College Basketball: 2015-2016 Season (Men and Women) - Join the GTPlanet ESPN Bracket Group (OP)!

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Last night... DOWN WENT KENTUCKY! At UCLA, the Bruins beat #1 Kentucky 87-77. Anyone who knows anything about college basketball know these are two of the best college hoops programs of all time. I usually think of the late great John Wooden and what he accomplished coaching the UCLA Bruins. Then look at all the championships Kentucky wrapped up in its storied history. This is only an upset in the sense these are two of the greatest programs in college basketball, let alone men's college basketball.

The Big East is different in this day and age, but seeing Syracuse at Georgetown this weekend will be a great match. Whoever could forget the wild six-overtime game between these two rivals a few years ago in the old Big East tournament? There should be a good number of games to check out this weekend if you're a college hoops fan. So go enjoy some college hoops this weekend.
 
Time to share a few thoughts. This is a little rundown of action today.

* Let me share with you an atrocious shooting performance by two teams. There was a game between the NJIT Highlanders at the Columbia Lions. The game ended with Columbia winning 38-25. I've seen scores where two teams have scored 40 points or more, but this is either good defense or terrible offense. This score was more like a high-scoring FOOTBALL game than a basketball game.

* The Rutgers Scarlet Knights fell hard today at the George Washington Colonials 83-49. GWU is now 9-1 on the season.

* No problems for Michigan, as the Wolverines ripped the wings off the Delaware State Hornets with an 80-33 win. Delaware State fell to 0-9 while Michigan improves to 7-3.

* #1 Michigan State held on against some feisty Florida Gators 58-52 in East Lansing. Michigan State is now 11-0 with this win.

* The Texas Longhorns upset #3 North Carolina with an 84-82 win thanks to a buzzer-beater by Texas. I forgot that Shaka Smart is the UT-Austin coach. He was formerly the coach of Virginia Commonwealth.

* The two best basketball schools in The Badger State met up in Madison. It was the Marquette Golden Eagles beating the Wisconsin Badgers 57-55.

* I used to be a Lamar University student, so I was pleased the Lamar Cardinals defeated the Liberty Flames 73-58 at Liberty.

* Not a good day for the Tennessee Volunteers as they lost 94-86 at the #18 Butler Bulldogs.

* #5 Kentucky had few problems with Arizona State today at Rupp Arena. The Wildcats took down the Sun Devils 72-58.

* The Shockers of Wichita State University shocked the #25 Utah Utes 67-50 in Wichita.

* In the battle for Cincinnati, it was the U. of Cincinnati playing at Xavier University. It was the Jesuit school (Xavier) who got the 65-55 win.


Congratulations to all other winners from Saturday.
 
I'm sure our Paulie will give us a little Aussie report on Ben Simmons of LSU. Meanwhile, my Houston Cougars tamed the Bayou Bengals in Overtime. Yep. We beat the LSU Tigers 105-98 here in Houston. As for the aforementioned Ben Simmons, he got himself a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. The Coogs are now 6-1 on the season. Our only loss so far was at Rhode Island.
 
The Hawks of Monmouth University are currently 7-3. Of those seven wins, this New Jersey university knocked off the likes of UCLA, Notre Dame, and recently, Georgetown. Their next game is at Rutgers this Sunday. So you all may want to keep an eye on Monmouth if they can keep taking down their opposition. This could be a mid-major that can do some damage in the tournament, should they advance.
 
Yes. That happened. San Antonio's The University of the Incarnate Word went to St. John's and beat the Red Storm 73-51 in their house earlier tonight. Not a good night for one of the proudest college basketball programs in college basketball history.
 
JohnBM01
I'm sure our Paulie will give us a little Aussie report on Ben Simmons of LSU. Meanwhile, my Houston Cougars tamed the Bayou Bengals in Overtime. Yep. We beat the LSU Tigers 105-98 here in Houston. As for the aforementioned Ben Simmons, he got himself a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. The Coogs are now 6-1 on the season. Our only loss so far was at Rhode Island.
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Simmons has gone quiet, he's still posting some double doubles and producing some highlights though. LSU as a team doesn't seem to be all that great.
 
I can't remember where I saw it, but I saw an article somewhere saying that LSU is doing Simmons a disservice by not trying to help him by having the team play better. The article also said he should probably transfer if he doesn't get help next season.
 
Ben Simmons could play for any school, as far as I'm concerned. Heck, he could even play for my Houston Cougars (though we beat LSU earlier this season)! His LSU Tigers won today 100-77 against Oral Roberts.

Some more big wins today... Ohio State took down #4 Kentucky 74-67 at Ohio State, and Utah beat #7 Duke 77-75 in Overtime. Also, it was a 79-73 win as Georgetown lost to the Bulldogs of UNC-Asheville. What's up with the Big East all of a sudden? A pretty big win was in Athens, GA; as Georgia beat their in-state rivals from Atlanta (Georgia Tech) 75-61.
 
