Official 2007-08 College Basketball Thread

[Jimbo's Drinker]

The real question is, what the hell does your post mean?

 

 

oh nevermind.

[gbuk]

THAT IS JUST BRILLIANT! HE IS A BRILLIANT DEFENDER! THIS TEAM IS BRILLIANT!

 

Shut the hell up Mike Patrick.

[Felix]

The refs in the Minnesota/Indiana game were horrible, but I won't blame them for the loss. Our team didn't make any free throws anyway, so it didn't matter.

 

Good game, Hoosier fans. You should feel really, really lucky that you got out of Minnesota with a win.

[whitesoxfan101]

The refs in the Minnesota/Indiana game were horrible, but I won't blame them for the loss. Our team didn't make any free throws anyway, so it didn't matter.

 

Good game, Hoosier fans. You should feel really, really lucky that you got out of Minnesota with a win.

 

I'm sorry, but you simply can't go 11-21 at the free throw line and win, as Illinois has shown and Minnesota confirmed tonight. Shooting only 39.7 percent from the field, 3-17 from the arc, and being beat 39-21 on the glass isn't a wise recipe either. Minnesota is a team on the rise IMO, but really the only reason this game wasn't a blowout was 2 questionable foul calls on Gordon and Indiana turning it over 24 times to Minnesota's 10, but Minnesota was just never able to take advantage of that.

 

Oh, and Jimbo is right, Jimmy Dykes is the worst announcer I've ever heard not named Ron Santo. He must have pictures of somebody, he is to broadcasting what Matt Millen is to GM's, a joke who they somehow still won't fire.

Edited January 18, 2008 by whitesoxfan101

[greasywheels121]

Exactly, the refs may have been terrible, but that was afflicting both sides of the court--Indiana wasn't getting any calls either. These refs swallowed their whistles several times on what should have been Minnesota turnovers, and a few of our's shouldn't have been turnovers with the muggings that resulted. Oh well, that's Big Ten officiating--fantastic.

 

No matter how ugly it is, I'm ecstatic to get out of the Barn with a W, because we've never fared well in Minny. It's not easy to win on the road in this conference, and we've already got ourselves three conference road W's (the same number we finished with last season). We've got a solid opportunity to stretch our record now with three home games next week (Penn State, Iowa, and UConn).

[Felix]

I dont disagree wsf101, there's no excuse for missing that many free throws, which is why I said in my post "I won't blame (the officials) for the loss." Also, you mention the drastic turnover difference, but that's exactly what the Gophers cause teams to do. Look at the numbers, they cause a high number of turnovers and do a decent job of holding onto the ball themselves.

 

But anyway, the refs were terrible. Because my viewing was bias, I can't say whether Indiana got screwed or not, but I know Minnesota got raped on some terrible calls late in the game that did make a difference. I can't say that was why the Gophers lost, because chances are we would have missed the FTs anyway, but the refs were really terrible one way or the other.

 

Despite shooting terribly from both the field and free throw line, and getting dominated on the boards, we were leading the 9th ranked team in the nation with 3 minutes to go. This is the difference Tubby Smith has made for this program, especially after we fell behind by double digits. He didn't let the team get distracted, and we came back out and gave everything we've got (except for Spencer Tollackson, who did well down the stretch but there's no excuse for missing every f***ing free throw he took).

 

Still a good game, and a fun game to be at. I'm glad the Gophers showed up, and the Barn was the loudest it's been in my two years of going to games. We showed up 55 minutes early (doors open 60 minutes early) and had the worst seats I've ever gotten at a game, which is saying something about the increasing popularity of the basketball team on campus. Hell, the dorms aren't even open yet, and we were a packed house a good 30 minutes before game-time.

Edited January 18, 2008 by Felix

[Soxbadger]

Minnesota didnt get screwed by the refs anymore than Indiana could allege. Minnesota should have won that game, but they just could not get it done. Indiana's turn overs were not so much because of Minnesota fouling, but more because of the press that Minnesota was running which was causing Indiana to play to fast for themselves and make errant passes.

 

Im not all that excited about facing Minnesota in the Barn this year because it was a game that was penciled in as a W, but now it is going to be a lot harder.

 

Would have been a huge win for Minnesota.

[JuiceCruz16]

Nice road win for Indiana. Minnesota had the game where they wanted it and just could not convert down the stretch. Sampson is getting better athletes at IU, so uptempo games with more turnovers may be more the norm, but they can't cough it up 20 plus times on the road and get awat with a "w" very often.

