Week 15 games (Mar. 1-7)

[MSGRET]

UCF is a kindred program to the ASU Sun Devils. Both programs have developed a culture around defense that is focused on intensity, fundamentals, and a physical style of play.

Some here on the BY havecharacterized this as ugly basketball. I don't think that does justice to the dedication of a program to 40 minutes of strong physical defense.

Defense well played as a thing of beauty. Think of the turnover generated by team defense, quick hands, in your face physicality. BYers cheer Niki Muhl or Paige as they turn that kind of defense into points.

Think of the block that robs an opponent of not only a hoop but self-respect and dignity. What BYer hasn't cheered Liv imposing her will in this way. A thing of beauty.

Who doesn't admire the defensive player beating their opponent to the spot and taking the charge. BYers love Muhl for her hard nosed play and an ability to do just that. A thing of beauty.

How often have I heard praise for her physical hard nose defense exactly what CTT and Coach Abe coach.

I have no problem with hard nosed defense, but there is a deference between hard nosed defense and PHYSICAL hard nosed defense. Pushing and shoving a player with both hands is a foul, cutting off a player with physical contact without being stationary is a foul, hip checking a player while they are in the air is a foul. That is not basketball and too many refs let them play that way. If they called the fouls the way they are supposed to be called, UCF would have 2 to 3 players foul out every game. There is reason why I watch the Women's game over the Men's it is because most of the times it is played the way basketball was meant to be played. UCF plays more rugby then basketball when they are on the pitch, I mean court.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I have no problem with hard nosed defense, but there is a deference between hard nosed defense and PHYSICAL hard nosed defense. Pushing and shoving a player with both hands is a foul, cutting off a player with physical contact without being stationary is a foul, hip checking a player while they are in the air is a foul. That is not basketball and too many refs let them play that way. If they called the fouls the way they are supposed to be called, UCF would have 2 to 3 players foul out every game. There is reason why I watch the Women's game over the Men's is because most of the times it is played the way basketball was meant to be played. UCF plays more rugby then basketball when they are playing.

Ditto. I know it when I see it, some of these "tough defensive teams" are over the top and are basically cheating, with the refs aiding and abetting them in doing it.

 

[LoTrader]

UCF is a kindred program to the ASU Sun Devils. Both programs have developed a culture around defense that is focused on intensity, fundamentals, and a physical style of play.

Some here on the BY havecharacterized this as ugly basketball. I don't think that does justice to the dedication of a program to 40 minutes of strong physical defense.

Defense well played as a thing of beauty. Think of the turnover generated by team defense, quick hands, in your face physicality. BYers cheer Niki Muhl or Paige as they turn that kind of defense into points.

Think of the block that robs an opponent of not only a hoop but self-respect and dignity. What BYer hasn't cheered Liv imposing her will in this way. A thing of beauty.

Who doesn't admire the defensive player beating their opponent to the spot and taking the charge. BYers love Muhl for her hard nosed play and an ability to do just that. A thing of beauty.

How often have I heard praise for her physical hard nose defense exactly what CTT and Coach Abe coach.

Love defense as well, as that is what OSU coaching staff preaches. But to make it to the dance, you have to have some offense. This year ASU has struggled on offense, and, the 1st half of the game vs USC is showing how far ASU's offense has to improve.

 

[triaddukefan]

I said it before (i think), and I'll say it again.... not sure if there is any conference that has produced more down to the wire games than the Big South this season. Down in Buies Creek... 3 lead changes in the last 30 seconds.... including a layup with 1.5 seconds to go... and the Camels of Campbell defeat the Bulldogs of UNC-Asheville. A Bulldog layup at the buzzer circled the rim and fell out. With the win... Campbell wraps up the #2 seed in the conference tournament. NO EVENINGS OFF in the Big South Conference.

 

[LETTERL]

Nicholls has drawn first blood on McNeese, up 8-5, at the first quarter media timeout. At this pace, Nicholls may crack the 60-point barrier!

 

[LETTERL]

Stephen F. Austin only leading Abilene Christian by a 36-33 score at halftime.

 

[FridaFriend]

Is either Michigan or Maryland playing more games before the Big 10 tournament? I heard announcers talk about scheduled make up games, but I don't see any on a posted schedule.

 

[LETTERL]

Halftime at historic Stopher Gymnasium finds McNeese leading the Lady Colonels of Nicholls, 32-28.

 

[LETTERL]

Oh no! McNeese has gone on a tear and leads Nicholls 55-45, nearing the end of the 3rd.

