Please, don’t anyone tell me anymore that Cal is a really good coach after what he pulled today!!  Just unbelievable 

1 hour ago, 16thBBall Fan said:

Please, don’t anyone tell me anymore that Cal is a really good coach after what he pulled today!!  Just unbelievable 

I definitely don’t agree with his decision making on that one today. No argument there. 
 

With that said numbers are always going to support that he is still a better coach than some you all want to give credit for. Which is always where these debates come from. However, even good coaches make some dumb decisions. Which I definitely do agree though that Cal is wrong on this one. 

 

3 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

First game was nearly a disaster for Arkansas. After leading by as much as 18 I think, Arkansas went on a 10 minute stretch with no baskets and only a couple of free throws. South Carolina cut it to a one possession game late, but a DJ Wagner 3 stopped the bleeding.

South Carolina had every opportunity to win this game, just couldn't make a shot when they really needed it. Cal and Arkansas hold on 72-68. They will play Ole Miss tomorrow. 

Definitely almost a disaster for Arkansas. With that said that win should guarantee they make the tournament now. Which is quite the turn around considering Arkansas started 0 and 5 in conference. Lost their most talented player in Boogie Fland for the season early in January, and been playing without their best player in Theiro for the last few weeks. So quite a turnaround for a team that was on track to have a disaster of a season at the start of SEC play and key injuries. 

Oklahoma defeats Georgia 81-75 and will take on Kentucky tomorrow night around 9:30pm.

13 hours ago, futurecoach said:

Cal has been very consistent on his thoughts on the conference tournament for years, while Pope made it clear from his first press conference that he does care about winning it

Oh I know that I just wanted to share it if others have not. Plus, I don't think he said that much until around 2020 or 2021. I don't remember him saying that when we won 5 and lost 2 others in the finals his first 8 seasons, and when he left it had been 5 tournaments since they won it or even made the finals.

Today's winners and tomorrow's matchups and times:

Arkansas 72 South Carolina 68

Texas 79 Vandy 72

Miss. State 91 LSU 62

Oklahoma 81 Georgia 75

03/13 games:

Arkansas vs. Ole Miss- 1:00pm-SEC Network

Texas vs. Texas A&M- 3:30-SEC Network

Miss. State vs. Missouri- 7:00pm-SEC Network

Oklahoma vs. Kentucky- 9:30pm-SEC Network

8 hours ago, 16thBBall Fan said:

Oh I know that I just wanted to share it if others have not. Plus, I don't think he said that much until around 2020 or 2021. I don't remember him saying that when we won 5 and lost 2 others in the finals his first 8 seasons, and when he left it had been 5 tournaments since they won it or even made the finals.

He really was saying it from the very beginning about not caring about conference tournaments. The only difference is fans didn't care that he was saying that, since he was still winning the SEC tournaments anyways, and always winning in the big dance. Obviously does not look good at all, and not smart to say when you are losing early in the SEC tournament and then losing early in the Big Dance too like he was since 2020. 

38 minutes ago, futurecoach said:

He really was saying it from the very beginning about not caring about conference tournaments. The only difference is fans didn't care that he was saying that, since he was still winning the SEC tournaments anyways, and always winning in the big dance. Obviously does not look good at all, and not smart to say when you are losing early in the SEC tournament and then losing early in the Big Dance too like he was since 2020. 

A quick google search:

"Everybody gets mad at me," Calipari said. "I can't stand playing in (confer­ence) tournaments after the season's over. What's it do?" - March 7, 2012

"Three games in three days, what does that do for you? I mean, I don't think it does anything. I'm not a big fan," Calipari said. - March 9, 2015

Calipari, who has made it known he is not a fan of league tournaments, also questioned the selection process. He said the selection committee can use numbers and statistics to justify decisions and try to "convince you that emotions don't play a part in it. OK, they don't for me, either." - March 13, 2016

To say Calipari only started not caring when they were not atop college basketball is patently false.