 

All of the most hated coaches of Illini nation seem to be having great years to this point, while Illinois struggles. Sampson, Pearl, and Self are something like a combined 45-2. I know there are predominantly Illini fans hear, so my sympathy goes out to you for this rough season all the way around.

 

Tubby does show that not too much should be taken from a down season or two. Be careful what you ask for Kentucky the man can coach! We will see if he can recruit guys to Minnesota though in the future.

[Felix]

Indiana's turn overs were not so much because of Minnesota fouling, but more because of the press that Minnesota was running which was causing Indiana to play to fast for themselves and make errant passes.

Exactly. They threw the ball away by themselves at least 3 or 4 times due to the press and the hilarity that was Eric Gordon last night. Man, he sucked.

 

We will see if he can recruit guys to Minnesota though in the future.

We already have a top 25 recruiting class for next year (it's been ranked as high as 10th nationally), including some stud big men in Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson. Plus, the top recruit out of Canada in Devoe Joseph and other solid recruits (Paul Carter and Devron Bostick). All things considered, getting a recruiting class this good with a 9-22 record last year, I think the Big 10 has something to be worried about down the line. Minnesota talent isn't going to be heading over to Wisconsin or Iowa as easy as it did in the past. I can't imagine he'll have trouble recruiting in the future when this team is already on an upward swing, and is likely to be competing for the Big 10 title in a few years (not next year, the year after though).

 

 

This following exert is from Paging Jim Shikenjanski, which is by far the best Gopher blog on the web. It gives a pretty good idea of the state of Minnesota basketball right now:

And that brings me to our future. No one dared to suggest at the beginning of the season that this collection of players that finished 9-22 last year was NCAA material. But I'm a believer. So, let's think about what's to come in future years, when Tubby, Vince Taylor and Ron Jirsa deliver even slightly better talent to Williams Arena. Where Spencer Tollackson can't quite compete with the best in the country, someone like Ralph Sampson III might be able to. When we need that big shot from someone like Lawrence Westbrook, right now it's not there. Imagine what Tubby will do with a back court of Al Nolen, Devoe Joseph and Blake Hoffarber.

 

Consider that the Gophers are playing toe-to-toe with the best in the Big Ten right now, with minimal talent, and then close your eyes and imagine a day when The Barnyard will be cheering on one of the nation's best recruiting classes, because that's just around the corner.

 

Thursday night was a heart breaker, no doubt. But considering what Tubby has done with this group only lends itself to realistic dreams of a competitive 2008, and a perennial spot in The Dance in years to come.

 

This is just a part of his recap of last nights game, the whole thing is here and is a very good read.

Edited January 18, 2008 by Felix

[JuiceCruz16]

Exactly. They threw the ball away by themselves at least 3 or 4 times due to the press and the hilarity that was Eric Gordon last night. Man, he sucked.

We already have a top 25 recruiting class for next year (it's been ranked as high as 10th nationally), including some stud big men in Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson. Plus, the top recruit out of Canada in Devoe Joseph and other solid recruits (Paul Carter and Devron Bostick). All things considered, getting a recruiting class this good with a 9-22 record last year, I think the Big 10 has something to be worried about down the line. Minnesota talent isn't going to be heading over to Wisconsin or Iowa as easy as it did in the past. I can't imagine he'll have trouble recruiting in the future when this team is already on an upward swing, and is likely to be competing for the Big 10 title in a few years (not next year, the year after though).

This following exert is from Paging Jim Shikenjanski, which is by far the best Gopher blog on the web. It gives a pretty good idea of the state of Minnesota basketball right now:

This is just a part of his recap of last nights game, the whole thing is here and is a very good read.

I agree that recruiting will be better, but attracting elite guys to Minnesota will be a tough sell. Illinois had difficulties capitalizing on their great run the past few years. Tubby is a BIG TIME coach who will do well, but how well is yet to be seen. Sampson is a solid guy, but not a top notch guy. Can Tubby get Minny to the next level? It will be a tough sell, but I wouldn't put it past him. If he had gotten the Michigan job, I think it would be more of a slam dunk that big timers would follow, at Minnesota I'll have to wait and see.

 

Good luck to your Gophers the rest of the way though, they matchup well with the big 11 competition this year.

