College Basketball Thread

“My beloved Tide took a body shot from Mississippi State. They always play us tough. Hopefully, this will keep them from getting overconfident. They are in unchartered territory for a Bama basketball team. Roll Tide!”

“I read that this is four times in a row at Starkville. You gotta stop those streaks before they get too long or they will take on a life of their own.
The General was in town with his new team. Texas Tech was without a couple of their key players. They fought hard but the mighty Jayhawks prevailed.
I watched Duke dismantle G-Tech. They are strong, but I don't think they will go the distance. Bet you can't guess why I think that!”

“ESPN's bracket predictor at their website has KU a #1 in the Midwest and Bama a #2 in the Midwest. Maybe we'll meet in the Great Eight and then I can tell you how our trip to the Final Four was.”

“Dayhiker,
I appreciate your attempt at riling me up, but I would not tease a Jayhawk. I might have to turn them loose on the Tide, and I don't think you could take the humiliation. Just trying to help you out, here.
Seriously, though, I take EVERY team seriously, and last night's game is case in point. We barely escaped Tejas.
I'll say it again, the parity in college basketball is one of the aspects that make it so exciting. Nobody goes undefeated! Duke is going Down!”

“I think it will be yall and Duke in the Finals. If the bracket that I mentioned was correct and we met in the Great Eight, it would be the farthest the University of Alabama has EVER been in the Tournament and I would be ecstatic!”

“Congrats arc, on the W yesterday. Winning by 15 in UGA is big these days. We beat them by a couple and Kentucky lost there. As an aside, they had two players suspended when we played them.”

“Florida, the chumps.
(Just checking to see if the Arc-inator is still hangin' around.)
Rock Chalk Jayhawk
KU!”

“My Memphis Tigers have hit the skids. They better bounce back quick or it's "season over" for us.”

“chili, when I saw that UAB beat yall I wondered what was going on. When we played yall you were #12. We tanked late in the season last year. It is sooo frustrating. To speak in Clintonese..."I feel your pain".

Bama snuck by South Carolina last night. The score was 28-15 Carolina, at the half. Some how we came back to win 52-51. No one scored for either team the last 4 minutes.”

“Thanks, dayhiker. The big show-down between Bama and Florida is getting closer. Should be one heck of a game considering how interesting the SEC is this year.

Took a break to go kayaking out to Cumberland Island with Rad, Dunadan. Say, Kansas must really be some sort of rock climbing paradise. Otherwise that "Rock Chalk Jayhawk" chant would really be mindlessly stupid. I'll be sure to pack my rock climbing gear as well, the next time I visit Kansas to go snow skiing.”

“It hasn't been this much fun around Rutgers in many years. I got tired of saying "thank God for the woman's team".”

“Violin, good to see you checking in. Excuse my ignorance, but what league is Rutgers in? What is their record so far this year? Would they like to play Kansas?

Arc, if you make it to Lawrence, I'll take you climbing on Mt Oread. Then we can drive 45 miles to the nearest ski slope. The beer is on me. Just e-mail first.....dpjp8@yahoo.com.”

“Hey Dunadan! - I'm a Kansas grad. I ordered ESPN Full Court this year so I can get all the Hawks' games on cable that aren't on Nat'l TV. First thing I do after getting back from snowboarding on the weekends is put my tapes in to watch the games. They look tough this year! Rock Chalk!!”

“Glad to hear from someone who bleeds Crimson and Blue.
Do you think a Florida fan like Arc deserves to climb Mt Oread?”

“Let's see now.....
Tide rolls,
Jayhawks victorious,
Bulldogs over Kentucky, (sweep)
Sorry, Arc....”

“UC baby! #1”

“I had a feeling that Maryland was gonna get the job done. I wish, however, that they would have left Duke (possessed by demons) in the top spot in the polls.
We will see how the mighty Jayhawks perform as the #1 team tonight. Rock Chalk!”

“The Memphis Tigers are in a flat spin. Totally out of control. I can't figure out what the problem is, but we are sure working our way out of the big dance and into the NIT.”

