College Basketball 1/16-1/22

[Crimson's Ghost]

Penn State's other 9 players shot 8-33 tonight. Woof.

Nittany Lions have 4 games left, need one more win to at least get to NIT eligibility.

[El-Moldo]

Can you have a .500 record and be eligible for the NIT, or does it have to be a winning record?

[voncap]

Nope shot 62% from the field tonight. Only guy that can currently get his own shot. Garner 0-9 tonight. Keep shooting DJ.

I agree Newbill is tough, but the problem with this team is while Newbill is working/taking his shots the other four guys on the court are standing around doing absolutely nothing. The only time the other four guys on the court don't look completely clueless on offense is when they are shooting threes. At one point in last night's game when Newbill had the ball and was doing his thing, I saw one of the post players on the floor standing on the block with both hands on his knees. I've seen some unusual things on a court before but that is the first time I have ever seen a player in the offensive end with the ball in play standing like that.

I try to avoid being critical of coaches at the upper levels because they are there because they know a bunch more about the game than I do and have a better idea what their players can do than I, but there sure are some things that Psu does or tries to do offensively that makes one scratch their head.

[Crimson's Ghost]

I thought it was .500, but it may include a winning record. I read the NIT selection process, it didn't say over or exactly .500 specifically.


Either way, Penn State probably won't make the NIT unless they finish really strong here. There will be Big Ten teams higher than them up for a bid.

[say_oww]

The NBA just doesn't appeal to everyone......
That's all - and the fact there is no local team really hurts interest

Nobody is right or wrong, it's all about that you like to watch.

Crimson, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Generic statements such as those from folks who describe the NBA as "garbage" really strike a chord with me because they don't have any idea what they are talking about. The number of points in any given NBA game is the result of the styles of play of the teams involved. Also, folks need to realize the "Association" has a 24 second shot clock and 48 minutes of action, while college has 35/and 40. Both of those factors do lead to more overall points. Using scoring numbers to justify an argument about which brand of game is better shows that the person really has no idea what they are talking about, which usually translates to some type of NBA-bias not related to the game itself. Imagine if I routinely invaded these college threads with claims such as "NCAA basketball is a joke because it is all about ego-centric millionaire coaches (who can't hack it in the NBA) and greedy superconferences which exploit urban kids for their own profit with no regard for the kids' education (If they did they would award 4yr scholarships, not yearly)". While some of that is undeniably true, I imagine many a poster would admonish me for my claims.

The biggest reason for NBA bias in Western PA is the fact that there isn't a local professional team. Despite the fact that the local college teams are mediocre (Pitt is the exception, but they are just slightly above-average), fans still identify with them and will defend the virtues of the game rather than explore what else is out there. I'm sure the blue-collar fans in Cleveland prefer the NBA to MAC or A-10 hoops. How many Steeler fans would rather watch Pitt or Penn State? Err, I meant Pitt or Robert Morris.

[Crimson's Ghost]

Pitt's popularity stems from not having an NBA team partially. As much as some people are reluctant to admit - there is a large fraction of the area that just can't into hockey or the Penguins. So even non traditional Pitt fans or grads have followed the team the past decade just because they are the lone major basketball team in the region.

Pitt basketball (better than mediocre I would say) plays in a top flight arena and it is generally a tough ticket. A big time ACC or a few years ago Big East opponent, you're spending $100+ on a regular season college basketball game on the secondary market - that's a lot. Pitt generally is a top 25 team save for a season or two. So it's big time college basketball in Pittsburgh has a small but relevant niche in the winter months between Steelers and the Pirates for the Pittsburgh market.

[konjo78]

I've never enjoyed the NBA... The 24 shot clock is annoying because the game feel rushed. Not to mention the casual feel of the game. Much like crimson said, music during game, the lack if intensity of players and the amount of games played. I'd much rather see 40 second shot clocks and a better flow to the game. Slow and steady is alright by me because it creates a fight between offense and defense. 24 seconds is a short amount of time for a defense to survive and give up a rushed shot.

[El-Moldo]

Getting back to PSU and the NIT for a minute. You know what's going to happen. PSU will end up 16-16 or 17-15 and still get an invitation. And WHY? They have one of the biggest arenas on NCAA basketball. The NIT would not only LOVE to have them in their tournament, but probably would even give them a first round home game, knowing that once in a tournament, the fair weather Nit fans would show up in droves to root for their beloved men's basketball team.

[Crimson's Ghost]

Is the Bryce Jordan Center actually one of the biggest arenas in college basketball? Do they count the seats behind the curtains? I know the Oakland A's play at the Coliseum in Oakland which is a 60,000 seat football stadium - but they only count 35,000 seats for baseball and the rest is tarped off.

Anyway, the last time Penn State was in the NIT, they hosted two games, both games averaged out to 6,000 fans a game.

Looking at the Big Ten standings, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, and Michigan may be more likely in line for a bid.


The NIT is hard to gauge, simply because we don't know how many automatic bids are going to be handed out.

[DragonsDoExist]

Yeah I think PSU is probably staring at another CBI invite.