***Official 2025 NCAA Tournament Thread***

[Letterkenny]

So nice Texas Tech pulled that off. Shooting 8/31 from the 3pt line while Arkansas (a bad shooting team on the year) went 10-25. So many of these games come down to who is making shots that day. Texas Tech winning without shooting well is impressive.

 

[Kinch]

That was before my time, but it boggles my mind the number of high scoring games from that Era with no shot clock and no three-point line.

That was an era when you had very good pure shooters and guys who could get to the rim. It was a fast game. Good athletes. Not a lot of contact allowed.

 

[JP4CY]

The interesting thing about Tech to me is that they aren't huge.
Their main lineup is 4 guys under 6-6 ands Toppin who is 6-9.

They are just really fundamentally sound with free throw, 3 pointers, blocks, steals, turnovers.
Just a really darn solid team.

 

[Saul_T]

The interesting thing about Tech to me is that they aren't huge.
Their main lineup is 4 guys under 6-6 ands Toppin who is 6-9.

They are just really fundamentally sound with free throw, 3 pointers, blocks, steals, turnovers.
Just a really darn solid team.

The one thing I've noticed about most of the S16 teams is coaching.

 

[JP4CY]

The one thing I've noticed about most of the S16 teams is coaching.

Like, I know this is throwing a little fuel on the fire but.....

I'm noticing a lot of timeouts that seem to be called at the correct times and really nice inbounds plays.

We all love TJ but we've got to work on a couple of these things.

 

[cydsho]

So by my count, the SEC has a coach who beat his girlfriend, an assistant who used racial slurs against his players, a coach who was accused of stalking a college student, and a coach who played a player who let a fellow player borrow a gun to kill his girlfriend. Am I missing any others?

Only the "minor" one of one coach having 2 Final Four appearances vacated by the NCAA for infractions.

 

[jdoggivjc]

The SEC stuff isn't sustainable-- I don't think. I just can't figure out what would put schools like Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc. at such an NIL advantage over others. Duke, I get. Private school, wealthy donors, more emphasis on basketball than football, etc. But for those SEC schools in poor states, I just can't imagine there's money to fund football and basketball long term at the rate it's going.

They may be “poor states”, but never confuse the fact that just because some of those states are poor (and I would never put Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, and the parts of Arkansas influenced by Sam Walton’s money anywhere near the same category as Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana), doesn’t mean that there isn’t incredible wealth that runs through those states… or at least certain individuals that live in those states. And those kinds of individuals have incredible amounts of money to throw at things of their choice - such as collegiate athletics.

Do you really think it’s a coincidence that Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss. and other SEC schools swim in money? It’s because they each have multitude of high-level donors that have more money than they know what to do with. It’s why I laugh at people who throw around “We Will” around like it’s some key to ISU’s future success. While I’m not saying every little bit doesn’t help, We Will could get 100 new donors at $5000 per year tomorrow and it wouldn’t even scratch what the NIL programs at those SEC schools could gather overnight. It’s not even an apples to oranges comparison and I don’t know how people don’t understand this.

 

[Marcelason78]

You better watch yourself, buddy. You keep saying bad things about BYU, we'll send some of those guys with nametags over…

Did you send the nametag boys over to Mark Sears place today?

 

[farm85]

What would be the Mormon equivalent of trash talking/cursing anyway?

 

[ISUChippewa]

Like, I know this is throwing a little fuel on the fire but.....

I'm noticing a lot of timeouts that seem to be called at the correct times and really nice inbounds plays.

We all love TJ but we've got to work on a couple of these things.

I do love TJ, but he's certainly not above criticism.

I mean, FFS, we were down by 26 'effin points to Ole Miss in the second half a few days ago. It's perfectly okay to be disappointed at the least about that and speak to that disappointment.

 

[cytor]

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If that guy can find someone to "soak" with, then I'm gonna visit Provo more often!

