Tourney Talk Options

[ZoomSlowik]

I can't believe no one is talking about this yet...

Who you got going deep?

Who are your upsets?

Who got off easy on the draw? Who got screwed?

[DrunkBomber]

I got Texas winning over Florida and I got SIU in the sweet 16

[dasox24]

I've got Wisconsin, UCLA, UNC, and Tennessee in the Final 4 with UNC winning it all. I made each pick in like 2 seconds b/c every year I over-analyze and spend so much time picking, and then never end up winning the pools I'm in, so this time I figured I'd just go with my gut feeling.

[ZoomSlowik]

I'm not a big fan of Texas. They're pretty iffy inside, and unless Durant goes off I don't see them beating anyone good (actually, even that didn't get it done against Kansas twice), he just doesn't have enough help.

I got UNC winning it all, they're just too deep and talented. Plus I don't really see them losing until the Final Four, I don't think Texas is big/deep enough and I don't think Georgetown has enough guard play/scoring punch.

I got Florida because the midwest bracket is a joke, with them bowing out in the title game.

I got UCLA over Kansas even though I think Kansas is the better team. I just don't trust them to string together good games against good teams, and I think between UCLA's backcourt and them playing in San Jose they can win that one.

I got Texas A&M in the south bracket. I think their experience and defense will prevail over a more athletic and deeper Memphis team, much like what happened against UCLA for them last year. As for OSU, I like Oden and Conley, but I'm not a big fan of the rest of their guys, their wing players are very streaky offensively.

Some of my upsets: Winthrop in a run to the Elite 8. I like their backcourt a lot and Bradshaw can do some damage inside. The ND and Oregon games will come down to who can hit their outside shots, and they gave Wisconsin a real test a while back when they still had Butch; ODU over Butler, I think just about everyone has that one now; Albany over Virginia, I have no faith in the Hokies, and if Singletary and Reynolds are off just about anyone can beat them; Duke over Pitt, I just haven't been that impressed with the Panthers outside of Gray; Vanderbilt of WSU, the latter really has been overrated IMO.

[dasox24]

I'm not a big fan of Texas. They're pretty iffy inside, and unless Durant goes off I don't see them beating anyone good (actually, even that didn't get it done against Kansas twice), he just doesn't have enough help.

I got UNC winning it all, they're just too deep and talented. Plus I don't really see them losing until the Final Four, I don't think Texas is big/deep enough and I don't think Georgetown has enough guard play/scoring punch.

I got Florida because the midwest bracket is a joke, with them bowing out in the title game.

I got UCLA over Kansas even though I think Kansas is the better team. I just don't trust them to string together good games against good teams, and I think between UCLA's backcourt and them playing in San Jose they can win that one.

I got Texas A&M in the south bracket. I think their experience and defense will prevail over a more athletic and deeper Memphis team, much like what happened against UCLA for them last year. As for OSU, I like Oden and Conley, but I'm not a big fan of the rest of their guys, their wing players are very streaky offensively.

Some of my upsets: Winthrop in a run to the Elite 8. I like their backcourt a lot and Bradshaw can do some damage inside. The ND and Oregon games will come down to who can hit their outside shots, and they gave Wisconsin a real test a while back when they still had Butch; ODU over Butler, I think just about everyone has that one now; Albany over Virginia, I have no faith in the Hokies, and if Singletary and Reynolds are off just about anyone can beat them; Duke over Pitt, I just haven't been that impressed with the Panthers outside of Gray; Vanderbilt of WSU, the latter really has been overrated IMO.

It sounds like our brackets are a lot alike. I don't have Florida, but I do have UNC and UCLA in the Final 4, and I have A&M in the Elite 8 losing to Tenn, but anything could happen. And, I even have Winthrop in the Elite 8 too as well as ODU over Butler, and Washington State losing early too.

The reason I could see Tennessee beating OSU is b/c they almost did earlier this year, and that game was in Columbus. OSU only ended up winning b/c UT missed a bunch of FT's down the stretch when OSU was fouling, which allowed them to seal the deal with a 3 pointer at the end of the game to just pull off the win. Along with the game being on a netural court, I could see Tennessee's crazy inbound/full court pressure defense messing with the Freshman Conley's head.

