Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 34
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Durham

    The Walton Belt (2021-2022 edition)

    Previous Year's thread: https://forums.dukebasketballreport...-2021-edition)

    We averted disaster last year, with a large possibility of the belt going home with someone who bowed out with covid, leaving a split title between the National Champion and the Walton Champion. Instead Baylor took it home in the ending that is sure to make all Walton-belt-ites proud.

    Interesting tidbit is that no team who held the belt won a single game since Uconn's first round game of the BE tournament...making the walton belt holders on a seven game losing streak. unprecedented, perhaps.

    Will the walton belt continue it's curse? Baylor opens up friday against incarnate word. Will incarnate word take the belt home? I want to subscribe to THAT future!

    For those who don't know, the walton belt originated from Bill walton, who in one drug-induced rant at maui claimed that "you shouldn't get to be number one unless you beat the number 1 team in the country, and whoever beats the #1 team should get to be #1." And so the walton belt was born.

    Happy walton belt tracking!
    1200. DDMF.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by uh_no View Post
    Previous Year's thread: https://forums.dukebasketballreport...-2021-edition)

    We averted disaster last year, with a large possibility of the belt going home with someone who bowed out with covid, leaving a split title between the National Champion and the Walton Champion. Instead Baylor took it home in the ending that is sure to make all Walton-belt-ites proud.

    Interesting tidbit is that no team who held the belt won a single game since Uconn's first round game of the BE tournament...making the walton belt holders on a seven game losing streak. unprecedented, perhaps.

    Will the walton belt continue it's curse? Baylor opens up friday against incarnate word. Will incarnate word take the belt home? I want to subscribe to THAT future!

    For those who don't know, the walton belt originated from Bill walton, who in one drug-induced rant at maui claimed that "you shouldn't get to be number one unless you beat the number 1 team in the country, and whoever beats the #1 team should get to be #1." And so the walton belt was born.

    Happy walton belt tracking!
    Yay! One of my favorite time-wasters!
    "That young man has an extra step on his ladder the rest of us just don't have."

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    New York, NY
    Quote Originally Posted by uh_no View Post
    Previous Year's thread: https://forums.dukebasketballreport...-2021-edition)

    We averted disaster last year, with a large possibility of the belt going home with someone who bowed out with covid, leaving a split title between the National Champion and the Walton Champion. Instead Baylor took it home in the ending that is sure to make all Walton-belt-ites proud.

    Interesting tidbit is that no team who held the belt won a single game since Uconn's first round game of the BE tournament...making the walton belt holders on a seven game losing streak. unprecedented, perhaps.

    Will the walton belt continue it's curse? Baylor opens up friday against incarnate word. Will incarnate word take the belt home? I want to subscribe to THAT future!

    For those who don't know, the walton belt originated from Bill walton, who in one drug-induced rant at maui claimed that "you shouldn't get to be number one unless you beat the number 1 team in the country, and whoever beats the #1 team should get to be #1." And so the walton belt was born.

    Happy walton belt tracking!
    Emphasis mine.

    - Chillin

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC area
    For those just joining, this is the late, great Al Featherston's original post on the Walton Belt:

    Quote Originally Posted by Olympic Fan View Post
    I was watching the Cal-Stanford game last night (great win for Johnny D's kids) and Bill Walton was doing the game.

    He said that Cal was No. 1 because they just beat No. 1 (Arizona) and that's the way "algebra" works -- to be No. 1 you have to beat No. 1 (don't get me started on his use of the word algebra).

    Even if you concede his system, there was a flaw in his reasoning -- Arizona never beat No. 1 ... they were voted No. 1 by the pollsters.

    So who should be No. 1 in the Walton Universe?

    That depends on who starts as No. 1.

    If you start with preseason No. 1 Kentucky, it goes from Kentucky to Michigan State to UNC to Texas to Michigan State again to Michigan and most recently to Indiana, which hasn't lost since beating Michigan.

    But you could start with the defending national champ -- Louisville. In that case, it goes from Louisville to UNC to UAB to LSU to Rhode Island to St. Louis, which is still No. 1.

