Octopus Overlords

by **Grifman** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:06 pm

Well, the 2011-12 NCAA basketball season is upon us. North Carolina and Michigan State kick the season off next Friday in the Carrier Classic. No, that's not the Syracuse Carrier Dome but the USS Carl Vinson, where both team will be honoring our nation's veterans on Veteran's Day by playing the first NCAA game to ever be played on an aircraft carrier. Should be an exciting game to start the season.

So, let the season (and thread) begin!

by **Crabbs** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:10 pm

Should really be an interesting season.

Some big games in the Big12 with Mizzou and TA&M leaving for the SEC next season should make for some heated contests!

My Hawks are a little thin this year, good thing it seems the rest of the Big12 is a little down too.

by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:16 pm

I hope it's good weather for the Carrier Classic - it will be cool to see a game played outdoors. I wonder how the sun is going to affect their play....

by **Grifman** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 4:54 pm

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:I hope it's good weather for the Carrier Classic - it will be cool to see a game played outdoors. I wonder how the sun is going to affect their play....

They are starting after sunset and using lights with a screen around the deck to eliminate any wind. My question is the temperature? What if it's cold?

EDIT: Never mind, it's in San Diego, not a problem with the cold

by **Pyperkub** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 5:03 pm

The Maui Invitational is going to be exceptional this year - look at the teams:

2011 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Island Teams
Duke
Georgetown
Kansas
Memphis
Michigan
Tennessee
UCLA
host Chaminade

UCLA plays host Chaminade the first game, and then would meet the Kansas-Georgetown winner (if I'm readingthe bracketcorrectly - the mainland games part is throwing me a little).

by **Eightball** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 5:20 pm

This is going to be an exceptionally brutal year for my Terps. New coach...and only 7 scholarship players (8 in December when our thin and gangly 7 foot Ukrainian becomes eligible).

by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 5:35 pm

Grifman wrote:
Ralph-Wiggum wrote:I hope it's good weather for the Carrier Classic - it will be cool to see a game played outdoors. I wonder how the sun is going to affect their play....

They are starting after sunset and using lights with a screen around the deck to eliminate any wind. My question is the temperature? What if it's cold?

I thought the game started at 7:00 EST. Is the sun already down in San Diego at 4:00 PM?

by **mori** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 7:54 pm

If a legitimate point guard steps up, I think the Minnesota Golden Gophers have a realistic chance to finish in the top half of the Big 10 conference and make it in the tournament.

by **Grifman** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 9:44 pm

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:
Grifman wrote:
Ralph-Wiggum wrote:I hope it's good weather for the Carrier Classic - it will be cool to see a game played outdoors. I wonder how the sun is going to affect their play....

They are starting after sunset and using lights with a screen around the deck to eliminate any wind. My question is the temperature? What if it's cold?

I thought the game started at 7:00 EST. Is the sun already down in San Diego at 4:00 PM?

Hmm, just repeating what I heard, must be a bad source.

by **ImLawBoy** » Mon Nov 07, 2011 1:18 am

Pyperkub wrote:The Maui Invitational is going to be exceptional this year - look at the teams:

2011 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Island Teams
Duke
Georgetown
Kansas
Memphis
Michigan
Tennessee
UCLA
host Chaminade

UCLA plays host Chaminade the first game, and then would meet the Kansas-Georgetown winner (if I'm readingthe bracketcorrectly - the mainland games part is throwing me a little).

Damn - that is loaded.

Michigan looks like they may be decent this year, and they're off to a good start recruiting for next year. Looks like we may have finally turned the corner after the dark years. At least one of the coaches we poached from West Virginia is working out.

by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 2:45 pm

The Sports Science of playing on an aircraft carrier.

It sounds like the sun won't completely set until around halftime. Seems like the team shooting into the sun in the first half is going to be at a disadvantage. Of course, neither Carolina or Mich. St. can shoot that well anyway. Take the under, people!

by **YellowKing** » Wed Nov 09, 2011 10:02 pm

I think it will be a fun year to watch Duke. Enough talent to take on anyone, but enough uncertainty about the loss of Smith/Singler to keep things interesting. We'll see Coach K top Bobby Knight in the victory column. Find out if Austin Rivers lives up to the hype. And we'll see a heated rivalry with an extremely good UNC team. :pop:

by **Captain Caveman** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 12:03 pm

LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE! My anticipation for tonight cannot be undersold. I can't wait to witness John Henson block a shot into the ocean. And then watch Duke lose to Belmont.

by **YellowKing** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 2:02 am

Ugh, Captain Caveman almost got both of his wishes. It's going to be a long season. :grund:

by **GungHo** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 3:34 am

That game on the carrier was just flat out cool.

Major props to everyone involved.

