Tag: ncaa tournament

Big Ten will have NCAA Tourney teams with losing league records

Big Ten update

It is something a lot of college basketball fans aren’t prepared for each year, but it keeps happening, and it will probably continue to happen most years: At least one team from a Power Five conference will make the NCAA Tournament with a sub-.500 record in conference games.

Sometimes, a team makes the Big Dance despite being FOUR games under .500 in conference play. Oklahoma made the 2019 NCAA Tournament with a 7-11 regular-season record in the Big 12, plus a first-round loss to the last-place team in the conference that season, West Virginia. The Sooners were 7-12 in 19 Big 12 games, and they got in.

No, they didn’t go to Dayton as part of the First Four, either. Oklahoma got in rather comfortably if measured by seeding. The Sooners were a No. 9 seed, meaning they were more safely in the tournament than four No. 10 seeds and four No. 11 seeds (excluding automatic bid-holders).

Teams getting in with conference records four games below the break-even mark is not common, but it happens every now and then. Teams getting in with conference records which are two games under .500 is a lot more common. Two years ago, FIVE such teams existed: Syracuse in the ACC, Alabama in the SEC, Texas and Oklahoma in the Big 12, and Arizona State in the Pac-12, all two games below .500 in their respective conferences.

This year, there is no better place for this kind of NCAA Tournament team to emerge than in the Big Ten.

Indiana, entering Monday, Feb. 3, is 5-6 in the Big Ten, but with wins over Florida State and Michigan State, the Hoosiers look fairly solid as long as they don’t implode. The same can be said for Ohio State and Michigan, which are both 4-6 but recently picked up valuable wins over Indiana (for the Buckeyes) and Rutgers (for the Wolverines).

The most interesting Big Ten case studies, though, might be Purdue and Minnesota. The Boilermakers and Golden Gophers are both 5-6 in league play entering Feb. 3, but are barely above .500 overall. It is true that having a truckload of losses doesn’t automatically eliminate a team from getting an at-large NCAA bid. In 2001, Georgia got in despite losing 14 games. In 2017, Vanderbilt got in despite losing 15 games. Can Purdue and/or Minnesota get in despite being 18-15 and 9-11 in the Big Ten? We’ll find out.

If you ignore the Boilermakers and Gophers, though, it is still very likely the Big Ten will get at least one NCAA Tournament team with a losing conference record. It is part of the modern-day reality of college basketball.

ESPN: Michigan basketball has ‘work to do’ to make NCAA Tournament

The worldwide leader has the Wolverines as one of the few teams in the Big Ten with some work to do to make the big dance in March.

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No one in Ann Arbor would have thought this to be the case back in November, when Michigan took down Iowa State, North Carolina and Gonzaga in consecutive days to win the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

But, the month of December was unkind to the Wolverines, handing them their first loss and the first injury to starting forward Isaiah Livers. If December was unkind, January was flat-out mean to the maize and blue, as Michigan went just 2-5 that month, losing four-straight somewhat inexplicably.

Thus, Michigan is nowhere near the lock it could have been to get into the NCAA Tournament next month, with a 13-8 overall record, and 4-6 Big Ten record, 11th in the conference.

Thus, the way that ESPN sees it, the Wolverines are the top team in conference with ‘work to do’ to make the tournament in Juwan Howard’s first year.

Thank you, Michigan, for demonstrating how the seemingly straightforward “work to do” label can, in fact, contain several different meanings. The Wolverines would be in the tournament if the selection were held today, for example, and it’s possible they would even receive a seed in the (high) single digits. Still, Juwan Howard and his men have work to do. Michigan is 13-8 overall and 4-6 in conference play in a league that can hand teams losses at every turn. The 18-point neutral-floor win over Gonzaga will always look magnificent on the profile, but a crucial two-game homestand against Ohio State and Michigan State now looms for the Wolverines.

It should be noted, that in the full conference-by-conference breakdown, the Big Ten is the only one with 12 teams that are either likely in or has just a little work to do, according to the worldwide leader. The next closest is the SEC, which has 7 teams — three likely in and four on the bubble — thus demonstrating just how deep, as well as how crucial, the final 10 games of the regular season are for the Wolverines.

