Itttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt's Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack

[eagleair89]

NEXT! 🦅🦅🦅

Gator boots all around

Man, I love this team

 
firebrucepearl!NOW

[wesfau2]

Vanderbilt comes calling tonight for an 8:00 CT contest.  That's 5:17 Mountain Time with Tiger Walk starting at the north end of Haley Center at 4:45.

Vanderbilt comes in at 13-11 and are led by Scottie Pippen, Jr. with right at 19 ppg.  They average 8.4 three pointers a game and 69 total points per game.

Auburn (23-2) is coming off a fairly easy win against Texas A&M.  They jumped out on the Aggies and seemed to keep a 15-20 point lead most of the day, without letting A&M make much of a run, like most teams seem to do. 

I thought Lord Bruce's bunch looked like they were running some semblance of a motion offense at times, which is unusual.  As a result, they got a ton of good looks at the basket from behind the arc, but damn, were they cold.  I haven't looked at any stats, but it seems like the Tigers have really cooled off from the 3-point line in recent games, as a whole. 

Here's to AU handling that business tonight.

That was fun.  On to Gainesville...

[GH2001]

Opened up the game in an 11-0 hole and outscore Scottie "Free Throw" Pippen Jr and his boys by about 30 the rest of the way. Damn.

[Snaggletiger]

That's the Jabari Smith I want to see.  Not just because he went off for 30+. Yes, that was nice.  More because he was finally a little selfish, and played with swagger.  A little cockiness. There were several times he'd drain one, and look over at the Vandy bench with a smirk, like you can't stop this. 

BTW, am I being way too Captain Obvious here in saying, the refs in this league are garbage?   

[Snaggletiger]

On another note, I watched a little of Gonzaga's game last night.  They were looking incredible on the road against 7-20 Pepperdine. (1-11 in conference)  The 700-800 crazed fans in attendance were making it hard on the Zags, but they didn't seem phased at all by the noise. 

I'm sure this win will give them some serious momentum heading into their upcoming monumental clash with the Pacific Mount Saint Santa Clara Barbara Anteater Thingies.

Clearly deserving of the #1 slot.

[Kaos]

On another note, I watched a little of Gonzaga's game last night.  They were looking incredible on the road against 7-20 Pepperdine. (1-11 in conference)  The 700-800 crazed fans in attendance were making it hard on the Zags, but they didn't seem phased at all by the noise. 

I'm sure this win will give them some serious momentum heading into their upcoming monumental clash with the Pacific Mount Saint Santa Clara Barbara Anteater Thingies.

Clearly deserving of the #1 slot.

I watched some of their game too.  I'm probably missing a lot, but I don't understand the fascination with this team. 

I've seen them in three games.  Absolutely dominated by bama's speed and size.  They had no answer for the athleticism.  Playing against St. Mary's --with  ESPN screaming how legit Mary is. St Mary's is a bunch of slow white guys. Their point guard looked 40 years old.  He was fucking bald.  Not shaved head, but fucking bald like an old man.  He was great at dribbling in circles. 

I mean seriously... look at this fuck....



THAT'S the kind of player Gonezooga is making its rep against.  He looks like the guitarist for a bad 80s cover band, for fuck's sake.

Then I watched some of them against Peppermint last night. 

I don't get it.  The center that ESPN jerks off to at night?  He's a toothpick.  Kessler has (legitimately, no exaggeration) 60+ pounds on the kid.  Kessler is more athletic and is much better with the ball in his hands around the basket.  The Gonzo kid is nothing but rangy elbows and skinny knees.  The whole team just looked... dull.   

Look, I get how a disciplined team with solid basic fundamentals can win games.  But going 29-0 in THAT league?  Most of the teams in the SEC could do it.  They aren't really tested until tournament time.  That factors in their favor because they don't have the physical grind that teams from the ACC/SEC have during the season. 

So I looked at their tournament history.  Hmmmm. 

Final Four last year.  Beat Norfolk State, Oklahoma (16-11), Creighton, USC and UCLA to get there.  Only USC was legit and that's questionable because they didn't play outside the PAC10 all season. 

2019 Elite Eight - Fairleigh Dickinson, Baylor, Florida State, Lost to Texas Tech

2018 - Sixteen - UNC Greensboro, Ohio State, Lost to FSU

2017 Final Four - South Dakota State, Northwestern, West Virginia, Xavier, South Carolina, lost to UNC. 

2016 - Sixteen - Seton Hall, Utah, Lost to Syracuse

2015 - Eight - North Dakota State, Iowa, UCLA, lost to Duke

2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010  - Bounced in second round by Arizona, Wichita State, OSU, BYU and Syracuse respectively.

2009 - Akron, Western Kentucky, Lost to UNC

2008 - Lost in first round to Davidson


I see three things from that. 

1) They make the tourney by racking up wins in a shitty, horrible conference full of kids that would never play in the SEC/ACC
2) They only have to really play one game a season and it's typically a loss
3) They get the most favorable bracket seeding I've ever seen.  Their path to a deeper run is RIDICULOUSLY easy in the years they've done it. 

I know Auburn's basketball program has traditionally sucked donkey ass, but I firmly believe that if our Tigres played in THAT slow ass league?  We'd be looking at a 15-20 year run of NCAA tourney appearances with about the same results to show for it.   