As far as this year goes for the Horns....meh. Only 9 guys on scholarship and we just lost 3(3!!) dudes in the first round of the draft. No idea how we replace that given that we arent exactly Duke or UK when it comes to hoops.

by **Malificent** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 10:44 am

YellowKing wrote:Ugh, Captain Caveman almost got both of his wishes. It's going to be a long season.

Yeah, got to watch this game in person. Watching Curry and Rivers trying to create their own shot in the middle of 4 Belmont players...repeatedly - so painful. On the upside, at least my daughter's first viewing of a basketball game was a close one. And she loved Cameron.

by **Grifman** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 11:01 am

YellowKing wrote:Ugh, Captain Caveman almost got both of his wishes. It's going to be a long season.

I'm not trying to trash Duke but I don't think they are going to be as near as good as people think they are going to be. I just don't see much there beyond Rivers (who's a rookie and is going to have some rookie games) and maybe Curry (I think the jury is sill out on him as to how good he is). There's really not all that much there IMO. It could be a very long season for them.

by **Grifman** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 11:06 am

Carolina played half of a good game last night. They played well the last half of the first half when they reversed things and took the lead, and the first half of the second half when they extended the lead to 20. But the rest of the game they didn't play well, and they got killed on the boards, getting out rebounded by 15, and a lot of those on the defensive boards of all things! One commentator last night said that MSU best play was a missed shot! That almost never happens, and should have never happened with their front line. Still work to do, I suspect Roy will be working them hard this week on blocking out.

by **Remus West** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 12:25 pm

Fun game last night for Carolina but as Grifman noted the rebounding needs to get much much better. They are not going to get away with being that lackadaisical on the defensive boards very often. Even with the big lead I felt a little like they escaped last night when they should have destroyed. Seemed like to much faith in their talent and not enough faith in hard work.

by **PLW** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 12:38 pm

Remus West wrote:Fun game last night for Carolina but as Grifman noted the rebounding needs to get much much better. They are not going to get away with being that lackadaisical on the defensive boards very often. Even with the big lead I felt a little like they escaped last night when they should have destroyed. Seemed like to much faith in their talent and not enough faith in hard work.

I don't know about that... we out-rebounded Western Carolina by 10. :wink:

by **YellowKing** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 2:30 pm

Duke will be fine by most team's standards. They may not be quite up to par with the "average" Duke team but talent-wise we're still better off than we were during the Paulus era. We have multiple players who can play point guard, we actually have a lot of size down low for a change, and we still have good shooters. They may not be a dominant Duke team, but they will be good and will get better as the season goes on.

Aside from UNC, there's really nobody in the ACC that's worth a damn this year. So I expect we may drop a couple of the tougher non-conference matchups we're going to face, then rebound and take #2 in the conference.

Coach K didn't become the (soon-to-be) winningest coach by throwing up his hands during a rebuilding year. We'll see a few bumps in the road as he figures out where the players are going to best fit, but it won't be disastrous.

The long season I mentioned was mainly in regards to us playing UNC. I'm not that worried about everybody else.

- You UNC fans may consider this child abuse, but last night I got my 2-year old totally interested in Duke basketball. She was cheering GO DUKE when they made a basket, learned how to recognize and say Coach K, and booed when Belmont scored. When the game was over I had a hard time getting her to sleep because she wanted "More Duke! More Duke!"

by **Remus West** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 2:52 pm

I shall be informing CPS of your actions YK. I would also like a word or 2 with YellowQueen as I was under the impression she balanced your evil by being a Carolina fan. She needs to step up and keep your daughter safe from that type of mental and emotional abuse.

by **YellowKing** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 3:06 pm

I would also like a word or 2 with YellowQueen as I was under the impression she balanced your evil by being a Carolina fan.

I hate to disappoint you but she has been converted. She has never really cared about or understood basketball; she was a UNC fan because her parents were. Over the years I've slowly been removing her brainwashing and getting her to join my side, bit by bit.

Today at lunch we were talking about Anna watching the Duke game with me and she said, "We won right?"

We. Do you hear that? She is a total Blue Devil now. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

by **Captain Caveman** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:57 pm

YellowKing wrote:Coach K didn't become the (soon-to-be) winningest coach by throwing up his hands during a rebuilding year.

*cough*

by **Grifman** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 10:56 pm

Captain Caveman wrote:
YellowKing wrote:Coach K didn't become the (soon-to-be) winningest coach by throwing up his hands during a rebuilding year.

*cough*

Heh, I really didn't want to point that out to him

by **YellowKing** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:30 am

Even with that shitty team he was 9-3 out of the gate. Hardly a need to take a fake leave of absence. I guess you guys think the moon landing was faked too.

by **Captain Caveman** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 10:58 am

YellowKing wrote::roll:

Even with that shitty team he was 9-3 out of the gate. Hardly a need to take a fake leave of absence. I guess you guys think the moon landing was faked too.

