Exile on Waveland

Of note (off the top of my head): besides being the first major conference team to make the tournament with a losing record, Georgia also has the worst record ever for an at-large team, going 16-14 and being selected a few years back. I didn't verify either of these tidbits (though they definitely got in at 16-14), so I could be wrong -- educated guess though.

They'll likely be slotted in instead of the last at-large team. The selections have been made at this point, with the final two spots probably saying "Arizona State/Illinois" and "Virginia Tech/Georgia" (or whomever the final two at-larges are). The committee cannot make whole-sale changes this late. Therefore, I would assume a 12 or a 13. If it's 13, then the committee did actually make some secondary arrangements (at-large teams generally go no lower than 12).

He already said that wasn't the actual bracket, just the seeding. Conference teams can't play in the second round. I know, I was just trying to point out tweaks that could be made. I know the rule used to be that you couldn't play a conference team until the elite 8, but when the Big East expanded they changed them because they could get 9 teams into the tourney. I though they allowed 2nd round matchups if absolutely necessary, but they're unnecessary anyway, so it doesn't matter. I'm pretty sure the rule is now the Sweet 16. Not sure avoiding rematches was ever a bright-line rule, just something they attempted to do.

A big thing with Pitt is if the refs let them play. IMo, they get in trouble in the NCAA's when the refs don't let anything go and start calling tick tack fouls. That's a good point, I think. They play so physically that they're vulnerable in tightly-called games. Some Big Ten teams run into the same thing; conference officials allow more than tournament officials generally do (I have no empirical data to support this, just years of basketball watching). I like Pitt's program and Jamie Dixon a lot.

He already said that wasn't the actual bracket, just the seeding. Conference teams can't play in the second round.

At some point Pitt is going to break their Sweet 16 ceiling and make a deep run. I don't think it's going to be this year necessarily -- though it's possible depending on their draw. I've been saying this for a couple years, they're bound to bust out and make the Final Four at some point. Tough, hard-nosed team. Like watching them play.

i got to admit i was pretty excited when i saw MSU with a decent lead late in the game. now there's no way we win tomorrow. brock flailing to the ground could've been very costly. imo you better be bleeding from the sockets if you're going to travel with the game winning rebound. I think the Illini would have been right in the game with a chance to beat Michigan State. Wisconsin? Don't think they match up well with them at all; I expect Wisconsin to have a nice working margin all game. Illinois doesn't seem well equipped to beat them.

Big Ten officials are ineptly embarrassing. That was just incompetent.

They made a serious mistake getting rid of Tubby. Tubby wasn't pulling in top-level talent. And I don't think they got rid of him. Didn't he leave? He left on his own accord, but he was all but forced out. While I do believe Gillispie is a good coach and will do well there -- I was saying so even during their rough start -- Tubby is one of the best in the business. I won't say that it wasn't time for Tubby to leave, but I honestly doubt UK is as successful over the next ten years as they were during Tubby's tenure. In ten years at UK, Tubby averaged 26 wins and eight losses, won a National Championship, made four elite eights and six sweet sixteens, and won five SEC regular season championships and five SEC tournament championships. (Admittedly, the title was with Rick Pitino's leftovers; and his last two years were average). If IU is that successful over the next 10 years I will be THRILLED. The "pulling in top talent" was basically a delusion perpetuated by some Kentucky fans that expect to get the top-5 players in every class. Here are his last three classes: 2006-three 4-star players and two 3-star players; 2005-two 3-star players; and 2004-three 5-star players and three 3-star players (top recruiting class in the nation). Those are good recruiting classes -- nevermind the fact that Tubby is such a good coach he doesn't need all the best players to win. Tubby's biggest faults at UK were that he wasn't sexy and he wasn't Pitino (and, yes, IU's fan base has these exact same issues as well).

Their next best non-conference wins were Louisiana State (Pomeroy #96) and then Montana State (#245). That's brutal. But what bubble team has better wins than ASU? I suppose I value who you beat uber (most) alles.