 

[DefenseBB]

UCF is a kindred program to the ASU Sun Devils. Both programs have developed a culture around defense that is focused on intensity, fundamentals, and a physical style of play.

Some here on the BY have characterized this as ugly basketball. I don't think that does justice to the dedication of a program to 40 minutes of strong physical defense.

Defense well played as a thing of beauty. Think of the turnover generated by team defense, quick hands, in your face physicality. BYers cheer Niki Muhl or Paige as they turn that kind of defense into points.

Think of the block that robs an opponent of not only a hoop but self-respect and dignity. What BYer hasn't cheered Liv imposing her will in this way. A thing of beauty.

Who doesn't admire the defensive player beating their opponent to the spot and taking the charge. BYers love Muhl for her hard nosed play and an ability to do just that. A thing of beauty.

How often have I heard praise for her physical hard nose defense exactly what CTT and Coach Abe coach.

And think about all the bricks those offenses toss up on a regular basis...

 

[azfan]

And think about all the bricks those offenses toss up on a regular basis...

Ikr..... On the ASU game thread today I speculated that ASU must lead the nation in single digit offensive quarters

 

[LETTERL]

Nicholls came back to beat McNeese in a thriller, 71-68. The Lady Colonels finish the regular season 9-13 overall, 9-7 in the Southland.

They now await the Southland Conference Tournament, where they will be either the 4th seed or 5th seed, depending on what happens in conference action on Saturday.

 

[UCFKnights]

As far as UCF's defensive style I'll contend that the only time I've seen them push the envelope was against UCONN. I haven't been able to watch all their games but generally it is just high intensity defense. I imagine that the reason for this is they have similar talent or more than the other conference foes but UCONN is obviously many steps above so it was probably an attempt to even the playing field. Does that make it right or ok? Probably not if I'm being honest.

 

[Vowelguy]

LSU d Miss St, so even more disappointment in Starkvegas

MD pounded Michigan 88-63 (led by 20 at half), so Wolverines ending up in top 16 not looking good

UNC bubble probably popped with loss to Wake

 

[nwhoopfan]

If all the bubble teams lose their first conference tourney game, then they all are back on the bubble again, right?

 

[Plebe]

LSU d Miss St, so even more disappointment in Starkvegas

MD pounded Michigan 88-63 (led by 20 at half), so Wolverines ending up in top 16 not looking good

UNC bubble probably popped with loss to Wake

I haven't studied the bubble picture closely (yet), but I would basically like to see as few teams as possible selected from the indistinct mosh pit of mediocrity that is teams 3 through 11 or 12 of the ACC.

 

[LETTERL]

I haven't studied the bubble picture closely (yet), but I would basically like to see as few teams as possible selected from the indistinct mosh pit of mediocrity that is teams 3 through 11 or 12 of the ACC.

Compared to the pile of mush that is all but the top two teams in the Big East?

 

[Plebe]

Compared to the pile of mush that is all but the top two teams in the Big East?

Well, at least DePaul actually has a good nonconference win. And I'd rather see Marquette make the tournament than any of those other fat-on-the-hog over-budgeted teams.

 

[LETTERL]

Well, at least DePaul actually has a good nonconference win. And I'd rather see Marquette make the tournament than any of those other fat-on-the-hog over-budgeted teams.

Marquette definitely is an NCAAT team. They held their own against UCONN and seemed worthy of the top 25 position I awarded them in my last BY ballot. Depaul seems to be going in the wrong direction here of late, but I think I read in some other thread that they have a key player out with injury.

The rest of the Big East doesn't seem worthy of NCAAT consideration.

Maybe the WNIT, if there is one, will be a showdown of mediocre Big East and ACC teams.

 

[azfan]

March, here we come.

All times are Eastern time zone.
My subjective picks for games of the week are in bold.
Rankings listed are per the latest BY25 poll.


Thu., Mar. 4

Mississippi State vs. LSU (11a, SECN)
#5 Maryland at #13 Michigan (12p, ESPN/ESPN2?)
Wake Forest vs. North Carolina (12p, ACCNX)
Florida vs. #23 Kentucky (1p, SECN)
Oregon State vs. #20 Oregon (2p, P12N)
Boston College vs. Syracuse (2:30p, ACCNX).

