Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
ACC-Big Ten Challenge Part 2
Well, I went 5-1 on my picks for Tuesday’s games and the Big Ten currently leads 4-2. Let’s see how Wednesday’s night’s games play out:
Ohio State at Duke
Last year Ohio State throttled Duke and made my evening very painful. Duke’s been playing great and Ohio State hasn’t had a real tough game yet. How much will revenge matter? At home, Duke gets it done. Duke 74, Ohio State 68
Virginia at Wisconsin
I haven’t looked yet but the over/under has to be around 112. My advice, advert your eyes and do not look directly at this game. It’s going to be painful. Ok, I looked, the over/under is 114 and I don’t think it gets close to it. Wisconsin 49, Virginia 47
Michigan State at Miami
Here’s one that I think will be good. Izzo’s teams never look good at the beginning of the season but watch out come March. Jim Larranga’s second year at Miami looked like it might end with a tourney bid. The loss to Florida Gulf Coast is baffling but I think this may come down to the wire. Could be the game to watch outside of Duke-OSU tonight. Michigan State 63, Miami 62
Purdue at Clemson
Purdue is in full rebuilding mode and Clemson is starting to look up. I like what the Tigers are doing but they are still a year away from contending for a bid. They are however, right on target for a win tonight. Clemson 65, Purdue 59
Georgia Tech at Illinois
Illinois looked great in Maui but teams usually struggle their first game back. See Carolina, North and Gold, Marquette. However, Illinois got that struggle game out against Gardner-Webb. Which team shows up tonight? I'm calling for the upset as GaTech pulls one out. Georgia Tech 68, Illinois 64
Boston College at Penn State
Umm, boy, Boston College is bad….Wake Forest type bad. Penn State 70, Boston College 56
That makes tonight’s games 3-3 giving the ACC-Big Ten to the Big Ten in a 7-5 margin. Hooray for TV revenue!!!!
Ohio State at Duke
Last year Ohio State throttled Duke and made my evening very painful. Duke’s been playing great and Ohio State hasn’t had a real tough game yet. How much will revenge matter? At home, Duke gets it done. Duke 74, Ohio State 68
Virginia at Wisconsin
I haven’t looked yet but the over/under has to be around 112. My advice, advert your eyes and do not look directly at this game. It’s going to be painful. Ok, I looked, the over/under is 114 and I don’t think it gets close to it. Wisconsin 49, Virginia 47
Michigan State at Miami
Here’s one that I think will be good. Izzo’s teams never look good at the beginning of the season but watch out come March. Jim Larranga’s second year at Miami looked like it might end with a tourney bid. The loss to Florida Gulf Coast is baffling but I think this may come down to the wire. Could be the game to watch outside of Duke-OSU tonight. Michigan State 63, Miami 62
Purdue at Clemson
Purdue is in full rebuilding mode and Clemson is starting to look up. I like what the Tigers are doing but they are still a year away from contending for a bid. They are however, right on target for a win tonight. Clemson 65, Purdue 59
Georgia Tech at Illinois
Illinois looked great in Maui but teams usually struggle their first game back. See Carolina, North and Gold, Marquette. However, Illinois got that struggle game out against Gardner-Webb. Which team shows up tonight? I'm calling for the upset as GaTech pulls one out. Georgia Tech 68, Illinois 64
Boston College at Penn State
Umm, boy, Boston College is bad….Wake Forest type bad. Penn State 70, Boston College 56
That makes tonight’s games 3-3 giving the ACC-Big Ten to the Big Ten in a 7-5 margin. Hooray for TV revenue!!!!
Monday, November 26, 2012
Monday Musings
To echo Brain, here's a few winners and losers from the first few weeks.
WINNERS:
- Georgetown: Good win over UCLA showed the national media the wrong team and players were getting all the attention.
The win may not look as good at the end of the season but focused our energy on a program on solid footing. Taking the Hooisers to overtime will not be a knock against them.
