And so we close another season of HHCB with the Final 4. This year held in Phoenix, which
will also be the site of the coming All-Star Tournament.
In the first game of the Final 4, Kentucky came into the game riding a 10 game winning
streak. Coach Steve Utych said his team was due for a loss, and another comment said he
had just jinxed himself. Was it jinx or fate? The Wildcats fell to the Matadors by 10
dispite many advantages. Kentucky guarded the boards and the ball, but not the shot.
The second game showed another one seed in Iowa take on DePaul who only made the trip due
to a lucky half court shot. Could they pull it off again? And by that, I also am referring
to the Demons' preseason upset of the Hawkeyes in round 1 of the tournament 79-75. However,
this attempt would fall short. Iowa had just scored, and Malone led a last second drive to
the elbow only to throw up the overtime shot, brick. The Hawkeyes moved on to play the
Matadors.
The Championship Game was full of electricity at the beginning. A new Champion was to be
crowned for season 2. However, the electricity soon faded as Iowa went on a streak early
and it looked to be a blow out, but Cal St. Northridge came fighting back. It wasn't
enough. The Matadors fight was stopped, and Iowa won this game with their offensive put
backs and additions at the line.
Iowa is losing just one player to use the full 30 recruiting points on, and will already be
led by what will be senior guard Bilmer, a JUCO transfer, and another senior forward Horton.
Cal St. Northridge can also look to the future being led by next year junior Dill, and 2
seniors in center Killy and forward Baz. Plus, the second highest recruitment total.
Illinois is looking to regroup again, and DePaul is hoping to hold some more heat when they
spend their points. The Demons will gain their best player with their points, as will the
Illini.
Kentucky will gain another strong player, having 2 players above 20 recruiting points. The
other is their sophomore guard Nieland. The Wildcats will look for a 25 game winning streak
next year.
The Clones will gain their best player this offseasonand Minnesota will try to rebound from
what wasn't a great finish.
Other teams that should rebound are North Carolina, UCLA, UMass, and UNLV. Virginia Tech
will get a very strong 3 man with 2 juniors and possibly another junior or freshman. However,
Rutgers, Ohio St, Rhode Island, and UNI struggled a lot, and will have to work hard for
success in the future. But, UNLV did it after a dead last showing last year. They do have
much hope.
I wish these 4 luck, and every team luck going into the following season.
March 31, 2001
Here's the region by region run down of the Road to the Final 4.
In Seattle's West, the Matadors had no problems getting by the Minutemen due to 31 UMass
turnovers and a 46-14 rebounding advantage. Then, in the Final 4 showdown, Cal St.
Northridge won again to avenge their loss of the Big 10 Title to Illinois in an 81-76
game.
In New York City and the East region, the Cyclones, Big 12 Champions, knocked off North
Carolina for the right to play Kentucky 72-62. Iowa St. had to earn the game themselves
after 34 turnovers. Then, Kentucky increased their winning streak to 11 to make the Final
4 by 30 points. Kentucky had to shoot great as the Cyclones didn't. The Wildcats coughed
it up 33 times.
So, the first Final 4 matchup is the West 2 seed, Cal St. Northridge, and the East 1 seed,
Kentucky. The Wildcats are the hottest team right now with 11 straight wins, while the
Matadors are just squeaking by opponents. Look for Kentucky to enter the Championship and
increase that streak to 12.
Back to the reviews and Chicago where in the Midwest UNLV shot past Minnesota 88-72. This
was dispite being outrebounded 42-17. UNLV came back by taking advnatage of 14 extra Gopher
turnovers and excellent shooting. However, even when the Rebels got back to rebounding,
they couldn't beat the rejuvinated Hawkeyes. Iowa pulled their way to the Final 4 with a
26 point win in a game that was close in all stats but shooting percentage.
And in Atlanta where the South took stage, DePaul got a buzzer beating half court 3 for the
1 point victory, 71-70 following the Bruins lay in to take a 70-68 lead with 2 seconds
remaining. DePaul then took this as a sign that they need to play much better and did to
get by defending National Champion Virginia Tech 78-65. DePaul gained 49 rebounds to the
Hokies' 14 to key the victory.
