General College Basketball Thread 2020-2021

[wadesworld]

Looking for some other teams to follow that don't suck. Any recommendations? I'm thinking Loyola Marymount, Loyola Chicago and Illinois.

The NBA.  College basketball sucks, outside of Butler and Gonzaga, who just curbstomp everyone.

[Mr. Nielsen]

Gonzaga, Baylor or the field?

I'll roll the dice and take the field.

[cheese ball chaser]

The NBA.  College basketball sucks, outside of Butler and Gonzaga, who just curbstomp everyone.

Butler? What? Baylor?

[MU82]

Angry people looking for a scapegoat will invariably find one.

Very true. We certainly saw that here with Markus.

That, of course, doesn't mean Joey has been good for Michigan State. He hasn't been ... and he doesn't even have Markus and/or Wojo to blame it on anymore.

[JWags85]

Gonzaga, Baylor or the field?

I'll roll the dice and take the field.

Most years, this is the move, but I've not seen anyone remotely in the same class as those two.  Since the WVU game, nobody has stayed with Gonzaga remotely close.  Baylor has been steamrolling good teams regularly

[wadesworld]

Butler? What? Baylor?

Yes, Baylor. Sorry.

[VegasWarrior77]

Floppy motivated Michigan:

https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/universitymichigan/wolverines/2021/02/14/michigan-basketball-juwan-howard-wisconsin-badgers/4484411001/

[Uncle Rico]

Gonzaga, Baylor or the field?

I'll roll the dice and take the field.

Gonzaga and Baylor are lapping college basketball right now.  The analytical difference between them and the rest is unseen before.  Michigan is closing in on them but are still far away.  Single elimination tournaments always say take the field, though.

[Uncle Rico]

Very true. We certainly saw that here with Markus.

That, of course, doesn't mean Joey has been good for Michigan State. He hasn't been ... and he doesn't even have Markus and/or Wojo to blame it on anymore.

Izzo has taken the Coach K approach to coaching in that he isn't doing any.  When he has a lot of talent, they win a lot.  When they don't, he isn't out coaching anyone anymore

[tower912]

Izzo has taken the Coach K approach to coaching in that he isn't doing any.  When he has a lot of talent, they win a lot.  When they don't, he isn't out coaching anyone anymore

Balderdash.   Last year's team relied on Tillman and Winston for leadership.   This team does not have a leader or a point guard.   The team also had a terribly disjointed off-season as well as a disjointed season.   A bad combination for a team that was always going to need time to gel.

[CountryRoads]

Jalen Johnson quits Duke. That should be the end of them this year.

[Billy Hoyle]

On the subject of Coach K...

Per Goodman, Jalen Johnson opting out of the rest of the season.

[Silent Verbal]

He was gonna be a one and done anyways.  Not much point playing out the string and risking injury for a team that's going nowhere. 

But hey, maybe he just had a really difficult Econ exam to study for.

[tower912]

Hopefully it was personal ECON, as he is about to get paid.

[GooooMarquette]

Gonzaga and Baylor are lapping college basketball right now.  The analytical difference between them and the rest is unseen before.  Michigan is closing in on them but are still far away.  Single elimination tournaments always say take the field, though.

Agree all around, especially the last part.

The gap between Gonzaga/Baylor and the next tier is significant...but it's nowhere near the gap between 2018 UVa and UMBC, 2016 Michigan State and MTSU, 2012 Duke and Lehigh, etc, etc. When it's win or go home, you just never know.

[4everwarriors]

On the subject of Coach K...

Per Goodman, Jalen Johnson opting out of the rest of the season.

Whew, we dodged a bullet there when Johnson opted for Duke. We don't need the publicity of another recruit bolting Marquette's program, aina?

[tower912]

Did he write a letter?

[Uncle Rico]

Balderdash.   Last year's team relied on Tillman and Winston for leadership.   This team does not have a leader or a point guard.   The team also had a terribly disjointed off-season as well as a disjointed season.   A bad combination for a team that was always going to need time to gel.

The coach puts the roster together.  Villanova seems to have overcome a disjointed season(s) and so have plenty of other teams.  They've gotten progressively worse as the season has gone along.


The cult of the coach needs to end at these premier programs.  He's been a failure this year and quite frankly, he's been a bad coach in game for awhile

[JWags85]

Agree all around, especially the last part.

The gap between Gonzaga/Baylor and the next tier is significant...but it's nowhere near the gap between 2018 UVa and UMBC, 2016 Michigan State and MTSU, 2012 Duke and Lehigh, etc, etc. When it's win or go home, you just never know.

FWIW, MSU and Duke in those years were 2 seeds, not top 5 teams, much less the unquestioned top 2 teams.

UVA is always vulnerable given how few points they score, limited possessions always allow a lesser team to stay closer. That UVA team was very good but lost to WVU in non con and actually snuck by BC and Cuse early in the ACC season and benefited from a relatively soft ACC that year. They weren't absolutely shellacking anyone and everyone in their path like Gonzaga and Baylor.

Anything can happen with one and done and college kids, but both Gonzaga and Baylor are significantly ahead of all 3 of those teams you listed 

[brewcity77]

Jalen Johnson quits Duke. That should be the end of them this year.

Duke as a team seemed to opt out of the season months ago, hard to blame anyone for bailing at this point.

[tower912]

The coach puts the roster together.  Villanova seems to have overcome a disjointed season(s) and so have plenty of other teams.  They've gotten progressively worse as the season has gone along.


The cult of the coach needs to end at these premier programs.  He's been a failure this year and quite frankly, he's been a bad coach in game for awhile

In 2019, he was a freaking genius getting that roster and rotation to the final four.   I have to respectfully disagree.

Young team with new players and old players in new roles.  Watts was supposed to be a PG but did not develop in the off-season.   Langford has never returned to what he was before the foot injury.   About 6 guys at the 4-5 with nobody seizing it

I guarantee with a normal off-season that they are back where they should be next year.

[Uncle Rico]

In 2019, he was a freaking genius getting that roster and rotation to the final four.   I have to respectfully disagree.

Young team with new players and old players in new roles.  Watts was supposed to be a PG but did not develop in the off-season.   Langford has never returned to what he was before the foot injury.   About 6 guys at the 4-5 with nobody seizing it

I guarantee with a normal off-season that they are back where they should be next year.

I agree to disagree 🙂

[tower912]

We agree 

[wadesworld]

So now K AND Izzo are bad coaches?

My goodness.

[Uncle Rico]

So now K AND Izzo are bad coaches?

My goodness.

Have you watched Duke's offense the last half decade?