No men's NCAA thread??? Pac 12 are 10 and 1, killin' it!

[Captante]

I agree with Jay Bilas, that was one of the great college hoops games of all time. As good as Gonzaga is, UCLA didn't appear to have a talent deficit. It was basically a couple plays that decided the outcome. Having watched just a few minutes of Baylor's last two games, it looked like they can lock down any team in the country. It'll be interesting to see how Mark Few's Bulldogs will deal with that. Rooting for Gonzaga, but I'd take Baylor +4.5 (or even straight up money line) if I was at a sportsbook.

I have not watched much of the NCAA tournament this this year BUT I just happened to flip on this game about 5 minutes in ... talk about some good timing!

Only negative is I was rooting hard for UCLA by the end!

And no points either way but I'm calling Gonzaga after last night.

 

[manly]

I have not watched much of the NCAA tournament this this year BUT I just happened to flip on this game about 5 minutes in ... talk about some good timing!

Only negative is I was rooting hard for UCLA by the end!

And no points either way but I'm calling Gonzaga after last night.

Excellent timing! It was the only tournament game I watched in full. Honestly if you saw Baylor in its last two games, their defense is wildly impressive. No zone or trickery, just 5 man defenders that clamp down when they want to. As great as Gonzaga has been this year (31-0), I'm actually worried.

Seth Greenberg expects Baylor to lean on defense vs. Gonzaga - ESPN Video

Seth Greenberg breaks down why Baylor's aggressive defense will be a problem for Gonzaga in the men's national championship game.

www.espn.com

 

[zinfamous]

That was one of the best bball games I've ever watched. In all leagues. Executed and coached, just hand's-down a pitch perfect game.

And I've been watching this shit...(OK, remembering it)...since c. 1985. I can't claim to recall watching the earlier games, even though I know about them like I have watched them, but this is up there with any of them, and everyone knows it.

kudos to UCLA and Gonzaga for that.

 

[uclaLabrat]

Curious to see what that does.for UCLA's recruiting. I'm betting they're on the map now for the top recruits.

 

[pete6032]

Even though it was a close game I had the feeling that Gonzaga was the better team. The way each team played was interesting. Seemed like Gonzaga was run and gun and happy to challenge UCLA's defense whereas UCLA was slower paced and took what Gonzaga gave them when Gonzaga was on defense, rather than trying to attack the rim.

 

[manly]

No idea who the author is, but he ranks the greatest men's college hoops games of the 64-game tournament:

https://sports.yahoo.com/greatest-final-four-games-ever-gonzaga-ucla-march-madness-ncaa-tournament-174559971.html

 

[Muse]

This is the first time in a handful of years when CBS is broadcasting the Championship Game. IIRC, ESPN's had that for a while. Maybe the pandemic brought them to their senses.

I'm going to be timeshifting this in HD, like I always do for TV. I think there's a good chance this game will be worth a rewatch at some point.

 

[zinfamous]

This is the first time in a handful of years when CBS is broadcasting the Championship Game. IIRC, ESPN's had that for a while. Maybe the pandemic brought them to their senses.

I'm going to be timeshifting this in HD, like I always do for TV. I think there's a good chance this game will be worth a rewatch at some point.

really? I don't recall this. I know they did that with the college football championship game, but I don't recall this ever happening with the NCAA tournament--besides, I don't think ESPN has any rights to air tournament games? I know it's only fairly recently that some first weekend games were expanded to other cable channels--the ones that CBS owns, but for the longest time, you were stuck with only one CBS channel for all games all the time, and luck of whatever region you were in.

Pretty sure I've watched all the championship games since...forever, and I haven't had cable in years. CBS has controlled that contract for decades. Some years ago, I think the cost of the contract was like $3 billion for 5 years or something like that.

 

[Muse]

really? I don't recall this. I know they did that with the college football championship game, but I don't recall this ever happening with the NCAA tournament--besides, I don't think ESPN has any rights to air tournament games? I know it's only fairly recently that some first weekend games were expanded to other cable channels--the ones that CBS owns, but for the longest time, you were stuck with only one CBS channel for all games all the time, and luck of whatever region you were in.

