# December College Hoops Discussion: B1G/ACC and SEC/Big 12 Challenges, rivalry games...finals....



## Gronehestu (Oct 9, 2013)

These are some of the upcoming matchups. In fact, these are the games that will be played just in the next _week_. Damn, things are going to get goooooood

Syracuse @ Michigan, Dec 2
Pitt @ Indiana, Dec 2
NC State @ Purdue, Dec 2
Illinois @ Miami, Dec 2
Ohio St @ Louisville, Dec 2
...........................................

UTEP @ Colorado St, Dec 3
Villanova @ La Salle, Dec 3
Michigan St @ Notre Dame, Dec 3
Iowa @ North Carolina, Dec 3
Virginia @ Maryland, Dec 3
Duke @ Wisconsin, Dec 3
Wichita St @ Utah, Dec 3
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TCU @ Ole Miss, Dec 4
Green Bay @ Georgia St, Dec 4
Arkansas @ Iowa St, Dec 4
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Wyoming @ SMU, Dec 5
Texas @ Kentucky, Dec 5
Florida @ Kansas, Dec 5
..............................................

Northwestern @ Butler, Dec 6
Wisconsin @ Marquette, Dec 6
St Joe's @ Villanova, Dec 6
Virginia @ VCU, Dec 6
Gonzaga @ Arizona, Dec 6
Boise St @ Saint Mary's, Dec 6
..............................................

Creighton @ Nebraska, Dec 7
San Diego St @ Washington, Dec 7


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## kansasalumn (Jun 9, 2002)

Of thr big boy games i excited to see dukewisc texkent and floridaku ones


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## Gronehestu (Oct 9, 2013)

Well, we just got humbled. I'm pretty sure that's the best I've ever seen a team play against Wisconsin, ever. And also hmm, Sam Dekker only shot it 3 or 4 times. It's incredible how consistently he vanishes in big games. 

I'm going to go forget about this game. It's not that we played poorly, it's that we had it circled on the calendar all offseason and yet the team that brought it hardest in this game is the team that's already established. This was a chance for us to really stamp our names on the landscape, and we flopped. Shit. Duke is pretty amazing


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

That was a really well played game by both teams, but Duke obviously executed extremely well. Don't remember the last time Duke had all the vital ingredients like this team seems to have. They're very strong at the point, very good defensively and they have a lot of scorers.

Pretty damned happy as a Duke fan, but I probably should enjoy these guys while I can. No way Okafor stays another year. Winslow looks like a top ten pick just based on his tools and Jones could go to the NBA next year too. Not sure where he'd get drafted, but he might be a first round pick. I haven't thought about it much.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

Texas/Kentucky is a tight contest, but it's been a hard game to watch. I hate college refs.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

Michigan lost at home to NJIT (New Jersey Institute of Technology).


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

Damn I saw that game on TV and never even considered turning to it. You lose a lot of games when the other guy shoots almost 59% from the field and 65% on treys though.

I looked it up and NJIT came into that game shooting 41.5% from the field and they are 3-5 now. College basketball can be awesomely random.


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## 29380 (Feb 23, 2009)

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/541307140963831808


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## 29380 (Feb 23, 2009)

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/541365603336867841


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## EpicFailGuy (Mar 5, 2010)

@Gronehestu

You seem to know some SLU basketball. Is there any hope for Jim Crews? He just got waxed by 30 at a Valley school, and it seems like the freshmen are the only ones who can play. He's already taken 2 25+ point beatings 8 games into the season, and the 3rd loss this year is on December 6 after it took almost till the end of February last year.


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## Gronehestu (Oct 9, 2013)

Coach Fish said:


> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/541365603336867841


I just...just...sigh

I suppose it's a good thing that Jim Delaney is so relentlessly ambitious, right, because the major-conference arms race is a game played with no rules. 

But that doesn't make any of the shit he does right. Some of it is, but I hate how tradition means nothing when analysed against money/expansion. Among many other things. 

I am ****ing wrecked right now, and I hurt inside, because Ohio St ran train on us. I could have accepted losing; they were the better team coming in, and we'd kept the Axe. I thought we had a chance. Instead a crime was committed upon us and blah

So, so glad Bucky managed that ugly win at Marquette today. If we'd have lost to Marquette and followed it with that B1G game, I just don't even...

I was less than impressed with us, though. We sliced and diced a vastly superior Baylor zone a few months ago, but were shitty today against a team with no size. I chalk it up to a Duke hangover. Hopefully that's all. There is no reason this team can't get back to being dominant. We just need to pass this first psych exam. 

NJIT lol...I took so much shit for underrating Michigan this preseason in my previews so that definitely made me chuckle. As a B1G fan though...wat

Virginia WOW. The Hoos are a great team, but not a team that is often going to put up 74 in a hostile road game against a good team. Dayum. Tony Bennett is ****ing awesome 

GREEN BAY! LOL they get somebody every friggin year! That's a massive road win against a Miami team that has a chance to be really outstanding. Green Bay and Keifer Sykes are no joke, they're going to do something in March

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EpicFailGuy said:


> @Gronehestu
> 
> You seem to know some SLU basketball. Is there any hope for Jim Crews? He just got waxed by 30 at a Valley school, and it seems like the freshmen are the only ones who can play. He's already taken 2 25+ point beatings 8 games into the season, and the 3rd loss this year is on December 6 after it took almost till the end of February last year.


