College Basketball: 2023-2024 Season (Men and Women)

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College football is great. All the fanfare, all the action, the down-home style... nothing beats it! A lot of schools take part in college football and provide the same awesomeness it can provide as opposed to the pro football ranks.

However, college basketball can be even more chaotic. Also, some schools don't have football at present, such as St. John's, Oakland, Marquette, Gonzaga, and many others. Nothing draws in more excitement than the National Championship tournament. If you make it that far and lose just one game- you're OUT, and the season is over. So college basketball is pretty awesome. If you agree, then this is your thread for discussion of the latest college basketball season and all of the news and notes of this season.

2022-2023 Season Champions - Retrospect:
NCAA D1 Men: Connecticut
NCAA D1 Women: Louisiana State
NCAA D2 Men: Nova Southeastern
NCAA D2 Women: Ashland
NCAA D3 Men: Christopher Newport
NCAA D3 Women: Transylvania
NIT Men: North Texas
NIT Women: Kansas
CBI: Charlotte
NAIA Men: College of Idaho
NAIA Women: Clarke (Iowa)
NJCAA D1 Men: John A. Logan
NJCAA D1 Women: Northwest Florida State
NJCAA D2 Men: Milwaukee Area Tech
NJCAA D2 Women: CCBC Essex
NJCAA D3 Men: Brookdale
NJCAA D3 Women: Rochester


As you can tell, this post is not intended for just NCAA Division 1 hoops. I invite ALL of you to discuss your beloved college basketball teams. Go ahead and discuss your NAIA college, your community college, even non-American college/university basketball. College basketball is college basketball regardless of it is NCAA Division 1 or not. So are you ready to tip off a new season of college hoops? Then let's get it! Chat away!
 
... or my Houston Cougars' tournament run, Dolph Drago. The Men's Final Four was as "Twilight Zone" as you can get. I think not a single #1 seed was in the Elite Eight. Goes to show you the parity of college basketball and the brutality of the Transfer Protocol. Heck, even Omnis's Florida Atlantic Owls staged an improbable Final Four run before missing out on playing in the National Championship game.

Here are the Top 25 Preseason standings heading into this season:

--- NCAA Division 1 Men's Rankings (Preseason) ---
01: Kansas
02: Duke
03: Purdue
04: Michigan State
05: Marquette
06: Connecticut <- defending Champions
07: Houston
08: Creighton
09: Tennessee
10: Florida Atlantic
11: Gonzaga
12: Arizona
13: Miami (FL)
14: Arkansas
15: Texas A&M
16: Kentucky
17: San Diego State
18: Texas
19: North Carolina
20: Baylor
21: USCal
22: Villanova
23: Saint Mary's
24: Alabama
25: Illinois

And now, the women's ranks in NCAA Division 1...

--- NCAA Division 1 Women's Rankings (Preseason) ---
01: Louisiana State <- defending champions
02: Connecticut
03: Iowa
04: UCLA
05: Utah
06: South Carolina
07: Ohio State
08: Virginia Tech
09: Indiana
10: Notre Dame
11: Tennessee
12: Ole Miss
13: Texas
14: Maryland
15: Stanford
16: North Carolina
17: Louisville
18: Florida State
19: Baylor
20: Colorado
21: USCal
22: Creighton
23: Illinois
24: Washington State
25: Mississippi State

As for my Houston Cougars, it's already tough for my Coogs in Big XII football. I think Houston will stumble a lot in the Big XII in basketball. One big reason why? That school in Lawrence, Kansas. You know- Kansas University. The University of Houston will have to show they can hang with the better Big XII basketball schools. They got the right coach for the job, but do they have the talent to make themselves a viable threat this season? Can Houston possibly make the tournament and go further than in their previous appearance?

Finally... October Madness? When I was looking at my YouTube home page, the University of Louisville supposedly lost at home in an exhibition to NCAA Division 2 school, Kentucky Wesleyan. Relax, Louisville Cardinals fans... it's just an EXHIBITION. It doesn't mean Louisville is going to go 0-30+ and miss the NCAA Tournament.


