illiniguy

Yeah we had 6 guys on our team get NBA time. They had 0. Maybe Self should have done a better job coaching our team all year so we could have had a higher seed I guess. But, still we were far superior to them. You guys were young, they were hot from 3, IIRC. It happens. Don't get me wrong, I have complaints about Self. He coached the Bucknell season terribly, IMO. And he's too adamant against the zone when I think it can sometimes (Beasley type games) make it much easier to win. They were hot for three yes, but maybe we could have made an adjustment at halftime. That is my big beef with Self. He always stays the course and hopes his talent will win out. Usually it does, but he gets to that point in the tournament usually the elite eight, were you have to coach to get your team through. He hasn't shown me he can do that yet.

Yeah we had 6 guys on our team get NBA time. They had 0. Maybe Self should have done a better job coaching our team all year so we could have had a higher seed I guess. But, still we were far superior to them.

There is a lot of luck. But, besides when he was at Tulsa, has Self ever beat a higher seed in the NCAA tournament? He sure didn't at UI and I don't think he has at KU either. I hate the higher seed argument. When you're consistently a 1-4 seed, you either aren't playing higher seeds or are when you are, they're damn good teams. Is losing to 1, 2, or 3 seeds really that egregious? No. The fact UI fans still bitch about losing to a Arizona team that was clearly better is laughable. Meanwhile, Bruce Weber needed a miracle finish to get past a lower-seeded Arizona in his championship run, and he's hailed as some kind of sideline genius. Oh yeah, in my posts this year I have been calling him a sideline genius. I am more pissed about Self losing to a terrible Notre Dame team his last year with us. Arizona was loaded, I don't fault him for that game.

No. 38 in Pomeroy. On the year, when leading at the half, Illinois is 13-13. That's hardly believable. Complete Murphy's Law year for the Illini. Which shode bode well for next year when we lose our two worst free throw shooters.

There is a lot of luck. But, besides when he was at Tulsa, has Self ever beat a higher seed in the NCAA tournament? He sure didn't at UI and I don't think he has at KU either.

Did the officiating take your two best players out of the game? We're a different team. We don't have 2 guys head and shoulder above the rest. But I believe DA sat quite a bit of that game. I don't know why you act like only a few teams have big homecourt advantages, though. UI gets a ton of calls at Assembly Hall. Ok. My KU friend has even been texting me about how bad this is because he wanted to play them at full strength. I would, too. I don't want them to have any excuses. I think it's more because he would like to see you guys finally beat a good team this year. I argue that USC is a good team. As would I. Arizona isn't bad either. But win or lose, I don't know if KSU at home is a huge feather in our cap anymore. They have played their way on to the bubble. Speaks volumes about Martin's coaching ability. Give him MJ and his prime with Beasley he gets to a sweet 16.

Did the officiating take your two best players out of the game? We're a different team. We don't have 2 guys head and shoulder above the rest. But I believe DA sat quite a bit of that game. I don't know why you act like only a few teams have big homecourt advantages, though. UI gets a ton of calls at Assembly Hall. Ok. My KU friend has even been texting me about how bad this is because he wanted to play them at full strength. I would, too. I don't want them to have any excuses. I think it's more because he would like to see you guys finally beat a good team this year. I argue that USC is a good team.

Did the officiating take your two best players out of the game? We're a different team. We don't have 2 guys head and shoulder above the rest. But I believe DA sat quite a bit of that game. I don't know why you act like only a few teams have big homecourt advantages, though. UI gets a ton of calls at Assembly Hall. Ok. My KU friend has even been texting me about how bad this is because he wanted to play them at full strength.

Did the officiating take your two best players out of the game?

and then an awesomely bad call against Walker. Lol what a joke.

imagine that Beasley with two quick fouls at the Phog. :roll:

Florida is still the two time defending champions. If they are on the bubble I say let them in.

Me and Hubie brown thought those two played pretty equal.. Someone forgot to tell Carlos Boozer there was a game tonight though.

where was this pargo when he was in chicago?

Hinrich might just need a change of scenery.

Yes, I hate playing these kids in pickup games. I love playing them. I hate when I get stuck on their team.

Jack Ingrem was decent. As was Roger Powell. Powell was undersized, if I remember correctly. Ingram was surprisingly decent, yeah, but Augustine really needed to be a factor in that game. Even then, it always felt like they were one made 3 away at the end there. We were. Had we made one of the three threes we shot when were tied, I think we win that game. Carolina was shook, but then Felton hit that dagger with our guard all over him.

Jack Ingrem was decent. As was Roger Powell.

