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That was probably Syracuse’s worst performance this season, but I gotta tip my hat to Louisville for pulling of the upset. </p>
<p>Michigan State is in a lot of trouble in the Big 10. Unless Purdue or Ohio State gets upset, the Spartans are going to have to win all their remaining games. Winning at Purdue isn’t a must for the Spartans, but it would make a big statement. At this point, I doubt that a Big 10 team will get a No.1 seed heading into the tournament.</p>
<p>So what do you guys think of the tournament expanding to include more teams? There was an [interesting</a> article](<a href=“Expanding the NCAA men's basketball tournament to 96 teams might be the worst idea ever. - ESPN”>Expanding the NCAA men's basketball tournament to 96 teams might be the worst idea ever. - ESPN) on ESPN about how expanding the tournament to 96 teams would be very harmful. Personally, I think the tournament should remain the way it is.</p>
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<p>I agree with you, Harambee. The tournament is great as it is, and expanding the field to 96 teams would significantly detract from the significance of the regular season. Wins won’t mean as much when you only need 12 or 15 to get in, as opposed to the standard 20 now. Of course, coaches love it because it makes it easier to get into the tourney and as a result provides job security. I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.</p>
<p>I agree I don’t want the tournament to be expanded. It’s fine as is.</p>
<p>HUGE weekend in college basketball. Kansas * and* Kentucky both go down. I think Syracuse will be the new No.1, and they will likely stay there until the end of the season IMO.</p>
<p>The Big 10 Conference Title will probably be decided with Michigan St. @ Purdue. I think MSU will win, but just because Hummel is out. I feel bad for Purdue though, losing Hummel takes a lot away from their team but it also gives them motivation so we’ll see. </p>
<p>I think the ACC title will be decided on Wednesday with Duke @ Maryland. Maryland has been a surprisingly good team this year and I wouldn’t be shocked if they went deep into the tournament. Other than those two teams, the ACC has been pretty weak overall, it’s hard to believe that Duke is currently the only ranked ACC team.</p>
<p>At this point I think the No.1 seeds will be Kansas, Syracuse, and Kentucky with the last team being a toss-up. </p>
<p>I can’t wait till March.</p>
<p>I agree that Syracuse will be the new #1 in the rankings. The question is how far will Kansas and Kentucky fall and where Purdue, Duke and Kansas State will be come Monday.</p>
<p>Yeah, the Top 10 rankings are really a toss up. At this point it’s all about seeding. That said, I can’t see Duke being a No.1 seed. They just don’t have any quality wins compared to the other teams at the top, and the fact that they’re the only ranked team in the ACC doesn’t help. That being said, they still might get a No.1 seed if Purdue loses, but I feel like Purdue and Kansas State are better teams overall and deserve a No.1 seed more than Duke.</p>
<p>Sooooooooo my school is #1. Boy, I sure didn’t see that coming :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Unless your school is Kansas, I don’t think they’re No.1 anymore.</p>
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<p>I wasn’t that far off. USC finishes 16-14 (8-10 Pac-10), about as close to .500 as you can get (without being .500)</p>
<p>It’s a bit disappointing considering they were 16-9 (8-5 Pac-10) then lost the last 5 games. </p>
<p>Still, huge win for Kevin O’Neill. Considering what he walked into, having an overall winning season and sweeping UCLA was impressive. He’s going to do well at USC.</p>
<p>I know it’s just the 8 vs 9 play in game, but there’s absolutely NO ONE at the Pac-10 tournament right now. There are huge blocks of empty seats at center court.</p>
<p>To be honest, I don’t think the Pac-10 is strong in most years anyway. It’s usually Arizona, Washington, or UCLA that dominates and all of those teams are having a down year. But yeah, The Pac-10 is really weak this year. Actually, apart from the Big East, Big 10, and Big 12, a lot of conferences are down this year. I feel like mid-major conferences are doing a lot better this year.</p>
<p>The Pac-10 tends not to be strong, but over the last 2 or 3 years it was the best in the nation. It’s pretty stunning that it has collapsed so quickly, and it’s not looking good for the next couple years either. </p>
<p>The biggest problem has really just been High School talent out west, particularly in California. It almost seems like the last recruits that actually did well were Kevin Love, Jerryd Bayless, Kyle Singler and James Harden - 3 years ago. In the 3 years before that the Pac-10 had the Lopez twins, Hawes, Budinger, Westbrook, Patrick Christopher, Taj Gibson, Ryan Anderson, Lawrence Hill, Darren Collison, Jeff Pendergraph, John Brockman, Marcus Williams, Jordan Farmar, Arron Afflalo, Gabe Pruitt, Josh Shipp, Bryce Taylor, Devon Hardin, and Nick Young. The drop-off in talent has been amazing.</p>
<p>I don’t know, the Pac-10 was pretty strong top-to-bottom last year. For example USC went .500 in the conference, yet finished strong, won the Pac-10 tournament, and in the NCAA played Michigan State into the final seconds (Michigan State later lost to North Carolina in the title game)</p>
<p>The thing the conference has lacked recently is a true solid national title contender, which seems to be a common measure of conference strength.</p>
<p>Also, the USC tournament ban probably has hurt the other 9 Pac-10 schools as well. USC is right down the street from the Staples Center and fills seats with USC fans. No USC means the loss of that ticket revenue (which is split among all 10 schools, I’d guess), and a down year for UCLA doesn’t help either.</p>
<p>Evan Turner gets my vote for player of the year.</p>
<p>What just happened to Syracuse with Georgetown?</p>
<p>Minnesota over Michigan State…Respect the Gophers.</p>
<p>Minnesota over Purdue…Respect the Gophers.</p>
<p>Looking like it’ll be Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, and (maybe?) West Virginia as #1 seeds…</p>
<p>I’d still pick Syracuse over WV, though.</p>
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<p>Except that those numbers aren’t right.</p>
<p>The past 3 seasons (06-07, 07-08, 08-09) 6 pac-10 teams made it, the previous 2 years (05-06, 04-05) 4 made it, and most of the first half of the decade also made 5 or 6 teams.</p>
<p>This despite the fact that the Pac-10 is the smallest of all the conferences you compare to.</p>
<p>Also, at least one recent season (07-08) the Sagarin computer rankings rated the Pac-10 the best conference.</p>
<p>The main argument against the pac-10 is that they haven’t won a title this decade. Well, the Big-10 and Big-12 each have only won once. Not that big a difference.</p>