The College Basketball Project

[elijah]

I've found myself enjoying college basketball a lot so far this year, so I'm gunna set myself a goal (probably a bit nerdy, showing I have too much time on my hands). There's 351 teams in NCAA basketball, and there are 32 conferences. I want to watch 351 games (not necessarily every time, I couldn't do that if I tried). I want to watch at least one game from every conference as well. If anyone actually keeps track of this, don't expect many games on the weekends. It'll probably be slow on Friday's and Saturday's.

I'll use this thread to keep track of that, I'll post the game, the score and a breakdown of each game. So, what I've watched so far..

11/14/14
#4 Duke (113) over Presbyterian (44) [ACC - Big South]
#8 Louisville (81) over Minnesota (68) [ACC - Big 10]

11/16/14
#1 Kentucky (71) over Buffalo (52) [SEC - MAC]
#23 Syracuse (65) over Hampton (47) [ACC - MEAC]

11/18/14
#4 Duke (81) over #18 Michigan State (71) [ACC - Big 10]

11/20/14
#10 Texas (71) over Iowa (57) [Big 12 - Big 10]
California (73) over #23 Syracuse (59) [Pac 12 - ACC]

11/21/14
#10 Texas (71) over Cal (55) [Big 12 - Pac 12]
#23 Syracuse (66) over Iowa (63) [ACC - Big 10]

11/23/14
West Virginia (78) over #17 UConn (68) [Big 12 - Big East]

11/24/14
#3 Arizona (72) over Missouri (53) [Pac 12 - SEC]
Kansas State (88) over Purdue (79) [Big 12 - Big 10]

11/26/14
Butler (74) over #5 UNC (66) [Big East - ACC]
#10 Gonzaga (88) over Georgia (76) [WCC - SEC]
Georgetown (66) over #18 Florida (65) [Big East - SEC]
Oklahoma (75) over #22 UCLA (65) [Big 12 - Pac 12]
Purdue (87) over BYU (85) [Big 10 - WCC]


So Far..
Games Watched: 17
Conferences Watched: 10

ACC: 7
Big 10: 6
Big 12: 5
Pac 12: 4
SEC: 4
Big East: 3
WCC: 2
MAC: 1
MEAC: 1
Big South: 1

 

[elijah]

Just a quick note, it should be 18 games watch and 7 from the Big 10, 4 from the Big East. I forgot to include the St. Johns - Minnesota game.

 

[mr.hockey4242]

Haha that's awesome. By tourney time I will have seen every team play at least 10 times so I can get a good judge.


By every team I mean all high major(and good mid major) tourney teams as well as those firmly on the bubble.


By default I'll see crappy high major teams a lot too(Ex. Penn State) just due to watching all the tourney caliber ones.


It's a good way to get a good idea of what every team is capable of and see them at their highs and lows.

 

[elijah]

Just Watched: #11 Kansas (82) over Tennessee (67)

This is an unfortunate loss for Tennessee. If they could have pulled ahead and won, it would've been a huge win for the Volunteers early in the season.

Tennessee played good defense and showed a great press for most of the 2nd half, but messed their chance up with about 5 minutes to go in the 2nd half. It was a 2 point game when Tennessee turned the ball over twice in a row. The score went from 64-62 to 69-62 in a matter of just over 30 seconds. I was impressed with Tennessee from this game.

Kansas played a good game, but they should've won this game a little more handily. After a very upsetting loss to Kentucky 10 days ago, Kansas is now on a 3 game win streak. Tennessee being the first major team in the streak, Kansas moves on to play the winner of MSU/MARQ.

Games Watched: 19
Teams Watched: 30
SEC Games Watched: 5
Big 12 Games Watched: 6

 

[HammerDown]

elijah, you need to be writing for the SportsHoopla blog: http://www.sportshoopla.com PM me if you're interested. There are no quotas.

