How Good Is UCLA? Hoops Experts Only

[You mad bro]

If you lay the points, you get the benefit of the refs.

If you back UCLA, you are assuming they can keep it close playing 5 on 8 for 40 minutes.

duke isnt even close to the top in getting foul calls ....

stop it

[You mad bro]

And a dumb 2-3 zone that Boeheim has employed. Easy to beat, but that just shows you their arnt alot of smart coaches in college basketball, even the so called big name coaches arnt as smart as you think they are. Boeheim always has his forwards too high in the zone, they get out of position easy, a little ball movement and it crashes, but there are too many dumb coaches who still dont know what to do with it, its not hard to beat. The key for Boeheim is to always get a decent ballhandling pg and big athletic good rebounding forwards, Cuse offensive sets are horrible also. St. John's sets were pathetic on Saturday but so were Cuse's as usual, thats my rant on Cuse today lol.

if his 2-3 zone is so easy to beat .. why arent teams beating it?

[ChalkyDog]

duke isnt even close to the top in getting foul calls ....

stop it

Hall of Fame coaches work the refs.

Lute used to do it to the point where Coach K said he would never play us in McKale ever again.

Coach K is the best in the business at getting to the refs ear.

You play Duke, all 50/50 calls will be against you. It's more of a compliment to Coach K than anything.

[ChalkyDog]

if his 2-3 zone is so easy to beat .. why arent teams beating it?

Lack of true PG's and Athletic forwards.

[Ghenghis Kahn]

UCLA can beat Duke. Alford is a terrible terrible coach. JJ, I know you love the coaching angle in college.

let's face it, howland is a good coach, he just had one white trash kid that made him lose control of the program.

well alford's style is more exciting but he's got to teach the kids to play "some" defense.

[chalk46]

UCLA is looking for a signature win. I've watched them on more than one occasion, and know that they most definitely have the guns to win this game on a neutral court. Duke has played in MSG twice already this season during feast week. I put down on Duke -3.5 last night and it stands at 5 right now. I hope that number gets driven up to 5.5 so I can backside it with Ucla and land on 4 or 5.

[jtoler]

if his 2-3 zone is so easy to beat .. why arent teams beating it?

I stated why, I assume you can read.

[ChalkyDog]

let's face it, howland is a good coach, he just had one white trash kid that made him lose control of the program.

well alford's style is more exciting but he's got to teach the kids to play "some" defense.

Howland alienated himself from the So. Cal recruiting scene. He had to go.

[JMon]

506 Duke/UCLA under 163 (-110) risk 550.00 win 500.00 (NCAA Men)

12/19/13 16:23:09

#27940494

[ChalkyDog]

506 Duke/UCLA under 163 (-110) risk 550.00 win 500.00 (NCAA Men)

12/19/13 16:23:09

#27940494

You're going to be sweating this one out.

[Ghenghis Kahn]

Howland alienated himself from the So. Cal recruiting scene. He had to go.

yeah that was after all the drama with reeves nelson. program was solid before nelson. then all the recruits started to transfer out of there. but he lost control, even with 3 final 4 appearances in 4 years, he had to go. not sure about alford though, maybe players like him but tonight's a big test for ucla.

[OhMyEli]

You're going to be sweating this one out.

Exactly. This total tells me we are going to have 3 minutes spurts where you see 15-20 points and you will be just praying some defense is played. I think the 1H might get pretty high but a 2H play at like under 82.5 would be worth it.

[ChalkyDog]

yeah that was after all the drama with reeves nelson. program was solid before nelson. then all the recruits started to transfer out of there. but he lost control, even with 3 final 4 appearances in 4 years, he had to go. not sure about alford though, maybe players like him but tonight's a big test for ucla.

It actually went downhill right after his 3 peat to the final four. He stopped evaluating talent, and just started signing up the local guys with the most stars next to their name. It didn't mix well.