I think an interesting discussion would be: who is the best Indiana tournament team? IU, Purdue, Notre Dame, Butler? They're practically interchangeable. Good luck with that one. I like Butler the best because guards usually win in the tournament. Purdue is either going to do pretty well or get beat out right away. IU has the talent to go pretty far, but have struggled with bad teams while beating good teams. Notre Dame is a solid bet for the sweet 16. is this really true? everyone says it, but i don't necessarily know that i believe it. 2007/2006: best players on the team were a center (noah) and power forward (horford) 2005: unc won the game because of sean may 2004: uconn had good guards, but okafor was easily their mvp 2003: carmelo anthony was tourney mvp, averaged about 10 rebounds per game that year 2002: juan dixon was the terps' mvp, but lonnie baxter and chris wilcox were two of the better big men that year. 2001: battier was tourney mvp; dunleavy and boozer also played huge roles. I would argue UNC won because of Felton. We had fought back to tie late and he hit a crushing three with two guys in his face. McCants was a decent college guy too. But, I do wonder how much of a factor it really is.

Anyone can beat anyone, in theory. I have no doubt that Illinois would get up for IU, but I think their "up" would be a little less now since Sampson's gone and they've already played twice... it's hard to hold that intensity for three games. Plus, IU's already in the NCAA tournament, so there's little get up for other than pride -- and perhaps sneaking an automatic bid. I don't think IU and UI will get another chance to play. It looks like Illinois will be the #10 seed, almost certainly, putting them on track to play against the #2 seed (should Illinois win their first game). I really think that'll be Purdue. Gordon is reason enough for us to get up. But, yeah we probably won't play.

Remember the Big ten tourny final is played after the bracket is set.

I hope you are wrong on the second part. Wisky went in and won at Texas, who might end up with a 1. They also swept IU. Just because they don't have any names, doesn't mean they aren't very good. If they win out they should be a 2. Wisconsin is the best of the lot, but the Big Ten is way down this year, non-conference RPI worse than the MVC, and there's been no "clear" best team. If Wisconsin had gone, say, 17-1 or 18-0 in the Big Ten, a 2 would have been a possibility, but the flaws in the other BT tourney teams (Indiana beat down by UConn, Purdue's bad early losses, Michigan State looking awful in conference) are going to end up reflecting on the quality of Wisconsin's team, IMO. If I had to seed 1-4 today, I'd probably go 1. Memphis, North Carolina, UCLA, Tennessee 2. Texas, Kansas, Louisville, Duke 3. Georgetown, Vandy, Xavier, Stanford 4. Connecticut, Wisconsin, Drake, Pick an Indiana Team/Marquette I personally am suprised that Butler isn't getting more love than they are. You are probably right about the Big Ten being down hurting Wisky, but I still think they will be a very tough out. I know Drake just beat Butler, but they're playing themselves out of a 4 seed...possibly even a 5 seed. Since they lost to us, they're 2-3 in their last 5 games including a home loss to Bradley and a road loss to Missouri State. Not a particularly good time to be playing inconsistantly. Really though aren't the law of averages catching up to them? They have played way over their heads all year long and finally are losing some of the close games?

I think an interesting discussion would be: who is the best Indiana tournament team? IU, Purdue, Notre Dame, Butler? They're practically interchangeable. Good luck with that one. I like Butler the best because guards usually win in the tournament. Purdue is either going to do pretty well or get beat out right away. IU has the talent to go pretty far, but have struggled with bad teams while beating good teams. Notre Dame is a solid bet for the sweet 16. Just don't count out Purdue in the first round. They always seem to win their first game. After that, however... Oh I know, they gave Florida their best game last year. I just think with having all underclassmen, they could be very rone for an upset.

I think an interesting discussion would be: who is the best Indiana tournament team? IU, Purdue, Notre Dame, Butler? They're practically interchangeable. Good luck with that one. I like Butler the best because guards usually win in the tournament. Purdue is either going to do pretty well or get beat out right away. IU has the talent to go pretty far, but have struggled with bad teams while beating good teams. Notre Dame is a solid bet for the sweet 16.

I'd be interested in participating, by the way. As for the B10, I think you'll see at least one three seed, possibly two. I believe Wisconsin has the best shot since they will almost certainly win out and win at least one in the B10 tournament, leaving them no worse than 27-5. Purdue could very well lose at OSU, but other than that, they won't lose until B10 tournament -- leaving them at around 25/26 wins. I'd say the odds are against IU beating MSU on Sunday are not good, but they'll win against Minnesota and Penn St, plus at least a win in the tournament, leaving them with around 27 wins. And if IU can pull off a huge upset at MSU, well, they'll be rewarded. The championship on Sunday doesn't matter in terms of NCAA seeding, so the Friday and Saturday games take on a larger importance... but the low-mid rank of teams playing the top three on Friday would be hard pressed to get an upset. You're looking at (should the seeds hold as they are today) UW vs. Iowa/Michigan, Purdue vs. Penn St./Illinois, IU vs. Minnesota/Northwestern. None of the top three have lost to ANY of those teams all season, and it's unlikely to happen in the BTT. And, don't forget, IU and Purdue get a nice crowd bonus since the games are at Conseco in Indy. Illinois could beat IU if they match up with them. We could have twice this year. We get up for them. The other teams we can't even hang with.