“The GATORS have been very spotty this year, Dunadan. One week they look great, the next week they stink up the joint.

Florida should definitely make it to the sweet sixteen. Whether they can sustain descent play after that is anyone's guess. Florida beat Maryland early in the season. I like Kansas's chances to win it all.

Balk, talk, caulk, Peter Faulk, Jayhawk!

(Do you think it'll catch on?)”

“Chili, yeah, your team was in control for a while there. They will still make it to the Dance, I have a feeling.
Love the chant, Arc. I will try it out at the next game and then get back to you. The Peter Faulk part is sheer genius. I would have more confidence in Florida if the point guard position was strong. That is where you will be exploited in the tournament.
Please, give the number one ranking to Maryland!”

“Shooting guard too, Dunadan. All American guard Brett Nelson is a very streaky shooter and sometimes he plays like he left his brains in the locker room.

I'm rooting for Kansas unless they play Florida. Just like we agreed... you chump, stump, Jayhump!”

“I'm still holding to my end of the bargain, Arc. In fact, since we have been posting on this thread, I have enjoyed keeping up with Memphis, Bammy, Cincy, Rutgers, etc.
The tournament will be very scary this year, because there will be the inevitable upsets. I'm sure that it's obvious that I think the Jayhawks will go all the way, but I've thought that before.
Can't wait!
Bottom line is, Duke must go down!”

“We have a big game tonight at Arkansas. They are currently 12-12, but Richardson has publicly guaranteed a W. The old fox knows what he's doing. Most Bama fans, myself included, seem to be very nervous about this one. After this one we have Florida at home(Sat on CBS at 1 CST), Auburn at home, and Ole Miss at Oxford (Sat week on CBS at 1 CST). If you think Ole Miss is easy at home just ask arc what Florida thinks about them. Ole Miss beat us last year 105-71 at their place. I think we'll be up for that one.”

“UNM probably won't be in it, but "The Pit" will be a venue for Rounds 1 and 2.

Albuquerque with pic of The Pit"

An awesome basketball venue. Around 100 decibels of crowd noise at times.”

“The Razorbacks are surely due. They have stunk it up since they beat Florida. Alabama always seem to give them fits just like Ole Miss. The first game I went to in Walton (Wal-Mart) Arena right after it opened was a loss to Alabama. Nolan may have overloaded his butt by his guarantee of a win.”

“From the day the Hogs joined the SEC there has been a pretty good basketball rivalry with Bama. That was back when both teams were pretty good. We're just now emerging from the darkness of the David Hobbs error. I'm sure the games will rise to their former intensity.”

“I see Alabama winning this one, but Nolan is smart to pack in a few more fans with a guarantee.
Thanks for the link, Pathman. I love to see other arenas. I went to Kansas States' venue, (Bramlage Coliseum), and enjoyed it immensely. The Jayhawks play in Allen Field House, which is very old, but we love it there. Always sold out and oozing with history. I love to look at those championship banners and anticipate another one.”

“If Arkansas wins this one I'll be surprised. It's hard to win when your best post player is only 6'5". I'll still be rooting them on. Woo Pig Sooie!”

“I guess I pulled a Biz style post and run.

Dunadan – Rutgers is in the Big East and has been struggling since they went to the Final Four in 1976 after a perfect 26-0 regular season. This year we have a new coach in Gary Waters and he’s proven what a difference a coach can make. Our leading scorer is a junior college transfer and one sports writer compared the Rutgers team to the sons at a father/son event when they played Miami because of the height differences. They are 17-8 overall and 7-5 in league play. After a rough start, Rutgers has gone on to upset 4 ranked teams this season, the last being 13th-ranked Miami and have won seven of their last nine games (the others were No. 24 Georgetown , No. 17 UConn & No. 14 Syracuse). They just might get to the NCAA this year. Three more victories should seal the deal. Who knows, maybe they’ll play Kansas? At any rate, it’s been exciting.”

“You mention your old Feild House. The 1975-76 Rutgers team played in 'The Barn'. They'd have to stop play to wipe the paint chips dislodged from the ceiling from the crowd noise. It was an intimidation factor for visiting teams, I'm sure. They replaced the Barn with a beautiful large facility in 1978 and it was never the same.”