I'm sure you know more than me bud, I honestly have only seen parts of 3 games this year for the Bills. Haven't found many good feeds to stream, and I wish I'd seen more. It is definitely a serious concern that the vets haven't been more reliable so far. You had to be expecting Yacoubu and McBroom to be a reliable scoring duo, and they've been all over the map and not efficient. I don't know how McBroom has stagnated after such a promising start at Central Michigan. What are you seeing as their main deficiencies? 

Reynolds and Roby are doing some nice things, but they're really struggling to score and that makes it really too bad that Yacoubu hasn't stepped up especially, because this was always going to be a year when the freshmen would go through some growing pains. It's such a young team. That was why Manning, Yacoubu and McBroom had to be reliable. How long is Glaze going to be out? Missing him is really not helping things, because he could have been a much-improved guy.

With regard to Crews, is he instantly in danger of being fired? I don't hear a ton about the inner workings at Saint Louis here, so I honestly don't know. I kinda can't imagine he'll be fired before the season ends, at the least. Sure, they were Rick's recruits but he did do a lot of good with them the last couple years. Surely that's bought him at least a year or two to try and win with his guys? 

I can absolutely understand that you're pissed with the team's performance, though. Those losses are not good, and there's no way to spin it otherwise. But it's still a young team that may not yet have meshed, it's not like your season is completely over. The defense is far from what it's been, but they'll keep playing defense and they're going to have a chance in A-10 play at home. I still can see the team finighing above .500, but they need to get things corrected before league play begins. With those young guards and Agbeko, they have untapped ability. A few more shots start falling and things could get better. It's not like the offense could get a great deal worse right?

Here's hoping they get some stuff figured out. And that Wisconsin salvages some semblance of our pride in whichever Pork O'Malley's Extra BIG ASS FRY Wal-Mart/Comcast ® Bowl game we get invited to. The inebriants aren't doing enough to salve this wound


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## EpicFailGuy (Mar 5, 2010)

Always a good read, @Gronehestu.

SLU is 5-3, with a loss to a Missouri Valley school (by nearly 30 points) which should count for 10 losses. I have been skeptical of him since the Oregon loss in the tournament 2 years ago, and he's certainly not doing much to prove the skeptics wrong. Personally, I want Crews fired at the end of the year UNLESS he makes the Tournament, but there's little to no chance of that happening. 

Looks like a bad week for Bucky too. So we're in similar boats in that regard.


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## 29380 (Feb 23, 2009)

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/543277159201406976


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

EpicFailGuy said:


> Always a good read, @Gronehestu.
> 
> SLU is 5-3, with a loss to a Missouri Valley school (by nearly 30 points) which should count for 10 losses. I have been skeptical of him since the Oregon loss in the tournament 2 years ago, and he's certainly not doing much to prove the skeptics wrong. Personally, I want Crews fired at the end of the year UNLESS he makes the Tournament, but there's little to no chance of that happening.
> 
> Looks like a bad week for Bucky too. So we're in similar boats in that regard.


How's McBroom been doing this year? You can put any inconsistent play on his time here at Central playing for an absolute terrible staff from 2010-2012.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

Coach Fish said:


> __ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/543277159201406976


Terrible News. He's supposedly a really good dude. Hope he recovers quickly.


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## EpicFailGuy (Mar 5, 2010)

bball2223 said:


> How's McBroom been doing this year? You can put any inconsistent play on his time here at Central playing for an absolute terrible staff from 2010-2012.


Austin had a couple monster games early, but has struggled (like everyone else) of late. When he's on, he can carry the offense. He's a 5'9 SG though, and that's a tough road to navigate.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

Kentucky up by 9 late in the first half. It feels like UNC is struggling to hold on, and UK is a quick 5-6 point run away from blowing this one wide open. Paige hasn't hit a field goal yet.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

UNC was just totally overrated this year. They don't have anything beyond hoping that Paige is awesome. ****ing need to suck less before they have to fire Roy and find someone who could coach his way out of a wet paper bag


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

Yeah I never bought in to the hype surrounding us. Too green and were pretty inconsistent outside of Paige.

The thing that kills us is lack of scoring from the wings. Big guys also underwhelm at times.


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## 29380 (Feb 23, 2009)

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/544718068195131392


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

DUke has looked like a young team tonight.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

UNC is playing well so far today, surprising. The floor on the United Center looks ludicrous with the huge logos in every corner. It's about the dumbest thing I've ever seen on a basketball court.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

OSU's bigs are not good and that zone they played in the first half was suspect to say the least. We're playing good but I think it shows that OSU is a bit overrated as well.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

Also agree about the logos.


