The living part of Schrödinger's cat appreciates your efforts to alert the DBR denizens without alerting the upset gods. It is a delicate thing.
The dead part of Schrödinger's cat, has no opinion.
I usually wait until we start seeing our first big upset to post this thread, but it seems everything is a little out of kilter (which is starkly different than being out of a kilt. I do not recommend the latter in mixed company. Plesase don’t ask how I know.) With the transfer portal and NIL, whole teams are getting put together on the fly. New coaches show up, old coaches add new wrinkles, and assistants switch to new schools (Good luck, Nolan!)(Whoopsie) (I might have waited too long to post this.)
Speaking of new coaches, we have a new coach this year, and I am personally hoping for modest improvement over his predecessor.
So, back to the rules of the Don’t Jinx It thread. Should be easy-peasy, right? Not so.
Any time we see an upset brewing, we talk about something else, whether it's that special beer/stout/porter we're cracking open, or our favorite drinks, a rough-and-tumble boilermaker or the more sophisticated Manhattan depending on mood- or whether Bears, Golden Bears, or Black Bears are scarier. We can just post about our favorite movies, too. Hoosiers, anyone? Anyhow, talk about anything but the upset.
The goal, of course, is to let everyone know about impending upsets without startling the outcome. Upsets are delicate creatures, easily frightened, and will flee the court - they should only be approached obliquely. We don’t want to Buffalo any upsets by being too pushy with the shoutout but we do want to Volunteer enough information to let everyone else know what’s going on. Which network to watch would be helpful.
A case study: Last year, I wrote,
Sadly, tOSU won on a last second basket at the rim. Now I can’t prove I jinxed the Zips though I did give BlueDevil2K a conniption by being a bit too on point, but I might have, dangnabit.Shouting "UPSET ALERT: Akron is up on Ohio State!" causes shots to clank and rebounds to go awry, and we get Zip. Instead, maybe drop into Yoda speak. "A trend to Buck, I will not.
I offer my usual caveat: the observer effect suggests that simply one's awareness is enough to jinx the whole dang enterprise. We will just have to take our chances and have some fun.
Enjoy!
The living part of Schrödinger's cat appreciates your efforts to alert the DBR denizens without alerting the upset gods. It is a delicate thing.
The dead part of Schrödinger's cat, has no opinion.
Hold on to your Hats...the ACC may lose a bid tonight...
Baba Booey! Stetson 83, Florida State 74.
Ick. Was hoping to avoid this type of result, a la how Virginia opened the season last year. Love Leonard Hamilton, but after looking like a new ACC power after their run from 2019-2021 (who knows what the pandemic took away from that talented squad), this is an inauspicious start after missing the tourney last year.
Scott Rich on the front page
Trinity BS 2012; University of Michigan PhD 2018
Duke Chronicle, Sports Online Editor: 2010-2012
K-Ville Blue Tenting 2009-2012
Unofficial Brian Zoubek Biographer
If you have questions about Michigan Basketball/Football, I'm your man!
Might some lions be eating frog legs for a midnight snack tonight?
Scott Rich on the front page
Trinity BS 2012; University of Michigan PhD 2018
Duke Chronicle, Sports Online Editor: 2010-2012
K-Ville Blue Tenting 2009-2012
Unofficial Brian Zoubek Biographer
If you have questions about Michigan Basketball/Football, I'm your man!
Hey now, the ACC-Atlantic Sun Challenge is all tied up and we might even take a lead tonight.
Duke 71, Jacksonville 44
Stetson 83, Florida State 74
NC State leads Nate James and Austin Peay 90-40 in the 2nd half.
Bellarmine plays Louisville on Wednesday and Clemson and Duke later this month.
Jacksonville plays Notre Dame after Christmas.
Lipscomb plays Louisville before Thanksgiving and Notre Dame before Christmas.
North Alabama plays Georgia Tech around Thanksgiving.
North Florida plays Pittsburgh in December.
It's not the ACC, but North Florida also plays #2 Gonzaga tonight and also has #3 Houston and #4 Kentucky on their schedule.
Don't look now, but Big Red is taking it to The (new) Heights. Thankfully BC won on the last play.
One of my favorite threads...and I'm honored to have been immortalized in the first post. Good thing the Buckeyes scheduled Robert Morris for their opener and not the Zips!
Given that there are literally dozens of different channels that can be covering a game, spread all over the spectrum of broadcast frequencies and streaming platforms, adding the channel info is a big help. Please.
Thanks to those that add them.
Stetson was not the only Atlantic Sun representative with a big win over a power conference team Monday night. Florida Gulf Coast beat Southern Cal 74-61. USC coach Andy Enfield got that job after taking FGCU to the Sweet 16 as a 15-seed a decade ago.
This is a nice spotlight for the conference, but it's not going to get them a second NCAA Tournament bid, so it doesn't mean very much.
Scott Rich on the front page
Trinity BS 2012; University of Michigan PhD 2018
Duke Chronicle, Sports Online Editor: 2010-2012
K-Ville Blue Tenting 2009-2012
Unofficial Brian Zoubek Biographer
If you have questions about Michigan Basketball/Football, I'm your man!
I was focusing on how the wins over FSU and USC affect the Atlantic Sun, and I'm not a stats person, but to answer your question, I don't foresee it having much of a seeding/dork poll consequence. If Jacksonville is a top-tier ASUN team, then the game is good preparation for the kind of first round opponent Duke might face. So sure, there may be something.
Georgetown just broke a 21 game losing streak? Whoa.
There are other teams capable of stepping up and earning a solid NCAA bid, just because they tend not to, doesn't mean, historically speaking, they aren't one of the more accomplished teams in the conference.
A 49 point opening night win over a Duke legend is a good start down that road.
Allow this fanatic to get ahead of themselves a bit.
The Atlantic Sun striking back, looking to feast on another ACC team. Yum! (ACCN)
The ACC-ASUN Challenge is tied up again.
Duke 71, Jacksonville 44
Stetson 83, Florida State 74
NC State 99, Austin Peay 50
Bellarmine 67, Louisville 66