Exile on Waveland

Lather, rinse, repeat.

The IU football one was funny. And true. Yeah, I thought that was the best part. The handshake one got a laugh out of me too. My dislike for Notre Dame can be directly traced to the pseudo-IU fans that also root for Notre Dame football. I despise those people. You can go ahead and despise me then :D Though I had a little bit of a different path to it then most. My parents passed down a tradition of Notre Dame football from when they had grown up in southern Michigan. I was on my own in college basketball, and my 6 or 7 year old mind didn't know that you should pick the same school for everything (and plus, ND basketball had absolutely no publicity in my area back then and were not on TV, so my fandom in them would be pointless), so I just picked the closest school to me. I was just slightly too young to remember the last title from either school though so I've managed to be present only for the largest droughts for both. I do know the bandwagon jumpers that you talk about and get frustrated by them as well. I bet many of them are gone by now with all the struggles of the two teams lately. I should've specified the bandwagoners. :oops:

The IU football one was funny. And true. Yeah, I thought that was the best part. The handshake one got a laugh out of me too. My dislike for Notre Dame can be directly traced to the pseudo-IU fans that also root for Notre Dame football. I despise those people.

The word filter saves my banning. I'm flashing back to one of my college roommates who was an IU fan (attending Purdue, I don't know why). He would scream and yell and cuss... and do things like throw shoes at the TV. Really quite exciting. Indiana and Purdue are nearly completely different schools academically. You don't see why someone who was a fan of one might attend the other purely for academic purposes?

Yes they did. And it was glorious. It's great when even good ole Rat Face's whining can't make a difference for them. i'm mad at myself for not watching this. i guess i was still in mourning over IU blowing their perfect BT season. Yeah Iowa is bad Hey, we have a winning record. You were the only team and are the only team that will lose to Indiana in the Big Ten this year Indiana has lost Big Ten games this year by 2, 4, 5, 6(ot), 10 and 12 points. They led by at least nine points in, I believe, four of those games and by double digits in three of them. Pomeroy also has them finishing 2-16 in the league. IU has been very competitive in seven of its nine conference games; it is by no means a certainty they fail to win another game. Exactly. I wouldn't say it's likely (I only give them a 30-35 percent chance to actually close out another game, although I think they will have 3-4 more close games along the way) but it's not like Iowa proved themselves substantially inferior to other Big 10 teams with last night's game. It was essentially a carbon copy of the Michigan game..but this time Dumes made the right decision with a minute left to seal the game instead of allowing the other team to force OT. If Dumes had hit that 3 against Minnesota, they may have been the one to go down instead. I doubt that IU can keep 4 out of their next 5 games within double digits, but they'll still have some chances near the end of the season to win a game, and they'll likely play the 6 seed close in the BTT before falling late (maybe play the 7 seed if everything fell absolutely right for IU). Do I think IU wins another game? Probably not. (Just so everyone is clear.) And, as you said, they have a rough stretch coming up; they are going to take some beatings. There are also a couple/few games they figure to be competitive in and have a chance to win.

Yes they did. And it was glorious. It's great when even good ole Rat Face's whining can't make a difference for them. i'm mad at myself for not watching this. i guess i was still in mourning over IU blowing their perfect BT season. Yeah Iowa is bad Hey, we have a winning record. You were the only team and are the only team that will lose to Indiana in the Big Ten this year Indiana has lost Big Ten games this year by 2, 4, 5, 6(ot), 10 and 12 points. They led by at least nine points in, I believe, four of those games and by double digits in three of them. Pomeroy also has them finishing 2-16 in the league. IU has been very competitive in seven of its nine conference games; it is by no means a certainty they fail to win another game.

Moore annoys the hell out of me.

Three factors distinguish this Davidson team: (i) their win over West Virginia (Pomeroy No. 7) is far superior to anything they did last regular season (best win was No. 115 NC Greensboro); (ii) no losses to teams below No. 12, whereas last year they lost games to Nos. 84, 96 and 107; (iii) finally, they have far more name recognition this season (this may not be on the selection committee's stated criteria, but I guarantee it is at least subconsciously pivotal).

yeah but it never works that way unless the player on the "bad" team is overwhelmingly good. In all honestly, one would have to wonder how often the best player in the Big Ten plays on a subpar team. Basketball is a five-person sport and one player carries great influence. Not to say the team with the best player invariably wins the league championship, but I'd posit it would be exceedingly rare for the best player to play for a mediocre to poor team.

And then compare 93-98 to 03-08. That's it? That Tubby was worse than Pitino? What a revelation. You can't seriously expect any coach to duplicate that Pitino stretch (which, by the way, your stretch includes a National Title won by Tubby). It's completely unrealistic. Tubby wasn't as good as Pitino -- but UK kept with that theme in also replacing Tubby with an inferior coach. Still, from 2003-08, Kentucky went 131-40 overall, 61-19 in the SEC, won two SEC regular season titles, two SEC tournament titles, one 16-0 (19-0 actually) SEC season, two elite eights and no first-round NCAA tournament losses. Again, it had to be real rough on Kentucky during that stretch.

