NCAA College Basketball Talk

[Just Sayin]

New AP Rankings out and there are two very interesting things to notice in these rankings. -Baylor is Number 1. -Three of the top seven teams are from outside the Power 6 conferences.

I mean Baylor being #1 is great and all and congratulations to Scott on the achievement. I watched their win over Oklahoma and they're very good and  have some seriously talented athletes that can jump out of the gym but...


How on EARTH did they earn the right to leapfrog Gonzaga for the #1 ranking. They beat Oklahoma State (NET 78) by 7 on the road and they beat Iowa State (NET 82) by 13 at home... Meanwhile, Gonzaga plays two home games and DRILLS Santa Clara (NET 86) by 50 and BYU (NET 37) by 23. I know the metric stops counting at 10 points but I mean come on... Gonzaga played better teams on balance and won by more points than Baylor and gets punished for playing both games at home? Is a 7 point victory over a team 8 spots higher really more impressive than a double digit victory at home? Just more rinse and repeat business as usual from the football conferences where a deserving team gets screwed over by conference affiliation...

I doubt that they check NET before voting.

[VUGrad1314]

Yeah, same reason UNI, and indeed all mid majors, are on such a tightrope. Losses are inordinately punished wins are seldom rewarded properly. It's why it takes teams from conferences like ours forever to get ranked and we often only get one shot at it. It's sad and grossly unfair.

[usc4valpo]

I think if UNI keeps playing the wat they are, they would get an at large bid. Well coached team with decent players. However, it is fair to say that no other Valley team is worthy of an at large bid.

[bbtds]

I think if UNI keeps playing the wat they are, they would get an at large bid. Well coached team with decent players. However, it is fair to say that no other Valley team is worthy of an at large bid.

I know it's not predictable but Loyola, based on their Final Four appearance 2 years ago and to some degree Sister Jean's sainted reputation Loyola has a slight chance because the committee wouldn't take as much grief from the mid-major pundits who are given a few crumbs at times to appease them if the Ramblers were put in a play-in game.

[VUGrad1314]

I would be all for it but where are the resume boosting wins? They lost to Davidson and Colorado State and worst of all Coppin State got drubbed by Furman beat Vanderbilt but aside from that where's the beef? And yet their resume is probably the best one outside of UNI except for maybe Bradley.

[Just Sayin]

I would be all for it but where are the resume boosting wins? They lost to Davidson and Colorado State and worst of all Coppin State got drubbed by Furman beat Vanderbilt but aside from that where's the beef? And yet their resume is probably the best one outside of UNI except for maybe Bradley.

They could have beaten Kentucky if they had played them.

[vu84v2]

I think if UNI keeps playing the wat they are, they would get an at large bid. Well coached team with decent players. However, it is fair to say that no other Valley team is worthy of an at large bid.

I know it's not predictable but Loyola, based on their Final Four appearance 2 years ago and to some degree Sister Jean's sainted reputation Loyola has a slight chance because the committee wouldn't take as much grief from the mid-major pundits who are given a few crumbs at times to appease them if the Ramblers were put in a play-in game.

I really hope (and generally believe) that the selection committee is not selecting teams based on sentimentality and past performance.

As far as Baylor goes, the point about them leapfrogging Gonzaga despite Gonzaga having two very strong wins is reasonable. My guess is that the full effect of Baylor crushing Kansas on the road was somewhat delayed (one week..are they really that good? next week..wow, I guess that they are!) However, my guess is that Baylor cannot run the gauntlet of the Big 12 undefeated and Gonzaga is far less likely to lose any conference games. Thus, Gonzaga will be number one again.

[VUGrad1314]

That's a fair point and I totally agree. I mean this was I believe Baylor's first six game winning streak in conference (or first 6-0 start I can't remember which one they said on the broadcast) as a member of the Big XII. They probably won't make it through unscathed especially knowing they have to play Kansas again and West Virginia at least once (can't remember if they've already played or not).

[vok22]

Baylor didn't REALLY leapfrog Gonzaga. Baylor had more first place votes than Gonzaga last week, but were still ranked number 2 because those who didn't have Baylor at 1 had Baylor at 3 behind Duke. Because Duke lost this week, that forced all those voters that had Baylor at three to put Baylor at 2, causing them to get more votes and therefore get more votes than Gonzaga so now they are number one. In reality, this is most likely what the rankings SHOULD have been last week. I would argue that Baylor passing Gonzaga was inevitable as long as Baylor won out last week.

[wh]

Serious Kansas/K State player brawl a few minutes ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDCys1Zy1dU

[JD24]

That's a fair point and I totally agree. I mean this was I believe Baylor's first six game winning streak in conference (or first 6-0 start I can't remember which one they said on the broadcast) as a member of the Big XII. They probably won't make it through unscathed especially knowing they have to play Kansas again and West Virginia at least once (can't remember if they've already played or not).

Baylor could have a tough time....and I mean tough time as in lose....at the O'Connell Center vs Florida on Saturday.

[JD24]

Serious Kansas/K State player brawl a few minutes ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDCys1Zy1dU

Going into the stands, coming off the bench are just a few serious issues aside from the punches thrown and DeSousa probably has played his last game this season.

