Big East fans should be in for a great year- can't wait!! Go Huskies! Kemba Walker, a freshman, should make them much better- even without him they'd be very tough.

I imagine the rest of the country will be up in arms when the BE gets 9 teams into the tourney, many of them with 5 or more conference losses. But that's the way it's going to be this year, and I too can't wait.

LET'S GO PITT!

sac state hornets
continue rebuild with a new coach and jr college players

the womens team continue to play close games with no victories at home
may this will all change this weekend. if want to check them
out go to www.hornetsports.com

The Big East starts out as tough as advertised. Very few easy games, as evidenced by ND going down at St. John's today, Syracuse in a dogfight at USF, and Pitt struggling at Rutgers....although the Panthers redeemed themselves by roughing up the Hoyas today. Dejaun Blair was a monster....20 points, 17 rebs. and the supporting cast played excellently.

Dare I say this is the year Pitt finally gets past the Sweet 16?

Let's Go PITT!

The college basketball forum has been disappointing so far this year - hardly anyone has much to say! I have to admit I've only marginally followed what the various men's teams have been doing this season, but I thought there would have been more activity here so far! Conference season is just around the corner - let's see if we can pick up the activity a bit!

Some regional things (from my perspective) of interest to point out:

Illinois State of the MVC is one of only five undefeated teams left (yes, I know I just jinxed them). Drake has a shot at making back-to-back post-season appearances for the first time in decades.

Oklahoma and A&M look real good in the Big 12 this year. Most of the teams are off to a decent start - even my Cyclones have 10 wins already. Plus Kansas just knocked off Tennessee yesterday.

Indiana and Northwestern seem like they're the only truly bad teams in the Big 10. Even Iowa is playing much better this season than last thanks to some really good freshmen.

I haven't gone to see the Iowa State men play yet this year, but am planning on hitting at least a couple of conference games.

[quote name='CycloneMatt' date='Jan 4 2009, 08:28 PM' post='373264']
The college basketball forum has been disappointing so far this year - hardly anyone has much to say! I have to admit I've only marginally followed what the various men's teams have been doing this season, but I thought there would have been more activity here so far! Conference season is just around the corner - let's see if we can pick up the activity a bit!

I agree. I have been as guilty as anyone, since the College BBall thread is usually the only place I post. I love the college game.

I wonder if folks have been posting less than usual because of the dominance of UNC as the number one team. Well, BC should have awakened everyone after last night. The games are as unpredictable as ever, which makes for exciting match-ups just about every day. I have been impressed so far with the Big Ten in general...they seem a notch or two better than last year.

Personally, I CAN'T WAIT to be among the 12,508 at the Pete this Sunday when the soon to be NUMBER 1 PITT PANTHERS host St. John's. It will be the first time in the program's history that we have been #1. Course, it's scary because we have not played well against the Johnnies at all in recent years, and they have beaten us at home. And they are coming off a big upset of the Irish.

That said, I will enjoy at least this week with my Panthers as #1!!!!

Go Big East!

Look at it this way - maybe St. John's got their big upset out of the way and Pittsburgh will be able to make short work out of 'em.

Got to watch the UNC/BC game last night and was fully expecting BC to implode in the second half, but to their credit, they played like THEY were the top team instead. Saw a stat that said the last time BC played Carolina when they were ranked #1, the Eagles beat them then also.

Also caught most of the Cal/Arizona State game from Berkeley last night as well. Cal knocked off the Sun Devils by 10 (I think), which made me quite happy. When I lived out there, Cal was my adopted "home" team and I still follow them as much as I can, going to football and basketball games when they are playing at home on my west coast visits. Would love to see the Bears do something after being so stagnant for so long. Coach Montgomery seems to have things moving in the right direction in his first year there and the conference season is off to a good start (sweeping the Arizona schools at home in the first homestand of the Pac 10 season).

Georgetown / Notre Dame should be an interesting game tonight.

Only got to catch the very end of it - but got to see Kyle McAlarney. <sigh> ND won.

Good god, the Big East is brutal this year! They were showing all the Big East Big Monday match-ups they'll be featuring on ESPN through the rest of the year (I think) and EVERY team was ranked. Yikes!

He is indeed very cute The game wasn't as good as I'd hoped. The Georgetown center- I'm blanking on his name- is one of the best freshmen I've ever seen.

