that. I am not surprised at LSU winning. Good coach who recruits really good players, will win.

Scottie Pipen, a college basketball analyst for ESPN, has said something that I find disturbing because I am afraid that it will soon be embraced by a lot of highly talented player. Pipen said that Zion Williamson, player at Duke, should "shut it down" and get ready for the NBA. Man, that does not bode well for the future of college basketball. We already have the "one and done" rule, now supposedly knowledgeable analysts want college kids to stop playing and just get ready for the NBA. Dang, the regular season of college basketball is starting to become like the bowl season of college football in that it means nothing unless you make the tournament. Dang, I hate that.

Yeah that sucks. Shame on Pippen. Of course I'm sure that's how he really feels. Pro sports are definitely attempting to suck the life out college sports. And it's really infected all sports. I guess to a lesser degree, baseball. Year before last LSU had Ben Simmons who wound up being the first overall pick in the draft. He came over from Australia to INTENTIONALLY play one year and go to the NBA. Everybody knew it and it showed on the court. Never saw the guy once give even 80% effort yet you could still tell what a talent he was. Very frustrating for his team mates I'm sure. Of course even with a rookie contract he already has a net worth of $75 million so I guess there's that. Notice his comments here. https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...ime-at-lsu-i-dont-really-know-what-i-learned/ At least he doesn't have a self confidence problem.
I don't have the answer but I'd rather it be something closer to 3 years after graduating high school. Then maybe they'd have to prove themselves over a few seasons instead of just being anointed.

 

[78Bronco]

Never caught the basketball bug.

 

[CardsFan]

Yep, mine too. Did most of my growing up years in Kentucky, so it's in my blood. All college though, I don't give a flip about NBA, NFL, or most pro sports (with the exception of MLB).

I've been watching my Cardinals with extreme interest. I had taken a leave last year with all the crap Pitino dragged us through. No, I honestly don't think he knew about the crao going on behind his back, but the problem is, after 2 times and a disgusting personal scandal many years ago, Pitino had to go. Have fun coaching in Greece (or wherever he went recently).

We hired Coach Mack, the Xavier coach who has had great success in Cincy over the last several years. I did not expect anything this year, but he has already coached the Louisville kids (that stayed) up, and while Louisville is inconsistent (at least so far), the Cards have put a hurt on Michigan State and North Carolina so far this year. Plus he has a great recruiting class coming in next year.

I will miss Pitino's defenses though

Tennessee has been playing great this year. I wondered what happened to them since they used to be one of the perennial powers in hoops many years ago. But hopefully they are trending back to being a top hoops program each year.

Hey Geaux, LSU was also a major hoops power back in my day. Have not heard much about them in post season in many years, but good to see LSU getting in the top 25 mix again.

 

[GeauxLSU]

2:14 left in the game and LSU was down by 14 at Mizzou. LSU went on a 14-1 run to force OT and won by 6. Never saw anything like it. I do love some college roundball!