 

[greasywheels121]

I'm not trying to discount anything you guys did last night Felix. I kind of avoid posting much on here anymore, so you wouldn't have known this, but I was really afraid going into last night's game. Indiana's lost 7 of their last 10 in ther Barn, prior to last night. A lot of those were bad Minnesota teams being more talented Indiana teams. From my spectating from afar, this Minnesota team was going to be well coached, ready to play, and was going to have a better shot at hanging with IU than any of those previous teams that had won did.

 

Tubby's got Minnesota looking really solid, and if you guys made one less mistake here or there, you guys would have easily had the W last night. I'm glad that Tubby's in the Big Ten now, as it further legitamizes our conference that is always having down years. However, that could be a bad thing, because it's just going to make it that much harder to find success in the conference.

[Felix]

Indiana's lost 7 of their last 10 in ther Barn, prior to last night.

I think it was 8 of their last 10 (not like it matters)

 

But yeah, I know you weren't trying to discard what the Gophers did last night. I don't get many opportunities to talk Gopher basketball with other people in this thread though (too much Illini bashing and Kansas hyping), so I figured I'd drag it out as long as I could

Edited January 18, 2008 by Felix

[sircaffey]

We already have a top 25 recruiting class for next year (it's been ranked as high as 10th nationally), including some stud big men in Ralph Sampson III and Colton Iverson. Plus, the top recruit out of Canada in Devoe Joseph and other solid recruits (Paul Carter and Devron Bostick). All things considered, getting a recruiting class this good with a 9-22 record last year, I think the Big 10 has something to be worried about down the line. Minnesota talent isn't going to be heading over to Wisconsin or Iowa as easy as it did in the past. I can't imagine he'll have trouble recruiting in the future when this team is already on an upward swing, and is likely to be competing for the Big 10 title in a few years (not next year, the year after though).

 

Sampson is the best (Rivals-#74, ESPN-#133)

Joseph (Rivals-#82, ESPN-nost listed)

Iverson (Rivals-#136, ESPN-#137)

A couple other unranked guys.

 

Solid class indeed. Not a top 10 class, but definitely top 20. I'd say 3rd in the Big Ten behind Michigan State and Indiana because of Roe and Ebanks which says a lot about Tubby already. It's exactly the type of class I think Tubby needed. Not a lot of immediate impact talent in the class, but it's 5 organizational guys that will be there all 4 years. Definitely a very good start to building a solid program. Tubby's name is already strong enough to recruit nationally, and like you said, he should be able to scoop up talent around Minnesota with ease.

[Heads22]

I just want to say...thank you Iowa...for beating a top 10 team. It is going to be a long, ugly season, but Lickliter is getting the most out of these guys and they continue to get better, especially on the defensive side.

 

It was also nice getting Freeman back because it gives Iowa one other offensive weapon (Justin Johnson being the other).

 

 

Lick's good stuff.

 

This weekend's Big 12 slate:

 

 

Saturday, January 19

Oklahoma State at Iowa State (ESPN Plus) 12:30 p.m.

Texas A&M at Kansas State (ESPN) 3:00 p.m.

Texas Tech at Oklahoma (ESPN Plus) 3:00 p.m.

Baylor at Nebraska (ESPN Plus) 5:00 p.m.

Colorado at Texas (ESPN Plus) 7:00 p.m.

Kansas at Missouri (ESPNU) 7:00 p.m.

 

Going down the slate, I'm going to be kind of disappointed if ISU can't beat an Okie State team that looks like crap so far. aTm at KSU should be interesting to watch. The Tech loss for aTm not withstanding, it should give us a better bearing on KSU. Tech at Oklahoma will also give us a better read on Oklahoma. I fully expect Baylor to win in Lincoln. Colorado will get utterly destroyed, and I expect a hot start out of Mizzou before succumbing to the greatest player of our generation, Darnell Jackson.

 

Here's me ranking the Big 12 at the moment:

 

1. Kansas

2. Texas A&M

3. Texas

4. Baylor

5. Kansas State

6. Missouri ?

7. Oklahoma ?

8. Iowa State ?

9. Texas Tech ?

10. Oklahoma State ?

11. Nebraska

12. Colorado

 

After the top 5, I have no guesses. Kansas is Kansas. I gave aTm the second spot due to Texas' more recent slipups. Baylor looks decentish right now. KSU may or may not show up on any given night. Missouri just lost to ISU, making it harder to put them any higher, Oklahoma just got beat down by KU and had a weak noncon slate, ISU started ungodly slow, but is playing better as of late, and almost beat Baylor, Tech just beat aTm, but they've also proved they can really suck a lot. Oklahoma State isn't good. Nebraska doesn't look so hot playing Division 1 teams, while Colorado gets the #12 spot for the rest of the season.

