acutually, it's time for the all new NCAA 2005-2006 SEASON THREAD

also, why can't i spell? sigh. i need to proof my posts.

tarheels over kentucky was a pleasant surprise. those guys gotta do some serious work on freethrows. also, duke was lucky as hell. just lose already!

i should check the kentucky online newspaper sites, maybe uk fans are calling for tubby's firing by now.

Last year the Zags had a number of national ESPN games, but they were always the last game of the Big Monday or Super Tuesday triple-headers. so they start at 9:00 PST / Midnight EST. I think the Gonzaga basically said "sure, we'll start are games late if you'll put us on TV" I'd be surprised if they weren't doing it again this year..

Yoni Cohen on the season's first few weeks:

There are four fundamental realities that we have hinted at for several days that are known to everyone in the know in the inner circle of college basketball coverage (a/k/a: the Gang of 500) and we feel you should know them too.

The first one involves Duke and precisely stated, it goes like this: The potential for the Blue Devils to be upset decreases with every day of experience Coach K's freshmen accumulate.

The second one involves Connecticut and precisely stated, it goes like this: The potential for the Huskies to be upset decreases with every day Marcus Williams gets closer to becoming eligible.

The third one involves Texas and precisely stated, it goes like this: The potential for the Longhorns to be upset fluctuates daily based on the play of Daniel Gibson and P.J. Tucker.

The fourth one involves Villanova and precisely stated, it goes like this: The potential for the Wildcats to be upset increases with every game through which Jason Fraser puts his troubled knees.

With regard to UConn and Villanova, I think he's got a point: they're both great teams, but I can't help feeling like UConn is going to be unstoppable very soon, whereas Villanova is winning on borrowed time. I don't know another top-10 team whose fortunes would change so dramatically with the loss of a role player like Fraser.

as for villanova, i listened to the bucknell game last night hoping for an upset. they just exploded twice for like 10 points in a minute, minute and a half, each (mostly on the back of foye). fraser played 16 minutes and had 2 points. (maybe they were saving those knees?) i don't think they are as shallow as is assumed. granted this is bucknell, but they beat syracuse in syracuse last week. yeah, yeah, syracuse is overrated and blah blah blah, but bucknell's no slouch. plus they have really bright orange road uniforms that are suh-weet.

plus yoni still owes me $25 from last year's bracket contest. i came in second! pay up!

And I'm not from New England!

my badgers are tough,
if they beat ohio state
they have a real shot

i believe the same was said last year until an eastern team swept the conference out of the championship...

plus there are about
200 more teams out there,
small hoops factories

tonight's game is really important for the badgers. they've played 16 games, with just three aways and they lost two those (minnesota being the only road win). both of those two losses are games they should have won to be considered "for real" -- especially wake forest, losers to depaul. so, no offense, but even if they do win tonight, they still won't convince me til after the illinois game and february when their schedule gets much much tougher.

Illinois is clearly the class of the league; do you think they'll bounce back? Or are they SPOOKED now?

i give michigan state a lot of credit for their early schedule -- even if the tough teams they played (arizona, gonazaga, bc) are turning out to be varying degrees of hype. but damn, their last four games are going to be brutal -- ohio state, at indiana, wisconsin, illinois.

i mean, you're right, the big ten is much more interesting this year than last. the depth is similar to last year's acc. it's be fun to watch them beat eachother up. and they'll all be that much better for it come march.

as for wisconsin, i was impressed how they held on, even if both teams kinda sugged it in the last 5 minutes.

and saturday...damn, action packed:
- the bc / miami game will be interesting. if miami wins, they have a decent shot at second in the conference.
- wake has to win at nc state, which they probably won't.
- penn state should give ohio state at least a scare (and maybe even win), on their way to next season when the nittany lions will actually be a decent team.
- plus west virginia / ucla! oh man, i am geeking out...

-- hstencil (hstenc!...), November 26th, 2005 5:41 PM. (hstencil) - close enough!

between georgetown, west virginia, st.john's/pitt, syracuse/villanova, ucon/louisville, yesterday was ginormous for the big east.

btw, during the 30 minutes that i watched of that syracuse/villanova game, the orangemen got SMOKED. especially the first 10 minutes, where i think they only had 8 points and nova was drilling in threes like they were layups and looked like they could take down anyone. whatever happened during the start of the second half, while i was in the shower is a mystery to me...

and... there is now a blueprint to beat duke (as laid out in the nc state game) -- don't fall for reddick's first head fake, get williams in foul trouble and take it inside (nc state had 52 points there, 40-something for georgetown). and you gotta be able to break their press, which georgetown did beautifully yesterday. teams that can probably do this: michigan state and west virginia.

teams that can probably do this: michigan state and west virginia.

ha! maybe marshall can beat duke now, too...

at least florida lost.

As a child, you should have been educated about the transitive property of equality, which goes something like this: If A is greater than B, and B is greater than C, then A is greater than C. It transfers nicely into the realm of "my dad can beat up your dad" and college basketball. Georgetown beat Duke. UConn beat Georgetown. Marquette beat UConn. Wisconsin beat Marquette. North Dakota State beat Wisconsin. Therefore, by the transitive property, North Dakota State is my new No. 1 team.

woops.