Pretty sure I've watched all the championship games since...forever, and I haven't had cable in years. CBS has controlled that contract for decades. Some years ago, I think the cost of the contract was like $3 billion for 5 years or something like that.

Being 2021, an odd year, I get to watch the championship game. Evidently, not next year unless I hit a bar or go for subscription TV or some kind of streaming option:

Starting in 2016, the regional finals, Final Four and national championship game began to alternate between CBS and TBS.[1][2] TBS holds the rights to the final two rounds in even numbered years, with CBS getting the games in odd numbered years.[1][3]

NCAA March Madness (TV program) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[zinfamous]

Being 2021, an odd year, I get to watch the championship game. Evidently, not next year unless I hit a bar or go for subscription TV or some kind of streaming option:

NCAA March Madness (TV program) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

the hell? that's some brokeass shit. Still, cable/satellite sheds subscribers every year, so their audience will only be shrinking.

 

[pete6032]

Gonzaga looks tired.

 

[manly]

It wasn't fatigue. Hate to say I was afraid this could happen, Baylor has incredibly dominant half-court defense and that level frustrates and demoralizes college teams. Only Jalen Suggs dealt with it adequately, and Coach Few didn't seem to have any answers. A couple calls went against Gonzaga, but by no means did they impact the flow of the game or outcome. While Baylor was playing incredibly tenacious defense, their offense couldn't miss shots. After the early struggles, Gonzaga clawed to stay in the game but it's just impossible when the opponent counters every run with buckets. Timme was defended by taller, stronger centers much of the night and he couldn't dominate match-ups as in earlier rounds. When your offense is so out of rhythm, your 3 pointers don't go in.

Contrast the defensive approaches, Baylor's makes your lives miserable every possession. Meanwhile, all night, Timme was getting switched to defend a wing player. They got exploited all night with a simple maneuver that Gonzaga never tried to counter (don't switch on screens!).

As I posted yesterday, Seth Greenberg foresaw Baylor's defense posing a massive problem for the Zags.

 

[manly]

Gonzaga, UCLA 1-2 in Way-Too-Early Top 25 college basketball rankings for 2021-22

Gonzaga fell short after an epic run, but should have the returning talent to compete for a national championship again next season.

www.espn.com

College basketball rankings: UCLA is No. 1 in never-too-early 2021-22 Top 25 And 1 preseason rankings

The Bruins are just ahead of No. 2 Gonzaga in the first CBS Sports preseason rankings for next season

www.cbssports.com

I thought Johnny Juzang looked like a top 10 pick with his smooth scoring, so Bruins will drop down a bit if he enters the draft. Zags will have to replace Jalen Suggs, but apparently they recruit much better than I recall from years past.

 

[Muse]

It wasn't fatigue. Hate to say I was afraid this could happen, Baylor has incredibly dominant half-court defense and that level frustrates and demoralizes college teams. Only Jalen Suggs dealt with it adequately, and Coach Few didn't seem to have any answers. A couple calls went against Gonzaga, but by no means did they impact the flow of the game or outcome. While Baylor was playing incredibly tenacious defense, their offense couldn't miss shots. After the early struggles, Gonzaga clawed to stay in the game but it's just impossible when the opponent counters every run with buckets. Timme was defended by taller, stronger centers much of the night and he couldn't dominate match-ups as in earlier rounds. When your offense is so out of rhythm, your 3 pointers don't go in.

Contrast the defensive approaches, Baylor's makes your lives miserable every possession. Meanwhile, all night, Timme was getting switched to defend a wing player. They got exploited all night with a simple maneuver that Gonzaga never tried to counter (don't switch on screens!).

As I posted yesterday, Seth Greenberg foresaw Baylor's defense posing a massive problem for the Zags.

Dick Vitale remains a great critic of college basketball, I'm saying this based on having watched this video zoom breaking down the championship game outcome:

 

[manly]

I couldn't tell you the last time I watched a regular season college hoops game, but UCLA rematches Gonzaga tomorrow night.

Zags, UCLA remain AP's 1-2 ahead of matchup

Gonzaga and UCLA continued their hold on the top two spots in the Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll Monday, setting the stage for their highly anticipated showdown this week, while Purdue and Duke barged their way into the top five.

www.espn.com