Nova/Johnnies. MSG. Gus. Raft.

Cyclones going down.

wildcats20;1565870 wrote:Nova/Johnnies. MSG. Gus. Raft.

Johnnies very disappointing this year.

Clemson/Dukies. Littlejohn. Gminski. Unknown.

On a side note, like road games at N.C. State and Florida State, Clemson has been a house of horrors for Duke at certain points over the last decade. Not always a loss, but some very close contents. Wouldn't be surprised to see the Devils struggle again today. They're playing pretty mediocre ball right now.

Love these Kansas alternate unis.

Azubuike24;1565865 wrote:South Carolina, Georgia, Auburn, etc. These schools are lucky to even get 3,000 fans at any other game yet when UK comes to town, their teams seem to play well-above their capability and their fans are bat shit crazy. Then, the next home game, the place is dead and the let down is on.

For instance, pay attention to the crowd and performance at Vandy today versus Wednesday night when they host Missouri.

The feeling is familiar. Last year, after beating Duke in Charlottesville behind 36 points from Joe Harris, Virginia dropped its next two games to Boston College (7-11 in the ACC) and Florida State (9-9 in the ACC), while Harris scored only 27 points combined.

That's life at "the top." You are everyone's target. That's what makes winning consistently, year in and year out, so impressive. As a Duke fan, when it comes to Coach K, for me, that streak of seven consecutive years ranked in the AP Top Ten (which ended last week) was just as incredible as any number of Final Fours or conference championships on his resume. To annually field a team that plays at that kind of level, despite the ever-increasing expectations that come with so much success and the almost-obsessive pursuit of other programs to bring you down, is just so hard. The same goes for Lute Olson. When I think of Olson's tenure at Arizona, I think of the 23 straight NCAA appearances.

Florida headed to overtime with Arkansas at Bud Walton. I've only caught part of the game since Duke is also in action, but the Razorbacks have looked really good today. One of the hardest places to get a win in the country. The Gators will be fortunate to survive.

No one watching the Duke Clemson game north of the Mason Dixon line but Clemson is playing out of their minds (as expected). I watched this team play FSU the other night and good god they looked awful. Horrific shot selection and defense that was pretty much non-existent. Today the Tigers are focused on every possession and are feeling as if they can score on every handle. Proof its the mental improvement that often comes with playing the Dukies.

Andrew wiggins is just going off right now

1-15 on the season from three for Clemson guard Blossomgame. No problem I'll just hit back to back threes with a hand in my face.

Looks like the Dukies are going to go down again today on the road. Shot selection down the stretch by Parker was poor but Clemson hit shots they haven't hit since the days of Melvin Booker. Not sure what Coach K can even say about this one. Duke will probably fall out of the rankings all together.

Yeah, as I said earlier today, I would not be surprised at all if Duke lost at Littlejohn, and they did. This had "Notre Dame" or "Virginia" (from last year) written all over it. The Blue Devils are falling off the map fast. Possibly could fall out of the Top 25 for the first time since early 2007, and should. They don't deserve to be ranked.

The funny thing is that I made such a big deal the past week about UNC being on the NCAA bubble that I failed to recognize that Duke was too. It was probably a bit of deflection, I suppose.

The Tigers absolutely drilled Duke on the glass, out-rebounding the Blue Devils 48 to 30. Once again, this season, with the glaring mismatch that Duke faces each game inside, is on K. He's fucking blowing it. If Duke's only 7-footer continues to wallow away on the bench with DNPs, I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to watch. Despite possessing a top five tandem nationally in Hood and Parker, this season is shaping up as a disaster.

Not too early to say this has been one of K's worst coaching jobs. He should be above reproach with 4 titles, but heavy is the crown. No excuse for the team to play this poorly. It did not look good. This team is regressing from what we saw in the Kansas and Arizona games.

No. 11 OK State going to go down to West Virginia today, trailing 52 to 51 with 11 minutes left. Marcus Smart on the bench with 3 fouls. The depleted roster from injuries and drug suspensions has killed this team. They just aren't the same unit as they were a month ago.

Smart has 13 rebounds and OSU has rallied.

Dook lost to Clemson today.

Clemson is coached by Wright State's former coach.

Cowboys win by one point over West Virginia. Yeah, they won, but this team needed everything they could possibly get out of Smart today to squeak by an NIT team. They are probably ranked pretty accurately, in that third tier of contenders (11 to 15), but watching them, I just don't see a Final Four squad, as many predicted early.

Kansas will win the Big XII and advance farther than any other conference team. The Jayhawks pounded K-State today, just murdered them.

Butler 1-of-17 from beyond the arc tonight against Georgetown. I've never seen such a horrendous display.

With a loss, the Bulldogs will fall to 0-4 in conference play. They've lost a lot of close games this year also, games that last year, they would've won. The absence of Brad Stevens on the sideline has been bigger than anyone thought, and most thought it would be huge. It's somewhat disappointing because Butler has a ton of talent, and, while a bit undersized, with Stevens at the helm, they might be in the thick of things for another Final Four run. He was that good. Just look at what he's done with a Celtics team that was predicted to win less than 10 games all year..

The elbow rule is getting out of hand in college basketball. Butler's Alex Barlow had a breakaway layup and, as he rose to shoot it, his non-shooting arm -- in a natural shooting motion -- rose with his body and inadvertently brushed against a Georgetown player's head, whom Barlow didn't even see racing up on him from behind. The officials stopped the game to review the play for a flagrant foul. They ended up not calling it, but I've seen similar plays akin to that one go the opposite way this season. Just let them play on obvious basketball plays.

Butler did lose Roosevelt Jones for the season, which was a huge loss. He was their glue guy returning from last year.

Meanwhile, Wichita State is getting whipped by Missouri State.

Man, as good as some of the freshman are this year, overall it's mediocrity across the board again. Not particularly impressed with any team. If the tournament started tomorrow, I think Kansas would still be my pick to win it all.

Mulva;1566067 wrote:Man, as good as some of the freshman are this year, overall it's mediocrity across the board again. Not particularly impressed with any team. If the tournament started tomorrow, I think Kansas would still be my pick to win it all.

Hard to go against Syracuse now that Ennis has pretty much shown he's a legit top 3 PG in the country. That was their big question losing MCW. They have some offensive skill, good enough outside shooting and plenty of bodies to throw at a really talented front court like KU, UK, Zona, etc.

The only thing I will ALWAYS question with Cuse is can their style win it all. There have been many, many years where it looks promising like this, during the season and entering the tournament, and rarely has it played out with them going far.

Not sure I'd call any of Arizona, Syracuse or Wisconsin mediocre. They are clearly playing better than any other team at this juncture.

Azubuike24;1566065 wrote:Butler did lose Roosevelt Jones for the season, which was a huge loss. He was their glue guy returning from last year.

Meanwhile, Wichita State is getting whipped by Missouri State.

True, but the real missing link is Stevens. I'm sure Brandon Miller is a fine coach, but he's not going to be able to turn Butler into a consistent NCAA team. As it stands right now, with the holdovers from Stevens' tenure, the Bulldogs are 0-4 in the Big East. He has a very steep climb ahead of him in order to compete in the upper ranks of this conference for years to come.