2024-25 NCAA Basketball Thread

[PGsHeroes32]

Don't get me wrong, I would not be lining up for MU to play Houston in a sweet 16 game.

But this is easily the worst Houston team of the Sampson style that I can remember.

Still really good on D. But don't dominate the glass. And just don't have the lead guards needed.

Tough and well coached team. But this is not the one to get Sampson over the hump

[Shooter McGavin]

Don't get me wrong, I would not be lining up for MU to play Houston in a sweet 16 game.

But this is easily the worst Houston team of the Sampson style that I can remember.

Still really good on D. But don't dominate the glass. And just don't have the lead guards needed.

Tough and well coached team. But this is not the one to get Sampson over the hump

I agree with all of this. 

[MuggsyB]

Pretty good finish Oregon/Bama.

[MuggsyB]

Terrible call there.  Wow. 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Terrible call there.  Wow. 

I don't think it was terrible, but I agree that they got it wrong. I don't think you could have gotten closer on a goaltending call if you tried. I think it was clean, but understood why they called it goaltending in real time and why they decided there wasn't enough to overtime.

The putback dunk by Bittle was something.

[chren21]

Look at the lineup of top 25 games on Wednesday.  We are the only game on espn+.   Every other t25 game is on a broadcasted channel (espn/2, FS1, SECN).  Frustrating.

I do admit it is quite the lineup of games though. 

[Uncle Rico]

Many games out there today to enjoy that can hurt or help the Big East Cause.  No sponsor because we don't take money on the Lord's day:

Regent at Longwood, Noon, ESPN+

Purdue-Calumet at Central Michigan, 1PM, ESPN+

Central Penn College at Morgan St., 1PM, ESPN+

Radford at St. Francis (PA), 1PM, NEC

Notre Dame of Maryland at American, 3PM, ESPN+

[HowardsWorld]

Look at the lineup of top 25 games on Wednesday.  We are the only game on espn+.   Every other t25 game is on a broadcasted channel (espn/2, FS1, SECN).  Frustrating.

I do admit it is quite the lineup of games though. 

Yes, but that is the game of the day any way you want to slice it. I guess I will miss it because I am not paying again for a service to watch 1 single game.

[MuggsyB]

I don't think it was terrible, but I agree that they got it wrong. I don't think you could have gotten closer on a goaltending call if you tried. I think it was clean, but understood why they called it goaltending in real time and why they decided there wasn't enough to overtime.

The putback dunk by Bittle was something.

I think it was terrible based on having plenty of time to review it.  Absolutely the wrong call, that's why g-tends can go to the video. 

[Uncle Rico]

Radford beat St. Francis, 79-70.  They're up to 159 in KenPom

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

Last year's Maui Invitational had the best field in history. This year's may have had the best opening round in history. Three huge comebacks decided on the last possession.

Enjoy it while you can. The field looks significantly weaker the next two years.

2025
* Arizona State
* Chaminade
* NC State
* Seton Hall
* Texas
* UNLV
* USC
* Washington State

2026
* Arizona
* BYU
* Maryland
* Notre Dame
* Ole Miss
* Providence
* VCU
* TBA

With the Maui Invitational returning to its scenic Lahaina home, questions emerge about tournament's future - Matt Norlander - CBS Sports - Sunday December 1, 2024

In a time of big economic changes in college athletics, the Maui tournament may be forced to change later this decade if it wants to keep getting the biggest schools

It was an unequivocal success for everyone except UConn, which provided one of the more unexpected storylines in Maui history by going 0-3 despite being the favorite to win the event as the No. 2 team in the country. On Saturday, UConn coach Dan Hurley said he would never play in a three-day MTE again.

Instead, Auburn won this year's title in eye-opening fashion and made its case for the patented Maui Bump, while teams like Iowa State, Memphis and Michigan State went 2-1 and got good résumé boosts. Beyond the basketball implications, the joy was what was most abundant. An air of gratitude and appreciation permeated the premises with every game, as febrile fan bases shuffled in and out of the Civic Center. After more than a year of devastation and rebuilding efforts, the Maui Invitational served as the first major event to signal a return to Lahaina as it should be.