Creighton gave Oklahoma a game today. They managed to keep it close most of the game, even getting it down to a single point, at least before Buddy Hield went on a 9-0 run all by himself. Hield's run pushed the Sooners up by 12 with under four minutes left in the game and the Blue Jays were not able to mount much of a challenge from there.
 
AnthonyD1993
I can't remember where I saw it, but I saw an article somewhere saying that LSU is doing Simmons a disservice by not trying to help him by having the team play better. The article also said he should probably transfer if he doesn't get help next season.
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He will transfer...to the NBA.:sly: He did have a nicer game today, 24pts, 9reb and 7ast.
 
73-67, Monmouth def. Rutgers at Rutgers. So let's get a rundown going: Monmouth has now beaten Pac-12 teams (USCal and UCLA), an ACC team (Notre Dame), a Big East team (Georgetown), and now a B1G team (Rutgers). Pretty good, I'd say. All Monmouth needs to do is either win its conference championship (Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference) or hope all the teams they defeated have great seasons to help Monmouth as an at-large team for the tournament.


[UPDATE] Notre Dame is an ACC school, so make that another big-name conference win.
 
I am so ready for conference play to start. Directional U isn't much of a game. I know the schools with big TV deals need to help the other programs & the big dogs need to ramp up the OAD players. Some of these games are like watching paint dry. KU will play tomorrow night at San Diego State. Team that beat their sleep walking tails before, will they actually show up to play? Once conference play starts it's on. Oklahoma & Iowa State are looking to break KU's streak of conference championships. Middle of January KU Vs UK in the SEC-Big12 Challenge. Win or lose like the games with similar programs, not schedule filler stuff. Transcript says "Stillwater, Ok" don't see much from the cowpokes this season. Sooners look legit. ISU have a new coach so who knows? Texas is an interesting new wrinkle Shaka Smart never had access to the kind of players he can get at UT. The question is can he get them & can he get them to play his style of ball. With talent pool he has, I'd change my style to match the player pool I now have. Does anyone else think the guy looks like a vampire from an old 1930s flick?
 
Last night in Auburn Hills, #1 and undefeated Michigan State took on the Golden Grizzlies of Oakland University in a clash of two Michigan schools. I thought of my good buddy Joey D for this one. The game would need more than 40 minutes for the score to be settled. The Michigan State Spartans remain undefeated thanks to a 99-93 victory in Overtime. I'll tell you what- I was actually interested in seeing Oakland try and pull the upset. Didn't happen, unfortunately. Sparty still rolls.

My Houston Cougars unfortunately recently lost to relative newcomers, the Antelopes of Grand Canyon University. The 'Lopes won 78-69 over my Coogs in Las Vegas back on Monday. The Houston Cougars got back to winning by beating Wyoming 94-89 in Double Overtime recently.
 
When the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville hook up, it's usually a big deal. The #12 Kentucky Wildcats shown the heart of a champion- an 8-time champ- with a 75-73 victory over #16 Louisville at massive Rupp Arena. John Calipari picked up win No. 200. I read he was the fastest to 200 wins in U. of Kentucky history. That's VERY cool considering the history Kentucky has in the college hoops ranks. I think he reached 200 wins in 240 games as coach.


This week basically starts Conference Play. That means you'll be seeing teams battle the same teams in conference to try to make a case for the tournament. Of course... win your conference tournament, and you're going to The Big Dance in March. So win your conference and flex your muscle.
 
Oklahoma starts conference play hosting the #11/#9 Iowa State Cyclones this upcoming Saturday. It should be a very good test for the Sooners after winning the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii on Christmas. Shortly following two days later after their match up with the Cyclones, Oklahoma will have to face the Jayhawks of Kansas on Big Monday. Rough open to the conference schedule for the Sooners, but it should go a long way to determining how good they are.
 
Did you know the following teams in NCAA D1 Men's Basketball are undefeated:

* #1 Michigan State (13-0)
* #3 Oklahoma (11-0)
* #6 Xavier (12-0)
* #17 SMU (11-0)
* #24 South Carolina (11-0)

These are the only unbeaten teams currently.
 
Brett
Oklahoma starts conference play hosting the #11/#9 Iowa State Cyclones this upcoming Saturday. It should be a very good test for the Sooners after winning the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii on Christmas. Shortly following two days later after their match up with the Cyclones, Oklahoma will have to face the Jayhawks of Kansas on Big Monday. Rough open to the conference schedule for the Sooners, but it should go a long way to determining how good they are.
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Iowa State put a very good challenge last night, but came up short down the stretch. Oklahoma grabbed the lead late and failed to give it up. With the win, the soon to be #1 or #2 ranked Sooners will be going into the Big Monday showdown with the #1 or #2 Kansas Jayhawks.
 
Do you think Oklahoma will win the Big XII this season, Brett? Or are teams like Iowa State and Kansas too tough?
 
