I think theyāll be alright to be honest. They are undersized but they know who they are and donāt stray from it. Plus their big man KC Ndefo if he doesnāt get in foul trouble leads the nation in blocks.
And now the story is Mizzou is targeting Dennis Gates. I think I just need to let it go, and live vicariously as all the other schools sign coaches off my wishlist.
A new coach can make things happen in hoops just like that...a quality transfer, a quality FR. It can happen like that in hoops....Otzelberger is a star.
yeah, they're playing really well on their set pieces (as if this were soccer) but Iowa has to rally because I did not pick Providence and I don't want to lose both sides of this first round
Smart. Now that's a well run athletic program with an aggressive, dynamic leader in the AD position. Been awhile since we had one of those.
Meanwhile, Knowlton is probably blaming COVID for Mark Fox's 9 mediocre-to-below average seasons in Athens where he struggled to recruit and failed to produce a competent offense. Who cares that the pandemic hadn't even hit yet.
Realistically, I never really thought Jack would schitt-can his first revenue sport hire after only 3 years, especially with COVID. I fully expect Fox to struggle next year and be gone after year 4, though...
Disappointing. Not too long ago I thought AZ and UCLA had a shot at the Final Four
But UCLA started fading and I realized they donāt have the bigs to get there, and AZ drew a bad matchup for them. Still I was surprised that Kokoko got dominated on both ends of the court by undersized players
Besides Pac12 and western pride, it hurts Cal and the conference as our payout this year will be underwhelming
Duke survives upset attempt from Michigan State, advances to the Sweet 16. Their next game is against the winner of Notre Dame-Texas Tech in....SAN FRANCISCO!
Yup. Though honestly Cal is presently not as good a job, so this type of hire seems so unrealistic. Eventually, we should be back, tho...just need the right fit.
USC looked surprisingly soft against Miami. Got punked but recovered but falls 68-66 to the Hurricanes. Drew Peterson lifted them from the dead and had a half court heave at the buzzer rim off. USC looked terrible tbh and was not team I was expecting to see.
Fubo - has CBS but not TNT/TBS/Tru. So I signed up for a trial for SlingTV. Sling has the 3 Turner networks, but not CBS. So I'm switching between apps to watch all the games.
All i want is a streaming service that has the Pac12 networks, ABC local, Turner networks and cartoon network. Evidently is doesn't exist. Gawd I hope the Pac12 goes with an a la carte plan at some point.
Oooh thanks for the reminder. I used that a couple years back. I'm sitting on my couch, work laptop open, Roku TV on mute during work calls. I'll use this in the browser instead. Thanks again.
My general gripe about Pac12 networks needing an a la carte or streaming only option still stands(or partner with youtubeTV).
More of a general complaint about my bracket: I didn't spend that much time on my bracket, but maybe I read too much into kenpom and picked Houston to go too far (championship final...oops!?!). Since they are the 5 seed, they are a popular pick to be upset in the 1st round by UAB tomorrow. On the flipside, that session here in Pittsburgh apparently is not very popular (Illinois vs Chattanooga is the other game) that I might just go see the game in person.
OK, watching these games, one thing that is painfully clear, and that we've ALL discussed ad nauseam on W4C, is that nearly ALL of these tourney teams have a guy/multiple guys that can create their own shot off the dribble.
With Shepherd taking so many of Cal's shots and exhausting eligibility, the Bears really have NONE of those players on the 2022 roster at present. Celestine is probably the closest we have, and he may develop into that type player...Sam may as well, though Fox didn't give him much freedom in his limited minutes.
No wonder Fox team's always struggle to score. Anyone gonna be able to step up???
First things first, need a point guard who can create and shoot. Nothing else matters if that doesn't happen. Joel Brown is the Facu Campazzo of the Pac 12 and that's not enough.
Haha, but in all reality Campazzo was the one giving me constant stress and nightmares by Malone playing him incessantly despite him being worth a bag of chips
The funny thing is that there is probably room for a guy like Joel on an elite, winning teamā¦but itās back end of the rotation, providing solid D and running a 2nd team as a backup G on a team with shooters. But he canāt be your only damn PG on the f-ing rosterā¦especially not shooting 48% from the charity stripe, which is inexcusable for a guy that has the ball in his hands as much as he does.
Someone, I nominate Jimmy, should chain Knowlton to a chair and make him watch all of these games. Cal is so so far away from this level of basketball. The dance, the dance, are you kidding me, the dance...I just hope we can win a game (stolen from J. Mora w/ a bit of word smithing).
