NCAA Tournament Thread - Sweet 16/Elite 8

[DCNashville]

Maybe it's just the homer in me, but Illinois and North Carolina last year would be able to wipe the floor with any of the teams this year. No team is close to the level that those two were at last year.

 

I agree too - though NC didn't play any better, they were just ridiculously talented. Had Illinois not lost their composure and run their offense, they should have won that game. I would have to say that the four teams today were far better than those yesterday. That UCLA win was an awful awful game. Plus, how did a 1 seed end up playing a road game in the elite eight? UCLA never should have been in that region.

 

If that's the case, Gonzaga shouldn't have been in Oakland either.

 

Forget about Gonzaga for a second...do you think it was fair for #1 Memphis to have to play #2 UCLA in California?

 

I'm not saying UCLA is or isn't a better team, but a virtual home court advantage certainly didn't hurt.

[stitchface]

gonzaga does not have a comparable amount of alumni as UCLA

[SouthSideRyan]

Maybe it's just the homer in me, but Illinois and North Carolina last year would be able to wipe the floor with any of the teams this year. No team is close to the level that those two were at last year.

 

I agree too - though NC didn't play any better, they were just ridiculously talented. Had Illinois not lost their composure and run their offense, they should have won that game. I would have to say that the four teams today were far better than those yesterday. That UCLA win was an awful awful game. Plus, how did a 1 seed end up playing a road game in the elite eight? UCLA never should have been in that region.

 

If that's the case, Gonzaga shouldn't have been in Oakland either.

 

And Mason certainly shouldn't have been in DC. And Wilmington with a home game as a 9 seed. Arkansas in Dallas. San Diego St. potentially in Oakland.

 

The committee did a horrible job this year, the problem is, stupid talking heads like Packer ripped them for the things they actually did right like the MVC and CAA teams.

[XZero771679666304]

Maybe it's just the homer in me, but Illinois and North Carolina last year would be able to wipe the floor with any of the teams this year. No team is close to the level that those two were at last year.

 

I agree too - though NC didn't play any better, they were just ridiculously talented. Had Illinois not lost their composure and run their offense, they should have won that game. I would have to say that the four teams today were far better than those yesterday. That UCLA win was an awful awful game. Plus, how did a 1 seed end up playing a road game in the elite eight? UCLA never should have been in that region.

 

If that's the case, Gonzaga shouldn't have been in Oakland either.

 

And Mason certainly shouldn't have been in DC. And Wilmington with a home game as a 9 seed. Arkansas in Dallas. San Diego St. potentially in Oakland.

 

The committee did a horrible job this year, the problem is, stupid talking heads like Packer ripped them for the things they actually did right like the MVC and CAA teams.

 

This whole tournament has been an unadulterated mess. The officiating, the seeding, the regions....and they are going to point to GMU and say what a great and innovative job they did. Too bad that's the only thing the NCAA did right this year.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Maybe it's just the homer in me, but Illinois and North Carolina last year would be able to wipe the floor with any of the teams this year. No team is close to the level that those two were at last year.

 

I agree too - though NC didn't play any better, they were just ridiculously talented. Had Illinois not lost their composure and run their offense, they should have won that game. I would have to say that the four teams today were far better than those yesterday. That UCLA win was an awful awful game. Plus, how did a 1 seed end up playing a road game in the elite eight? UCLA never should have been in that region.

 

If that's the case, Gonzaga shouldn't have been in Oakland either.

 

And Mason certainly shouldn't have been in DC. And Wilmington with a home game as a 9 seed. Arkansas in Dallas. San Diego St. potentially in Oakland.

 

The committee did a horrible job this year, the problem is, stupid talking heads like Packer ripped them for the things they actually did right like the MVC and CAA teams.

 

I don't know - it's one thing if UCLA plays in Oakland, but I really don't think it's a big deal when it's an 11-seed like George Mason playing in D.C.

[SouthSideRyan]

Maybe my SD St. problem was overstated, but Mason IS LOCATED IN DC. No team other than a 1 should get a game in their home city/next door city.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Maybe my SD St. problem was overstated, but Mason IS LOCATED IN DC. No team other than a 1 should get a game in their home city/next door city.

 

Then you shouldn't complain about UCLA playing in Oakland. :P

 

(I think it's a legitimate beef, but oh well, I'm not going to complain.)

[Derwood]

Maybe my SD St. problem was overstated, but Mason IS LOCATED IN DC. No team other than a 1 should get a game in their home city/next door city.

 

No, they're in Fairfax, but it's pretty close. Plus, the teams are seeded according to who the comittee thinks will win, right? So in no way predicted that GMU would advance to Washington in the first place.

 

I think it's nearly impossible to seed a 64 team tournament and have absolutely neutral locations for all teams involved. Therea are more factors than just proximity to campus. They try to avoid having any teams face each other pre-Final Four that have faced each other in the regular season, etc. etc.

 

BTW, can we call a moratorium on bitching about the Illinois Washington game? It's really, REALLY old.

Edited March 27, 2006 by Derwood

[SouthSideRyan]

BTW, can we call a moratorium to bitching about the Illinois Washington game? It's really, REALLY old.

 

I merely responded to somebody making the ridiculous claim that Washington deserved to be in the Final 4. I don't see the point in letting that slide by.

[Derwood]

BTW, can we call a moratorium to bitching about the Illinois Washington game? It's really, REALLY old.

 

I merely responded to somebody making the ridiculous claim that Washington deserved to be in the Final 4. I don't see the point in letting that slide by.

 

I didn't see the game, so I will refrain from commenting on it. There is no guarantee, however, than UofI would have advanced any farther than the next game had they won, so it's really beating a dead horse now.

[SouthSideRyan]

BTW, can we call a moratorium to bitching about the Illinois Washington game? It's really, REALLY old.

