OT: D1

[Ship69]

As long as his leaving isn’t tied to something ugly, it’s quite a legacy he leaves behind. He seems to have massive respect from his peers while most fans hated the style his teams played. And they were the ultimate feast or famine when it came to the tournament. They seemingly either lost in the first round or went deep, mostly the former. Obviously the first #1 to lose to a 16. Then the very next year his boring team goes on probably the most exciting run to a natty we’ve seen in years. For a program that did everything slow and steady, it was quite a rollercoaster.

That slow style he played is a two-edged sword. It ensures that it's rare when you're completely out of a game, but it also prevents you from putting a game away quickly. With the three-point shooting now, a 10-point lead is not really safe even late in a game. Back in the pre-clock era with no three-pointer, if a coach such as Knight or Al McGuire got a 10-point lead with anything under 10 minutes to go, you could almost chalk up the win. Then, of course, Dean Smith went to the ultimate stall tactic with his "four corners" at Carolina, which probably more than anything else ushered in the shot clock after he and Terry Holland totallly destroyed a premier UNC-Virginia matchup.

[TheBigCat2192]

Wild bit of D1 news: the head coach at USF died during a medical procedure. Article doesn’t say what the procedure is but the guy was only 43.

[bballfan03]

Wild bit of D1 news: the head coach at USF died during a medical procedure. Article doesn’t say what the procedure is but the guy was only 43.

Article i saw said "routine procedure" and "complications out of the doctors control"

[TheBigCat2192]

Article i saw said "routine procedure" and "complications out of the doctors control"

“Complications out of the doctors control” sounds like CYA language. Curious to see what any sort of investigation turns up on that front.

[Fightingscot82]

Article i saw said "routine procedure" and "complications out of the doctors control"

I know someone whose wife didn't come out of anesthesia for a routine procedure at 45. It happens - just not often at all.

[Ship69]

I know someone whose wife didn't come out of anesthesia for a routine procedure at 45. It happens - just not often at all.

The chances of death are remote in some operations, but I don't consider any invasive procedure "routine." There's a reason why they have people sign disclaimers before they undergo even what is considered a minor procedure, such as removal of a gall bladder.

[bballfan03]

Mercyhurst women only lost by about 40 to Notre Dame. ND subbed a lot, which I'm sure won't be normal for them, but Hurst didn't look "bad" most of the game though.

[bballfan03]

Omajafo having a strong start with RMU. Leading scorers each of their 2 first showings.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I think Pitt played an NBA team last night. Good Lord. Hopefully that's just the old 'one team had a bad night and the other was totally in the zone' theory.

Rough challenge for the ACC. The SEC won 14 of 16 games.

[bballfan03]

I think Pitt played an NBA team last night. Good Lord. Hopefully that's just the old 'one team had a bad night and the other was totally in the zone' theory.

Rough challenge for the ACC. The SEC won 14 of 16 games.

When you shoot 30% and get killed on the boards you're not going to win too many games.

[Ship69]

I think Pitt played an NBA team last night. Good Lord. Hopefully that's just the old 'one team had a bad night and the other was totally in the zone' theory.

Rough challenge for the ACC. The SEC won 14 of 16 games.

Most of the ACC teams not named Duke are not what they used to be. Even North Carolina doesn't have a good front court this season.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Awful loss for Pitt last night.

Get your NIT tickets.

[TheBigCat2192]

Since we’re surprisingly close to the end of the season I figured now was a good time to check in on how some old friends (using the term loosely) that decided to move up are doing.

1. Mercyhurst is currently riding a 4 game win streak and is 12-13 (6-4) on the year. Three of those wins have come against non-D1 schools so their record is really more like 9-13 (6-4). They have six games left; two are against an awful Chicago State team, two are against opponents Mercy already beat, and two are against teams they lost against once. A .500 record and a winning record in conference are both possibilities although I wouldn’t bet on the former. Qualitatively they are terrible and both KenPom and the SRS system at Sports-Reference see them as a bottom-15 team in the country. I’m still not happy with them leaving but I think their coach and players have honestly done a decent job to stay afloat during the transition year and avoid a total embarrassment. It also speaks to just how poor the NEC is that a non-elite D2 team can jump up and hold their own right away.

2. Last year’s PSAC East POTY, Justice Shoats, is a regular at Siena who’s averaging roughly 35 MPG on the year and 38 MPG since the conference slate started. After coming off the bench earlier in the year (7 of 11 non-conference appearances) he’s grabbed a starter’s spot for conference play. He’s still not a great distance shooter but he’s come on in 2P% as the year has progressed. He’s still a bit turnover prone but he’s bumped his assists up in conference play and broadly looks like he belongs on the court at a low-major school.

3. Last year’s PSAC West POTY, KJ McClurg, has taken the opposite path. His season MPG is about 18 and early on he was hitting the high 20s and a few low 30s; come conference play that number is down to ~12 and he has not cracked the 15 minute mark (non-conference or conference) since December. McClurg also started 9 games in the non-conference slate but has not started at all since conference play opened and has missed two games entirely (not sure if DNP-CD or DNP-INJ). He has turned into a bench/role player and hasn’t been particularly productive. I wouldn’t be shocked if he hits the portal again at the end of this year; the only real question is whether he’d look to transfer to a lower quality low-major conference or if he’d end up back in D2.

[TheBigCat2192]

Not sure if it’s come up in another thread but there are now two ongoing investigations into players on terrible mid or low major teams fixing games or at the very least fixing bets. The bettors involved allegedly “have ties” to a gambling ring that was manipulating bets on NBA reserve Johntae Porter (currently under criminal investigation in both the US and Canada and banned from the NBA for life.)

[Chuck Norris]

Former NW Missouri coach Ben McCollum leads Drake to the Missouri Valley championship in his first season. They’ll take an impressive 30-3 record into the Big Dance.