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The 2014-15 College Basketball Season

CAA_Beat

CAA_Beat

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Well the season kicked off last night with several top teams opening with "guarantee" games. Meaning they guarantee a smaller school to come play and receive a guaranteed payout usually several hundred thousand dollars, in return the bigger school being guaranteed a victory.

Last night it seemed to hold to form as I didn't notice any major upsets.

Here's a look at the AP Top 25 this week to get things started.
1.
Kentucky (52)
Last game: vs Grand Canyon, W 85-45 (11/14)
Next game: Buffalo (11/16)
1-016041
2.
Arizona (5)
Last game: vs Mount St. Mary's, W 78-55 (11/14)
Next game: CSU Northridge (11/16)
1-015182
3.
Wisconsin (8)
Last game: vs North. Kentucky, W 62-31 (11/14)
Next game: Chattanooga (11/16)
1-014833
4.
Duke
Last game: vs Presbyterian, W 113-44 (11/14)
Next game: Fairfield (11/15)
1-014154
5.
Kansas
Last game: vs UCSB, W 69-59 (11/14)
Next game: Kentucky (11/18)
1-013465
6.
N. Carolina
Last game: vs N.C. Central, W 76-60 (11/14)
Next game: Robert Morris (11/16)
1-012746
7.
Florida
Last game: vs William & Mary, W 68-45 (11/14)
Next game: Miami (FL) (11/17)
1-011537
8.
Louisville
Last game: vs Minnesota, W 81-68 (11/14)
Next game: Jacksonville St. (11/17)
1-011148
9.
Virginia
Last game: at James Madison, W 79-51 (11/14)
Next game: Norfolk St. (11/16)
1-010909
10.
Texas
Last game: vs N. Dak. St., W 85-50 (11/14)
Next game: Alcorn St. (11/16)
1-0106110
11.
Wichita St.
Last game: vs N. Mex. St., W 71-54 (11/14)
Next game: Memphis (11/18)
1-0102711
12.
Villanova
Last game: vs Lehigh, W 77-66 (11/14)
Next game: MD Eastern Shore (11/17)
1-088512
13.
Gonzaga
Last game: vs Sacramento St., W 104-58 (11/14)
Next game: SMU (11/17)
1-084013
14.
Iowa St.
Last game: vs Oakland, W 93-82 (11/14)
Next game: Georgia St. (11/17)
1-078114
15.
VCU
Last game: vs Tennessee, W 85-69 (11/14)
Next game: Toledo (11/18)
1-057415
16.
S. Diego St.
Last game: vs CSU Northridge, W 79-58 (11/14)
Next game: Utah (11/18)
1-056016
17.
Connecticut
Last game: vs Bryant, W 66-53 (11/14)
Next game: Charleston (11/20)
1-055217
18.
Michigan St.
Last game: at Navy, W 64-59 (11/14)
Next game: Duke (11/18)
1-052118
19.
Oklahoma
Next game: SE Louisiana (11/16)
0-042619
20.
Ohio St.
Last game: vs Mass-Lowell, W 92-55 (11/14)
Next game: Marquette (11/18)
1-034020
21.
Nebraska
Next game: North. Kentucky (11/16)
0-030921
22.
SMU
Last game: vs Lamar, W 93-54 (11/14)
Next game: Gonzaga (11/17)
1-028522
23.
Syracuse
Last game: vs Kennesaw St., W 89-42 (11/14)
Next game: Hampton (11/16)
1-017823
24.
Michigan
Next game: Hillsdale (11/15)
0-016724
25.
Harvard
Last game: vs MIT, W 73-52 (11/14)
Next game: Holy Cross (11/16)
1-09825
Dropped Out: None
Others Receiving Votes: Utah 98, Stanford 71, Iowa 58, Colorado 57, UCLA 35, Minnesota 34, Kansas St. 27, Arkansas 21, Pittsburgh 20, Memphis 15, N.C. State 14, Louisiana Tech 9, Cincinnati 8, LSU 8, Geo. Wash. 7, Oklahoma St. 6, Notre Dame 6, Dayton 6, Florida St. 5, Georgetown 5, Maryland 3, Illinois 3, UNLV 2, BYU 2, UTEP 1, S.F. Austin 1, Baylor 1, West Virginia 1
 
The Bruce Pearl Era started out with a win last night. They were down most of the night to Milwaukee, who I have to assume is no good. A lot of people are optimistic about this team. But it's Auburn basketball so I'm going to go ahead thinking Auburn will be lucky to get to the SEC tourney.
 
nice post. hopefully you keep us updated here since like hockey, i don't follow college basketball closely until after the new years.
 
emart2173 said:
nice post. hopefully you keep us updated here since like hockey, i don't follow college basketball closely until after the new years.
Click to expand...