Greg Monroe. He is more versatile than recent GU big men and very fun to watch. He is a freshman, though, as evidenced by his great play one game (against UConn), poor play the next (against Pitt) and average play the next (against ND). I think he will only get better as the season progresses...the problem GU will have is that they seem to depend on him and Summers for all their points.

You are right, Matt, the Big East is downright scary when you consider all the games between league teams that are also games between Top 25 teams. As a Pitt fan, my biggest concern is Syracuse. They seem to be playing most consistently so far, and they have balanced scoring.

Bottom line is the next three months will be GREAT FUN for those of us who LOVE college basketball!

What??? The words "Penn State Men's Basketball" and "bad" aren't in the same sentence? I will remain cautiously optimistic this year, but I've seen us crash and burn mid-way through the conference schedule way too many times to get excited. Hell, sometimes we don't even wait until mid-way through the conference schedule.

That said... I think the Big 10 overall seems improved this year. Pre-season people were saying it was going to be a down year for the conference, and while they may not have an upper echelon team emerge, I think overall the teams have done much better than most people expected. So far.

I agree that you should be cautiously optimistic about the Nittany Lions. However, I have to ask about the Purdue game. I watched it on the Big Ten Network and was astonished by the number of empty seats. I know the students probably are not back yet, but was there bad weather or something? Honestly, there could not have been more than 1,000 people there....to see a pretty good home team play a RANKED team?

Reminded me of our Pitt football games at Heinz Field! But what gives?

We were thinking the same thing when we caught a bit of that game on tv as well - that it must've been weather. There couldn't have been more than 1000 people there.

I do think Penn State will be much better this year, as will many of the Big 10 teams. The proof remains to be seen, but things definitely look better!

Last nights win against Tennessee, the Zags second against them should go a LONG ways towards helping to restore the teams confidence. I think Gonzaga is now one of only 3 who have won in their building. SWEET!

Thought it was interesting that Boston College knocks off UNC, but then immediately drops their next game to Harvard.

I haven't lived in State College in years, but I can tell you that the students weren't back from break yet, and there was a bad ice storm that day/night. If it was just snow, more people would have been there, but everyone was told to stay home due to ice on everything. The announced crowd was 4400, but I heard it was no more than half of that in reality. The ice storm kept all but the most hearty (or foolish) people home. I'm surprised the game wasn't cancelled or postponed, but I guess Purdue made it in before the storm, so they went ahead with it.

And yes, it would be much like Pitt football games at your Rent-a-Stadium. By the way, sounds like Shady is tired of playing in front of no one, and is bolting. Or maybe he's just embarrased after that display of an "offensive juggernaut" at the Sun Bowl. PornStache for Coach of the Year! LOL Sorry, I can't resist when it comes to sPitt.

PornStache, funny....I guess it coincides with what we've been calling Paterno for years, Banana-Nose

But onto topic, Penn State is having a much stronger year thusfar and with a few more solid showings, the fans will come back. I remember the Rec Center at Penn State being packed in the early 90s, even when there was a foot of snow and below zero temperatures.

It would be weird seeing Penn State, Pitt & WVU in the NCAA tournament together. Could create a good first/second round matchup if all the ducks lined up.

2 teams who fell flat on their face yesterday: Dayton losing at UMASS and Illinois State after going undefeated, lost their second in a row to a 3-12 Indiana State team. It's not easy being a good team from a non-major conference.

I'm kinda psyched that my Cal Bears are ranked for the first time in who knows how long this week. They're 15-2 after a great come from (way) behind game at Washington on Saturday. Maybe they'll start getting more people in Haas Pavillion now that they're doing well. Last year they didn't even sell out the place for Cal-Stanford, which I found amazing. Made me appreciate the atmosphere we have at Hilton for Iowa State much more after being out there for the Big Game.

Penn State showed its true colors at Minnesota, I am afraid. They may win some games at home, despite small crowds, but it will be tough for them on the road in the Big Ten. It's difficult to win on the road in any conference, period, but especially for teams that just aren't used to winning. And we all know that team ain't used to winning....

With all the hype of how good the Big East is this year with rankings and possible tournament berths, I think it's allowing some teams from other conferences to really develop good seasons and possibly be underrated because they're not ranked and receiving coverage & hype. These teams maybe haven't had the big win or have had a blemish or two, but otherwise generally seem to show some good potential. We may realize into conference play of how good (or not good) these teams are, but they could pull a surprise or two in March

SEC (Kentucky, South Carolina), Big 12 (Ok. St), Pac 10 (Washington, Cal)

Anybody else on this list?

