2011 NCAA College Basketball Season

[Blitz]

So I for one am stoked about having ANY sort of basketball back. Without the NBA this season, college basketball will probably be a lot bigger deal this season. Here is the preseason top 25, which is useless, but is fun to look at.

1. North Carolina (62)

2. Kentucky

3. Ohio State (1)

4. Connecticut (2)

5. Syracuse

6. Duke

7. Vanderbilt

8. Florida

9. Louisville

10. Pittsburgh

11. Memphis

12. Baylor

13. Kansas

14. Xavier

15. Wisconsin

16. Arizona

17. UCLA

18. Michigan

19. Alabama

20. Texas A&M

21. Cincinnati

22. Marquette

23. Gonzaga

24. California

25. Missouri

[Panni]

This will be a bittersweet year of watching Big East basketball. As usual there are a lot of quality teams in the conference, but this will probably be the last time I can say that in a while.

Personally, I root for Syracuse, but then I went to graduate school at St. John's so I'm kind of torn. I'm watching the Johnnies now and they're impressing me. It's basically a team of all young, athletic freshman that will probably scare some of the bigger teams in the conference this year. Since they're so young I can't expect too much of them this year, but if they all stick around for a few years they are going to be very dangerous.

[Blitz]

Ha, I was watching that game as well. They have some crazy names on that squad, led by God'sgift. They were talking about some other guys that might be able to join the team in the middle of the season if they can get their grades up.

Those kids need to learn how lucky they are to play basketball and get in the books.

[Twist]

Ha, I was watching that game as well. They have some crazy names on that squad, led by God'sgift. They were talking about some other guys that might be able to join the team in the middle of the season if they can get their grades up.

Those kids need to learn how lucky they are to play basketball and get in the books.

Gods'gift is the most fantastic name for anybody, ever. Strong looking dude as well.

Edited November 8, 2011 by Pepsi Twist

[Blaze09]

I have to cheer....for....Ohio State....

Someone hold me...

[gunnar hendershow]

Sentimental favorite is Vandy this year, hoping they do good on what is their best team in school history. The Mark Turgeon era is going to get off to a dismal start at Maryland this year, with seemingly half the team injured or suspended.

[Panni]

Did anybody else catch that UNC-Kentucky game today? It was a fantastic game between two of the top teams in the country. Even though UNC lost I still think they looked really good, and I think they have to be considered the favorites in the tournament come March.

[gunnar hendershow]

I'll be going to the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday with some Marquette alums I know. Should be a great time.

I'm trying hard to care about the regular season this year, in the end most of thse "marquee" matchups will either prove to not have been or just end up not mattering when both teams lose in the Sweet 16. It makes it a little hard to care, especially when your team is terrible. Morgan State is the best team in the state this year.

[Blitz]

There's a great slate of games on today/tonight and I'm getting pumped for conference tournaments. Kentucky looks like the early favorite to cut down the nets, but crazy things happen every March. I'm about to settle in and watch Arizona-UCLA, and I'm hoping they pull it out and make it to the tournament because they're one of my annual "gonna make it one round further than everyone thinks." Arizona and Michigan State are uncanny at screwing up my brackets every year.

[gunnar hendershow]

Calipari's had so many teams who look "unstoppable" and then because they're young blow it in the tournament. But they're certainly the early favorite. Kansas' comeback today put them in a great spot for a top seed. I'd say right now my number 1 seeds are Kentucky, Syracuse, Kansas, and Duke. Michigan State is sort of the odd man out, but if Kansas loses in the Big 12 tourney or Duke in the ACC tourney they could play their way into the spot with a tournament win of their own. If Marquette wins out and gets the Big East tournament title they could earn a spot over Kansas, Michigan State, or Duke. Missouri's rough week might have knocked them all the way down to a 3 seed come tourney time unless they win out. But really, the seeding doesn't matter since all the games are on neutral sites.

What's important usually is the bubble. But this year it's real soft, there's only a handful of teams even on it and basically all of them are regularly losing. You could see a team get into the tournament despite finishing something absurd such as 2-6. But that's the kind of year it's been. There's 2 teams who are a class above in Kentucky and Syracuse, and then another 10 or 12 who are in the next tier, then another 35 teams who are just kind of there. Throw in conference winners and you basically have a tournament field set. A few teams can make a big run in the conference tournament to cause some chaos, and obviously that surprise winner could throw everything off, but for the most part only 5 or 6 teams this year are going to even be in the discussion of "should they have been in over _________?"

[Meacon Keaton]

If UNC beats Duke to end the season, and wins the ACC tourny, UNC will easily be a #1 seed. They've only lost four games.

[gunnar hendershow]

Yeah I guess Duke should read Duke/UNC in my post. Really though, winning the ACC isn't exactly an accomplishment these days. Conference has gone to shit the last 4-5 years.

[Meacon Keaton]

I blame that on your Terps. Duke and UNC are always still there at the end. Maryland made it the Trifecta there for quite a few years. Nobody FEARS THE TURTLE no mo'.

[The Buscher]

The UConn/Syracuse game started out as a rout and then turned awesome. Really thought UConn was going to end up pulling it out. Even in defeat, I hope that near-comeback can give them some momentum going forward.