[ZoomSlowik]

The reason I could see Tennessee beating OSU is b/c they almost did earlier this year, and that game was in Columbus. OSU only ended up winning b/c UT missed a bunch of FT's down the stretch when OSU was fouling, which allowed them to seal the deal with a 3 pointer at the end of the game to just pull off the win. Along with the game being on a netural court, I could see Tennessee's crazy inbound/full court pressure defense messing with the Freshman Conley's head.

It's hard to rule out anything possibly happening in this bracket, even with my Texas/UNC comment Durant can go for 30 with Abrams and Augustin shooting well and UNC's freshmen backcourt turning it over a lot (though that can just as easily happen with Texas). It is possible that the press does some damage and Lofton goes nuts. Conley isn't your average freshmen though, he's a pretty steady PG, and Tennessee has no answer whatsoever for Oden (he had 24 and 15 in that game, and appears to be playing better now). Both teams shot very poorly in that meeting, so I can't really say that's a representative sample, plus OSU did have like a 16 point lead at one point. Tennessee will have to shoot pretty well and hope Oden doesn't destroy them again.

[DrunkBomber]

I think I had my final four as Florida, Texas, UCLA and Tennessee. I wasnt too sure on a lot of picks but I hate having all the favorites in the final four so I throw some upsets in there just to keep myslef honest. I think I have winthrop going to the sweet 16.

[dasox24]

I hate having all the favorites in the final four

Yeah, me too. I think every year I seem go thru a bracket and then realize I have only 1s and 2s in the Final Four, so I always go back and change things up since you know that that never happens. Some lower seed will sneek in.

[madisonsmadhouse]

The final four historical average is something like 2 #1's, a #2, and a #4, but that has been trending lower over the last few years with parody taking effect around the NCAA.

[Balta1701-B]

The final four historical average is something like 2 #1's, a #2, and a #4, but that has been trending lower over the last few years with parody taking effect around the NCAA.

While the talent level in the NCAA may be a parody of what it used to be...it's also possible that the new NBA rules that require guys like Oden and Durant to go to school for a year could be a step towards changing that..

[ZoomSlowik]

I don't know, last year was a bit of a fluke, the top seeds were a lot weaker than usual. Last year was only the 2nd time ever that no #1 seeds made the Final Four. Think of the last couple before that (note: I'm doing this mostly from memory, so forgive me if I'm a little off, though I'm pretty sure I'm close on most of them):

2005: #1 Illinois, #1 UNC, #4 Louisville, #4 MSU
2004: #1 Duke, #2 UConn (would have been a 1 if Okafor were 100% healthy entering the tourney) #2 Oklahoma State, #5 Georgia Tech
2003: #1 Texas, #2 Kansas, #3 Syracuse, #3 Marquette
2002: #1 Kansas, #1 Maryland, #2 Oklahoma, #5 Indiana
2001: #1 Duke, #1 MSU, #2 Arizona, #4 Maryland

This year the higher seeds are again pretty strong relative to the rest of the pack, I expect 2 #1 seeds to make it...

[bschmaranz]

Go Virginia Commonwealth... that was a wild game!

[madisonsmadhouse]

I picked the VCU/Duke upset

[madisonsmadhouse]

Is it just me, or has this years Big Dance been incredibly boring? There have been no real big upsets, and there isn't a single double digit seed in the Sweet Sixteen. Besides the VCU game and the couple of OT games, there really wasn't even many close games. I don't know if it was the fact that only 6 mid majors made the tournament, or what, but this year has been way too predictable for the high seeds, and that really has my interest at about zero. At one point Saturday I was watching the Bulls instead of the tourney. Anyone else feel the same way?

[ZoomSlowik]

Is it just me, or has this years Big Dance been incredibly boring? There have been no real big upsets, and there isn't a single double digit seed in the Sweet Sixteen. Besides the VCU game and the couple of OT games, there really wasn't even many close games. I don't know if it was the fact that only 6 mid majors made the tournament, or what, but this year has been way too predictable for the high seeds, and that really has my interest at about zero. At one point Saturday I was watching the Bulls instead of the tourney. Anyone else feel the same way?

There have still been quite a few games that are close and entertaining, and I'd call UNLV over Wisconsin a fairly big upset (though after watching the 1st round game not exactly unforseen). Plus OSU was a prayer 3 from going down as well.