Any other thoughts about the upcoming season are welcome.
 
One of the greatest college basketball coaches has died. Bob Knight died at the age of 83 on November 1. He coached for a number of teams including Indiana, Texas Tech, Army, and more. My condolences go out to all who known and loved Bob Knight.
 
College basketball begins TONIGHT! Unlike a lot of other sports, even these very early season games can mean a lot towards your hopes of making the Tournament in March. So don't overlook some of the simple matches to be played tonight. For instance, my seventh-ranked Houston Cougars will host the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks.

Enjoy this season and tonight's games!
 
We got some upsets, y'all!

* NCAA D1 MEN: DOWN GOES MICHIGAN STATE! The unranked James Madison Dukes won 79-76 in Overtime over #4 Michigan State.

* NCAA D1 WOMEN: DOWN GOES LSU! The #20 Lady Buffaloes of Colorado tamed the defending Champion #1 Lady Tigers of LSU, and it wasn't even close. Try a 92-78 upset of the top-ranked and defending champion team. Ouch.


College basketball. Savor the madness.
 
It was raining 3's last night in Mackey Arena. That was NOT happening last year. Purdue's game in a nutshell:

Purdue score.PNG


Early in the game, the score was 21-1. The team added a couple of pieces that have transformed this team to one that somehow looks better than last season. Notables include a quick transfer from Northern Illinois, Lance Jones and freshman Myles Colvin. That would be the son of two time Super Bowl winning linebacker, Rosevelt Colvin. Anyway, assuming we don't shoot ourselves in the foot like last year, we may have a great chance at winning it all in March again.


Fun fact: According to Google Maps/Earth, Rosevelt practically lives across the street from me. Like, two minutes away close.
 
According to reports, Dick Vitale is now cancer-free. Very good news regarding Dickie V. He's basically THE voice of college basketball. No one brings the energy and passion like he does.
 
It was 71-67 as #2 Purdue outlasted #7 Tennessee in the 2023 Maui Invitational semifinal. And I'll tell you what, Dolph Drago, I like that Zach Edey guy. He's a big enforcer for the Boilermakers. Dude's 7'4"- apparently the same height as Victor Wenbanyama of the San Antonio Spurs! But I think this guy is stronger than Wenbanyama. We'll see how he would match up against Victor Wenbanyama if/when he gets into the NBA Draft.
 
Well, you've gotta be pretty good to win the Naismith Player of the Year award. Edey struggled at the start of the game tonight, including missing his first 6 free throw attempts. Weird for a player who is so good at the line. But it wasn't just him. The entire team struggled at the line all night. It was only because there were so many fouls committed (by both teams) that they made enough to win. It was a really physical game. I'm not sure how it is in the SEC, but Purdue is used to that sort of rough play in the B1G Ten.

Also, as of this writing, #4 Marquette is currently up 10 points on #1 Kansas at the half. If Marquette pulls off a W, Purdue may find themselves at #1 again.
 
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Congratulations to Dolph Drago's Purdue Boilermakers on winning the 2023 Maui Invitational! They took down Marquette after Marquette downed top-ranked Kansas last night. My Houston Cougars, meanwhile, won the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic by beating Dayton in the Final three days ago. As I was typing up this post, I saw a highlight of Purdue hitting a half-court heave to go up more at the half.

Both Purdue and Houston were No. 1 seeds in last season's NCAA March Madness. My Cougars lasted a bit longer before they ultimately fell. I'm not as confident about UH in the Big XII. Big XII basketball is much tougher than their days in the American Athletic Conference. I especially think they'll stumble against Kansas.

This is still very early in the season. We'll see how all of the teams make their way through the 2023-2024 season.
 
I didn't see all of it, but the University of Houston handed Xavier its first loss in the Big East-Big XII challenge (previously 4-0 in this challenge). We won 66-60. The Univeristy of Houston did good, however...

