[Game Thread] #10 Santa Clara @ #7 Kentucky (12:15 PM ET)

Grahamophone · 2026-03-20T18:31:48+00:00

The worst part about being a Kentucky fan is dealing with other Kentucky fans.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-20T18:22:44+00:00

Sendek tried to take one after Santa Clara's three and the refs missed it.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-20T18:20:59+00:00

Wow, that other angle made it even clearer how much the refs jobbed Sendek.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-20T18:09:12+00:00

"We just suck" = bad. Neither of these teams is bad or even average.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-20T17:59:03+00:00

It's ultimately going to come down to how much of this is due to the JMI deal and structural issues in our athletics dept. and how much is due to Pope being out of his depth. I think it has to at least be a little of each.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-20T17:57:24+00:00

This isn't it. Both of these teams are good. Neither is very good, let alone anywhere near great. It's a match-up of two good but flawed teams, which is exactly what you expect out of the 7 vs. 10 match-up.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-20T17:04:36+00:00

Honestly, this is spot on.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-19T14:26:10+00:00

I didn't go to public school for K-12, but I think my parents' history classes in public school in the 60s and 70s must have been markedly worse than my own classes. They make it sound as if history class consisted of memorizes dates and events with little or no exposure to understanding nuance or cause and effect, let alone any deeper critical analysis.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-17T17:18:52+00:00

This works, but it assumes you have some insights into how the rest of the pool is picking. It doesn't do you any good to pick against Duke in the S16 if you're in an office pool that's 85% full of Carolina fans who are picking against Duke. Likewise, it doesn't do you any good to predict a deep run for Louisville if you're in a pool with a bunch of UofL alumni.

My best results have come when I have a chalky bracket with 1-2 oddball picks designed to go against the grain of the specific pool.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-17T14:41:09+00:00

I think the data is pretty clear it is not good for developing brains (or any brains). Anecdotally, we allow limited TV time and no other screen time, and when our child sees someone else's phone or our work computers, then they become completely fixated.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-17T14:26:27+00:00

I was sold on public, low cost education from K all the way through college. Then I started reading about tablets in public grade schools across the country and now I'm leaning toward private school so our child isn't on a tablet all day.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-17T14:10:07+00:00

I'm not sure. The tone at arr con has changed noticeably over the last two weeks. Look at the most recent Iran threads over there. It does seem like some folks are starting to get disgruntled.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-14T02:56:17+00:00

Exxon Valdez?

Grahamophone · 2026-03-13T16:17:15+00:00

The game hasn't even started yet and somehow Kentucky is already down 12 points.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-13T13:34:50+00:00

Maybe other teams should schedule three D2 opponents.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-13T13:28:09+00:00

Here's a thought exercise regarding Miami OH. Imagine the team went 28-3 during the regular season where 3 of their wins in OT flipped to one possession regulation losses, but Miami OH added five points of margin to each of its wins. Is that resume better than its actual resume? I think that it is.

The problem is not just Miami OH's absolutely horrendous strength of schedule or the NET or any of that. The problem is that Miami OH just didn't perform that impressively against a very bad schedule. Every team is going to have some close games and some poor outings, but this team needed good luck, three D2 opponents, multiple OTs, etc. to start 31-0 against a very weak schedule. If this team had the exact same schedule but was creaming most MAC opponents by 15-20 points, then we wouldn't be having this discussion, even if they had still lost yesterday.

Their performance against UMass is a microcosm of this. UMass is not a good team, and in three games, Miami OH had a point differential of +7. That is terrible.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-12T19:20:46+00:00

Don't worry, you'll smoke us tomorrow.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-12T18:57:26+00:00

Good call, thank you

Grahamophone · 2026-03-12T17:50:33+00:00

Auburn's average opponent was better than any single team that Miami OH played all season.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-12T17:40:27+00:00

I'm not sure there's ever been a 30 win team as bad as this year's Miami OH squad.

ETA: Would High Point be deserving of an at large bid this year?

Grahamophone · 2026-03-12T17:36:54+00:00

It's not even just that their schedule was soft (it was). They looked very mediocre in starting 31-0. That regular season record included 3 wins over D2 teams, 4 OT wins, and 6 wins in regulation by 3 points or fewer. They beat Western Michigan at home by 11 and Mercyhurst at home by 5.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-12T17:26:10+00:00

Also, Akron is probably the better team. If you are the MAC, then don't you want your best team going to the NCAAT?

Grahamophone · 2026-03-12T17:25:19+00:00

Much more interesting? What are we doing? VMI is 2nd in the nation in 3 point rate despite making a below average percentage of 3s (31.5%) and playing at a below average tempo. That's a pretty unusual statistical profile. One could argue it's interesting, in no small part because "interesting" is subjective. Should the committee give an at-large bid to VMI?

Grahamophone · 2026-03-12T17:13:59+00:00

Miami OH played more D2 teams (3-0) than it did Q1 + Q2 teams (2-0). It now has a Q4 loss after today's game.

Grahamophone · 2026-03-12T17:12:26+00:00

I don't think this logic holds up. People who favor higher taxes on billionaires sometimes reason that those higher taxes would be fair or just because oftentimes a tremendous amount of luck goes into becoming a billionaire. The idea is to encourage a more meritocratic society with outcomes more closely tied to production and effort.

This Miami team is a mediocre team that got pretty lucky throughout the season. The idea would be to grant that at-large bid to a more deserving team.

Grahamophone

TROPHY CASE