College Basketball Cancel The title field is required!

1. Gary Carls

   

   19 posts
   
   11/14/2012 8:11 AM

   Now that my football team has pretty much finished off the season in unspectacular fashion it's time for college basketball. Based upon the games we have already seen in the first real week of the season it looks like it might be a pretty good year. Looks like a lot of real good teams at the top with lots of young talent that should only get better as the season goes on. Lots of Big 10 teams in the top 20 so there will probably be lots of losses as the season goes on. Pretty good games last night with Duke vs. Kentucky and my Spartans with a much needed and nice win over the Kansas Jayhawks. I know most of the folks in Lawrence are not real happy right now but looks like the Jayhawks will be pretty good come March and April like so many other teams. Already can't wait for March Madness to start!!!!!!!

   
   Gary K. Carls, CGCS, President - Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative
   
   
2. Canedo Alberto J

   
   11/14/2012 9:11 AM

   Gary,
   Your Raiders need a new team. Damn they are horrible. Can not say much about my team, they suck also. They need to bench Phillip Rivers and start Whitehurst for a game or 2 and see what he can do.

   
   
   
   
3. Gary Carls

   

   19 posts
   
   11/14/2012 10:11 AM

   Alberto,
   
   Hope all is well down south. I was really talking about the Michigan State football team but I'll agree that the local Raiders have been pretty awful as well. Still being loyal to my old hometown teams has also been rough this past month. Let's see, Lions poor season so far. Pistons 0-8 last I looked and the Tigers went out in 4 in the World Series. That's really why I'm glad college BB is underway!!!

   
   Gary K. Carls, CGCS, President - Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative
   
   
4. Sandy Clark

   

   0 posts
   
   11/14/2012 10:11 AM

   Gary, I watched the Aztec vs Orangemen Sunday on the deck of the carrier in San Diego. Basketball is not designed to play real games outdoors. Syracuse built up a 15 point lead at the half due to being a much taller team able to score in the paint. It was impossible to hit an outside shot. 3 point tries resulted in something like 1 out of 22 attempts. Between sun in their face and wind that was a serious factor, the Aztecs could do nothing in the first half. The second half gave the Aztecs the sun and wind advantage and they at least played even with them. Syracuse will be a serious top 5 contender. The are tall and all have very wide wing spans. It almost looked like the court size had been reduced due to the space the zone defense covered. Indoors, if the Aztecs were able to shoot outside shots, they might have been able to give them a game but Syracuse was clearly the superior team. The Kentucky Duke game was pretty good last night. March Madness is just around the corner!

   
   
   
   
5. Canedo Alberto J

   
   11/14/2012 10:11 AM

   Gary,
   Sorry about your teams in Michigan. You should change to the teams in the Bay Area. Stanford, World Series Champions SF Giants and SF 49ers. I am preparing my NE Patriots Jersey now as the Chargers Jersey is going to be Dry Cleaned and put away, unless they pull something out of their A$$. If SD looses against Denver, the season is over for the Bolts. Hope all is well with everyone in Northern Cal. Miss the everything about Northern California. GCSA- Northern California is a great association and miss all the great golf tournaments and meetings we had up there. I liked it cause I seemed to win something all the time.

   
   
   
   
6. Gary Carls

   

   19 posts
   
   11/14/2012 2:11 PM

   Alberto,
   
   It was nice of you and your golfing skills to move down south so the rest of us could win something once in a while!!!!! Just kidding. Always great to see you when you were up this way. GCSANC still is a good group and does some nice events.
   
   I do like the A's and Sharks (after Red Wings of course) and did have Stanford season tickets way back when they weren't quite so good but never really have become a fan of the other local teams. Recently bought a second home in Colorado so maybe I could switch loyalty there. Let's see, Broncos so-so, Rockies and U of Colorado not so good. Avalanche OK. Not really much better there for fans I guess.
   
   Other than that, I know I will be a big USC fan in a few weeks when Notre Dame comes to town!!!!!!
   
   Take care and I'll see you at the GIS

   
   Gary K. Carls, CGCS, President - Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative
   
   
7. Satterwhite Kerry

   
   11/20/2012 9:11 AM

   It's definitely hoops season. I've probably watched a dozen games in person and on TV since Saturday. Watched Indiana yesterday, then went to a local high school game to watch a kid that just signed with Ohio State, was not overly impressed, came home and watched the Bears get spanked, then was up till almost 2 watching Illinois dismantle USC. They won't be able to score like that in the Big 10, 12, 14 whatever it ends up being.
   
   Similar schedule today. Watching the local high school tournament then a couple of games on TV again. Holiday weekend will center around college and local high school hoops.That's the best thing about traveling this time of year. I always try to find local games, especially high school games with highly touted recruits.

