Best BBall Conference in the NCAA?

[swh1972]

good observation I don't think OSU has a good enough team when it comes tournament time. Wisconsin is the only power of the big10 this year.

[dgreco]

Yet OSU only lost by 3 to Wisconsin in Madison...

OSU has a young team, but they could be a significant factor in the NCAA by the time March rolls along.

[swh1972]

they kept it close when the game didn't matter, when it comes tournament time, I think the team is to young. I also think Oden is overrated, I hope he isn't if Boston picks him in the draft, but thats what i see.

[dgreco]

About Oden, keep in mind his college resume consists of approximately 14 games played predominantly with his off hand. He is still learning, and is not 100% physically. For a 19 year old kid, I'm not sure how overrated he is. Overhyped? that's something else all together. People (Dick V) speak about him in the same sentence as Ewing, Hakeem, and Russell. He is not at that level currently and may never be. That does not take anything away from his potential.

Also, Mike Conolly, Jr is a star in the making.

[nowensone]

The thing I doubt is his actual age, I know it sounds crazy, but I hoenstly think he isn't 19... I heard a few things on the news the other day talking about it and it was a little convincing. I agree though playing with his left hand and not being 100% he looks promising, I just think the big man NBA is dying, and the fast pace Forwards is the way ie; KG Dirk Stoudimire etc.

[Inkdaub]

What the heck is going on with Arizona? They need to figure out whatever their problem is.

Stanford beats UCLA in another Pac 10 upset. The Pac 10 keeps beating each other whatever the rankings say.

[dgreco]

What the heck is going on with Arizona? They need to figure out whatever their problem is.

Stanford beats UCLA in another Pac 10 upset. The Pac 10 keeps beating each other whatever the rankings say.

[swh1972]

Regarding the use of his "off hand", that may be for other reasons, such as for accuracy. I say that because he looks like me when I shoot left handed, which I sometimes do because I am more accurate with it, I just can't shoot as far. I can shoot foul shots roughly 60-70% left handed, right handed maybe 50% if that even.

[nowensone]

I was referring more to him being forced to learn to play left handed even though he is a right handed player, and has been his entire career. He still needs to favor his right wrist because of the surgery.

As for his age, he certainly does not look 19, but it's not like he was born in some third world nation where there is some question about his identity. He's from Indiana

[dgreco]

Durrant had another good night, Oden not so good. Sorry about not explaining the info about Oden, I don't remember word for word what was said, they just really talked about previous players who have done it, and they talked about how he could of had another birthcertificate and SS# fairly easy, especially from where he grew up.

[swh1972]

Was the context of the discussion suggesting that Oden could have falsified his age, or that they believed he has falsified his age? Big difference between the two.

Oden looked shakey, still gets into silly foul trouble.

Conley had a nice game, though.

[dgreco]

Was the context of the discussion suggesting that Oden could have falsified his age, or that they believed he has falsified his age? Big difference between the two.

Oden looked shakey, still gets into silly foul trouble.

Conley had a nice game, though.

[dgreco]

Here is Collegehoopsnet's breakdown of top 10 conferences based on past history, dating back to 1999.

Rank

1 SEC

2 ACC

3 Big Ten

4 Big East

5 Big 12

6 Pac-10

*7* CUSA old

7 MWC

8 MVC

9 WAC

10 A10

11 CUSA new

12 WCC

13 MAC

14 CAA

15 Horizon

You can read the whole article here:

http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/new/b...e_ranking31821

[swh1972]

Well, the BigTen is #1-#2 in both polls (Wisconsin #1 in the AP, and Ohio State #1 in the ESPN/Coaches Poll).

Though both are playing well right now, I think this has more to do with the fact that neither has lost in a while, and it sets up a nice 1 vs 2 on Sunday.

[nowensone]

^ Well you can scratch WI now, not sure how far they'll fall as MS is an 8 loss team so not horrible themselves, but if WI then beats OSU Sunday then all of a sudden the big ten plummets in value. Interesting times.

[swh1972]

^ I don't think so. If that were the case, you could argue that the ACC sucks this year, and that the PAC 10 were a horrible conference. MSU is a good team, much better than Vanderbilt, who embarassed Florida over the weekend. The BigTen is top heavy, but there is not as big of a drop off to the second tier teams (Indiana, MSU, Purdue) as people believe.

[nowensone]

We'll see Monday, but I think WI falls to 7 if they beat OSU and it will fall to 10 or lower. Purely fantasy at this point. As to the ACC, it doesn't quite suck but it isn't great either this year. Was just discussing the number of ACC tourny fringe teams, there are seemingly many, and for any to make it they must win out, the obvious problem being they are ending the season with conference games mostly. Is it technically possible for NCState to make the tourney even if they win out? (No North Carolina bias here... )

[eastsider]

Is it technically possible for NCState to make the tourney even if they win out? (No North Carolina bias here... )

[nowensone]

Besides winning the Conference, sorry didn't add that part. In other words, what becomes the cutoff for record (losses), and/or the other factors like strength of schedule? I understand the BCS pretty well for football, basketball not so much.

[eastsider]

Well really there is no set criteria for the at large bids. It is up to the judgement of the selection committee to determine what teams make it. It is believed that the RPI rankings carry the most weight in their decisions though. It is also believed by many analyst that teams must be above the .500 mark in conference play to be eligible.

[dgreco]

the tournament is just as sketchy as the BCS, atleast that gives you "hard" numbers, the tournament will sometimes take a 18-10 8-6 Duke team, who has a lot of big loses, over a Santa Clara team who is 22-7, and 11-3 in conference (numbers made up) but you get the points, that they sometimes don't make much sense of how they select team. It is still a fairer playing field, but sometimes those lines are sketchy.

[Inkdaub]

The Pac 10 is probably looking forward to March Madness so they can take a breather from playing each other.

[swh1972]

Who are the #1 seeds for the NCAA Tournament going to be?

I think Kansas and Ohio State will get #1 seeds if they make it to their conference finals, and UCLA, Florida, UNC, and Wisconsin could get them by winning their conference tourney. Memphis is a solid team, but may not get a #1.

Who am I forgetting?

[dgreco]

Who are the #1 seeds for the NCAA Tournament going to be?

I think Kansas and Ohio State will get #1 seeds if they make it to their conference finals, and UCLA, Florida, UNC, and Wisconsin could get them by winning their conference tourney. Memphis is a solid team, but may not get a #1.

Who am I forgetting?

[swh1972]

if every team wins their conference tournament ie ucla florida and ucla.

I would say

overall #1 UCLA

other #1's Ohio State, Florida, and Kansas. I don't think UNC has a chance. I would say the #2's are UNC, Wisconsin, Memphis and maybe Georgetown if they win the big east. Also this all depends on how the conference tournaments go.