Exile on Waveland

Glad I picked West Virginia. Duke was overrated. Huh, how about that?

I thought they have lost 4 or 5 times. Yeah there have been 4 unless I'm forgetting one. Richmond beat Syracuse, Santa Clara beat Arizona, Coppin State beat South Carolina and Hampton (yes!) beat Iowa State. Those are the only four, yes.

Because the SEC sucks was my reason. Oh, I agree. The SEC is terrible. But IU was coming off losses to Penn State and Minnesota. IU didn't even care if they won, they just wanted the season over.

I think it's pretty clear he's hurting right now. I've thought surgery might be in his future for awhile. I have no idea why anyone would've picked Indiana to win this game; they completely gave up on the season post-Sampson. Still, the effort was a little better tonight. Hats off to DJ White, who deserved so, so much better during his IU career. Good luck in the NBA, DJ, we'll miss you. The collapse wasn't Dakich's fault, it was all on Sampson. Dakich inherited an unenviable situation and did his best to help out his alma mater. The players just quit on him (yes, it's a coaches job to motivate players, but it's kind of hard when you have but a handful of games to do so). However, I'm not exactly sure why IU thought Deandre Thomas was a go-to post player in the first half, they did a better job getting him the ball than they ever do getting DJ White the ball. IU has been trading off it's legacy for some time now. While there's still some left to mortgage, they really, really need to get this hire right. I don't believe they will, however. From everything I hear, they are obsessed with getting a big name coach. I find this myopic and also worry what their idea of a big name coach is.

Price is easily UConn's most indispensable player.

WOW! (I picked Drake though...knew it was a toss-up)

I'm 13-3, but with all Sweet 16 teams alive (sure that'll change today). I missed both 8-9 games -- I'm horrendous at picking those -- and K-State.

Yeah, I've been sticking up for Wisconsin, it'd be in poor form for them to let me down. However, I only have them in the Sweet 16. As much as I don't think K-State can beat them, I don't think Wisconsin can beat Georgetown. Now if Davidson/Gonzaga upsets Georgetown... UCLA/Wisconsin is my final game. It would just figure that the first game I get wrong is a team that gets to my championship game. And yes, I have G-town losing to Davidson. I could see Georgetown losing to Davidson. I just don't see Wisconsin-Georgetown as a favorable match-up for the Badgers at all. I think K-State may have a better chance at Wisconsin than Wisconsin has against Georgetown.

Yeah, I've been sticking up for Wisconsin, it'd be in poor form for them to let me down. However, I only have them in the Sweet 16. As much as I don't think K-State can beat them, I don't think Wisconsin can beat Georgetown. Now if Davidson/Gonzaga upsets Georgetown...