Yep January is when things really pick up steam with conference play. However, I have several friends who don't start following it until after the NFL is done in February.

Do you have a favorite local team.
 
Wake said:
The Bruce Pearl Era started out with a win last night. They were down most of the night to Milwaukee, who I have to assume is no good. A lot of people are optimistic about this team. But it's Auburn basketball so I'm going to go ahead thinking Auburn will be lucky to get to the SEC tourney.
Click to expand...

You know Pearl coached at Milwaukee in the early 2000's? He really put them on the map as a mid-major. I'm sure it was a favor by him to the school to schedule them.

They won the Horizon League championship last year and made the NCAA tournament. They lost quite a bit to graduation and are predicted to finish in the middle of the pack this year in the league.
 
I thought it was AWESOME that Mizzou lost to UMKC last night.



UMKC shocks Mizzou 69-61 behind Martez Harrison’s 26 points

BY BLAIR KERKHOFFTHE KANSAS CITY STAR

On Kim Anderson’s big night, his debut game as Missouri’s men’s basketball coach, UMKC stole the show. The Kangaroos pulled off one of the great triumphs in program history 69-61 on Friday, taking a major step in coach Kareem Richardson’s second year, knocking off the state’s flagship program and a Southeastern Conference team.

“I’m not going to sit here and fool anybody,” Richardson said. “It’s big for our program. But it can’t be the biggest one for us this year. We have to build on it and look forward to the next challenge.”

That’s Monday at Kansas State, and suddenly UMKC doesn’t look like a program that’s been pushed around by majors over the years. More than a decade ago, the Kangaroos pulled off the occasional stunner, beating the likes of Nebraska, Colorado and Mississippi State. Nobody who was at Municipal Auditorium that night in 2003 will forgot UMKC’s 41-point victory over Kansas State.

Now, there’s a first victory in four attempts over Mizzou, and the Kangaroos did it by grabbing the early lead and never losing control. The Kangaroos’ zone defense frustrated the Tigers, who never showed enough consistency to make a run. And Mizzou couldn’t do much with UMKC point guard Martez Harrison, who finished with 26 points. Harrison, a sophomore from Kansas City who was chosen freshman of the year in the Western Athletic Conference last season, made 15 of 16 free throws. This from a player who shot 63.8 percent from the line last year.

“It’s important that a lead guard knocks down free throws,” Harrison said. “But the whole team shot well tonight.”

The Kangaroos hit 79 percent from the line (23 of 29), and more stunning, they attempted 13 more free throws than the Tigers.

“That’s the game right there,” Anderson said.

Harrison had 19 of UMKC’s 36 second-half points.

“He’s a great player,” Missouri guard Wes Clark said. “He played with great pace and controlled the floor for the most part. He basically dominated the second half.”

The Kangaroos surprisingly won the board battle and hit enough big threes to keep the Tigers chasing. Missouri closed the deficit to three twice in the second half, the last time at 48-45, but didn’t get closer.

MU freshman wing Montaque Gill-Caesar finished with 21 points and Clark scored 13 for Mizzou, but the Tigers lacked aggressiveness and didn’t get the ball inside nearly enough.

“I thought we were a step slow, and I don’t know why,” Anderson said.

This was the nightmare scenario for Missouri, which made the rare hire of a Division II coach after last season. Anderson, the former Mizzou star and assistant coach, had just led Central Missouri to a NCAA championship when athletic director Mike Alden hired him to replace Frank Haith, who left for Tulsa. The choice was a popular one. But the debut was a disaster as the Tigers lost an opener for the first time since 2005, when they fell at home to Sam Houston State. The Tigers knew the season could be difficult after losing 78 percent of their scoring from last year. Mizzou welcomed eight newcomers to a roster.

“It’s really disappointing, but I believe in these guys,” Anderson said. “The kids are upset and they should be.”

UMKC had to sweat out the final minute. The Kangaroos had a chance to take a nine-point lead with two minutes remaining but Frank Williams Jr. missed a layup, and Mizzou quickly cut the deficit to five. But the Tigers came away empty on their next three possessions. Harrison hit a pair of free throws with 58.6 seconds remaining, opening a seven-point lead, and the advantage was back to nine when Shayok Shayok got a breakaway off a long Mizzou miss. As the final seconds counted down, the UMKC bench was a picture of joyous jumps, hugs and handshakes.