- Creighton: Did what they needed to do in regards to resume building by beating North Texas handidly and winning in Vegas over Wisconsin and Arizona State. The win over North Texas has lust its luster but a must for the Bluejays.
-Wichita State: Should the Valley send multiple teams, the Shockers have certainly made an early mark with wins over VCU, DePaul and at Iowa. DePaul is no big deal but still a major conference win, same with Iowa.
-Duke: Incredibly impressive start to the season. Coach K is always ahead of his opponents as far as having his team ready but the way they played wasn't fluky.
Shout out to Illinois for winning Maui. Will be on the bubble for sure. Has talent.
LOSERS:
-Texas: They're missing Myck Kabongo but Chaminade? Not good. Neither was an overtime loss to USC. USC is better but Texas is suppose to be tournament bound.
-Memphis: Losing to VCU and following that up with a loss to Minnesota shows why Memphis is always hovering lower on seeding lines come March. I don't buy the Gophers being that much better. Mbakwe isn't half the player he was.
-VCU: Should still make the dance having moved to the A-10 but they lost a chance to make a statement. The win against Memphis doesn't look as good and they lost to Missouri, Duke & Wichita State. No reason to hang your head but an opportunity was lost
-UCLA: Really thoroughly beaten by Georgetown, needed overtime to beat UC Irvone and lost on Sunday to Cal Poly.
That sizzling you hear? That's Ben Howland's hot seat. Steve Lavin has more tourney appearances in less time, just sayin....
WINNERS:
- Georgetown: Good win over UCLA showed the national media the wrong team and players were getting all the attention.
The win may not look as good at the end of the season but focused our energy on a program on solid footing. Taking the Hooisers to overtime will not be a knock against them.
- Creighton: Did what they needed to do in regards to resume building by beating North Texas handidly and winning in Vegas over Wisconsin and Arizona State. The win over North Texas has lust its luster but a must for the Bluejays.
-Wichita State: Should the Valley send multiple teams, the Shockers have certainly made an early mark with wins over VCU, DePaul and at Iowa. DePaul is no big deal but still a major conference win, same with Iowa.
-Duke: Incredibly impressive start to the season. Coach K is always ahead of his opponents as far as having his team ready but the way they played wasn't fluky.
Shout out to Illinois for winning Maui. Will be on the bubble for sure. Has talent.
LOSERS:
-Texas: They're missing Myck Kabongo but Chaminade? Not good. Neither was an overtime loss to USC. USC is better but Texas is suppose to be tournament bound.
-Memphis: Losing to VCU and following that up with a loss to Minnesota shows why Memphis is always hovering lower on seeding lines come March. I don't buy the Gophers being that much better. Mbakwe isn't half the player he was.
-VCU: Should still make the dance having moved to the A-10 but they lost a chance to make a statement. The win against Memphis doesn't look as good and they lost to Missouri, Duke & Wichita State. No reason to hang your head but an opportunity was lost
-UCLA: Really thoroughly beaten by Georgetown, needed overtime to beat UC Irvone and lost on Sunday to Cal Poly.
That sizzling you hear? That's Ben Howland's hot seat. Steve Lavin has more tourney appearances in less time, just sayin....
