2026 NCAA Tournament Thread

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MaxyJR1 said:
It will be interesting to see Iowa post Stirtz and losing their top two scorers.
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Well, their scoring is kind of Stirtz and then everyone else and the #2 or #3 scorers can vary on a given night. Last night they had 4 scorers in double figures. Stirtz led the way with 20 but the remaining 3 were two freshmen and junior Alvaro Folgueiras.

I don't know whether McCollum has a ball dominate lead guard offense because that's what he prefers or because of having Stirtz on his team. I expect Folgueiras' scoring to be higher next season and the two freshmen certainly showed they could score last night. I suspect McCollum should be able to land a couple of quality transfers.
 



TwistingMyMelon said:
Well, their scoring is kind of Stirtz and then everyone else and the #2 or #3 scorers can vary on a given night. Last night they had 4 scorers in double figures. Stirtz led the way with 20 but the remaining 3 were two freshmen and junior Alvaro Folgueiras.

I don't know whether McCollum has a ball dominate lead guard offense because that's what he prefers or because of having Stirtz on his team. I expect Folgueiras' scoring to be higher next season and the two freshmen certainly showed they could score last night. I suspect McCollum should be able to land a couple of quality transfers.
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I agree, it's unknown how valuable Stirtz is until he is gone.
 

I never would have picked Braeden Smith or Bennet Stirtz to be such dominant PGs. They’re not exceptionally quick, but are so fundamentally sound and have such good handles that they always make the right play. I would think they would be exposed on the defensive end, but Big Ten teams play such good team defense that help defenders cover for them. Add the good shooting and understanding of spacing and position advantage and you lead your teams to the Elite 8.
 

goldenboy said:
I never would have picked Braeden Smith or Bennet Stirtz to be such dominant PGs. They’re not exceptionally quick, but are so fundamentally sound and have such good handles that they always make the right play. I would think they would be exposed on the defensive end, but Big Ten teams play such good team defense that help defenders cover for them. Add the good shooting and understanding of spacing and position advantage and you lead your teams to the Elite 8.
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They're scrappy, gritty, high IQ and blue collar gamers. Gym rats and lunch pail type of guys.
 

spermophilus said:
Take one of Chilly’s 12 men on the field in the NFC Championship in ‘09, add it to The Mayor’s “4 on the floor” in ‘26, and equilibrium - from 2 of the biggest blunders of basics in big moments - in the universe is restored.

Mind-numbing.
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And the Colorado/Mizzou football game in the 90s where Colorado got 5 downs.
 



Michican't sure is a bunch of whiners
 



Time for St John's to get jobbed, between Boozers charges, cant touch him or foul, and travels, it's inevitable. Shades of Illinois' Final Four against UNCheat and Sean May.
 






Throwback. Would love to watch this whole game again. In this sequence of about 1:30 of game action, 16 points were scored. That’s a pace of over 400 pts.

 

GophersInIowa said:
Throwback. Would love to watch this whole game again. In this sequence of about 1:30 of game action, 16 points were scored. That’s a pace of over 400 pts.

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The deaths of Hank Gathers and Len Bias devastated me as a young college hoops junkie. Watching the video of Hank crumbling to the court sticks with me to this day. 🙁
 

Slim Tubby said:
The deaths of Hank Gathers and Len Bias devastated me as a young college hoops junkie. Watching the video of Hank crumbling to the court sticks with me to this day. 🙁
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I was working the ER in Baltimore , MD the night Len Bias died. There was a grieving mass of family / friends and an experience I will never forget. Massive talent gone way too soon.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Throwback. Would love to watch this whole game again. In this sequence of about 1:30 of game action, 16 points were scored. That’s a pace of over 400 pts.

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Michigan players convinced Steve Fisher they could run with them well....

Back in the day when you could only get one game, though where I grew up, we got the Chicago and the South Bend CBS stations, sometimes they had different games on at the same time.
 


GophersInIowa said:
Throwback. Would love to watch this whole game again. In this sequence of about 1:30 of game action, 16 points were scored. That’s a pace of over 400 pts.

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Is Barkley talking? Sounds like him.
 

Hell of a game down the stretch here between MSU and UConn
 

Hurley against the whistle Duke gets will be as entertaining as the game itself.
 
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WindyCityGopher said:
Love seeing Coyle sitting courtside in Chicago when the Gopher women are playing in the Sweet 16 in Sacramento. Who’s paying your sizable check again, Mark?
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Mark Coyle is a member of this year's NCAA MBB Selection Committee. I doubt that he had a choice of where he wanted to be.

NCAA Tournament Selection Committee​

The 2025-2026 Selection Committee (the year the term is up is in parenthesis):
KEITH GILL (2026) – Sun Belt Commissioner (Chairperson)
MARK COYLE (2026) – Minnesota Athletic Director
GREG BYRNE (2026) – Alabama Athletic Director
LEE REED (2026) – Georgetown Athletic Director
MARTIN NEWTON (2027) – Samford Athletic Director (Vice-Chairperson)
TOM WISTRCILL (2027) – Big Sky Commissioner
ARTHUR JOHNSON (2028) – Temple Athletic Director
IRMA GARCIA (2029) – Manhattan Athletic Director
STU JACKSON (2029) – West Coast Conference Commissioner
ZACK LASSITER (2029) – Abilene Christian Athletic Director
CHAD WEIBERG (2029) – Oklahoma State Athletic Director
JOHN WILDHACK (2030) – Syracuse Athletic Director
 

Rex said:
Mark Coyle is a member of this year's NCAA MBB Selection Committee. I doubt that he had a choice of where he wanted to be.

NCAA Tournament Selection Committee​

The 2025-2026 Selection Committee (the year the term is up is in parenthesis):
KEITH GILL (2026) – Sun Belt Commissioner (Chairperson)
MARK COYLE (2026) – Minnesota Athletic Director
GREG BYRNE (2026) – Alabama Athletic Director
LEE REED (2026) – Georgetown Athletic Director
MARTIN NEWTON (2027) – Samford Athletic Director (Vice-Chairperson)
TOM WISTRCILL (2027) – Big Sky Commissioner
ARTHUR JOHNSON (2028) – Temple Athletic Director
IRMA GARCIA (2029) – Manhattan Athletic Director
STU JACKSON (2029) – West Coast Conference Commissioner
ZACK LASSITER (2029) – Abilene Christian Athletic Director
CHAD WEIBERG (2029) – Oklahoma State Athletic Director
JOHN WILDHACK (2030) – Syracuse Athletic Director
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I know he is. And his day job, for which he is being paid $1.4 million annually, is the Thomas O. Moe Director of Athletics at the University of Minnesota, which is sadly taking second place to his side gig.
 





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