Ditto, only I have Arizona instead of WVU. I've seen several and this definitely isn't his typical game. I assumed that hopefully they get past this game and he has one of his stronger games against Wisconsin because I picked them to go the sweet 16 then losing to Georgetown. . Same. I don't think Wisconsin has the talent to overcome someone like Beasley. The Badgers might make a game with USC, but at the rate things are going for the Trojans, I'm back and forth on it. OJ Mayo could kill the Badgers. Might make it a game against USC? You think a higher seeded team coached by Bo Ryan is going to lose to a lower seeded team coached by Frank Martin? I don't think you understand what Wisconsin is. Yeah, that's a strange statement. Wisconsin is not as flashy, but is monumentally better than USC or KState. If either beats Wisconsin, it'll likely be one of the top upsets of the tournament. I think KState would matchup pretty well vs. Wisconsin. If Wisconsin has to score 70 points I would think they would be in trouble. Yes, if the scoring gets that high, Wisconsin could be in trouble. Problem is, only Duke, Marquette and Purdue (Wisky's kryptonite) have scored more than 66 points against the Badgers this year. Getting it to the 70's is much, much easier said than done. On paper, I think K-State matches up well with Wisconsin. In actuality, when coaching and discipline are factored in, I think K-State is the kind of team Wisconsin is likely to feast on (slowly, of course, but surely). The Walker-Beasley duo is maybe the best in the nation. I dont see any Big 10 team that features the offense that KState has. If they can slow one of those down, I think Wis. wins very easily. Purdue may be the one team that closely resembles Kstate and Wisconsin lost both games to them. Purdue is not anything like K-State at all. No big man, balanced scoring, good defense for Purdue. If you're going to compare K-State to any of the teams in the Big 10, it would be Indiana. 2 big scorers leading the way including one of the best big men in the country. K-State averages 78.7 points per game, Indiana 75.1. Indiana shoots 46.3% from the field while K-State shoots 44.3% from the field. Both teams are athletic, undisciplined, and inconsistent. That doesn't mean Wisconsin will have a big advantage. IU had one of the two games against Wisconsin won before a banked in 3 with 4 seconds left. K-State isn't unlike teams Wisconsin has faced before though. I want to get credit for the Indiana comp, I clearly said it 5 minutes earlier. You can have credit from me, it just took me that long to look up those stats and phrase my response correctly. After I posted it, I looked back and saw your comment. Of course, the only reason you got in first was because I took the time to back mine up :D. I thought the same. I'd have to think Indiana would be the best comparison for K-State in the entire nation, much less in the Big Ten. I cringed as I wrote that.

Ditto, only I have Arizona instead of WVU. I've seen several and this definitely isn't his typical game. I assumed that hopefully they get past this game and he has one of his stronger games against Wisconsin because I picked them to go the sweet 16 then losing to Georgetown. Same. I don't think Wisconsin has the talent to overcome someone like Beasley. The Badgers might make a game with USC, but at the rate things are going for the Trojans, I'm back and forth on it. OJ Mayo could kill the Badgers. Might make it a game against USC? You think a higher seeded team coached by Bo Ryan is going to lose to a lower seeded team coached by Frank Martin? I don't think you understand what Wisconsin is. Yeah, that's a strange statement. Wisconsin is not as flashy, but is monumentally better than USC or KState. If either beats Wisconsin, it'll likely be one of the top upsets of the tournament. Wisconsin was also monumentally better than UNLV in the second round last year and that didn't exactly work out for the Badgers. And Kansas State (and USC had they advanced) are much better than UNLV was last year. Wisconsin was a completely different team last year after Brian Butch was injured. I actually picked Georgia Tech to beat them in the second round; I had more trouble deciding whether GT or UNLV would be the team to upset Wisconsin. That injury changed their team too late to adjust. I'm not sure either of those teams are much better than UNLV last year, and they certainly don't have as good of coaches. Lon Kruger is laughably better than Frank Martin. And Beasley is laughably better than any player on UNLV last year. Walker is probably better than anyone on UNLV as well. Yes, of course. Beasley will be the best player on the court every game he plays in college (which will be one more). Walker is also very good. That's just two players, though. K-State is an 11-seed for a reason. Beasley averages 26.5 points, yet K-State has 11 losses. Having the best player on the court every game has led to a 21-11 record.