USC vs. #3 Stanford (5p, P12N)
#18 South Florida at UCF (5p, ESPNU)
Missouri vs. Alabama (6p, SECN)
Miami vs. Virginia Tech (6p, ACCNX)
TCU at Oklahoma (6p, FSOK)

Washington State vs. #11 Arizona (8p, P12N)
Ole Miss vs. #12 Arkansas (8p, SECN)
Rice at North Texas (8p, CUSA)
Clemson vs. Notre Dame (8:30p, ACCNX)
Washington vs. #9 UCLA (11p, P12N)

===

Games for the remainder of the week to be posted soon.


== == ==


Mon., Mar. 1

Colorado State at Air Force (4:30p, MWN)
Butler at #18 DePaul (5p, BEDN)
#9 Baylor at Texas (7p, ESPN2)
Texas Tech at Oklahoma (7p, FSOK)
Seton Hall at St. John’s (7p, BEDN)
TCU at Kansas State (7:30p, ESPN+)
Marquette at #1 UConn (8p, CBSSN)


Tues., Mar. 2

Northern Kentucky at Wright State (2p, ESPN+). Horizon League tournament quarterfinal.
IUPUI at Oakland (3p, ESPN+). Horizon quarterfinal.

UCF at #18 South Florida (5:30p, ESPN+). UCF needs at least a split with USF.
Penn State at #24 Rutgers (5:30p, BTN)
Cincinnati at Houston (7p, ESPN+)
East Carolina at Tulane (7p, ESPN+)

Cleveland State at Green Bay (8p, ESPN+). Horizon quarterfinal.
Youngstown State at Milwaukee (8p, ESPN+). Horizon quarterfinal.


Wed., Mar. 3

Cal vs. Oregon State (2p, P12N). Pac-12 1st round.
Boston College vs. Pitt (2p, ACCNX). ACC 1st round.
Eastern Illinois vs. UT Martin (2p, ESPN+). OVC 1st round.

Auburn vs. Florida (4p, SECN). SEC first round.
Iowa at #10 Indiana (4:30p, BTN)
Austin Peay vs. Belmont (4:30p, ESPN+). OVC first round.
Arizona State vs. USC (5p, P12N). Pac-12 1st round.

Abilene Christian at Stephen F. Austin (6:30p, ESPN+)
Central Michigan at Ball State (7p, ESPN3)
#21 West Virginia at Kansas State (7:30p, ESPN+)
Kansas at Iowa State (7:30p, ESPN+)
Utah vs. Washington State (8p, P12N). Pac-12 1st round; WSU needs this win badly.
Washington vs. Colorado (11p, P12N). Pac-12 1st round.

15-3 CSU Rams travel to NM to face the 13 - 3 wandering Lobos, home at last with first place in the Mountain West at stake.

This afternoon's game is at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on the Mountain West network. Tomorrow's regular season finale and perhaps deciding game for the regular season championship will also be at 5:00 p.m.

Mountain West Network

golobos.com

 

[Plebe]

Marquette definitely is an NCAAT team. They held their own against UCONN and seemed worthy of the top 25 position I awarded them in my last BY ballot. Depaul seems to be going in the wrong direction here of late, but I think I read in some other thread that they have a key player out with injury.

The rest of the Big East doesn't seem worthy of NCAAT consideration.

Maybe the WNIT, if there is one, will be a showdown of mediocre Big East and ACC teams.

If those wayward wannabes from northern Indiana are considered on the bubble, then Seton Hall should be too

 

[Plebe]

As far as UCF's defensive style I'll contend that the only time I've seen them push the envelope was against UCONN. I haven't been able to watch all their games but generally it is just high intensity defense. I imagine that the reason for this is they have similar talent or more than the other conference foes but UCONN is obviously many steps above so it was probably an attempt to even the playing field. Does that make it right or ok? Probably not if I'm being honest.

I agree with this 100%. I've watched UCF against quite a few other opponents and have never seen those same dubious actions that have gained them a special place in UConn fans' hearts.

 

[LETTERL]

If those wayward wannabes from northern Indiana are considered on the bubble, then Seton Hall should be too

Wouldn't bother me if neither they or UNC get a bid; I wouldn't lose a wink of sleep.

 

[Plebe]

Wouldn't bother me if neither they or UNC get a bid; I wouldn't lose a wink of sleep.

It just occurred to me that those two teams account for 2 of the 3 national championships ever won by the ACC, and now they're both begging for crumbs from the committee. And the 3rd (Maryland) jumped ship.

 

[Vowelguy]

KY in a battle with Fla and Ore trailing OreSt again