DOWN GOES PURDUE!

Northwestern took down the top-ranked Purdue Boilermakers 92-88 in Overtime in Evanston, IL. So Purdue begins the 2023-2024 B1G campaign on the losing side. Rankings don't really mean much in college basketball. It isn't like college football or anything in regards to rankings. No. 1 just means you have a target on your back the size of Russia. Now it could help if you're doing at-large tournament berths, but I'm sure Purdue will be okay.

Both Houston and Purdue were top seeds in last season's Men's March Madness. Both doing well so far, also.

Now for some extra musings...

I got to give a shout out to Omnis' Florida Atlantic Owls. They made the Final Four last season and are currently 13th in the nation on the NCAA Division 1 Men's basketball side with a 5-1 record. You know who else is 5-1? Jordan's 12th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats.

Current Top 25 undefeated teams as of the time of this post (December 2, 2023): Arizona, Houston, Baylor, BYU, Colorado State, James Madison, and Oklahoma.


I hope you all are enjoying the latest season of college basketball for men and women. And don't worry- it's tough to go undefeated in men's NCAA college basketball.


[UPDATE] UConn knocked off by Kansas, took them out of undefeated list.
 
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JohnBM01
DOWN GOES PURDUE!

Northwestern took down the top-ranked Purdue Boilermakers 92-88 in Overtime in Evanston, IL. So Purdue begins the 2023-2024 B1G campaign on the losing side. Rankings don't really mean much in college basketball. It isn't like college football or anything in regards to rankings. No. 1 just means you have a target on your back the size of Russia. Now it could help if you're doing at-large tournament berths, but I'm sure Purdue will be okay.
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What is it about Northwestern? They took down Purdue when they were #1 last year, too.

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. Purdue has to get that cleaned up. Northwestern had multiple guys in foul trouble a good portion of the game but kept themselves in it to win thanks to mistakes by Purdue. And missed layups. Edey had several that are normally automatic that didn't fall. Hopefully they rebound (no pun intended) and get back on the winning side. Non-conference games at the beginning of the season are one thing, but B1G play is always tough.
 
Well, sometimes, some teams just have your number no matter how good you are. It just happens in sports.
 
Recently, Louisiana State University won by its most lopsided score in school history last night. The 7th-ranked LSU Lady Tigers destroyed the McNeese State Cowgirls 133-44. This was an 89-point smashing. Previously, the LSU Lady Tigers' largest mountain of victory was 76 over Prairie View A&M (LSU won that game 104-28) in 1995. 89-point victory. OUCH.

Now OUCH of a lesser margin. Chicago State upset No. 25 Northwestern 75-73. The Chicago State Cougars are the only current NCAA Independent, and this non-football school downed the Northwestern Wildcats at Northwestern. BIG win for Chicago State!
 
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JohnBM01
Now OUCH of a lesser margin. Chicago State upset No. 25 Northwestern 75-73. The Chicago State Cougars are the only current NCAA Independent, and this non-football school downed the Northwestern Wildcats at Northwestern. BIG win for Chicago State!
Click to expand...
So they take down #1 Purdue two years in a row only to lose a game like that? Weird times.
 
The #3 Purdue / #1 Arizona contest was on Peacock Saturday, so many like myself didn't get to see it, unfortunately. Purdue was the victor and has returned to the #1. The Houston Cougars are up to #3. Both our boys are looking good again, @JohnBM01. :cheers:
Newest Rankings
 
Good times, eh, Dolph Drago? ;) This is about the only sport covered on GTPlanet where both of our teams are doing well instead of one or the other or neither.

Guess what we got tonight? The Battle of the Bluegrass! We got Jordan's No.9 Kentucky Wildcats at the Louisville Cardinals. This game will be on ESPN at 6:00 PM Eastern. Will the Bluegrass team that wears blue win, or will the Cardinals upset the Kentucky Wildcats? We shall see...
 
That's a fine men's basketball team you got there, @Omnis , because...