[gunnar hendershow]

I blame that on your Terps. Duke and UNC are always still there at the end. Maryland made it the Trifecta there for quite a few years. Nobody FEARS THE TURTLE no mo'.

There was also those years where Wake and Georgia Tech were knocking on the door too. But yeah, Maryland went downhill almost right after the national title. Gary Williams had Beasley, Durant, Melo, and others a stone's throw from campus and didn't try and recruit a single one. Seriously, by about 2006 there was annual talk of "should they force Gary into retirement?" And it didn't go away until he ended up retiring. Nobody knows what it was, but each class from the national championship year onwards got progressively weaker and weaker in terms of depth. Fortunately, I like Turgeon as a coach. He's doing something with a young team a lot of people, myself included, expected to do nothing. With Bisciotti and Under Armour bankrolling the program I would expect them to turn it around pretty quickly.

But as for trifecta. The true glory years for Maryland happened to coincide with the dark ages at Carolina. But there was a run for about a decade where Maryland, Duke, and Carolina were looked upon equally in the conference.

[Blitz]

Okay EWB community, let's figure out who's in the tournament and who's out. I'll post who's expected to get automatic invites based on conference tournament wins, and then we'll fill out the rest.

America East: Stony Brook, 20-8 (14-2)

Atlantic 10: Temple, 22-6 (11-3)

ACC: Duke, 25-4 (12-2)

North Carolina, Florida State

Atlantic Sun: Belmont, 24-7 (16-2)

Big 12: Kansas, 25-5 (15-2)

Baylor, Missouri, Iowa State, Kansas State

Big East: Syracuse, 29-1 (16-1)

Marquette, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame

Big Sky: Weber State, 23-4 (14-1)

Big South: UNC-Asheville, 21-9 (16-2)

Big Ten: Michigan State, 24-5 (13-3)

Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin

Big West: Long Beach State, 21-7 (14-0)

Colonial Athletic Association: Drexel, 25-5 (16-2)

Conference USA: Memphis, 21-8 (11-3)

Horizon League: Valparaiso, 21-10 (14-4)

Ivy League: Harvard, 24-4 (10-2)

MAAC: Iona, 24-6 (15-3)

Mid-American: Akron, 20-9 (12-2)

MEAC: Savannah State, 20-10 (13-2)

Missouri Valley: Wichita State, 26-4 (16-2)

Mountain West: UNLV, 24-6 (8-4)

San Diego State, New Mexico

Northeast: LIU Brooklyn, 22-8 (16-2)

Ohio Valley: Murray State, 28-1 (15-1)

Pac-12: Washington, 20-8 (13-3)

Patriot League: Bucknell, 22-8 (12-2)

SEC: Kentucky, 28-1 (14-0)

Florida, Vanderbilt

Southern: Davidson, 22-7 (16-2)

Southland: Texas-Arlington, 22-6 (14-0)

SWAC: Mississippi Valley State, 18-11 (17-0)

Summit League: Oral Roberts, 26-5 (17-1)

Sun Belt: Middle Tennessee, 25-5 (14-2)

West Coast: Saint Mary's, 25-5 (14-2)

WAC: Nevada, 23-5 (11-1)

That's 31 automatic invites, out of the 68 invites. Let's fill out the rest.

[gunnar hendershow]

I'll do the at-larges from the "major" conferences. Teams with a * are on the bubble, everyone else I figure to be a lock.

A-10

Temple (Auto)

Saint Louis

*Xavier/Saint Joseph's (one will get in, one won't. Both are out if there's a fluke conference tournament winner somewhere.)

ACC

Duke (Auto)

North Carolina

Florida State

Virginia

*Miami

Big East

Syracuse (Auto)

Marquette

Notre Dame

Louisville

Georgetown

*Seton Hall

*Cincinnati

*West Virginia

*South Florida

*Connecticut (just lost to Providence, so maybe not)

Big Ten

Michigan State (Auto)

Ohio State

Michigan

Indiana

Wisconsin

Purdue

*Northwestern

Big 12

Kansas (Auto)

Missouri

Baylor

Kansas State

Iowa State

Mountain West

UNLV (Auto)

San Diego State

New Mexico

Pac-12

Washington (Auto)

Arizona

California

SEC

Kentucky (Auto)

Florida

Alabama

Vanderbilt

*Mississippi State

I only put the Big East teams all on the bubble because an early loss in the conference tourney + surprising conference champion from somewhere else could knock one of them out. Look at it this way, 4 of them are locks but which 4 teams that happens to be is uncertain. Really unexciting bubble this year though, wondering if the 3 extra spots are putting that much of a dent in the excitement or if it's just one of those years.

[Blitz]

Mystery Team A: 18-11 (8-8), RPI: 55, SOS: 29

Mystery Team B: 19-10 (6-8), RPI: 63, SOS: 68

You'd take team A, right?

[phatman]

You'd definitely take team A out of those two there...

[Blitz]

Texas is team A, Mississippi State is team B. Both are on the bubble, and I think you'd give the nod to Texas there. They're in a deeper conference and have actually pulled through .500 so far, compared to Mississippi State who's on a five game losing streak.