Does ESPN pick these gameday games in advance or is it like football where they wait until a week or so before to decide? This UNC-G Tech game should be a blowout and isn't the best matchup on tap tonight. It's a shame ESPN doesn't have a PAC 10 agreement because I would love to see UCLA and Arizona battle in primetime. Not that it wasn't on tv, but the PAC 10 needs and deserves all the exposure it can get this year. Also A&M and Ok State would have been a better matchup. I guess ESPN has to suck up to the ACC, specifically the state of North Carolina as much as possible.

 

May simply be about the better matchup for TV. I'd think the ratings for UNC-Ga Tech would be much higher than the other two games you mentioned. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that is a major part of the decision of where to go.

Does ESPN pick these gameday games in advance or is it like football where they wait until a week or so before to decide? This UNC-G Tech game should be a blowout and isn't the best matchup on tap tonight. It's a shame ESPN doesn't have a PAC 10 agreement because I would love to see UCLA and Arizona battle in primetime. Not that it wasn't on tv, but the PAC 10 needs and deserves all the exposure it can get this year. Also A&M and Ok State would have been a better matchup. I guess ESPN has to suck up to the ACC, specifically the state of North Carolina as much as possible.

 

Not getting Comcast at NIU, I don't get to watch too many Pac-10 games and it sucks. I wish they would show more of them and the SEC instead of every single Duke game.

Does ESPN pick these gameday games in advance or is it like football where they wait until a week or so before to decide? This UNC-G Tech game should be a blowout and isn't the best matchup on tap tonight. It's a shame ESPN doesn't have a PAC 10 agreement because I would love to see UCLA and Arizona battle in primetime. Not that it wasn't on tv, but the PAC 10 needs and deserves all the exposure it can get this year. Also A&M and Ok State would have been a better matchup. I guess ESPN has to suck up to the ACC, specifically the state of North Carolina as much as possible.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espntv/espnShow?showID=BKCG

 

This season, College GameDay broadcasts live on-location for:

 

1/6: UConn at LSU (ESPN2 11am)

1/13: Georgetown at Pitt (ESPN2 11am)

1/20: Georgia Tech at North Carolina

1/27 Michigan State at Ohio State (ESPN2 8pm)

2/3: Texas A&M at Kansas

2/10: Florida at Kentucky

2/17: North Carolina at Boston College

2/24: Indiana at Michigan State

3/3: Pitt at Marquette

RPI Update for Teams of Interest to Soxtalkers:

 

2. North Carolina

5. Wisconsin

10. Southern Illinois

12. Ohio State

17. Indiana

20. Kansas

30. Marquette

49. Illinois

99. Evansville

113. Iowa

126. Northwestern

147. Iowa State

RPI Update for Teams of Interest to Soxtalkers:

 

2. North Carolina

5. Wisconsin

10. Southern Illinois

12. Ohio State

17. Indiana

20. Kansas

30. Marquette

49. Illinois

99. Evansville

113. Iowa

126. Northwestern

147. Iowa State

 

You really had to put Northwestern in there, huh?

 

At least we beat Minnesota, I would have been seriously depressed if we lost to them. This team is just bad, but I'm optomistic that Coble-Ryan-Nash will be a nice combo in the coming years.

 

By the way, WHarris, love the T.J. Parker avatar, I assume your random Big Ten player of the week?

By the way, WHarris, love the T.J. Parker avatar, I assume your random Big Ten player of the week?

Hell yes.

 

Jitim Young will come some day.

Hell yes.

 

Jitim Young will come some day.

 

If you want to go REALLY random, guys like Sean Wink, Julian Bonner, Steve Lepore, and Michael Jenkins have a much higher comedic value.

If you want to go REALLY random, guys like Sean Wink, Julian Bonner, Steve Lepore, and Michael Jenkins have a much higher comedic value.

 

Now THOSE are random.

Speaking of random NU players, I just added a gem in my avatar.

Not getting Comcast at NIU, I don't get to watch too many Pac-10 games and it sucks. I wish they would show more of them and the SEC instead of every single Duke game.

I'm fairly sure that game was on CBS, but yeah, I see your point. I love the PAC 10 games because of the unusual times compared to other conferences.

 

Zoom, is that Michael Thompson?

Zoom, is that Michael Thompson?

 

Yep, such a disappointment. He sure didn't look like a McDonald's All-American. He could barely jump and had no shooting ability at all, and was a bit of a head-case (I can't even remember all the reasons he missed games as a senior). That's probably why he was buried on the bench at Duke...

omg, local CBS cut away from the marquette Pitt game AHHHHHHHHHHH

omg, local CBS cut away from the marquette Pitt game AHHHHHHHHHHH

 

Awesome game.

 

Things didn't look good when the game went into OT. Pitt obviously had momentum on their side, McNeal had fouled out, and Matthews had four. I was in and out of the game, because the Bears game quite obviously held more importance (although there were two TVs at the place I was at, so the two games were on simaltaneously). James buried key free throws down the stretch, Fitz stepped up and played well, and even Ooose held his own defensively.

 

Helluva win, helluva day!

