March Madness!
hammertime
2,389 Posts
so whatcha think? I think Memphis getting a #1 seed is a joke, and I think Cincinnati got screwed! I also think I'll be at the Auburn Hills games next weekend, and I can't wait!
Comments
i thought cinci got ripped with seton hall making it over them. cinci had the fourth toughest schedule in the country. seton hall's rpi was about 10 lower than cinci's.
also missouri state got ripped too.
i'm a ucla fan but i don't think they deserve to be a two. thought it should have gone to gonzaga in that region. ain't complainin though.
anybody want to set up a soulstrut tourney pick pool ? maybe i can defend my title from last year
dave
seriously...plus AIR FORCE made it? WTF. Anyway considering this was Cinci's first year in the toughest conference in the country, and they played with 8 scholarship players most of the year, AND an interim coach, I think they did pretty alright.
syracuse all the way up to a #5? iowa up to a #3? but kansas at a #4, even though they won reg season AND tourney in big 12 and have won, like, 14 out of 15???
cincy got screwed over, for sure.
looking ahead to a possible unc/mich st matchup in round 2, sounds more like an elite 8 matchup
nevertheless, should be entertaining and exciting as always.
BRACKETOLOG??A
kansas really had a pretty weak schedule and personally i don't think they are really that great right now. next year they might be pretty good. i see them going out in the second round.
syracuse is either going to be knocked out in the first round or going pretty far. they are a really weird team. i saw them play a lot this year (espn seems to only play acc and big east teams and of those two conferences it always seems to be duke and syracuse) and they really don't look that good. but they beat three ranked teams in a row in the tournament (could and should have lost all four games though). hard to predict what they will do.
another weird thing was george washington getting an 8 seed. weren't they like 5th in the country last week or something ?
Well, I can't speak for UCLA, but Tennessee plays in a much better conference than Gonzaga. The SEC has 6 schools in the NCAA tournament, whereas Gonzaga's conference has one team in the tournament -- Gonzaga. Gonzaga was undefeated in their conference but they should be playing teams like St. Mary's and Loyola-Marymount. Against ranked opponents they were only 3-2. Tennessee, on the other hand, had to play games against Texas, Memphis, and Florida, not to mention LSU, Alabama and Arkansas who weren't ranked but are definitely good teams. So it probably comes down to strength of schedule being Gonzaga's downfall...which is partially not their fault since they just play in a piss-poor conference and have no control over who they play against half the year.
Despite coach Mark Few's attempts @ scheduling better out-of-conference opposition, I don't think a lot of the higher profile teams want any part of Gonzaga during the regular season; that said, having seen that team play as the late game of 3 on ESPN weekday programming, it doesn't look to be a juggernaut of a squad - as gifted as Morrison is offensively, there are severe defensive flaws evident overall that can be exploited... Even under now Minnesota coach Munson, the team didn't overwhelm the competition, only bested them by a usually surmountable margin... Although the president of Gonzaga U. (Father Bob Spitzer) has tried to build a Jesuit basketball mirror image of my alma mater out west after having served time on the Hilltop, it's yet to transcend the traditional Catholic core of basketball schools that command respect, not fear...
Texas A&M over Syracuse
Southern Illinois over West Virginia
Wisconsis-Milwaukee over Oklahoma
University of Alabama/Birmingham over Kentucky
Tournament Sleepers
Georgetown
Texas A&M - Don't sleep on this team....they are for real. They beat Texas last week and almost beat them yesterday....they have two future NBA players in Sophmore Joe Jones and Acie Law IV.....They can get as far as the Elite 8!!!
