2012 NCAA Tournament thread

[snoodmonger]

So Purdue matches up terribly against Kansas. Hummel, Byrd, and Smith are going to have to rain 3's to stay in the game. Vegas has the line at KU -7.5 and that sounds like the lock of the year to me.

 

3 pt shooting teams give us trouble.

[Smack]

So Purdue matches up terribly against Kansas. Hummel, Byrd, and Smith are going to have to rain 3's to stay in the game. Vegas has the line at KU -7.5 and that sounds like the lock of the year to me.

 

3 pt shooting teams give us trouble.

 

Robinson should be able to score at will. We have no skilled bigs except Hummel and if he has to guard Robinson he will get worn down and be ineffective on offense. Plus this is going to be a Kansas home game.

 

How are you at guarding the dribble drive? Purdue's strategy has been to spread it out when the 3's are going down and then Jackson and the Johnsons' drive. If the 3's don't fall things break down.

[MSG T]

Your table is ready Shaka.

 

In some ways I'd hate that, however, the more coaches in the Big Ten that like to play uptempo, the better. Anyone that causes Bo to be more of an outcast is welcome to join the conference.

[manbearcub]

Your table is ready Shaka.

 

In some ways I'd hate that, however, the more coaches in the Big Ten that like to play uptempo, the better. Anyone that causes Bo to be more of an outcast is welcome to join the conference.

He doesn't play uptempo.

[MSG T]

Your table is ready Shaka.

 

In some ways I'd hate that, however, the more coaches in the Big Ten that like to play uptempo, the better. Anyone that causes Bo to be more of an outcast is welcome to join the conference.

He doesn't play uptempo.

 

They do compared to most of the Big Ten.

[manbearcub]

Your table is ready Shaka.

 

In some ways I'd hate that, however, the more coaches in the Big Ten that like to play uptempo, the better. Anyone that causes Bo to be more of an outcast is welcome to join the conference.

He doesn't play uptempo.

 

They do compared to most of the Big Ten.

They would be middle of the pack, similar to what Illinois are currently.

[MSG T]

Your table is ready Shaka.

 

In some ways I'd hate that, however, the more coaches in the Big Ten that like to play uptempo, the better. Anyone that causes Bo to be more of an outcast is welcome to join the conference.

He doesn't play uptempo.

 

They do compared to most of the Big Ten.

They would be middle of the pack, similar to what Illinois are currently.

 

They would be 4th in tempo this year, behind Iowa, OSU and Indiana. Last year 7th and 1st in 2010. They may not be the Paul Westhead version of Loyola-Marymount but they play uptempo compared to the Big Ten.

[Guest]

8-11 on threes now for Heslip.

 

EDIT: Make it 9.

[Smack]

Colorado meltdown.

[Guest]

The higher seeds in the Thursday-Saturday grouping have done amazingly well. Only two upsets on Thursday (Colorado over UNLV and VCU over Wichita) and none in the seven games so far today. And Louisville is up 12 so barring them blowing this, it will be 8-8.

[SeldomSeen]

Not sure how to handicap tonight's game. VCU is obviously going to bring a lot of pressure defensively. If IU can handle that pressure I think they take this due to having a superior offense.

 

Haven't really seen anyone pick IU in this game, but I can understand that.

 

Smart is going to coach circles around Crean but IU's got more talent. Should be a good game. I think IU will win, but I picked against VCU every time last year and was wrong.

This was damn near true until the 14:00 mark-give or take- of the second half. VCU missed a ton of shots after that, but Smart got in his own way, imo. They had 57 points at that time, only to score 4 more the rest of the way.

 

He obviously knows his team better than I do, but with 5:00 or so left, he called a timeout (with a 6 or 7 point lead) after IU turned it over on a held ball on a Zeller shot attempt. I thought for sure he was prepping his guys for one last full court blitz to put the game away. Instead, they continued to run clock and put up contested shots, effectively killing all momentum. IU stole this one.

[Smack]

Not sure how to handicap tonight's game. VCU is obviously going to bring a lot of pressure defensively. If IU can handle that pressure I think they take this due to having a superior offense.

 

Haven't really seen anyone pick IU in this game, but I can understand that.

 

Smart is going to coach circles around Crean but IU's got more talent. Should be a good game. I think IU will win, but I picked against VCU every time last year and was wrong.

This was damn near true until the 14:00 mark-give or take- of the second half. VCU missed a ton of shots after that, but Smart got in his own way, imo. They had 57 points at that time, only to score 4 more the rest of the way.

 

He obviously knows his team better than I do, but with 5:00 or so left, he called a timeout (with a 6 or 7 point lead) after IU turned it over on a held ball on a Zeller shot attempt. I thought for sure he was prepping his guys for one last full court blitz to put the game away. Instead, they continued to run clock and put up contested shots, effectively killing all momentum. IU stole this one.

