College Basketball: 2006-2007 Season Preview (Men and Women)

[JohnBM01]

GTPlanet, here is the official look at the 2006-2007 season. This will be my second season sharing college basketball scores with you all. I'm normally a college football guy, but I've had some interest in college hoops. Compare over 119 or so Division 1-A teams in football to about 320+ teams in Division 1 basketball. That includes teams you will not currently see in football. Most of you in football will hear of Auburn, LSU, Kentucky, Tennessee, Houston, Texas, Southern California, University of Miami, and such. 1-AA football fans will hear of Texas State, Georgia Southern, Murray State, Lehigh, Lafayette, the College of William and Mary, and such. Well, you'll get some of your favorite Division 1 schools in basketball. You'll even see bigtime conferences with some teams not found in football. Examples include Pepperdine, Providence, St. Louis, Saint Joseph's, St. John's, North Carolina-Wilimington, the College of Charleston, Campbell, Texas-San Antonio, Gonzaga, Portland (not Portland State), and stuff like that. Oh, and let's not Cinderella- George Mason University. I bet Disney didn't know that Cinderella actually wore green and yellow and white. They probably could have gone all the way if they had some better luck. Florida won the title in Division 1 giving the SEC yet another championship crown. Here's the thing. There are about 320+ schools in Division 1 basketball. That's more than maybe Division 1-A and Division 1-AA school in football combined. Sixty-five tournament slots will be open. Two of those 65 will have to play their way in. Two years ago, it was Oakland University (BlazinXtreme's boys) vs. Alabama A&M. This past season saw Monmoth take on Hampton. The Play-In doesn't truly matter because it's all about two words- FINAL FOUR. This is where coaches make their checks and schools earn records. Take my hometown Houston Cougars. We've made about five Final Four appearances and even a few title games. Unfortnately, not even Phi Slamma Jamma cashed in on a championship. But before you can make the tournament, you have to be money from the line and behind the arc. You have to win a great chunk of games and have the people on Selection Sunday hopefully put your team into the dance.

GTPlanet, I sort of enjoyed my first season covering college hoops on GTPlanet. I know I certainly loved having FoolKiller look in on Kentucky Wildcat games and hopes Louisville goes down. Who will win this year?



MY COMMENTS ON LAST SEASON AND VIEWS OF THIS COMING SEASON
* George Mason was the big surprise. They were founded about 30 or so years ago, and make their first tournament and first Final Four. However, the LSU Tigers sent them packing.

* FoolKiller and I had some nice responses to Kentucky games. It probably wasn't Kentucky's best season, but they still made the NCAA playoffs while the other L-city in Kentucky (Louisville) also made the playoffs... but in the NIT.

* South Carolina won two straight NIT championships. Now they'll have to work hard to get into the NCAA tournament and do some damage.

* The wildest weekend of basketball was when Florida, Pittsburgh, and Duke were all undefeated and on the road. And here's what happened- eventual National Champion Florida were upset by Tennessee, Pittsburgh was taken down by St. John's at Madison Square Garden, and #1 Duke saw their unbeaten streak go down in flames against Georgetown. It was a WILD weekend that weekend. None as surprising as Wisconsin losing to Division 1 freshmen North Dakota State.

* Gonzaga is one of the toughest teams in all of Division 1 hoops. The talk on Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference is like what critics have said about Texas in Big XII football. And that specific comment was about how there was one team beating every other team in conference and runaway favorites. The Bulldogs of this Jesuit university will miss the services of ex-Bulldog and Charlotte Bobcat Adam Morrison. Can they still deliver without Morrison?

* Conference USA saw Memphis have an incredible run. Only other teams to potentially catch up to Memphis were Alabama-Birmingham and Houston. The Memphis Tigers are a great bunch of players. You just don't second-guess Memphis as they were the #1 seed in last season's tournament for their region.

* Locally, I do hope Houston can keep up the good work. Tom Penders has really coached the Scarlet and Albino White (yes, that's their official colors) Cougars to a successful NCAA run. I just kind of hope the Hofhainz Pavillion gets a big makeover. It's probably the only Division 1 arena where the ceiling is very low. You have the ceiling, then you have the big scoreboard which makes things pretty low. It should still be a great basketball court in honor of the great Guy V. Lewis here.

* Answer a brother this. Sixteen teams. Biggest conference in Division 1. Could have gone all the way... but absolutely NONE of them make the Final Four. I'm talking about the Big East, or as they are sometimes called in football, the "Big Least." The Big East saw many different teams make the jump to the Big East including Marquette (ex-Conference USA), Cincinatti (ex-Conference USA), Louisville (ex-Conference USA), South Florida (ex-Conference USA (the team which didn't win a SINGLE Big East Game)), and DePaul (ex-Conference USA). They joined the likes of Syracuse, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Rutgers, Georgetown, Villanova, Providence, and St. John's. This mega-conference proved to be completely overrated by the championship-winning SEC conference.

* The little teams that could... I am fans of a few non-football schools with great basketball programs. Both of them didn't have very good seasons. I'm talking about Detroit (Horizon League) and Denver (Sun Belt - West). The Detroit Titans just didn't have as much spunk as they normally do. Denver hasn't been too hot either last season. I am also a fan of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and North Carolina-Wilimington. Their programs are very good. Just too bad these two didn't advance very far. Only "little school that could" of mine that has a football program is Murray State. The Racers are a great bunch of basketballers in the basketball-rich state of Kentucky. I also like Marquette's program. That is a solid unit capable of big things. Other programs I am fond of are Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois, and Missouri State of the Missouri Valley Conference.

* The Atlantic 10 will no longer sponsor football after this coming football season. Doesn't mean the Atlantic 10 basketball schools will sit by the wayside. The big story from the Atlantic 10 was of George Washington's amazing run. But in the eyes of many critics, severely overrated. I was hoping that Phil Marteli's squad (Saint Joseph's University) had a better season. They went undefeated once a few years ago. Who's one to say they can't go for another great season again? The Charlotte 49ers are a nice squad themselves. I just hope they can be among some of the big favorites for the Atlantic 10 title and entry into the NCAA Tournament. Among football schools (remember that the CAA will sponsor football in 2007) in the Atlantic 10, Massachusetts is perhaps the best of them. The dark horse would be Richmond and their Spiders.