Meeks (Kentucky) is currently putting up 50+ for Kentucky against Tennessee, how often does an NCAA player break 50? In straight man speak, he's getting laid tonight.

Was surprised to see Pitt fall apart at the end of their game yesterday. Guess there will be a new #1 in men's hoops!

Iowa State got crushed my Missouri in Columbia yesterday. Wasn't even close - 77-46. Back to the drawing board.

Not that I pull for one over the other, but I was happy to see that Northern Iowa beat Drake for the first time since Ben Jacobson has been coach there (three seasons). UNI is now tied for first place in the Missouri Valley after a rough non-conference slate. The flip side of that is the Valley isn't what it used to be...

The Panthers bounced back nicely last night, routing the 'Cuse in packed and raucous setting at the Pete. They seem to have learned a lot quickly from the 'collapse' against Louisville, most importantly that Dejaun Blair needs to be in the game!

I think Wake is a GREAT story, and I am rooting for them to unbeaten in the ACC!!

I don't think Wake going undefeated in the ACC will happen, but it'll be interesting to see how far they get and who they take down/takes them down along the way.

Iowa State gets to play Kansas here on Saturday for their next game. I hope they can figure a way to play better than they did at Mizzou. I'm not going to Lincoln for the women's game, so I'll be able to watch them on tv.

Got to watch Penn State take down Michigan pretty easily on the Big 10 Network tonight. The Lions just might get themselves into a post-season tournament yet (they're 15-5, 4-3). Makes me remember the days of sharp-shooter Joe Crispin. Damn, he was cute...

Cal managed to lose to Stanford by a point (I think) over the weekend, so they dropped out of the polls. But they're still playing well. Heard a rumor that Iowa State will be playing at Berkeley in next season's Big 12/Pac Ten Challenge. Might have to make a trip to Cali next season.

I think I jinxed Wake since they lost last night. Oops! Guess Duke moves to #1 next.

I was thinking I jinxed them too. Isn't it funny how VA Tech always can be counted upon for that one monster upset each season and then they sink into mediocrity for most of their schedule?

Enjoyed seeing Northwestern end the Spartans' home winning streak (I am still hurting from the spanking that MSU gave Pitt last March in Round 2). Mostly though, I like Carmody and his ability to get so much from some of the most non-athletic players I have ever seen.

UConn looked very good in the second half last night, but I was wondering where both teams' defenses disappeared to. Hard to believe they were both in the top 5 in team defense in the Big East before last night's game.

And a quick shout-out to Duquense University, the "other" team here in Pittsburgh that is finally making some waves in the A-10 and just might be headed to the post-season (NIT) for the first time in nearly two decades. A last-second OT loss to St. Joe's last night was heartbreaking, but it's nice to kids on the Bluff playing well. (For those that never even heard of Duquense, the Bluff is what folks here call their campus in uptown Pittsburgh.) Go Dukes!

Very nice win for UConn tonight at Notre Dame. Their defense was very good -ND was probably too hyped for the game- they missed some open shots and have hit for higher percentages under duress than they did tonight. I'm happy the off night free throw shooting didn't bite them. Their last two games have revived my hopes for the season after the Georgetown game and a number of mostly flat winning performances- they seem to be coming together more as a team.

Coleman of Houston is a jerk!

Scummy!

#1 Duke and #3 Pitt both went down tonight. Syracuse and Georgetown also lost. UNC barely escaped Tallahassee with a win.

Northern Iowa won its 9th consecutive game to go to 9-1 in the Valley with a two game lead on second place Bradley.

Iowa State lost at lowly Colorado Tuesday night. We suck. Wow.

Holy F-Balls!! Penn State won at Michigan State for the FIRST TIME EVER, 72-68! Maybe they are for real. If the Lions were worried they didn't have a signature victory, I think they just got it.

Iowa State gave Oklahoma all it could handle yesterday, but lost at home, 68-78. On the flip side, there was more offense that just Craig Brackins (who is going to be one of the few considered for Pre-season Big 12 Player of the Year next season). ISU was up 66-65 with five minutes to play. Had the refs troubled themselves to call Griffin for traveling more than twice (how does one have the ball, move from the paint to the three point line, NOT dribble, and NOT get called for a travel?), it might have been a different outcome. Neither here nor there now - I'm proud of the way our guys stayed with OU. Btw, Griffin's traveling aside, he's the real deal - the guy can fling the ball up and it just goes in.