In no uncertain terms, Howland is an absolute asshole that nobody enjoys playing for. Once that fact came out, it was over.

Reeves Nelson was just the final nail in the coffin.

[Otters27]

UCLA ML is the play here. They will have to shoot well.

[Ghenghis Kahn]

It actually went downhill right after his 3 peat to the final four. He stopped evaluating talent, and just started signing up the local guys with the most stars next to their name. It didn't mix well.

In no uncertain terms, Howland is an absolute asshole that nobody enjoys playing for. Once that fact came out, it was over.

Reeves Nelson was just the final nail in the coffin.

he still got big name recruits from out of states like shabazz muhammad, josh smith, jordan adams, kyle anderson, tony parker, etc. but these players never improved. i think he just got tired of coaching.

[ChalkyDog]

he still got big name recruits from out of states like shabazz muhammad, josh smith, jordan adams, kyle anderson, tony parker, etc. but these players never improved. i think he just got tired of coaching.

Shabazz and Kyle were gifted from Adidas. Same way Kansas got Wiggins.

UCLA will get a top Adidas player in the next year or so. They switch between Kansas and UCLA.

[ChalkyDog]

There is actually this stud of a big man out of Bazz's old school that is being pushed to UCLA currently. His family hates Alford though, and they're well enough off to not need the immediate money.

His family is pushing for UNLV or Zona.

We'll see.

[JMon]

You're going to be sweating this one out.

total>=160 are always worth a look. 59.6% under since 2006. Taking a shot a particular situation within a total>=160. A team off a big win, margin>=15 (Duke) and playing a team off a big win, margin>=20 (UCLA) with a total of 169.5>=total>=160 is 2-12 under since 2006 (total ave of 150). 2-0 this year..( ULL/ARK, MURR/AUB). Just a bit pissed, I didn't grab it before the drop...we shall see. BOL

[ChalkyDog]

total>=160 are always worth a look. 59.6% under since 2006. Taking a shot a particular situation within a total>=160. A team off a big win, margin>=15 (Duke) and playing a team off a big win, margin>=20 (UCLA) with a total of 169.5>=total>=160 is 2-12 under since 2006 (total ave of 150). 2-0 this year..( ULL/ARK, MURR/AUB). Just a bit pissed, I didn't grab it before the drop...we shall see. BOL

It's a crazy high number, for sure, but It would be shocking if both teams aren't in the 80's by the end of the game.

I'm not on the total, so BOL.

[Tommy Karate]

total has plummeted - under at this point has lost all value. might be a good time to jump on the over

[Cuse0323]

No drunks? Screw you goldielocks. Duke wins at MSG.

[Cuse0323]

And a dumb 2-3 zone that Boeheim has employed. Easy to beat, but that just shows you their arnt alot of smart coaches in college basketball, even the so called big name coaches arnt as smart as you think they are. Boeheim always has his forwards too high in the zone, they get out of position easy, a little ball movement and it crashes, but there are too many dumb coaches who still dont know what to do with it, its not hard to beat. The key for Boeheim is to always get a decent ballhandling pg and big athletic good rebounding forwards, Cuse offensive sets are horrible also. St. John's sets were pathetic on Saturday but so were Cuse's as usual, thats my rant on Cuse today lol.

You seem rather intelligent, you should be a coach. It's so simple to figure out.

[jtoler]

You seem rather intelligent, you should be a coach. It's so simple to figure out.

Youre probably right. Its nothing to figure out though, what makes it tough for teams is that Cuse is usually very long at the forward position and teams just dont practice enough against a 2-3 matchup zone. The smart coaches break it down and expose it.

[ChalkyDog]

Youre probably right. Its nothing to figure out though, what makes it tough for teams is that Cuse is usually very long at the forward position and teams just dont practice enough against a 2-3 matchup zone. The smart coaches break it down and expose it.

It's an absolute copout defense that pussies run. No doubt.

