BobInHouston

If the right guy is Brad Stevens or Nate Oats or Bruce Pearl, well, that'll be money not spent. If no one else is right, it could be anyone.

I think McCollum is much more likely to take a job in the midwest.

I'm cool with your list but now it's a matter of whether any of them would be interested, compared to Royal. Wade apparently would but there's a question if Texas would be interested in him. There's a real chance that Ivey would be the last man standing among that group.

Who is on your "proven" list? That's who matters in the comparison.

The point of these NBA hires is that alums are coming back. BYU, Utah, Florida State.

Hope so.

And ultimately that is why he was let go. Anyone else could hire him -- he didn't screw up there. But if he screwed up again at UT, the people who kept him on would pay a price, and they didn't feel like paying it.

I don't think being humble or less standoffish would have kept him from being fired. There are a lot of productive coaches who are not pleasant people.

Who do you want?

Nebraska will miss the BTT. A dreadful finish.

A couple of things: NCSU did not pull the trigger quickly. It was Year 8. He was probably going to get fired last year if they'd not made the run. His record before the run was.... 17-14, same as RT's today (and right down to losing seven of nine before the postseason). Difference: KenPom rating of 78 before that run started (compared to RT's 46 today). Another difference: They'd already gone through a 70 year with him -- 2021, Covid -- *and* a 128 in 2022, 11-21. So it was one thing to make that run and get to the FF. It was quite another to get an auto extension, then go 12-19, 124 in KP. They've already ridden the ladder as high as it would go and they were back as low as they were. So he's out. This is NOT what RT has delivered, post EE. He had a 7 seed (25 in KP), likely no NCAA (46). Ignoring whatever coaching style/failures that might lead to a change, the metrics themselves don't say to eject. It's crazy talk that this is the low point for Texas basketball and a horrible season. I don't feel like this season was a waste of Tre. They were in the toughest league in America, and have been for the last decade.

Not evaluating what he said, just reporting.

Correct. It's Hogs, MSU, UGa, and Vandy.

I don't think the paths of Bilas and Lunardi cross much (nor would I expect them to).

He probably has help but I think he's hands-on in what he does. I was a little surprised at what he said.

Bilas said this morning that he thinks both Oklahoma and Texas will make the field.

Bierce, you have a better handle on this than I do. How many bid-stealers are out there? Or, phrased better, how many conference leaders below the P5 look like locks no matter what?

So, too many moving pieces, but it seems as though Ole Miss could get to 5 with a win at Florida and then a win by either South Carolina (at Tennessee) or LSU (vs. A&M). In other words, it's a long shot. On the "possible" front, there's a chance of Vandy as the No. 12 against Texas if it loses at Georgia and Arkansas beats Mississippi State. Most likely second-round opponent would be A&M.

I am kinda liking Texas's chances for at least Dayton if they beat OU and No. 12 (which I have assumed would be Arkansas). Of course, I want to see a bunch of L4I and maybe a couple of L4B lose. I was gonna check on No. 12 but the mred site is being updated. Rats.

Invariably makes a bad first step and, as you note, is behind the play. Sometimes happens because he goes over screens, which is admirable. Bottom line, his man is open and usually can score.

Ole Miss looks like it's going to push Tennessee here. Brakefield is having a good game, but he just walked on a spinarama to make it 63-61

Not liking the scores I am seeing tonight.

I always treat the seeds as a group. If my team is in this group, who might they play? And I leave it at that. Where they might play, what they'd have to play down the road... that's just a WAG.

Joe usually has the right participants, just not in the right spots. But where he might be wrong is on a team such as Texas, with not a great resume and having to impress at the very end as other teams drop out. They literally have to be the last team standing. Then it would be on to Dayton.

Not in the case of a job like this, in a league like this.