This is the place for all things that don't need their own thread...

I LOOOOVE NCAA basketball, it's my personal goal to make this at least a 10 page thread.

So, who does everyone have this year?

Right now I think Kansas and UNC are the two major heavy-weights, though obviously Rush and Arthur have to be healthy for the Jayhawks. I like Tennessee a lot as another one to do well with Tyler Smith being added to an already solid core. If I were picking my early Final Four, I guess the last one would be UCLA, Love is a huge addition. I kind of like Georgetown too, though they need some guys to step up to replace Green as the third option with Hibbert and Wallace. Summers could definitely take the next step and fill a lot of that, and Macklin and newcomers Wright and Freeman can do some damage too. Sapp is good too, they definitely have the pieces, they just need to gel.

I'm not 100% sold on Memphis or Louisville as big-time contenders. Memphis is deep and athletic, but they don't always take the best shots in the world. Plus only Roberts, Dorsey, and the incoming Rose really impress me. IMO he has to be very good for them to get past the Elite 8, though that is entirely possible (some would argue probable). As for Louisville, they seem to have a lot of good players but not very many that I'd call difference makers, and they also took a lot of bad shots for most of the year. They need to get over that to do well, they didn't seem to know who their go-to players were. Sosa definitely has ability, but someone out of Williams, Padgett, and Palacios has to take the next step for them to make major noise.

As for my guys at NU, I just hope they can build to respectability. I like Coble a lot, and Ryan has some ability. Hopefully Nash and some of the other guys that didn't play much last year can step up.

Big Ten-wise, I can't wait to see how IU looks this year. This ought to be a fun team with DJ White coming back and joining with Gordon.

Memphis is over-rated like they are every year. I hate all the pub they get for never having done more than get to the Elite 8. They will not beat my Vols this year, just like when they got stomped last year.

Derrick Rose and OJ Mayo are very very good. USC will be good. That is all.

I think they've been pretty underrated the last few years, but that's just me. I like Memphis and UCLA, I however am not sold on Louisville either. If I had to pick a final four right now, I'd probably go with: Memphis, UCLA, Washington State and Indiana. Got two favorites and 2 semi sleepers(not really but not the Kansas' or UNC's of the world).

The Pac 10 is absolutely loaded, btw.


Can't wait for November 3rd.

With the preseason tourny we're in, there is a possibility that we'll play Miss State, USC and IU back to back to back. That could be a fun stretch.

Man, the Illini look like they might have some problems this year. Jamar Smith is redshirting and Quinton Watkins might not be coming either. They could really struggle to score.

The Jamar Smith situation is an embarassment. There is no way he should still be in school, let alone on that basketball team, and getting a redshirt year out of it. The guy was out driving drunk, about killed himself and another person, left the scene of an accident, and then left his buddy for dead. Michael Vick kills dogs and people are calling for his ban from the NFL, Jamar Smith about kills another human and he gets a redshirt year... It doesn't feel right to me at all.

First, let me say that I couldn't agree more with you. Jamar is a "kid" though, so I think people want to be more lenient with him. That could be wrong but that's the impression I get.

"being lenient" would be not throwing him into prision for a long time, and letting him finish college. He doesn't deserve the extras of playing college basketball. Weber should have revoked his scholarship and kicked him off of the team.

Less than two months 'til Saluki basketball

Wow: http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/stories/091607aaa.html

Its a wonder some of these kids make it to college... Idiots.

Ronald Steele out for the season. Too bad.

That is too bad, he's a hell of a player when he's healthy, he was being talked about as a potential lottery pick not that long ago. He was well below 100% all of last year though, and obviously still isn't back. Now even if he does get back to his old self his draft stock is going to get hurt because of the injuries. Guess I can cross Bama off my potential sleepers list too.

At least he can get a medical redshirt and come back next season. This does stink cause like you said he wasn't anywhere near 100 percent last season either. Hopefully he can actually come back, and get back close to, if not 100 percent. Alabama's bball team sure has went through a hell of a lot the last year.

Duke Crews suspended indefinitely. Obviously that's a huge hit for Tenn, we'll see how long he's gone for.

Our Midnight "Maroon" Madness is two weeks from today. Can't wait.

Ouch. Tennessee is already thin up front, that doesn't help. Pretty soon they're going to be going with the Villanova approach from 2 years ago. If he's out for an extended amount of time, that means 3 guards (Lofton, JaJuan Smtih, Ramar Smith), a SF (Tyler Smith), and one big man that doesn't play all that big (Chism) with little backing them up unless someone steps up.

Well our first exhibition game is tomorrow. At this point, I couldn't care less that it's just an exhibition, I just need to see these guys play. I can't freaking wait.

First game of the season is also on Monday with Memphis in action. The season is finally here. Yayers!!

It has been upset central to start the season.

MSU loses at home to Grand Valley state
Garnder Webb beats Kentucky
OSU loses to Findlay

Its going to be a fun year again.

derrick rose is amazing. he'll be playing with minnesota next year

66-8 in the past 2 seasons with 2 elite 8 seasons, and now they add rose with the same team as last year. thats hardly "over-rated"

A fair number of teams could roll up that record in Conference USA. That league is AWFUL. And while the results look good, their only good tournament win was Texas A&M (which was playing really poorly down the stretch and relying far too much on Law) with the others coming against North Texas, Nevada, Oral Roberts, Bucknell, and Bradley. Heck, even during the regular season last year the best team they beat was Kentucky (Actually, this group hasn't beaten any really good teams, their good wins came two years ago with Carney, Williams, and Washington doing most of the work). They also barely shot 40% from the field in the tourney last year, that doesn't exactly scream elite team. They've been a heavy jump-shooting team that often struggles with shot selection, and they turn it over a lot as well. They're far from an un-beatable juggernaut.

They clearly have talent, Rose and Douglas-Roberts are beasts, but we're not really going to know how good they are until the tournament. Their toughest tests will be fairly early out of conference and they're going to steam-roll through their league. From what I've seen I could see them losing in the Sweet 16 depending on the bracket or going all the way if Dozier/Dorsey hold up well against better competition.