All Things 2021 NCAA College Basketball March Madness Tournament Thread

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Ope3 said:
Rice has been pretty bad, though they did finish above .500 overall this year. That was for only the 3rd time since joining Conf USA in 2005.

No NCAA Tourney since 1970.
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Well, it used to be worse for them. Years ago they played in the very tough Southwest Conference along with teams that make up the core of the current Big 12 plus Arkansas. Since switching to the former WAC and then CUSA their fortunes have improved in football as they've made 5 bowls this century. Hasn't done so much for them in basketball although they did have a 23 win season about four years ago (same year Pitino had his best season).
 



bleedsmaroonandgold said:
If GW were still here, he'd probably say that free throws don't matter. I think Alabama would disagree.
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I just texted my friends / pool mates this morning that all I want for Christmas is for Coach Johnson to recruit players who make their free throws.
 


cjbfbp said:
Well, it used to be worse for them. Years ago they played in the very tough Southwest Conference along with teams that make up the core of the current Big 12 plus Arkansas. Since switching to the former WAC and then CUSA their fortunes have improved in football as they've made 5 bowls this century. Hasn't done so much for them in basketball although they did have a 23 win season about four years ago (same year Pitino had his best season).
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When I think of Rice football (which is very seldom), here's what comes to mind:

1. Joe Salem's last win as a Gopher HC (unfortunately it was a season opener which meant it was followed by a lot of losses), and Lou Holtz's first win.
2. Tommy Kramer's alma mater
3. Larry Csonka running roughshod over the Purple People Eaters in Super Bowl VIII on their turf.

Not football related per se, but I also think of JFK making his famous proclamation at Rice Stadium of the US getting to the moon before the end of the 60's. Mission accomplished.
 

I miss playing this deep in the tournament
Granted, only twice in my life, but those are outsized experiences that I and my wife and our friends will never forget. I've got a feeling I'm going to continue to miss this experience for many more years, sadly.

We thought of going down to San Antonio in 1997, but we couldn't break away. At the time you think there'll be another time.
 

Ope3 said:
When I think of Rice football (which is very seldom), here's what comes to mind:

1. Joe Salem's last win as a Gopher HC (unfortunately it was a season opener which meant it was followed by a lot of losses), and Lou Holtz's first win.
2. Tommy Kramer's alma mater
3. Larry Csonka running roughshod over the Purple People Eaters in Super Bowl VIII on their turf.

Not football related per se, but I also think of JFK making his famous proclamation at Rice Stadium of the US getting to the moon before the end of the 60's. Mission accomplished.
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Regarding basketball, I was trying to come up with the standout Rice Owl from about a decade ago and with a little help from Google, came across Morris Almond, who averaged 22 and 26 during his junior and senior years, respectively, back in 2006 and 2007 seasons. Was Conference USA's player of the year as a senior and also was drafted in the first round of the NBA draft by the Jazz; he only stuck around 3 years in the NBA.

The only other player of note, at least in my memory that is an alum of Rice is Ricky Pierce. I don't remember him with the Owls, but rather as a sharpshooter in the '80s for the Bucks and Sonics. If I recall correctly, he was once called for a violation of the 10 second rule at the free throw line, forfeiting his free throw attempt.
 

Ope3 said:
When I think of Rice football (which is very seldom), here's what comes to mind:

1. Joe Salem's last win as a Gopher HC (unfortunately it was a season opener which meant it was followed by a lot of losses), and Lou Holtz's first win.
2. Tommy Kramer's alma mater
3. Larry Csonka running roughshod over the Purple People Eaters in Super Bowl VIII on their turf.

Not football related per se, but I also think of JFK making his famous proclamation at Rice Stadium of the US getting to the moon before the end of the 60's. Mission accomplished.
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Here's another fun Rice nugget for you-I recall they had a really good running back in the '90s, so when I went searching to find his name (Trevor Cobb, was the Doak Walker Award winner in '91), I came across Jayson Carter, who walked on for the Owls and at 4'9" was the shortest player to ever carry the ball at the D-1 level in 2013.
 




What exactly did Kelvin Sampson get in trouble for? (or got his team in trouble for). I hear he's had some not so ethical dealings.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Houston beat a 15, 10, 11 and 12 seed to get to the Final 4. That’s got to be a record for highest average ranking beat to get there.
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On the other hand, what a run for Oregon State, a team that did not (and would not) make it as an at large! They won 6 straight survive and advance games (3 in PAC-12 Tournament, 3 in NCAA Tournament). They were 12-12 against D1 competition going into the PAC-12 Tournament with losses to Wyoming and Portland. Talk about salvaging a season.
 