I looked at their resume again and I do think I underestimated them. I'd probably move them up to behind Oregon or VCU. I don't want to put them ahead of the Pac 10 duo because they both have more big wins and a much better winning % vs the RPI Top 50. It's going to be close, so they need to root against Va. Tech and Temple today. This is all I was saying. I'm not sure how it will end up, but I could definitely envision a scenario that Ohio State should be invited. I know Arizona State's computer numbers aren't great, but I look at a team that has wins over Xavier, Stanford, USC, Oregon and two against Arizona and have to think they should be included. I'm rooting for ASU to get a bid.

All of this might be true, but give me the chance to get the lead at the line everytime. I wouldn't think any IU fans would argue with this. Giving a team three chances in the final 10 seconds of play at the line to win the game is the officiating team asserting too much control over the outcome. However, Raw is right -- multiple calls went against IU along the way (as, of course, many went against Minnesota). This happens every game. Big Ten officials are horrendous and make multiple calls against both teams every game. Officials very, very rarely cost a team a game (the Georgetown-Villanova game earlier in the season would be an example of this). Complaining that one team gets all the calls every game is irrational, preposterous and smacks of homerism.* *Except when it comes to Duke. :wink:

Yeah, I was going through the remaining bids, and there are a lot more bids available than it seems. If all the teams people said were out were actually out, there'd only be about 50 teams in the tournament. That's what happens when the bubble is so weak; no one seems deserving.

Ohio State is in much, much better shape than "all but dead." In fact, they might even be in the tournament as of this moment. Not sure they end up in it, but they're certainly alive.

There is no way the NCAA can unilaterally allow the SEC to poach two automatic bids. I have no problem with naming co-champions, as it appears that may be the fairest result. However, in that case, the automatic bid should go to Tennessee as the regular season champion. Nevermind, looks like this is moot and they'll play the final Sunday. I just woke up after getting back late from last night's games.

No it was a good game down to the last 30 seconds. At which point I thought the referees played far too big a role. First, the "it's" in my post is an awful display of grammar. Second, I would certainly agree with you. From the replay I saw last night, DJ was fouled on the second rebound, but the whistle should be swallowed at that point in time. Otherwise the ref's decide the game (well, that is, until the miracle shot). The foul on the rebound tip looked dubious. I haven't seen the Gordon drive again, but I'd guess he did get fouled -- he gets fouled nearly every time he drives (though he often subsequently rams over someone). Too many key calls late. I said before he took them, IU didn't deserve to win on the second set of White free throws; but I was thinking more OT not that.

Indiana's won its last game. While IU was the beneficiary of some calls at the end tonight (probably, I was there in person and didn't have a good view), claiming they get every call all the time is asinine. Edit: Embarrassingly bad grammar.

i do know that gordon has one of the quickest, prettiest, most fundamentally sound releases in the game and will instantly be a 3-point killer in the NBA. Gordon will immediately be one of the best 3-point shooters in the league. He's got an outstanding stroke that extends well beyond even the NBA 3-point line. It's a very high arching shot, which is good. However, his shots generally swish or hit the back rim. He hits a high percentage but doesn't get a ton of rolls (as opposed to his free throw stroke, which is favorable for rolls). As CCP said, his injury is almost certainly worse than believed and it's affected both his shooting and his ball-handling. His first step is devastatingly quick and he's so strong that he rarely gets bumped off his path and can finish inside. From his high school days, he has a good mid-range game, despite not using it much at IU. He actually shows very good court vision as well; however, he doesn't pass with finesse. Every pass is a bullet which leads to more turnovers. He also has shown the ability to be a shut-down defensive player, even at the next level. He reaches and fouls too much defensively though; needs to play with his feet, not his hands. His flaws start with his ball-handling (2.5 apg, 3.6 to's pg). Even with healthy two wrists, he's more of a two- or three-power-dribbles to the lane type. He isn't even close to dribbling like an NBA guard should, much less an NBA point. He travels a lot, but again, as CCP said, this won't be much of an issue in the NBA. He's also short for his game, but athleticism and strength will neutralize some of that. And, as I said previously, he hasn't improved this season. A little disconcerting. (Edit: Mayo, I believe, is a better player than he was at the beginning of the year. But Tim Floyd's a good coach, so that doesn't surprise me.) In my opinion, he's not terribly similar to Mayo (much more comparable to Bayless). Mayo isn't near as good a shooter and also has a poor A/TO ratio (3.1-3.6). I also worry about Mayo's maturity and the fact he's more of a volume shooter. I still haven't seen anything to dispel my initial concerns that he'll be a 25-shot guy on bad NBA teams his entire career. I do believe Mayo has a couple inches on Gordon, though isn't quite as strong. Mayo's also a better play-maker at this point, but more indifferent on defense. Nor does he get to the line as much as Gordon (few guards do). That was long, sorry. I prefer Gordon to Mayo, with Rose above all.