 

You can't blame Smart for all the bricked open shots or below 50% FT shooting. He did take his foot off the gas too early it seemed. Woulda coulda shoulda.... How do you think you guys will do against Kentucky? I still predict an IU Final 4 as a sign of the apocalypse.

[Smack]

Nice dunk by Gordon!

[snoodmonger]

So Purdue matches up terribly against Kansas. Hummel, Byrd, and Smith are going to have to rain 3's to stay in the game. Vegas has the line at KU -7.5 and that sounds like the lock of the year to me.

 

3 pt shooting teams give us trouble.

 

Robinson should be able to score at will. We have no skilled bigs except Hummel and if he has to guard Robinson he will get worn down and be ineffective on offense. Plus this is going to be a Kansas home game.

 

How are you at guarding the dribble drive? Purdue's strategy has been to spread it out when the 3's are going down and then Jackson and the Johnsons' drive. If the 3's don't fall things break down.

 

 

If withey is in, we have a good safety net. He's statistically a better shot blocker than Anthony Davis. Our guards are good defenders. But mizzou was able to exploit us some with the dribble drive. I think it'll be a tough game. Purdue has played tough teams. They'll be ready to play us.

[SeldomSeen]

Not sure how to handicap tonight's game. VCU is obviously going to bring a lot of pressure defensively. If IU can handle that pressure I think they take this due to having a superior offense.

 

Haven't really seen anyone pick IU in this game, but I can understand that.

 

Smart is going to coach circles around Crean but IU's got more talent. Should be a good game. I think IU will win, but I picked against VCU every time last year and was wrong.

This was damn near true until the 14:00 mark-give or take- of the second half. VCU missed a ton of shots after that, but Smart got in his own way, imo. They had 57 points at that time, only to score 4 more the rest of the way.

 

He obviously knows his team better than I do, but with 5:00 or so left, he called a timeout (with a 6 or 7 point lead) after IU turned it over on a held ball on a Zeller shot attempt. I thought for sure he was prepping his guys for one last full court blitz to put the game away. Instead, they continued to run clock and put up contested shots, effectively killing all momentum. IU stole this one.

 

You can't blame Smart for all the bricked open shots or below 50% FT shooting. He did take his foot off the gas too early it seemed. Woulda coulda shoulda.... How do you think you guys will do against Kentucky? I still predict an IU Final 4 as a sign of the apocalypse.

I think it's very likely we get our doors blown off. It's been a hell of a season, but VCU just gave UK the blueprint, and theyve got the length an athletes to not let us off the hook like VCU did. Foul trouble and/ or a poor shooting night is our best hope. Lamb might go for 30.

[abuck1220]

goodness gracious, kentucky could not effing miss and iowa state could not hit a 3.

 

worst case scenario for iowa state...white had breakout game and they lost.

[UMFan83]

I know it doesn't matter as much in college hoops, but it always annoys the hell out of me when teams run out of timeouts in critical moments, like in this New Mexico - Louisville game. NM was down 3 with 2.1 seconds left with Louisville shooting a 1-and-1. Of course NM was out of timeouts, so when Louisville missed the NM player had to pretty much corral the rebound and whip the ball across the court in one stride.

 

Obviously in college you can't advance the ball on a TO like the NBA, but at least you can set up an inbounds play to give yourself a microscopic chance. There had to be a timeout at some point in the game you could have avoided taking to ensure you had TOs at the end. Am I wrong here? It seems like this happens all the time.

[Guest]

Had a pretty good day. Got six of the seven games right that I had a chance to (excluding Indiana-VCU, which I couldn't get right). Only missed on New Mexico. Plus all of the games were competitive into the second half.

 

This is probably going to come crashing down tomorrow but I've still got all E8 teams left.

[Sosa21MVP]

Not sure how to handicap tonight's game. VCU is obviously going to bring a lot of pressure defensively. If IU can handle that pressure I think they take this due to having a superior offense.

 

Haven't really seen anyone pick IU in this game, but I can understand that.

 

Smart is going to coach circles around Crean but IU's got more talent. Should be a good game. I think IU will win, but I picked against VCU every time last year and was wrong.

This was damn near true until the 14:00 mark-give or take- of the second half. VCU missed a ton of shots after that, but Smart got in his own way, imo. They had 57 points at that time, only to score 4 more the rest of the way.

 

He obviously knows his team better than I do, but with 5:00 or so left, he called a timeout (with a 6 or 7 point lead) after IU turned it over on a held ball on a Zeller shot attempt. I thought for sure he was prepping his guys for one last full court blitz to put the game away. Instead, they continued to run clock and put up contested shots, effectively killing all momentum. IU stole this one.

 

You can't blame Smart for all the bricked open shots or below 50% FT shooting. He did take his foot off the gas too early it seemed. Woulda coulda shoulda.... How do you think you guys will do against Kentucky? I still predict an IU Final 4 as a sign of the apocalypse.