With what Oklahoma had returning this year and Fred Hoiberg leaving Iowa State, I thought coming into the year, Oklahoma would have a chance to knock Kansas off their perch atop the Big XII. I still believe that to be possible. Monday's game should give a good indication of how good this Sooner team is. If the Sooners can manage to get a win at Phog Allen, then I think they have a great shot to win the Big XII this year. If not, then it is still going to be a very close race. Big XII conference play is going to be a grind house.
 
A few musings on this Monday night...

* Are you kidding me? Did you know the #2 Oklahoma at #1 Kansas game went to TRIPLE OVERTIME? This one had to be nuts! 109-106, Kansas. So, uh... DOWN GOES OKLAHOMA! Now only two remaining unbeaten teams. Sorry, Brett.

* Speaking of going nuts, Virginia Tech must feel that way after having beaten #4 Virginia 70-68 at Virginia Tech. The Hokies are not known as any basketball power, but it always feels good taking down your in-state rival.


Congratulations to all of the other winners on Monday.
 
OU hasn't won in that old barn since 1993, & it didn't happen tonight. That was one heck of a game, I should have recorded it. This will be an interesting year in the Big 12. Looks as if you still need to pass through the Phog to win the Big 12. 9 loses in Allen Field House for Bill Self in his 12+ years at Kansas, simply amazing.
 
JohnBM01
* Are you kidding me? Did you know the #2 Oklahoma at #1 Kansas game went to TRIPLE OVERTIME? This one had to be nuts! 109-106, Kansas. So, uh... DOWN GOES OKLAHOMA! Now only two remaining unbeaten teams. Sorry, Brett.
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I am not too upset about the loss. Would I have liked to get a win? Certainly! However, I know that the Jayhawks rarely lose in Phog Allen.

It was an outstanding game of basketball. One of the absolute best games of college basketball I have ever watched. Buddy Hield played his heart out. Had someone other than Jordan Woodard helped him out on offense, then the Sooners may have been able to pull off a win.

I am still very excited for the rest of the year. This is a very good Sooner team. The Big XII is going to be a grind this year and at this point, there is still plenty of time for Oklahoma to get back into contention to win the conference.
 
Only thing crazier in the Oklahoma at Kansas game would have been like if this game went to six overtimes like that classic between Syracuse and Georgetown a few years ago in the old Big East. Oklahoma, if anything, proven they are for real. How "for real" depends on what kind of damage they can do if they make the NCAA Tournament. OU could easily be a Final Four team at least. That is... unless Duke, Michigan State, or any other usual suspects have anything to say about it.

I think the only remaining unbeaten teams right now are South Carolina and SMU.
 
Allow me to offer this additional post (this is not a double post). Here are some of the many teams that have double digit wins so far this season in the men's game:

* Albany (11-4)
* North Florida (11-6)
* George Washington (12-2)
* St. Joseph's (11-2)
* Dayton (11-2)
* Duquesne (10-4)
* Idaho (10-5)
* High Point (11-4)
* North Carolina-Asheville (10-5)
* Hawaii (11-2) « ineligible for postseason?
* UC-Irvine (11-5)
* Hofstra (10-4)
* Northeastern (10-5)
* James Madison (11-4)
* Elon (10-5)
* Towson (10-5)
* UTEP (10-5)
* Louisiana Tech (12-2)
* UAB (11-3)
* Valparaiso (11-3)
* Wisconsin-Milwaukee (10-5)
* Monmouth (10-4)
* Akron (11-2)
* Northern Illinois (11-2)
* Southern Illinois (13-2)
* Evansville (13-2)
* Boise State (10-4)
* Air Force (10-4)
* Fresno State (10-5)
* Tennessee Tech (10-5)
* Tennessee State (10-4)
* Eastern Kentucky (10-6)
* Army (10-4)
* Navy (10-5)
* Chattanooga (12-2)
* Mercer (11-3)
* South Dakota State (13-3)
* Nebraska-Omaha (10-6)
* IPFW (12-4)
* North Dakota State (11-4)
* Arkansas-Little Rock (12-1)
* Texas-Arlington (11-2)
* St. Mary's (13-1)
* Gonzaga (12-3)
* BYU (10-5)
* Grand Canyon (13-2)
* California State-Bakersfield (10-5)

Some of these teams may be some of the mid-major and low-major teams that could be tournament teams once March comes along. Do any of these names surprise you in them doing so well?
 
LSU upset Kentucky today, Simmons only had 14pts, 10reb.
 
Baylor beat the Cowboys handily, if Forte is out for the year, it will be a long year for OSU. I nodded off during the game after being up for the KU vs OU game. Did catch part of the LSU vs UK game before I gave up & went to bed. It might of been the fact that I was having a hard time maintaining focus. The game didn't seem to flow, just kind of lurched along. If I have a chance I'll re-watch it on ESPN3.
 
DOWN GOES ARIZONA! #7 Arizona at USCal took four Overtimes, and the Trojans won 103-101. This had to be nuts! Also in the "down goes" comments...

DOWN GOES IOWA STATE! 94-89 was what Baylor beat #13 Iowa State by at Iowa State.


Just another day of college basketball...
 

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