NCAA Tournament Thread

[Jazz]

Well, this figures. They're playing 1st and 2nd round games 3 miles from me but its all crappy teams like UCLA and Indiana. Meanwhile, Illinois would play its sweet 16 games within a driveable distance but they have little chance to get there. bah.

 

Easy now, IU is not crappy. Also, Illinois has a great chance to lose to Kansas in the sweet sixteen.

 

They have a better chance to lose to Virginia Tech in the first round though or SIU in the second. IU lost to Illinois therefore they are crappy. UCLA is crappy because they lost to Cal. :D

 

sadly, I didn't even know there were games here until I saw the goodyear blimp (why send a blimp to an indoor event?). Anyway, I can get tickets if you want 'em Raisin (or anyone else) - six hours of driving and $61 a ticket.

 

I can't make it, sadly (heck, UCLA played 2 hours away in San Diego last year and I couldn't go). Thanks for the offer.

 

And screw Cal. :P

 

heyy be nice

 

I got UCLA taking this thing over UNC

[Guest]

Well, this figures. They're playing 1st and 2nd round games 3 miles from me but its all crappy teams like UCLA and Indiana. Meanwhile, Illinois would play its sweet 16 games within a driveable distance but they have little chance to get there. bah.

 

Easy now, IU is not crappy. Also, Illinois has a great chance to lose to Kansas in the sweet sixteen.

 

They have a better chance to lose to Virginia Tech in the first round though or SIU in the second. IU lost to Illinois therefore they are crappy. UCLA is crappy because they lost to Cal. :D

 

sadly, I didn't even know there were games here until I saw the goodyear blimp (why send a blimp to an indoor event?). Anyway, I can get tickets if you want 'em Raisin (or anyone else) - six hours of driving and $61 a ticket.

 

I can't make it, sadly (heck, UCLA played 2 hours away in San Diego last year and I couldn't go). Thanks for the offer.

 

And screw Cal. :P

 

Jealousy is so ugly. 8-)

[SouthSideRyan]

UCLA over OSU.

[wekse]

no no no...ucla over georgetown, 71-65

[TruffleShuffle]

no no no...ucla over georgetown, 71-65

 

pretty close to what I have.

 

And hopefully people don't have Southern Illinois going too far, since they'll be out in Round One. :D

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Wow, kinda surprised with the UCLA love - esp. against teams with athletic frontlines like Florida and Georgetown.

[SouthSideRyan]

no no no...ucla over georgetown, 71-65

 

pretty close to what I have.

 

And hopefully people don't have Southern Illinois going too far, since they'll be out in Round One. :D

 

I actually have that.

[Mizzou]

I have UNC beating Wisconsin 78-67.

[SouthSideRyan]

I don't suppose anybody has a way for me to watch these games at work tomorrow after they've blocked sportsline for the sole purpose of stopping me from watching it. Anybody know of any mirror sites that would be hosting the games?

[Handlebar McSkullet]

I don't suppose anybody has a way for me to watch these games at work tomorrow after they've blocked sportsline for the sole purpose of stopping me from watching it. Anybody know of any mirror sites that would be hosting the games?

 

evil evil bastards!!!!! apparently you work for the galactic empire.

[Andy]

I have UNC beating Wisconsin 78-67.

Georgia Tech will beat Wisconsin on Sunday.

 

UCLA 74 Georgetown 67

 

This is the most excited I've been for the tourney in years - even more than the last time ND was in it.

[SouthSideRyan]

Everybody loves Georgetown and Texas as their "surprise" teams. Which guarantees neither will do anything.

[Andy]

Everybody loves Georgetown and Texas as their "surprise" teams. Which guarantees neither will do anything.

The Hoyas ain't no surprise for me - I've been in awe of them for some time now.

 

Texas vs UNC, if it happens, would be an incredible Sweet 16 matchup.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Everybody loves Georgetown and Texas as their "surprise" teams. Which guarantees neither will do anything.

 

I can see Texas getting to the second weekend, but they don't get past UNC/MSU/Marquette.

[reggiemiller rules]

I have UNC beating Wisconsin 78-67.

Georgia Tech will beat Wisconsin on Sunday.

 

UCLA 74 Georgetown 67

 

This is the most excited I've been for the tourney in years - even more than the last time ND was in it.

 

I have Wisconsin losing to UNLV in my pool. They have not been very impressive since Butch went down, and I think UNLV is a little underrated.

[soccer10k]

no no no...ucla over georgetown, 71-65

 

pretty close to what I have.

 

And hopefully people don't have Southern Illinois going too far, since they'll be out in Round One. :D

 

How can UCLA win the title when they won't even make it to the Final Four?

[Flames24Rulz]

no no no...ucla over georgetown, 71-65

 

pretty close to what I have.

