Jay Bilas thinks Maryland is tougher than us (LOL)

[JB75]

From this article: Jay Bilas picks every single game in the 2021 NCAA men's basketball tournament



I swear, no one at ESPN has watched us play a game this season.

Polley comes in to provide defense and leadership?? Bilas so dumb

 

[August_West]

It seems you only want to count the losses when ranking our toughness. People lose games for a lot of reasons. Toughness is one of them. So is execution, experience, matchups, foul trouble, injuries, coaching, shooting, turnovers, foul shooting, etc...If you want to throw all those under the "catch all" of toughness then you would have to do the same for our wins.

I do. It’s just a component.

We’ve been out toughed and won , and we’ve been tougher and lost, it happens. Providence didn’t out tough us when they beat us. The games I mentioned were specifically tied to physical and mental toughness. Cant be debated if you watch the games.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Not an unreasonable take at all, but if our toughness quotient is based simply off the Creighton game...yeah it's pretty low. If you base it off the 2 Gtown games and the SH game it looks pretty good. Creighton out toughed us but then got out toughed by GTown who we out toughed twice. Let's not base too much off the small sample size of one most recent game. If people want to say we haven't consistently shown the mental toughness over the whole season to win and close out tight games, that might be more fair. Getting outrebounded once doesn't prove much. The shoe has been on the other foot plenty of times this year.

'if our toughness quotient is based simply off the Creighton game...yeah it's pretty low.'
no dis, but sorry bud. being a current or recent player, one would immediately notice the epic display of toughness exhibited in that game, one of the best in my recent memory. we came up short, for a variety of reasons, but as a fan and a player, and after the first few settling in minutes - completely riveting.
a classic as well as a valuable education for both. after the game, i quipped to my viewmates that 'i'd be surprised if either team could even lift their arm to brush their teeth manana.' ergo, creighton got blown out by gtown. i actually bet that with a pal. free cash, as i rarely bet on sports.
we saw that, as the game came to it's crescendo, there was actual blood on the court. totally expected. great game. twerps gonna get clocked in the teeth, served up with a lesson from junkyard dogs who can chew thru a fence, or a leg. one bite!

 

[Rocktheworld]

Used to respect Bilas. Don’t watch ESPN anymore so I haven’t heard any of his takes for some time. But on the website, i see

Who do these ESPN talking heads think they are? Just lol wtf is he wearing

 

[HuskyHawk]

From this article: Jay Bilas picks every single game in the 2021 NCAA men's basketball tournament



I swear, no one at ESPN has watched us play a game this season.

No mention of anybody but Bouk. He might as well admit that he knows nothing about our team. Anybody who doesn’t mention Sanogo, Whaley, Cole and even Martin can be dismissed as ignorant. Jay, in this case, is ignorant.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

From this article: Jay Bilas picks every single game in the 2021 NCAA men's basketball tournament



I swear, no one at ESPN has watched us play a game this season.

hope they pay him well, seems like everyone that could, bolted ESPN a while ago.

 

[tzznandrew]

No mention of anybody but Bouk. He might as well admit that he knows nothing about our team. Anybody who doesn’t mention Sanogo, Whaley, Cole and even Martin can be dismissed as ignorant. Jay, in this case, is ignorant.

I mean, he mentions Whaley and Polley.

You're only going to give so much space to a team you're picking against, right?

 

[SlicinNDyson11]

Not an unreasonable take at all, but if our toughness quotient is based simply off the Creighton game...yeah it's pretty low. If you base it off the 2 Gtown games and the SH game it looks pretty good. Creighton out toughed us but then got out toughed by GTown who we out toughed twice. Let's not base too much off the small sample size of one most recent game. If people want to say we haven't consistently shown the mental toughness over the whole season to win and close out tight games, that might be more fair. Getting outrebounded once doesn't prove much. The shoe has been on the other foot plenty of times this year.