That starts Tuesday, with Michigan hosting rival Ohio State for a 7PM EST tip-off before Saturday’s noon EST home contest against another rival in Michigan State.

Texas Basketball Recruiting: Is Greg Brown III Staying In Austin?

The Texas Longhorns need a big time recruit to help their basketball program so will that be local product Greg Brown III?

The Texas Longhorns basketball team needs that one player who can step on the court and dominate the way former McDonalds’ All-American Kevin Durant once did way back in 2006-2007. Durant was poised for stardom and after one year he made the jump to the NBA. It was no different for Mohamed Bamba who was also highly touted.

Could Greg Brown III be on that same trajectory? Should Brown sign with Texas he would be their fifth highest recruit in school history according to 247. He is their lone top target of the 2020 recruiting class that doesn’t have single signee to this point.

According to Kirk Bohls of HookEm.com, the five-star power forward has bigger plans than playing college basketball. He is eyeing a one and one year. much like the previous top two recruits in program history. So the question remains will that be in Austin?

Many felt that Kentucky would be an option as the best bet to possibly play for a National Championship on his way out the door. However, the Wildcats have two of the top five power forwards in the nation who have already signed their letters of intent for UK.

The 247 website has Greg Brown III at 83 percent to sign with Texas. If he is looking for a one and done season where he can put his game on display, the Longhorns might be the best option. He would immediately come in and likely start for coach Smart.

The only question remains is if he will stay in Texas or choose another school for his one season. With every major program in the country gunning for him, the opportunities are endless.

Can Texas Make A Run At The NCAA Tournament?

What would it take for the Texas Longhorns to make a run at the NCAA Tournament? Is there hope or is this wishful thinking?

It has been yet another disappointing season for the Texas Longhorns basketball team under fifth-year head coach Shake Smart. Smart joined the Longhorns after taking the Virginia-Commonwealth to team to the brink of a National Championship game appearance in the 2010-2011 season. After five-straight NCAA tourney appearances, he left the Rams for Austin.

The first year in Austin saw promise as the Longhorns finished 20-13 and fourth in the Big 12. That team was selected to play in the March Madness tournament but saw a quick exit. In the three plus seasons since, Texas hasn’t finished higher than sixth in the Big 12. During the second year of his Texas tenure the Longhorns failed to win more than four Big 12 games and just 11 overall.

The last two seasons have ended with identical 8-10 conference records, in 2018 they were once again booted from the tournament in the opening round. Last year they were invited to the NIT tournament which they won. Now as Texas sits at 14-7 overall with a Big 12 record of 4-4. Could they possibly make a run to get into the tournament ?

Well odds aren’t in their favor, Texas is tied with Oklahoma, Texas Christian and Texas Tech in the middle of the standings behind Baylor, Kansas and West Virginia. The Longhorns are winless against the top three with an average margin of loss at 20.7 points. Numbers slightly inflated due to the 38-point drubbing at the hands of West Virginia.

The Longhorns are currently 1-1 agains the teams in the middle of the pack as they are yet to play Texas Tech for the first time this year. As they were swept by the Red Raiders in 2018. For Texas the next three games will be a telling sign if they can compete for get an opportunity to reach the NCAA Tournament after missing out last year.

With Kansas, Texas Tech and Baylor on the schedule over their next three games, it doesn’t appear as though the Longhorns can do enough in season to earn a spot. ESPN’s Bracketology doesn’t have the Longhorns in the tourney at this point, it might mean that the Longhorns will have to do the impossible and win the Big 12 Tournament to earn an automatic bid to go dancing in March.

Why Wisconsin is likely to make the NCAA Tournament

More on Wisconsin basketball

Worried about Wisconsin making the 2020 NCAA Tournament? It is reasonable to be worried. If the Badgers lose to Michigan State and Minnesota, they would fall into a bubble position. They might still be slightly inside the cut line for inclusion in the tournament, but they would certainly be on thin ice.

Let’s say that worst-case scenario emerges. We don’t WANT it to happen, but we need to consider the possibility that it will. Is Wisconsin cooked in that situation? Not really.