[Snaggletiger]

Mark Few has done a great job putting together a really talented and consistent program. They traditionally play a tough OOC schedule, which they did again this year.  Wins over UCLA and Texas Tech are solid resume builders.  But they lost badly to a barely above average Alabama.  They also lost to Duke, who is pretty decent this year, but not great by any means. No real shame in any of that.

But as K said, the rest of that schedule is like playing a bunch of 6A High School teams.  And as he also laid out, they choke in the tourney year after year after year.  They've proven they can't survive that gauntlet.  So, why do they keep getting rewarded?  I understood Cincinnati making the playoffs in foosballz.  Different scenario altogether, and I believe the committee was kind of pushed to let a Group of 5 school in to if they could compete.  But March Madness allows 173 teams in.  Gonzaga is going to get in, regardless.  Why reward them with a #1 seed for playing that schedule every year?

[Kaos]

Mark Few has done a great job putting together a really talented and consistent program. They traditionally play a tough OOC schedule, which they did again this year.  Wins over UCLA and Texas Tech are solid resume builders.  But they lost badly to a barely above average Alabama.  They also lost to Duke, who is pretty decent this year, but not great by any means. No real shame in any of that.

But as K said, the rest of that schedule is like playing a bunch of 6A High School teams.  And as he also laid out, they choke in the tourney year after year after year.  They've proven they can't survive that gauntlet.  So, why do they keep getting rewarded?  I understood Cincinnati making the playoffs in foosballz.  Different scenario altogether, and I believe the committee was kind of pushed to let a Group of 5 school in to if they could compete.  But March Madness allows 173 teams in.  Gonzaga is going to get in, regardless.  Why reward them with a #1 seed for playing that schedule every year?

It’s my thought that the powers that be on the selection committee and in the media are dying for that Cinderella story they want to hype.  It’s why that creepy old nun from that creepy team got all the air time.  They want to create the narrative that any team really can win it.  Every year they fall into the trap that a bunch of white boys from fruitville are that giant slayer.  And they open the door with a shockingly easy regional path.  Of all the prior zonga iterations I do believe this is the least talented.  There are some sec teams they’d beat just because they are disciplined and some sec teams play about 90% on emotion.  But on any given night I’d take Tennessee, KY, LSU, Arky, Florida, and us straight up over them.  In the SEC that’s a 16-10 type team at best.

It’s kind of like Oklahoma in football.  So hungry to re-establish the myth of the Little 12 they don’t learn from watching the Sooners get their shit pushed in Year in and year out. 

[wesfau2]

It’s my thought that the powers that be on the selection committee and in the media are dying for that Cinderella story they want to hype.  It’s why that creepy old nun from that creepy team got all the air time.  They want to create the narrative that any team really can win it.

I pretty much agree with both of you on this topic, but I'll admit to wanting a Cinderella story.  It's fun watching those teams get hyped and advance.  15s and 16s winning first round games is exciting and good for the game.

[Snaggletiger]

I pretty much agree with both of you on this topic, but I'll admit to wanting a Cinderella story.  It's fun watching those teams get hyped and advance.  15s and 16s winning first round games is exciting and good for the game.

I'm the same way.  Love to see George Mason, or Butler or Loyola Chicago advance through the tourney.  But yeah, that Nun creeped me out too.  And I used to be a fan of the Zongaga's making noise.  But that shit got old a while back.

We'll probably drop another game or two. Hope not.  But getting beat by Arkansas, who was on an 8 game winning streak, on the road, in overtime...and getting replaced at #1 by a team that beat the San Louis Obispo Jack Legs, pisses me off.

[Buzz Killington]

I'm the same way.  Love to see George Mason, or Butler or Loyola Chicago advance through the tourney.  But yeah, that Nun creeped me out too.  And I used to be a fan of the Zongaga's making noise.  But that shit got old a while back.

We'll probably drop another game or two. Hope not.  But getting beat by Arkansas, who was on an 8 game winning streak, on the road, in overtime...and getting replaced at #1 by a team that beat the San Louis Obispo Jack Legs, pisses me off.

But the Jack Legs were 30 in the NET!

[Kaos]

But the Jack Legs were 30 in the NET!

They couldn't put 30 in the net if they wanted to.

[eagleair89]

Uh, Flight I'm  detecting a little shimmy.....

Cause?..... not sure, I'll get back to you Flight.


....
Well that was just ugly....bound to happen I guess.....

Hope they get the groove back and close this thing out

Next!

 

[Snaggletiger]

We’re a baseball school anyway.

[Buzz Killington]

I blame GF and wes for that one.

[wesfau2]

I blame GF and wes for that one.

I def should have finished the reacharound I was giving him in the mens' room at halftime.

[AUJarhead]

I def should have finished the reacharound I was giving him in the mens' room at halftime.

He was thinking of the Daytona 500 anyway.

[Kaos]

I'm really glad the polls don't mean a whole lot. 

Gon-Fucking-Zoga loses to a 2A private school team full of slow white boys ...... and stays at #1. 

Auburn, meanwhile, slides to 5.  Kentucky drops to 7. 

The usual suspects ... Duke, Kansas, Arizona ... slide into the 2,3,4 slots. 

So much bullshit. 

Zoga is a fraud. 

[jmar]

Kindly refrain from referring to me as an it.

[Buzz Killington]

Kindly refrain from referring to me as an it.

they?