ECisGod

There might end up being more parity between the power conference teams, but teams from smaller conferences will end up losing players just like on the men's side.

That's one of the reasons I compared current college women's basketball to the men's game in the late 70's/early 80's. There is more depth of talent in the women's game than a decade ago, but there isn't enough to get many upsets in the big dance.

In doing some basic research, it looks like games with Clark drew huge ratings. All the other games, not so much - though South Carolina vs NC state drew slightly more than the two men's final four games (7.2 vs 6.7 & 5.3) and I wonder how much of that was SC being undefeated, wondering who Iowa (Clark) might play or real interest in the game. If they get better TV ratings than the men next year, then they might have something. I would guess that won't be the case. Clark was a huge draw, but the NBA is seeing that if you promote a few players as stars instead of the entire league you don't get much for ratings if the "stars" (LeBron, Steph, Giannis) are not playing. I would say that women's college basketball is in the same place the men's game was in the late 70's/early 80's. They have just come off a decade of one team being dominant (UConn women vs UCLA men) & if you aren't one of the teams ranked in the top 10-15 before the tournament you have virtually no chance to make the final 4. There was exactly 8 games where the lower seed won in the women's NCAA tournament in 63 games & only one of those was in the first round (there was ten in the first round of the men's tournament). One was a 5 seed beating a 4, 3 were a 3 seed beating a 2. Weirdly the elite 8 was all four 1 seeds vs all four 3 seeds. The only two games that most people would call real upsets were Middle Tennessee beating Louisville (11 over 6) and Duke beating Ohio State (7 over 2). The other two were the 3 seeds beating 1 seeds to get to the final 4. The only sport where women consistently get better ratings than men is tennis. Even the US men's national soccer team outdraws the women's team despite the fact that the women are the best team in the world and the men are in the 15-20 range. I know this is a long and kind of rambling post, but I'm just trying to point out that a one year blip doesn't mean much. If it's the start of a trend, good for the women who play college basketball but if it will be forgotten in a couple of years.

You can try to come up with 100 reasons, but only two matter - network & time. ABC vs TBS & Sunday afternoon vs Monday night (9:20 tip on the east coast). The only other one that might matter is people wanting to see Clark win (Iowa) or lose (most of the rest of the country). I didn't watch a single second of the women's game (or the entire tournament for that matter) & watched all but the last minute of the men's game (and took of the 21st & 22nd to watch as much of the first round as I could).

He had what they called a "minor" knee surgery around Christmas & was out for a couple of games. It definitely affected his ability to practice full time - it was mentioned by Hoiberg several times in press conferences. If it was as minor as they say, a few weeks off should let it fully heal - or he could need to have another "clean up" done and then a few weeks off to let it fully heal. I'm sure we'll hear his status fairly soon.

He was there to support Tominaga in the 3 point contest & a couple of comments he made sounded like he's planning to be back. Don't remember exactly what he said, but I'm pretty sure he'll be back.

Not only are they taller, but they are much quicker, stronger & jump higher. She's 6' tall, but most of her 3's are shot from her chest so anyone who guards her tightly will be able to block her shot easily.

I hope she takes the $5M from the Big3. It will be fun to watch her get her a$$ handed to her.

I'd be shocked if Alexander comes back. He wanted to leave after last year & almost no one comes back for two years after they wanted to go pro. I'd guess he will get a 2-way contract as a free agent/late 2nd round pick & spend most of his time in the G-League only going up to the NBA if there are injured players at his position. Kalkbrenner isn't going to be any better after another year at Creighton, so he might as well go pro. His game will play well in Europe & he'll make more there than in NIL. The question becomes is he willing to move to Europe this summer or next. I think that from an NBA/G-League standpoint he has regressed in scout's eyes & I don't see it getting any better unless he can get 25% stronger. It might be fun to see him get posterized on a regular basis in the NBA. No clue on Ashworth. He was supposed to be their point guard, but never had the ball in his hands because Alexander was their lead guard. He's not going to play pro ball in the US unless he plays on someone's summer league team before he goes off to Europe/New Zealand/Australia.

Not sure he'd come back to Nebraska.

Probably because Fox felt left out of the postseason basketball world. 68 teams in the NCAA 32 in the NIT 16 in The College Basketball Crown 16 in the CBI 8 in the CIT It also sound like they might expand the NCAA to 72 or 76 in the next couple of years. 80 would make more sense so there would be 16 first round games to get to 64. When the tournament first went to 64 in 1985 there were 282 teams (64/282=22.7%) and now there are 362 (362 * .227 = 82+), so there would be approximately the same percentage of teams that make the NCAA tournament as there was when it first went to 64 if it expanded to 80.

There will be a new postseason tournament next year. Two teams from the B1G, Big 12 & Big East are guaranteed + 10 other teams. Fox, AEG to launch new postseason basketball tournament - ESPN

On scholarship are: Gary, Mast, Ulis & Williams (all seniors) Walk-ons: Burt & Jacobson are Sophomores, Grace & Hoiberg are Juniors. Two incoming freshmen: Frager & Janowski. That leaves 7 open scholarships. If they'd had a really bad season or Hoiberg had left, I'd understand why so many are leaving, but after having a really good season & no coaching change, I'm confused. They can't even play 5 on 5 pickup games until the freshmen show up in May/June unless they bring in some student managers.

And Clark's response is "Scoreboard".

I agree that it would be nice to be in a better exempt tournament, but most of those tournaments are owned by ESPN (like bowl games) so sometimes it's hard to get into their rotation once you've gotten out. You kind of have to kiss ESPN's butt.