ACC-Big Ten Challenge Tuesday and Wednesday
Tuesday’s Matchups
North Carolina at Indiana
Matchup 1B to start I think this game goes to the host college and since we’re in Indiana we’ll give it to the Hoosiers. It should be a good back and forth effort. Not much to cheer for from my perspective. Indiana 81, North Carolina 75
North Carolina State at Michigan
I’m tempted to call this 1C. Michigan has looked better than expected this year while North Carolina hasn’t exactly wow’d anybody. If Michigan can continue their offensive tear they should be able to outlast the Wolfpack. Michigan 74, NC State 70
Minnesota at Florida State
Overachievers versus underachievers. Minnesota looked great in Atlantis outside of the Duke second half while FSU has a loss against a Sun Belt team on their resume. FSU lost a lot from last year and Tubby Smith is starting to put something together up in Gopherland. Minnesota 68, Florida State 61
Maryland at Northwestern
Maryland is looking like a tournament team early on and Northwestern seems to be fine without John Shurma. The key to this game will be pace as the Wildcats want to keep it in the 50 point range. My hunch is that Maryland out athlete’s them for a win and then gets to play on the Big 10 side next year against Syracuse. Maryland 71, Northwestern 57
Iowa at Virginia Tech
Both teams are in rebuilding mode but Fran McCaffrey’s got a two year start on Tech. I still think Iowa will be a bubble team down the stretch while Va Tech will be out of it by 1/3 of the conference schedule. Iowa 71, Virginia Tech 62
Nebraska at Wake Forest
This could quite possibly be the worst matchup in the history of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. I’d be surprised if ESPN doesn’t show an old World Series of Poker instead. Nebraska is bad, but Wake is 5-27 bad. Nebraska 59, Wake Forest 49
So, after Tuesday’s games we have the Big Ten with 5 wins and only 2 away from clinching this year’s challenge. Can the ACC bounce back on Wednesday?
Here are Wednesday’s Matchups:
Ohio State at Duke
Virginia at Wisconsin
Michigan State at Miami
Purdue at Clemson
Georgia Tech at Illinois
Boston College at Penn State
Either I or Kurly will be back tomorrow to preview these games.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
A Very Early Look.
The season is only two weeks in but let’s take a look at a couple of the early season winners and losers.
Winners:
Duke – looking even better than I thought, they’ve knocked off two top 5 teams already. To be on the fair side Louisville was missing their second best player and Kentucky is young but you can’t dismiss the Blue Devil’s start. Ohio State is looming on Wednesday
Pac-12 – Colorado looks like a bon-a-fide tournament team and Oregon looks to be bouncing back nicely from the past couple years. In addition to UCLA and Arizona the conference is starting to trend up. Even Arizona State looks like a real Division 1 team.
This Blog – Geez, the articles that Kurly writes are awesome. They’re better than 90% of what ESPN churns out. It’s good to not have to shill for a certain team or conference.
Gonzaga – They aren’t blowing teams out but they aren’t losing. This year’s team could be special as not only are they playing offense but they are also playing defense (Pomeroy has them as the 3rd most efficient on the defensive end). The Zags currently sit at #3 overall according to Pomeroy’s ranking
Losers:
Kentucky – yes they’ve won all but 1 game but they haven’t looked good doing it. They struggled most of the game against Morehead State and the 1st half of the Long Island game was close. Is this team too young or are they just not as talented as last year’s bunch?
ACC – Florida State lost to South Florida, Miami lost to Florida Gulf Coast, Boston College is 2-4, Virginia has losses to two Colonial teams, and Wake Forest couldn’t stay within 30 of Iona. The bottom half of this conference is bad…really bad. Oh, yeah, and North Carolina lost to Butler
Memphis – A top 20 team coming into the season they now sit at 3-2 with losses to VCU and Minnesota. That’s nothing to be ashamed of but they were never in those games. 2 of their 3 wins are against low major’s. The Tigers don’t look like they are jelling yet.
Vanderbilt – 1-3 with blowout losses to Marist, Davidson, and Oregon. It’s going to be a really long year for Kevin Stallings.
Winners:
Duke – looking even better than I thought, they’ve knocked off two top 5 teams already. To be on the fair side Louisville was missing their second best player and Kentucky is young but you can’t dismiss the Blue Devil’s start. Ohio State is looming on Wednesday
Pac-12 – Colorado looks like a bon-a-fide tournament team and Oregon looks to be bouncing back nicely from the past couple years. In addition to UCLA and Arizona the conference is starting to trend up. Even Arizona State looks like a real Division 1 team.
This Blog – Geez, the articles that Kurly writes are awesome. They’re better than 90% of what ESPN churns out. It’s good to not have to shill for a certain team or conference.