The concern here is this is a team that hasn't exactly played in any high tension March tournament games prior to last week, it takes a certain level of execution and toughness (physical and mental) to win these style of games, it's a different type of basketball. Against an experienced team like Creighton that knows what it takes to win these games, their experience was a factor that won them the game and our lack there of in these games was a reason why we lost. I certainly agree we've shown toughness numerous times throughout the season, but against experienced and tougher competition (Creighton, Villanova) an underlying theme for us has been lack of execution and physical and mental toughness. Sometimes it'll develop with experience in those types of situations, we are certainly building towards that I'm just not sure we are fully there yet.

 

[tzznandrew]

We haven't won a big game since we beat Houston last year.

 

[cohenzone]

Our point guard got body slammed to the floor (with no call) with 5 minutes left and was back on the bench, concussed with a stitched up face by the end of the game. James Bouknight had elbow surgery and was back in less than 6 weeks (and was asking to get back sooner). We are tough motherduckers, as Jim Calhoun would say. The results on the floor are not always pretty, but we are always going to have warriors with Hurley at the helm.

I think if you asked Hurley one criticism of his team (any team he has ever coached) that would really piss him off, it would be a criticism of their toughness.

I love our team, but Cole pretty much put himself in an awkward, off balance position. He was far from being body slammed.

 

[UCTitleTown]

He must've just watched the BE semi game where we got dominated inside by Creighton and Bouk was knocked around. Using that small sample, you could draw that conclusion, but it's a lazy approach.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Used to respect Bilas. Don’t watch ESPN anymore so I haven’t heard any of his takes for some time. But on the website, i see

View attachment 65848
Who do these ESPN talking heads think they are? Just lol is he wearing

lessee here, plaid striped jacket, striped shirt, brown striped tie ... hmmm, hmmm, now who dresses like that? hmmm, ... oh, right, right, right. these guys!


sartorial splendor. not. too bad bilas didn't wear the hat that the guy behind him has on. it would greatly enhance his 'buy my book!' pitch.

 

[August_West]

The concern here is this is a team that hasn't exactly played in any high tension March tournament games prior to last week, it takes a certain level of execution and toughness (physical and mental) to win these style of games, it's a different type of basketball. Against an experienced team like Creighton that knows what it takes to win these games, their experience was a factor that won them the game and our lack there of in these games was a reason why we lost. I certainly agree we've shown toughness numerous times throughout the season, but against experienced and tougher competition (Creighton, Villanova) an underlying theme for us has been lack of execution and physical and mental toughness. Sometimes it'll develop with experience in those types of situations, we are certainly building towards that I'm just not sure we are fully there yet.

Boom.

you just hit on my biggest fear. Through no fault of our own through pauses and lost OOC and BE games and injuries we simply have not got a chance to build any experience in being successful in big moment “winning times “ (which I define as plus or minus 5 points with 6 minutes or so to go.) the precious few times we were in those positions we failed across the board. And that can kind of snowball on itself when you don’t have the confidence in maintaining composure down the stretch of tight games against good teams.

We aren’t good game closers..... yet. Does anyone here feel we are lock with a 10 point lead with 4 minutes left? I don’t. With one minute left I feel a lot better.

there were teams I’d feel had it locked up 10 with 7 minutes left than I do this team up 10 with 90 seconds. Even games we won like
Xavier game we blew a 16 point or so lead under 4 minutes.

We won’t get blown out in this tournament. I believe we play too hard and are good enough defensively tgat we can keep ourselves in games. But I can’t hang my hat on much if we get to the 4 minute timeout in a tie game.

again , not really anyone’s fault, we simply haven’t had that experience yet, and it does take time to build.

 

[Slick]

Not saying any of the Big East teams can't lose their opening games, but to not pick a single big east team while also claiming Maryland is tougher than us (why? because they tried to fight Michigan?) is just a joke. It makes me think he hasn't watched a single minute of Big East basketball all year.

Edit: Bill Raftery who calls both Big 10 and Big East basketball was raving about our team's toughness during the DePaul game. Bilas should watch a few minutes of our game tape before making ridiculous claims.