You can't really get that just by watching it on television. Being here, seeing how tourists interact with locals, witnessing the exchange of respect, it's something unique in American sports. There is no other arrangement like it. A gym with a capacity of 2,400 -- a simple building that could have easily been phased out in the 1990s in favor of something much bigger and more modern -- has instead continued to play host to some of the best players and coaches in basketball history. Hall-of-Fame figures -- even ones still coming back to watch, just like Magic Johnson and Roy Williams did for this 41st iteration of the Maui Invitational -- give credence to Maui's unique communal aura.

This year the expectation is to raise close to or more than $24 million for the Lahaina community, Valdiserri said. That means the tournament went a long way to getting Lahaina back to a closer version of normal.

There's a chance the 2024 field, which included four top-12 teams and could realistically wind up having as many as seven of its participants make the 2025 NCAA Tournament, is the last great Maui bracket ever.

There is a catch to the glamour and prestige of a Maui invite: Schools lose a lot of money for the opportunity to play on a huge stage in a small gym. Sources that played both in this year's tournament and have played in previous versions all said the price is easily north of $400,000, with some schools putting the cost well above $450,000 when taking charter flights into account.

"When you compare it to three games elsewhere with guarantees or [home game revenue], when you put it in that context, the disparity is enormous," one source said.

The Maui Invitational is too good of a thing to see spoiled by the economic maelstrom that has sucked up a lot of what we love about college sports. Some things are so pure they need to be saved at all costs, few of them more meaningful than the beloved Maui Invitational.

For those of you who are serious basketball fans, this very lengthy article (labelled  as a 16-minute read) is well worth a peruse.

[Uncle Rico]

With the Maui Invitational returning to its scenic Lahaina home, questions emerge about tournament's future - Matt Norlander - CBS Sports - Sunday December 1, 2024
For those of you who are serious basketball fans, this very lengthy article (labelled  as a 16-minute read) is well worth a peruse.

Dayton sucks

[tower912]

Fan of Dayton.  Except next week.

[Uncle Rico]

Games of the Day brought to you by the NY Post:

Columbia International at Jacksonville St., 6PM, ESPN+

Oakwood at Mississippi Valley St, 6PM, SWAC

Chicago St. at St. Thomas, 7PM, Summit

Dakota Wesleyan at South Dakota St., 7PM, Summit

East-West at Southern Indiana, 7PM, ESPN+

[MUDPT]

Yes, but that is the game of the day any way you want to slice it. I guess I will miss it because I am not paying again for a service to watch 1 single game.

For what it's worth KenPom has it as the 5th best game that day. Iowa state a 6 point favorite.

[brewcity77]

For those of you who are serious basketball fans, this very lengthy article (labelled  as a 16-minute read) is well worth a peruse.

The potential change to Maui isn't news to anyone here. Here's a quote from Marquette AAD Mike Broeker over the summer:

Broeker: "What is the future of MTEs? Let's take it away from Marquette and look at it in general. I think we all want to play high quality games on our campuses. One, it's good for college basketball. Two, at a basketball school like Marquette, the more home games we can play the better. And three, as much as we love our television contracts, our season ticket holders and our ticket buyers are the lifeblood of what we do from a revenue standpoint. The challenge for the MTE is moving forward, and this is my opinion, I think giving up three games away from home is going to be a hard ask for coaches in the future. The interesting thing will be to see how those MTEs evolve to maybe there's still eight teams, but there are two four-team brackets that play two games with a day off in between. Maybe Maui evolved, or Atlantis evolved, because I think the destinations are still important to building a quality experience for your kids and your programs."

Full interview: Schedule Talk with Mike Broeker[/b

And even better, it's content that is actually relevant to the people that post here!