So, in the second of the 3 Phoenix battles, the Midwest's 1 seeded Hawkeyes will face the
2 seed from the South, DePaul. Both teams were hot early, but went quiet at the end of the
season. Now they're both rejuvinated and looking for the Championship, but the Hawkeyes
gain the edge as they appear to be the all around better team.
In the National Championship of Kentucky vs. Iowa, the Wildcats should be taking a 13 game
winning streak into Season 3 as they are very hot and the Hawkeyes are just warming back
up. We'll find out what does happen, next Friday!
March 28, 2001
In the Big 12 Tournament, Iowa St. assured themselves a bid for the HHCB Title by defeating
in state rival Iowa by 12 for the Big 12 Championship. This was the follow up of a huge
27 point victory over UMass which probably already assured a Cyclone birth. Minnesota also
help up their case with a mere 1 point loss to Iowa actually to gain a better rank then
the Minutemen. Every Big 12 team made the tournament.
In the Big 10 Tournament, Illinois continued their remarkable season finish by winning
the Big 10 Tournament and a 1 seed with an even record. They had to beat the Matadors by
11 for the title. UNI lost their last second hope of a bid being slaughtered by the same
Matador team, and Rutgers ended a miserable finish losing by 11 to the Illini. The only
Big 10 bids go to Illinois and Cal St. Northridge, a 1 seed and 2 seed.
In the CUSA Tournament, Kentucky moved their winning streak to 10 by taking the title and
keeping the #1 spot going into the Dance. They finished it with a 17 win over the Hokies
who gained another 1 seed to try to defend their title. Tech had to get by DePaul by 9(the
Demons get a 2 seed), and Kentucky just beat the Rams by 4. The Rams miss the Dance each
year, and will be proven to be the only team to do so.
In the SEC Tournament this was proven true, as UNLV defeated UCLA by 11 then North Carolina
by 19 to win the Tournament and get their first HHCB Tournament bid ever. En route to their
runner up spot, the Heels defeated Ohio St. 93-78. Again, 3 teams from this conference
made the tournament as UNLV gained a 2 seed and the Bruins and Heels both got 3 seeds. The
Buckeyes will sit this one out.
Now, with the Dance, we were separated into 4 regions of 3. For some reason the 2 hottest
teams in Kentucky and Illinois are put into a position to play in the Final 4 rather then
the Championship. Odd and dumb there I believe. On the other side Iowa and Virginia Tech
are pitted, the same two who were the preseason favorites. Kentucky should make the Final
with a victory over Iowa St. and Illinois, while Illinois will have to get by the Matadors
to find that Final 4 loss. On the other side, Virginia Tech will make it an all CUSA Final
in an attempt to defend their title. The Hokies will get by UCLA and Iowa to get there,
while Iowa will defeat UNLV to get to the Final 4.
The winner of the Championship will be Kentucky to increase their winning streak to 13
games entering into next season.
Will these predictions be right? We'll find out on the next 2 Saturdays.
March 24, 2001
What's going to happen in Wednesday's conference tournaments? The "experts" say:
Iowa had a chance to pull away for the Big 12 title, but blew that opportunity. They
had to rely on their tiebreaker with hot UMass to earn the 1 seed from the other 7-5
UMass team. Iowa St. and Minnesota are also running on empty. More so Minnesota. The
Gophers showed great strength in the early season, but lost it with the 5-7 Big 12
run. Look for UMass to earn the Big 12 title for 2 years in a row.
Meanwhile, the Big 10 couldn't have flipped around more in 5 days. Illinois ran 4-1
to move to 7-5 while Cal St. Northridge won just 2 games. This evened up the Illini
and bull fighters with the Matadors losing the 1 seed to Illinois by 7 points.
UNI also showed heat moving from dead last in the HHCB to #14 with their 3-2 run,
giving the Panthers the 3 seed. Rutgers won just 1 game in their run, a favored team
in the last 5 games. Illinois looks too hot for the Big 10 Title to be taken from them.
