🏀 This has to be one of the oddest basketball seasons I can remember.

[TerryP]

I don't think anyone will disagree with the notion UK is, and has been, the "bell cow" of the conference. Yet, here we are halfway through January and the Wildcats have one win over an NCAA tourney team; Louisville. It really doesn't get any easier to UK to improve their standing with two games against UF and one against Mizzou.

Duke squeaks by Virginia to start the week. If they had lost that game do you realize what Duke and UNC's record would be against ACC opponents? 1-6. North Carolina sitting at the bottom of the ACC at 0-3? 0 and 3?!?!

Indiana fans storm the court after a win over Wisconsin? (Look at the banners in the rafters Hoosier fans...you're better than that.)

On the other hand the teams I enjoy watching (Cincy, Cuse, Zona, Wichita State, Sparty, et al) are continuing to plug along.

As to Bama, here we are sitting at one game below .500 but 1-1 in SEC play. One is horrible, the other (if the season ended today) would equate to a first round bye.

The frustrations, and the reasons behind them, certainly aren't lost on me when it comes to how the Tide looks. With some of these other story lines I'm still not convinced perception is reality. Honestly, I'm not sure what to think anymore.

While Dan Wolken was referring to the Arkansas vs Kentucky game last night with his tweet, it sums up my feelings better than I can express.

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This game has been so bizarrely played and officiated that extracting any meaning out of it whatsoever is useless.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 15, 2014​

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[bamaraider]

The ACC is really down this year. Duke is out of the top 10 for the first time since like '07. NC does not at all look like NC, in fact more like they did last year. Syracuse and Louisville are really the only teams there this year. Ol' Gottfried is having another one of those years where he has the talent to succeed, but can't play a lick of defense (ranked 123rd).

Kansas is even "bad" by their standards. Oklahoma State is probably going to win the regular season championship.

Meanwhile, we're dubbed as "the most unluckiest team in CBB", and our RPI is sitting in the 100s. Tennessee and Arkansas have all improved to possible tournament teams, Auburn has maybe a shot at the NIT, and UF is the same.

 

[TerryP]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The residents of 49 states are idiots with no dignity. <a href="http://t.co/vShaAQ1eT9">pic.twitter.com/vShaAQ1eT9</a></p>&mdash; Not Jerry Tipton (@NotJerryTipton) <a href="https://twitter.com/NotJerryTipton/statuses/423483165802364928">January 15, 2014</a></blockquote>
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[bamaraider]

Well I'm an idiot then. Wisconsin was undefeated and off to their best start in 100 years. Indiana has not lived up to Hoosier expectations, mainly due to inexperience. A combination of excitement from beating a highly ranked team in a close game and just relief from all the frustration from this year could have caused them to rush the court, which is fine really. Even if Indiana is a historical powerhouse, why should that exclude them from rushing the court? They did it against Kentucky from the '11-'12 season and I really don't remember much talk about it being an issue. They paid their fine, life went on.

 

[TerryP]

...and it continues.

Mizzou losing to Vandy.

St. Johns, winless in conference play...

 

[TheChief]

Let's hope Mizzou can keep sliding Saturday.

 

[bamaraider]

Wow I am shocked. 1-2 in conference for Mizzou. I didn't even know but they barely beat the Barners. I really hope the team can do what they did against Mississippi State in the Mizzou game.

 

[RollTideRandy]

Considering that Bama is 8-2 in Coleman and 0-6 everywhere else, I wouldn't get too excited about a possible win in Columbia, MO. I wish we were playing home games in the Ga Dome this season. Then maybe we would have a shot at winning the SEC tourney and qualifying for the post season.

 

[TheChief]

Bama finished ahead of them in conference last year and Mizzou made the tourney while Bama didn't. Go figure. Mizzou was out early in the Tourney as well.

 

[planomateo]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p>Trevor Releford had 10 assists and 24 turnovers through <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Alabama&amp;src=hash">#Alabama</a>'s first 6 games. He has 33 assists and just 15 turnovers in last 10.</p>&mdash; Aaron Jordan (@asjordan1) <a href="https://twitter.com/asjordan1/statuses/424204080429285376">January 17, 2014</a></blockquote>
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[TerryP]

[MENTION=38]RollTideRandy[/MENTION] brings up a point here. I've seen quite a few mention we should have hired Mike Anderson—a notion that confuses the hell out of me. He's won one road game in three years.

Outside the SEC:

I've seen far too many commercials lauding the B1G as the premier basketball conference for 2014. Yet, only four teams don't have consecutive losses in conference play.

 

[TheChief]

Parity. Tough conference.

 

[TerryP]

Parity. Tough conference.

Put B1G head to head against the ACC, who are you taking?

Using the rankings I pay attention to...

Pitt vs Iowa
Cuse vs Sparty
Mich. vs Duke
VA vs Wisky
OSU vs FSU.

Three of five go to the ACC; maybe four of five with OSU vs FSU being a toss-up.

 

[TheChief]

Cuse - down their big man - is not as good as they were. Give me Sparty. Duke is a paper tiger. Wisconsin on any given night can beat you by thirty or forty. I wish Bama had just one of their shooters. Va plays like they did against the Viles, they would get beat by a hundred. FSU? really? Their brightest spot, Ojo, played high school ball in Chattanooga. Go figure. B1G is far and away the best conference this year.

 

[TheChief]

The B1G recruits players who can play basketball, not athletes. There is a difference. If Bama could recruit one guy, just one guy, who can play basketball and could shoot lights out, it would make all the difference in the world. Looking at Bama walk onto the court you would think they could defeat the world. They can't play basketball.

 

[TerryP]

Duke is a paper tiger but Ohio State isn't? Wisky, just lost to an unranked Minny team. Cuse and Pitt? Those are to of the top five teams in the nation in my eyes joined by Sparty and Iowa.

You and I are going in circles here and we could continue to do so with team after team after team.

One of the oddest basketball seasons I think I've ever seen...

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In betting terms...let's say you've got an over/under of 75% on the games you could pick right in the first round of a bracket if the tourney started today. Where would you fall?

Me? Taking logical odds...I'm going under.

 

[TheChief]

[MENTION=12209]TerryP[/MENTION] You better believe I'm going under.