2004/2005 NCAA College Hoops

[Mariner]

Okay, I'll admit to be grumpy after the Huskies couldn't shoot to save their lives and lost the game to Stanford yesterday and consequently the Pac-10 regular season title. With all apologies to Mr.D, seeing Ohio State shock Illinois and ruin the Illini's undefeated season brought me back.

[mrdobolina]

I'll admit, if I weren't an Illinois alum, I'd have been pulling for Ohio State myself. That was OSU's "national championship"....they aren't going to any dances this year(no tourney, no NIT). Illinois is still a number one seed, and, IMO, still the #1 team in the nation. It's not like they played badly yesterday, OSU played their hearts out and hit that 3 pointer on a prayer. And it was answered.

Just watch out in the Big 10 tourney....and then the NCAA tourney.

[William13]

At the time I was hoping that Ohio State would win, simply because I like seeing the underdog win (even more so during the tourament). Now that Illinois did lose I think that the storyline is not as good. It would have been really interesting to see if they could go undefeated all the way. Now, even if they do win the championship they will be just another national champion. That's a great accomplishment, but it's not as good a story.

Can anyone tell me why CBS seems to be so in love with Kentucky, year after year? Each season it seems like half the games they televise involve Kentucky.

[Bill]

Can anyone tell me why CBS seems to be so in love with Kentucky, year after year? Each season it seems like half the games they televise involve Kentucky.

Darn good question. Maybe they need to be told that slick boy Pitino moved down the road a bit... or is it up the road? I forget.

[SQUATMAN]

Now, even if they do win the championship they will be >just another national champion. That's a great accomplishment, but it's not as good a story.

Dang! One loss all year and all we get is a stinkin' trophey.

Illinois winning the NCAAs is not a good story, it's an amazing story.

1 month ago I pointed to the OSU game as the biggest obstacle after Mich State. They have been playing all around great ball all year, very confident and very poised all the time, but yesterday I saw the back court tighten up under the pressure(not to take away from OSUs players). SO, THAT is why I will say they really needed to get a loss under their belt.

They're a fun team to watch on both ends when they're in the flow. It should be interesting. It is a deep tourney this year

[Unklescott]

That was OSU's "national championship"....they aren't going to any dances this year(no tourney, no NIT).

That's the storyline here in Columbus. Everyone is quite pumped over it. The women's team is doing quite well, currently #8 in the nation.

Maybe they need to be told that slick boy Pitino moved down the road a bit... or is it up the road? I forget.

Due west.

[mrdobolina]

So wait....is OSU's women's team under the same order as the men's team?? That whole thing is so screwed up! They are denying their team post season play because the NCAA MIGHT sanction them. They aren't even sure if what happened was an impropriety.

[esmattynd]

Darn good question. Maybe they need to be told that slick boy Pitino moved down the road a bit... or is it up the road? I forget.

Actually, its not really "up" or "down," more like due west. Louisville is about 80 miles west of Lexington. And yes, this is a great year for basketball in the Bluegrass State. We have the number 3 and 6 teams in the country. Of course, the state of North Carolina tops even that with teams 2 (UNC), 4 (Wake), and 5 (the Dookies). Wake is in North Carolina, right? I don't want to appear to be geographically challenged.

CBS always gets on the UK bandwagon. Billy Packer would be thrilled with a Duke /UK national championship game every year. This year's team isn't as good as previous years, but they still manage to inch by. If Louisville had Dean at 100% or if Garcia would get his head out of his butt, U of L would be a contender.

[MICHEY]

Dang! One loss all year and all we get is a stinkin' trophey.

Illinois winning the NCAAs is not a good story, it's an amazing story.

I'm with you! Illini all the way...not just because I'm an alum and employee

[mrdobolina]

Now that Illinois did lose I think that the storyline is not as good. It would have been really interesting to see if they could go undefeated all the way. Now, even if they do win the championship they will be just another national champion. That's a great accomplishment, but it's not as good a story.

While I will agree with you that it's not quite as good a story.....winning the National Championship is no small feat....and it is quite unlikely that any team will ever win it by going completely undefeated. The proliferation of the conference tournament has pretty much guaranteed that. The last time a team went completely undefeated to win the Nat. Champ. was Indiana....WAY before the Big 10 had a conf. tourney. Now, I think every conference has their own tourney before the big dance. And it is so easy for a team that you already beat twice in the season to get hot and run the table in their conf. tourney. Plus, what does a top tier team really have to play for in their conf. tourney? Using Illinois as an example....they have already won the Big 10 title outright in conf. play. They are pretty much guaranteed a top seed, and are definetly going to the dance. Meanwhile, teams like Indiana need to play their guts out and win the conf. tourney to guarantee themselves a berth in the big dance. And, how bad would it be if one of Illinois key players was injured during a conference tourney game that matters little toward acheiving a National Title??? You know that those guys are going to be playing WAY LESS than usual during the conf. tourney.

Anyway, the story is still a good one. It is really marred very little by a 1 point loss on the road against a team that is playing really well, and will have only this highlight to point to for this season.