Hoops insider: So which is the bigger dud – Tech or UGA?
"So why aren't we better than this? You're asking ME? " (AJC photo by Hyosub Shin)
Hoops Hysterics
1. Georgia is tied for last in the SEC. Georgia Tech is dead last in the ACC. Which team is more disappointing? Georgia, and not just because the Bulldogs managed to lose to Tech in Athens. (The Jackets are 3-9 since.) A team in Year 3 under its coach, as Georgia is, should be much further along than a team in Year 1, as is the case with Tech. If the Bulldogs don’t win a big game or two the second half of the league season, the advances of last season will be canceled out.
2. How many NCAA tournament bids will the ACC command? How many for the SEC? The ACC could get stuck on four — North Carolina, Duke, Florida State and Virginia — if North Carolina State continues to slide and Miami doesn’t make a big push. The SEC has four almost-certains — Kentucky, Florida, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State — but Alabama lost four in a row and, its RPI of 33 notwithstanding, could be overtaken by Ole Miss. There’s a chance the SEC could get six, but five seems more like it.
3. Will Bobby Cremins return to the College of Charleston next season? The guess is no. Although technically he has taken only a leave of absence for the rest of this season, the (unspecified but said not to be life-threatening) health issues that forced him to step aside don’t augur well for a comeback at age 65. His Cougars beat Clemson and Tennessee early in the season but have suffered a run of injuries and lost seven of the past nine games. It has been reported that Cremins offered to resign Friday but agreed to the leave of absence instead.
My Super Sweet Sixteen
1. Kentucky: With Tennessee and South Carolina upcoming, this stands to be another ho-hum week. Next week, however, will bring games against Vanderbilt and Florida.
2. Ohio State: The surging Buckeyes only play once this week, but their date at Wisconsin on Saturday stands to be one of the Big Ten’s biggest games of the season.
3. Syracuse: Those seeking the worst call (or non-call, in this case) of the year need look no further than Baye Keita’s blatant goaltend against West Virginia on Saturday.
4. North Carolina: Only eight more days until the Tar Heels face Duke in the Dean Dome. Possible trap game: Carolina must play at Maryland on Saturday.
5. Missouri: All season folks have wondered if Mizzou is for real. This week should help provide an answer: The Tigers play at Texas, then face Kansas in Columbia.
6. Duke: Only eight more days until the Blue Devils face North Carolina in the Dean Dome. Possible trap game: Miami in Cameron on Super Bowl Sunday.
7. Baylor: For the Bears, this is the week before the week. They face Texas A&M and Oklahoma State on the road. Next week brings Kansas and Missouri.
8. Murray State: The Racers are still undefeated, and at 21-0 Steve Prohm is tied with Lou Rossini of Columbia for the third-best start by any first-year coach ever.
9. Kansas: Can’t carp overmuch about the Jayhawks’ upset loss at Iowa State. The resurgent Cyclones are pretty good, and Kansas hadn’t lost since before Christmas.
10. Michigan State: This is a prove-it week for the men of Izzo. They play at Illinois on Tuesday, then face Michigan, which just beat State by a point, in East Lansing.
11. Florida: The latest contender for second-best-team-in-the-SEC will be identified Saturday in Gainesville when the hot Gators face almost-as-hot Vandy.
12. Creighton: The Bluejays’ winning streak stands at 10 in a row. The name to know: Forward Doug McDermott, who averages 23.5 points and 8.4 rebounds a game.
13. Saint Mary’s: The Gaels’ winning streak stands at 11 in a row. The name to know: Australian guard Matthew Dellavedova, who averages 15.4 points and 6.4 assists.
14. Florida State: The game to determine the ACC’s third-best team comes Saturday, when Virginia visits Tallahassee. First up for the ‘Noles: Georgia Tech on Wednesday.
15. Marquette: The Golden Eagles have risen to second in the 16-team Big East but have beaten only one conference opponent — Louisville — of real consequence.
16. Virginia: A narrow escape at North Carolina State lifted the Cavaliers to 15-3, but they still must play North Carolina and Florida State twice each.
Dropped out: San Diego State, Georgetown, Mississippi State.
By Mark Bradley
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127 comments Add your comment
Sad Sack
January 30th, 2012
4:22 pm
Is it football season yet?
JSS
January 30th, 2012
4:23 pm
Ignition
January 30th, 2012
4:01 pm
“What’s George Mason’s record?”
18-5…
UO5150
January 30th, 2012
4:23 pm
sorry that’s “want” not “won’t”
Dawglasville
January 30th, 2012
4:27 pm
UO5150 – Bully! I’d say you could be 100% on. I don’t know about the 20 plus wins but I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens.
Mark
January 30th, 2012
4:27 pm
Only 1 blogger has mentioned the home court issue, but it has to be big. I’ve watched Tech from Augusta on TV and they’ve been on 3 different courts – that ain’t easy. No home court and recovering from 10 years of Hewitt – it’ll take more than a few months!
Crackhead O kelly
January 30th, 2012
4:31 pm
Dont care about no stinkin basketball at either schools……………..Football is enough for me.
BiggDawgK
January 30th, 2012
4:31 pm
Come on Mark. the north avenue trade school is the bigger dud no matter what you are talking about. Unless you are talking about former students who are now terrorists.