Ditto, only I have Arizona instead of WVU. I've seen several and this definitely isn't his typical game. I assumed that hopefully they get past this game and he has one of his stronger games against Wisconsin because I picked them to go the sweet 16 then losing to Georgetown. Same. I don't think Wisconsin has the talent to overcome someone like Beasley. The Badgers might make a game with USC, but at the rate things are going for the Trojans, I'm back and forth on it. OJ Mayo could kill the Badgers. Might make it a game against USC? You think a higher seeded team coached by Bo Ryan is going to lose to a lower seeded team coached by Frank Martin? I don't think you understand what Wisconsin is. Yeah, that's a strange statement. Wisconsin is not as flashy, but is monumentally better than USC or KState. If either beats Wisconsin, it'll likely be one of the top upsets of the tournament. I think KState would matchup pretty well vs. Wisconsin. If Wisconsin has to score 70 points I would think they would be in trouble. Yes, if the scoring gets that high, Wisconsin could be in trouble. Problem is, only Duke, Marquette and Purdue (Wisky's kryptonite) have scored more than 66 points against the Badgers this year. Getting it to the 70's is much, much easier said than done. On paper, I think K-State matches up well with Wisconsin. In actuality, when coaching and discipline are factored in, I think K-State is the kind of team Wisconsin is likely to feast on (slowly, of course, but surely). The Walker-Beasley duo is maybe the best in the nation. I dont see any Big 10 team that features the offense that KState has. If they can slow one of those down, I think Wis. wins very easily. Purdue may be the one team that closely resembles Kstate and Wisconsin lost both games to them. Michigan State has a higher offensive efficiency than K-State and Indiana is tied with them. Wisconsin is only .5 worse than K-State but 7.2 better in defensive efficiency (they lead the nation). Wisconsin also won at Texas, who ranks second in the nation in offensive efficiency.

Ditto, only I have Arizona instead of WVU. I've seen several and this definitely isn't his typical game. I assumed that hopefully they get past this game and he has one of his stronger games against Wisconsin because I picked them to go the sweet 16 then losing to Georgetown. Same. I don't think Wisconsin has the talent to overcome someone like Beasley. The Badgers might make a game with USC, but at the rate things are going for the Trojans, I'm back and forth on it. OJ Mayo could kill the Badgers. Might make it a game against USC? You think a higher seeded team coached by Bo Ryan is going to lose to a lower seeded team coached by Frank Martin? I don't think you understand what Wisconsin is. Yeah, that's a strange statement. Wisconsin is not as flashy, but is monumentally better than USC or KState. If either beats Wisconsin, it'll likely be one of the top upsets of the tournament. Wisconsin was also monumentally better than UNLV in the second round last year and that didn't exactly work out for the Badgers. And Kansas State (and USC had they advanced) are much better than UNLV was last year. Wisconsin was a completely different team last year after Brian Butch was injured. I actually picked Georgia Tech to beat them in the second round; I had more trouble deciding whether GT or UNLV would be the team to upset Wisconsin. That injury changed their team too late to adjust. I'm not sure either of those teams are much better than UNLV last year, and they certainly don't have as good of coaches. Lon Kruger is laughably better than Frank Martin.

Ditto, only I have Arizona instead of WVU. I've seen several and this definitely isn't his typical game. I assumed that hopefully they get past this game and he has one of his stronger games against Wisconsin because I picked them to go the sweet 16 then losing to Georgetown. Same. I don't think Wisconsin has the talent to overcome someone like Beasley. The Badgers might make a game with USC, but at the rate things are going for the Trojans, I'm back and forth on it. OJ Mayo could kill the Badgers. Might make it a game against USC? You think a higher seeded team coached by Bo Ryan is going to lose to a lower seeded team coached by Frank Martin? I don't think you understand what Wisconsin is. Yeah, that's a strange statement. Wisconsin is not as flashy, but is monumentally better than USC or KState. If either beats Wisconsin, it'll likely be one of the top upsets of the tournament. I think KState would matchup pretty well vs. Wisconsin. If Wisconsin has to score 70 points I would think they would be in trouble. Yes, if the scoring gets that high, Wisconsin could be in trouble. Problem is, only Duke, Marquette and Purdue (Wisky's kryptonite) have scored more than 66 points against the Badgers this year. Getting it to the 70's is much, much easier said than done. On paper, I think K-State matches up well with Wisconsin. In actuality, when coaching and discipline are factored in, I think K-State is the kind of team Wisconsin is likely to feast on (slowly, of course, but surely).