 

Man I can't sleep so...I know the UK fans are going to expect a revenge blowout or whatever. I do think Indiana can hang with UK again. Whether they can beat them again or not, well I would not bet on that. But I think IU will go into that game with no fear and compete hard. I could see it being a game that is close for 30+ minutes with UK pulling away for a 8-10 point win. Or, yeah maybe they do blow our doors off. From a fan standpoint, I'm definitely happy now just to "be there".

[illiniguy]

goodness gracious, kentucky could not effing miss and iowa state could not hit a 3.

 

worst case scenario for iowa state...white had breakout game and they lost.

So white has to come back next year right? Did I hear right he can't fly because of his anxiety attacks? That's gonna kill his NBA hopes if it's true.

[Exile on Waveland]

Not sure how to handicap tonight's game. VCU is obviously going to bring a lot of pressure defensively. If IU can handle that pressure I think they take this due to having a superior offense.

 

Haven't really seen anyone pick IU in this game, but I can understand that.

 

Smart is going to coach circles around Crean but IU's got more talent. Should be a good game. I think IU will win, but I picked against VCU every time last year and was wrong.

This was damn near true until the 14:00 mark-give or take- of the second half. VCU missed a ton of shots after that, but Smart got in his own way, imo. They had 57 points at that time, only to score 4 more the rest of the way.

 

He obviously knows his team better than I do, but with 5:00 or so left, he called a timeout (with a 6 or 7 point lead) after IU turned it over on a held ball on a Zeller shot attempt. I thought for sure he was prepping his guys for one last full court blitz to put the game away. Instead, they continued to run clock and put up contested shots, effectively killing all momentum. IU stole this one.

 

VCU scored four points in the last twelve and a half minutes of the game. IU finished the game on 15-4 and 7-0 runs. If that had happened to IU, people would be screaming at Crean and, on this board, laughing at him for clapping as Rome burned. That, however, is and always will be an overly simplistic view. VCU forced tons of turnovers because IU doesn't have the correct personnel to combat a good press/half-court trap -- i.e., a point guard (which has been Crean's biggest failing as an IU coach, but a failing he remedied with aplomb for next year -- though that's five years into his tenure). VCU lost the game and IU won the game because VCU stopped hitting shots and IU has better players that toughed out a win. Both those guys are good coaches; Smart will do very well wherever he goes, I'm sure (just as Crean has).

 

Anyway, it's pretty amazing to be in the Sweet Sixteen three years after returning no scholarship players and winning six games. IU won twenty-eight games in three years, they've won twenty-seven this year. That's a resurrection by any definition. I'm not optimistic at all about playing Kentucky, who is far better and will be out for blood. I'd be pleasantly surprised if it's not a blowout. But this year is already gravy.

[Smack]

Is Maurice Creek still on scholarship? Is he 'retired' from all the injuries? Will he be back next year?

[Exile on Waveland]

Is Maurice Creek still on scholarship? Is he 'retired' from all the injuries? Will he be back next year?

 

He's still on scholarship. He's working to return next year and is evidently improving. I'm assuming he'll be back.

 

If you're asking me if I expect him to ever play and be a factor again, then my answer would be no.

[Smack]

Is Maurice Creek still on scholarship? Is he 'retired' from all the injuries? Will he be back next year?

 

He's still on scholarship. He's working to return next year and is evidently improving. I'm assuming he'll be back.

 

If you're asking me if I expect him to ever play and be a factor again, then my answer would be no.

 

Just looking at scholarship situation. I don't want to get into the whole 'Creaning' thing but IU is at 15 or 14 if Roth is gone, right? I actually think Roth is a pretty useful role player but it seems like a lot of IU fans want him gone. Jurkin to prep school if Zeller stays?

[Exile on Waveland]

Is Maurice Creek still on scholarship? Is he 'retired' from all the injuries? Will he be back next year?

 

He's still on scholarship. He's working to return next year and is evidently improving. I'm assuming he'll be back.

 

If you're asking me if I expect him to ever play and be a factor again, then my answer would be no.

 

Just looking at scholarship situation. I don't want to get into the whole 'Creaning' thing but IU is at 15 or 14 if Roth is gone, right? I actually think Roth is a pretty useful role player but it seems like a lot of IU fans want him gone. Jurkin to prep school if Zeller stays?

 

Yes, currently IU has fourteen players for thirteen scholarship spots for next year. That doesn't include Roth because Roth is gone unless he pays his own way (he's been on scholarship for four years, has graduated, is already in grad school, and went through senior night festivities). I'd love to have Roth back; he'd be more useful next year than Jurkin or Patterson, in my opinion. Jurkin to prep school seems to have been squashed by all parties involved.

 

As for the answer? I think Watford is going to go to Europe.

Edited March 18, 2012 by Exile on Waveland