“Memphis finally got on track with a win. A win against DePaul and a strong showing against Cincinatti would probably get us in the big dance. Of course, if the good Memphis team shows up for the C-USA tournament, we have to potential to finish strong.

The Hawgs came through on Nolan's guarantee. Probably ensured them a trip to the NIT.”

“Thanks, Violin. I have a brother-in-law who graduated from Rutgers, but he always denies that they play sports there. The Big East has not been carrying the load of being the toughest conference as in years past. How many teams will go to the tournament?
So, it sounds like your team is getting hot at the right time. Hope to watch them play. I'll be chanting "Violin, Violin..."
Hey, why doesn't Nolan Richardson guarantee more victories? Wonder what he saw in Alabama to exploit? He must have had something up his sleeve.”

“Man Arky, your quarterback can play ball. He can run the option, break down either a 3 deep zone OR a 2-3 matchup zone, shoot the 15 foot J, and drive. We shot 4-33 in the first half. When the 2nd half started yall matched every little run we made until it got inside 10 minutes. When we got it to 4 I finally thought we had a chance, and then yall shut the door on us. That steal by Tatum? late in the game was key. The Tatum guy averaged 3 pts a game and had 16 in the first half and finished with 20. Maybe this will piss us off for the Florida game.

It will be interesting if UA and Ark run into each other again in the SEC tournament.

For you guys that didn't see the game. Nolan benched his first 6 scoring players and started the end of the bench. It worked.”

“Don't look too far ahead, dayhiker. It oughta be a great one this Saturday at 2:00.”

“I'm looking forward to this game as well. I had 3 tickets for the game, but my wife scheduled a family birthday party for my 2 year old. Evidently 1 party isn't enough. We gave the tickets to a co-worker who lives in Tuscaloosa. Bama has the winningest record in the SEC for this year and last year combined, but we always get blown away by UF. It should be a great one. RTR”

“It's times like that I'm glad I'm single, dayhiker. That place ought to be rockin'.

UF has been up and down all year. With Bama's loss to Arkansas, UF is back in the race to at least share their third straight SEC championship. The last time they held their own destiny, they lost to Mississippi. If UF shows up, it should be a barn burner and one heck of a close-fought game. Good luck, dood. You'll at least be able to see some of it on TV, right?”

“Yes, the qb can play with the roundball also. He is a phenomenal athlete. Too bad he can't shoot free throws. Does Alabama play at Ole Miss or home the final game?”

“The party is at 10. I actually toyed with the idea of doing both. The town where I grew up is about 90 minutes from T-town and the game is 1 CST. I could leave at 11:30 and arrive at 1. It would probably take 30 minutes to park and get to the game. We would have only missed the first half of the first half. We don't get back home enough for the parents/grandparents, so decided not to push it too hard.

Bama has not won the regular season since 87. The announcers misspoke last night when they said we had not won a championship of any kind since 87. We won 3 consecutive tournaments in the late 80's/early 90's. Kentucky was recovering from sanctions at the time, Norm Sloan had a down turn, and Dale Brown was Dale Brown. We were fortunate to capitalize on other programs being down.

My first Bama game ever was the 87 UA-UF game in T-town. I was in the 9th grade. Bama trailed the whole game and couldn't contain Dwayne Schinzist. We rallied late and hit a bank shot 3-pointer at the buzzer to go into overtime. Yall took off and we rallied again. We missed a bank shot outside shot and got the tip at the buzzer to win. My dad actually left with 10 minutes to go. I said I wanted to stay for the whole thing. He showed back up about midway through the OT. What a game.”

“We play at Ole Siss. Last year they beat us by 34 in the season finale. My wife and I were traveling to a bed and breakfast in Mississippi that day and had to listen to it on the Miss radio network. That was tough.”

“Memphis is over-run with Rebel fans. I have had to endure the "Hotty Totty, gosh almighty" cheer until I have been tempted to go "postal" on the Ole Miss fans.”