 

[AlaCyclone]

I have been down there to Alabama for a few football games. The state is very rich at the high end and very poor at the low end. Not much in the middle. The rich down there that went to Alabama only want Alabama to be good in sports. That is their life. So they are willing to spend their money on Alabama sports. In our state we care about other stuff. They don't down there. It's Alabama sports and that is it. Guessing the rest of the SEC is like that as well.

Ironically, I became an Iowa State fan - when the Cyclones came to Birmingham (my hometown) for the 1978 Hall of Fame Classic @ Legion Field. My Alabama friends made fun of me - as they planned their trip to the Sugar Bowl to watch the Tide play Penn State for the National Championship (at least half of it). Good thing I could read a map and find my way to the promised land.

Let's Go State!

 

[1UNI2ISU]

Like, I know this is throwing a little fuel on the fire but.....

I'm noticing a lot of timeouts that seem to be called at the correct times and really nice inbounds plays.

We all love TJ but we've got to work on a couple of these things.

I'm now at like 20 years of knowing that the minute Kyle Green pops his head into an offensive huddle that only bad things are going to happen with that next possession.

 

[Cloned4Life]

I do love TJ, but he's certainly not above criticism.

I mean, FFS, we were down by 26 'effin points to Ole Miss in the second half a few days ago. It's perfectly okay to be disappointed at the least about that and speak to that disappointment.

It was very disappointing. We got embarrassed on Sunday. That really sucked. Many things can be true at once. And that truly was not a well coached or well executed game by Iowa State.

 

[exCYtable]

The SEC stuff isn't sustainable-- I don't think. I just can't figure out what would put schools like Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, etc. at such an NIL advantage over others. Duke, I get. Private school, wealthy donors, more emphasis on basketball than football, etc. But for those SEC schools in poor states, I just can't imagine there's money to fund football and basketball long term at the rate it's going.

It all seems so wrong that if I had a spare 20 million laying around and really wanted a championship basketball team i could just buy one for the most part.

 

[ScottyP]

So by my count, the SEC has a coach who beat his girlfriend, an assistant who used racial slurs against his players, a coach who was accused of stalking a college students, and a coach who played a player who let a fellow player borrow a gun to kill his girlfriend. Am I missing any others?

fixed the bolded part to make it plural. He did this to multiple students

 

[madguy30]

Is college basketball becoming the same as college football? Just 8 or so teams that have a chance to win it every year? Maybe one other team sneaks in like Tech or Arizona STate in football and ccan do some damage? This tournament has been terrible compared to the past.

The likes of Duke, Ky, KU, etc. have been the picks most years for as long as I can remember so it's not new imo just like it's not new that Ohio State, etc. are at the top for football.

It does seem to be extremely top heavy though which is less interesting and takes away the chance for upsets.

 

[Kinch]

They may be “poor states”, but never confuse the fact that just because some of those states are poor (and I would never put Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, and the parts of Arkansas influenced by Sam Walton’s money anywhere near the same category as Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana), doesn’t mean that there isn’t incredible wealth that runs through those states… or at least certain individuals that live in those states. And those kinds of individuals have incredible amounts of money to throw at things of their choice - such as collegiate athletics.

Do you really think it’s a coincidence that Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss. and other SEC schools swim in money? It’s because they each have multitude of high-level donors that have more money than they know what to do with. It’s why I laugh at people who throw around “We Will” around like it’s some key to ISU’s future success. While I’m not saying every little bit doesn’t help, We Will could get 100 new donors at $5000 per year tomorrow and it wouldn’t even scratch what the NIL programs at those SEC schools could gather overnight. It’s not even an apples to oranges comparison and I don’t know how people don’t understand this.

This. You have many of the richest cities in America in the SEC. The Space program is almost all in the SEC. The south lives and breathes two things: NASCAR and the SEC.

 

[JP4CY]

Replay of TT and Arky is on right now.
#3 Elijah Hawkins wears a black pouch/box/something on his waist.

Anyone know what that is?

 

[madguy30]

Replay of TT and Arky is on right now.
#3 Elijah Hawkins wears a black pouch/box/something on his waist.

Anyone know what that is?
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