whitesoxfan101

This shocked me, but looking at the numbers, Shaun Pruitt is having as good and perhaps a better season this year than last, despite the team dropoff. Points: 11.4 last year, 12.5 this year Rebounds: 7.5 last year, 7.3 this year Assists: 0.2 last year, 0.8 this year (and he's generally just been an improved, bit still flawed, passer) FG Pct: 54.9 last year, 57.1 this year FT Pct: 51.3 last year, 57.1 this year Steals, blocks, fouls, and minutes are all about the same I guess a bad season makes it look a lot worse though.

Thanks to a 28-12 foul edge (less fouls that is) and 44-9 edge in free throw attempts, Pitt wins the big east title by 9 over Georgetown. The Panthers finished a stellar 22-44 from the line after starting 8-23, lol.

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 15, 2008 -> 07:14 PM) Greatest conference tournament ever! Your not kidding. Round 1: South Carolina beat LSU 77-73 Vandy beat Auburn 93-82 Georgia beat Ole Miss 97-95 in OT Alabama beat Florida 80-69 Quarters: Tennessee beat South Carolina 89-87 Arkansas beat Vandy 81-75 Mississippi State beat Alabama 69-67 in OT Georgia beat Kentucky 60-56 in OT Semis: Arkansas beat Tennessee 92-91 Georgia beat Mississippi State 64-60 I've never seen anything like that in one conference tournament.

Georgia has done the impossible, two wins in one day!!! Yet another team for the bubble squads to worry about tomorrow, I can't believe they won two games in one day.

Many will wonder the difference with Illinois, and there really hasn't been any. Illinois lost a lot of close games to mediocre Big 10 opponents due to poor free throwing shooting, but in their two games against those kind of teams in this tournament, they are 13-17 against Penn State (76.5 percent) and 16-22 (72.7 percent). Those numbers aren't great, but they are much better for Illinois and turned typical close losses into close wins. And then of course, the Purdue game was just an epic performance from the field (61.2 percent overall, 60 from three) narrowly overcoming everything else and proving that basketball is as simple as making shots sometimes.

QUOTE(The Bones @ Mar 15, 2008 -> 05:36 PM) Probably the ugliest basketball game I've ever seen. I thought Illinois vs. Indiana in last year's Big Ten semifinals was bad but this probably beats it. Anyways, I give us about a 10% chance of winning tomorrow but who would have thought we'd have the chance to win one game to get into the NCAA Tournament? I'd agree on part 1, I was in attendance at the UC for Illinois/Indiana last year and that was a Suns/Warriors shootout of beauty compared to today. I'd actually also agree on the 10 percent part, but it's just an amazing run (even in a bad league) and hey, all they have to do is have a lucky shooting day like the Purdue game one time and they are in. You never know.

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 15, 2008 -> 05:08 PM) If it's a bad league, then just about every league is bad this year. Bingo, there you have it. Although I do give Clemson credit, they are a lot better than I thought they were. I figured they just matched up well with UNC and that's why they played them well (and should have won) both meetings while beating on the rest of the league's mediocre, but they earned it today against Duke.

They clearly got the clock part right, it started AT LEAST 3 seconds late (I thought it was closer to 5), but it should have been Minnesota ball since they missed the obvious foul/eye gouging by Hoffarber (even if it was on accident, he nearly poked his eye out). Ah well, the ownership continues and on to the finals. It's a great run regardless of what happens tomorrow and gives hope for next season.

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 15, 2008 -> 03:34 PM) Some really awful basketball so far in this 2nd game. Well, these two teams are still not very good overall, and they are both tired and playing in a sterile enviornment to boot. This one could be VERY ugly for 40 minutes, even by Big 10 standards.

There is currently another tornado warning in Atlanta, yikes.

I'd say other. Just reading about sports via as many formats as you can (magazines, newspapers, message boards, blogs, etc) makes you smarter than any other forum can IMO.

The ACC was very down this year, so I don't take much stock into them finishing 4th. I've said all year the Big 10 is as bad as I've seen it this season, but I could make the same case for the ACC. No disrespect to their programs, but Miami of Florida getting 22 wins and Clemson finshing 3rd and 10-6 in conference just tells you how bad the league was this year. And that doesn't include the fact that the league had zero depth.

For the record, I think with their loss today, Kentucky deserves to be out. To lose to a horrible Georgia team in an empty/neutral arena quarterfinal is embarassing. Plus, I read Kentucky's RPI is going to drop 10 to 12 spots just due to that loss alone. I don't think Virginia Tech exactly deserves to be in either. However, with as bad as the bubble teams are this year, I'd be less than surprised if they both make it, or at least one.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Mar 15, 2008 -> 02:56 PM) Wisconsin only outscored MSU 30-18 after Hughes went down. Wisconsin only beat Texas @ Texas without Hughes. Hes a good player, but at times hes not a Wisconsin player. Look at his stat line, I bet he was like 1 of 7 or something stupid. Sure he is a great athlete, but he some times he doesnt play with the TEAM. Illinois or Minnesota still have to beat Wisconsin, and if they do they deserve to be in the tournament. Well, you outscored them 30-18 today because the Hughes injury was a blessing in disguise since after it, you started to attack them at the basket and get to the free throw line. I thought and still think today's winner of the first game (Wisconsin) will win tommorow, but your guard play (especially without Hughes) is very vulnerable. With that said, I'll take the Badgers by double digits tomorrow regardless of what happens in the next game.