“This is really huge for us,” Harrison said. “It’s big for the program, and it’s going to help build our guys’ confidence.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/co...of-missouri/article3944987.html#storylink=cpy
 
Pretty excited for KU vs. UK this week. I also have tickets to the Orlando Classic over Thanksgiving weekend.
 
I was following that score online for a while. But I didn't see the final. Big ups to UMKC for scoring one for the Mid-Majors!!
 
Exciting to have College Basketball back. Hoping my Wolverines can improve that ranking and make a run. Young team and it will be interesting how Belien develops them.
 
mmaynard11 said:
Exciting to have College Basketball back. Hoping my Wolverines can improve that ranking and make a run. Young team and it will be interesting how Belien develops them.
Click to expand...

GO BLUE!
 
CAA_Beat said:
Yep January is when things really pick up steam with conference play. However, I have several friends who don't start following it until after the NFL is done in February.

Do you have a favorite local team.
Click to expand...

Locally I favor GW or Mason. Growing up in Buffalo i have been SU fan and somehow ended up rooting for Tarheels(I think because of James Worthy and being a Lakers fan as a kid). My sports teams are all over the place.
 
So far Duke looks like they can score a lot from any position. I think this is gonna be a huge year for Duke
 
emart2173 said:
Locally I favor GW or Mason. Growing up in Buffalo i have been SU fan and somehow ended up rooting for Tarheels(I think because of James Worthy and being a Lakers fan as a kid). My sports teams are all over the place.
Click to expand...

Mason's move to the A10 has turned out very well so far. To be fair they have been beset by injuries and defections the past two years. But they have a long road ahead. Losing to Cornell at home, may be its worst loss in years.

You gotta like the job Lonergan has done at GW. I'm a bit of a Tarheel fan myself :) but I must say the scandal they are involved in now has left a very sour taste in my mouth. As much for the outright denial and lying by the administration as the acts themselves.
 
CAA_Beat said:
Mason's move to the A10 has turned out very well so far. To be fair they have been beset by injuries and defections the past two years. But they have a long road ahead. Losing to Cornell at home, may be its worst loss in years.

You gotta like the job Lonergan has done at GW. I'm a bit of a Tarheel fan myself :) but I must say the scandal they are involved in now has left a very sour taste in my mouth. As much for the outright denial and lying by the administration as the acts themselves.
Click to expand...

i feel the same wat about NC. It's been one of my turnoffs on college sports in general. College sports has been losing its innocence for awhile as it gets more about the money for schools and less about the student athlete and their experience.
 
I was not impressed with the Jayhawks last night. I think they were caught looking ahead. Hope they fare better against the Big Blue. Won't be an easy game.
 
Finally some good news beating No. 8 Florida. GO CANES!!!
 
College basketball season is back.....





So that means the best avatar on THP has returned.
 
arydolphin said:
College basketball season is back.....





So that means the best avatar on THP has returned.
Click to expand...
See you in the Final Four.



And I don't know, I think Ripsqueak is the best avatar on THP!
 
Check out VCU's Briante Weber's stat line..

18 points, 8 Rebs., 7 assts., 9 steals.

Solid night at the office.
 
Gonzaga finally looks like a legit final 4 team to me. Better than the Adam Morrison teams IMO. Experienced guards, depth, big guys... solid
 
Just keeping up online, but it seems that KU isn't up to the task tonight so far.
 
Wake said:
The Bruce Pearl Era started out with a win last night. They were down most of the night to Milwaukee, who I have to assume is no good. A lot of people are optimistic about this team. But it's Auburn basketball so I'm going to go ahead thinking Auburn will be lucky to get to the SEC tourney.
Click to expand...
Optimism was short lived, blown out by Colorado last night
 
Duke looked solid tonight, it was nice to see some freshmen step up in an early season big game even though Michigan State was not at full strength.
 
It's just one game, but Kentucky looks scary good right now. I don't see how they lose more than a couple of games during the regular season.
 
arydolphin said:
It's just one game, but Kentucky looks scary good right now. I don't see how they lose more than a couple of games during the regular season.
Click to expand...

They looked incredible...going 10 deep with ease. Either they are scary good, or Kansas is really bad.

I'm wondering if any Kentucky/SEC games are going to be safe for primetime TV, or if they will be rated R for excessive violence.
 
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