Gonzaga – They aren’t blowing teams out but they aren’t losing. This year’s team could be special as not only are they playing offense but they are also playing defense (Pomeroy has them as the 3rd most efficient on the defensive end). The Zags currently sit at #3 overall according to Pomeroy’s ranking
Losers:
Kentucky – yes they’ve won all but 1 game but they haven’t looked good doing it. They struggled most of the game against Morehead State and the 1st half of the Long Island game was close. Is this team too young or are they just not as talented as last year’s bunch?
ACC – Florida State lost to South Florida, Miami lost to Florida Gulf Coast, Boston College is 2-4, Virginia has losses to two Colonial teams, and Wake Forest couldn’t stay within 30 of Iona. The bottom half of this conference is bad…really bad. Oh, yeah, and North Carolina lost to Butler
Memphis – A top 20 team coming into the season they now sit at 3-2 with losses to VCU and Minnesota. That’s nothing to be ashamed of but they were never in those games. 2 of their 3 wins are against low major’s. The Tigers don’t look like they are jelling yet.
Vanderbilt – 1-3 with blowout losses to Marist, Davidson, and Oregon. It’s going to be a really long year for Kevin Stallings.
The Big East and Conference Realignment/Decimation
The TV Contract: If you have a camcorder and a $1.50, you could probably procure the next Big East TV contract. TV contract? They're working on it. Let them get their membership issues figured out first.
The History of the Big East membership: The Big East was founded in 1979 as a coference primarily focusing on basketball. It was begun by St. John's, Providence (Providence AD Dave Gavitt was the driving force), Georgetown & Syracuse. They extended invitations to Seton Hall, UConn, Boston College, Holy Cross & Rutgers. Holy Cross & Rutgers would decline invitations.
Villanova joined in 1980.
The seeds for today's demise were sown in 1982 when Penn State applied for membership and was rejected. At this time, Joe Paterno began discussions with Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Rutgers, West Virginia and Temple about forming an East Coast Football Conference. It never came to fruition as questions about revenue sharing and the power of PSU left it a non-starter.
The Big East would invite and accept Pittsburgh as a member in 1982. Some saw this as a rebuke to Penn State for trying to begin its football conference. At the time, Pittsburgh was nearing the end of its glory days in football.
At the end of the 1980s, the Big East decided to become a football conference as well as a basketball conference. This meant bringing in new members who played football as only BC, Syracuse & Pittsburgh played Division 1 football. Miami, Virginia Tech, Temple, Rutgers & West Virginia were added.
Miami joined immediately as full member in all sports. West Virginia and Rutgers joined as full members in 1995. Virginia Tech joined as a full member in 2000. Temple never joined as a full member at this time.
Notre Dame was added as a member in all sports except football in 1995.
By 2003, tensions had emerged between the football and non-football schools. This allowed the ACC to come along and pursue football schools of the Big East. It was a surprise at the time whem commissioner Mike Tranghese announced this was happening. The ACC would eventually take BC, Virginia Tech & Miami. The league would also dismiss Temple for a variety of reasons including not being competetive, bad facilities and poor attendance.
To counter the losses, the league would add Lousiville, Cincinnati and South Florida to replace their football losses and would expand to 16 teams in basketball by adding basketball only schools in DePaul and Marquette. The addittion of the last two seemed puzzling but the thought process was "imprint" and "tv markets".
Though the league never achieved a strong football presence, it seemed the conference was fine, though it had to be known they'd always be targeted should other conferences decide to expand again. When Jim Delany announced the Big 10 would expand, tnat's what happened to the Big East.
Sensing the changing atmosphere, the Big East extended an invite to TCU in 2010 to strengthen their football and again extend its georgraphic imprint in hopes of drawing a better TV deal. Then came armageddon for the Big east as the drive for 16 members began in full earnest a year later. Here's the history:
- On September 17, 2011, the ACC accepted Pittsburgh & Syracuse as full members
- On October 28, 2011, West Virginia departed for the Big 12
- TCU declines the invitation they originally accepted to join the Big 12
- In Decdmber of 2011, the Big East adds Boise State & San Diego State for football only. They also added Houston, SMU & Central Florida as full members with all 5 expected to join the league as full members in 2013.