QUOTE(fathom @ Mar 15, 2008 -> 02:53 PM) No chance VT isn't included...you think the NCAA would want that type of bad PR? Bad PR? They don't travel well for basketball and have only one top 50 RPI win. Plus, if your referring to the shootings, that anniversary isn't until about two weeks after the tournament.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Mar 15, 2008 -> 02:49 PM) He's a joke too but for Vitale to say if Va Tech doesn't get in their should be an investigation? Alright, Dicky V, Va Tech's resume is god awful but good try. I think there is a pretty good chance that Virginia Tech will get in because the committee (wrongly IMO) puts a lot of emphasis on your last 12 games. But if they don't make it, they are getting what they deserve. Same goes for Kentucky, so has a very similar resume to Tech.

QUOTE(Rex Hudler @ Mar 15, 2008 -> 10:21 AM) If living in your delusional world gaining your happiness from IU's problems go right ahead. Once again, you amaze me because you sometimes say smart things and other times are just plain idiotic. Actually thinking IU should have self-imposed a post-season ban this year ranks right up with the all-time stupid things you've posted. But hey. if finding misery in others makes you happy since your own team can't provide it, I say go right ahead. and I'll leave it at that. As for back on topic, I'm sure some will whine about the refs in this one, especially if the Badgers win, but they do this all the time. I'm not sure how you can coach a team to not foul and to on the other end draw fouls, but it seems like Wisconsin is able to do it.

Virginia Tech will probably get in with all the help they've gotten and the fact they played North Carolina to the buzzer in what was basically a road game today. As for Tyler Hansbrough.....he'll have his day when he's in the NBA and can't get on the floor, just like what happened to J.J. Redick.

QUOTE(DBAH0 @ Mar 14, 2008 -> 10:33 PM) Bulls choked in the 4th quarter again I see. It was exactly like the Wizards game a few Friday ago, except the epic collapse tonight was in the 4th (outscored 40-20 and blew a 16 point lead!) instead of the third. Jim Boylan obviously isn't the coach for this team, and it's obviously this team doesn't care. It's going to be a fascinating battle between the Bulls patheticness (if that's a word) and the eastern conference's patheticness down the stretch. I think they might STILL make the playoffs, and that's just a shame and waste of time if they do.

QUOTE(Rex Hudler @ Mar 14, 2008 -> 11:44 PM) I guess I should come here to eat a little crow. A good lesson for you kids...... Don't post from your phone while drinking at a bar! One thing I find funny though after reading these posts is that Illinois fans can't be happy just b****ing about the officiating, they have to b**** about referees inother games too. Enjoy the rest of your weekend Illini fans. It's the last basketball you'll play this year. Come watch the Hoosiers play next weekend while your team is sitting on their asses at home. HAHAHA!! Awww, bad night? Well, we'd have to watch you next weekend since you guys won't be playing after that, so enjoy being a 1st or 2nd round exit. As an Illinois fan who has experienced it the last two years, I know it means nothing to get that far. As for b****ing about the refs.....uhh what? Minnesota blew the game, then won on a miracle shot. This is just great though, IU doesn't put a postseason ban on itself like it should have this year, is going to gain no benefit from playing out the year, lost it's coach, lost it's two best recruits, will lose it's two best players, and might get postseason bans and future scholarship losses. You guys may get the joy of losing in the tournament next weekend, but your f***ed for years to come. Should have just taken your medicine and built for as near of a future as possible like Ohio State did.

Karma's a b**** ain't it Indiana? You lose a share of the Big 10 title on a banked three, and your knocked out of the Big 10 tournament on a miracle 75 foot pass/shot. It's just good to see that cheating still doesn't pay off, although with that said I wouldn't be surprised at all if Minnesota beats Illinois tomorrow. As for IU, they'll be done on the first weekend.

Yesterday's losses by bubble teams gave Illinois State TWO RPI top 50 wins, as Creighton moved from 51 to 49 and the Redbirds swept them. Stuff like that is why I love the big dance. And indeed, congrats to Arkansas and St. Joe's, two bubble teams who actually manned up and got big wins to earn their spots in the dance.

QUOTE(Rex Hudler @ Mar 14, 2008 -> 08:07 PM) Sweet! IU gets to kick Illinois ass for the 3rd time this season. You did watch the games right? IU could have easily lost both of them. IU is going to win tomorrow, but "kick ass"? And that's beside the fact that your team is doing a great job falling apart lately and doing things like blowing a Big 10 title, so trash talk from you guys is a bit silly at the moment.

Despite my one complaint, the fact that the E'Twaun Moore debacle by this coaching staff will haunt the Illini for another 3 years, what an outstanding victory. It's nice to see Pruitt and Randle going out on a good note, and although we knew McCamey is a stud, it's nice to see some guys like Davis and Brock and Jordan stepping up. Illinois still isn't winning this tournament, as they are only halfway there and would still have to beat two more vastly superior teams to make it 4 wins in 4 days, but this is nice to build for the offseason and next year. It just amazes me that a team can go 8-20 at the line, have 22 turnovers, let their opponent hit 11 3's, and still win. Heck of a game though, one of the few legit good games I've seen in league play all year.

I'm sorry, but I had to give this it's own thread after hearing it on Boers and Bernstein today. Check out the bracket: I don't even know where to go from here, but this is certainly better than the NIT.