A lot of potentially interesting story lines this year and definitely excited to see my team in a non-exhibition game today!
One story I keep coming back to is the transfer portal. I love NIL and think student-athletes (more like athlete-students at some places, but I digress) should be compensated for their contributions to the school. It is something that has completely changed college basketball.
Anyway, here’s to some loud crowds, exciting games, and success for (except when they are playing )!
55 seconds left, Virginia up 2. Florida player gets the ball knocked out of his hands out of bounds, ref says it’s Virginia’s ball. They immediately go review it. I fast forwarded through all the replays because WGAF, so I have no opinion on whose ball it should be.
After review, ball stays with Virginia. Announcers are shocked, as they thought it was obviously Florida’s ball. One of the refs asked one of the TV announcers, Cory Alexander, who is also a former Virginia player (his last year was my first year in school) and very tight with the program, if he got the call right. Alexander said no - apparently the refs didn’t have all the angles available on the monitor they used.
The refs looked at it again using the TV crew’s monitor and ruled it Florida’s ball (I think it was the correct call, but not 100% sure). Coach Tony Bennett, normally a really calm guy, was furious…with CORY ALEXANDER. He went onto the court and yelled at him - looked like he was shouting, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” and “DO YOUR JOB!”
Alexander joked about it the rest of the game, which Virginia ended up winning. Bennett still looked like he yelled something to Alexander as he left the court.
Just odd. They said in the studio postgame that what Alexander did was allowed, but seems weird. Again, call was probably correct, so it’s cool, but still bizarre.
Zags have been pathetically ducking and refusing to schedule WSU for years despite WSU consistently scheduling with them back when the Zags were the lesser program. Looking forward to finally getting some cracks at them unless the Zags leave the WCC before next season.
Only place that makes any sense at all is the Mountain West, which is only barely better (and sometimes marginally worse) than the WCC. The Big XII/Big Ten/ACC ain’t going to take a basketball only school. I guess in today’s world of geography is irrelevant, the Big East isn’t impossible, but I still don’t think that’s happening, especially before next year.
There’s been reports of the Big XII negotiating with Gonzaga, so that’s why I added the caveat. I assume it would be an affiliate membership situation. Preferably they just stay put, at least for now.
That late February University of Portland vs Oregon State game that determines who gets left out of the WCC tournament is going to be wild.
We’ll finally be able to answer the question of who is the worst D1 men’s basketball team in the state. (Portland State beat the Beavs twice last year.)
I had given up rooting for almost all of the sports teams I grew up watching during my formative years (STL Cardinals, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Cowboys). I mean, I’ll still put on any playoffs games or watch the RedZone with friends. But there is still one team I consistently follow: Fighting Illini men’s basketball team. We went to the national championship while I was attending and it’s just one of those programs that imprinted on me.
Well, the best player on the team (one of the front runners for All-American) just got charged with rape. I know to trust the accuser in these types of situations because of how difficult it is to come forward. Despite that truth, this just seems so far out of the bleachers to be true because, by all accounts of people that knew him on and off the court, this would be completely out of character. What do I know though, this is some random 23 year old dude. There aren’t a whole lot of specific details because the arrest warrant was filed yesterday, so it’s not like I know anything that exonerates him and I’m certainly not going down the road of attacking the accuser.
In the worst case scenario, he did it and deserves every punishment received.
In the best case scenario, the allegations are false and he’ll be fighting for his innocence for the entirety of the remaining season because of the pace of the justice system.
I’m still in just a little bit of shock hearing about it.
Oregon plays on the stupidest fucking court I have ever seen or will see. Whoever greenlit that should be forced to watch Joey Harrington Lions highlights on repeat.
It’s way worse than that. They absolutely botched the culture of Oregon basketball.
Oregon’s best teams have come under Dana Altman in the new arena but attendance has consistently been dogshit even compared to bad years at Mac Court under Ernie.
At Mac the atmosphere of (mid-level) college hoops hit you the moment you entered the building. At the new arena what hits you is just stupid opulence.
At Mac there was no sound system. Only in-game entertainment was the band. Ducks go on a 7-0 run and force a timeout and it’d just be the band keeping the atmosphere at 100.
That timeout gets called at the new arena and it’s going to be “Hey we’re here in section 214 and we’re going to play some Duck trivia!”
No one is driving down on a Thursday night from Portland to watch Ducks play USC or Colorado on a Thursday night. Even when the Blazers suck.
Mac Court was the last remnant of Oregon’s pre-Nike money culture.