    Which do you think has the better case? Indiana? Or St. Louis?
    -jk

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    In every year, the key is where the Walton Belt resides at the end of December, because once conference games start the belt tends to stay in conference.

    With Baylor as the current belt-holders, our interest is in seeing how we can get the belt to the ACC. Baylor will likely be a large favorite in their first few preseason games. They have a contest with Stanford (Nov 20) where the belt could change hands, but the real thing to watch is Thanksgiving when Baylor travels to the Battle 4 Atlantis. Arizona State, Auburn, Connecticut, Loyola Chicago, Michigan State, Virginia Commonwealth, and Syracuse will all have a chance to steal the belt there. Go Orange!!

    If Baylor survives Atlantis with the belt, their next test would be Villanova on Dec 12 and Oregon on Dec 18. If Baylor remains undefeated to that point, the belt will reside in the B12 all season long.
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    North of Durham
    Thanks for reviving this - always fun to follow. I see it as Walton channeling his inner Ric Flair - to be the man you gotta beat the man (I know others have said this, but I always think of Flair).

    Looking at Baylor's schedule, after a few cupcakes they play Stanford, Arizona State (Hurley!), Villanova then Oregon. They play Alabama in late January and have two in conference games each with top 10 Texas and Kansas, as well as the Oklahoma Goldwires.

    Edit: Jason largely beat me to the schedule analysis except missed the Alabama game in late January when the belt could still leave the B12.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    The belt could also leave the Big 12 if Baylor loses to TCU on Jan 8 and then TCU loses to LSU on Jan 29 (or if Baylor loses to anyone else in the Big 12 who then loses to TCU). (Just one example, I only looked at Kansas and then TCU, I'm sure if you cross-referenced all the teams you could find other opportunities playing non-con games later in the season).

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Acymetric View Post
    The belt could also leave the Big 12 if Baylor loses to TCU on Jan 8 and then TCU loses to LSU on Jan 29 (or if Baylor loses to anyone else in the Big 12 who then loses to TCU). (Just one example, I only looked at Kansas and then TCU, I'm sure if you cross-referenced all the teams you could find other opportunities playing non-con games later in the season).
    This is almost like matter and anti-matter, the previous year champion vs the first #1 of the season ( vs the # 1 at the beginning of December, ,,,) Kind of like a multi-verse. Or to use the Ric Flair nod, WWF vs WWE vs. MMA vs. ... Which should be the most valid? Whoever holds two belts? three belts?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Steamboat Springs, CO
    Quote Originally Posted by Acymetric View Post
    The belt could also leave the Big 12 if Baylor loses to TCU on Jan 8 and then TCU loses to LSU on Jan 29 (or if Baylor loses to anyone else in the Big 12 who then loses to TCU). (Just one example, I only looked at Kansas and then TCU, I'm sure if you cross-referenced all the teams you could find other opportunities playing non-con games later in the season).
    Jan. 29 is the magic day -- Big 12/SEC challenge. Here are the pairings --
    2022 Big 12/SEC Challenge – Saturday, January 29
    • Baylor at Alabama
    • Missouri at Iowa State
    • Kentucky at Kansas
    • Kansas State at Ole Miss
    • Oklahoma at Auburn
    • Oklahoma State at Florida
    • LSU at TCU
    • Tennessee at Texas
    • Mississippi State at Texas Tech
    • West Virginia at Arkansas
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    Baylor took care of business over the weekend, beating two teams with names that just roll right off the tongue - The Incarnate Word Cardinals and the Nicholls State Colonels. I mean, seriously, how would you like to be a cheerleader trying to create fun cheers "Let's go Incarnate Word Cardinals, beat those Nicholls State Colonels!" Not happening.

    I will say, I had to look up the University of the Incarnate Word. The largest Catholic School in Texas. The #1 faith-based school for conferring degrees to Hispanics. 23 Division I Teams. San Antonio. They claim David Robinson as an alumni, Master of Art in Administration. (Bob Green might have something to say about that) Interesting!