NO THREE MAN RUSH (the stupidest play in football)
January 30th, 2012
4:34 pm
Mark I don’t see Indiana U on your chart., Didn’t they beat the wildcats this season? Is it beacause the have at least 5 losses? That would make any pretender a dud to lose to Indiana. Take the two best players off any team and they would be less a power as is IUGAs case. You can’t coach teams up that has very little talent. If the best HS players in Ga stayed home and played then they would be on a team that challenges for titles every year. But too many of the players are like the NCAA No Class At All. They use the Ga taxpayers money for their education and training and then turncoat and play for the enemy. Anyway Mark just kidding you about your wildcats as they are a fine team. Kentucky fans take pride in their team unlike some of the Ga unfaithful that will not support their home state. Take care.
Dawglasville
January 30th, 2012
4:34 pm
Mark – I do love it when you guys find the appropriate photo to match the topic. This is a good one of Fox. It’s not flattering but it is funny. My favorite is the when you have a story on CPJ talking about toughness and you guys match it with that picture that looks like he is doing a karate chop.
ToeMeetsLeather
January 30th, 2012
4:37 pm
As long as Hewitt stays seated and doesn’t try to instruct the previous coach’s players, I would suspect George Mason finishes strong.
Skeezix
January 30th, 2012
4:44 pm
Tech is the better team; but so are most teams better than Ga. I watched them twice and quit because that team is completely unwatchable. I mean how does a coach recruit basketball players that can’t shoot? I don’t get it.
I wasn’t keen on Fox and at the time preferred Bobby Knight (assuming he really was interested) or Grant who ended up at Alabama. As I recall, Fox was your man Mark.
gtfanfrom1951
January 30th, 2012
5:04 pm
Tech basketball has few years before it will be back on top. Georgia has gone down hill and is about to fall into ocean. I don’t understand why UGA can not have a good team each year.
Chuck
January 30th, 2012
5:07 pm
Give Fox a chance. The coach at Georgia that should go is Andy Landers. 33 years is enough, and he can’t recruit the best players from Georgia. Gets blown out by Tennessee and schools like that. Can’t compete with those teams and needs to go.
Go Jackets 88
January 30th, 2012
5:27 pm
Fox is an ok coach. But his squad has zero post players that are decent. He did a poor job of hiring assistant coaches that had strong enough GA roots in the AAU programs.
Baby Ruth
January 30th, 2012
5:35 pm
Agree totally with “Cracbaby’s” comments.
Hairy Dawg
January 30th, 2012
5:39 pm
Crappy seasons hurt more at Tech than they do in Athens. Therefore, Tech is the bigger disappointment.
Dirty Dawg
January 30th, 2012
5:51 pm
Hey Bradley, just category would you put Kentucky in these days? Seems to they’re simply selling their program as one-and-go (pro, that is). I suppose that can be a satisfying experience for some plus it’ll mean no more inductees into the KY Hall Of Fame.
Problem with Georgia is that with Leslie and Thompkins leaving early Fox missed the chance to create excitement at the old B-ball court, which fills the seats, which impresses recruits, which means better teams, which means…well you get it.
Mark Bradley
January 30th, 2012
6:16 pm
I preferred Grant, Skeezix. I wrote that I believed Fox was a bad hire. (I’ve since come around to believing he’s a good coach.)
Coastal Dawg
January 30th, 2012
6:17 pm
Mark,
What do you and the others think about changing the rules in basketball to that of baseball? You can go from HS to the pros, but if you sign, you have to stay out for 3 years. I realize that other programs are hurt much worse than UGA with early losses (and not trying to get into that argument), but leaving after a single year just doesn’t seem right.
Mark Bradley
January 30th, 2012
6:19 pm
I’d prefer that, Coastal Dawg, but I don’t know that such a restriction is legal. Baseball has its antitrust exemption, you know.
Skeezix
January 30th, 2012
7:10 pm
I stand corrected then………..
dave
January 31st, 2012
7:57 am
Seem to me a scholarship is the binding factor for the long haul.One or two years and gone don’t help the program in most cases.Will someone please explain the rules if there are any.Looks like it just a money thing for some players.
dawgs bust
January 31st, 2012
8:36 am
Georgia has been a complete bust–in year 3, fox’s team is worse, not better. He better pick it up big next year or he can hit the road. This team is embarrassing. Ga needs to a new, state of art arena to get good players and get rid of that dump stegeman.
billyBobjacket
January 31st, 2012
10:46 am
I’d say Tech, not because UGA is any better but simply because ACC basketball expectations are higher. Playing an urban game in an urban setting in one of the premier basketball conferences, Tech should ALWAYS be better than UGA, where nobody really cares that much about roundball unless the opponent is Tech, Kentucky, or Florida, and even then the interest is only for a day.
yellowjacket
January 31st, 2012
1:23 pm
It’s a tie they’re both bad. Mark Fox is struggling because his offense can’t get off the ground. He needs a true point guard. And Tech? ugh Hate watching them on t.v. Just bad shots taken, lot of standing around and bad defense. Rooting for Georgia State this year. Get it together!
Paul Hewitt
January 31st, 2012
6:10 pm
Mark Fox: It is all over. Might as well start looking for another job. Once the ajc sportswriters start writing stuff like this about you, it is just a matter of time.
BulldogBen
February 4th, 2012
10:14 pm
Looks like the Dawgs will battle USC for the SEC basement this year. Now 1-7 in league play.
Awful and unacceptable.