The last quote is at the crux of it. The selection committee has shown us time and again conference tournaments mean very little to nothing in determining seeds. It is about the regular season. So if they do not care, why should he? I 100% agree with him.... or at least the sentiment. In 2011, UK beat the hell out of Florida in the SEC championship game, winning 2 of the 3 match-ups they had against them. Somewhat similar records, and what did it get them? UK ended up as a 4 seed in Tampa then Newark (matched up with the overall #1 seed) and Florida is given a 3 seed in Tampa then New Orleans. In 2016 a similar thing happened when UK outlasted Texas A&M in the finals. And the same happened. UK got a 4 seed, A&M a 3 seed. And guess what, had UK, UF, or A&M lost the afternoon before in the semi-finals, they would have all had the same seed they ended up with. It's pointless.

Now, should he vocalize it? That's a whole other question.

But is this year an outlier, to where he should care? Would they be in if the lost yesterday?

1 minute ago, Breds82 said:

But is this year an outlier, to where he should care? Would they be in if the lost yesterday?

Most likely, yes.

9 hours ago, 16thBBall Fan said:

Oklahoma defeats Georgia 81-75 and will take on Kentucky tomorrow night around 9:30pm.

With how long these games take these days, I'm expecting tip at 10 PM. 9:30, 10:00, whatever. That is stupidly late.

Arkansas might have been In before. I think that beating South Carolina puts them in solidly now.

2 hours ago, bugatti said:

A quick google search:

"Everybody gets mad at me," Calipari said. "I can't stand playing in (confer­ence) tournaments after the season's over. What's it do?" - March 7, 2012

"Three games in three days, what does that do for you? I mean, I don't think it does anything. I'm not a big fan," Calipari said. - March 9, 2015

Calipari, who has made it known he is not a fan of league tournaments, also questioned the selection process. He said the selection committee can use numbers and statistics to justify decisions and try to "convince you that emotions don't play a part in it. OK, they don't for me, either." - March 13, 2016

To say Calipari only started not caring when they were not atop college basketball is patently false.

The last quote is at the crux of it. The selection committee has shown us time and again conference tournaments mean very little to nothing in determining seeds. It is about the regular season. So if they do not care, why should he? I 100% agree with him.... or at least the sentiment. In 2011, UK beat the hell out of Florida in the SEC championship game, winning 2 of the 3 match-ups they had against them. Somewhat similar records, and what did it get them? UK ended up as a 4 seed in Tampa then Newark (matched up with the overall #1 seed) and Florida is given a 3 seed in Tampa then New Orleans. In 2016 a similar thing happened when UK outlasted Texas A&M in the finals. And the same happened. UK got a 4 seed, A&M a 3 seed. And guess what, had UK, UF, or A&M lost the afternoon before in the semi-finals, they would have all had the same seed they ended up with. It's pointless.

Now, should he vocalize it? That's a whole other question.

This! Agree with everything here. He is completely right with the tournament being meaningless overall. Now when he was at UK, he definitely shouldn't have vocalized it. What he says is what seems to get him in trouble the most especially with UK fans. He may not care about the SEC tournament, but doesn't mean he wasn't trying to win the games. Just like when he said when UK had all those guys drafted in the first round in 2010, that it was the greatest day in UK history. He probably shouldn't have said it, just because most UK fans probably wouldn't realize he was saying that as a sales pitch to get the top talent. You come to UK and your dreams can come true, which it worked and a lot of top talent coming to UK and four final fours in 5 years.  

 

 

2 hours ago, Breds82 said:

But is this year an outlier, to where he should care? Would they be in if the lost yesterday?

Most likely yes as they were in the top 40 in the NET rankings. It would have taken a lot of teams winning conference tournaments that weren't expected to make the field for Arkansas to have not made it. However, the win yesterday definitely locks them in no matter what happens with other tournaments. 

Ole Miss and Arkansas has been a really interesting game so far.

2 point game just under 7 minutes to go.

Last time out, actually showed Cal drawing up a play...I though he just yelled "Go" and "Fight!" ?