I am pulling for Baylor

I think Gonzaga Baylor is the likely final, and was the likely final before the brackets came out. Not often the clear best 2 teams actual stay the course. Would be a heck of a game, that was supposed to happen in November/December.

Was surprised last night that until the end Michigan was hellbent on getting baskets down low, no matter how difficult it was or how many misses they made. For a good shooting team like michigan to basically bail on the 3 point and mid range shot, was surprising to say the least. But if you play scared, you likely go home and that is what seemed to happen last night to Michigan. Meanwhile both of the favorites, Gonzaga and Baylor, have come out and made points to the opposition early of their power.

I would be surprised if the defenses for Baylor and Gonzaga are not enough. Though if Houston catches fire from 3 they could shock Baylor. Only way I see UCLA advancing is if the pressure of the undefeated season gets the best of Gonzaga and they lose their way. But their defensive pressure and ball movement is top notch and fun to watch. I will always root for the non power 5/6 conferences. I hope Gonzaga finally breaks through for how good they have been for so long

Catching back up, on the womens side, what a great run by Arizona. Unfortunate that they decided to go to the grave on their best player no matter what. Triple teams and the rest of the team didnt seem to care and let her force a bad shot for the win that wasnt all that close. But also good to see a team make a run that is not a typical powerhouse. Her coaching prowess at Arizona is nothing short of impressive, though. 14 wins in '16-17, 6 wins in '17-'18, 24 wins in '18-'19 (won the WNIT), 24 wins in '19-'20 (NCAA tournament cancelled), 21 wins this season and a national runner up

On the mens side, the final four was fun. Baylor looked like early season Baylor and just crushed Houston and looked the part of one of the 2 best teams in basketball. The nightcap was one of the best games in a looooong time. UCLA played easily their best game of their season, and it still was not enough. The longer UCLA kept throwing punches, I figured it was the end of Gonzaga as the pressure continued to build. However they never let up and continued throwing punches right back. What a game. The game deserved OT and probably deserved a 2OT. The prayer was answered at the buzzer, however. I do wonder how much energy was spent by Gonzaga in that one and if the tired legs will start to show in the 2nd half against Baylor. Should be a great one tonight for the title. Not often the clear best 2 teams actually make it to the final to square off

Sounds like UNC is going with Hubert Davis. Risky hire for UNC, but I am sure it appeases their fans...for now

(03-30-2021 10:39 PM)Dragon For Life Wrote:  I am pulling for Baylor

As a mid-major fan, I'm pulling for the mid major in Gonzaga, since they haven't won a championship yet after all these years of dominance. Even though most don't consider the Gonzaga to be a mid-major, their conference opponents are, and would like to see any championship riches to trickle down to teams like Portland, Pepperdine, Pacific, San Diego etc.

Gonzaga couldnt pull the punches all game long like they did against UCLA. Baylor played a near perfect game right out of the gate. Looked liked Gonzaga was going to make a run and every time they had a chance to get it under double digits they could buy a bucket (mostly contested lay ups). Despite the score difference it was clear that these were the best 2 teams in college basketball. Congrats to Baylor

Also always enjoy one shining moment. Walton (and Bickerstaff) made a brief appearance. Roy made his final one, and the Grand Canyon kid who died in the accident was in it. Always well done. A little more commentary in it than usual, but still such a great way to end the tournament.

there are a few drexel teams that seem to be doing really well right now. men's soccer made the caa semifinal. women's lacrosse looks to be doing really well. they're something like 20-1 right now. men's lacrosse beat delaware who i think was #12 at the time and is on a winning streak.

you hope basketball success carries over into the other sports. the whole athletic department needed some life breathed into it.

Yes it has been a highly successful year for us. Both lax programs are top 15 ranked currently. Mens lax tournament should be an absolute battle as the top 4 teams are almost indistinguishable.

Mens soccer after winning player of year plays JMU here at noon in the first round of the CAA tournament. Will be a very challenging game, as I think JMU has only given up 1 goal all season long.

Double OT in soccer!

Tied 1-1; lost 8-7 in pk's

JMU ended up winning the title winning 4-3 in pk's in the final over Hofstra. Strong year for the CAA in mens soccer.

For those who missed it, the NCAA approved the free transfer rule, as expected. So any athlete in any sport will now be allowed 1 free transfer. For basketball May 1 will be the new deadline to watch, as players must enter the portal by then to be eligible for the free transfer (July 1 this year). Grad transfer now is no different. If they have already transferred freely once they will have to get a waiver from the NCAA to be allowed to play immediately. So that should clean that aspect u while opening it up everywhere else. NCAA is claiming they will now be more strict on accepting waivers for immediate eligibility. We shall see.

Will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. I suspect the gap between the top and everyone else gets larger, especially for football. I think a mid major can now expect a good player for at most 2 years now. The days of building a team for the future is gone. With so much movement you dont get a full recruiting cycle any more to get your guys, you get 2 years to win. Recruiting is now a huge game because you have incoming freshman but also any other player on any other team (i.e. the portal). I am betting many teams will end up with larger staffs to help handling the increase in recruiting that needs to take place.

(04-29-2021 12:19 PM)dan10 Wrote:  For those who missed it, the NCAA approved the free transfer rule, as expected. So any athlete in any sport will now be allowed 1 free transfer. For basketball May 1 will be the new deadline to watch, as players must enter the portal by then to be eligible for the free transfer (July 1 this year). Grad transfer now is no different. If they have already transferred freely once they will have to get a waiver from the NCAA to be allowed to play immediately. So that should clean that aspect u while opening it up everywhere else. NCAA is claiming they will now be more strict on accepting waivers for immediate eligibility. We shall see.

Will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. I suspect the gap between the top and everyone else gets larger, especially for football. I think a mid major can now expect a good player for at most 2 years now. The days of building a team for the future is gone. With so much movement you dont get a full recruiting cycle any more to get your guys, you get 2 years to win. Recruiting is now a huge game because you have incoming freshman but also any other player on any other team (i.e. the portal). I am betting many teams will end up with larger staffs to help handling the increase in recruiting that needs to take place.

Is this just for this year (due to Covid), or for every year going forward? If it's the standard, then it will really make things difficult for mid-majors because then they just become a farm system for the power conferences.

Going forward as the new norm. This year was just not counting it as a year for those who chose.

(04-29-2021 02:28 PM)dan10 Wrote:  Going forward as the new norm. This year was just not counting it as a year for those who chose.

This is a really bad thing for college sports as a whole. Teams won't be able to grow together. Every year, rosters will look completely different. And while it will likely weaken mid-majors, I guess it can work both ways as well. Good MM recruiters will have a chance to possibly pull talented players from major rosters.

Correct. you can expect 2 years tops for a team to be together. Best players wont last any longer before exploring better options. I think teams will have to have bigger staffs for recruiting, likely someone dedicated just to the portal. It will be challenging for sure.

Another issue is that players get to know each other and it wouldn't surprise me of a bunch of the top players around the country decide to get together, find a team with numerous roster spots open, and begin to stack their own rosters. The new model is pulling college sports further and further away from what they are intended to be. NCAA athletics is becoming less and less of a extracurricular activity to support their education, and more of a minor league system for the professional sports leagues, or at least where the majors sports are concerned.

sounds like the nba. pretty soon they'll be taking games off for "load management" too. the only thing worse than stacking certain teams is having no idea whether the star players will actually play when the stacked teams play each other. nba regular season is useless right now.

i liked the idea of kids getting freedom. there's no such thing as loyalty and commitment anymore though. it would work well if this existed.