UConn should be number 1 tomorrow- not likely to be a long stay, perhaps ending as early as tomorrow with what should be a very entertaining game against Louisville.

As a UConn fan, the game was very entertaining, but not what I expected it to be. The sluggishness and uncertainty that marked many earlier efforts appears to be behind them.

I think UConn may stay at #1 the longest, perhaps even until the last game of the year when they come to Pittsburgh. Pitt plays there first, on the 16th, and as much as I would love to say we can beat them in Hartford, I just don't know. The good news for the Panthers in that match-up is that DeJuan Blair always plays well against bigger guys (i.e., Thabeet) and our shooting guards are starting to put the ball down from the outside. Should be a great February in collebe b-ball!

For a homecourt, Hartford stinks, so you can be encouraged by the fact that most of their home losses occur there!

At the end of the Pitt game against Notre Dame last Saturday afternoon, our students in the Oakland Zoo started chanting "NIT!" "NIT!" After last night's loss against Cincy, I'd say that's where the Irish are headed. And I am shocked. Absolutely shocked.

Clemson was fun to watch last night. I love that Coach K called a timeout with 27 seconds left, down by nearly 30, just so his kids could hear the crowd roar.

Wish A&M could have pulled the upset...looks like the Sooners are tough to keep down for long.

On the women's side, congrats to Cyclone Matt for ISU's big win against the Aggie women....

Notre Dame is in free-fall right now. I can't figure out what the deal is there. Certainly no way to find your way to the Big Dance by playing the way they've been playing.

I see Northern Iowa now has a three game lead in the Valley. They could be the "Drake" of this year - coming out of nowhere to win the regular season.

Won't mention the Iowa State men (ugh) - but thanks for shout on the women's team hammering A&M last night, DnD! That was a great game to be at!

Iowa was able to hand Indiana it's first conference win last night. I think the Hoosiers were 0-9 and were on their longest losing streak in school history (correct me if I'm remembering that wrong). You gotta wonder if Todd Lickliter is thinking "I left Butler for THIS?" It's funny that when I see the Hawks play on tv, I don't recognize a single face on that team. I know they're young, but they're also completely unidentifiable, which is the first time I can ever remember thinking that in 25 years of on and off watching them play.

I didn't even know Lickliter was their coach until I saw part of one of their games, which shows how far Iowa has fallen off the college b-ball map in the east.

Indiana winning its first conference game has me a little worried about Pitt's trip to Depaul tomorrow. but not really. We ain't the Hawkeyes.

Gonzaga choked tonight vs Memphis!!!

Ahhhhhhhh... the slide to mediocrity has begun. The defense has looked good, but they've been throwing up bricks the last two games. When they shoot the ball relatively well, they are in the game, and can play with just about anyone in the conference. But when they don't... The real question is, is this a blip in the season, some midseason blues? Did they get overconfident with some of those wins? (I don't get that impression) Or is this the slide back into the bottom half of the conference? I believe we're tied for 4th in the conference (with Minnesota, of all people), but we just lost to two teams below us in the standings.

Iowa State FINALLY won a second Big 12 game after losing six in a row. We beat Colorado last night here in Ames, 70-42. Especially heartening after choking one away in Boulder a couple of weeks ago, losing by six. The game started 13-2, then grew to a 37-9 halftime lead. The student section cheered when CU hit their second free throw about ten minutes into the game. They cheered again when CU hit it's first shot of the second half, chanting "dou-ble di-gits" since the score was then 42-12 or something just as ridiculous. It was so nice to see the guys get a win for a change - doesn't matter if it was against the (for now) worst team in the league. It's been a tough conference season and not about to get much easier.

Huge blow to UConn in losing Jerome Dyson who's one of the best defenders in the country and a creative scorer. They have depth at the guard position and will still be very good, but they've lost alot- a great defender who helps to take other teams out of their game and someone who can ignite the offense.

Fallin'... Free Fallin'

We can't seem to buy a basket. The only way we go dancing is to go 5-1 the rest of the way, and make a run in the conference tourney.

Their overall record is ok, but I think you're right in that they will need to step it up big-time to make the field of 64. What the heck has happened to them? Is it just inconsistency?

Well, we don't have much depth, and our starters are getting tired from the rough conference play and having to play so many minutes. We really rely on 3 players for the bulk of our scoring. That's part of it. But the real problem is our sophomore point guard, the leading scorer in the Big Ten and a candidate for Player of the Year, who has gone into a shooting slump since the Michigan State win. The last game against Purdue he had 0 points. Yes, the leading scorer in the Big Ten had 0 points.