 

[elijah]

Just Watched: Butler (64) over Georgetown (58)

This game was more than just a tale of two halves, it was the tale of two halves and the closing minutes. In the first half of the game, Butler had complete control until about 2:40 to go, when Georgetown made a run. Georgetown opened up hot in the 2nd half as well, being the dominant team for most of the half. Then, around the six minute mark, Butler seemed to gain control back. Georgetown wouldn't go away, but Butler still had control for the last six minutes.

Saying that the game was a good defensive game for both sides is an understatement. Both teams shot under 45%, and both teams showed a suffocating defense in the second half.

Isaac Copeland had a phenomenal game off the bench for the Hoya's, and he very well could have been the player of the game despite losing. In the end, Georgetown played a fantastic game, but the loss comes down to their free throws. They shot just 10/19, if they make 4 or 5 more, this is a completely different game.



Games Watched: 20
Teams Watched: 30 (--)
Big East Games Watched: 5 (1 in conference)

 

[elijah]

Just Watched: #2 Wisconsin (69) over Oklahoma (56)

Oklahoma was able to keep up in the first half, at halftime it was 34-33.

Then, Frank Kaminsky came back in. Wisconsin opened the 2nd half on a 16-2 run and Oklahoma started by shooting 1 for 8. Kaminsky only played 5 minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. Once Kaminsky was able to come back in, the game was over for Oklahoma. Wisconsin never lost control of the game in the 2nd half.

With Kaminsky on the floor, Wisconsin stretches the floor incredibly. They have too many options on offense, and it's hard to defend them all. As one of the announcers said, the bigs can play around the arc, and the guards can play in the paint. Everyone on the team can score when they need too.

As for Oklahoma, the Sooners look like the pick-up games that I play down at the beach court with my friends. They force everything, they get too fast for themselves, and they bomb three's all game long. That is almost exactly how my pick-up games go. Oklahoma had more turnovers (21) than they had made baskets (17) in today's game. If they can slow down a little bit, take less three's, and find their big men in the post, then this team can start looking ahead to the tournament. Otherwise, they're in for a long season during conference play.

Games Watched: 21
Teams Watched: 31 (+1, Wisconsin)
Big 12 Games Watched: 7
Big 10 Games Watched: 8

 

[elijah]

Just Watched: Syracuse (72) over Holy Cross (48)

The game was on my laptop (with Gonzaga-St. John's on the TV), so I didn't pay too much attention. There's not much to say here regardless. Syracuse took care of Holy Cross as you'd expect. Rakeem Christmas and Chris McCullough gave big efforts again, also sort of expected.

Syracuse had a very ugly offense early on, but then Christmas got more comfortable and the offense gradually kept looking better. The Orange still aren't as comfortable in the zone as they need to be, but that'll grow on them as the season goes on.

As for Holy Cross, their coach looks like a pastor.

Games Watched: 22
Teams Watched: 32 (+1, Holy Cross)
ACC Games Watched: 8
Patriot League Games Watched: 1

 

[elijah]

Just Watched: #10 Gonzaga (73) over St. John's (66)

With 15 seconds left, Harrison committed a crucial offense foul. He clearly pushed off his defender down by 3 with the ball. The foul resulted in Gonzaga ball, allowing Pangos to hit 2 free throws and ruining St. John's chances to win.

St. John's played a very, very resilient game. They seemed down and out at multiple points, but they never gave up. The hustle that this team plays with is incredible. They are extremely athletic, sometimes too athletic and not very good shooters. Despite that, Phil Greene hit two huge three's down the stretch to keep them in the game.

In the first half, Gonzaga moved the ball very efficiently and found the open shot countless times. They opened up the game shooting 8 for 11. The offense is already dangerous, but would be so much more dangerous if Karnowski lost 5 to 10 pounds and grew more comfortable with his offensive game.

Games Watched: 23
Teams Watched: 32
WCC Games Watched: 4
Big East Games Watched: 6

 

[Dougie McBuckets]

You know your stuff, elijah. I'm envious of you having watched that much college basketball!