“Ole Miss fans really came down on us after the bowl fiasco. We had a 6-5 record and they had a 7-4 record. They beat us head to head. The difference wound up being that we had an out of conference schedule (Southern Miss and UCLA(before they collapsed)) and Ole Miss didn't. It also helps that Bama is one of the best traveling teams there is. If I'd been on the other side of the fence, I'd have been pissed to.”

“Hotty Totty, gosh almighty can't be any worse than listening to Rocky Top over and over and over and over... Can it?

It's certainly not as silly as Rock, Chalk... ooops. GO JAYHAWKS!”

“Sorry chili, but NOTHING is worse than Rocky Top. Especially, when you've lost to them as many times in a row as we have. I was in school in the early 90's when we were up 8 in a row and had our own version. I can still hear the whole student section at Legion Field singing:

Rocky Top, you'll always be
a pile of #&%!$ to me
up, on Rocky Top
Go to he11 Tinniseeeeee.

I'm sure UT has done similar justice to our fight song.

I have enjoyed the good natured discussion and ribbing on these two threads. Usually when you go to another teams board, or they come to yours it degenerates to a blood bath. The core of it is that we're all sports fans. Regional differences come in to it, but at the end of the day we all enjoy drinking a beer and pulling for our team of choice.

Dunadan - I can sympathize with the old stadium dilema. I have fond memories of attending Bama - Auburn and Bama - Tennessee games at Legion Field. My firm has been involved with major structural modifications to the stadium for safety reasons. It's sad to see the Old Grey Ghost age. I just wish the moniker of "Football Capital of the South" still meant as much as it used to.

PS - check out the article at Pigskinpost.com about the UA situation. Finally, an even handed discussion of what took place. There is none of the extremes views from the Orange side of things or the Crimson colored glasses that so many Bama fans wear, my self included.”

“Rocky Top is is much better on the 100th repeat performance than "hotty totty" is on the first.

Wish that I was on ol' Rocky Top Down in the Tennessee hills
Ain't no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top,,,Ain't no telephone bills
Once I had a girl on Rocky Top,,Half bear, other half cat
Wild as a mink, but sweet as soda pop,,,I still dream about that

Rocky Top, you'll always be Home sweet home to me
Good ol' Rocky Top Rocky Top, Tennessee, Rocky Top, Tennessee

Once two strangers climbed ol' Rocky Top Looking for a moonshine still
Strangers ain't come down from Rocky Top,,,Reckon they never will
Corn won't grow at all on Rocky Top,,Dirt's too rocky by far
That's why all the folks on Rocky Top, Get their corn from a jar

* Refrain

I've had years of crimped up city life,,, Trapped like a duck in a pen
All I know is it's a pity life ,,Can't be simple again

*Refrain”

“chili, I will admit that when I read the words for the first time I was impressed. BTW - the Football thread was the first time I had ever seen the words. They pretty much sum up why we backpack.”

“OK, now I'm gonna tell you the truth, and you better listen!
There is no better chant than the Rock Chalk, Jayhawk! After we have vanquished yet another foe, we start waving the wheat and chanting
Rock Chalk
Jayhawk
KU!
I wish all of you could come to Allen Fieldhouse and hear it sometime. It will send chills up your spine.”

“That sounds better than listening to all the old geezers wheezing about how it was when Bear was alive.”

“LOL, dayhiker.”

“Unfortunately it's true. Bama football games have never been particularly loud unless you're in the student section. I thoroughly enjoy the game day feel, but the stadium is no where near what I hear people say about Neyland, Tiger Stadium, or the Swamp. I realize that's heresy, but that's what I hear. I've never been to an away game, so it's just info from friends.”

“I've got another idea.
We should all make it a point to go to an "away" game to experience the atmosphere there. Best bet would be to go to your rival's house, but any game would do. Then, report back.
I went to K-State this year, (one of KU's rivals), and the facility was top notch. The fans I sat by were very classy, (lifetime K-State fans), but the students threw objects at our team and our coach,(pennies, lighters, etc.). That is going way over the line. I hope my home crowd never pulls low-life stunts like that. I don't think Roy Williams would stand for it.”