It was a real rough 10-year stretch for Kentucky going 263-83 overall, 120-40 in the SEC, winning five SEC regular season titles, four SEC tournament titles, advancing to four Elite Eights, two more Sweet Sixteens, and winning a National Championship.

Your team usually has to be, you know, good to win Big Ten POY. If Harangody leads the Big East in scoring and rebounding again (he's doing both rather easily right now) and doesn't win Big East POY, I'll be pissed regardless of ND's standing, and I'd imagine the same applies to Harris and UM. If Harris proves to be the best player, he should win the award. If not they should change it to conference MVP and be done with it. That said, I'm sure someone will prove to be at least as deserving for a more competitive team. Depends on who finishes where obviously. If Purdue finishes top 3 I could see Hummel or Johnson winning it. Johnson has been the best center in the Big Ten (16th in points, 11th in rebounds, 3rd in FG%, 1st in blocks). Meanwhile Hummel is still putting up very good numbers despite playing with a bad back and not practicing a single day since December. Plus he has the preseason player of the year going for him. People could vote for him because it makes them look good for picking him in the preseason. Right now I would vote for Harris but there isn't a clear cut definite favorite. Manny Harris is winning this and Robbie Hummel shouldn't even be on the short list. Care to try and justify that. Not that it's possible or anything. He's averaging 12.9 points per game overall? He's scored in double figures in two -- TWO -- of the six Big Ten games he's played in (he missed one)? He's averaging 10 ppg in the Big Ten?

I don't think anyone expects Crean to be the second coming of Coach Knight. Honestly, no one should expect the second coming of Coach Knight in their lifetime. That said, I do hope fans realize what Crean is. He will be a great energetic program salesman, should recruit extremely well and is a solid -- but not great -- coach. He'll win at Indiana, there is no doubt. I don't expect a National Championship under Crean. I do expect to contend for the Big Ten title often, and hopefully make the Final Four once or twice. Indiana means more in this equation than Crean, though. I think most Indiana fans realize this and are content with it. After six years of the utterly incompetent Davis and two years of the deceptive Sampson, Crean is a breath of fresh air.

You have got to be kidding. Not at all. 9 players on that squad played in the NBA. 6 1st rounders. Now dispute it. You take a team with players drafted at Nos. 6, 6, 13, 16, 19, 29 and 52; I'll take a team that had players drafted Nos. 1, 2, 3, 11, 14, and 18. Oh, did I mention that the No. 1 pick was someone named Lew Alcindor? I only needed to look up one team to dispute it. I must also wonder how 1996 Kentucky, being the most talented ever, lost two games and failed to win the SEC Tournament. That was kind of cruel not letting Raisin make this post. I felt dirty making it. You don't need to lie. Well, UCLA is the lesser of two evils for me, for what that's worth.

You have got to be kidding. Not at all. 9 players on that squad played in the NBA. 6 1st rounders. Now dispute it. You take a team with players drafted at Nos. 6, 6, 13, 16, 19, 29 and 52; I'll take a team that had players drafted Nos. 1, 2, 3, 11, 14, and 18. Oh, did I mention that the No. 1 pick was someone named Lew Alcindor? I only needed to look up one team to dispute it. I must also wonder how 1996 Kentucky, being the most talented ever, lost two games and failed to win the SEC Tournament. Cause they lost to 2 final four teams that they ended up beating with Miss. St. and UMASS . In fact, that 96 team has the highest sagarin rating dating back to the UCLA days. The former was a predictable -- and accurate -- response to my personal jab mainly directed at the hagiography of Pitino. The latter is completely irrelevant in an argument for most talented team.

You have got to be kidding. Not at all. 9 players on that squad played in the NBA. 6 1st rounders. Now dispute it. You take a team with players drafted at Nos. 6, 6, 13, 16, 19, 29 and 52; I'll take a team that had players drafted Nos. 1, 2, 3, 11, 14, and 18. Oh, did I mention that the No. 1 pick was someone named Lew Alcindor? I only needed to look up one team to dispute it. I must also wonder how 1996 Kentucky, being the most talented ever, lost two games and failed to win the SEC Tournament. That was kind of cruel not letting Raisin make this post. I felt dirty making it.

Indiana fans would absolutely kill to duplicate Tubby's record at Kentucky.

You have got to be kidding. Not at all. 9 players on that squad played in the NBA. 6 1st rounders. Now dispute it. You take a team with players drafted at Nos. 6, 6, 13, 16, 19, 29 and 52; I'll take a team that had players drafted Nos. 1, 2, 3, 11, 14, and 18. Oh, did I mention that the No. 1 pick was someone named Lew Alcindor? I only needed to look up one team to dispute it. I must also wonder how 1996 Kentucky, being the most talented ever, lost two games and failed to win the SEC Tournament.

You have got to be kidding.

He was a top-100, 4-star recruit.