- On January 24, 2012, Navy was accepted as football only member
- On March 7, 2012, Temple was added as a full sports member 8 years after being kicked out for having a non-competetive football school
- On September 12, 2012, Notre Dame announced it was leaving the conference to join the ACC in all sports except football & hockey.
- On November 20, 2012, Rutgers announced it was joining the Big 10
Should nothing change, doubtful, members in 2013 for basketball would be SMU, Houston, Central Florida, Memphis, Temple, Marquette, DePaul, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova, Georgetown, St, John's, South Florida, Cincinnati, Louisville and Rutgers (members until 2013-14).
What Hath Expansion Wrought: More than likely, the death of the Big East. When the Big East expanded to 16 teams in 2006 for hoops, most people snickered when in reality, it became the deepest, most competetive conference in America with its nadir in 2010-11 when they sent 11 teams to the dance. Some credited this to shear volume but the fact of the matter was, the conference had a lot of good basketball programs.
Well, since then, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame have left along with Rutgers. It seems likely UConn, Louisville, South Florda & Cincinnati will all be targeted during the next round of realignment and who could blame them for leaving a conference on such shaky ground? When this does happen, the remaining schools will have to decide what to do. The newest members can go forward (SMU, Houston, UCF, Navy, Memphis, Temple) in football along with anyone that gets left behind of the 4 current football schools and Boise State & SDSU and strike out on their own or stay and try and make the Big East work. Does it make sense for them to? They will not be allowed to sit at the boys table when it comes to BCS revenue. Would they be better served to form a super conference that has been discussed between the MWC and the other leftovers? That's for football.
As for basketball, it seems unlikely the current members have any real incentive to remain with an uncertain future. Current members can dissolve the league in a vote should they choose. A core of Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall, Marquette and DePaul could be a strong mid-major in major markets. I don't think there is much doubt, the A-10 and these schools have much in common and some type of working patrnership would benefit everyone. Georgetown has been discussed as a 16th team in the ACC in all sports except football.
This March, the Big East will play another conference tournament in New York at MSG. It'll be the end of an era and the end of a great basketball league. And it's not good for the fans of any of these leagues. I think we've all accepted the sham of amateurism. What these super conferences are moving us to, is a true developmental system for the NBA and NFL where the difference between pro and college is negligible.
If you love college sports like I do, this is a shame. Real rivalries are lost and at some point, fans will lose interest in playing schools from 1000 of miles away. All for TV dollars that were there anyway. I fully expect 128 tourney announcement very soon.
The History of the Big East membership: The Big East was founded in 1979 as a coference primarily focusing on basketball. It was begun by St. John's, Providence (Providence AD Dave Gavitt was the driving force), Georgetown & Syracuse. They extended invitations to Seton Hall, UConn, Boston College, Holy Cross & Rutgers. Holy Cross & Rutgers would decline invitations.
Villanova joined in 1980.
The seeds for today's demise were sown in 1982 when Penn State applied for membership and was rejected. At this time, Joe Paterno began discussions with Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Rutgers, West Virginia and Temple about forming an East Coast Football Conference. It never came to fruition as questions about revenue sharing and the power of PSU left it a non-starter.
The Big East would invite and accept Pittsburgh as a member in 1982. Some saw this as a rebuke to Penn State for trying to begin its football conference. At the time, Pittsburgh was nearing the end of its glory days in football.
At the end of the 1980s, the Big East decided to become a football conference as well as a basketball conference. This meant bringing in new members who played football as only BC, Syracuse & Pittsburgh played Division 1 football. Miami, Virginia Tech, Temple, Rutgers & West Virginia were added.
Miami joined immediately as full member in all sports. West Virginia and Rutgers joined as full members in 1995. Virginia Tech joined as a full member in 2000. Temple never joined as a full member at this time.
Notre Dame was added as a member in all sports except football in 1995.