DOWN GOES ARIZONA!

In what may be one of the biggest wins in school history, the No. 11 Florida Atlantic Owls downed the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats 96-95 in double overtime. The game had a Tournament-like feel to it. FAU is now 10-2 on the 2023-2024 season. Remember, folks- Florida Atlantic went to the Final Four last season. Who's to say the Owls don't have that magic still in them and maybe go father than the Final Four?

Don't sleep on the FAU Owls...
 
Let's look at teams currently undefeated as of the time of this post...

(all as of: January 2, 2024)

Undefeated in Men's Hoops:
  • #3 Houston (13-0)
  • #19 James Madison (13-0)
  • #22 Ole Miss (13-0)

Undefeated in Women's Hoops:
  • #1 South Carolina (12-0)
  • #2 UCLA (12-0)
  • #3 North Carolina State (13-0)
  • #6 Baylor (12-0)
  • #23 Texas Christian (14-0)
  • #24 West Virginia (12-0)
  • Oregon State (12-0)

Being undefeated doesn't mean anything, but it does mean you're pretty good, especially if undefeated up to this point. It seems pretty cool the amount of depth in the Big XII for women's basketball. I am obviously proud of my U. of Houston Cougars. However, they're stepping into that mine field known as the Big XII. They'll have to deal with Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and others. Houston's first Big XII conference game is home against West Virginia this Saturday.


Still a lot of basketball to go, but we are about to find out what teams will make their best claim to make the tournament and play for a National Championship. Get ready for this wild ride...
 
In women's college basketball recently, Grambling State University beat the College of Biblical Studies by Biblical proportions. The Lady Tigers of Grambling State won 159-18 over the CBS Ambassadors. The College of Biblical Studies is a school here in Houston, Texas. BRUTAL way to lose. That's the thing about women's college basketball. Some victories are absolute thrashings, like this one. They happen more often in women's hoops than in most men's games.
 
There were three undefeated teams in NCAA Division 1 men's basketball. Now? Just one remains- the University of Houston. Houston will eventually lose, but we're enjoying 14-0 right about now. Houston will go to Iowa State for their next game.
 
And then, there were none. The 2nd-ranked University of Houston Cougars men's basketball team has finally been bested. I knew it was inevitable that a fairly talented team was going to take down UH. That "fairly talented team" is Iowa State University. Houston started 14-0 on the season and finally failed when they visited Ames, IA. The Cyclones went on a whirlwind start (see what I did there?) to where Houston eventually caught up with them. The final unbeaten team in NCAA Division 1 men's basketball was finally bested tonight as the Iowa State Cyclones downed the U. of Houston Cougars 57-53.

[UPDATE] Sadly for Dolph Drago, DOWN GOES PURDUE! It was an unhappy trip for the 1st-ranked Boilermakers to Lincoln, NE as they fell 88-72 to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. So No. 1 and No. 2 in the men's ranks go down tonight.
 
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Here are some musings in college hoops.


Meet the University of Memphis. No. 10 in the nation heading into yesterday. They were 15-2 heading into last night. They hosted the University of South Florida Bulls, and what did Memphis do? Well, the Tigers led by at least 20... all to lose 74-73 to the South Florida Bulls. Some think if this Memphis Tigers make the Tournament, they could be one-and-done. They are now 3rd in the American Athletic Conference behind North Texas and Charlotte.

How are my University of Houston Cougars doing meanwhile? Well, we're in the teeth of Big XII play. They were bested in back-to-back games at Iowa State and at TCU. Even though we're currently 5th in the nation in men's hoops, we are 10th in the Big XII. Ouch. The Coogs recently defeated Texas Tech at home 77-54. Up next for UH is the team that stunned the Texas Longhorns recently- the UCF Golden Knights.