I think he's an Army Colonel...doubtful I could even get him in the chair without help!! ;-) I did spend a morning comprising a very thorough and professional e-mail, imploring him to at least take a more wait and see approach on Fox rather than an extension.
Absolutely. Would love to have him. He can actually coach, and their offensive sets were crisp and efficient.
There's no way St Peters should EVER beat Kentucky, based on talent, but there you go....eh GB91? You're always saying that it's only about talent, but coaching on O DOES matter. Fox's doesn't know how tho.
Yeah, it's fun to see some of these smaller name schools with players and coaches getting a chance to show off some chops on the big stage. The best part of this for me is getting to watch some teams I know nothing about ... but who clearly deserve some love... particularly at the expense of the blue bloods!
word is out, Fox is not getting an extension. He, like all Cal coaches, got an "extra" year for COVID. At this time, Knowlton has no plans to extend Fox. Check out the article on SI.
And, it appears for now, he ain't getting fired either.
Yeah, many of the same talking points that Knowlton's email back to me (and a few others) had. Worst 2-year stretch, lack of adequate facilities, better recruiting, etc...I hope I am wrong and next year is not another 12-20 campaign.
Yep, I got a similar tenor as well in my response from Jim, which while both disappointing from a message perspective and completely unsurprising, was nonetheless a class move, IMHO.
Always thought it was a total long shot for Knowlton to jettison Mark Fox, his hire, after 3 years, regardless of what happened and how much they struggled. The fact that the dialogue is even being had after year 3, however, gives me a glimmer of hope that Fox may be let go after the 2022-2023...we unfortunately figure to take a pretty big step back.
I think USF has only come short on one possession in OT and it was the possession when the other guard tried to play hero ball. Just give the damn ball to Bouyea!
Watching these games is so disappointing because the Bears are not ANY closer to Dancing than they were this time last year...or the year before...or the year before.
UCLA goes down as predicted because I said UCLA didn't have the bigs to win this game:
UCLA only played 1 C and 1 PF all game who combined for 8 points and 8 rebounds.
UNC only played 2 PF all game who combined for 27 points and 23 rebounds.
Plus UNC will be singing "All You Need is LOVE" after his 30 points on 11-24 shooting, including 6-13 threes, and 2-2 FTs, including two dagger 3s in crunch time.
Love outscored the UCLA J&J brothers who combined for only 24 points on 10-31 shooting, including 2-7 from three.
Jacquez killed them down the stretch...open looks too. At the end of the day, itās still North Carolina, regardless of their seed #...still stacked with 4/5 * players and if one of them is gonna hit 6 of 13 3ās, many from deep with men in his face, you tip the cap. Thatās how UCLA was gonna go down, despite the lack of bigs...if a guy got hot, like Terry in P12 Championship...otherwise, UCLA would grind them down.
I owe you Top Dog & Henryās...weāll talk glory days of Cal hoops back in the Braun era.
ST PETERS FIGHTING PEACOCKS TO THE ELITE 8 67-64 OVER PURDUE HOLY COW
"Oh, what a bonanza!"
I can only imagine the radio chaos that ensued
I think theyāll be alright to be honest. They are undersized but they know who they are and donāt stray from it. Plus their big man KC Ndefo if he doesnāt get in foul trouble leads the nation in blocks.
SAINT PETERS PEACOCKS TO THE SWEET 16
And now the story is Mizzou is targeting Dennis Gates. I think I just need to let it go, and live vicariously as all the other schools sign coaches off my wishlist.
Ya, we gotta give up that ghost, I fear.
Iowa State. Last year, 2-22 overall, 0-18 in conference. This year, 21-12 overall in and round of 32. See what a new coach can do for a program :-)
The legend of TJ OTZELBERGER grows
I was typing the same message, BP. ;-)
A new coach can make things happen in hoops just like that...a quality transfer, a quality FR. It can happen like that in hoops....Otzelberger is a star.
Every single Richmond inbound play has been beautiful. 6 easy points.
yeah, they're playing really well on their set pieces (as if this were soccer) but Iowa has to rally because I did not pick Providence and I don't want to lose both sides of this first round
If Knowlton was smart, he'd be meeting Todd Golden at the gate at SFO tomorrow morning, checkbook in hand.
Unfortunately, the Hilltop is a better job.
Looks like the Florida Gators are making a run at Golden. They're not wasting time replacing Mike White.