By 2003, tensions had emerged between the football and non-football schools. This allowed the ACC to come along and pursue football schools of the Big East. It was a surprise at the time whem commissioner Mike Tranghese announced this was happening. The ACC would eventually take BC, Virginia Tech & Miami. The league would also dismiss Temple for a variety of reasons including not being competetive, bad facilities and poor attendance.
To counter the losses, the league would add Lousiville, Cincinnati and South Florida to replace their football losses and would expand to 16 teams in basketball by adding basketball only schools in DePaul and Marquette. The addittion of the last two seemed puzzling but the thought process was "imprint" and "tv markets".
Though the league never achieved a strong football presence, it seemed the conference was fine, though it had to be known they'd always be targeted should other conferences decide to expand again. When Jim Delany announced the Big 10 would expand, tnat's what happened to the Big East.
Sensing the changing atmosphere, the Big East extended an invite to TCU in 2010 to strengthen their football and again extend its georgraphic imprint in hopes of drawing a better TV deal. Then came armageddon for the Big east as the drive for 16 members began in full earnest a year later. Here's the history:
- On September 17, 2011, the ACC accepted Pittsburgh & Syracuse as full members
- On October 28, 2011, West Virginia departed for the Big 12
- TCU declines the invitation they originally accepted to join the Big 12
- In Decdmber of 2011, the Big East adds Boise State & San Diego State for football only. They also added Houston, SMU & Central Florida as full members with all 5 expected to join the league as full members in 2013.
- On January 24, 2012, Navy was accepted as football only member
- On March 7, 2012, Temple was added as a full sports member 8 years after being kicked out for having a non-competetive football school
- On September 12, 2012, Notre Dame announced it was leaving the conference to join the ACC in all sports except football & hockey.
- On November 20, 2012, Rutgers announced it was joining the Big 10
Should nothing change, doubtful, members in 2013 for basketball would be SMU, Houston, Central Florida, Memphis, Temple, Marquette, DePaul, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova, Georgetown, St, John's, South Florida, Cincinnati, Louisville and Rutgers (members until 2013-14).
What Hath Expansion Wrought: More than likely, the death of the Big East. When the Big East expanded to 16 teams in 2006 for hoops, most people snickered when in reality, it became the deepest, most competetive conference in America with its nadir in 2010-11 when they sent 11 teams to the dance. Some credited this to shear volume but the fact of the matter was, the conference had a lot of good basketball programs.
Well, since then, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame have left along with Rutgers. It seems likely UConn, Louisville, South Florda & Cincinnati will all be targeted during the next round of realignment and who could blame them for leaving a conference on such shaky ground? When this does happen, the remaining schools will have to decide what to do. The newest members can go forward (SMU, Houston, UCF, Navy, Memphis, Temple) in football along with anyone that gets left behind of the 4 current football schools and Boise State & SDSU and strike out on their own or stay and try and make the Big East work. Does it make sense for them to? They will not be allowed to sit at the boys table when it comes to BCS revenue. Would they be better served to form a super conference that has been discussed between the MWC and the other leftovers? That's for football.
As for basketball, it seems unlikely the current members have any real incentive to remain with an uncertain future. Current members can dissolve the league in a vote should they choose. A core of Georgetown, Villanova, St. John's, Providence, Seton Hall, Marquette and DePaul could be a strong mid-major in major markets. I don't think there is much doubt, the A-10 and these schools have much in common and some type of working patrnership would benefit everyone. Georgetown has been discussed as a 16th team in the ACC in all sports except football.
This March, the Big East will play another conference tournament in New York at MSG. It'll be the end of an era and the end of a great basketball league. And it's not good for the fans of any of these leagues. I think we've all accepted the sham of amateurism. What these super conferences are moving us to, is a true developmental system for the NBA and NFL where the difference between pro and college is negligible.
If you love college sports like I do, this is a shame. Real rivalries are lost and at some point, fans will lose interest in playing schools from 1000 of miles away. All for TV dollars that were there anyway. I fully expect 128 tourney announcement very soon.
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