Yeah its definitely a let down. They were ranked top 15 in the preseason polls, and lost a super close game early in the season to I think #3 Arizona. They gotta figure it out or their streak of consecutive tourney appearances is over.
Because college bball is really painful to watch a lot of the time. Not saying that NBA doesn't have its bad games... But there are certain rules and aspects to the college game that really make it less exciting. Not to mention trash players throwing up trash shots on the regular. (Tim) -No donut is more delightful- =Dumars=
im an nba fan but theres also aspects of college bball that are better compared to those of nba. less flopping, much less constant whining to the refs (superstars like lebron) and questionable, clearly biased calls that favor those superstars. many would argue its a more sound and fundamental form of bball thats not chalk full of divas and prima donnas that are way too full of themselves. its just a bunch of kids like you and me playing the sport they love with no inflated paycheck to influence how they play Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
But I watch basketball for the exciting plays and ultimate showcase of skill. I don't wanna watch a ton of guys who are just "OK" basketball players just keep going back and forth throwing up shots. To me, the level of skill and teamwork shown in college is the equivalent of a Sixers vs Knicks game. Its a very slow developing game with a lot of bumps along the way. Besides, 35 second shotclock is an eternity, and I'm surprised they haven't changed that. Because it has a negative influence on the "product" displayed to the national audience. Also, the possession arrow is horrible as well. Two guys go for the ball and tie-up. They should both have a chance to possess the ball each time they tie-up. Not this stupid take turns model which is a very uneven rule and also a detriment to the product. (Tim) -No donut is more delightful- =Dumars=
they dont go back and forth throwing up shots bro. the top 50-100 teams in the country shoot a pretty high percentage and you can even go into the 200's and see teams that have better shooting percentages than NBA teams do. so that point is false and invalid, unless you are watching some scrub ass team that is like 300th in the country. also, i agree that the 35 second clock makes the game completely different, although i personally dont mind it. the biggest thing that makes the NBA different IMO though, is that in college there is no defensive 3 second call. the paint is always clogged in college. in the NBA you cant crowd the paint and it leads to more wide open play in the half court. thats why Syracuse's 2-3 zone is so successful in college. they can always keep the center in the paint. that defense wouldnt work in the NBA.
How does the shotclock not bother you? They have too much time to pass around and it makes the game leas exciting. Seriously. 28 seconds would be perfect and the game would actually flow better. (Tim) -No donut is more delightful- =Dumars=
Its not a matter of how many seconds more or less it adds on to your life. The game will be the same overall length, its a matter of each possession being bogged down by guys constantly passing up a good shot thinking they'll get a great shot. I'm not saying I hate college bball, it just doesn't have me going out of my way to make sure I'm watching the game like I would with a lot of NBA games. March/April will be a good time to watch, as usual. But that doesn't mean I won't still be irritated by the unneeded rules of college. (Tim) -No donut is more delightful- =Dumars=
i just dont agree bro. its not like every college possession lasts 35 seconds either. they shoot it whenever they get a good look. there might be a couple possessions a game that go down to the last 3 or 4 seconds. college basketball is more reliant on coaching and fundamentals. you dont have the superior talent to take over games like in the nba and you dont have the rules that make the game faster paced and more free. i love the NBA. id rather watch a random NBA game than a random college game, but college ball is not that far off. is a good product and im an avid syracuse fan. i watch some random games and i certainly watch the ncaa tourney. college ball is cool. give it a chance. i mean, do you not watch college football either?
* Enters NCAA bball thread to bash college basketball * lol in all serious though the reason why I enjoy watching college ball no matter what sport is because I know that these guys are playing solely for the love of the game. There is just so much passion out there, these guys aren't getting the big bucks, yet.. They are playing to get to that point eventually, and a good hand of them are just playing because they enjoy the game.. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of money involved with college sports, and a lot of it gets swept under the rug.. but the players are playing because they love the game, not for the money. That's what separates it for me.
I just think that it couldn't hurt and certainly would help if they had more pressure time-wise each possession. It may not seem like they ever go down to the end of the shot clock, but I've watched painful stretch's of college ball where they just pass and pass and pass and pass until there's only 4 seconds to shoot. Bringing the shot clock down would make the value of teamwork and execution rise. So if the shot clock isn't even a big factor to you, then lowering it to a reasonable time wouldn't be a bad change. I didn't come in here to say college bball sucks and that none of you should watch. Frankly, I'm disappointed that your love for the game blinds you from obvious problems with the rules. I didn't even get into the bulls*** possession arrow either. And BTW, college football is a drain. The college football thread on here is a good enough reason to not like on that alone. But in all reality, all football has become less and less fun to watch over the years. Two years ago I hated hockey, but now I love it more than football. The game of football is going down the sh***er. (Tim) -No donut is more delightful- =Dumars=
harder to talk college hoops when not everyone is watching the same teams. in the NBA there's 30 teams, and only like 2 games on national tv every night at the most. in college there's like 300 teams and on saturdays and sundays there's like a dozen games on national tv. odds are most of us don't watch the same games. that michigan state/michigan game yesterday was nice though. as for college vs nba... I love both, so it's hard to say. In a way I think college is a better game because the competition is better. In the nba a team might play 4 games in 5 nights and for the last two they're clearly not giving their best effort. You never see that in college. but with the nba the star matchups are the shit. outside of michigan state I couldn't even tell you a different teams complete starting 5. I could probably tell you almost every nba team's. There's probably like 5 or six games during a college regular season where you really see two elite teams play, the rest of the season is Kentucky vs ITT Tech and shit. so I watch the nba more. but a close college game is entertaining as fuck.
Question for you guys....tonights game between Iowa and Michigan....line opened at Michigan -1, quickly flipped to now, Iowa -2. Sagarin has this as Iowa by 4 less the Home Court advantage which is around 3. I took Michigan even money , wish I had waited a bit and taken the 2 points. Will Michigan be able to beat these bums at home tonight?
I know this thread isn't very active, but would any of you be interested in setting up a league on Espn for the tourny this year? We could all fill out an online bracket and submit it in a grasscity pool. Just for fun or maybe a small cash award I would be down either way. Just gotta make sure there are enough blades interested. I think it would be fun.