Smart. Now that's a well run athletic program with an aggressive, dynamic leader in the AD position. Been awhile since we had one of those.
Meanwhile, Knowlton is probably blaming COVID for Mark Fox's 9 mediocre-to-below average seasons in Athens where he struggled to recruit and failed to produce a competent offense. Who cares that the pandemic hadn't even hit yet.
Realistically, I never really thought Jack would schitt-can his first revenue sport hire after only 3 years, especially with COVID. I fully expect Fox to struggle next year and be gone after year 4, though...
Fox was his first hire at the D1 level. I believe Wyking was his first fire too.
He got it half right. Whenever I think of Cal basketball now Neil Young's "Everybody Knows This Nowhere" starts playing in my head.
THE KANSAS JAYHAWKS ARE YOUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, 72-69 OVER UNC
69-68 UNC 1:41 to go WHAT A GAME
Remy Martin catching fire for Kansas, Puff Johnson huge off the bench for UNC to keep them afloat
Kansas 65-61 under 4 timeout
What a luxury to be able to bring a 2-time All Pac-12 player in off the bench.
After a shaky first half, Martin goes off in the second half and was one of the big reasons KU won the game
Besides his clutch 2nd half 3s, he made a huge block on UNCās Love
He also got a lot of face time (too much in my opinion) on the podium and in One Shining Moment
North Carolina up 40-25 at the half over Kansas. They sense blood in the water at this moment.
Villanova vs Kansas
Duke vs UNC
THE FINAL FOUR
UCLA goes down, west coast and Pac 12 are officially done
Disappointing. Not too long ago I thought AZ and UCLA had a shot at the Final Four
But UCLA started fading and I realized they donāt have the bigs to get there, and AZ drew a bad matchup for them. Still I was surprised that Kokoko got dominated on both ends of the court by undersized players
Besides Pac12 and western pride, it hurts Cal and the conference as our payout this year will be underwhelming
Purdue up on St Peters 33-29 at the half, could come down to the wire again
DOWN GOES ARIZONA TO HOUSTON 72-60
Villanova advances, Duke survives against pesky Texas Tech
DOWN GOES GONZAGA. ARKANSAS TO THE ELITE 8 IN SAN FRANCISCO 74-68
Sheesh, Musselman. Thanks again, Mike Williams.
I'd give that an intentional foul. He played the body before the ball.
4 Straight days of watching 12 hours of March Madness. My brain is cooked.
Lets do it again on Thursday for the Sweet 16!
Duke survives upset attempt from Michigan State, advances to the Sweet 16. Their next game is against the winner of Notre Dame-Texas Tech in....SAN FRANCISCO!
Bay Area economy stocks through the roof
Been to a couple of regionals and they are the best sporting events I've ever been to, regardless of whether you have a rooting interest.
best postseason in sports and I will take that to the grave
The East Regional in Syracuse v. UNC was an all-time sporting event for me.
Colgate going toe to toe with Wisconsin in Milwaukee, 49-48 Colgate under 12 media timeout
Someone might try and hire Otzelberger
I can tell you someone that won't be.
Yup. Though honestly Cal is presently not as good a job, so this type of hire seems so unrealistic. Eventually, we should be back, tho...just need the right fit.
#anyonebutFoxandShantay
Really thought Fullerton was gonna do it
Illinois has their first lead with 90 seconds left, and holds on to win over UT-Chattanooga. Good game.
Poor Malachi Smith had a rough night...5-21.
Cormac Ryan for Notre Dame (ex Stanford player) with 29 points in an upset win over 6 Alabama 78-64
USC looked surprisingly soft against Miami. Got punked but recovered but falls 68-66 to the Hurricanes. Drew Peterson lifted them from the dead and had a half court heave at the buzzer rim off. USC looked terrible tbh and was not team I was expecting to see.
Yeah, I really liked this team. . . I mean, I basketball liked them. I thought they have been overlooked and might have a deep run.
Fully agree here I was like thereās no way you can guard everyone on USC 1 on 1 and then they just laid that out there.
Meanwhile, #1 South Carolina is beating #16 Howard in the women's tourney. 44-4 at halftime.
Yeah i saw that score line and thought it was a glitch in my ESPN app
The box score is brutal. 1-26 from the field. 2-2 on free throws, though.
What a Day 1 of the tournament. Proud to have seen the nation finally get to see Jamaree Bouyea on the national stage. On to Day 2!
Impressive.
Conor Vanover sighting (on the bench in full warmup gear, but still).
Hasn't played since January, so assuming he's hurt.