That's only a little fuel to get this fire going. As an off-topic segment, I usually liked NCAA March Madness for college hoops. Well, I've been driven away a bit thanks to College Hoops 2Kx (formerly ESPN College Basketball) games by 2K Sports. One of the things I've liked about College Hoops 2K6 against NCAA March Madness series was the introduction of brand-new fight songs as well as authentic arenas. The College Hoops 2Kx series has more authentic arenas which actually look like what you see on TV. To give you an example of more realistic areans and fight songs for them, here is a comparison with NCAA March Madness 2005 and College Hoops 2K6:

Sample School A: Gonzaga University
NCAA MM 2005: generic arena and generic fight song
CH 2K6: the REAL arena including Gonzaga's fight song

There are even some instances when College Hoops messes up. Case in point:

Sample School B: University of Houston
NCAA MM 2005: generic arena with Houston's fight song
CH 2K6: the real arena, but the fight song of Texas Tech

Sample School C: Georgia Southern University
NCAA MM 2005: generic arena with generic fight song
CH 2K6: generic arena(?) with Georgia Southern's Fight song

Sample School D: University of Kentucky
NCAA MM 2005: the real arena with Kentucky's fight song
CH 2K6: the real arena with Kentucky's fight song

The reason why I didn't display NCAA March Madness 2006 is because I haven't played it. I was pretty convinced that College Hoops 2K6 has so much more to offer that it sort of blew away my interests in the NCAA March Madness series. My only gripes about this game are that the graphics can be a bit dull and the commentary of Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery can be pretty weak compared to Brad Nessler and Dick Vitale in the March Madness games. College Hoops 2K6 even gives you Independent teams and the option to go to just about any arena you wish. So you can play a game between Florida and Florida State at the American Airlines Arena (where the NBA Champion Miami Heat play). Go to the small schools or non-football schools. You can learn a few new fight songs. Some of the smaller schools with authentic fight songs include the following (from my experience):

Butler University
DePaul University
Georgia Southern University
Georgia State University
Gonzaga University
Indiana State University
Lehigh University
Loyola Marymount University
University of New Hampshire
University of North Carolina-Charlotte (or just Charlotte)
Northern Iowa
Texas State University
University of Rhode Island
Idaho State University
Missouri State University

College Hoops 2K6 is a great game. College Hoops 2K7 is coming soon and is probably going to be better than 2K6. Sort of look at your options if you're a sports gamer who likes college basketball this Fall.

Let the previewing begin.

 

[FoolKiller]

I need to pay more attention to the sports related threads

I know I certainly loved having FoolKiller look in on Kentucky Wildcat games and hopes Louisville goes down. Who will win this year?

💡 UK UK UK UK UK UK UK

* FoolKiller and I had some nice responses to Kentucky games. It probably wasn't Kentucky's best season, but they still made the NCAA playoffs while the other L-city in Kentucky (Louisville) also made the playoffs... but in the NIT.

And it was supposed to be Louisville's big year.
Now that the cards have lost all but Brandon Jenkins local talk is about who they have that can shoot from the outside. It looks bad. If they can't get any big shooters this season then other teams will be able to zone them to death. With Tubby's big love of defense this sounds great for UK. Of course, the big talk for the cats is who they have that can do anything. While this doesn't sound good for the cats Tubby's specialty is making nobodies into stars. By the time the the cats finish up with the early season games we will see who is who and I doubt we will be disapointed.

 

[JohnBM01]

I'm not asking you to root for the enemy, but do you think Louisville will have a better season this season, FoolKiller?

 

[FoolKiller]

I'm not asking you to root for the enemy, but do you think Louisville will have a better season this season, FoolKiller?

It is hard to say. I'll avoid a long analysis and just say that they certainly look good. I expect they will be in the NCAA tournament. If you recall, I argued that point last year, even though it hurt. Of course, they do need to beat a top-five team in order to earn some respect this season.

Last year they had one guy scoring almost half the points. UK was their first ranked team and UK shut him down. This year they don't have any big guy that everyone is laying their hopes on. In fact, as I said earlier, they don't have an outside shooter at all. This will make the team have to work together and share the ball in order to score. They will be a better overall team for this.

Of course, one ego can get in the way of this and ruin the season.

 

[JohnBM01]

I have no official preview for college basketball, so I'll try to make my own until I can find a true preview to work on. This post is a general overview of college basketball. Allow me to welcome you to college basketball.



GENERAL OVERVIEW OF COLLEGE BASKETBALL

It's time for the Winter sport that draws big excitement and enthusiastic fans- college basketball! The big highlight of college hoops over college football (especially 1-A) is that there are tournaments featured. There are literally tournaments for all kinds of teams. You have tournaments like the Maui Invitational and Great Alaska Shootout. However, there are also several smaller tournaments like the Coaches' vs. Cancer Classic, the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, and all different kinds of games. The only tournament that matters is the NCAA Tournament. The simplest way to punch your ticket in for this season's tournament is to win your conference championship. It can be very critical to do a great job because there are over 320 or so schools in NCAA Division 1. That's more schools than the football schools in 1-A and 1-AA combined. You'll instantly note that there are certain universities and colleges you may have never heard of. And that's okay. Some of them have staged football teams in the past and no longer sponsor football (like the Atlantic 10 will no longer sponsor football after this season. The CAA will sponsor football in the A-10's place). Some schools (like Binghamton, for example) have never sponsored football. You will also note new conferences aside from the ones you know in college football. Some of them also feature teams in familiar conferences, but not in football. For example, every team from the Big Ten, the ACC, the SEC, and even the Pac-10 all feature the same teams in both football and basketball. On the other hand, you have schools in the Big East, Sun Belt, and the MEAC which features familiar schools if you follow football more than basketball. Some conferences have few or no teams in football. These will be new conferences to you. Prepare to learn new conferences and meet new schools. Some of the many non-football conferences (or at least with some teams without football programs) you'll have to get used to include the West Coast Conference, the Horizon League, the Colonial Athletic Association, just to name a few.