[VUGrad1314]

Stay classy Kansas! I hope some mid major (preferably a Valley team) whips their behinds in the tournament (again). That is, if they don't get a postseason ban from all the crap they've been involved in recently (which they should but they won't).

[VUGrad1314]

Scott Drew was on Sportscenter after the victory over Oklahoma in case you missed it (or care to see the interview)

https://twitter.com/BaylorMBB/status/1219479398056955905

[VUGrad1314]

Vote for Broekhoff and Peters! You can also write in for any players you think are deserving (Vashil comes to mind as one who was left off the list but who deserves recognition) if you so choose but you can only pick 10. Lots of deserving players on this list!

https://twitter.com/HorizonLeague/status/1219681061082238976

[valpo84]

My ballot:
Hayward
Howard (interesting Mack is not on their list, couldn't write in because already painful enough to have to Butler players on my list)
Norris Cole
Sykes
Benzinger
Peters
Broekhoff
Kendrick Perry (what he did at YSU without any supporting cast is all-conf decade)
Brandon Wood (he was a big time scorer at the beginning of the decade, who deserves more recognition for his 2 VU years, his performance against UNC at UNC is one of the greatest Valpo player performances)
Kevin Van Wijk (Big guys need some love on that list)

[VUGrad1314]

This is bold... And perhaps reckless... This could lead to serious reform of the tournament, of conference continuity rules and practices, and even a potential D1 split...

https://asunsports.org/general/2019-20/releases/20200122lh6utq

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jYT5JEfWpdUXuj3W5MTePtu6Ugoh4zySRObxfPH7hvQ/edit

[VUGrad1314]

So Skara and Adekoya get nine games for an academic infraction (Adekoya I think ended up sitting out way more because the NCAA sucks)

Yet a Kansas player goes INTO THE CROWD WITH A CHAIR and gets 12 games...

The NCAA sucks...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1220127900466401280

[VUBBFan]

So Skara and Adekoya get nine games for an academic infraction (Adekoya I think ended up sitting out way more because the NCAA sucks) Yet a Kansas player goes INTO THE CROWD WITH A CHAIR and gets 12 games... The NCAA sucks... https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1220127900466401280

If only it were 9 games. Adekoya was out for 22 regular season games, not counting post season. As everyone knows; Mid Major infractions are way more serious and need to be punished harsher than the exemplary, respectable and innocent Power Conference teams. Hence Skara only missed 9 games for the same offense because he was on a Power Conference team when he had to serve his suspension.   

[VUGrad1314]

"I tell you the NCAA is so mad at Kentucky right now that they're going to have to give Cleveland State another year of probation."--Jerry Tarkanian way back almost 30 years ago. Truer words were never spoken and nothing has changed in all this time. If anything, it's gotten worse.

[VUGrad1314]

Things are getting really testy between Boise St and the MWC. This could be worth watching.

https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/College-Football.pdf

[IrishDawg]

So Skara and Adekoya get nine games for an academic infraction (Adekoya I think ended up sitting out way more because the NCAA sucks)

Yet a Kansas player goes INTO THE CROWD WITH A CHAIR and gets 12 games...

The NCAA sucks...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1220127900466401280

Feel free to complain about academic infraction penalties, but the NCAA doesn't have jurisdiction in this matter.

[vu84v2]

As a an alum and strong supporter of Kansas (and Valpo), i believe that De Sousa should not be allowed to play for at least the rest of the season. In fact, my guess is that De Sousa will never play another game for Kansas.

I have been to Allen Fieldhouse many times, so let me clarify the part of the stadium where the brawl extended. It did not go into the regular crowd per se. Instead, it extended into the section setup for handicapped people attending the game. Fortunately, it looked like most people in that section had already left the game.

Friends of mine who were at the game didn't condone anything that DeSousa did, but also stated that there were events prior to the last play that fueled the melee. The player who stole the ball from DeSousa and then had his shot blocked by DeSousa had also committed a very hard foul on one Kansas walk-on and had slapped another Kansas walk-on.

[VUBBFan]

So Skara and Adekoya get nine games for an academic infraction (Adekoya I think ended up sitting out way more because the NCAA sucks) Yet a Kansas player goes INTO THE CROWD WITH A CHAIR and gets 12 games... The NCAA sucks... https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1220127900466401280

Feel free to complain about academic infraction penalties, but the NCAA doesn't have jurisdiction in this matter.

If they don't have jurisdiction in the matter, how is it that they handed down the suspensions for the infractions? Sounds like to me they have some say in the matter.

[IrishDawg]

So Skara and Adekoya get nine games for an academic infraction (Adekoya I think ended up sitting out way more because the NCAA sucks) Yet a Kansas player goes INTO THE CROWD WITH A CHAIR and gets 12 games... The NCAA sucks... https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1220127900466401280

Feel free to complain about academic infraction penalties, but the NCAA doesn't have jurisdiction in this matter.

If they don't have jurisdiction in the matter, how is it that they handed down the suspensions for the infractions? Sounds like to me they have some say in the matter.

Because the NCAA doesn't get involved in in-game issues unless the schools and/or leagues don't adhere to the NCAA's "one game suspension rule" for a player's first fight of the season. Schools and conferences are specifically listed as the assigning authority when it comes to dealing out more severe punishments beyond that.