Kentucky ran away with the CUSA title with the 9-3 confernece record. Not only are they
9-3 in the CUSA, but they've won their last 8 games. Yes, they were once 1-3 in the
conference. Meanwhile, Virginia Tech gained the outright 2 spot with even records.
DePaul hasn't done much with the confernece teams after their 7-1 start they're 12-8. And
Rhode Island was playing spoiler and hoping to make a great run after last season's
sadness. Without a good run in the confernece tournament, they may go 0/2 in Big Dances.
Finally, with the SEC, North Carolina held off a late UCLA run for the outright title.
The question into the postseason isn't will 10-10 North Carolina make it after their 8-4
conference run, but how will they fare with out of conference teams again after they went
2-6 in the regular season. UCLA is very hot as they went 4-1 in the last set to earn a
winning record and the 2 spot. UNLV has been about .500 all season. It'll be interesting
to see if they can keep about .500 runs by getting by hot UCLA. And Ohio St. doens't look
like they'll make any cuts this year. They've not played well all year, and will need the
SEC Championship.
Wednesday, we'll see how the Big Dance will go down.
March 17, 2001
We'll quickly begin with a conference review before getting into the Big Dance.
The Big 12 is showing Iowa pulling away for the 1 seed lead. Iowa can win the
conference with 2 wins and just 1 UMass and Iowa St. loss or 3 victories. They
shouldn't have a problem in doing so. However, the rest is up in the air. UMass
made a 3-2 charge to take second, and Iowa St. is the only Hawkeye conference
loss right now. UMass currently holds the tie breaker by 1 point over the
Cyclones as the tie breakers go in this order:
1) Conference record
2) Head-to-Head record
3) Head-to-Head point differential
4) Overall record
5) Alphabet(if all else fails, however, the odds of getting past #3 are low)
Back to the Big 12, Minnesota also has a great chance if they can get by in their
3 ISU/UMass games and get an upset over Iowa which is very much possible.
Cal St. Northridge is trying to run away with the Big 10 Conference with a 2 game
lead over everybody else. The Matadors biggest foe right now is Rutgers, the only
team they shouldn't have a problem gaining the tie breaker over. They still have
two meetings. UNI will filter out of their tie breaker second, back to Illinois
where Illinois actually holds the tiebreaker over UNI at the moment, and Rutgers
will try to make a run for it. However, they'll need the 2 wins over Cal St.
The CUSA is still a dead heat. Virginia Tech leads the pack with their tiebreaker
over Kentucky. Rhode Island took third over #2 DePaul with their tiebreaker.
Since the Demons just have 1 remaining with the Hokies, watch for DePaul to close
that 1 game gap fast, but Kentucky has been spoiler to many. However, there's
Rhode Island still sitting quiety. Don't forget they do hold the tiebreaker over
DePaul with 2 games left between the two by 2 points.
Finally, the SEC is not being slaughtered by UNLV, not Ohio St, or even UCLA. It's
now #8 North Carolina. The Tar Heels were just 2-6 and dead last in all of the HHCB
before the conference began play. Since then, they are 6-1 with a 3 game lead for
the #1 seed. North Carolina should have no problem getting 2 wins and a UCLA and
Ohio St. loss or 3 wins to get that 1 seed. Meanwhile, Ohio St. and UCLA want
the 3 seed. UCLA beat Ohio St. on the road by 31 while Ohio St. beat UCLA on the
road by 7 giving UCLA that tie breaker. But, UNLV could spoil the plans of the
forementioned wanting the 3 seed as they are just 1 game out from second looking
to rampage and avenge the last 5 games after a decent start.
Now for what the Big Dance looks like right now: Automatic Bids
Auto bids go to the conference tournament champions. Right now, these teams are
favored when the tournaments begin:
Iowa---Big 12
Rutgers---Big 10
Kentucky---CUSA
North Carolina---SEC
They will be joined with 8 at large teams. Here they are in order of entry with
description. Also included will be where the forementioned favorites would enter
if they aren't to win their conference tournaments:
Iowa
The Hawkeyes have been #1 for all but 1 week when DePaul looked extremely good.