As far as schools go, there are a myriad of schools out there in America. Do not be worried if you don't know or heard of the schools in question. When I played "NCAA March Madness 2004," I got accustomed to the many teams in college hoops. It was my first college basketball game. I bought NCAA March Madness 2005 and learned some new fight songs including Massachusetts, Stanford, and California. The wonderful voices of Brad Nessler and Dick Vitale come into every match you participate in. Brad Nessler's classic voice is quite recognizable and provides some witty comments. Dick Vitale is the one with the spirited and interesting commentary. Don't be surprised if you hear "...baby!" a lot from Dickie V. I usually make the relation that Dick Vitale is the Lee Corso of college basketball. Lee Corso is one of my favorite football personalities. The Florida State grad can be quite funny and very much into the college football spirit. On College Gameday near the end of the show, he's known for wearing gear from one team's mascot showing who will win at the game College Gameday is at. Dick Vitale isn't as crazy as L. Corso, but the Duke grad is easily one of the more prolific personalities in college hoops whether you like him or not. He's a few years past 65, but his passion and admiration for the game makes him feel like he's still a young college student. Now in terms of schools, learn some of the new names. Here are are some to start with:

Detroit
San Francisco
College of Charleston
Winthrop
Oral Roberts
Missouri-Kansas City
Oakland University (in Michigan, not the California city)
Providence College
St. John's University (of New York)
American University
Stetson University
IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis)
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Gonzaga
Marquette
Saint Louis

Just because you never heard of the schools doesn't mean they will handily lose to football schools. Schools like Loyola University of Chicago and the City College of New York (Division 3) have won the National Championship in Division 1 in their past. The last non-football school to win the National Championship was Marquette University back in 1977. The Golden Eagles now play in the Big East after their time in Conference USA. Marquette was one of those surprise schools in the Big East. More schools in college basketball play in more recognizable cities like Chicago, New York City, Detroit, Clevland, and more. So be prepared to see many colleges and universities mostly play in more different cities than in football.

--- TOURNAMENTS ---
Tournament play is the most exciting (and sometimes controversial) element of college basketball. Unlike the NBA Playoffs, you get only ONE shot to beat the team in March Madness or the NIT (more on this later). It's win or go home. The controversial side of the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday is that there will be great teams that don't make it into the postseason. You have to CONVINCE the tournament committee that you belong in a chance to play for the National Championship. The easiest way to make it into the postseason is to win your conference's championship. You'll be among the automatic entrants of the big tournament in March if you win in your conference. Other ways to get in is to deliver a solid performance all year so the tournament committee thinks you can play for a National Championship. There are four brackets in tournament play. When you advance, you will be part of a regional system where you will play in certain cities within a region. One region will have the first game be between two schools trying to play their way in. I've said that over 65 teams in the Men's championship can win the National Championship. I've said 65 because the first game is a Play-In game. Sixty-five will become sixty-four after the Play-In game. The first round of play consists of 64 teams to make 32 by game's end. Most mid-majors and cupcakes (at least among big schools) fall out early. The second round features the remaining 32 players. Winning teams will be among the 16 who advance. We call the Third Round of the tournament as the Sweet Sixteen. The Sweet Sixteen features most of the usual suspects as well as upset-minded mid-majors. The Sweet Sixteen exemplifies the teams most capable to win the National Championship. Some of them had lackluster regular seasons, but got MUCH better in the tournament. The winning Sweet Sixteen schools will be among the top eight in the country. We call this round as the Elite Eight. Win the Elite Eight, and you get to the few places where coaches earn their glory- the FINAL FOUR. The Final Four is the most exciting part of the tournament because any of the four can win in this round and go on to play for the National Championship. That is the fun of this series as the four regional champions all converge to play only two more games until glory is acheived. I'd probably say that the Final Four can be more exciting than the National Championship game because it seems like the Final Four is really where the drama starts. Win the Final Four, and you're the two true teams playing for all the marbles. Win the National Championship, and you've beaten everyone else that tried to get to where you are now. There is also the NIT for good teams that didn't do well enough to impress the tournament committee. And as one of my buddies on GTPlanet said, "the good news is that you made it to the NIT. The bad news is that, you won the NIT."

--- GAMES TO PLAY TO UNDERSTAND COLLEGE HOOPS ---
The game that has me convinced about college basketball nowadays is "College Hoops 2K6." College Hoops 2K7 is coming soon for most other consoles besides the XBOX360. The biggest advantage of the 2K Sports series over its EA counterpart is that you don't have as many generic arenas as EA has. Believe me when I tell you that you can see how some arenas REALLY look compared to the some of the generic EA examples. You can go to schools like Houston, North Carolina-Charlotte, DePaul, Seton Hall, Gonzaga, Santa Clara, Idaho State, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Detroit, Wisconsin-Green Bay, and even IUPUI to see incredibly-accurate arenas. Some generic ones still exist, but you'll need to take a close eye on each one to sort of imagine where some of the ones get a little generic. If you played the March Madness series, prepare to learn some new fight songs if you go to the correct universities in the College Hoops series. College Hoops 2K6 features some brand-new fight songs including tracks from Sacromento State, Gonzaga, DePaul, Texas State, Indiana State, Missouri State, Idaho State, Loyola Marymount, and Santa Clara among others. The sad thing about the game is that the game gives fight songs of others schools to certain schools. So don't be surprised if you see some schools get fight songs of other schools. And don't be surprised if certain schools have similar or modified fight songs. For example, Houston's fight song in the game is Texas Tech's fight song in the game. The upcoming College Hoops 2K7 should offer up the same things 2K6 provided, only much better.

That's your introduction to college hoops. You been schooled, cat.

 

[FoolKiller]

--- GAMES TO PLAY TO UNDERSTAND COLLEGE HOOPS ---
The game that has me convinced about college basketball nowadays is "College Hoops 2K6." College Hoops 2K7 is coming soon for most other consoles besides the XBOX360.