 

And hopefully people don't have Southern Illinois going too far, since they'll be out in Round One. :D

 

Oh, I have us going far. Real far :D

[ZMovieman]

Forgive me for repeating if this has already come up, but which number one seed do you think will fall first? My money's on UNC. I think the winner of Marquette/MSU COULD win, then with Texas on deck (in theory), it's a tough task. UNC strikes me as one of the most talented teams in the field, but a team that can be beaten if you disrupt their rhythm.

[Guest]

no no no...ucla over georgetown, 71-65

 

pretty close to what I have.

 

And hopefully people don't have Southern Illinois going too far, since they'll be out in Round One. :D

 

How can UCLA win the title when they won't even make it to the Final Four?

 

you've never heard of dreaming?

[soccer10k]

Forgive me for repeating if this has already come up, but which number one seed do you think will fall first? My money's on UNC. I think the winner of Marquette/MSU COULD win, then with Texas on deck (in theory), it's a tough task. UNC strikes me as one of the most talented teams in the field, but a team that can be beaten if you disrupt their rhythm.

 

UNC then Ohio State.

[SouthSideRyan]

I have UNC falling to Marquette. I'm pretty sure I picked this on accident, but I'm too superstitious to go back and change it. And I intended to have them out in the next round anyways.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I have UNC falling to Marquette. I'm pretty sure I picked this on accident, but I'm too superstitious to go back and change it. And I intended to have them out in the next round anyways.

 

I have a hard time seeing them getting past MSU without McNeal, nevermind UNC in Winston-Salem.

[SouthSideRyan]

I have UNC falling to Marquette. I'm pretty sure I picked this on accident, but I'm too superstitious to go back and change it. And I intended to have them out in the next round anyways.

 

I have a hard time seeing them getting past MSU without McNeal, nevermind UNC in Winston-Salem.

 

My heart said MSU, but my head told me I overrated the Big 10 enough in the rest of my picks, so MSU had to lose. They also hinge way too much on one player for me to like taking them more than a game.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I have UNC falling to Marquette. I'm pretty sure I picked this on accident, but I'm too superstitious to go back and change it. And I intended to have them out in the next round anyways.

 

I have a hard time seeing them getting past MSU without McNeal, nevermind UNC in Winston-Salem.

 

My heart said MSU, but my head told me I overrated the Big 10 enough in the rest of my picks, so MSU had to lose. They also hinge way too much on one player for me to like taking them more than a game.

 

I wasn't saying that MSU would take down UNC(although being biased I would be awfully tempted if it weren't a virtual home game), but let's have Big Ten Wonk say it best.

 

(9) Michigan State Spartans (22-11, 8-8 Big Ten)

Feast your eyes: This is the closest thing Tom Izzo has had to a 2000-level defense in East Lansing since, well, 2000. Opposing teams struggle to make baskets, both from inside (Big Ten opponents made just 45 percent of their twos) and out (conference foes connected on only 30 percent of their threes). And, thanks to Marquise Gray and Goran Suton, MSU holds teams to one-and-done on seven of every 10 misses. (When Gray, Suton, and Raymar Morgan are on the floor at the same time, opponents have little hope of seeing an offensive board.) What's more, the Spartans are equally beastly on the offensive glass.

 

Look the other way: The Spartans turned the ball over on 26 percent of their possessions in Big Ten play. That's the worst performance of any "power"-conference team in the nation during conference play this year.

 

Etc. At the risk of belaboring the obvious, Drew Neitzel had an outstanding year, hitting 41 percent of his threes while also recording almost eight assists for every 100 possessions he played.

 

(8) Marquette Golden Eagles (24-9, 10-6 Big East)

Feast your eyes: The apple doesn't fall far from the Izzo tree—Tom Crean's men attack the offensive glass. (And, believe me, the way this team shoots they need to. Oops, topic for the next paragraph.) Ousmane Barro has tidied up after a lot of misses this year. Speaking of a lot of misses, Marquette plays excellent perimeter D. Big East opponents made just 31.5 percent of their threes this season and turned the ball over on 22 percent of their possessions. (Only problem there: Jerel McNeal, among the national leaders in steals, is injured and will not play this weekend.) And Dominic James is a prolific creator of assists.

 

Look the other way: James is also a prolific creator of misses, shooting just 26 percent on his (curiously frequent) attempted threes. And, for such a reputedly Izzo-Crean kind of group, Marquette is in fact surprisingly feeble on the defensive glass. The Golden Eagles hauled in just 63 percent of their opponents' misses in Big East play.

 

Etc. Why oh why doesn't Dan Fitzgerald shoot more? I ask because he displays a tendency that sets him apart from his teammates: his shots actually go in! (What a concept.)

[Flames24Rulz]

Forgive me for repeating if this has already come up, but which number one seed do you think will fall first? My money's on UNC. I think the winner of Marquette/MSU COULD win, then with Texas on deck (in theory), it's a tough task. UNC strikes me as one of the most talented teams in the field, but a team that can be beaten if you disrupt their rhythm.

 

I have both Kansas and Florida losing in the 2nd round.