I'm fairly sure that game was on CBS, but yeah, I see your point. I love the PAC 10 games because of the unusual times compared to other conferences.

 

Zoom, is that Michael Thompson?

 

It was FSN, and I'm sure Comcast showed it.

Go figure. Evansville loses to Missouri State by 54 points 13 days ago and turns around and beats them by 7 today.

 

Speaking of not figuring things out, can someone that has ESPN Insider post the following?

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index...ame%3dkatz_andy]Hard to decipher MVC[/url]

Go figure. Evansville loses to Missouri State by 54 points 13 days ago and turns around and beats them by 7 today.

 

Speaking of not figuring things out, can someone that has ESPN Insider post the following?

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index...ame%3dkatz_andy]Hard to decipher MVC[/url]

This is seriously one of the stranger/more fun conferences of all time. It's getting to the point where you almost need to favor every home team(this is a bit of an exaggeration but not much of one), it's that big of an advantage in this conference. I got bored last night and kind of analyzed and looked over the schedules left in the Valley and I like where my Dawgs stand at the moment. We only have 3 road games left in conference play which is the least amount in the Valley while on the other hand UNI has 6 road games left.

 

All that being said, this league is just completely unpredictable. I think we are the best team in the conference but absolutely anything is possible.

Edited January 22, 200719 yr by Rowand44

Go figure. Evansville loses to Missouri State by 54 points 13 days ago and turns around and beats them by 7 today.

 

Speaking of not figuring things out, can someone that has ESPN Insider post the following?

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index...ame%3dkatz_andy]Hard to decipher MVC[/url]

Just forget about trying to figure out some sort of home-road trend in the Missouri Valley Conference. Let's just accept that this is a strong league, a balanced league that will be an interesting test case for the selection committee as they try to sort out who should be at-large candidates.

 

Thursday night provided another example of how difficult it is to make sense of this league.

 

Northern Iowa won at Missouri State but Wichita State couldn't win at Illinois State. This is the same ISU team that knocked off Northern Iowa at home and the same Illinois State squad that currently stands at the bottom of the Valley standings at 2-6.

 

The UNI Panthers and Creighton are atop the standings with two losses. Missouri State, the only team in the country to beat Wisconsin, is third with three losses tied with the preseason favorite -- Southern Illinois and Indiana State for third. Sweet 16 teams Bradley (4-4) and Wichita State (3-5), which is tied with Evansville, are next.

 

Forget the numbers and the RPI and all of that. The subjective thing would be to say that Creighton, Northern Iowa, Missouri State, Southern Illinois and Wichita State have all played like a tournament team at some point during the season. But the closing numbers will be an interesting critique.

 

"Our league is as good as it's been from 1 to 10," first-year Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson said. "It used to be there were four or five good teams and then there was a drop off. But that's why Illinois State is able to beat us and Wichita State."

 

Jacobson said this will be a tough test for the selection committee, especially if there isn't separation of four or five teams atop the standings.

 

"If everybody keeps beating each other up then we're going to have a different scenario and we'll see how it plays out," Jacobson said.

 

His pick for the team that nobody better sleep on is still Wichita State. The Shockers, who opened the season with road wins at George Mason, LSU, Syracuse and Wyoming, have dropped 7 of 10 after winning the first nine games.

 

The Shockers still go to Bradley, Evansville, Northern Iowa, Drake and Creighton and have five home games left, including Southern Illinois and Missouri State.

 

"If they can survive the next three or four, then they could be OK," Jacobson said.

 

But no team in the Valley may have as difficult a stretch as the Panthers to win the title, despite having the top frontcourt in the league in Eric Coleman and Grant Stout.

 

The Panthers won at Wichita State and Missouri State but still have six road games to go, including Southern Illinois as well as Creighton.

 

The best nonconference wins are over teams that may not be in the postseason in Iowa and Iowa State as well as Bucknell. The best close loss was at Washington, another team in NCAA trouble.

 

"We played well there and led the entire game before losing," Jacobson said. "The problem is that we've got 11 league games and everything can change so fast around here. We found that out after our good start and then went down to Illinois State and got beat in overtime and then came home and got beat by Creighton. Everything changes so fast in this league."

 

Just keep checking the scores and that's becoming obvious every day.

Have the new polls came out?

Have the new polls came out?

Yes sir.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/rankingsindex

that is not updated, ku lost and should be way out of the top 10, those vile pieces of lard.

Ya, plus Arizona is gonna plummet in the polls and USC should enter the polls.

IU got hosed this week.

Ya, plus Arizona is gonna plummet in the polls and USC should enter the polls.

 

And Marquette will rise again, should be Top 20ish in both polls, after the win at Pitt.

Here's the updated story:

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2739052

IU got hosed this week.

 

Meh, it's nice to be ranked. However, IU will really prove itself in the next three games (@ Illinois, vs. Michigan, vs. Wiscy), one way or the other. These games will be very telling of where IU is as a team in the conference and compared to the rest of the nation.

 

IU can move up nicely and maintain a solid ranking, if they fare well in those games. They could also remain in the position they're now in, at the bottom or just out of the poll if they don't perform in the next week and a half.

 

With all that being said...GO HOOSIERS!