Gonzaga in a dogfight with upstart Georgia State 52-50, 14mins left in the second half
Nice job Richmond. Well coached team.
I want Iowa to lose, but OTOH I have them going far in several brackets.
Jon Rothstein has certainly had a day
https://mobile.twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/1504452971022721034
Abu Kigab of Boise is literally playing 1vs9 against his own teammates heās the only reason they even have a chance right now
i think we recruited him
Not an illegal stream. Im pretty sure all the games are free to watch here or on the March Madness app
https://www.ncaa.com/march-madness-live/watch?cid=mml2022_ncaa_main_nav
Fubo - has CBS but not TNT/TBS/Tru. So I signed up for a trial for SlingTV. Sling has the 3 Turner networks, but not CBS. So I'm switching between apps to watch all the games.
All i want is a streaming service that has the Pac12 networks, ABC local, Turner networks and cartoon network. Evidently is doesn't exist. Gawd I hope the Pac12 goes with an a la carte plan at some point.
all the games are free on the march madness website? It's been the case for a good 5-6 years now
Oooh thanks for the reminder. I used that a couple years back. I'm sitting on my couch, work laptop open, Roku TV on mute during work calls. I'll use this in the browser instead. Thanks again.
My general gripe about Pac12 networks needing an a la carte or streaming only option still stands(or partner with youtubeTV).
More of a general complaint about my bracket: I didn't spend that much time on my bracket, but maybe I read too much into kenpom and picked Houston to go too far (championship final...oops!?!). Since they are the 5 seed, they are a popular pick to be upset in the 1st round by UAB tomorrow. On the flipside, that session here in Pittsburgh apparently is not very popular (Illinois vs Chattanooga is the other game) that I might just go see the game in person.
OK, watching these games, one thing that is painfully clear, and that we've ALL discussed ad nauseam on W4C, is that nearly ALL of these tourney teams have a guy/multiple guys that can create their own shot off the dribble.
With Shepherd taking so many of Cal's shots and exhausting eligibility, the Bears really have NONE of those players on the 2022 roster at present. Celestine is probably the closest we have, and he may develop into that type player...Sam may as well, though Fox didn't give him much freedom in his limited minutes.
No wonder Fox team's always struggle to score. Anyone gonna be able to step up???
First things first, need a point guard who can create and shoot. Nothing else matters if that doesn't happen. Joel Brown is the Facu Campazzo of the Pac 12 and that's not enough.
Was that the singer that Frank Drebinth impersonates in Naked Gun when he sings the national anthem and saves the Queen? ;-)
#enricopalazzo
Haha, but in all reality Campazzo was the one giving me constant stress and nightmares by Malone playing him incessantly despite him being worth a bag of chips
Depends on the kind of chips, I suppose ;-)
The funny thing is that there is probably room for a guy like Joel on an elite, winning teamā¦but itās back end of the rotation, providing solid D and running a 2nd team as a backup G on a team with shooters. But he canāt be your only damn PG on the f-ing rosterā¦especially not shooting 48% from the charity stripe, which is inexcusable for a guy that has the ball in his hands as much as he does.
Someone, I nominate Jimmy, should chain Knowlton to a chair and make him watch all of these games. Cal is so so far away from this level of basketball. The dance, the dance, are you kidding me, the dance...I just hope we can win a game (stolen from J. Mora w/ a bit of word smithing).
Ha!
I think he's an Army Colonel...doubtful I could even get him in the chair without help!! ;-) I did spend a morning comprising a very thorough and professional e-mail, imploring him to at least take a more wait and see approach on Fox rather than an extension.
I would like to repeat that Cal should try and hire Shaheen Holloway
We wonāt forget!
His price just went up after pulling off that upset. Wowza.
Would love it but there's zero West Coast connection....like....ever.
Not sure he's ever been west of the Mississippi River....
Definitely true. Not much a connection to the West Coast, just give me anybody but Fox as long as they can coach and clearly Holloway can
Absolutely. Would love to have him. He can actually coach, and their offensive sets were crisp and efficient.
There's no way St Peters should EVER beat Kentucky, based on talent, but there you go....eh GB91? You're always saying that it's only about talent, but coaching on O DOES matter. Fox's doesn't know how tho.
St. Peter's throws a press, into a zone....yet another example of why Mark Fox is an absolute boob.
And St Pete's For The Win... even though I had Kentucky into the E8
It's glorious to see. I love seeing blue bloods lose early!!!!
