bierce

I took a break from this for a while, because I do get down when we lose. We are currently an 11 seed in the Matrix. I'm not convinced we'll earn a tournament bid, especially if Kaluma misses any length of time, but it's not like the teams currently on the wrong side of the bubble and chasing a bid have a lot to brag about. The first four out in the matrix are Wake Forest, SMU, Indiana, and UNC. Wake is 1-6 in q1 but 4-0 in q2. It beat Michigan in nearby Greensboro in what the NCAA net called a neutral floor. Wouldn't matter. Q1 game regardless. Since then it has done nearly nothing before eking out a 77-76 win at home over UNC. It is 4-0 in Q2 games, so it has that going for it. NET 65. SMU is 0-4 in Q1 games, but it is 5-1 in q2 games and has a NET 37. SMU has zero wins over the field. It did beat Pitt by 20 in its last game, but before that its best win was a neutral site win over LSU. SMU hosts Wake today in what could be an elimination game. UNC is NET 50 with a 1-10 record in q1 games, 5-0 in q2. It has nothing worthwhile left on schedule until a season ending road game against Duke. It has lost 5 of its last 7, the wins being an ot home win over conference doormat BC and a one point home win over Pitt. UNC beat UCLA in NYC, and it beat SMU by 15 in Chapel Hill for its two best wins. Several of the losses were very close losses to top 20 teams. The recent 20 point loss to Clemson wasn't one of them. Indiana is NET 57 with a 3-11 record in q1 games, 3-0 in q2. It is just 2-8 over the last 10 games, but the wins were terrific (@ tOSU, @ Michigan State). None of the losses are particularly bad, except for the margins (threee by 20+). It couldn't come back against UCLA in Bloomington last night despite UCLA missing two straight front ends and giving IU the benefit of a pair of ft and the ball after a UCLA guard threw an elbow while being fouled in the press. It gets 8 days off and will host Purdue on the 23rd. So we're still in a good position to make the tournament if we get healthy and play better. I don't think we have ever looked worse than we did against Alabama in our last game. We had some horrible halves, like first the halves against Auburn, A&M, and Kentucky, and second half against Florida, but our last game was a catastrophe from the opening tip. I don't think making the tournament will save Terry's job. I've said for months that he needed to make the tournament, win a game there, and show other indications of the program's health, and I don't think we're getting there. But I want us to make the tournament and wins games. Sue me.

Yeah, like Hugh Freeze. Oh, wait. He's the head coach at Auburn now.

He is recruiting mid major D-I for the first time this year, unless the late spring scramble in 2024 counts. Drake received no commits in the fall. It managed last spring to pick up only one three star but outside top 300 hs recruit, one unrated hs recruit, and one unrated juco according to 247sports. Manyawu has been a pretty good pick-up from the portal, and Combs has contributed, but Drake is doing nearly everything this year with McCollum's D-II bunch, and most of them go away after this season.

I seriously doubt the SEC would hold Wade to any punishment beyond that imposed by the NCAA. The SEC didn't punish Wade beyond what LSU did at the time the story broke, then it did nothing except let the NCAA take care of it. So the only issues with Wade are the show cause order and the hiring school's willingness to go that route. If New Mexico continues as it has this year, then someone will hire Richard Pitino away from the Lobos. Tyler, I'd still like to hear your assessment of him. Fast tempo every year at UNM, but rarely tried to play at a fast speed while at Minnesota.

I don't know if the chances are zero for this team resurrecting itself, but assuming it plods along and Texas decides to change coaches, I'd like to hear your comments on Richard Pitino at New Mexico.

Funny how a coach wins support after a couple of 15 point wins over a bubble and a team that came off two wins over teams in the field. Let's see if he keeps the support after the 4 game stretch of two road games against bubble teams and two home games against tourney certs.

Actually, I set up a private chat for people who wanted to talk about the game in a meaningful fashion and avoid the nonstop Terry sucks stuff. It was a very productive chat room. FYI, FWIW, and WTH, we did also calmly discuss the likelihood Terry will be replaced at the end of the year. We aren't blind to his faults, and we aren't happy with the state of the program. We just get sick of endless coach bashing and refusal to discuss the limitations of the roster or what might be done to improve play and salvage the season. I was saying back during the Auburn game that I didn't think Terry would return. Without a metamorphosis in our play over the next few weeks, it seems inevitable. If Kaluma is out for an extended period, then we are headed to the NIT, and I was always of the opinion Terry needed to not only make the tournament but win a game in it and demonstrate in other ways that the program is on track. Well, we're not seeing the "other ways" part of that, and nothing about last night's performance gives me confidence we will win 4 of our final 6. We could since the weakest part of our schedule starts after the Kentucky game, but I think it is unlikely.