Go B1G or go home. What's up with Purdue? @Dolph Drago 's Boilermakers will head into Saturday with a 16-2 record, 2nd ranked in the nation and 2nd in the Big Ten behind Wisconsin. Opposing them next go-round will be at the Iowa Hawkeyes on FOX Sports 1. The only two fails this season so far have been at Northwestern in Overtime and at Nebraska. Purdue is still projected as a possible No. 1 seed come tournament time.

Up next... them Wildcats from the University of Kentucky by our illustrious leader, @Jordan . The 'Cats are 13-3 on the season and 8th in the Nation. They are also 4th in the SEC. Their losses so far have been to Kansas, UNC-Wilmington, and at Texas A&M. Some 'Dogs are coming to Rupp Arena for a cat and dog battle. It's Kentucky hosting the Georgia Bulldogs.

From one pack of Wildcats to another. I don't know if @Yard_Sale follows basketball, but the Arizona Wildcats are 12th in the Nation and have a 13-4 record so far. They are 2nd in the Pac-12. They've lost to Purdue, Florida Atlantic, at Stanford, and at Washington State. Next for the Arizona Wildcats is hosting the UCLA Bruins.

The 23rd-ranked Florida Atlantic Owls have a 14-4 record and are 4th in the American Atheltic Conference. Their losses were to Bryant, Illinois, at Florida Gulf Coast, and at UNC-Charlotte (or just Charlotte these days). The Owls' next game is at the Roadrunners of the University of Texas-San Antonio.

What's Oakland been up to lately? Well, the Golden Grizzlies are 12-8 on the season and lead the Horizon League. Their next game is at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (or just Green Bay) Phoenix.

The New Jersey Institute of Technology, or NJIT, is 4-12 on the season and dead last in the America East. They will host the Maine Black Bears next.

The only women's college hoops musing for this post is that the Iowa Hawkeyes' Caitlin Clark is showing up and showing out. So much so, that she's helping drive viewers to watch women's college basketball. Caitlin Clark recently surpassed Britney Griner for 4th on the all-time scoring list. If/When Caitlin Clark joins the WNBA, she is going to be dangerous on the pro level.


I hope you all are enjoying college hoops in 2023-2024. Keep on hoopin'!
 
The Wildcat’s fall from greatness has been nothing short of spectacular. They’ll be fine. But dropping games to crappy teams isn’t good.






On the football side of things, AZ has taken it in the shorts the past week 😑
 
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Among us GTPlaneteers in men's hoops... the Purdue Boilermakers are 2nd in the nation, the Houston Cougars are 4th in the nation, the Kentucky Wildcats are 10th in the nation, the Arizona Wildcats are 11th in the nation, and the Florida Atlantic Owls are 20th in the nation.

The 4th-ranked University of Houston Cougars got a GREAT win on the road at the Texas Longhorns. It was a 76-72 win in Overtime in Austin, TX. Houston improves to 19-2 and got a big win at the Longhorns.
 
You know, GTPlaneteers... check your calendars. Isn't it... February? That can only mean we are one month closer to the maddest month all year. You would think that some 330 or 340 schools all made the NCAA Tournament during the long history of March Madness. However, you'd be wrong considering some schools never made it to "The Big Dance." Maybe some of these schools can get in for the first time in men's college basketball:

--- Teams to Never Play in NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament (as of: February 2, 2024) ---
  • Army
  • Bethune-Cookman
  • Central Arkansas
  • Chicago State
  • The Citadel
  • Denver
  • Elon
  • Grambling State
  • High Point
  • U. of the Incarnate Word
  • Missouri-Kansas City
  • Maine
  • Maryland-Eastern Shore
  • Massachusetts-Lowell
  • New Hampshire
  • North Alabama
  • New Jersey Institute of Technology
  • Nebraska-Omaha
  • Presbyterian
  • Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne
  • Quinnipiac
  • Sacramento State
  • Sacred Heart
  • St. Francis College <<< recently retired athletics
  • Southern Illinois U.-Edwardsville
  • South Dakota
  • Stetson
  • California-Riverside
  • USC Upstate
  • Tennessee-Martin
  • UT-Rio Grande Valley
  • Utah Valley
  • Western Illinois
  • William and Mary
  • Youngstown State
SOURCE: @ncaasports on X/Twitter

Maybe one or more of these teams get their first March Madness action in school history based on this list. Stay tuned to see if any of these teams make the NCAA Tournament next month.