I showed no faith in Baylor; they aren't good. I showed very little faith in the Big 12 in general. Big XII are now 2-1, with potentional to go 3-1 with Texas aTm winning currently. Well, everyone knew KSU/USC and A&M/BYU were tossups. I may end up being wrong on both, but tossups they were. I could see your point, and I agree with you. I had aTm over BYU since I thought aTm was more physical, since they out-rebounded KU in the Big XII semi's. And as for K-State, me being a K-State homer, gotta go with that. So far, I'm currently 11 out of 12 picks that were correct. The one I lost out was Baylor. I should've taken Texas A&M, I'm kicking myself a bit on that one. I would continue to take USC, but obviously K-State was much better today. I didn't mean to denigrate the Big 12 necessarily; I just didn't show much faith (I have St. Joe's over Oklahoma, too).

Foster and Ogilvey are very good players and I think Stallings might be in the top 3 in SEC coaches (behind Bruce Pearl and Billy Donovan). They're a tough team to beat. Stallings is an excellent coach. All things equal, I'd take him to win a game over anyone in the SEC. No question he's a terrific coach. There's very little margin between the top 3 coaches in the SEC, in my opinion, making them all fairly interchangable. Stallings appears to be turning around a Vandy program that always seems to be on the edge of a high quality program, Pearl is getting an incredible amount out of some good players (excluding Tyler Smith, he's great) while turning a dormant program into serious national contenders and Donovan has won back to back national titles. That's three excellent coaches right there. I've always been a fan of Pearl from his days at USI (located in my hometown, Evansville). Obviously, for a program builder, you want him or Donovan over Stallings. I'd actually prefer Pearl. I just think Stallings get the most out of the least in the SEC -- though you're right, Pearl has Tennessee better than their talent level suggests. No wrong choices.

I showed no faith in Baylor; they aren't good. I showed very little faith in the Big 12 in general. Big XII are now 2-1, with potentional to go 3-1 with Texas aTm winning currently. Well, everyone knew KSU/USC and A&M/BYU were tossups. I may end up being wrong on both, but tossups they were.

Foster and Ogilvey are very good players and I think Stallings might be in the top 3 in SEC coaches (behind Bruce Pearl and Billy Donovan). They're a tough team to beat. Stallings is an excellent coach. All things equal, I'd take him to win a game over anyone in the SEC.

Ditto, only I have Arizona instead of WVU. I've seen several and this definitely isn't his typical game. I assumed that hopefully they get past this game and he has one of his stronger games against Wisconsin because I picked them to go the sweet 16 then losing to Georgetown. Same. I don't think Wisconsin has the talent to overcome someone like Beasley. The Badgers might make a game with USC, but at the rate things are going for the Trojans, I'm back and forth on it. OJ Mayo could kill the Badgers. Might make it a game against USC? You think a higher seeded team coached by Bo Ryan is going to lose to a lower seeded team coached by Frank Martin? I don't think you understand what Wisconsin is.

Same.

I showed no faith in Baylor; they aren't good. I showed very little faith in the Big 12 in general.

I'd be very surprised if Kentucky beats Marquette. While I don't love Marquette, UK just isn't very good.

I hate the South, too. I'm waffling between Memphis/Pitt and Texas/Stanford. It's easier in the other regions -- not saying I'm correct -- picking UCLA, Kansas/Georgetown and UNC/Louisville (yes, I left out Tennessee). I'm going to stick with Stanford, I think, but I'm worried about their offense, point guard play, foul trouble, and the fact they don't "feel" like a Final Four team.

Seems to support my opinion that Texas is better on paper than on the court. Weird. I read it the opposite way. The numbers suggest they shouldn't be as successful as they are. Ha, well I guess I took the fact the numbers suggested they shouldn't be as successful as they are as an indication that my opinion was correct. Wow, not sure that made any sense. You could read into that either way, I suppose. I watch them, and even understanding what they've accomplished on the court, don't think they're one of the best eight teams.

Seems to support my opinion that Texas is better on paper than on the court.