   
   
   
   
8. Rosenthal Gregg

   
   11/20/2012 4:11 PM

   Lets talk about the Maryland Terrapins almost upset the Kentucky wildcats first game of the season! A team soon to be moving into the big Ten! Look out they got some very good young bucks and will be on the radar as the season rolls on!!! Next week here in the windy city to take on Northwestern in the ACC vs Big Ten challenge! Just remember Fear the Turtle!!! They are just warming up for what will be a upset filled ACC season!!!! The in 2 years when they are a Big Ten team full on a whole new beginning to Turtle mania as they will go right to the top of Basketball in the Big Ten! I am excited to say the Least! Turtle Mania!
   
   Gregg Rosenthal Terrapin Graduate and Terp Lover! Oh Soccer team on the way to NCAA Championship also!!

   
   
   
   
9. Sandy Clark

   

   0 posts
   
   3/7/2014 9:03 AM

   Some teams are already in tournament play while other complete conference play Saturday. Boy, what happen to Syracuse? My Aztecs play New Mexico at home tomorrow night in a winner take all. The winner wins the conference and gets the # 1 seed in the tournament. both will be in the round of 64 anyway (or however many they let in this year) and can do some damage if they have the right location and seed. Hope all of your favorite teams do well. At the moment, Florida seems to have been the most consistent along with the boys from Kansas and I don't mean KU though they have had another fine season. As usual, Duke will be in the hunt but not dominant. Anyone care to go out on a limb and pick a winner before it starts? It could be a tournament loaded with upsets or big teams losing. Should be exciting.

   
   
   
   
10. Gary Carls

    

    19 posts
    
    3/7/2014 9:03 AM

    Sandy,
    
    I'm hoping my Spartans get eveything put together for a good run through the tournament. So many injuries this year and still not sure how healthy some of them are. They looked pretty good against Iowa last night and showed some promise for the month ahead. Nice moment last night on Sr. Night when they put in the senior who was a walk on for three years and rarely ever leaves the bench, set him up for a shot and then pulled him out before the game ended so the crowd could give him a nice cheer.
    
    Go Spartans!!!

    
    Gary K. Carls, CGCS, President - Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative
    
    
11. Melvin Waldron

    

    43 posts
    
    3/7/2014 10:03 AM

    Wichita State or whoever plays the Gators.
    
    Mel

    
    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
    
    
12. Sandy Clark

    

    0 posts
    
    3/7/2014 11:03 AM

    I forgot to mention Arizona as a team that has played consistently well this year. They lost a couple to teams you wouldn't expect and had a couple of other close ones but it just shows how competitive this thing could be this year. I think any of the top seeds can be beaten this year. My opinion is that it is anyone's tournament. Probably 10 teams could win it all which is pretty cool.

    
    
    
    
13. Sandy Clark

    

    0 posts
    
    3/10/2014 9:03 AM

    Several of the top 15 lost last week so what will that do to the seedings? Aztecs beat New Mexico and now the question becomes do you try to win the tournament which probably won't improve on your potential #2 seed in the west or do you rest several starters and if you lose you get rested? Fisher doesn't like to lose. Even if it means several games in few days, he will have his team go for it.

    
    
    
    
14. Lisa Wick

    

    1 posts
    
    3/10/2014 10:03 AM

    Can't resist - GO Jayhawks! Lisa

    
    Lisa Wick, sr. manager, e-Learning Programs
    
    
15. Canedo Alberto J

    
    3/10/2014 10:03 AM

    Let's Go SDSU AZTECS

    
    
    
    
16. Sandy Clark

    

    0 posts
    
    3/10/2014 11:03 AM

    Lisa, almost forgot. Seems my Aztecs beat your Jayhawks! I still say any of the top 10 teams can win this thing. Don't think one dominant team could be picked to win it all. My Aztecs from San Diego State still need to shoot better to go deep in the tournament.

    
    
    
    
17. Gary Carls

    

    19 posts
    
    3/10/2014 12:03 PM

    Sandy and Lisa, I think it goes way beyond the top 10 teams this year. So many teams capable of winning it all if they are on their game. I really think that most of the major conferences all have two or three teams that could win it all given the right brackets. Should be a great tournament from start to finish. Sorry Lisa and all the GCSAA staffers, I'm picking the Jayhawks to finish 2nd. Go Spartans!!

    
    Gary K. Carls, CGCS, President - Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative
    
    
18. Sandy Clark

    

    0 posts
    
    3/11/2014 11:03 AM

    Gary, you are absolutely correct. Probably as many as 12 to 16 teams could be the potential winner. Nobody is a lock so it will boil down to defense and who can stay the hottest.

