Once again, the teams ahead fall and Pitt will get to be #1 on Monday evening.
Amazing how that happened again. Big upsets that no one saw coming. Even on the road, for both UNC and Oklahoma they were expected to win. Heck, UNC had the game cold before Maryland forgot who they were.
Texas, well, there is no figuring the Longhorns. Obviously they benefitted from Getting Griffin in early foul trouble and then the concussion in the second half. Still they had A.J. Abrams come alive and Damion James big until he fouled out. As has been the case with them all season. After James and Abrams, there isn’t much to Texas.
It’s nice for Pitt to be #1 again, I guess. All that matters, though is a #1 spot in the NCAA Tournament
1) all but one of the college bb panel thinks Pitt is the team to beat, loving their physical and mental toughness … and if course, Bilas will think UNC will win it al even if they lose in the third round
2) another Calhoun post-game rant .. but this time I may be on his side. A reporter asked him if his $1.6 million salary was justified considering it was a state run univ with a deficit. He first said that he makes more than that … and then tells the guy that UConn bb brings in $12 mil into the university each year, and tells the reporter to get all of the facts before asking such a stupid question. Can’t say that I blame him this time
Calhoun was right to go off on that joke. While the “part-time journalist/activist” or whatever ESPN called him may have had a point in principle it’s utter garbage to sandbag the guy at a post-game press conference.
Hope Griffin is okay. He is, in my opinion, the best player in the nation. I like his game and he seems to have his head on straight. Would love to see a Blair-Griffin match-up in Detroit.
As for Calhoun, I have mixed feelings. He has a reputation as a bully and whiner, but I’m not sure I would have ambushed him with that question during a post-game press conference. The reporter has a legit point. High salaries will eventually become an issue if these economic conditions continue. The cost of these salaries will eventually filter down to the fans. Kind of like trickle-down economics in reverse.
A relatively recent study showed all but one major Division I program was operating in the red.
“When you don’t count institutional subsidies as revenue, only 17 out of 300 Division I program (5%) were profitable during the 2004-2006 period that was the scope of the study. 16 of these programs were in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly, DI-A). Moreover, DI institutions’ expenditures rose an average of 23%, outpacing the increase in revenue, which rose 16%.”
Source: link to tinyurl.com
I love sports as much as the next guy, but the spending is getting out of control. Kind of like consumerism in reverse 😉
I wrote about it earlier this evening at FanHouse.
link to ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com
There is a debate over this, and I don’t mind it at a press conference, but the guy wasn’t prepared. When Calhoun gave him numbers, and challenged him, he couldn’t answer.
It was more an attempt at activism and seeking attention than actually challenging on an issue. That makes the effort weak and probably hurt whatever cause he wanted than helped.
That is unless, the cause was getting attention for himself. Then he’s set for another 15 minutes.
I’m not sure how that makes Oklahoma any better than Pitt, but there it is. He also said that North Carolina is better than Pitt, but “decides” to stop defending sometimes, so they could be vulnerable.
What a doofus.
so here’s to us being called a ‘flash-in-the-pan’ #1 team!!
ps)maybe blair will flip jay bilas over his back the next time he picks UNC 🙂
When we hit #1 last month, we acted like it was Christmas.
But now, it’s nothing. Winning the tournament is all that matters, as it should be!
The thought of he going pro is sobering in that Gary McGhee will be the only returning frontcourtman (4 or 5 Position.) If Blair does return, I beieve we are again a legit Top 5 team.
BUT this is a main topic for this blog for April to June, and we should enjoy this year until then … just as Blair is and should be doing now.
but for know, lets just keep winning!
Don’t let the facts get in your way….
Blair would eat him for lunch and Pitt would light up OK by 15. They do not have the depth that Pitt has and neither OK or Texas play any defense. Does anyone out there think for a second that Pitt would have let either 3 point shooter for Tex or OK get off almost uncontested shot after shot. Really appreciate BE D after watching the patsies in the Big 12. OH, and I like #1 and predict we stay there thru April 7! Hail to Pitt.
We should all be used to not Pitt not getting its due respect. I personally love when these commentators struggle to mention us in the same breath as Duke/UNC or OU this year. It motivates our team, and I think they are well aware that they can play with/beat anyone in the country.
A couple posters don’t seem to like Blake Griffin…I am also getting a little tired of hearing about him so much, but he is still a tremendous player. I’ll take DeJuan any day of the week because I love how he plays, but Griffin would be a tough matchup I think.
Also, regarding the possibility of losing Blair to the draft…remember we have McDonald’s All-American Dante Taylor joining the front court next year.
We’re #1…again. Keep it rollin’.
also, while I know this will not be popular here, I don’t see Griffith being eaten for lunch — note that his mid range jumper is much more polished than Blair’s and could force Blair away from the hoop. But I certainly believe Pitt is the better team.
UNC, as Vegas will tell you, is still the odds on favorite to win the national championship, no matter what 3 out of 4 on that august ESPN panel think. And last time I checked, there was a large delta between the Tar Heel odds and the rest of the field.
When you’re looking for rationality and want to get outside the hype, look at what’s going on with the money.
You could also mention that something like 7 of the last 11 national champions won their conference tourneys too…both are close to 75%…you want to win all those games.