After all that I ask about the video game. Sad.

Anyway, are the 2K games still in the $20 range? I haven't gotten a basketball game yet and since my brother-in-law suddenly discovered that he likes plaking me at NFL 2K5 I am thinking a basketball game might be fun, but I hate paying tons of money for sports games because I have to do it all the time unless I don't mind old rosters.

The biggest advantage of the 2K Sports series over its EA counterpart is that you don't have as many generic arenas as EA has.

I still think it is the price, but this helps.

 

[JohnBM01]

More information on the upcoming College Hoops 2K7 can be found at:
http://2ksports.com/games/choops2k7/

Everything you need to know from that official website of College Hoops 2K7.

 

[FoolKiller]

More information on the upcoming College Hoops 2K7 can be found at:
http://2ksports.com/games/choops2k7/

Everything you need to know from that official website of College Hoops 2K7.

Yep, still $20. No wonder EA had to get a monopoly on NFL games. They would eventually get priced out.

 

[JohnBM01]

Only thing I can really report is that the Duquesne (pronounce like: "doo-cayne") and their men's basketball program sees its players doing better after some of the players had been shot last month or two years ago. The Dukes hope to be in all good spirits when college basketball season rolls around nationwide.

 

[JohnBM01]

GTPlanet, it looks like ESPNU will be televising Midnight Madness coverage as it's almost time to get ready for hoops season. The Midnight Madness fun will mostly be televised across the ESPN networks, if not just ESPNU. One of the featured schools is George Mason. The GMU Patriots made VERY good on their first-ever run in the NCAA Tournament. They will be featured on the network for their Midnight Madness deal. It's almost time to get back into the swing of seeing some college basketball action.

I'll also be listening to the radio so I can get into seeing if the Houston Rockets can win their preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks. Game will be in Little Rock, Arkansas (maybe on the campus of Arkansas-Little Rock), and it will feature one of your own Wildcats playing for us, FoolKiller- Chuck Hayes.

Anyhow, Midnight Madness is on tap now.

 

[FoolKiller]

I'll also be listening to the radio so I can get into seeing if the Houston Rockets can win their preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks. Game will be in Little Rock, Arkansas (maybe on the campus of Arkansas-Little Rock), and it will feature one of your own Wildcats playing for us, FoolKiller- Chuck Hayes.

He will be a superstar in a few years, guaranteed.

Anyhow, Midnight Madness is on tap now.

I have tickets for UKs tonight, but it is row X on the upper level. I don't think we are going, especially considering that it is for my Dad's birthday and he hurt his leg this week. The stairs on Rupp Arena's upper level are about as steep as a ladder. Oh well, I made it last year for Rupp's 30th anniversary and a record crowd for a practice attendance.

This just means that tonight we will be back at my house after dinner and I can bust open some Warsteiner.

 

[JohnBM01]

According to the University of Kentucky's athletics website, this is supposed to be a collection of Kentucky's Midnight Madness pictures:

http://www.ukathletics.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=37&url_article_id=18602&change_well_id=2

I'll have my fancy preview lined up for Kentucky, since I enjoy sharing sports talk with you, FoolKiller. Last year's Athlon Sports preview worked, but not as much as I WANTED it to work. I stepped up to The Sporting News' college basketball preview. I'll be ready to share my findings with you all in a future post.

 

[JohnBM01]

I finally have a legit preview of college basketball 2006-2007. Since FoolKiller has been the one sharing in the previewing, I'll start with some news.


--- CHICAGO STATE... INDEPENDENT? ---
This news honestly shocked me because I didn't know that Chicago State were Independent after serving time in the Mid-Continent. The departure of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and their Div. 1 Independent status has Chicago State as favorites in Division 1 Independents according to Sporting News' College Basketball Preview.



Now here is a look at Kentucky's schedule. I'll follow up with the University of Louisville's schedule later. FoolKiller, what do you think about this set of games:

Kentucky's Schedule (picked to be #2 in SEC East; picked to make NCAA Tournament):

@ = Road Game
<<< = games I'm interested in
* = Conference Match

--- November ---
15 - Miami University
17 - Mississippi Valley State
20-22 Maui Invitational
28 - College of Charleston

--- December ---
2 - @ North Carolina <<<
5 - @ Chattanooga (in Louisville)
9 - Indiana
16 - @ Louisville <<< (Battle of the Bluegrass)
19 - Santa Clara
22 - Massachusetts
29 - Eastern Kentucky

--- January ---
3 - Houston <<< (yeah, that's right. My hometown's best team vs. your beloved 'Cats at Rupp Arena)
6 - @ Mississippi*
10 - Auburn*
13 - Mississippi State*
16 - @ South Carolina* <<< (a day after I will turn 24 years old)
20 - Vanderbilt
24 - @ Georgia*
28 - Tennessee*

--- February ---
3 - Arkansas*
7 - South Carolina*
10 - Florida* <<< Defending National Champions - Kentucky's Revenge. In Lexington, KY.
17 - @ Alabama*
20 - Louisiana State*
25 - @ Vanderbilt*
28 - Georgia*

--- March ---
4 - @ Florida* <<< Defending National Champions - Kentucky's Revenge. This time, in Gainesville, FL.


