December 28, 2007
By Chilltown
2008 is fast approaching, but before we wave goodbye to 2007, there are some very good games in college basketball on this four-day weekend. The action kicks off tonight with two matchups of great Mid-Majors. First up is Butler vs. Southern Illinois. These two perennial mid-major powers were both picked as potential Sweet Sixteen teams this season. While Butler has lived up to that prediction, Southern Illinois has not. The typical amazing pressure defense is still there, but the Salukis have struggled to score more than 60 points against quality opponents. Additionally, without Jamal Tatum who graduated last year, Southern Illinois lacks a go-to scorer in crunch time. However I think the Salukis will pull off what will surely be called an upset, but really is just a hotly contested game between two tourney teams, because they can shut down Butler’s vaunted outside shooters. This game will have all the intensity of a Sweet Sixteen game, so if you are one of the 3,000 people that gets ESPNU, be sure to watch it.
The other interesting matchup of mid-majors that sadly will not be on TV is San Diego State vs. Sam Houston State. Yes the Bearkats, whom I wrote about three weeks ago, are still undefeated, but are facing a stiff test at SDSU. The Aztecs have been a bit disappointing this year, but still have formidable athletes who would not look out of place in a BCS conference. I think the homecourt atmosphere and sheer athleticism of SDSU will be too much for the Bearkats, but I certainly hope that they prevail and keep this great season for the Southland Conference rolling. Join me after the jump for the next three days of matchups Keep reading →
December 28, 2007
Since Congress sneaked an omnibus spending bill by the media and the country on Christmas Eve, I figured we here at Storming the Court could provide you with an omnibus college basketball post to get you caught up on this holiday week of hoops. Firstly, I have some very exciting news about the college basketball blogpoll: it will be hosted here next week, as March To Madness is out of the country. This week it was hosted at Vegas Watch. My individual Blogpoll ballot will be up on Monday, and the poll in all of its glory will be up on Wednesday, with some discussion.
The big story in college hoops this week was the return of Eddie Sutton to coaching at San Francisco. While it is good to see a hall of fame coach get to coach one more year and leave on his own terms instead of a DUI, I can’t help but have a bitter taste in my mouth. This whole thing is a publicity stunt which Sutton admitted is mainly to get his 800th career win (currently he sits on 798). I feel especially bad for the players, who must be conflicted over this turn of events. On the one hand, it will be a thrill to be coached by the legendary Sutton, but on the other, they must resent being used as tools in a stunt, and probably the fact that their coach was a casualty in the affair. San Francisco is simply a terrible basketball team, so it will be interesting to watch Sutton try to adapt to the players that he currently has. Frankly, if he gets USF to 10 wins this season (they currently are 4-8), he will have earned his place in the coaching hall of fame.
In a few hours, I will have a preview of the big games of the weekend up.
December 20, 2007
By Chilltown
Over the past decade or so, the term mid-major has come to prominence. It symbolizes the hard-working, low budget school with a small gym, rabid fans who come March is the trendy upset pick in the tournament. But the mid-major label does a disservice to those teams, not only because it cheapens their achievements, but also because it implies that every major conference team is better than them, even though that is patently false. In fact, many major conference teams have disinterested fanbases and players who, while playing hard, are simply not up to snuff against good competition. With that in mind, its time to look at the worst of the worst in the major conferences. Join me after the jump as I count down the worst major conference teams from 5 to 1. Keep reading →
December 19, 2007
By Chilltown
This is just a quick little post for Dick Vitale, who, as most of you have probably already heard, underwent vocal cord surgery yesterday and expects to be out until at least February. Many college basketball fans dislike Dickie V’s style, his outlandish screaming and nicknames, and his ACC (specifically Duke) homerism. But Vitale has done more in his 30 years of broadcasting for the sport of college basketball than almost anyone else. His infectious enthusiasm has helped make the sport we love what it is today. So get well soon, Dickie V. We will all miss you on ESPN’s broadcasts, whether we admit it or not.
December 19, 2007
By Chilltown
Coming into the season, everyone is optimistic; who wouldn’t be? However with at least eight games under every team’s belt, not everyone can be so optimistic. There have been many high-profile disappointments in just the first month of the season. As we head into this season of cheer, it seems cruel to highlight those who have very little basketballwise to be cheerful for. Yet schadenfreude is one of my favorite emotions, so join me after the jump as we rejoice in the troubles of others, particularly those in the Bluegrass state. Keep reading →
December 17, 2007
By Chilltown
Big Changes this week in my blogpoll ballot. I decided that I finally had enough games to do what I’ve always wanted to try: resume ranking (coined by SMQ for the college football blogpoll). So I looked at every team’s best wins, and their losses, and came up with a ranking based solely on what they’ve done so far. This has absolutely nothing to do with which team will go further in March, this has to do with the quality of the team’s wins.