i don't know why you'd take mayo over him, other than the obvious reason. they're like the same player, flip a coin. i'll take Gordon. More ability to play the point, he is bigger, has a better handle, is a better defender, and I think he has shown the ability to make others around him better. I have yet to really see EJ demonstrate that. he's not bigger and he's not a better defender, and he doesn't have a better handle. they're pretty equal across the board. furthermore, you're the one promoting DJ White as the best player in the big ten, but he's not better because of gordon? He absolutely has a better handle than Gordon. I doubt you find any perimeter draft pick this year that has a worse handle than Gordon. He is obviously is bigger than Gordon too. . I would take Gordon over Mayo, though. Rose would be my first choice at guard.

i don't know why you'd take mayo over him, other than the obvious reason. they're like the same player, flip a coin. i'll take Gordon. More ability to play the point, he is bigger, has a better handle, is a better defender, and I think he has shown the ability to make others around him better. I have yet to really see EJ demonstrate that. he's not bigger and he's not a better defender, and he doesn't have a better handle. they're pretty equal across the board. furthermore, you're the one promoting DJ White as the best player in the big ten, but he's not better because of gordon? He absolutely has a better handle than Gordon. I doubt you find any perimeter draft pick this year that has a worse handle than Gordon.

Huh, Gordon still makes the same mistakes he did in high school and really didn't show any improvement under Sampson and has been passed on many people's draft boards by Rose and Bayliss. Huh. Huh, Sampson lasted all of a year and a half, but really it was just illini fans bitching about nothing, huh. how about gordon's the best player in the big ten and deserves to be first team and poy? as much as i hate the kid, i cannot player hate. DJ White was the deserving POY. Gordon is certainly a fabulous talent, but he really didn't improve at all this season. I'm disappointed he is the exact same player making the exact same mistakes as in November. Though I do think his wrist injury was limited his ability.

Agree completely. I wanted to avoid Illinois at all costs, and they've done that (at least until a potential Saturday matchup). Plus, IU matches up well with Purdue. It wouldn't stun me if IU is playing on Sunday, where it would've if they had to go through the top of the bracket. I just don't trust this IU team post-coaching change.

Huh, Gordon made first-team. How about that. Anyway, I don't know what to think about the Big Ten Tournament -- probably that either all the favorites will win or it will be all upsets. I'm taking Indiana over Minnesota, but I'm not sure about that one at all. It's in Indy, so I'll go with that; though I wouldn't be surprised if IU has already won its last game. I'm also going to Friday's games, and hope not to see IU lose. I haven't been too impressed with Michigan State this year, but kind of expect them to put together a couple good games. Michigan Illinois Minnesota Wisconsin Michigan State Purdue Indiana Michigan State Purdue Purdue

I thought the 'Cuse would win; I was way wrong. I think that effectively bursts their bubble. Don't think it clinches 'Nova's berth either, though.

Why, we still control our own destiny. With a couple of BE wins that would propel them into the mix and above possibly. This is also depending how the other tournaments do this weekend. If we have a Florida and Missouri win their tournaments, this is going to be very tough even with a couple of wins. I, for one, still expect Syracuse to make the tournament. Perhaps because I expect them to top Villanova tomorrow.