Zone D = "we can't guard you man for man"

That said, it wins a lot of games because of the 'Cuse personnel and the fact that there is next to zero energy used on defense, meaning the offense is a lot more crisp.

What I wouldn't give for a 3 second in the paint rule. Jim Boeheim would retire on the spot.

[Cuse0323]

Youre probably right. Its nothing to figure out though, what makes it tough for teams is that Cuse is usually very long at the forward position and teams just dont practice enough against a 2-3 matchup zone. The smart coaches break it down and expose it.

Every coach knows the game plan to beat a 2-3 zone. It's another story getting your players or having the players to execute what needs to be done. Once you get out there and see how difficult it is to move the ball around, everything goes out the window. Only one coach out there who really knows how to get his players to execute against the Syracuse zone and he's retired. Jimmy Calhoun. Actually, throw Pitino in there too.

[jtoler]

Every coach knows the game plan to beat a 2-3 zone. It's another story getting your players or having the players to execute what needs to be done. Once you get out there and see how difficult it is to move the ball around, everything goes out the window. Only one coach out there who really knows how to get his players to execute against the Syracuse zone and he's retired. Jimmy Calhoun. Actually, throw Pitino in there too.

Not so sure that every coach knows the game plan, I see too many stagnant offenses when they play Cuse its more than just having a big on offense at the free throw line, I see teams do that but they dont know what to do after that. I agree it still takes the right personnel to beat it, you need some bigs who can make mid range jumpers, guards who can shoot on the perimeter and moving parts on offense. Matta ran a good offense against it, Ive seen Beilein run an almost perfect offense against opposing teams zones and Pitino consistently beats it. If Cuse ever ran decent offensive sets they'd have more than one title I suppose.

[seaborneq]

If Howland and Reeves Nelson are gone, Bruins are the play.

[seaborneq]

I'm on the bruins +5. I need to watch some of the game anyway to prep for march madness.

[Inkwell77]

Shabazz and Kyle were gifted from Adidas. Same way Kansas got Wiggins.

UCLA will get a top Adidas player in the next year or so. They switch between Kansas and UCLA.

Also, Michigan, Indiana, and Louisville are in the mix. Noah Vonleh was definitely an adidas gift to Indiana.
No one can seriously think that playing for Tom Crean is going to improve their draft stock, Victor Oladipo is the one exception.
UCLA somehow got Zach Levine who was not an adidas guy. Guy was majorly slept on, the adidas scout who saw his talent did a hell of a job. Guy goes from the 11th best pg according to ESPN to being a top 5 pick this year or next year.

Also, Alford helped developed Tony Snell, Darrington Hobson, and JR Giddens.

[jtoler]

Duke should win the transition battle, UCLA got killed against Mizzou in transition, Bruins lazy in that aspect, Bruins have to get to the foul line, if not its probably a loss. Just think UCLA is too young for this one.

[ChalkyDog]

Also, Michigan, Indiana, and Louisville are in the mix. Noah Vonleh was definitely an adidas gift to Indiana.
No one can seriously think that playing for Tom Crean is going to improve their draft stock, Victor Oladipo is the one exception.
UCLA somehow got Zach Levine who was not an adidas guy. Guy was majorly slept on, the adidas scout who saw his talent did a hell of a job. Guy goes from the 11th best pg according to ESPN to being a top 5 pick this year or next year.

Also, Alford helped developed Tony Snell, Darrington Hobson, and JR Giddens.

About Levine, there is a guy in this next class named Justin Simon that has the same trajectory as Levine, IMO.

He's one of the best guard prospects on the west coast, and not a single service has even noticed him.

Really hope Arizona lands this kid, even though our fanbase will piss and moan about the lack of stars associated with him.

[Simon Gruber]

Too bad I only put a c-note on the over. This looks too easy.

[jjgold]

Looks like a shootout
Duke will win by 7-10

[Simon Gruber]

UCLA +9 live is tempting

[Simon Gruber]

Coach K getting embarrassed at the Garden.