The full Blogpoll will be released Wednesday at March to Madness (see Blogroll). Justifications with fancy tables after the jump.
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Texas
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Memphis
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Washington State
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Kansas
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North Carolina
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Duke
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UCLA
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Georgetown
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Michigan State
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Texas A&M
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Butler
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Indiana
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Marquette
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Pittsburgh
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Tennessee
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Vanderbilt
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Arizona
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Rhode Island
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Miami
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Clemson
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Dayton
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BYU
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Xavier
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USC
- Gonzaga
Keep reading →
December 13, 2007
This week being finals week, we have been watching a truncated schedule around college basketball. Luckily, however, the weekend will provide some good games to enjoy as you finish (or start) your holiday shopping. Saturday has the lion-share of the good games, so we will focus there:
We kick things off this weekend with Oklahoma State vs. #9 Pittsburgh at noon. Oklahoma State is clearly rebuilding this year, but still has a lot of talent. However if Pitt plays to its potential, this should be a double-digit win. Let’s see if they can put Ok State away in the closing minutes as they could not do against Washington.
At 2, we head to the Commonwealth for UAB vs. Kentucky. Some in the blogosphere (not I) are very high on UAB this year, but really they are simply the 3rd-best team in a bad Conference USA. If Kentucky wants to be an NCAA Tournament team they should be able to win comfortably.
At 3, there is a matchup of potential bubble teams in Arkansas vs. Oklahoma. While this game would be much better on a football field, it should have ramifications for March. Expect Arkansas to prevail. At 3:30, Louisville meets Purdue. Both teams are in desperate need of a win, as they have hit recent skids. Louisville lost the game to Dayton, and might have lost its Final Four chances when Derrick Caracter was suspended indefinitely. Purdue blew a 15-point 2nd half lead to Missouri, showing its inexperience. Louisville should win, but as both teams are reeling, Purdue could pull off the “upset”.
The last interesting game of Saturday is the nightcap, Western Kentucky vs. Tennessee at 10:30 on ESPNU. Tennessee has looked vulnerable without quintessential glue guy Dane Bradshaw, while Senior Courtney Lee has led Sun Belt-favorite WKU to wins over Michigan and Nebraska. Lee will keep this game very close, but Tennessee should pull away down the stretch. This game will probably be played in the 80’s or 90’s, and will certainly be exciting either way.
December 12, 2007
The new blogpoll should be up shortly over at March To Madness, so I decided to post my ballot and rationale here:
- Memphis
- UNC
- Texas
- Kansas
- Washington State
- Duke
- UCLA
- Georgetown
- Texas A&M
- Indiana
- Tennessee
- Michigan State
- Pittsburgh
- Marquette
- Louisville
- Oregon
- Butler
- Clemson
- Vanderbilt
- Xavier
- USC
- Gonzaga
- Miami (Fl)
- St. Mary’s
- Arizona
Join me after the jump for justifications and an attempt to muddle through teams 10-20. Keep reading →
December 10, 2007
By Trot Nixon’s Hat
Well, we’ve just experienced our 9th Big Ten/ACC Challenge. When this series started, it seemed like a really cool idea. Conferences had gotten away from things like this. Now, after another ACC blowout of the Big Ten, it’s time that this series was changed around. Maybe we could give the Big Ten the choice of who they want to play and where? I’m not sure even that’s enough. The Big Ten simply does not have the talent to keep up with a very deep ACC.
According to our favorite place for information, Wikipedia, Michigan State is the only Big Ten school with even a winning record in this challenge. Four ACC teams have losing records in this series, and before you tell me that it’s because the big boys don’t play tough games, UNC is one of those four teams and Wake Forest is not (In fact, Wake is a very nice 7-1, despite having an extremely up and down program since the Challenge began in 1999).
As we enter into another glorious Big Ten season where it appears that they will do very little against non-conference foes, will beat up on each other and get ranked because of that, we have to look back on what makes the Big Ten so special. That, my friends, is a complete lack of high powered offensive production, and this is nothing new. In fact, back in the winter of 2000, I came up with a theory. Since then, it has evolved, adding a corollary when Big Ten teams discovered the three-point basket and the fast break. Join me after the jump for the unveiling of the Big Ten Rule. Keep reading →