Playing Creighton a little earlier than usual in 2024.

Might be a good replacement for Wilcher.

Here is ESPN's top 50 in the portal. NCAA men's basketball transfer rankings for the 2024-25 season - ESPN Cliff Omoruyi from Rutgers would be a great defense/rebounding guy that would allow Mast to move to the 4 and replace Allick's hustle.

Creighton's going to need a lot of players out of the portal. McDermott doesn't seem to have much confidence in their bench so 4 of their 5 starters play 35+ minutes/game and all 4 of them will be gone after this season. Three are out of eligibility & Alexander will go pro + their 6th man (Farabello) is a senior too.

Henry Burt - Third year walk on sophomore. He's a crowd favorite, didn't play much. Not much to say about him. He's essentially an undersized 4/5. I don't see him playing much next year either. Cale Jacobson - Third year walk on sophomore. Played a little bit outside of "junk time". Played a lot in their trip to Spain because the team was shorthanded. Seems to be a pretty good shooter based on warmups. Could see some playing time next year. Could be a Hoiberg type & get some playing time with hustle & defense. Matar Diop - Sophomore. Really athletic, needs to gain strength & weight. His shooting improved throughout the season based on warmups, but still needs to get better. Could develop into a stretch 4/5 with time. He seems willing to learn & put in the work to improve. Clearly gained some strength during the season because early in the season he got pushed around by every post player on opposing teams but was able to hold his own against Dain Dainja from Illinois in the B1G tournament when Mast & Allick were in foul trouble. Jeffrey Grace III - Fourth year walk on junior. Not much to say about him. Usually the last guy off the bench. Shot looks pretty flat based on warmups. Seems like he enjoys being on the team. Sam Hoiberg - Fourth year walk on junior. Probably would have earned a scholarship if his dad wasn't the coach & can afford to pay his tuition. Great hustle & defense. A lot more athletic than he looks. Can make open shots but went through a slump for the last month of the season. If his shot gets more consistent, he will be very dangerous. Will continue to come off the bench to provide energy. Jamarques Lawrence - Junior. Tried to convert to a point guard when Ulis was suspended. I think with an entire offseason to work on his point guard skills, he will be much better next year. Started the season as a starter but was much more successful when he moved to the bench. Good shooter but had some issues early in the season when he was thinking too much about his point guard duties. Once he went to the bench and relaxed, he was much better. I think he has the ability to be a lock down defender if he's willing to give the effort on that end of the floor. Will probably still come off the bench as a combo guard next year. Juwan Gary - Fifth year senior. Great defensively most of the time. Can guard any position 1-5. Shoot was much improved this year, but still needs to be more consistent. Has the quickness to drive to the basket but needs to work on his handle to be more effective. Great rebounder on both the offensive & defensive glass. Will likely be the starting 4 next year even though he's a little undersized at 6' 6". If he improves his shot consistency & handle, he could move the 3. Renck Mast - Fifth year senior. Really good passer for his size. Stretch 4/5. Probably best suited to the 4, but in Hoiberg's positionless system he will probably end up at the 5 unless they bring in a true 5 through the portal. Good shooter for his size. Not quite as slow as he appears, but definitely needs to work on his quickness. Some of his quickness issues could be because of the minor knee surgery he had around Christmas. Hopefully taking some time off will allow it to fully heal. Decent rebounder but could be better - though sometimes boxed out bigger players to let other Huskers actually get the rebound. Should be the starting 4/5 next season. Ahron Ulis - Fifth year senior. Transfer from Iowa. He's the true point guard the team needs. Hopefully he's eligible at the beginning of the season in November after being suspended all season for gambling on at least one Iowa football game while there. Wasn't a great shooter at Iowa, but after a year working with Hoiberg, that should be improved. Good defender. Should be the starting point guard next year. C J Wilcher - Fifth year senior. Graduated in December & went through Senior Night ceremony. Good shooter but streaky. Was wight hot for most of January and early February, but ice cold for most of the rest of the season. Needs to become more consistent. Quicker that he looks. Decent defender. Not a bad ball handler but definitely could be better. With his size & strength it would be nice to see him work on his post-up game so he can take smaller guards inside. Will likely be a starting wing next year or the first guy off the bench. Brice Williams - Fifth year senior. Transfer from Charlotte. Was a pleasant surprise this year. Really good shooter. Played point guard because of Ulis' suspension & Lawrence's struggles. Good enough defender that you never really notice him on that end. Occasionally got into foul trouble. Great rebounder considering the positions he plays. Calming influence on the floor. Should be a starting wing next year with Ulis' suspension ending & Lawrence getting the entire off season to learn/improve at the point.

They will go in this one. I'm sure if you search there are threads for the last couple of years. It's becoming easier as players enter the portal so I don't have to try to assess them.

"The Journey" can be interesting some of the time. Gives a little insight into some of the athletes in the B1G. Usually just football & men's basketball but it could be expanded to other sports pretty easily. Otherwise I agree that there is no reason to show replays of games that have already happened & call them "classics". I think one of the problems on the baseball front (and pretty much every non-football/basketball sport) is that there aren't many former B1G baseball that have name recognition that can do color commentary.

I'm working on my thoughts on the players that could/should come back next year like the last two years. Hopefully I've got something later this week.

Not sure Hoiberg will be interested. He's a 6' 9" forward who has not taken a 3 in two seasons at SDSU.

Diop is an athletic big, he just needs to spend time in the weight room. Ulis is a point guard with B1G experience & with an off season to learn the position Lawrence can be. He was kind of thrown in the deep end when Ulis' suspension hit while they were overseas.