NCAA Tournament Thread - Round 2

[TruffleShuffle]

IMO, when you talk about physicality, the first thing that comes to mind is defense. Illinois and Iowa played great man D this year, MSU and Wisconsin are known for it(MSU was not as strong as they typically are, don't know about Wisconsin), plus Indiana and OSU are far from Gonzaga or West Virginia levels of defensive presence.

 

OK, but if you are physical on defense and not aggressive on offense (perimeter team), you run the risk of being on the losing end of the free throw margin. It reminds me of when Indiana fans were mad that Maryland was sent to the free throw line 28 times, and Indiana had only 7 free throws in the 2002 championship game. Indiana shot 23 threes and a lot more mid-range jumpers, so what did you expect? You aren't just awarded free throws because the other team is getting them.

[TruffleShuffle]

Northwestern State - You just got Pittsnogled.

 

Does any player look more representative of his state than Pittsnogle? White, goatee, too many tattoos, and probably bad teeth? And his name is Pittsnogle. Basically, when I think of people from WV, I think of Pittsnogle.

[TruffleShuffle]

Oh yeah, and haha, goodbye Bucknell.

[Andy]

Northwestern State - You just got Pittsnogled.

 

Does any player look more representative of his state than Pittsnogle? White, goatee, too many tattoos, and probably bad teeth? And his name is Pittsnogle. Basically, when I think of people from WV, I think of Pittsnogle.

It is his sheer West Virginia-ness that makes Pittsnogle so oddly lovable. :D

 

But I'm worried about that WV-Texas matchup.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Texas is up 14 with under 10 mins left, OSU is down 8 with under 4 left, why am I getting the Texas game?

 

EDIT: Thank you CBS

[TruffleShuffle]

This refs have been completely one-sided.

 

I think we should keep a count of how many perimeter teams (Kentucky - 38% of shots from behind the arc; UConn, 22% of shots behind the arc) go to the free throw line fewer times (Kentucky - 18 FTs; UConn - 30 FTs) and then get mad about the referees.

[Andy]

Say goodbye to Elite 8 team number two, and the last remaining Big Ten team. An unexpectedly awful showing from what appeared to be a very solid conference all year.

 

This is probably the worst one can do in their brackets while still having a very solid chance of winning the pools.

[TruffleShuffle]

Haha, this is comedy at its finest from a NY Times

 

When they are finished with his name, they move on to his colorful tattoos, his uneven haircut and his scruffy goatee. They mock that he is married in college, that he is a 6-foot-11 junior forward who does not like to play under the basket, that he is the only West Virginia player on the active roster who is actually from West Virginia.

 

"People think anybody from my state is a hick," Pittsnogle said. "They think we're all hillbillies. I can't say it doesn't bother me sometimes."

 

He grew up in a trailer park in Martinsburg, W.Va., to parents who dropped out of school when they were in the seventh grade.

 

 

Of all the people to try to dispel the notion that WV is populated by a bunch of hillbillies, I don't think he's the right guy.

[rawaction]

Big Ten done on the first weekend. Where's MOJ? HE called this. I blame him for bringing his bad karma onto the conference because his Georgia Tech team is sitting at home watching.

[Soul]

Incredible. Not one Big 10 team through to the Sweet 16!

[rawaction]

Incredible. Not one Big 10 team through to the Sweet 16!

 

Which sucks because I picked 4 of them. IU, Illinois, OSU, and Michigan St.

[Andy]

I'll tell you what, Allan Ray won't blow you away with stats or overwhelming athleticism, but he is a VERY good basketball player. He's officially my favorite player in this tournament other than Pittsnogle.

 

Nova well on their way to advancing a 4th Big East team on to the Sweet 16. :D

[sweetpeteman]

Frick'n plane.

 

I have ESPN Bottomline on my phone, so I saw Bradley up 14-4 when I had to turn it off, and then when I landed, I turned it back on and almost jumped out of my seat. I wish I had been able to watch it.

[Butterscup1679666578]

So who has lost 3 of 4 Final Four teams? *raises hand*

[CuseCubFan69]

So who has lost 3 of 4 Final Four teams? *raises hand*

 

LSU is my only survivor.