The Hawkeyes are back on top and dominating the Big 12 conference.
DePaul
DePaul isn't showing domination at all in the CUSA. However, a 10-5 record, 2 games
ahead of all but Iowa is good enough for a the second #1 seed.
Cal St. Northridge
Right now the Matadors are taking charge of the Big 10 dispite being picked to be
upset in that tournament. If they can keep charge throughout the regular year,
a 1 seed should be the fit for them.
Virginia Tech
The CUSA up and down squad and defending champions can't be denied a #1 seed this
year as they ended last year down to return fighting. If they finish up, or even
3-2, the Hokies should end up here.
Kentucky
A spoiling team isn't good enough for a 1 seed right now, unless they really spoil
in games to come. The #4 Wildcats need some big wins over a DePaul and Virginia
Tech to steal one of their 1 seeds.
Rutgers
The Scarlet are really expected to charge into postseason play and into a higher
2 seeded position. If Rutgers can really charge, and CSNU not do too well, these
guys could steal a 1 seed.
Rhode Island
Last year, the Rams were 1 of the 2 teams not invited to Dance. This year, their
a sleeping power ready to do damage in the tournament. Rhode Island has snuck into
a #6 ranking, but will have to sneak through the CUSA's final bouts to find a
chance at a #1 seeding.
North Carolina
The final 2 seeding goes to the Tar Heels. Though North Carolina is showing their
dominance now in the SEC, the SEC is very weak and the Tar Heels did very poor
before the conference sessions.
And now for the final 4 teams, or 3 seeds as of right now. If some shockers are
to win conference tournaments, these guys will be the first to look at for hurting.
Minnesota
The Gophers may be last in the Big 12, but these guys have power. The did win the
preseason tournament, but if they don't get their heads back into the game, another
team will sneak in and burst this bubble.
Iowa St.
The Cyclones are getting in right now on quality wins, including a victory over
Iowa. The Clones can win when they have to. Now is when they have to, or we may be
seeing another bubble burst.
UCLA
The Bruins can power their way into the tournament, and with a weaker confernece,
may be less on the bubble then Minnesota or Iowa St, however, the Minnesota and
Cyclone power ratings keep them up there.
UNLV
Just making the tournament is a team that didn't make it last year. The Rebels want
to try and relive Version 1 dominance, but they'll have to prove it as the weakest
conference's season winds down. They're in the same boat as UCLA. They must win in a
weak conference or POP!
BUBBLE BURSTS
UMass has been very weak all around in the Big 12 with the exception of 2 small
victories, and 1 good sized one(over a seeded team). If UCLA or UNLV screw up, these
guys are the first option. Or, they can control their own fate by taking advantage
of the other two 3 seeds Minnesota and Iowa St. in the 3 games they play them.
Ohio St. was a power last year and faded in the Dance. They've never rebounded, and
will have to rebound now. They'll need to take advantage of their own fate like UMass
with wins over UCLA and UNLV in the 4 games they still play with them.
NEEDS A CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
UNI and Illinois just haven't lived up to any expectations and will need strong
recruiting next year to improve.
March 28 we'll find out the final answers.
March 14, 2001
The conference season has begun in a dead heat. Here's the conference by
confernece breakdown:
Big 12---Iowa has taken charge of this confernece at 2-0 dispite dropping to
#2 in the overall rankings. Iowa did lose one to Kentucky in the run, but took
the Big 12 by storm with 19 and 7 point victories.
They didn't play Iowa St. in those games though, and the Cyclones are 1-1 after
3 out of conference losses. They dropped one to Minneosta and defeated UMass.
Minneosta looks like the other force to be reckoned with in the Big 12. Standing
in second with their 1-1 record, they remain #3, just 1 position below the
Hawkeyes.
Meanwhile, UMass is really struggling going 2-1 out of conference, but 0-2
when it really hurt. Can the Minutemen come back?