Bad Gopher said:
I miss playing this deep in the tournament
Granted, only twice in my life, but those are outsized experiences that I and my wife and our friends will never forget. I've got a feeling I'm going to continue to miss this experience for many more years, sadly.

We thought of going down to San Antonio in 1997, but we couldn't break away. At the time you think there'll be another time.
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We followed them all the way to the Final Four in 97'. It was magical except for being surrounded by KY fans in Indy. We have had too few of these opportunities.
 

matt said:
On the other hand, what a run for Oregon State, a team that did not (and would not) make it as an at large! They won 6 straight survive and advance games (3 in PAC-12 Tournament, 3 in NCAA Tournament). They were 12-12 against D1 competition going into the PAC-12 Tournament with losses to Wyoming and Portland. Talk about salvaging a season.
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The Beavers did catch a break with Arizona being on probation and getting yanked from the PAC 12 Tourney. It allowed them to move up from the #6 seed to the #5, and with only 11 teams in field got a 1st Rd bye.

Who knows how it would have played out, but they did avoid 4 games/4 days in Vegas. They made the most of it. A trip to the Final 4 would have been right out of a Hollywood script.
 

coolhandgopher said:
Regarding basketball, I was trying to come up with the standout Rice Owl from about a decade ago and with a little help from Google, came across Morris Almond, who averaged 22 and 26 during his junior and senior years, respectively, back in 2006 and 2007 seasons. Was Conference USA's player of the year as a senior and also was drafted in the first round of the NBA draft by the Jazz; he only stuck around 3 years in the NBA.

The only other player of note, at least in my memory that is an alum of Rice is Ricky Pierce. I don't remember him with the Owls, but rather as a sharpshooter in the '80s for the Bucks and Sonics. If I recall correctly, he was once called for a violation of the 10 second rule at the free throw line, forfeiting his free throw attempt.
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Ricky Pierce was a very good player. I'm sure Almond was a good player as well but he racked up big scoring number playing on a bad team.
 


Ope3 said:
When I think of Rice football (which is very seldom), here's what comes to mind:

1. Joe Salem's last win as a Gopher HC (unfortunately it was a season opener which meant it was followed by a lot of losses), and Lou Holtz's first win.
2. Tommy Kramer's alma mater
3. Larry Csonka running roughshod over the Purple People Eaters in Super Bowl VIII on their turf.

Not football related per se, but I also think of JFK making his famous proclamation at Rice Stadium of the US getting to the moon before the end of the 60's. Mission
Click to expand...
 

I listened to the ‘83 Rice game on ‘CCO and a transmission problem knocked the game off the air in the third quarter—a warning sign of things to come...
 

Watching Arkansas - Baylor just emphasizes how far away the Gophers were from competing at this level under Pitino.
 


Muss showing some real stellar end of game strategy here
 


GophersInIowa said:
Houston beat a 15, 10, 11 and 12 seed to get to the Final 4. That’s got to be a record for highest average ranking beat to get there.
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The #10 was Rutgers, and they had Houston on the ropes. Had the Scarlet Knights avoided the late game meltdown, they would have tobeen the better seed the rest of the regional.

Tough to have laments having not appeared in the NCAA in 30 years and getting their 1st win since 1983, but man...woulda, coulda, shoulda.
 

Ope3 said:
The #10 was Rutgers, and they had Houston on the ropes. Had the Scarlet Knights avoided the late game meltdown, they would have tobeen the better seed the rest of the regional.

Tough to have laments having not appeared in the NCAA in 30 years and getting their 1st win since 1983, but man...woulda, coulda, shoulda.
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I suspect Syracuse would have taken them out.
 

GophersInIowa said:
Houston beat a 15, 10, 11 and 12 seed to get to the Final 4. That’s got to be a record for highest average ranking beat to get there.
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Anybody notice the defensive job that Houston did on the other teams leading scorer during their run to the Final 4? The other teams leading scorers shot just 25% from the floor and averaged just over 9 points per game against Houston. It would be awesome if the Gophers could put together a team that had more than just one guy capable of shutting the other team's stud down every night.
 


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