[UK1679666180]

I think we should keep a count of how many perimeter teams (Kentucky - 38% of shots from behind the arc; UConn, 22% of shots behind the arc) go to the free throw line fewer times (Kentucky - 18 FTs; UConn - 30 FTs) and then get mad about the referees.

 

Only if refs had no say on loose balls as well as fouls that did not involve the act of shooting.

 

Maybe they should just have rugby and then once they go up for a shot, then blow the whistle.

[Andy]

Frick'n plane.

 

I have ESPN Bottomline on my phone, so I saw Bradley up 14-4 when I had to turn it off, and then when I landed, I turned it back on and almost jumped out of my seat. I wish I had been able to watch it.

SweetPete, the Braves pretty much dominated the game and never allowed Krauser to get untracked. They really didn't look a thing like a 13-seed. Best of luck against Memphis. :D

 

So who has lost 3 of 4 Final Four teams? *raises hand*

I still have all four, which is about the only thing that has gone right today in my picks.

[CuseCubFan69]

I think we should keep a count of how many perimeter teams (Kentucky - 38% of shots from behind the arc; UConn, 22% of shots behind the arc) go to the free throw line fewer times (Kentucky - 18 FTs; UConn - 30 FTs) and then get mad about the referees.

 

Only if refs had no say on loose balls as well as fouls that did not involve the act of shooting.

 

Maybe they should just have rugby and then once they go up for a shot, then blow the whistle.

 

Syracuse played Pitt and were out shot at the line 34-5. I don't know what refs are looking at but it's often something different than I am.

[TruffleShuffle]

Haha, now Billy [expletive] is on the mid-major bandwagon. My loathing for him continues to grow.

[rawaction]

My Final 4 is completely intact. Of course, I picked 3 #1 seeds. 2 Sweet 16 in 3 of the brackets and completely right on the Duke bracket (I have no idea what they're called now that they aren't East/West/Midwest/South).

 

10 of the Sweet 16, 7 of my Elite 8 are still left (damn Michigan St.), and all my Final 4 are in tact.

 

Next year, I swear, I'm picking the highest seed every time. I'd still have 10 of the teams right so far.

Edited March 20, 2006 by rawaction

[Andy]

<3 Allan Ray.

 

Villanova wins, pushing me to even for the day, even for the round, with 6 of my elite 8's and all my final 4's still breathing.

 

What a great 4 days.

[baseball7897]

I went 5-3 today, The Villanova and Boston College game looks to be a great matchup. Go BC

 

I predict Duke, Texas, Memphis, UCLA, Florida, BC, Wichita St., Connecticut all win their matchups.

[MembersOnlyJacket]

Big Ten done on the first weekend. Where's MOJ? HE called this. I blame him for bringing his bad karma onto the conference because his Georgia Tech team is sitting at home watching.

 

Yep. They put up a weak performance outside the conference all year, so why expect these teams to suddenly show up in March ? The only Big Ten team I had through the Sweet 16 was Iowa and they suffered the greatest upset. My Atlanta bracket is a disaster as a result of this foolish call. On the other hand, my Minneapolis bracket is looking green.

 

As for Georgia Tech, they'll be just fine. In fact, I'll call them to the Sweet 16 in '07 right now. In '08, they should be poised for a Final 4 run.

[SouthSideRyan]

To clarify from earlier, I wasn't hinting at a reffing conspiracy, just in the same way that refs will call a game tight to prevent physical games from getting out of hand, I think it's possible refs operating on the misconception that Big 10 teams are dirty or physical decided to call it tight on them, to the point that Illinois wasn't allowed to play defense. People that are ragging on Illinois fans as complainers, I just really have to wonder if you even watched the game or are just that blinded by hatred for Illinois.

 

I've had games before where I thought U of I was screwed over by calls, then looked back over things and realized I was being a homer. I re-watched the entire game today, and that 2nd half was just flat out criminal. If Washington was Duke everybody and their mother would be on the refs calling it typical pro-Duke bias but since it was 2 teams that nobody cared about nationally, it was blown off.

[Andy]

My merely .500 2nd round performance has knocked me to 8th in the NSBB Facebook pool and a tie for 14th in the Yahoo pick 'em. Hopefully my Final 4 teams can carry me through, however.