And hopefully, they'll be Sweet Sixteen at least in March. According to this preview, the last time Kentucky failed to make the NCAA tournament was in 1991. In 1991, Duke was the 1991 National Champions in beating Kansas 72-65. Now for a moment, let me give you Louisville's schedule because I'm concerned they may be the 2005 George Washington of the Big East:





Louisville's Schedule (picked 7th to win in Big East; picked to make NCAA tournament):

--- November ---
18 - Northwestern State
24 - Dayton (in Cincinatti)

--- December ---
2 - Sacromento State
5 - Arizona (in New York City)
8-10 - NABC Classic
13 - Massachusetts
16 - Kentucky (Battle of the Bluegrass <<< (Battle of the Bluegrass)
20 - Savannah State
23 - Miami
27 - Northeastern
28 - San Francisco
30 - North Carolina-Asheville

--- January ---
3 - @ Notre Dame*
10 - @ South Florida* <<< winless last year in Big East
13 - Providence*
15 - Marquette* <<< (I turn 24 years old; Marquette is 1977 National Champions)
20 - @ DePaul*
22 - Connecticut* <<< How will they do against this Big East power...
27 - Syracuse* <<< ...or this one?
31 - @ Cincinatti*

--- February ---
3 - @ Villanova*
10 - @ South Florida*
12 - @ Pittsburgh*
17 - @ Marquette*
21 - St. John's*


I got nothing against Louisville, but you can compare the non-conference schedule for Louisville to Kentucky's. One big thing you notice- not one non-conference road game (excluding exhibition tournaments and games played in other arenas). To make the case for Louisville, their toughest non-conference game is in New York when they play Arizona. Kentucky's biggest non-conference game is MUCH tougher- it doesn't get any better than being hosted by North Carolina. That match may be just as exciting (if not more) than Kentucky's match against Louisville. I probably predict that Louisville loses no less than one game before Big East play starts. If Louisville loses to Savannah State- they don't need to be the NCAA tournament. It's the same way I felt about them like when Syracuse lost at DePaul in a blowout. I thought Syracuse didn't need to be in the tournament adter a blowout like that. But thanks to their Big East tournament performance, they got in anyways.

I initially wanted to give out Houston's schedule, but I'll do that some other time. Here are the probable starters for Kentucky:

#3 Ramel Bradley (Jr) G, 6'2" 176 lbs.
#32 Joe Crawford (Jr) G, 6'5" 211 lbs.
#33 Randolph Morris (Jr.) F/C, 6'11" lbs.
#13 Bobby Perry (Sr) F, 6'8" 215
#23 Sharay Thomas (Sr) F, 6'8" 236 lbs.


The projected Starting Five in this magazine are all Juniors and Seniors. I'm not as worried about them this year, but more down the road. They have a veteran team. If all that talent goes to the NBA, Kentucky will have a whole mess of other players. Their non-starting lineup features four freshmen, one sophomore, and senior.


Again, I'll work on an *official* preview of college basketball when I get a chance.

 

[FoolKiller]

According to the University of Kentucky's athletics website, this is supposed to be a collection of Kentucky's Midnight Madness pictures:

Looks like what I saw on TV.

LUCKY SOB!!! I really like the danze team's new outfits.

I wonder if Tuesday Morning Quarerback's rules of professionalism (the team who's cheerleaders show the most skin, despite weather, are smiled upon by the football gods) work for basketball. If so Kentucky should win a lot with the dance team on the floor.

Seriously though, the new weight trainer at Kentucky is doing good. All of our skinny guys came out with new muscle and looked tone. Both Orbzut and Carter look like they should be strong centers with some muscle to back up their size now. That was the first thing I noticed when the team took the floor and when Tubby was interviewed it was the first improvement he mentioned. It has been a complaint from fans over the past few years that our players were flabby and lacked muscle tone and strong weight and then we had a lot of injuries that should be avoidable with proper weight training, such as pulls and whatnot. So, I think Tubby made a smart move. Now will teh rest of teh fans notice? I know my dad has already said they should put Mickey DeMoss (Women's coach) in Tubby's spot. Let them play a game, Jesus!

Now here is a look at Kentucky's schedule. I'll follow up with the University of Louisville's schedule later. FoolKiller, what do you think about this set of games:

I'll mark them W/L/? based on how I predict the outcome.

--- November ---
15 - Miami University - W
17 - Mississippi Valley State - W
20-22 Maui Invitational - Depending on when we play UCLA, but this will be our first loss.
28 - College of Charleston - W

--- December ---
2 - @ North Carolina - L
5 - @ Chattanooga (in Louisville) - W (I'll probably go to this game)
9 - Indiana - W
16 - @ Louisville <<< (Battle of the Bluegrass) - W
19 - Santa Clara - W
22 - Massachusetts - ?
29 - Eastern Kentucky - W

--- January ---
3 - Houston <<< (yeah, that's right. My hometown's best team vs. your beloved 'Cats at Rupp Arena) - W
6 - @ Mississippi* - W
10 - Auburn* - W
13 - Mississippi State* - W
16 - @ South Carolina* <<< (a day after I will turn 24 years old) - ?
20 - Vanderbilt - W
24 - @ Georgia* - ?
28 - Tennessee* - ?

--- February ---
3 - Arkansas* - W
7 - South Carolina* - W
10 - Florida* <<< Defending National Champions - Kentucky's Revenge. In Lexington, KY. - ?
17 - @ Alabama* - W
20 - Louisiana State* - ?
25 - @ Vanderbilt* - W
28 - Georgia* - W

--- March ---
4 - @ Florida* <<< Defending National Champions - Kentucky's Revenge. This time, in Gainesville, FL. - L

Louisville's Schedule (picked 7th to win in Big East; picked to make NCAA tournament):

There is only one game worth mentionining here.

--- December ---
16 - Kentucky (Battle of the Bluegrass <<< (Battle of the Bluegrass) - L <cough>NIT,<cough>

I got nothing against Louisville, but you can compare the non-conference schedule for Louisville to Kentucky's. One big thing you notice- not one non-conference road game (excluding exhibition tournaments and games played in other arenas). To make the case for Louisville, their toughest non-conference game is in New York when they play Arizona. Kentucky's biggest non-conference game is MUCH tougher- it doesn't get any better than being hosted by North Carolina.

And this answers any questions people had about Louisville's ranking and not getting an NCAA invite last year. Kentucky played and beat ranked teams before they even got to Louisville. Statistically Kentucky looked like a much better team on paper. Louisville can blame their schedule for having to settle for the NIT.

Interesting tid bit, Kentucky likes it that way. They keep trying to get Duke to do an exhibition (because the fans will never forget Laettner - how can we it's on every highlight reel - and we all know he should have been expelled after stomping on Timberlake). Duke however refuses to do it. Coach K says he will only do it if we go there EVERY time. Kentucky switches locations with big teams and demands home games against small teams (like WKU and EKU). WKU refuses to do it unless Kentucky switches each year, but Diddle Arena isn't big enough for the Kentucky fans alone.