I watched the last couple games Gonzaga played and in many of them they struggled. They were single point victories. They'll probably only get to the 2nd round this year. Their point guard isn't that good. They do have a nice one two punch though with Morrison and their center (can't remember his name right now).
west virginia is hard to predict. they shoot the three a lot so it depends on whether they are on or not. i have them going to the final 8 in one of my picks and losing in the first round in another. wisconsin milwaukee was cinderella last year, can't remember cinderella team two years in a row. uab beat kentucky couple years ago in the tournament, probably won't do it again.
i'm full of shit though, what do i know. that's why i love the tournament so hard to predict what will happen.
ones that i think are going to be upsets:
iona over lsu
bradley over kansas
sdsu over indiana
northern iowa over georgetown.
dave
Not sure about this one, WVA plays a deliberate, controlled offense and w/ Gansey as the point man, may advance albeit w/ some difficulty against that Saluki squad...
Alma mater (Mourning's class), nuff said - despite getting into the tournament for the 1st time since 2001, the sooner former coach Esherick holdovers Bowman, Cook, and Owens graduate, the better; next year bodes well w/ Green and Hibbert returning along w/ consensus bonafide ranked recruiting class including Doc Rivers's son, Jeremiah, DeJuan Summers, and Vern Macklin... Maybe in year 3 of coach JTIII's tenure, the slightly tweaked Princeton offense can really be run w/ maximum efficiency...
Although they likely collared a bid only w/ the win over TX, this can be a scary team to encounter in the tournament...
i've watched every single KU game this year and we're pretty good, and like someone already said, somethign like 14 of the last 15. also we've played arkansas, arizona, nevada, california, texas, texas a&m, oklahoma, if thats weak, so be it.
The Jayhawks are on a roll right now (placed a bet on them winning straight up against TX in the Big 12 conference tournament final) - despite taking lumps early on in the season, those freshmen led by Kareem's younger brother Brandon are really coming on; this is pretty much a full fledged Bill Self team - pretty sure he couldn't wait until last year's senior class finally graduated given their still obvious ties to Roy Williams who stiffed the program... It remains to be seen if this young team can continue to play a fast tempo game in the tournament, especially against a veteran-laden slow-it-down squad...
I'm a Kentucky fan and let me assure you, beating Kentucky this year is not an upset. That aside, it's also not much of an upset for a 9 seed to beat an 8 seed. The margin between an 8 and a 9 is paper-thin. Frankly, most Kentucky fans will be shocked if we escape the first weekend, I think. If UAB doesn't get us then surely UCONN will.
Say it ain't so Dave! I hope Iona has someone to check the 6'9" 315lb Glen "Big Baby" Davis.
I am slightly worried about Iona, because LSU has a history of getting upset early, on the years they even make the tourney. If Tyrus Thomas is healthy though, I say LSU should win it easily. Even if he isn't, Senior PG Darrell Mitchell should pull them through. This Tiger team has a lot of size/beef on its frontline.
Geaux Tigers!!
How in the hell did Tennessee get a #2 seed??!!??
Oklahoma loses....one for one batches!!!
Nice one. Had that in my bracket as well. Also had wichita.
The last ten seconds of regulation in the BC/Pacific game were SLOPPY. What the hell was that Smith? 3 step waltz?
Thanks,
JRoot
Score is tied. UT shoots a 3 w/ about 6 seconds left. Back iron. Long rebound. Scrum. Ball goes into the backcourt and UT gets it back, calls timeout w/ 2.9 secs left. UT inbounds nearside. Dood takes two steps, takes a long two falling away on the 3 point line. Improbable shot goes in. Winthrop has 0.4 left and has to inbound under the UT basket. Dood launches the ball full court, it hits the Winthrop backboard and nails a UT guy in the face. Ball is rolling around. For some reason, clock has still not started. Winthrop dood picks up the ball quickly and flings it but no good. Game over. UT *SQUEAKS* by. Props to Winthrop, they played a helluva game.
Let's go, Pops.
They put a scare in my Tigers. Big Baby Davis and Tyrus Thomas were too much though. Tyrus Thomas is fuckin gooood. Dude can jump out of the gym.
Wish Iona woulda played someone else. They're a cool team w/ their mohawk-ed point guards and big ass Jeff Ruland as the coach.