NCAA may expand men's basketball tourney
An AP report on Thursday quoted NCAA senior vice president Greg Shaheen saying the idea of expanding the men's tournament is being discussed which could lead to the NIT coming to an end eventually. Meanwhile there is plenty of hoops to be played under the current system with No. 13 Georgetown off to the John Wooden Classic to meet No. 16 Washington and No. 3 Villanova meeting a tough Temple squad.
Sixty-five is not enough. According to the Associated Press, the NCAA is holding preliminary discussions (emphasis on “preliminary”) about expanding the Division I men’s basketball Tournament, and maybe even opting out of its lucrative television deal with CBS.
Could we see an 80-team Big Dance held on ESPN? I know a few bracketologists who aren’t too keen on the idea of having to adapt to a new system – or listen to Stuart Scott.
I say bring it on. More games means more opportunities to bet. And let’s be thankful that they even have a playoff (ahem).
No. 13 Georgetown vs. No. 16 Washington (Anaheim, Calif.)
Saturday - 2:00 p.m. (ET) FSN
The Hoyas would have welcomed an 80-team format last year. They had to settle for a trip to the NIT (Not In Tournament) after closing out the regular season with 10 losses in 14 games.
Then Georgetown lost to Baylor in the first round to finish the year at 16-15 SU and 9-17-1 ATS. This became a bad rebounding team after losing center Roy Hibbert to the NBA, and turnovers were an issue after the graduation of point guard Jonathan Wallace (now playing in Germany).
Georgetown hopes its problems at the point will be taken care of with Chris Wright returning to health. Wright missed the Big East portion of the schedule with an ankle sprain, but he’s back now and hitting 3-pointers at a 40-percent clip, although his 19 turnovers in seven games are still too high.
Better still, sophomore center Greg Monroe appears ready to make the leap from Big East Rookie of the Year to Player of the Year. He leads the team with 15.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game as the Hoyas have started strong at 7-0 (2-1 ATS).
Monroe will be challenged by the Huskies (6-1 SU, 1-5 ATS), the No. 2 rebounding team in Division I on the offensive glass. But getting to play this young Washington squad this early in the season is a bonus. Star recruit Abdul Gaddy (19.3 minutes per game) has yet to lock down a starting spot at shooting guard, and he has yet to find his range from behind the arc at 1-of-10.
These things will come in time – Gaddy is a quick learner with sound fundamentals – but for now, the Huskies have failed to cover their last four games.
No. 3 Villanova at Temple
Sunday - 3:00 p.m. (ET)
The Wildcats have roared out of the gate at 9-0 SU and 6-2 ATS, using a three-guard set and running one of the fastest tempos in Division I. But is Villanova overrated?
Ken Pomeroy has the ‘Cats ranked No. 41 in efficiency with the No. 81 defense. They’ve faced a lot of cupcakes during the non-con portion of the schedule, and they’ve covered the spread by an average of 3.2 points. The numbers should improve once senior swingman Reggie Redding (28.8 minutes per game last year) returns from his 10-game suspension on a marijuana arrest.
But there’s one game left to go before the semester is up, and that’s against the two-time A-10 champion Temple Owls, who are playing like anything but cupcakes at 7-2 SU and 6-3 ATS. Temple’s ability to play competitive basketball this year is especially impressive considering the graduation of top scorer Dionte Christmas (19.5 points per game last year). The Owls showed their staying power last month by coming within one point of beating Georgetown (-10) at the Hoyas’ home opener.
Ken Pomeroy has Temple ranked No. 35 in efficiency with the No. 8 defense; those numbers are higher than Villanova’s in part because of a tougher strength of schedule.
However, there are some glaring problems for the Owls on offense. They have one of the lowest turnover rates in Division I at 14.9 percent, but they can’t hit 3-pointers (29.2 percent) or free throws (59.7 percent). The 'under' is 5-1 for the Owls as a result.
An AP report on Thursday quoted NCAA senior vice president Greg Shaheen saying the idea of expanding the men's tournament is being discussed which could lead to the NIT coming to an end eventually. Meanwhile there is plenty of hoops to be played under the current system with No. 13 Georgetown off to the John Wooden Classic to meet No. 16 Washington and No. 3 Villanova meeting a tough Temple squad.
Sixty-five is not enough. According to the Associated Press, the NCAA is holding preliminary discussions (emphasis on “preliminary”) about expanding the Division I men’s basketball Tournament, and maybe even opting out of its lucrative television deal with CBS.
Could we see an 80-team Big Dance held on ESPN? I know a few bracketologists who aren’t too keen on the idea of having to adapt to a new system – or listen to Stuart Scott.
I say bring it on. More games means more opportunities to bet. And let’s be thankful that they even have a playoff (ahem).
No. 13 Georgetown vs. No. 16 Washington (Anaheim, Calif.)
Saturday - 2:00 p.m. (ET) FSN
The Hoyas would have welcomed an 80-team format last year. They had to settle for a trip to the NIT (Not In Tournament) after closing out the regular season with 10 losses in 14 games.
Then Georgetown lost to Baylor in the first round to finish the year at 16-15 SU and 9-17-1 ATS. This became a bad rebounding team after losing center Roy Hibbert to the NBA, and turnovers were an issue after the graduation of point guard Jonathan Wallace (now playing in Germany).
Georgetown hopes its problems at the point will be taken care of with Chris Wright returning to health. Wright missed the Big East portion of the schedule with an ankle sprain, but he’s back now and hitting 3-pointers at a 40-percent clip, although his 19 turnovers in seven games are still too high.
Better still, sophomore center Greg Monroe appears ready to make the leap from Big East Rookie of the Year to Player of the Year. He leads the team with 15.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game as the Hoyas have started strong at 7-0 (2-1 ATS).
Monroe will be challenged by the Huskies (6-1 SU, 1-5 ATS), the No. 2 rebounding team in Division I on the offensive glass. But getting to play this young Washington squad this early in the season is a bonus. Star recruit Abdul Gaddy (19.3 minutes per game) has yet to lock down a starting spot at shooting guard, and he has yet to find his range from behind the arc at 1-of-10.
These things will come in time – Gaddy is a quick learner with sound fundamentals – but for now, the Huskies have failed to cover their last four games.
No. 3 Villanova at Temple
Sunday - 3:00 p.m. (ET)
The Wildcats have roared out of the gate at 9-0 SU and 6-2 ATS, using a three-guard set and running one of the fastest tempos in Division I. But is Villanova overrated?
Ken Pomeroy has the ‘Cats ranked No. 41 in efficiency with the No. 81 defense. They’ve faced a lot of cupcakes during the non-con portion of the schedule, and they’ve covered the spread by an average of 3.2 points. The numbers should improve once senior swingman Reggie Redding (28.8 minutes per game last year) returns from his 10-game suspension on a marijuana arrest.
But there’s one game left to go before the semester is up, and that’s against the two-time A-10 champion Temple Owls, who are playing like anything but cupcakes at 7-2 SU and 6-3 ATS. Temple’s ability to play competitive basketball this year is especially impressive considering the graduation of top scorer Dionte Christmas (19.5 points per game last year). The Owls showed their staying power last month by coming within one point of beating Georgetown (-10) at the Hoyas’ home opener.
Ken Pomeroy has Temple ranked No. 35 in efficiency with the No. 8 defense; those numbers are higher than Villanova’s in part because of a tougher strength of schedule.
However, there are some glaring problems for the Owls on offense. They have one of the lowest turnover rates in Division I at 14.9 percent, but they can’t hit 3-pointers (29.2 percent) or free throws (59.7 percent). The 'under' is 5-1 for the Owls as a result.