That match may be just as exciting (if not more) than Kentucky's match against Louisville. I probably predict that Louisville loses no less than one game before Big East play starts.

That would be the Kentucky game.

Here are the probable starters for Kentucky:

#3 Ramel Bradley (Jr) G, 6'2" 176 lbs.
#32 Joe Crawford (Jr) G, 6'5" 211 lbs.
#33 Randolph Morris (Jr.) F/C, 6'11" lbs.
#13 Bobby Perry (Sr) F, 6'8" 215
#23 Sharay Thomas (Sr) F, 6'8" 236 lbs.

Watch Joe Crawford. He was a star as a sophmore last year. He has potential to be a superstar, especially if he stays around for his senior year. Morris is our question mark. He comes and goes and looks like his head isn't always in the game, but I think we will see him and Orbzut switching out with Carter filling in as needed. It is our weakest position, which is never good, but Carter has yet to have a chance to show what he's got.

The projected Starting Five in this magazine are all Juniors and Seniors. I'm not as worried about them this year, but more down the road. They have a veteran team. If all that talent goes to the NBA, Kentucky will have a whole mess of other players. Their non-starting lineup features four freshmen, one sophomore, and senior.

Bradley and Morris will still be here next year. Morris definitely. He's too much of a wild card and he needs as much time as possible to mature. Honestly, he's lucky he's on the team.

 

[JohnBM01]

Let me continue this college basketball preview by me showing off the schedule for my hometown's best team- the Houston Cougars. The Coogs aren't the only kittens in Division 1 trying to return to the playoffs. Check out their roster:

The Houston Cougars 2006-2007 Schedule

<<< = games of interest
* = conference game
@ = road game

--- NOVEMBER ---
13 - @ Rhode Island
18 - Monmouth <- was part of 2005-2006 NCAA Tournament Play-In Game vs. Hampton
22 - Grambling State
25 - @ Saint Louis
29 - Prairie View A&M

--- DECEMBER ---

2 - @ Virginia Commonwealth <<< (handed Houston's first loss last season)
17 - @ Arizona <<< (HOU led by 2 at Half, won game by 4... all at home. Now it's a road trip)
20-23 - Rainbow Classic Tournament (more on this later)
30 - Nevada-Las Vegas <- 1990(?) National Champs in embarassing Duke in title game


--- JANUARY ---
3 - @ Kentucky <<< (they beat ranked Arizona and ranked LSU last season. Can they beat Kentucky at Rupp Arena?)
11 - Memphis* <<< needs to beat them to gain confidence. Memphis was a #1 seed in last season's NCAA Tournament
13 - Southern Methodist*
17 - @ Rice* <<< (battle of Houston's two best teams. At Autry Court. I will turn 24 on January 15th.)
20 - @ Tulsa*
24 - Central Florida*
24 - @ Marshall*
29 - Saint Louis
31 - Rice <<< (battle of Houston's two best teams. This time, at Hoffheinz Pavillion.)

--- FEBRUARY ---
3 - @ Texas-El Paso* <- 1966 National Champions in beating Kentucky in title game. Historic program.
7 - @ Southern Methodist*
10 - East Carolina*
14 - South Alabama <<< was in last year's tournament. Beat Houston last season(?).
17 - Alabama-Birmingham* <- dangerous team.
19 - Southern Mississippi*
21 - Tulane*
25 - @ Memphis* <<< Houston may be in trouble at FedEx Forum. Have to find a way to beat them.
28 - @ Central Florida*

--- MARCH ---
3 - @ UTEP*

...then the C-USA Tournament should come around. Houston was in it last time and lost to Memphis. Memphis is the selected favorite of Sporting News' College Basketball Preview. Here are the Houston boys looking to make magic happen:


PROJECTED STARTING FIVE
#20 Oliver Lafayette. Guard. 6'3" at 180 lbs. Senior.
#02 Robert Lee. Guard. 6'2" at 190 lbs. Junior (Junior College transfer).
#23 Lanny Smith. Guard. 6'3" at 185 lbs. Senior.
#24 Jahmar Thorpe. Forward. 6'6" at at 225 lbs. Senior.
#42 Tafari Toney. 6'8" at 215 lbs. Forward. Junior (Junior College transfer).

There is only one freshman for the Houston Cougars, and his name is Nick Mosley. There's also only one sophomore named Charlie Jones. Everybody else are either juniors or seniors. So this is a veteran team looking to return the Cougars back to the NCAA postseason for the first time since 1992. They lost in the 2nd Round of the NIT to Missouri State. I probably think Houston could have staged more Missouri Valley Conference matches. They lost to Wichita State and a few other teams. And this is a fact- the University of Houston was part of the Missouri Valley Conference before. WAY long ago. Their biggest rival at that time? Oklahoma State. Lafayette and Smith have PPG numbers of 15.7 and 12.1 respectively. This may be the Cougars' year. This may be the year they finally return to the postseason. If they REALLY want to be impressive, they can be like the 1982-1983 Houston Cougars which won over 26 straight games before falling to North Carolina State in the NCAA Title game. I'm 70% sure this is Houston's year to return to the NCAA postseason and not the NIT.


As I mentioned, Houston will be part of the Rainbow Classic. The teams involved in this match include the following:

RAINBOW CLASSIC (Hosted by the University of Hawai'i)
Hawaii (host), Charlotte, Creighton, Houston, Nebraska, San Francisco, Valapariso, and Wyoming


And that's Houston. If this isn't bad enough, Houston's women's team has a tougher road. I heard they want to take on Texas Tech, Colorado, Michigan State... but I don't know the women's schedule for the Lady Cougars.

I'll cover the two big in-season tournaments, the Maui Invitational and the Great Alaska Shootout, in my next post.

 

[JohnBM01]

Now let me provide a small preview of how I want to do scores this season.