Yeah, it's fun to see some of these smaller name schools with players and coaches getting a chance to show off some chops on the big stage. The best part of this for me is getting to watch some teams I know nothing about ... but who clearly deserve some love... particularly at the expense of the blue bloods!
My bracket is in 2nd place! I was helped by hating $C and therefore not picking them despite being favored. Always good to bet against $C.
Just jinxed yourself. :)
word is out, Fox is not getting an extension. He, like all Cal coaches, got an "extra" year for COVID. At this time, Knowlton has no plans to extend Fox. Check out the article on SI.
And, it appears for now, he ain't getting fired either.
Yeah, many of the same talking points that Knowlton's email back to me (and a few others) had. Worst 2-year stretch, lack of adequate facilities, better recruiting, etc...I hope I am wrong and next year is not another 12-20 campaign.
Yep, I got a similar tenor as well in my response from Jim, which while both disappointing from a message perspective and completely unsurprising, was nonetheless a class move, IMHO.
Always thought it was a total long shot for Knowlton to jettison Mark Fox, his hire, after 3 years, regardless of what happened and how much they struggled. The fact that the dialogue is even being had after year 3, however, gives me a glimmer of hope that Fox may be let go after the 2022-2023...we unfortunately figure to take a pretty big step back.
Dunno about anyone else, but I am tired AF of seeing Charlie Moore playing college basketball in his early 30's.
His transcripts have to be a mess.
Tip of the cap to whomever thought his collegiate playing career would last longer than Cuonzo's coaching one at Mizzou.
Shoulda grabbed that line on FanDuel.
Bouyea!
This OT is crazy.
Real slugfest. Not sure Murray will have enough players for a 2nd OT.
Every time one of those guys went to the end of the bench, they pulled out some other crazy athletic 6-7 dude.
Dude's teammate with the Theragun assist.
I think USF has only come short on one possession in OT and it was the possession when the other guard tried to play hero ball. Just give the damn ball to Bouyea!
They did their best Justin Wilcox turtle job to end regulation....
Seriously.
Watching these games is so disappointing because the Bears are not ANY closer to Dancing than they were this time last year...or the year before...or the year before.
If anything, it seems further away...sigh.
[insert gif of can being kicked down the road]
Hopefully just one more year before Ben Howland gets the call. ;-)
Unfortunately his best years are way behind him, making him perfectly suited for Knowlton.
Very good tournament this year, including final four Duke/UNC and NC games
But I donāt like Kansas or UNC so for me the best part was the Peacocksā run
Pac12 flamed out demonstrating again you need to be able to play different style of games to survive
Do the Bears have a single player on the roster that would even see the court in this game? These players are so good.
Kelly could be a backup big off the bench. As for anyone else maybe Celestine in spot minutes and that is about it
I love AK22, but I don't think he's quick or athletic enough to be in the rotation at Carolina for Davis' style.
Probably a backup non stretch 4 unless he develops that 3 ball
I don't like either Kansas or UNC, but since I don't like Kansas's coach, I'm rooting for UNC
Game is very physical, with each team having a monster athlete at center
Remy Martin not looking too good so far, but still love his handle
expected Houston to lose because you can't out tough Villanova
expect the peacocks run to end vs UNC. UNC just to big and athletic for them
I thought Purdue would be too big and athletic for them. Just have to wait and see
UCLA goes down as predicted because I said UCLA didn't have the bigs to win this game:
UCLA only played 1 C and 1 PF all game who combined for 8 points and 8 rebounds.
UNC only played 2 PF all game who combined for 27 points and 23 rebounds.
Plus UNC will be singing "All You Need is LOVE" after his 30 points on 11-24 shooting, including 6-13 threes, and 2-2 FTs, including two dagger 3s in crunch time.
Love outscored the UCLA J&J brothers who combined for only 24 points on 10-31 shooting, including 2-7 from three.
Jacquez killed them down the stretch...open looks too. At the end of the day, itās still North Carolina, regardless of their seed #...still stacked with 4/5 * players and if one of them is gonna hit 6 of 13 3ās, many from deep with men in his face, you tip the cap. Thatās how UCLA was gonna go down, despite the lack of bigs...if a guy got hot, like Terry in P12 Championship...otherwise, UCLA would grind them down.
I owe you Top Dog & Henryās...weāll talk glory days of Cal hoops back in the Braun era.
Yeah!
looks like weāll back to talking about hot dogs !
Which isnāt necessarily a bad thing when itās Top Dog! ;-)