I watched the tail end of that game and Kentucky does not look like a tournament team. Which is mind boggling since they have like 4 or 5 first round picks on that team.
Man, the refs are really taking this one away from Mizzou. Some very questionable calls down the stretch...
It sucks what happened to UT after Pearl left the program in shambles. Martin's done a hell of a job at picking up the pieces though. They're definitely one of those teams that's better than their record, like Illinois or Baylor. I like their core, but I think Martin plays the bench guys more than he should... they really don't have that kind of depth. McBee's a good story, and he's a fan favorite, but I don't know if I'd have him out there as much as they do. When you look around the SEC (or the NCAA) for that matter, Stokes-Golden-McRae-Richardson is one of the best cores out there, and they'll all be coming back next season (unless Stokes goes pro). Add Robert Hubbs into the mix, and they are easily a team that can challenge UK and Florida for the SEC title next season.
They've also got a few freshmen that show promise. Armani Moore worked his way into the starting lineup and has been a great role player. I definitely agree with Martin playing the bench too much, but overall I'm extremely happy with their progress. It was a while ago but last I heard Stokes promised he was going to stay 4 years. A lot of guys say that, but I think Stokes is different from most guys. We've got a 5 star SG recruit in Robert Hubbs, he'll bolster our bench's firepower. I'm calling it right now, the Vols will be SEC champs next year.
Damn, Stokes said that? That's a huge win for the program. I can't imagine there will be too many post players better than him by the time he's a senior. If you look at what UT's done this year, they're really only two close games (Georgetown, Memphis) away from being a tournament team. They might have to run the table (including a win at home against Florida) to make it at this point, but regardless of whether or not they make the actual field, they should be happy with the progress they've made as a team that was completely blown up just two seasons ago. BTW - Have you seen this picture of Jarnell's 8th grade brother? Haha, I feel really bad for that kid he's tackling.
I hadn't seen that picture but I follow Jarnell on twitter and he posts pics with his brother all the time. It's preposterous how big he is. Looking at how Stokes looked when he debuted for Tennessee at 17, it's not as surprising as it would be with anyone else. I couldn't find where he said he'd stay for four years, so now I'm doubting if I ever actually saw it.. Doesn't hurt to hope though.
You know, I'm into recruiting and all, but even I'll draw the line when it comes to talking about 8th grade players. Still, for a 6'7" 8th grader hanging around the UT program all the time, I'm sure coach Martin is all over him right now. How would everyone rank the top ten right now? I'm looking at how the AP poll will probably look next week, and it's a bit of a clusterfuck.
Outside of myself and MickZagger, who would the average s2 poster take if Michigan State played Gonzaga at a neutral site? I'm precluding MickZagger and myself, because I'm a MSU diehard and MickZagger is a Gonzaga diehard. I'm just looking at the polls and thinking, "who couldn't the Spartans beat right now?" We should have beat Indiana in Bloomington, had it not been for having Appling sidelined for most of the game and some very objectively questionable calls down the stretch. We lost to Miami earlier on in the season, but this MSU team, like a lot of the teams in the past, has evolved so much over the year, that I think the Spartans would absolutely have their way with the Hurricane if we played today. I feel confident in our ability to take on pretty much any team ranked ahead of us at the moment. That's why I want an outside opinion on MSU vs. Gonzaga. What do the impartial fans think about both teams at the moment, because I think they're probably the two hottest teams in NCAA ball at the moment, and it just so happens that MickZagger and I are fans of the two teams, so our opinions would inevitably be biased. ---- Just saying, check out the resume - http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/rpi/_/teamId/127 Not to bad for a team that just started to click in January...
24% FG from Notre Dame, including an 0-12 start. That's just bad basketball. It reminds me of the 5 OT Louisville game. The ending was exciting, but the reality is that both teams played like shit. I'm really not feeling the Big East this year...
Big East basketball resembles football more than basketball. Seriously, that league is not as great as it seems. The refs just let everything go and it turns into a blood bath. Not a big fan.
I'd say it's got to be Indiana-Miami-Gonzaga-Duke a the moment... wouldn't you agree? Duke's not playing at the level that they were playing at with Kelly, but they've still got the #1 RPI and some really impressive wins. I don't think that the ACC deserves two #1 seeds with how down their conference is, but by the numbers, I guess that's how it'd shake down. I'd still take Florida, Michigan State, Kansas, and Michigan over either Miami or Duke though.
I'd agree. Miami and Duke have been getting by with the hair on their chinny-chin-chin lately. I know there's a lot of Zag haters around the country. But the Zags are currently 3-1 vs. the RPI top 25. By comparison: Duke = 3-2 Florida = 2-2 Michigan State = 3-3 Louisville = 2-3 Michigan = 3-2 Syracuse = 1-0 Kansas = 4-3 Indiana = 4-1
Zags are currently 10-2 vs. the RPI top 100. By comparison: Duke = 12-3 Florida = 11-3 Michigan State = 10-4 Louisville = 10-5 Michigan = 10-4 Syracuse = 10-4 Kansas = 12-3 Indiana = 9-3