This season in college baskteball, threads will be monthly instead of weekly. I'm going to use a monthly format in order to not make as many threads on all sorts of games. So each month, I'll try to provide scores and extras for you. having to concentrate on as many games as possible and give them to you daily is more strenuous on me than my college football format. I usually say that I feel more comfortable doing football scores because I am actually able to talk about games better than I can with college basketball. Remember. I'm not just doing college scores. I want you to get involved. This is the sport you love. Why not share your love with others like yourself on GTPlanet? I may cover fewer games so that I can actually get some perspective going. It was why I did "Sunday Samplers" last season. It was my plan to get people to talk about the week's games. What you see in college football scores is the same as what I'll provide in this forum. Only difference is that there are tournaments in college basketball. I may decide to cover fewer exhibitional tournaments. Now here are samples of scores which you will see in college baskeball reports:


INTRODUCTION TO SCORES

In college basketball reports, games will have these asterisks (*) to note certain games. They will be there so that one will be able to better know which games will be played and featured. I will report games on the basis of (Team B) at (Team A). Here are some examples:

-- SCORE SAMPLES --
* LSU at South Carolina
* Kansas at Oklahoma State
* Syracuse at South Florida
* Detroit at Michigan


Of course, there are a BIG mess of teams in all three Divisions of NCAA basketball. Now some games in different arenas will be marked in the format of (Team A) vs. (Team B). Games at different arenas will be marked with parentheses followed by the arena the game was played followed by the location the game was played. The following samples are fictional game examples.

-- SCORE SAMPLES --
* Murray State vs. Western Kentucky (Rupp Arena; Lexington, KY)
* North Texas vs. Texas-San Antonio (SBC Center; San Antonio, TX)
* Texas Southern vs. Houston (Toyota Center; Houston, TX)
* Wisconsin vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Bradley Center; Milwaukee, WI)
* UCLA vs. Southern California (Staples Center; Los Angeles, CA)


The reports themselves are done in an interesting format. I try to make the report fun so that things don't seem overly boring. I may title certain reports to make things interesting. Each report will feature the names of both teams as well as their nickname. I'll report scores at the end of the report. I will note any Overtime games. If the home team wins, the winning team will be in CAPITAL letters. If the Away Team wins, it will be in lowercase. Teams ranked will have the ranking number by their name. I will also put that number into scores. Below are a few samples of how I'll do scores:

-- REPORT SAMPLES --
[Home Team Wins]
"(title here)" Arkansas at Kentucky
The boys in red went east to Rupp Arena to meet the Kentucky boys in blue. Time to hoop it up in Lexington. The University of Arkansas has a fairly great team. If their football team can shock (then) #2 Auburn and embarass them, imagine what kind of life their men's basketball team can do. The Razorbacks hope not to end up as bacon when they head to Kentucky. Now let's meet Kentucky. The boys in blue are ready to make another postseason appearance. Tubby Smith has recently been noted as the highest-paid college basketball coach in men's hoops. The Wildcats are money themselves- able to drain the rock in the paint, at the line, top of the key, from the wing, and especially outside of the paint. They can cover the bases like their baseball team has shown this past season. So let's get this game going. And in the end, Kentucky was just too much winning convincingly. (83-61; KENTUCKY)

[Away Team Wins]
"(title here)" North Carolina at North Carolina-Greensboro
This is all about North Carolina as a powerhouse meets one of three UNC schools. Asheville, Greensboro, and Wilmington all have proud UNC basketball programs. All of which draw their proud basketball lineage from the University of North Carolina. The North Carolina Tar Heels wear blue and proud of it. There's no doubt that this team is a proven power after all the teams they readily and handily put on the shelf. North Carolina-Greensboro is perhaps the worst of the three UNC teams. UNC-Wilmington is the best of the three unless you count UNC-Charlotte (but they prefer to be "Charlotte") to make it four. Anyhow, the North Carolina-Greensboro Spartans do not match up all that well on paper. But there's analysis... then the game itself. But even then, North Carolina was too much. (110-51; North Carolina)

[Rivalry Game]
"(title here)" Kentucky at Louisville (RIVALRY: Battle of the Blue Grass)
Last year, Louisville was #4 in the nation beating proud programs like the College of Charleston. Rick Pitino's boys had to venture into Lexington to meet Kentucky. Then Kentucky lowered the boom on Louisville. This time, Louisville invited Kentucky to THEIR place- Freedom Hall. Louisville hopes to knock off their hated rivals at Louisville. No disrepsect to Rupp Arena, but Freedom Hall can be as tough to play in as Rupp Arena. What happens when to teams hate each other so bad? Rivalry! The Kentucky Wildcats have seven National Championships. They have proud basketball tradition through and through. Only prouder basketball program is UCLA with over 11 National Championships. But at least Kentucky is an elite program. So is Louisville. Their two National Championships weren't cakewalks either. Louisville's football is getting much better, but the Cardinals haven't been too hot in their Big East debut. This former Conference USA unit decided to step up to the Big East so they can play in a BCS Bowl in football. Their basketball team hopes to go to the NCAA tourney and not the NIT. Let freedom [Hall] ring! After two halves, regulation solved nothing as we had to go to Overtime. Kentucky was trailing to Louisville until the Wildcats shot a cold-blooded three to send this game into extra frames. The rejuvenated kitties have won again over the Louisville boys. Credit Louisville's effort. (91-90, OT; Kentucky)

[Game at Another Arena]
"(title here)" Gonzaga vs. Washington (Key Arena; Seattle, WA)
It isn't very cold in Houston. I'd hate to imagine how chilly it is in the state of Washington, however. Teams would struggle a lot if this was street ball. So why not bring the game indoors? That's what Gonzaga and Washington are here to do. Gonzaga doesn't have Adam Morrison. So it will be interesting to see if Washington will still have Gonzaga's number in this... I guess you can say it's a Rivalry Game. You got two proven powers mixing it up. The University of Washington did pretty well during last season's NCAA Tournament. I know this isn't football, but their game against Connecticut is more like a "Husky Bowl." The Washington Huskies are ready to slap around a Morrison-less Gonzaga. I initially thought Gonzaga University was in California when I was learning teams and recognizing the location of the schools. They are actually based in Spokane, WA. They had a football team in their past which ended back in 1941. Ever since, they've been playing the game of basketball and doing it with pride. The Bulldogs look to make sure that the Washington Huskies aren't the only pack of dogs that rule the Emerald State. At this point, Washington remains unbeaten with a win here. (65-60; Washington)


Tournaments will follow a special format. Remember my "Packs" of games in my college football reports? I'll try to make exhibition tournaments just like those. Host schools will be shown with an exclamation mark (!). If the host school wins, their name will be in CAPTIAL LETTERS followed by an exclamation. I will provide an example. Now the name of the tournament sample does not exist. It's just an example of how tournaments will be done. Each bracket will be an estimated deal. I'll give short sample scores. And to show you the unpredictablility of college basketball, I'll provide some seed upsets. Check this out.