C'mon, you set yourself up for that one.

Besides, 9-3 is hardly a stellar record when you play the non-conference cupcake schedule Duke has historically pursued. I seem to recall that Coach K stepped aside after losing his ACC opener at home to a shitty Clemson team. Somehow I'm skeptical he would have been so quick to leave the team if it was 91-92 and his best players were Laettner and Hurley instead of Collins and Newton. :horse:

by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 12:35 pm

Captain Caveman wrote:
YellowKing wrote::roll:

Even with that shitty team he was 9-3 out of the gate. Hardly a need to take a fake leave of absence. I guess you guys think the moon landing was faked too.

Somehow I'm skeptical he would have been so quick to leave the team if it was 91-92 and his best players were Laettner and Hurley instead of Collins and Newton.

Don't forget Cherokee Parks!

by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 11:33 am

I am now a fan of Long Beach State.

by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 11:40 am

CNN

Oklahoma State University women's basketball coach Kurt Budke and assistant women's basketball coach Miranda Serna died in a plane crash in Arkansas, the university confirmed Friday. Two others -- including the pilot --also died in Thursday night's crash in Perry County, Arkansas, the university said in a statement. There were no survivors, the school said.
...
Budke and Serna were on a recruiting trip, the university said.

by **ImLawBoy** » Mon Nov 21, 2011 6:42 pm

Michigan is off to a good start in Maui, knocking off No. 8 Memphis 73-61.

Go Blue!

by **Lassr** » Mon Nov 21, 2011 7:09 pm

I'm excited about Bama BB this year, looks like we finally have some outside shooters to go along with the excellent defense. Just won the San Juan Invitational, so that's a good start.

by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Mon Nov 21, 2011 10:59 pm

ImLawBoy wrote:Michigan is off to a good start in Maui, knocking off No. 8 Memphis 73-61.

Go Blue!

This Duke team, especially now early in the year, is definitely beatable. I've watched two of their games and they didn't impress me in either. Guard the three and don't get in foul trouble (amazingly hard to do consider how many threes they jack up...) and you'll have a good shot to knock them off tomorrow.

by **Remus West** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 12:51 am

It nice to see the Michigan basketball program getting back towards what it was when I was young. They'll never regain their edge over Carolina for my heart but they will always be a solid second option for fandom (unless I attend another school that then jumps then due to handing me a degree at some point :lol:

). Its also nice because I love college hoops and one of the first things my dad did when he moved back here was buy season tickets so I'm going to get to attend a lot of games. Hopefully they keep it up. I'd love to see them upset Duke. Should be a fun game.

by **YellowKing** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 9:21 am

This Duke UNC team, especially now early in the year, is definitely beatable. I've watched two of their games and they didn't impress me in either.

*cough* free throws *cough*

Duke will definitely lose games this year. You can't not lose games when your top scorers from your championship team leave. However, they've had eight players in double digits so far, so I'm pretty optimistic that the balance will carry them a long way.

by **Crabbs** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 8:32 am

Hopefully the KU-Duke game will hold up to the billing ESPN is giving it. I'm a good bit worried about KU's ability to foul. If the Jayhawks can keep the stupid handchecks and push-off fouls under control we have a chance. Duke has looked pretty solid in their couple games in Maui. Hope KU plays solid D and we've got a chance.

At this point in the season with this inexperienced KU team I'll take a close game as a victory.

Rock Chalk!

by **Remus West** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:44 am

Duke's balanced combined with Michigan's inability to hit a shot (I don't know if this was because of solid defense or just plain poor shooting as I was listening on the radio not watching) in the first half created a hole they couldn't did out of. I'd hoped for a more competetive game but it seemed Duke was in control pretty much start to finish.

by **YellowKing** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 10:50 am

(I don't know if this was because of solid defense or just plain poor shooting as I was listening on the radio not watching)

It was a little of both. Good defense on the interior (Michigan really didn't have anybody that could stand with Duke's big guys), and poor shooting from the outside (they were missing a lot of 3s they should have ordinarily made).

by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 11:45 am

YellowKing wrote:
This Duke UNC team, especially now early in the year, is definitely beatable. I've watched two of their games and they didn't impress me in either.

*cough* free throws *cough*

This is certainly true. Our FT shooting and our 3-point defense has been horrible so far (the latter is par for the course, though). Even players that shot at a high percentage last year (Strickland, Barnes, Zeller) are missing FTs left and right. Hopefully we can get this corrected because if we get into a close game, FT shooting could be our downfall.

by **PLW** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:10 pm

I think the Gamecocks should disband our basketball program and try again next year. After losses to mighty Elon and Tennessee State, we managed a 14-0 run at the end to edge mighty Mississippi Valley State by 2. I wonder if UNC will double us up.

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