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## 29380 (Feb 23, 2009)

Giant logos > Ads


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

Villanova/Syracuse going to overtime. Boeheim is definitely going to scrap any future non-conference games away from the Carrier Dome after this.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

Villanova wins, I'm pretty sure their first lead of the game was in OT.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

Also Kentucky is wiping the floor with UCLA right now. Superior talent and coaching means this is going to get extra ugly.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

41-7 at the half. I'm not a UCLA fan, but they deserved much better than Alford.


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## Gronehestu (Oct 9, 2013)

Virginia damn near pulled a Kentucky today

You just cannot score against any team coached by a Bennett.


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## EpicFailGuy (Mar 5, 2010)

Gronehestu said:


> Virginia damn near pulled a Kentucky today
> 
> You just cannot score against any team coached by a Bennett.


Fearless, certain to go wrong prediction: 

Virginia goes undefeated in the ACC...they're that good. I originally thought Harvard was just grossly overrated. But yeah, the Cavaliers are that good. I do not see a team in the ACC beating them home or road.


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## Diable (Apr 26, 2005)

ACC should be a bit of a bloodbath, at least the top of the league is really going to be good. UVa gets Duke at home only, but they'd have to beat Louisville twice. It'd be a good trick to win those three games, but Virginia is really good from what I've seen. They haven't played except VCU to this point though.


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## Gronehestu (Oct 9, 2013)

EpicFailGuy said:


> Fearless, certain to go wrong prediction:
> 
> Virginia goes undefeated in the ACC...they're that good. I originally thought Harvard was just grossly overrated. But yeah, the Cavaliers are that good. I do not see a team in the ACC beating them home or road.


That's definitely bold, sir. I'm not ready to say that. If Dook goes all 65% on em...who am I kidding the day a team shoots 65% on a Bennett defense I'll wear a Minnesota jersey. But I like that somebody said it, regardless

With the quality at the top of the ACC, though, it's going to be _so_ hard to do. And the Cavs have been susceptible in recent years to prolonged offensive droughts. That's the awesome thing about this year's team though - they are a dangerous offensive team, in so many ways. If this kind of production from Tobey continues, holy shit they're going to be great. But I've already said that a dozen times in Tobey's 2+ years, so we'll see. 

Brogdon is just as good as it gets. I saw a lot of people laughing off mentions of him being a darkhorse All-American candidate during the preseason. He's absolutely living up to the most sanguine of projections. 

If you like college basketball, you must love Virginia for the way they play this game. Period.


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## EpicFailGuy (Mar 5, 2010)

As fans of two schools who play pretty good defense (Wisconsin and Saint Louis before this year), we can certainly appreciate good defense.


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## Gronehestu (Oct 9, 2013)

lol this season is kinda wild with major upsets and/or ridiculous margins in some games

At least if Bucky goes down at Cal, we won't have the worst loss of the night - Kansas has that, in bold neon lights

I wonder what it means for Temple. Dunphy can coach, and Will Cummings & Quentin DeCosy are legit star players. There's potential for them, now that they've got this win in their back pocket. 

Bucky looked great finishing that first half on a 15-2 run, though, and Hayes is the Chocolate Tornado tonight. Also 4/4 from the stripe, hope that continues. We've got to finish this game and seal up an important true road win for March seeding, because Cal is a team that stands to make noise in a PAC 12 that is very open behind Zona and Washington. Tyrone Wallace is impressive though - I knew he'd put up numbers on us, and he's putting up numbers on us. Cal is a solid team. We have to come out in the 2nd half ready for them to make a serious run.

Finish strong, Bucky.

edit: lol damn Bill Walton is blazed as a mother****er and it's awesome


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## stl775 (Oct 17, 2008)

Can't wait for tommorow (today now) I am going to try to watch 4 B10 games, been waiting two months for conference play to start. I watch Michigan alot kinda root for them going through their schdule I think they need to start 4-0 to have a chance to get at large for trny. Possible if they win today. 
ILLINOIS Toss up 50/50 game can't lose it at home. 
Purdue Going to get killed inside, but should be able to sneak a win. Purdue probley worst team in Big 10. 
Penn. St. Don't know much about them should beat them right?
Minnesota Hardest game outta of the first four, but at home.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

Michigan is going to have to win 11-13 games in conference to have a remote chance at the tournament. 18-19 wins with losses to NJIT and EMU at home isn't going to get the job done, especially when the B1G is not as good as it has been the previous 2-3 seasons. Their non-conference faceplant put them in a pretty compromising position.


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## stl775 (Oct 17, 2008)

^ agree have to get at least 11 wins more unless a win against Wisconsin happends. Currently down 8 horrible end to first half, nothing outside of Lavert (#23). Nothing inside at all.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

Their bigs are young, and green. Beilein needs to start Doyle, and find ways to fit in the other two as reserves. Ideally he will recruit over both Beidtfeld/Donnal.


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## bball2223 (Jul 21, 2006)

MSU and OSU both lose B1G openers at home.


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