---The 2006 GTPlanet.net Hoops Classic - Freedom Hall; Louisville, Kentucky---
Participating Schools: Louisville!, Houston, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Washington, Maryland-Baltimore County, Auburn, Western Kentucky

--- QUARTERFINALS ---
<Leg 1> (1) Louisville! vs. (8) Western Kentucky (70-66; Western Kentucky) *#1 Seed Upset!*
<Leg 2> (2) Houston vs. (7) Auburn (66-60; Houston)
<Leg 3> (3) Georgia Tech vs. (6) Maryland-Baltimore County (70-65, OT; Georgia Tech)
<Leg 4> (4) Illinois vs. (5) Washington (80-74; Illinois)

--- SEMI-FINALS ---
<Leg 1> (8) Western Kentucky vs. (2) Houston (73-66; Houston)
<Leg 2> (3) Georgia Tech vs. (4)Illinois (90-76; Illinois)

--- FINALS ---
<Final> (2) Houston vs. (4) Illinois (100-95, 2OT; Illinois)

TOURNAMENT WINNER: Illinois
- end "The 2006 GTPlanet.net Hoops Classic"


The NCAA Tournament will be much different in reports. This is an NCAA Tournament Sample:


*+x The 2006-2007 NCAA Tournament - The Road to Atlanta x+*

(AAAAAAAA REGION)
<Leg 1> A1! vs. A16
<Leg 2> A2 vs. A15
<Leg 3> A3 vs. A14
<Leg 4> A4 vs. A13
<Leg 5> A5 vs. A12
<Leg 6> A6 vs. A11
<Leg 7> A7 vs. A10
<Leg 8> A8 vs. A9

(BBBBBBBB REGION)
<Leg 1> B1! vs. B16
<Leg 2> B2 vs. B15
<Leg 3> B3 vs. B14
<Leg 4> B4 vs. B13
<Leg 5> B5 vs. B12
<Leg 6> B6 vs. B11
<Leg 7> B7 vs. B10
<Leg 8> B8 vs. B9

(CCCCCCCC REGION)
<Leg 1> C1! vs. C16
<Leg 2> C2 vs. C15
<Leg 3> C3 vs. C14
<Leg 4> C4 vs. C13
<Leg 5> C5 vs. C12
<Leg 6> C6 vs. C11
<Leg 7> C7 vs. C10
<Leg 8> C8 vs. C9

(DDDDDDDD REGION)

Play-In Game: (PI-1) vs. (PI-2) (Winner gets D16)

<Leg 1> D1! vs. (winner of PI-1 vs. PI-2)
<Leg 2> D2 vs. D15
<Leg 3> D3 vs. D14
<Leg 4> D4 vs. D13
<Leg 5> D5 vs. D12
<Leg 6> D6 vs. D11
<Leg 7> D7 vs. D10
<Leg 8> D8 vs. D9

-end of Introduction to Scores"





The November thread is forthcoming to start the 2006-2007. Get ready to hoop things up!

 

[FoolKiller]

And in the end, Kentucky was just too much winning convincingly. (83-61; KENTUCKY)

Credit Louisville's effort. (91-90, OT; Kentucky)

Are these predictions or are you just being nice to me? Or are they just copies from last year's games?

<Leg 1> (1) Louisville! vs. (8) Western Kentucky (70-66; Western Kentucky) *#1 Seed Upset!*

Now I know you are just being nice to me.

<Leg 1> (8) Western Kentucky vs. (2) Houston (73-66; Houston)

But hometown pride wins out in the end, I see.


Well, Louisville plays their first game tonight and UK plays theirs tomorrow. I love football season, but when basketball season starts is when all else comes to a standstill. The buzz in Kentucky has almost become, "Bowl game? What? We're still playing football?" Louisville is all pumped about their football game this week but the basketball fever is still there.

 

[FoolKiller]

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061102/SPORTS02/611020441/1002/SPORTS
Exhibition game 1 is finished for the Louisville Cardinals and the Louisville fans are nervous. 94 points isn't shabby but should Georgetown (of Kentucky) be able to score 92 points as well? Louisville had no defense and a missed buzzer-beater three by Georgetown nearly delieverd a loss.

I'll laugh now, but Kentucky plays their first exhibition tonight against Lindsey Wilson, another local Kentucky school. It is a small private religious school so we don't expect much, but these teams play these games to get publicity, and they know a win would have their name plastered all over Sportscenter.

You can never take these games lightly, which is what I imagine Louisville did last night as I can't fathom a Rick Pitino team playing such poor defense.

Ah well, for now I am harassing my Louisville fan co-workers who came in looking scared this morning. Now, how will that Louisville vs West Virginia football game pan out?

 

[FoolKiller]

Game Report

94-54!!! Kentucky looked good! For the first ten minutes or so the cats couldn't get more than a 5-6 point lead and they went into a time out and Assistant Coach Dave Hobbs said, "Are we playing defense or not? Are we going to get some offense boards or not?" After that the cats went on an 8-0 run and never looked back.

You can't even accuse the cats of running up the score. Freshman Jodie Meeks had 17 points. You can't help a huge score if your freshman are just rolling in points. What do you do, tell them not to try?

Anyway, after this performance I am excited about the upcoming season.

Bring on those cardinal birds!