Good to see the guys giving Kent so much kudos for the offensive board

What is with the bounce passing to blanketed teammates? We see way too much of that.

When Terry called a timeout midway through the first half against Vandy, the team really responded. Let's see if they do again tonight.

6-1 Bama so far while Shedrick has been sitting. Mark seems a little out of sync.

Shedrick all over the action so far. Time to see if we can still hang with them while he takes a rest. Johnson feeling it tonight.

No. If we lose tonight and Saturday, then we will be in trouble, but even then we could make it by winning 4 of our last 5 and a conference tournament game. But I'd love to see a win tonight. Just not really expecting one after seeing what Bama did to Arky for the first 30 minutes in Fayetteville.

True, but it was also the stretch in which Johnson blocked himself with the rim and Kent went 1/4 from the line on a single trip down the floor in which we twice got offensive rebounds. My main take away from the post game comments was his recognition we were bullied inside on defense. Two straight losses but they were due to different sort of weaknesses. We kept going inside to no avail against Arky but held them to 3 offensive rebounds. Vandy got 17 offensive rebounds. Now we have Alabama coming in with a team that torched Arky inside. No bueno.

Nebraska beat tOSU in Lincoln today for NU's 4th straight win, 3 of which were q1. Its season can still go either way as its next four games are also q1 and Pomeroy has every one of them as a one point loss for Nebraska, giving Nebraska a 46%-48% chance in each of them.

Indiana fans: "LET HIM USE US TO MAKE MICHIGAN SPEND A LOT MORE MONEY ON HIM!"

Couldn't hang onto the ball, either.

Going inside has worked for Alabama against Arky all game. 75-62 Bama with 5:52 left. Bama has 50 points in the paint. I didn't think that was the way for our team to attack Arky, but if you have a bunch of big men who can score inside, it looks like it can work.

In a game with absolutely no bubble significance, Lamar invented a great way to win a game when inbounding with 1.5 seconds left in a tie game. Chuck it the length of the floor, overshoot the big man you are trying to hit, have the ball carom off the backboard into the hands of one of your players at the elbow, and have him hit the jumper. Put it in your playbook, everyone.

Court storming in Clemson. C'mon people, you've beaten Duke before and now have 5 straight wins over top 5 teams, so what is the big deal?

A&M pulled it out against Missouri in a game that was decided by a Taylor 3pt shot with 2.1 seconds left. Those who think the portal era prevents a coach from building from within should consider 4 of the 5 Agroids who lead in minutes played have played together for at least 3 years, and two of the top 4 in bench minutes have also been around 3 years or more. That's some kind of continuity.

Yeah, that hasn't happened since WAY back in the spring of 2021.

Texas (29) @ Vandy (46) Not a must win by any means, but one that would help in many ways, not in the least by pushing Texas way ahead of Vandy in the Matrix (Texas currently a 10 and Vandy an 11) Vandy forces a ton of turnovers, but we're pretty good about avoiding them. Tennessee @ OU (38) Tennessee is playing to win a protected seed. OU is a bubble team A&M (13) @ Missouri (19) Winner has the leg up for a double bye in the conference tournament. Missouri has easy remaining schedule with Alabama and Kentucky both at home and nothing but bubble or out of tourney teasm otherwise. A&M starts a Auburn, Tennessee, Florida gauntlet in a couple of weeks. So Car @ Kentucky Kentucky has lost 4 of its last 5 including @ Vandy and home to Arky. Mississippi St (30) @ Georgia (31) Matrix still has MSU as a 7 seed. Georgia the last 10. One guess which team finds this game more important. Florida (5) @ Auburn (1) Mississippi (21) @ LSU (79) Alabama (6) @ Arky (43) Never dreamed a week ago that our loss to Arky might wind up as a q1 loss, but it could happen. Of course, that would probably require us to loss to Arky again in Fayetteville.

I'm enjoying the various articles about coaching searches these last few days because no one is wasting words on Jay Wright or Mark Few.

He came here as a long term project. He showed us some ability in November and December. But that was against the likes of Mississippi Valley State, Chicago State, Houston Christian, and Arky PB, so I have a fairly high degree of skepticism that he can do much against P5 competition at present, despite eye-popping shooting% in his 40 minutes on the floor so far. I just wonder why he doesn't get a minute or two in blowouts. I mean, why not? He has to play against that caliber of player in practice, so I can't see his confidence being ruined if he struggles during meaningless time in a game.