 

I merely responded to somebody making the ridiculous claim that Washington deserved to be in the Final 4. I don't see the point in letting that slide by.

 

I didn't see the game, so I will refrain from commenting on it. There is no guarantee, however, than UofI would have advanced any farther than the next game had they won, so it's really beating a dead horse now.

 

Wasn't my argument, I'm quite sure UConn's bigs would've destroyed Illinois, but to say Washington should be in the Final 4 is just plain wrong.

[Derwood]

BTW, can we call a moratorium to bitching about the Illinois Washington game? It's really, REALLY old.

 

I merely responded to somebody making the ridiculous claim that Washington deserved to be in the Final 4. I don't see the point in letting that slide by.

 

I didn't see the game, so I will refrain from commenting on it. There is no guarantee, however, than UofI would have advanced any farther than the next game had they won, so it's really beating a dead horse now.

 

Wasn't my argument, I'm quite sure UConn's bigs would've destroyed Illinois, but to say Washington should be in the Final 4 is just plain wrong.

 

I agree. I would never say such a thing.

[SouthSideRyan]

 

I agree. I would never say such a thing.

 

Whoops, I wound up confusing this thread with the basketball thread on another board I was posting on. I thought the previous poster had said that about UW.

 

The actual Final 4 teams record in my bracket(Records of FL, GM, LSU, and UCLA in my picks): 3-4

 

This is the first time I can remember not having a single final 4 team right. At least I was in it til last night.

[Andy]

In six years of picking brackets, I am now 6 for 6 on my national champion being gone before the Final 4. Four of those times they were gone before the Elite 8. And this is at least the third time I've gotten one Final Four team or less right.

 

Bad times.

 

Edit - And yet I won my ESPN.com Tournament Challenge pool (I'm in 1st and I'm the only one who has one of their final two alive in UCLA). That's how crazy this tournament has been.

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

I usually do pretty well in bracket pools. But this year the only two elite 8 teams I got right were UConn and Texas, and my entire final four is gone for the first time ever. The talent gap between mid majors is closing fast, especially with the amount of good players from major schools leaving early for the NBA. Those teams have to replace those stars with freshman or role players while the mid major players have been playing together for 2 or 3 years.

[adamb0719]

I just won the my bracket pool today. 6 of the Elite Eight, and 2 of the Final Four, and it is already over! Its great to get this money early, right before I leave for Vegas!

Plus I have two free nights at the bar, and three free dinners coming from some of my friends who laughed at me ("no way LSU beats Duke and Texas") when I filled out my bracket, and made side bets with me.

[SouthSideRyan]

I blame all of this on Texas A&M.

[MembersOnlyJacket]

in the GMU/UConn game, it seemed like the refs were letting them play.

 

For the most part.

 

Mason and UConn took fewer free throws combined than UConn shot by themselves in the Wash-UConn game. The game was well officiated and they let the action happen at the rim and they let defenders stay on the ball when a player entered the paint without calling a foul.

[MembersOnlyJacket]

We heard a lot about, and I made a point of it myself earlier on, conference RPI when selecting this field. You have a Final Four consisting of two SEC teams from the fourth rated RPI conference (UK played well in the tournament --- could have knocked out UConn), a Pac 10 team from the seventh rated RPY conference, and of course George Mason from the tenth ranked CAA.

 

I guess this begs the question of how we evaluate schools in terms of advancement through the tournament. I'm not sure how you do it really. Of the things that people typically take into account when seeding and filling a bracket, seemingly none have anything to do with the way this Final Four got to where they are:

 

1. Record (Overall/Conference)

2. Strength of Schedule (Overall/Conference)

3. Leadership / Experience

4. Power of Conference

5. Draw

 

No one has a stellar overall or conference record.

 

No one has much of a schedule outside of UCLA. In fact, Florida's non-con was atrocious (253).

 

George Mason has 3 senior starters. No one else has more than one.

 

I already mentioned the so called "weakness" of their respective conferences.

 

All these teams marched over "giants" to get there.

 

As others have brought up, I think being closer to home is helping on some levels. But, when you take into account the standard metrics in evaluating these teams, who could have expected this ?

[Andy]

Dude. Fantastic sig. :lol:

[Derwood]

Didn't LSU have a good conference record? (14-2 or something?) Just asking.

 

One thing seems certain to me, and that is it will be even harder than ecer for mid-major schools to get any power conference programs to schedule them in non-conference games. You think any program with NT aspirations wants GMU or Wichita St. on their schedule early?

[adamb0719]

Dude. Fantastic sig. :lol:

 

Thanks! It is from a website that is dedicated to firing Carr. http://www.toleratelosingatmichigan.com

[stitchface]

good points MOJ - I think things are predictable but you have to go game by game and really know the teams. I think the schedule is a big factor too as at this time of year playing twice in three days hurts jump shooting teams more than interior teams.

[RynoRules]

Dude. Fantastic sig. :lol:

 

Thanks! It is from a website that is dedicated to firing Carr. http://www.toleratelosingatmichigan.com

 

I know this is :offtopic:, but I am a Mich. football fan, and I cannot think of anything I disagree with more than firing Carr.

[adamb0719]

Dude. Fantastic sig. :lol:

 

Thanks! It is from a website that is dedicated to firing Carr. http://www.toleratelosingatmichigan.com

 

I know this is :offtopic:, but I am a Mich. football fan, and I cannot think of anything I disagree with more than firing Carr.

 

I would love to hear why, but you are right, off topic. Sorry to stray from the Tourney.

 

Kind back on topic. Has anyone been to ESPNzone? We will all be watching the final four there in Vegas, and I wondered what to expect.

 

Also, I have not really followed UCLA at all this season. Can anyone (Raisin) tell me how they match up against LSU?