 

[elijah]

Just Watched: #7 Texas (55) over #24 UConn (54)

I'll admit, I didn't watch the entire game (partially watchig the Bills game) but I watched the majority of it. The first half was good defense, with a little bit of poor offense. However, in the second half, we saw tremendous defense's going against skilled offenses. This was a good game for sure.

Texas played a great game (minus a terrible stretch of offense in the 2nd). They seemed to have control for most of the game, until a flagrant foul turned the momentum about halfway through the 2nd. I was impressed with Texas aside from a couple of things, two of them had to do with the coaching. The biggest issue, Barnes' made an awful, awful choice to not call a timeout after getting their last rebound. Texas had 15 seconds, but Barnes' watched them struggle and ran the clock down to 4.4 seconds left. As a coach, you need to call the timeout right after pulling in the rebound. On the offensive end, Barnes should have been pushing an designing plays all game to get the ball in the paint. Texas couldn't get the ball to the big men. If they want to be a Final Four team, Barnes needs to be a good enough coach to design something that could've got the ball inside. And lastly, the Longhorns need Taylor back badly. Felix can't be the starting point, he makes too many air headed plays. A perfect example was the terrible pass he threw with the clock running down at the end of the 2nd.

Other than that, Texas did show a lot of strong play. Ridley was running the floor very well. Their defense was absolutely phenomenal as always. They stayed composed all throughout the game, I found that impressive. And Holmes, the kids a player. He wasn't involved as much as he should have been, and then he turns it around like that.

UConn had a great 2nd half, but I do believe that the Longhorns deserved the win. Boatright had fantastic play for the Huskies. They were lucky to be in the game, with the flagrant they completely changed the momentum. However, they forced a lot of shots. Brimah also consistently shows to be a bigger part of the game than the stats say.

Games Watched: 24
Teams Watched: 32
AAC Games Watched: 2
Big 12 Games Watched: 8

 

[elijah]

Watched yesterday: #17 Michigan (68) over Syracuse (65)
Just Watched: Iowa (60) over #12 North Carolina (55)


Nothing much to say, I've hit writers bloc and I didn't take great notes on eiter game. Both were good games.

Games Watched: 26
Teams Watched: 33 (+Michigan)
ACC Games Watched: 10
B1G Games Watched: 10

 

[kramer1]

Gonna watch an AAC game or what? They'll likely have 5 tourney teams.

 

[elijah]

Gonna watch an AAC game or what? They'll likely have 5 tourney teams.

I've been trying to get there, but everytime I've sat down and watched some basketball, a better and has been on. You'll see a lot of AAC in here come conference play

 

[kramer1]

I've been trying to get there, but everytime I've sat down and watched some basketball, a better and has been on. You'll see a lot of AAC in here come conference play

I'm actually gonna recommend you watch Cincinnati vs Nebraska, San Diego St, and VCU. Those games start the 13th, 17th, and 28th.

Keep an eye on Freshman Gary Clark. He's gonna be a stud.

 

[elijah]

I'm actually gonna recommend you watch Cincinnati vs Nebraska, San Diego St, and VCU. Those games start the 13th, 17th, and 28th.

Keep an eye on Freshman Gary Clark. He's gonna be a stud.

I'll watch them, or atleast record them and watch if they come out to be a good game. I've can't watch Tuesday and Thursday games, but other than that I'll make sure to take a look at those.

