NCAA Tourney thread

LICKING COUNTY FAN

LICKING COUNTY FAN

Well-known member
So nobody whines about game threads.
Texas Southern looked bad and bored in the first half but in the 2nd they found that something extra to help post the win.
 
 
Great endings in the the 3 games played so far. Will be interesting to see the coaching match up in the second half between Cronin and Izzo. I think Izzo wins that match up.
 
Don't know if anybody knew this or not because I'm not sure if the broadcast mentioned it, but Mick has not seen his father in a year. Hep was a high school coach in Cincinnati for thirty years.
 
I’ve felt the B1G has been over-hyped all year. I guess when I see the teams play I’m just not seeing any of them as the ultra-talented juggernauts they are made out to be by the media this year. I fully expect the B1G to go yet another year without producing an NCAA tourney champ. Michigan State is the first to fall.
 
Quality games across the board in the First Four.

Disappointed in Michigan State. Thought they'd get to at least the round of 32 with how they've been playing the last few weeks. That said, I don't know that they're a harbinger of doom for the league. They've been hot, but they tied for 8th in the league this year and got punched out of the league tournament early by the team they tied with, Maryland. They went to the wire last night with the 4th place PAC 12 team that finished 1 1/2 games out of first place in that league. Let's see how it plays out.
 
cjb56 said:
I’ve felt the B1G has been over-hyped all year. I guess when I see the teams play I’m just not seeing any of them as the ultra-talented juggernauts they are made out to be by the media this year. I fully expect the B1G to go yet another year without producing an NCAA tourney champ. Michigan State is the first to fall.
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They had a nice run at the end of the regular season but this was the #9 team in the conference.

What really hurts the Big ten’s chance is Livers being out for Michigan. I don’t think they make it past the Sweet 16 without him. And then OSU has been so hobbled. Iowa’s offense c an beat anyone but their defense can lose to anyone if the offense isn’t firing on all cylinders. I like Illinois though. I think they got a good draw.
 
I've said it most of the season, the big ten overall is over rated. Once you get past the first 4 teams, it's pretty mediocre and even Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan and Illinois have flaws. The lack of a non-conference season really skewed the overall look, and much of the basketball interest across the country is in the east and midwest.
That said I think Ohio State and Illinois can get to the final four. I think Livers being out hurts Michigan, they also rely alot on the freshman center. One game where he's saddled with fouls can be detrimental to them. Iowa is too exposed to a bad shooting night to win 6 games in a row. Heck, Indiana beat them twice this year.
And let's call the MSU/ UCLA game for what it is, it was a man-made ratings grab. I'm sure that game got the biggest number by far last night. Most of American could care less about App State/ Texas Southern/ Drake/ Norfolk State, etc. Not sad Izzo and Sparty are done.
 
I really like Illinois' draw. I think things set up very nicely for them to make a deep run and I personally think they make the Final Four and possibly the championship game. I think they're probably this year's Big Ten team that's "good enough to lose in the Finals".

Michigan is probably SOL without Livers. That injury IMO is probably the difference between having a real fight to get out of the second round versus having a good chance to get to the Elite 8 or the Final 4. If he was healthy I think the Big Ten would get at least two if not three teams to the Elite 8 and would have a pretty good chance at getting two teams to the Final Four.

Have believed for a while that the way conference games are officiated hurts many of the teams in the postseason when they don't have clown refs and you're not allowed to regularly bludgeon the opponent defensively. We'll see if that plays out this year.
 
Postseason success as it correlates to league strength is what you want to see in it. The Big Ten has six schools that have made sixteen combined Final Four trips in the last twenty tournaments coming into this year, not counting Maryland's two Final Fours and one national championship as a member of the ACC in that time frame.

The real "blue bloods" of Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and Kansas have won 8 of the last 20 titles and UConn has three in that time frame. Winning a title has been hard as hell if you're not one of those genuine blue blood programs, and it's why Izzo has only one championship in his eight Final Four appearances.
 
IMO, my most likely "big" upsets are
-Winthrop over 'Nova
-Colgate over Arkansas
-LSU over UM (hope it doesn't come to that tho, would love to see more Dickinson)
-Loyola-Chicago over Illinois (please God, I'm begging you).

I don't think Gonzaga makes it past the Sweet 16. Don't know who'd beat them, but I just have a hunch, lol.
 
14Red said:
I've said it most of the season, the big ten overall is over rated. Once you get past the first 4 teams, it's pretty mediocre and even Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan and Illinois have flaws. The lack of a non-conference season really skewed the overall look, and much of the basketball interest across the country is in the east and midwest.
That said I think Ohio State and Illinois can get to the final four. I think Livers being out hurts Michigan, they also rely alot on the freshman center. One game where he's saddled with fouls can be detrimental to them. Iowa is too exposed to a bad shooting night to win 6 games in a row. Heck, Indiana beat them twice this year.
And let's call the MSU/ UCLA game for what it is, it was a man-made ratings grab. I'm sure that game got the biggest number by far last night. Most of American could care less about App State/ Texas Southern/ Drake/ Norfolk State, etc. Not sad Izzo and Sparty are done.
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So, the Big Ten is "overrated", but you have two of their teams in the Final Four. I have a hard time following that (illogical) logic.
 
ayCC! said:
IMO, my most likely "big" upsets are
-Winthrop over 'Nova
-Colgate over Arkansas
-LSU over UM (hope it doesn't come to that tho, would love to see more Dickinson)
-Loyola-Chicago over Illinois (please God, I'm begging you).

I don't think Gonzaga makes it past the Sweet 16. Don't know who'd beat them, but I just have a hunch, lol.
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The Zags have already beaten the 2,3 and 4 seeds in their bracket (Iowa, Kansas, UVA). They scored 98, 99, 102 in those 3 games. They are legit. If they do not make it out of the Sweet 16, list that among your big upsets.
 
ayCC! said:
IMO, my most likely "big" upsets are
-Winthrop over 'Nova
-Colgate over Arkansas
-LSU over UM (hope it doesn't come to that tho, would love to see more Dickinson)
-Loyola-Chicago over Illinois (please God, I'm begging you).

I don't think Gonzaga makes it past the Sweet 16. Don't know who'd beat them, but I just have a hunch, lol.
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Ive got the Bonnies over UM in about 1/3 of my brackets.
 
I have Arkansas in the Title game. However, not surprised Colgate is giving them a game. This same team gave a really good TN team a game 2 yrs ago
 
Arkansas closes out the game strong, winning 85-68. I feel even more confident in picking them to get to the Title game.
 
Buckeyes look like they are sleep walking in this one. They knew Oral Roberts was going to score, Oral Roberts plays no defense though that is why they are seeded 15. tOSU is helping them by shooting 25% from 3 in a a familiar gym with many of those looks wide open and they just cannot get going into their offense. Yet again Ahrens is worthless and he has a whopping 5 points in the last 5 games; I thought he was supposed to be the sharp shooter for this team? My guess is in Vegas this one is a pick 'em for the 2nd half.
 
In related Tourney news...

With all these AT&T commercials featuring Lilly how about getting her in some flattering outfits? Might as well let her natural assets help sell some 5G service ;)
Milana-Vayntrub-selfie-1024x1024.jpg
 
Offense hasn't been worth a crap today. I'm pretty sure Oral Roberts was last among all tournament teams in adjusted defensive efficiency.

I figured Oral Roberts would score some points, but this is a team Ohio State should score at least 80 against.
 
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