It's probably mental. He won't use it as an excuse, but after the Michigan State game, his mother went into the hospital for what they thought was a heart attack. However, apparently that wasn't it, but the doctor's don't know what the problem is. They sent her home because of her insurance (or lack of it, not sure), and he's been going between State College and Albany, NY when he can to see her and take care of his younger siblings. I don't think he has the focus to separate what's going on at home from his game, plus the travelling home on off days, etc. It's not just him who's play is off, but he is obviously a big part of the team, and he's gone from being the best, or second best, player on the team to struggling and no one available to step up and pick up the slack.

OK, looks like the train is getting back on the track. Good comeback after a really ugly first half (we led 24-23 at the half, where both teams tried to set the game of basketball back by decades). One of our starters was out, and we actually got some good production from a couple of bench players for a change. Talor Battle broke out of his scoring slump, finishing with 21 points. However, he looks really tired, and is missing his usual fire. He looks a little slower than normal, but at least the shots started to fall again. The whole team is still missing the confidence and swagger they had up until a few games ago, but they gutted it out and did what they had to do to win against a team that blew them out by 20 earlier in the year. And we actually hit a few free throws for a change.

Schedule is tough... back on the road for 2 games at (22)Illinois and (24)Ohio State. Then back home for 2 games against Indiana and (22)Illinois. End on the road at Iowa. We need to split those 2 road games, win the 2 at home, and win the last game on the road. That gets us to 22 wins before the Big 10 tournament, which will probably be enough to get us into the Big Dance, according to some projections. If we don't get to 22 before the tourney, we need to make a run in the tourney. We're not out of it, but we could easily be NIT bound if we don't finish out strong.

OK, all this discussion focused on Penn State in a college BASKETBALL forum is just mind-boggling.

Let's get some order restored here in anticipation of the showdown tonight in Hartford. The entire college basketball world has suddenly elevated Hasheem Thabeet to the best player in the country, although for most it's a very tough argument when a guy named Blake Griffin is playing too. Thabeet has improived tremendously since his freshman year, but he has never had a good game against Pitt. The Panthers are a little too physical for him, so we'll see how he manages against those big bodies tonight. The biggest problem we (Pitt) has faces against UConn in the past is the quickness of their guards, so the key to this game is probably not on the inside. Those guys will have an impact, yes, but I think Pitt's ability to break pressure and move the ball around quickly and efficiently could be the difference. If Levance Fields continues to play like he has been playing (best point guard in the country, thank you), then we will be tough to beat. If he gets too bothered by the relentless UConn defense, we are in trouble. Dyson's loss surely hurts the Huskies, but like Pitt did last year after losing Fields, they'll manage fine if the others on the team play their games.

i have no idea who will win, but I can't wait!

I know, but it's kind of fun for a change. Kind of like talking about Pitt in a football forum.

Well, there is certainly no point in anyone from Penn State talking about Pitt in a football forum, since Great Grandjoepa refuses to play us.

Back to the matters at hand. I think Pitt proved last night they are worthy of a top seed in the NCAA Tourney, almost despite what happens the rest of the year (well, ok, we can't let down against DePaul on Saturday night!). The game was played exactly as I expected it to be. I knew DeJuan Blair would get the best of Habeet; I just didn't know he would be THAT dominant. Truly amazing and great fun to watch. Also as I suspected, Levance Fields struggled the while game, but this guy has a heart of steel and always, always, always makes a big shot when it counts most. In this case, two big shots when it counted most. But for all the adulation that Blair and Fields deserve, let's not forget about Sam Young. Awesome, baby, and Jamie had the guts to keep him in the game even when he got his third foul early in the second half.

If some other players --Wanamaker, Brown, Gibbs-- had made some of the shots thay have been making routinely, the game wouldn't have even been close. I guess that's a credit to UConn's defense; they were able to shut down some of us, but clearly not all of us!

Let's Go Pitt!

No doubt they were the better team last night. My buddy and I couldn't believe they were as close as they were and even ahead, as it seemed they were being greatly outplayed. I wasn't surprised at the outcome. They are still very good and as they find ways to make up for Dyson's loss, they will be a better team than they were last night. Kemba Walker I think will respond to the challenge, but the most important piece is probably the enigmatic Stanley Robinson starting to play with confidence.