Single Bid Conference champ/results

[GGGG]

UWGB playing very well. #1 Valpo down 7 with 6 minutes left.

Somewhere Brian Wardle is crying

Linc Darner is a better coach than Wardle. I said when they hired him that it was a fantastic, out of the box move.

[WarriorPride68]

Linc Darner is a better coach than Wardle. I said when they hired him that it was a fantastic, out of the box move.

Linc has been very impressive. Didn't know much about him until this year & hearing about his D2 success. Could he make the jump to P5 school someday you think?

[WarriorPride68]

Insanity in GB / Valpo game 

[WarriorPride68]

Iona upsets #1 Monmouth

UWGB upsets #1 Valpo

[BM1090]

UNC Wilmington upsets #1 seed Hofstra.

Terrible night for the NIT field. Going to be filled with good mid/low major teams, but bad for ratings. Would almost prefer the Vegas 16 at this point.

[injuryBug]

UWGB upsets #1 Valpo
[/quote]

Not done yet

[WarriorPride68]

UNC Wilmington upsets #1 seed Hofstra.

Terrible night for the NIT field. Going to be filled with good mid/low major teams, but bad for ratings. Would almost prefer the Vegas 16 at this point.

Damnit! I saw they were both 14-4 in conference so I wasn't sure who was the #1 seed. That really blows

[GGGG]

Linc has been very impressive. Didn't know much about him until this year & hearing about his D2 success. Could he make the jump to P5 school someday you think?

He's won wherever he has been and plays a real entertaining style.

[injuryBug]

He's won wherever he has been and plays a real entertaining style.

Doing whatever they can to give this game away

[bradley center bat]

#1 IPFW lost in the semis of the Summit League.

[JamilJaeJamailJrJuan]

#1 IPFW lost in the semis of the Summit League.

Eight 1 seeds down already.

[Dr. Blackheart]

NIT spots filling up quickly...

[Big Papi]

Linc Darner is a better coach than Wardle. I said when they hired him that it was a fantastic, out of the box move.

Linc Darner is a fantastic coach.  Definitely better than Wardle, better than Wojo.  My guess is that he will be coaching at a higher level school in the not to distant future.  Heck he could be our next coach.

[forgetful]

NIT spots filling up quickly...

Doesn't matter, since we will win the BEAST.

[jsglow]

Is what the NCAA really wanted?  Has the NIT become the 'low major loser bracket'?

Vegas can make some coin if they do a good job and put on a real basketball tournament.

[CTWarrior]

Monmouth is squarely on the bubble and may make the NCAA field.  Still takes away an NIT spot as either they or another at-large team will get pushed to the NIT.

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

Finals Today (3/8)
Wagner v. Farleigh Dickinson (NEC)

Go Wagner!

[Buzz Williams' Spillproof Chiclets Cup]

Has the NIT become the 'low major loser bracket'?

To be fair, the NIT is also the high-major loser bracket.

[Frenns Liquor Depot]

In 2-3 years I am looking forward to making fun of this thread as we sit comfortably as a 3+ seed in the tourney.

"Remember the dark days when we were cheering for low-majors to win their conference tourney so that we would get an NIT bid?"

[MU82]

Linc Darner is a fantastic coach.  Definitely better than Wardle, better than Wojo.  My guess is that he will be coaching at a higher level school in the not to distant future.  Heck he could be our next coach.

Just saying off the top of one's head that some D2 coach is better than Wojo would be like saying Wojo is better than Coach K. Except that in the latter statement, there actually is statistical support because Wojo's two-year record as a high-major coach (32-31) is superior to K's two-year record as a high-major coach was (27-30).

I'm not even saying that Linc's coaching ability isn't superior to that of Wojo's -- because I don't know if it is or isn't. And neither does anybody else.

As for whether Linc could eventually make the jump all the way to P5 ... why the hell not? Buzz did.

[MUfan12]

The thing with Darner will be how the style translates to D1 ball. I don't want to call it gimmicky, but it's certainly unconventional. Fun to watch, though.

That said, he's done a really nice job with that GB team this year. And I can't wait to see Trev Anderson play for him.

[GGGG]

The thing with Darner will be how the style translates to D1 ball. I don't want to call it gimmicky, but it's certainly unconventional. Fun to watch, though.

That said, he's done a really nice job with that GB team this year. And I can't wait to see Trev Anderson play for him.

It's no more gimmicky than Shaka's "mayhem" or "40 minutes of hell."  Sometimes you have to adapt your plan to your players and your opponent and perhaps he will have to learn to do that.

[GGGG]

Is what the NCAA really wanted?  Has the NIT become the 'low major loser bracket'?

Vegas can make some coin if they do a good job and put on a real basketball tournament.

I bet the NIT attendance is much better at those low major venues.  And I don't think people are going to care much about the Vegas tournament. 

[GooooMarquette]

I bet the NIT attendance is much better at those low major venues.  And I don't think people are going to care much about the Vegas tournament.

I suspect you're right about better attendance at low major sites.  But I thought hoops revenues were primarily driven by TV revenues.  If that is true, the NIT would make more $$ with mid- or high-majors than with low majors who won't be a big TV draw.

[Big Papi]

Just saying off the top of one's head that some D2 coach is better than Wojo would be like saying Wojo is better than Coach K. Except that in the latter statement, there actually is statistical support because Wojo's two-year record as a high-major coach (32-31) is superior to K's two-year record as a high-major coach was (27-30).

I'm not even saying that Linc's coaching ability isn't superior to that of Wojo's -- because I don't know if it is or isn't. And neither does anybody else.

As for whether Linc could eventually make the jump all the way to P5 ... why the hell not? Buzz did.

I didn't know much about Linc when UWGB hired him but upon reading up on him, his past, his coaching and watching more than a few UWGB games, I have come away completely impressed with the man.  He knows how to coach.  He has turned around 2 basketball programs.  His playing days were with Gene Keady at Purdue.  He has taken a team that lost 3 of there top 4 scorers and is a game away from making the NCAA tournament.  That in and of itself is no big deal but when you look at what he has done over his coaching tenure it is damn impressive.  He is a winner and he wins wherever he goes.  Similar to Bo Ryan where he won wherever he went. 

As far as his coaching style goes, his is similar to Shaka and Pearl.  Very high energy, up tempo, create turnovers, shoot lots of 3s.  Very fan friendly.  It has been very successful for him.  The jump up to UWGB was the perfect move for him.  That program will soar to new heights and he will be a hot commodity in a few years.

As far as Wojo goes, I don't have any good vibes on him as a coach.  Buzz had it.  Crean had it.  O'Neill had it.  I don't see it in Wojo.  In almost two years, there are very few instances where I go, wow that was great coaching.  I expected more out of this team.  Is it young? Yes but so is Ohio State and they are on the bubble.  So is Wisconsin when you truly look at their roster, 2 experienced players and bunch of minimal playing juniors and a lot of freshmen and they have made huge strides over the course of the year like you would expect from a young team that is coached very well.  I don't see it from Wojo and this team.  I will give Wojo a pass and hope for the best but I am not holding my breathe that we will be a flagship program of this conference.  Next year will be a very interesting and telling year.  It will be year 3 and any "good" coach will have been able to put a winning stamp on a program.  I really don't want to hear any excuses about Henry leaving for the NBA or our players are too young and inexperienced.  That is excuse making and bull.  If you are a good coach, prove it.  Wojo needs to prove it next year.