***Official 2025 NCAA Tournament Thread***

[GTO]

So by my count, the SEC has a coach who beat his girlfriend, an assistant who used racial slurs against his players, a coach who was accused of stalking a college student, and a coach who played a player who let a fellow player borrow a gun to kill his girlfriend. Am I missing any others?

 

[exCYtable]

Man it'd be nice to have guys to throw lobs too like Duke is doing

It's crazy we didn't have that this year. We need another guy like Hassan Ward badly for next year.

 

[NWICY]

yeah pretty wild. I also think you officially make it an even $300 bucks that’s I’ve donated to We Will through won wagers on here lol.

Think you guys have the match going on right now as well!

You are a good sport friendly Spartan!
Thanks for hanging around.

 

[madguy30]

More like the NCAA BOREnament, amirite?

 

[ClonesFTW]

Texas Tech onto another Elite 8 in their coaches 2nd year, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. They had no basketball prowess until Chris Beard showed up.

 

[madguy30]

Texas Tech onto another Elite 8 in their coaches 2nd year, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. They had no basketball prowess until Chris Beard showed up.

Gotta have dudes with length and 'bounce' as the kids say.

Like two Hassan Wards or one with a guard who's similar.

 

[Cychl82]

So by my count, the SEC has a coach who beat his girlfriend, an assistant who used racial slurs against his players, a coach who was accused of stalking a college student, and a coach who played a player who let a fellow player borrow a gun to kill his girlfriend. Am I missing any others?

These are just the things we know of too

 

[cydsho]

So by my count, the SEC has a coach who beat his girlfriend, an assistant who used racial slurs against his players, a coach who was accused of stalking a college student, and a coach who played a player who let a fellow player borrow a gun to kill his girlfriend. Am I missing any others?

It just means more.....

 

[AlaCyclone]

Zona just looks small compared to Duke. Duke is very good

I noticed that in the first minute of the game. Duke has some length.

 

[cyclones500]

It was getting late (for me) and with Tech down double-digits, figured I'd "cut my losses" and turn in. Sure as **** I miss arguably the best game (and comeback) of the tournament so far.

Maybe I should have gone to bed at halftime of the ISU-Miss game.

 

[Drew0311]

Is college basketball becoming the same as college football? Just 8 or so teams that have a chance to win it every year? Maybe one other team sneaks in like Tech or Arizona STate in football and ccan do some damage? This tournament has been terrible compared to the past.

 

[jdoggivjc]

It was getting late (for me) and with Tech down double-digits, figured I'd "cut my losses" and turn in. Sure as **** I miss arguably the best game (and comeback) of the tournament so far.

Maybe I should have gone to bed at halftime of the ISU-Miss game.

Same . I was half a step away from falling asleep on the couch, so I went to bed. Missed one hell of a finish.

 

[jdoggivjc]

Is college basketball becoming the same as college football? Just 8 or so teams that have a chance to win it every year? Maybe one other team sneaks in like Tech or Arizona STate in football and ccan do some damage? This tournament has been terrible compared to the past.

College basketball has been that way for decades… that fact has just been hidden by the excitement that the tournament brings, especially when the tournament has numerous upsets, especially early in the tournament. But when you get a tournament like what we have this year, it becomes obvious that, just like football, basketball is dominated by those that have money and power. It’s just that, especially this year, that power has shifted to the SEC because that’s where all the money is.

 

[Letterkenny]

So by my count, the SEC has a coach who beat his girlfriend, an assistant who used racial slurs against his players, a coach who was accused of stalking a college student, and a coach who played a player who let a fellow player borrow a gun to kill his girlfriend. Am I missing any others?

And those are the good ones....

 

[Clonefan32]

Is college basketball becoming the same as college football? Just 8 or so teams that have a chance to win it every year? Maybe one other team sneaks in like Tech or Arizona STate in football and ccan do some damage? This tournament has been terrible compared to the past.

The SEC stuff isn't sustainable-- I don't think. I just can't figure out what would put schools like Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc. at such an NIL advantage over others. Duke, I get. Private school, wealthy donors, more emphasis on basketball than football, etc. But for those SEC schools in poor states, I just can't imagine there's money to fund football and basketball long term at the rate it's going.

 

[Drew0311]

The SEC stuff isn't sustainable-- I don't think. I just can't figure out what would put schools like Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc. at such an NIL advantage over others. Duke, I get. Private school, wealthy donors, more emphasis on basketball than football, etc. But for those SEC schools in poor states, I just can't imagine there's money to fund football and basketball long term at the rate it's going.

I have been down there to Alabama for a few football games. The state is very rich at the high end and very poor at the low end. Not much in the middle. The rich down there that went to Alabama only want Alabama to be good in sports. That is their life. So they are willing to spend their money on Alabama sports. In our state we care about other stuff. They don't down there. It's Alabama sports and that is it. Guessing the rest of the SEC is like that as well.

 

[Die4Cy]

The SEC stuff isn't sustainable-- I don't think. I just can't figure out what would put schools like Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc. at such an NIL advantage over others. Duke, I get. Private school, wealthy donors, more emphasis on basketball than football, etc. But for those SEC schools in poor states, I just can't imagine there's money to fund football and basketball long term at the rate it's going.

They are poor states, yes. But the entire state is not required to support a basketball program. It takes the dedicated support of a few thousand people.

 

[Cyched]

The SEC stuff isn't sustainable-- I don't think. I just can't figure out what would put schools like Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc. at such an NIL advantage over others. Duke, I get. Private school, wealthy donors, more emphasis on basketball than football, etc. But for those SEC schools in poor states, I just can't imagine there's money to fund football and basketball long term at the rate it's going.

Poor states overall, yes, but the gap between the haves and the have nots is pretty substantial in the south. The wealthy are VERY wealthy.

 

[AlaCyclone]

College basketball has been that way for decades… that fact has just been hidden by the excitement that the tournament brings, especially when the tournament has numerous upsets, especially early in the tournament. But when you get a tournament like what we have this year, it becomes obvious that, just like football, basketball is dominated by those that have money and power. It’s just that, especially this year, that power has shifted to the SEC because that’s where all the money is.

There is more money in the B1G than in the SEC.

 

[AlaCyclone]

The average score by the four teams in Newark was 98.5. It is the second most points at a single location in the Sweet Sixteen in tournament history. The only one higher was in 1970 in Columbus, Ohio:

Jacksonville 104 Iowa 103
Kentucky 109 Notre Dame 99

That was before my time, but it boggles my mind the number of high scoring games from that Era with no shot clock and no three-point line.