 

[elijah]

Watched: #4 Duke over #2 Wisconsin

I took to long for the write-up, so I'll just post my notes

Duke-Wisconsin
- WISC: Kaminsky's two early threes were huge.
- WISC: stretch the floor incredibly, I've noticed it every game. Teams may have to adapt a zone against.
- WISC: First 12 points were all 3 pointers.
- DUKE: Good shooting, opened 8/12. Continued the entire 1st half, 15/25.
- DUKE: Cook & Sulaimon forced a couple of ugly shots.
- WISC: #12 dribbles with his head down on occassion.
- DUKE: Okafor could have been more involved in the first half.
- WISC: moved the ball terrifically for a couple possessions (3/3) to start the 2nd half, started to struggle again when they stopped moving the ball (0/5).
- DUKE: Tyus Jones is a fantastic player, extremely smart and underrated. Better version of Tyler Ennis.
- DUKE: Though not overly flashy, Cook made a beautiful basketball move on his drive (8:50)
- DUKE: Okafor had his way against Kaminsky for much of 2nd half
- WISC: Traevon Jackson has played huge for Wisconsin, big 3 (5:30)
- WISC: Very tired and sloppy toward end of 2nd half.
- WISC: Nigel Hayes foul trouble hurt.

Until the last quarter of the second half, this game was giving us everything we expected. A fantastic game, with great play from both sides.

Games Watched: 27
Teams Watched: 33 (+Michigan)
ACC Games Watched: 11
B1G Games Watched: 11

 

[elijah]

Just Watched: #7 Virginia (74) over VCU (57)

VCU probably could have won this game, had Virginia not played wonderful, potent offense. I wasn't expecting to see the offense I saw from Virginia. They kept knocking down baskets when they needed them most.

VCU never really seemed fully out of it, especially when they hit three huge threes in a row to cut the margin to 4 with 6:50 left to go. But, the quote 'basketball is a game of runs', never seemed more true than in this game.

Both teams played a good game, and Virginia found some great offense that'll be huge if they can feed off of this game. Despite VCU not being ranked (right now), this is still a great OOC win for Virginia. It's going to look pretty good on their resume down the stretch.

Games Watched: 28
Teams Watched: 35 (+VCU, Virginia)
ACC Games Watched: 12
A10 Games Watched: 1

 

[elijah]

Just Watched: #3 Arizona (66) over #9 Gonzaga (63)

The story for Gonzaga was Pangos. And it wasn't in a good way. Had Pangos not had an off night, this game could have been a blow out for Gonzaga. But you can't look at could haves, and would haves. The Zags played very good down the stretch of the 2nd half, but Arizona played better in overtime.

The main thing not to like about this game for Arizona was Stanley Johnson. He disappears in big games, he's overrated. Whether it's come to focus yet, or if Arizona fans don't want to admit it, he's overrated. Maybe Arizona fans realize, I'm not sure, I haven't heard anything about it yet. But Johnson is overrated and he needs to step his game up. Other than that, Brandon Ashley can be a dominant game changer. Good win for Arizona.

Games Watched: 29
Teams Watched: 36 (+Arizona)
Pac 12 Games Watched: 5
WCC Games Watched: 4

 

[elijah]

Just Watched: St. John's (69) over Syracuse (57)

This was a much closer game than what the score says. Thankfully, the timeouts/commercials were lined up pretty well with this game and the Gonzaga/Arizona game, so I was able to watch a lot of both games. This game took it back to good old Big East rivalry times, it was intense.

St. John's is improving their scoring a lot and it's making them a scary team. A very, very scary team. They can make a tournament run if they can shoot. Obekpa is a huge paint presence, and as seen tonight, D'Angelo Harrison can be a major player. St. John's had an absolutely phenomenal game, but Syracuse wouldn't let them pull away until the last minute of the game.

This loss just wasn't good for Syracuse, it was really bad. Dropping to 5-3 on the season, that's a record that they haven't seen in a while. It did bring a little good out of it though. Kaleb Joseph just wasn't ready to be a starter, and starting Gbinije should help that. He has a lot of talent and needs to be more involved. I still haven't given up on this 'Cuse team yet. You can tell that the team still believes in themselves to do something big this year, as long as you can tell that, I still believe in them to make a run.

Games Watched: 30
Teams Watched: 36
ACC Games Watched: 12
Big East Games Watched: 7