    In a battle of 'Da Bears, Baylor(kp-6) will take on Central Arkansas(kp-337) tomorrow night at 8PM. Central AR has lost their first two games by 35 and 32, so I don't hold much hope in the Walton Belt leaving central TX. But, stay tuned!
    Last edited by Nrrrrvous; 11-16-2021 at 07:47 AM. Reason: to, two, too
    "That young man has an extra step on his ladder the rest of us just don't have."

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Undisclosed
    Quote Originally Posted by Nrrrrvous View Post
    Baylor took care of business over the weekend, beating two teams with names that just roll right off the tongue - The Incarnate Word Cardinals and the Nicholls State Colonels. I mean, seriously, how would you like to be a cheerleader trying to create fun cheers "Let's go Incarnate Word Cardinals, beat those Nicholls State Colonels!" Not happening.

    I will say, I had to look up the University of the Incarnate Word. The largest Catholic School in Texas. The #1 faith-based school for conferring degrees to Hispanics. 23 Division I Teams. San Antonio. They claim David Robinson as an alumni, Master of Art in Administration. (Bob Green might have something to say about that) Interesting!

    In a battle of 'Da Bears, Baylor(kp-6) will take on Central Arkansas(kp-337) tomorrow night at 8PM. Central AR has lost their first two games by 35 and 32, so I don't hold much hope in the Walton Belt leaving central TX. But, stay tuned!
    The Baylor Bears crushed the central Arkansas Bears, but now face Stanford Saturday. A chance for The Conference Of Champions to steal the Walton Belt on the line.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Durham
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post
    The Baylor Bears crushed the central Arkansas Bears, but now face Stanford Saturday. A chance for The Conference Of Champions to steal the Walton Belt on the line.
    Bill has had this game circled on his calendar since the national title game in april
    1200. DDMF.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Mechanicsburg, PA
    Sorry Bill, it looks like the belt stays in Waco at least another day

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, D.C.

    Hurley

    Bobby Hurley’s ASU team is playing Baylor tonight, trying to bring the Walton Belt to Bill Walton’s favorite conference.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    Quote Originally Posted by MChambers View Post
    Bobby Hurley’s ASU team is playing Baylor tonight, trying to bring the Walton Belt to Bill Walton’s favorite conference.
    Baylor wins by 12. Belt feeling comfortable on the Baylor waist.
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, D.C.

    B1G?

    MSU trailing by 2 at the half to Baylor. Could the belt go to the Big Ten?

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    Quote Originally Posted by MChambers View Post
    MSU trailing by 2 at the half to Baylor. Could the belt go to the Big Ten?
    You had to say something!!

    Baylor wins going away, 75-58.
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, D.C.

    Hah!

    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    You had to say something!!

    Baylor wins going away, 75-58.
    I blew it!

  19. #19
    The Belt could find a path towards the lesser coast.
    #6 Villanova @ #2 Baylor on Sunday

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Richmond, VA
    Quote Originally Posted by bedeviled View Post
    The Belt could find a path towards the lesser coast.
    #6 Villanova @ #2 Baylor on Sunday
    Or not.

    I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the Walton Belt is going to reside in the XII until tournament time.

    But there is that Alabama game on Jan. 29th.
    "That young man has an extra step on his ladder the rest of us just don't have."

Similar Threads

  1. The Walton Belt (2020-2021 edition)
    By uh_no in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 66
    Last Post: 11-09-2021, 08:22 AM
  2. The Walton Belt (2019-20 edition)
    By Neals384 in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 59
    Last Post: 03-18-2020, 08:49 PM
  3. The Walton Belt (2018-19 edition)
    By JasonEvans in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 44
    Last Post: 04-09-2019, 07:24 PM
  4. The Bill Walton Belt, 2017-2018
    By bedeviled in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 31
    Last Post: 03-16-2018, 08:52 AM
  5. The Walton Rankings - 2015 edition
    By uh_no in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 23
    Last Post: 04-08-2015, 01:05 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •