Let's be real, being able to buy the best players in the portal is a major advantage that no one saw coming for May at UM. I was a May skeptic because he had a team at FAU that followed up the Final Four run with a huge disappointment of a season with basically the same core group of players. He obviously has an eye for talent and has shown he can get very good players - in some years that plus a really good draw is all you need. No one saw UM investing in hoops like they had not been before.

calibuck said:

Thanks for that write up. Saw most, remember less. Do still have burned in my skull, the two losses to Cincinnati. Paul Hogue (he of coke bottle glasses), and Moe Thacker took apart Jerry, Hondo, Mel, Larry twice.....probably spawned the lack of scheduling between the two schools for several decades.

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1961 was a close game and went OT; the game could of went either way. The Bucks played pretty solid. Lucas had 27 points & 12 rebounds. See box score:

1962 was a different story. Lucas had a knee injury and wasn't even close to 100%. Yeah, Hogue and Thacker dominated for the Juggalos. See box score:

Bucks take a nail biter over USC 4-3
Aiden Kim seals the victory with the clutch win in a third set at #1 singles

NCAA Tournament Expected to Expand to 76 Teams​

Money. Money. Money.

College basketball fans didn't ask for it, and neither did the majority of coaches and players. However, money talks, and the NCAA is expected to expand March Madness from 68 teams to 76 as early as 2027, according to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.

Barring something unforeseen, “it will happen,” says one high-placed source.
According to a proposal socialized with members last year, eight games would be added to the current “First Four” played over Tuesday and Wednesday of the first week of the event. This new “opening round” — the verbiage used to describe it — would feature 24 teams playing in 12 games over the two days at two sites (Dayton and another). Those involved in the negotiations caution that plenty of this could change through the course of continuing talks with TV partners Warner Bros. Discovery and CBS.
The 12 winners of the opening-round games — likely six games pitting lower-seeded automatic qualifiers and six pitting at-large teams — advance to an awaiting 52 teams in the original bracket. Under this concept, eight teams are extracted from the main bracket, plus the eight new at-large selections from expansion.

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Whether we like it or not, this will likely mean more mediocre high-major teams rather than mid-major programs.

NCAA president Charlie Baker believes that giving more high-major teams a chance is a net positive, as evidenced by No. 11 seeds Texas and Miami (Ohio), who proved it in their own respective ways over the last couple of weeks.

“There are every year some really good teams that don’t get to the tournament for a bunch of reasons,” Baker said last fall. “One of the reasons is we have 32 automatic qualifiers [for conference champions]. I love that and think it’s great and never want that to change, but that means there’s only 36 slots left for everybody else.”

The NCAA Tournament has expanded over the last nine decades, but has done so more rapidly over the last 15 years, much like it did in the 1979-80 season.

• 1939: The tournament started with eight teams
• 1951: Expanded to 16
• 1975: Expanded to 32
• 1979: Expanded to 40
• 1980: Expanded to 48
• 1985: Expanded to 64
• 2001: Expanded to 65
• 2011: Expanded to 68, introducing the "First Four"

For what it's worth, the bubble teams this season, who barely missed the NCAA Tournament but will surely make it if it expands by six teams yet again, included Auburn (17-16), Indiana (18-14), New Mexico (23-10), Oklahoma (19-15) and San Diego State (22-11).

zwem said:

It’s not going to make a difference. Do you honestly think Iowa state or Alabama is beating Michigan at full strength? Alabama plays no defense at all with a healthy roster or not. Michigan didn’t even really play their best game against Alabama. They, along with Texas Tech, aren’t good matchups against Michigan based on personal. Iowa State doesn’t have the fire power to hang with Michigan. Noticed how you skipped over the injuries to Michigan.

Like I said, Michigan could be the first team ever to have a 40 plus rating in Kenpom against one of the toughest schedules in the country since 2002. They are the first big ten in 50 years to go undefeated on the road. They are the best defensive team in the country and along with one of the most efficient teams on offense in the country. That’s reality. They don’t need luck.

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I think it makes it a lot easier when all the better teams in your path have key players out. To deny that is denying reality

Tomateaux Quinoa Gumbeaux said:

Been impressed with him since he got FAU to the final 4

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I was more impressed with him having 4 winning seasons when you look at their history.

Then again some people thought otherwise…

buckeyemania11 said:

Uh huh getting a comically easy road through injury/suspension rattled teams makes zero difference. Got it.

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It’s not going to make a difference. Do you honestly think Iowa state or Alabama is beating Michigan at full strength? Alabama plays no defense at all with a healthy roster or not. Michigan didn’t even really play their best game against Alabama. They, along with Texas Tech, aren’t good matchups against Michigan based on personal. Iowa State doesn’t have the fire power to hang with Michigan. Noticed how you skipped over the injuries to Michigan.

Like I said, Michigan could be the first team ever to have a 40 plus rating in Kenpom against one of the toughest schedules in the country since 2002. They are the first big ten in 50 years to go undefeated on the road. They are the best defensive team in the country and along with one of the most efficient teams on offense in the country. That’s reality. They don’t need luck.

And this one belongs to the Reds! Break out the brooms. Burns is NASTY

Dare I say it......momentum

Is it dusty in here or is it just me?

UCLA BTA

Buckeyes win 7-0 to get the sweep!

Move up to 6th in the B1G standings.

Next weekend series against another bad team in Ped State who is near the bottom of the conference

brodybuck21 said:

Stop me if you've heard this before....

Reds dead last in runs scored and hitting with RISP....top 1st today Friedl on second with Elly and Stewart up.... weak jam blooper to SS and K looking. So much fun to watch. Then top 3 Marte on 2nd 1 out, friedl K and mclain easy FO to left

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The funny part is this years lineup is ten times better than last years.

and they still suck dead donkey dick

Manzardo is now 2/30 to start the year. Oof.

Offense is brutal once again. They might be able to eek into the playoffs again with this current roster because the division is kinda meh but it'll be a quick out again unless they get some big gold fortune with players like Bazzana coming up and playing well or hitting a home run on the trade market

buckeyebri said:

Can they bring in better than what’s leaving? I guess we’ll see.

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Guys like White, Chatman and Cupps are not particularly good or even close to average players at all. I think a mostly complete reset of the bench and trying with new guys is a good idea

Stop me if you've heard this before....

Reds dead last in runs scored and hitting with RISP....top 1st today Friedl on second with Elly and Stewart up.... weak jam blooper to SS and K looking. So much fun to watch. Then top 3 Marte on 2nd 1 out, friedl K and mclain easy FO to left

RB07OSU said:

They have by far the largest NIL pot. Some kids go there knowing they could be a paid backup. But the big names get a handsome payoff. Nobody is close to their NIL pool.

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I think Stanford coach called PSU at $1.8M and Iowa State even at $1M.

Huh, would not have expected MSU to be winning the conference! Don't think they'd have even made my top 5....good for them though, nice to have some new blood out there.

buckeyebri said:

Can they bring in better than what’s leaving? I guess we’ll see.

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I would say starters, yes, but bringing in depth will be difficult. If not incoming Freshman then lower division kids looking for their opportunity.