You have to realize that ESPN plugs the ACC and Big Ten non stop. They have that product and they are trying to protect their own jobs.

 

[tzznandrew]

He must've just watched the BE semi game where we got dominated inside by Creighton and Bouk was knocked around. Using that small sample, you could draw that conclusion, but it's a lazy approach.

Or, and hear me out here, he could have seen a similar sample as you did and may just disagree with you. We haven't played many very good teams, and those we did play against we didn't look all that tough against.

 

[UconnFanDC]

He also picked Creighton to lose to USCB and Nova to lose to Winthrop and Georgetown to lose to Colorado. Not a single BE team will win according to him (he is an idiot IMO). He should drop the L and change his name to Jay Bias.

Honestly, I have the same except I have Uconn winning. He's not an idiot. Sorry but USCB is tough and Nova has their hands full with an experienced mid.

 

[tzznandrew]

You have to realize that ESPN plugs the ACC and Big Ten non stop. They have that product and they are trying to protect their own jobs.

They're certainly going to push them a little more. But they don't push all their products (re: The American & many others) and the B10 and ACC have largely been the best two basketball conferences for a while.

 

[SubbaBub]

Is this common knowledge? Literally had no idea ...

It was in a recent NY Post article (Fox property). It's clear that was the extent of ESPN's research. Heck, they still think Polley is hitting 3's on the reg.

 

[UConnStats]

No matter how fair or unfair it is, I think Bouknight made us look pretty soft for most non-UConn fans giving us a quick glance over the past week. Recency bias.

At the end of the day, it’s more bulletin board material and I don’t want Bilas hyping us up anyway.

 

[superjohn]

I mean, that's cool too.

They didn't just lose to Georgetown, they got slaughtered. By a 12 seed.

But even if you trust them more than I do, Santa Barbara is a good team that can compete with—and beat—Creighton at a neutral site.

XLCenterFan put money on Creighton winning the national championship. Maybe he's not the most amazing sports bettor of all-time after all.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Jay Bilas has liked & touted UConn in the past (Kemba 'ship) & doubted UConn in the past (Shabazz 'ship). I say who cares we've won with Bilas on the bandwagon and with Jay under the wagon wheels.

I like that the thread evidences a fanbase immediately sour and/or citing conspiracy theories b/c Bilas picks against UConn and questions toughness. I dunno about the team, but UConn fans clearly ready for the postseason.

 

[Huskymagic]

From this article: Jay Bilas picks every single game in the 2021 NCAA men's basketball tournament



I swear, no one at ESPN has watched us play a game this season.

This is great locker room material. Hey Bouk they're calling you a soft Brooklyn kid.

How do you feel about that? They're saying a school with a TURTLE as their mascot is tougher

 

[UCfor3]

I do. It’s just a component.

We’ve been out toughed and won , and we’ve been tougher and lost, it happens. Providence didn’t out tough us when they beat us. The games I mentioned were specifically tied to physical and mental toughness. Cant be debated if you watch the games.

I mention mental toughness specifically in my first post.

 

[Tenspro2002]

We haven't won a big game since we beat Houston last year.

Are you arguing the USC win was a good win, but not a big game?

 

[Sphinx]

With all due respect this strikes me as complete gibberish, unless it's a high level form of sarcasm that I'm not picking up on.

Intending neither gibberish nor sarcasm, and I would have thought, BigErn, that you would be among the first to agree.

Take away the reactions of the talking heads and what is left of the pleasure of victory? You need someone to intelligently appreciate and objectively value your victory. Without the talking heads, you are left with the biased rantings of your fellow fans and the indifference of your opponent's supoorters. Listen, by the time the NC game is played, 90% of all college basketball fans have tuned out. The game is played for the fans of the two remaining schools and the talking heads. The fans of the winner have a moment of ecstasy and by the next day have trouble locating another human being who cares -- or even remembers, were it not for the talking heads.