Yes, we did say that this four-game sequence — at Purdue, at Iowa, home versus Michigan State, at Minnesota — was important. Wisconsin is 0-2 right now, and 0-4 would be really bad. A 1-3 mark wouldn’t be great, but it would be a lot better than 0-4.

The importance of this four-game sequence was — and is — precisely connected to the ability to remove any and all doubt about Wisconsin’s NCAA Tournament status. If UW wins its next two games to move to 2-2 in this four-game cluster, the Badgers would move well above the bubble and be fairly safely in the field. UW wouldn’t necessarily be a lock, with over a month left until Selection Sunday, but wins over Michigan State and Minnesota would mean that the Badgers would have to completely implode down the stretch to miss the Big Dance. Their odds of missing the tournament would be at one or two percent.

Let’s say, though, that Wisconsin keeps losing and goes 0-4. Bubble time, yes… but likely to miss the Dance? The long-term outlook is better than you might realize today (Jan. 29).

Get this: If the current four-game grind (Purdue, Iowa, MSU, Minnesota) is rough, given that it involves three road games plus a home game against the best team in the Big Ten, the remaining eight games before the Big Ten Tournament are very manageable.

In the remaining eight games after the Feb. 5 visit to Minnesota, Wisconsin plays five of them at home, none against Michigan State. Wisconsin plays three games on the road. One is at Nebraska, one of the two easier road trips in the 2020 Big Ten. One is at Michigan, a team which began this week 2-6 in Big Ten play.

One can make the argument that after the Feb. 5 trip to Minnesota, Wisconsin’s toughest remaining game is a road trip to Indiana on March 7. It is either that game or the Feb. 23 home game against Rutgers. That is a very friendly schedule down the stretch. It is the biggest reason why, for all of this team’s struggles in the present moment, it is still likely to make the NCAA Tournament… even if it loses to Michigan State and Minnesota.

Georgia basketball loses 4th straight SEC matchup at Missouri

Georgia men’s basketball team loses their 4th straight SEC matchup in Columbia, MO to Missouri. The Dawgs are now 11-9, 1-6 in SEC play.

The Georgia Bulldogs men’s basketball team dropped a close one Tuesday night in Columbia to the Missouri Tigers by a score of 72-69.

The Dawgs have now lost four straight games, all of them being to SEC opponents.

Georgia led by as many as 20 points in the second half, thanks to freshman guard Anthony Edwards scoring 23 points, leading all players on the night.  Senior guard Tyree Crump put up 13 for the Dawgs as well as freshman forward Toumani Camara tacking on another 12.

The Bulldogs came out hot offensively but skidded to a halt later in the second half, sparking an offensive run from the Tigers.  Missouri’s senior forward Reed Nikko capitalized on the Dawgs cold second half shooting, finishing with a career 13 points, 11 of them coming in the second half surge.

“Momentum is always up for grabs,” Tom Crean said in a postgame interview. “And in the second half, Reed Nikko took momentum from us. Reed Nikko changed the energy of the game for them.”

Nikko also had a game saving play, blocking Edwards while up two with only nine seconds left in regulation.

Three Missouri players scored in double digits with junior guard Dru Smith leading the Tigers with 16.

Missouri freshman forward Kobe Brown was emotional for this game.  Brown was named by his father after the late Kobe Bryant and wears number 24 after Bryant.  Following the tragic news of the NBA legend and his daughters passing, Brown talked about Kobe Bryant postgame.

“I was bummed,” said Brown. “It took a toll. I send my regards to all the families that were involved in the crash.”

What looked like a promising, potential NCAA Tournament season is now on the line with very slim chances of the Dawgs being alive in March.  According to TR Brackets, Georgia now has a 2.2% chance of making the tournament.  Losing the past 4 SEC games moves the Bulldogs to 11-9 on the season with a 1-6 record in conference play.

With a 2.2% chance being very unlikely, things aren’t looking good for the Dawg faithful … but you’re saying there’s a chance.

Georgia continues their late season SEC play this Saturday vs Texas A&M at home.  Tipoff is set for 1:00 p.m. EST on SEC Network.