Yep, after that first media timeout in the second half things changed. Well, really things changed from the under 16 to the under 12 when all of the fouls were called first ok Florida, then on Houston. Houston didn’t adjust well. It was like a slow leak that was never patched
***2025-26 Mens College Basketball Thread***
- Thread starter BigJCy
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How many times did Florida's opponent have a double-digit second half lead only to suffer a complete meltdown? I'm sure some of it was good play on Florida's part, but they lived a charmed life this tourney.
The old saying that only one team ends the season with a win sure doesn't hold anymore. Scrolling through the standings, there were 15 teams that ended their season with a win. Season ending streaks:
West Georgia: W1
NJIT: W1
U of Miami: W1
Nebraska: W4 (CBC Champs)
Penn State: W1
Harvard: W2
Saint Peter's: W1
Northern Illinois: W1
Illinois State: W3 (CBI Champs)
Mercyhurst: W2
Eastern Illinois: W4
Western Illinois: W2
Florida: W12 (NCAA Champs)
Chattanooga: W5 (NIT Champs)
UT Rio Grande Valley: W2
East Texas A&M: W1
Most of those ended with losing records and thus their season ended with the close of regular season. Interesting that 4 colleges in Illinois ended on a win (3 of those didn't make post season).
West Georgia: W1
NJIT: W1
U of Miami: W1
Nebraska: W4 (CBC Champs)
Penn State: W1
Harvard: W2
Saint Peter's: W1
Northern Illinois: W1
Illinois State: W3 (CBI Champs)
Mercyhurst: W2
Eastern Illinois: W4
Western Illinois: W2
Florida: W12 (NCAA Champs)
Chattanooga: W5 (NIT Champs)
UT Rio Grande Valley: W2
East Texas A&M: W1
Most of those ended with losing records and thus their season ended with the close of regular season. Interesting that 4 colleges in Illinois ended on a win (3 of those didn't make post season).
It’s always been that way. Half the Ivy League used to end their season with a win since they didn’t have a conference tournament. Now, you’re just seeing more teams not make a conference tournament with these mega conferences. It’s no different in the end. The only new ones are the winners of the Crown and CBI. But I don’t see 4 tournaments lasting. One of them will go the way of the XFL.
They completely changed how fouls were called in the second half.
Physicality may have increased a little, and 4 fouls in a half is a definite outlier stat, so it was bound to balance more toward the mean. But the contact difference wasn't night-and-day to the extent of that much increase.
Why? Why can't there be consistency? These are the "3 best refs" in the game and it was night and day different between the two half's.
Final AP poll: ISU finishes 17.
apnews.com
NCAA College Basketball Rankings: AP Top 25 Basketball Poll
The official page for the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll. Keep up to date and view the latest NCAA men's basketball ranking updates each week for the 2023-24 season.
Not in top 25 (received votes):
Drake 122, Oregon 105, Illinois 80, UConn 76, Creighton 60, Colorado St. 49, UCLA 36, McNeese St. 17, Missouri 16, New Mexico 10, UC San Diego 6, Kansas 5, Marquette 2.
Gotta look back at the early season polls for the bolded!
Drake 122, Oregon 105, Illinois 80, UConn 76, Creighton 60, Colorado St. 49, UCLA 36, McNeese St. 17, Missouri 16, New Mexico 10, UC San Diego 6, Kansas 5, Marquette 2.
Gotta look back at the early season polls for the bolded!
OK, time to speculate which 8 he thinks as, of course, he doesn't list them. I would guess (in no order)
Probable:
BYU
Duke
Texas Tech
Arkansas
Miami (only because everyone else lists them-I have no clue)
Kansas
Possible:
Kentucky (SEC $ and fan crazy)
Auburn (SEC $)
Alabama (SEC $)
Louisville
Indiana ???
Washington (several had said their $ Daddy is buying a top team)
Kentucky for certain given what their roster is looking like.
LSU maybe? they are seriously splashing the cash out there.
Creighton could be close if they have ~$3M just in Freeman and Dix