I may offer some unsolicited advice, if you don't mind. I know I said I would last year, but law school finals got in the way. I'm excited to be able to watch the draft for the first time in four years. I feel like the Colts are going back to their unpredictability. The recent Jackson-Addai-Gonzalez stretch was rather anticipated. This year, DT, CB, LB, RB, even another WR? I don't know; everyone will have them picking a DT, but I'm not so sure they won't be able to get a similarly talented DT in round 2. I would love some help. I would agree that all of those positions might get selected, although I think LB is unlikely with all 3 starters returning. I would add that they might even add yet another offensive lineman though. CB becomes a big need if they don't resign Hayden. I'd agree that LB is the least likely -- I just added it because I've seen some mocks where a really good value LB could drop (and even then Polian might not go that direction). I would not be against adding an offensive lineman, I should've added that to my list. I'm hoping they resign Hayden not only for his play, but also so they don't go CB in round one.

I may offer some unsolicited advice, if you don't mind. I know I said I would last year, but law school finals got in the way. I'm excited to be able to watch the draft for the first time in four years. I feel like the Colts are going back to their unpredictability. The recent Jackson-Addai-Gonzalez stretch was rather anticipated. This year, DT, CB, LB, RB, even another WR? I don't know; everyone will have them picking a DT, but I'm not so sure they won't be able to get a similarly talented DT in round 2.

There's the issue. Who is Indiana a decent bet to finish ahead of next year or '10-'11? For next year, I've got their best case scenario as 8th in conference. For '10-'11, I'd think MSU, Purdue, Illinois, OSU, Wisconsin, and Minnesota are all pretty safe bets to finish ahead of IU. That leaves them as 7th at best fighting with 4 other teams with way more experienced talent. A couple not-so-quick points (and it seems I'm commenting on your string of posts, not specifically the above quoted one): 1) IU is near certain to have an easier schedule next season (admitting that I don't know what it will entail exactly). Pomeroy has their overall schedule as No. 4 in the nation, and No. 55 for non-conference only. IU won't be in Maui, should get a much easier ACC/Big Ten opponent than Wake Forest, won't be playing Gonzaga again, will play a Kentucky team that likely loses both Meeks and Patterson to the NBA, and, finally, I think you'll see Crean ease up on the schedule regardless. Some of the wins they'll need will simply come from easier games. 2) With the current crop of coaches in the Big Ten, and the recruiting renaissance, I think you'll see the tournament berths increase. I'd expect six or seven most every season from here on out. While upward mobility will be more difficult, the selection committee is likely to include more Big Ten teams. Your "seventh at best" may, in fact, be good enough. 3) As Big Ten fans, we probably should just get accustomed to Ohio State having about the most talent in the league every year. As long as Matta is there, I doubt many -- if any -- will out-recruit him. That said, their on-court results (excepting, of course, a once-in-a-lifetime Oden/Conley Jr. class) figure to lag behind their paper talent. I don't think any talented teams should concede a higher finish to Ohio State because of talent. Who has more talent this year, Ohio State or Illinois? Ohio State. Who is better? Illinois. That may be near axiomatic. Point three is arguable. Illinois and Michigan State both have a ton of talent coming in, but yes OSU will always put a ton of talent on the floor. I don't mean to say Ohio State will invariably have the most talent in the league. They figure to be right near the top every season though, and I've seen little to suggest that their league finish will correspond directly to that.

yeah they should stay away from those potential trap games against northeastern and lipscomb :wink: :oops:

There's the issue. Who is Indiana a decent bet to finish ahead of next year or '10-'11? For next year, I've got their best case scenario as 8th in conference. For '10-'11, I'd think MSU, Purdue, Illinois, OSU, Wisconsin, and Minnesota are all pretty safe bets to finish ahead of IU. That leaves them as 7th at best fighting with 4 other teams with way more experienced talent. A couple not-so-quick points (and it seems I'm commenting on your string of posts, not specifically the above quoted one): 1) IU is near certain to have an easier schedule next season (admitting that I don't know what it will entail exactly). Pomeroy has their overall schedule as No. 4 in the nation, and No. 55 for non-conference only. IU won't be in Maui, should get a much easier ACC/Big Ten opponent than Wake Forest, won't be playing Gonzaga again, will play a Kentucky team that likely loses both Meeks and Patterson to the NBA, and, finally, I think you'll see Crean ease up on the schedule regardless. Some of the wins they'll need will simply come from easier games. 2) With the current crop of coaches in the Big Ten, and the recruiting renaissance, I think you'll see the tournament berths increase. I'd expect six or seven most every season from here on out. While upward mobility will be more difficult, the selection committee is likely to include more Big Ten teams. Your "seventh at best" may, in fact, be good enough. 3) As Big Ten fans, we probably should just get accustomed to Ohio State having about the most talent in the league every year. As long as Matta is there, I doubt many -- if any -- will out-recruit him. That said, their on-court results (excepting, of course, a once-in-a-lifetime Oden/Conley Jr. class) figure to lag behind their paper talent. I don't think any talented teams should concede a higher finish to Ohio State because of talent. Who has more talent this year, Ohio State or Illinois? Ohio State. Who is better? Illinois. That may be near axiomatic.