    
    
    
    
19. Kenneth Rue

    

    3 posts
    
    3/11/2014 12:03 PM

    what about the Cats - we are going to be officially one and "done."

    
    
    
    
20. Sandy Clark

    

    0 posts
    
    3/13/2015 8:03 AM

    Things are lining up quickly for the most exciting time of year for college basketball. Good luck to all your teams at least until they play our San Diego State Aztecs this year. Can't pick my local team to go too far since they shoot so poorly. They will get after you on defense but we have nobody to light up the court with a rain of 3 pointers and we miss too many inside and follow up shots. Won't concede everything to Kentucky at this point but they do look very good!

    
    
    
    
21. Gary Carls

    

    19 posts
    
    3/13/2015 10:03 PM

    Sandy,
    
    Also not sure how far my Spartans might go this year. They seem to get it all together and then play a bad game that makes little or no sense. Lost some games with good leads late and their poor free throw shooting may come back to bite them in close games in the tourney. Maybe a "sweet 16" with the right seeding and match-ups but not expecting much more than that. Good win tonight against the Buckeyes.
    
    Go Spartans!!

    
    Gary K. Carls, CGCS, President - Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative
    
    
22. Sandy Clark

    

    0 posts
    
    3/16/2015 12:03 PM

    We play St. Johns, another team that is unpredictable. We lose the championship game to Wyoming due to pathetic shooting and St. Johns loses their big man to 2 week suspension. Which of these two teams will show up is really a guess. No matter what, the fun is about to begin. I would love to see SDSU get in the final game in that bracket against Duke just to see how much we need to improve to compete with upper tier teams. Who knows, we could both lose in the first round. Good luck to all of your teams. Hope even if they lose that every team plays their best!

    
    
    
    
23. Melvin Waldron

    

    43 posts
    
    3/16/2015 5:03 PM

    Hopefully Duke doesn't get that far either.
    
    Mel

    
    Melvin H. Waldron III, CGCS, Horton Smith Golf Course, City of Springfield/Greene County MO
    
    
24. Curtis Nickerson

    

    0 posts
    
    3/17/2015 5:03 AM

    Melvin Waldron, CGCS said: Hopefully Duke doesn't get that far either.
    
    Mel

    
    Mel, for once we agree on something! lol!!! GO TERPS!

    
    
    
    
25. Sandy Clark

    

    0 posts
    
    3/17/2015 8:03 AM

    Mel, I was wrong, we may get Duke in our second game if we win. I am sure Duke will survive the first round.

    
    
    
    
26. Gary Carls

    

    19 posts
    
    3/25/2015 1:03 PM

    A few early surprises but things stayed pretty much on course after Day 1. Glad to see Spartans moving on to "Sweet 16" once again and think they have a good shot against Oklahoma. So far they have been a different team than they showed through most of the season. Coach Izzo gets a lot of credit for getting the most out of his players come March. Also think the kids get pushed a lot by former players who keep in touch with the program and challenge them to play their best in March.
    
    Thought San Diego State was respectable against a very tough team in Duke. Tough time stopping Okafor(sp) from the outset. Kentucky still looks like the team to beat with a pretty good 9 or 10 players that others just can't match. Need someone to get real hot against them.
    
    Looking forward to Round 3.

    
    Gary K. Carls, CGCS, President - Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative
    
    
27. Sandy Clark

    

    0 posts
    
    3/27/2015 3:03 PM

    Gary, you are being kind! We have shot that poorly all year and still managed to win a ton of games. Fisher teaches great defense but that Duke team just had too many horses. Michigan State keeps hanging in there but now everyone will faces tough games. Kentucky made a laughing stock out of a very good team last night. Could very well be Duke and Kentucky at the end since they are both loaded. Anyone at this point has a less than great game and they will be out. Going to be an incredible finish!

    
    
    
    
28. Gary Carls

    

    19 posts
    
    3/30/2015 5:03 PM

    Sandy,
    
    Spartans still hanging in there. Been a good run through the tourney so far and we can only hope we see this same group show up in the Final Four. No matter what, they exceeded all expectations based upon most of the regular season. Pretty amazing that they manage to pull it all together come March year after year. Who knows....we might even get one more shot at Wisconsin.

    
    Gary K. Carls, CGCS, President - Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative
    
    
29. Gary Carls

    

    19 posts
    
    4/4/2015 9:04 PM

    Ouch!!! That hurt. Have to wait another year.

    
    Gary K. Carls, CGCS, President - Oakland Turfgrass Education Initiative