 

Am I overrating ISU at #8 right now? After 5, the conference is EXTREMELY muddled until I got to 11 and 12, and even then, you could make arguments for a team like OSU at 11.

 

[Palehosefan]

Don't know what to expect from TTU now. Big men are finally developing and playing very well now in Cook and Rizvic, and took it to A&M's hellacious frontcourt. John Roberson is one of the better freshmen point guards in the nation. Voskuil is one of the best 3 point shooters in the nation, but has trouble getting his own shot off. Zeno has his head up his butt some games and others decides to be a leader, same with Charlie Burgess.

 

Tech has beaten top 20 teams like Gonzaga, and A&M, and played Butler very well. Then has gotten blown out at Okl State, lost to Centenary and Sam Houston State.

 

Normally Knight's teams get better as the season wears on and the players learn the system, so I don't really know what to expect in conference.

 

Tech should beat OU at OU now that OU is without Blake Griffen for a month. The only unwinnable game I see on the schedule is at KU, and Tech normally plays KU well, but it's just not going to happen this year. I could see anywhere from 7-9 to 10-6.

 

After Kansas, A&M, and Texas I think it's just a huge mess.

[whitesoxfan101]

Minnesota is definitely on the rise, which is good for the league IMO. Problem is, "The Barn" is the toughest place to play in the Big 10 outside of the two assembly halls when Minnesota is good.

[Soxbadger]

I think that the Kohl Center may have something to say about hardest arenas to play in the Big 10.

 

Under Bo Ryan, I believe only 1 team in the Big 10 has even won there (Illinois) and they only have done it 2 times.

 

Whatever the reasons, Ryan has amassed a 101-6 record at the Kohl Center, which opened Jan. 17, 1998. That is the second best home record over that time nationwide, behind by just fractions of a percentage Southern Illinois at 84-5.

 

6 losses:

 

1 Marqutte

1 North Dakota State

2 Illinois

 

Im trying to think of the other 2, I think 1 is to Wake Forest in the Big 10/Acc.

 

http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.d.../801150512/1148

 

 

[Palehosefan]

Seems like Paul Hewitt might be starting to crumble at GT.

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-bl...s_arent_fi.html

[Rex Hudler]

All I can say about last night's game is WHEW! 26 turnovers on the road and still a win. Nice

 

 

I knew this would be a tough game for the very reasons greasy already mentioned. IU never plays well @ Minny. IU was terrible last night offensively and have been going down this path recently. They are dribbling too much and there is too much one-on-one play. Big Ten defenses will play them hard and there will be games where the officiating allows a lot of contact, but you have to take care of the ball better than that.

 

This is one of those games you feel lucky as hell to get out of there with a win, go back home and regroup. Hopefully, the next three games will allow them to get focused back on ball security and more teamwork on offense. It wouldn't hurt to turn it up a notch on defense either.

Edited January 19, 2008 by Rex Hudler

[whitesoxfan99]

Big 10 refs are so freaking terrible at their jobs. First 25 minutes they let both teams play. Now they just decided to call everything both ways. Ridiculous.

[Jimbo's Drinker]

Big 10 refs are so freaking terrible at their jobs. First 25 minutes they let both teams play. Now they just decided to call everything both ways. Ridiculous.

 

 

blame the refs, thats grand.

 

I can't tell who is worse Frazier or McCamey sp????. They both are horrid.

[whitesoxfan99]

blame the refs, thats grand.

 

I can't tell who is worse Frazier or McCamey sp????. They both are horrid.

 

Where did I blame anyone for anything? Big 10 refs suck. That is fact.

[Jimbo's Drinker]

Where did I blame anyone for anything? Big 10 refs suck. That is fact.

 

 

Who are the refs today??? Just wondering?

[Rex Hudler]

Big 10 refs are so freaking terrible at their jobs. First 25 minutes they let both teams play. Now they just decided to call everything both ways. Ridiculous.

 

Illinois must be playing

[Jimbo's Drinker]

Illinois must be playing

 

 

You know the secret union of refs have it against Illinois, and only Illinois.