Also, we got some powerful matchups coming up tomorrow. We got Houston at Kansas, the big one- Duke at North Carolina, and Tennessee at Kentucky. Enjoy this weekend's college hoops!
 
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Caitlin... who? One young lady from USCal is making her own statement in women's college basketball. JuJu Watkins has been doing work for the Women of Troy/Lady Trojans lately. USCal is 10th ranked in the nation in NCAA Division 1 women's college basketball. Their next game is at home against Arizona.

As for Caitlin Clark, she is only 39 points away from surpassing Kelsey Plum for the all-time scoring record. Caitlin Clark may end up being the next most awesome women's college basketball player since Sabrina Ionescu. The 2nd-ranked Iowa Lady Hawkeyes is at Nebraska on Super Bowl Sunday.

Today, we got Dolph Drago's Purdue Boilermakers hosting their cross-state rivals, the Indiana Hoosiers in primetime on FOX's Primetime Hoops. My 5th-ranked Houston Cougars will have a little cat fight in Cincinnati against the Cincinnati Bearcats. Cincinnati was a threat for UH back in the American Athletic Conference. Now, they take their conference rivalry to the Big XII.


Enjoy this weekend's games!
 
Have you checked the men's AP Top 25 lately? There is a team there that hasn't been ranked in the NCAA Division 1 men's college basketball AP Top 25 since about 1978-1979. That school has a 22-3 record right now. That team? Indiana State University. The Sycamores are 23rd ranked in the nation. They're one ranking ahead of even Omnis' 24th-ranked Florida Atlantic Owls. Talk about coming out of nowhere!

The following teams also have 20+ wins on the season so far in the AP Top 25 besides Indiana State:

  • Connecticut (22-3)
  • Purdue (22-3)
  • Houston (21-3)
  • South Carolina (21-3)
  • Saint Mary's (20-6)

Maybe Indiana State can be a threat in March. I'm sure Larry Bird would approve. The Indiana State Sycamores made it all the way to being tops in the nation back in the 1978-1979 season. That season was with Larry Bird.

This is a cool story, honestly. You love it when a once powerful team gets "on the come up" and has one of their best performing seasons in a long while. That basically describes my U. of Houston Cougars. We had "Phi Slamma Jamma" back in the 1980s. We ended up returning to the Final Four after a long while a few years ago. Maybe Indiana State could get in as an at-large team, if they don't win the Missouri Valley Championship. Indiana State's next game is against the Illinois State Redbirds.

By the way, women's 2nd-ranked team, Iowa, lost at Nebraska; but Caitlin Clark is now only eight points away from surpassing the NCAA scoring record. She was 39 points away heading into the game at Nebraska. I do think she may become the next best women's star since Sabrina Ionescu if and when Caitlin Clark gets into the WNBA.
 
Did you know there are over 360 schools in NCAA Division 1 men's basketball? Of those 360, two of them are winless... until last night. One of those are no longer winless. And that team? The University of Detroit-Mercy College Titans finally notched their first win of the season, defeating the IUPUI Jaguars 88-61 in Detroit. Yes- there is a basketball team in Detroit worse than the NBA's Detroit Pistons, believe it or not. One fan of UDM stormed the court on the Titans' first win of the season.

Now the only remaining winless team in NCAA Division 1 men's basketball is the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State University. MVSU's next game is at Alabama A&M this Saturday.

Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes can conquer Kelsey Plum's NCAA scoring record tonight. She needs eight points to have the all-time scoring record. No. 4 Iowa will host Michigan in a game televised on Peacock.

IN CASE YOU'RE WONDERING: I mentioned only one remaining winless team in men's hoops. On the women's side, every school has won at least one game this season.
 

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