If Iowa can win on the road just once in Minnesota, they should be the easy
winners. If not, Minnesota can and will take advantage of the possibility of an
ISU or UMass win over the Hawkeyes.
Big 10---Rutgers leads the conference with two .500 marks. 5-5 overall and 1-1
in the confernece winning over the Matadors but losing to Illinois.
The Matadors are second with their victory being over the Panthers. They are
4-6 overall.
Illinois and UNI are each 3-7 overall, but UNI took the edge for third with
their 81-78 victory hosing Illinois
There's little to say about this dead heat with no good teams(at least right now)
except that it's going to be an unpredictable fight until the Big 10 Tournament
Championship when the only for certain Big 10 bid is won.
SEC---The SEC is being shocked with 2-6 out of conference North Carolina leading
the way with their 2-0 conference record. They recorded victories over UNLV and
UCLA.
UNLV and UCLA each recorded 1-1 runs in the conference, each 5-5 overall. However,
UCLA holds second place in the SEC thanks to the alphabet as they have yet to meet
the Rebels. Meanwhile, UNLV holds #5 to UCLA's #11.
Ohio St. took 2 losses from UCLA and UNLV after showing improvements with 3 wins
in the last stint of out of conference play. Ohio St. is a team that can show
improvement through the conference season.
However, right now, UNLV should still take the crown, but North Carolina is ready
to charge.
CUSA---DePaul took the #1 ranking with their 4-1 mark. The 1 loss came to
confernece rival Kentucky by a mere 4.
However, Kentucky holds last in virtue of thier 16 point loss at Virginia
Tech. The Wildcats are trying to make some noise to follow up their 3-2 run.
Those Hokies went on a 1-4 slump capped by that game 10 win over Kentucky. They're
hoping to charge themselves back up from #6 to #2 and hopefully #1 in the rest
of the conference year.
Meanwhile, Rhode Island is sitting back as the sleeper. They are second in the
CUSA with their 6-4 overall record, and have moved up to #4 after a very bad
season last year, the Rams are shaking things up.
But it all comes down to new kid DePaul. If they choke, the Rams and Hokies are
going to duke it out till the end.
March 4, 2001
The second season has begun, and some new teams want in on the Madness.
Namely, Minnesota and DePaul right now as they make stunning 4-1 runs jumping
them to #3 and #7 from #9 and last place.
Also going 4-1 were Iowa, Virginia Tech(staying #1 and #2), and Rhode Island
shows great improvements from last year moving from #12 to #5.
Only 1 team made it past 1-0, and that was UNLV who went undefeated the
longest, 2 games over DePaul and Rhode Island. They ended up 3-2.
Another team making a great stride this season is the only other team with a
winning record, 3-2 expansion Iowa State. The Cyclones hold a big win over
UNLV, and a huge victory points wise over state rival UNI.
Ohio St. and Illinois, former Big 10 powers, are now Big 10 and SEC chumps.
Every Big 10 team has a losing record, and UNLV is the only winning record
in the SEC at that 3-2 mark. Meanwhile, UMass is the only losing record in
the Big 12, but only at 2-3 while the CUSA holds the other 3 4-1 records(the
Big 12 with 2), and Kentucky's decent 2-3 record.
Can the Big 10 and SEC gain dignity as we close the out of conference seasons,
or will those that make the Dance be the laughing stocks being seen as having
no chance? Time will tell.
February 28, 2001
Now, the HHCB's Version 2 Season 2 begins. And the favorites are announced.
In the Big 12, Iowa looks like the dominant force. They used their points for
the only JUCO transfer to enter the HHCB this season, but Minnesota left a
huge newbie impression in the preseason.
Meanwhile, in the Big 10, the Illini remain favorites, but the Matadors look
like they could bring in some trouble.
The new CUSA has the dominating favorite of a revigorated National Champion
in the Virginia Tech Hokies. Can Kentucky spoil the pot?
And the new SEC shows a tight race, but the Buckeyes look to be the leader in
this race. Maybe newbie North Carolina could pull through to bring in some
action.
We'll see as the season begins.