[HowardsWorld]

The potential change to Maui isn't news to anyone here. Here's a quote from Marquette AAD Mike Broeker over the summer:

Broeker: "What is the future of MTEs? Let's take it away from Marquette and look at it in general. I think we all want to play high quality games on our campuses. One, it's good for college basketball. Two, at a basketball school like Marquette, the more home games we can play the better. And three, as much as we love our television contracts, our season ticket holders and our ticket buyers are the lifeblood of what we do from a revenue standpoint. The challenge for the MTE is moving forward, and this is my opinion, I think giving up three games away from home is going to be a hard ask for coaches in the future. The interesting thing will be to see how those MTEs evolve to maybe there's still eight teams, but there are two four-team brackets that play two games with a day off in between. Maybe Maui evolved, or Atlantis evolved, because I think the destinations are still important to building a quality experience for your kids and your programs."

Full interview: Schedule Talk with Mike Broeker[/b

And even better, it's content that is actually relevant to the people that post here!

Without taking the time to read the article yet. Can't a new tv contract be put into place that will help offset the costs? Feast week is the 2nd best week in all of college basketball outside of NCAA tournament. You can't tell me that if the schools says they need revenue sharing to offset the cost or they will pull out of these big tournaments that they wont cave.

[The Sultan]

Without taking the time to read the article yet. Can't a new tv contract be put into place that will help offset the costs? Feast week is the 2nd best week in all of college basketball outside of NCAA tournament. You can't tell me that if the schools says they need revenue sharing to offset the cost or they will pull out of these big tournaments that they wont cave.

I'm not sure the tournament organizers are making a lot of money here either though. Regardless, the article is alluding to smaller, less expensive MTEs. Like as Broeker says, two four team brackets with two games - my guess is that an on-site game as well.

[Newsdreams]

Games of the Day brought to you by the NY Post:

Columbia International at Jacksonville St., 6PM, ESPN+

Oakwood at Mississippi Valley St, 6PM, SWAC

Chicago St. at St. Thomas, 7PM, Summit

Dakota Wesleyan at South Dakota St., 7PM, Summit

East-West at Southern Indiana, 7PM, ESPN+

Must watch St. Thomas on their way to BE

[Fieldhouse Flyer]

Very informative post brewcity77. Thanks. This isn't the first time the Flyers have left a bad taste in the Huskies' mouth in Hawaii:

Dayton Upsets No. 13 UConn, 80-66 at Maui Invitational - University of Connecticut - November 20, 2000

Maui Invitational Tournament Champions - Coaches Database - 1984-2024

[The Sultan]

Very informative post brewcity77. Thanks. This isn't the first time the Flyers have left a bad taste in the Huskies' mouth in Hawaii:

Dayton Upsets No. 13 UConn, 80-66 at Maui Invitational - University of Connecticut - November 20, 2000

Maui Invitational Tournament Champions - Coaches Database - 1984-2024

Dude, seriously, I don't think you understand how little we care about how Dayton played UConn 24 years ago.

[Uncle Rico]

Very informative post brewcity77. Thanks. This isn't the first time the Flyers have left a bad taste in the Huskies' mouth in Hawaii:

Dayton Upsets No. 13 UConn, 80-66 at Maui Invitational - University of Connecticut - November 20, 2000

Maui Invitational Tournament Champions - Coaches Database - 1984-2024

Dayton sucks

[Scoop Snoop]

Dude, seriously, I don't think you understand how little we care about how Dayton played UConn 24 years ago.

One thing is clear. No matter how Dayton finishes this season, he will be bragging about this year's win over UCONN for at least 24 more years. If someone doesn't kill him long before that.

[MU82]

Very informative post brewcity77. Thanks. This isn't the first time the Flyers have left a bad taste in the Huskies' mouth in Hawaii:

Dayton Upsets No. 13 UConn, 80-66 at Maui Invitational - University of Connecticut - November 20, 2000

Maui Invitational Tournament Champions - Coaches Database - 1984-2024

That would explain all of Dayton's Final Four appearances over the last half-century. Thanks!

[cheebs09]

It's amazing a Dayton fan has time to come to our board with all the BE fans going over there begging for an A10 invite.