NCAA B-Ball Tourney 2007! The Big Dance is here!

Okay, for some reason (Arizona having a bad year), this thread is late, but no reason to forget this event.

Who's watching this year?

Who's your team?

Duke got knocked off by VCU, a hell of a thing even in a down year for the Blue Devils.

Weber State knocked off Notre Dame, which makes me smile.

My Trojans got to the Big Dance a year earlier than anyone expected, including themselves at the beginning of the season (we have the #1 player coming next year). Tonight we take on Arkansas... we're the higher (#5) seed, but the Hogs are a traditionally good team and can always surprise. Besides, earlier this "school" year I went down to Fayetteville with some folks (including djdelly and Magnaflux) to watch the Trojans make pigskins out of the Razorback football team. I feel this may be the revenge time.

Shout out for your team. Or bitch about being the NIT --whatever floats yer boat.

Wow, Tennessee beat Long Beach State 121-86. In college rules, that's the sort of game that's less about defense and more about shooting percentages :p

Shit, I hate UNLV but I guess I'll have to root for them since they are now the only MWC team left in the tourney (BYU lost yesterday).

So far Bobak's Trojans are playing a nice game.

BTW, fuck Wisconsin! They are overrated and they should have lost that game against TAMU-CC.

KU is my team every year. However, it has been a long time since they won. I was just happy to see them make it past the first round this year.

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Originally Posted by Bobak

Weber State knocked off Notre Dame, which makes me smile.

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Actually it was Winthrop that beat the Irish 74-64. ;)

My team flushed it, for reasons I won't begin to rant about (fucking Shakur and Williams are bums), but Duke and Illinois are down here in the gutter with us so lol.

I will definitely root for the remaining Pac-10 teams in the tourney though, even the "new money" like USC and Oregon. ;)

I bet Wazzu will reach the Sweet 16, possibly more. They're very physical and when they dictate the tempo (slowball, Bennett-style) they're a bitch to beat.

Duke got sprayed in the face. I fucking love it.

The look on McRoberts face, like he was about to cry at any moment, was fucking priceless.

Thursday was such a great fucking night. :D

GO HEELS!!! :buttrock: :buttrock: :buttrock:

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Originally Posted by galfordo

Duke got sprayed in the face. I fucking love it.

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QFT

Tennessee, National Champs!

What teams are left?

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Originally Posted by jeff bogard

What teams are left?

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There is still 32 of the 64 left. After this weekend there will be 16.

and what teams are left?

i can't find a website with the list....

My West bracket is shot to hell after both Duke and Illinois lost their games, but there's still hope in Georgetown and Memphis making deep runs.

Holy shit Xavier!!! :eek: :eek:

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Originally Posted by jeff bogard

and what teams are left?

i can't find a website with the list....

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ESPN.com
CNNSI.com

etc...

just click on "college basketball" (men's if it's an option), then click on "brackets" or "schedule" to see who's still playing. This involves knowing how to wield a mouse. :p

Okay, enough joking around, I think CNNSI has the best bracket page (with live scores, I believe):

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/bas...rney/brackets/

LOL, would you like to see Ohio St. and Florida reach to the Final Four and then the National Championship? That would be cool, rematch from the gridiron to the court.

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Originally Posted by El_Duque

LOL, would you like to see Ohio St. and Florida reach to the Final Four and then the National Championship? That would be cool, rematch from the gridiron to the court.

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I would, and I'd like to see OSU get beat again.

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Originally Posted by Arcademan

Actually it was Winthrop that beat the Irish 74-64. ;)

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heh, point being: "who?"

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Originally Posted by Bobak

heh, point being: "who?"

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Where the hell is Winthrop :conf:

Vandy sends Washington State packing with a 78-74 double-overtime victory.

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Originally Posted by Bobak

heh, point being: "who?"

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http://www.moviemaze.de/celebs/0096/main02.jpg

:lolz:

Wow, Ohio St. could of been the first 1 seed to go home. That Xavier player must feel dumb right now.

"All I had to do was make that free throw."

Horry crap UNLV and UNR may have a chance this year. Awesome! :D

GO HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLSSSS!!!


:multi_co: :multi_co: :buttrock: :buttrock: :buttrock:

I watched the end of the UL-TAMU game yesterday, UL just couldn't catch a break.

Ualbany lost :(

On SI.Com's Luke Winn Tourney Blog Brackets.. I'm 15th out of ~700 people... and on all of SI.Com, I'm 759th out of god knows how many.



...and I *hate* basketball.

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Originally Posted by VanillaThunder

On SI.Com's Luke Winn Tourney Blog Brackets.. I'm 15th out of ~700 people... and on all of SI.Com, I'm 759th out of god knows how many.



...and I *hate* basketball.

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Honestly, it's sometimes the people who don't really like/follow basketball that get the brackets "right" because they aren't as hung up on certain teams.

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Originally Posted by Bobak

Honestly, it's sometimes the people who don't really like/follow basketball that get the brackets "right" because they aren't as hung up on certain teams.

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I picked a bunch of upsets.. like Butler going deep, Winthrop prevailing (I have them winning again vs. Oregon this round) and Vandy. The only team I have wrong past the first round was Duke getting the Sweet 16 and losing to UCLA.

I picked them strangely this year, I picked out mid-majors that were traditional tourney players and (almost) any team that won their conference tourney over whoever they were playing.

Then, I just looked at stats from then on.. Like the reason I picked Butler to go to the 16 was because their turnovers per game were ridiculously low. I figured that made them good for two wins.

Winthrop always shows up in the tourney and I figured they were due for a run.

I don't know why I picked Vanderbilt.. I think I just wanted a weird team to win a few and they were ranked for a while.

The upsets I picked that didn't come through were Texas Tech (because I figured Bobby Knight could get them going) Creighton and Gonzaga. That and Duke were the only losses I have, I've managed to pick the Midwest perfectly to this point and I only have 1 loss in the south.

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Originally Posted by VanillaThunder

The upsets I picked that didn't come through were Texas Tech (because I figured Bobby Knight could get them going) Creighton and Gonzaga. That and Duke were the only losses I have, I've managed to pick the Midwest perfectly to this point and I only have 1 loss in the south.

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Save for hardcore VCU alums, really bitter UNC alums and the odd blindly-filled-out-my-bracket people, I don't think anyone got the Duke game right.

I don't know what made me pick Illinois to make the Final Four, but as long as Florida, Georgetown, and Memphis make it w/G'Town winning it all, I'll be satisfied.

Wow... I'm up to number 10 for Luke Winn and 474 overall.

That Tennesee upset really paid off for me.

I've got 35 right for 52 points.

If Winthrop can pull it off today, I'm thinking I'll crack the top 5.

My Final Four :

Florida, Texas, UCLA, Ohio State

Florida Repeats over Ohio State, Tie Breaker 143 points.

I don't like my championship picks and tie breaker, but at this point, I can't do anything about it.

Hahaha!! Overrated Wisconsin is goin down to UNLV.

I have no expectations for my Trojans. To borrow from Clerks: they weren't even supposed to be here today --they were supposed to be, with luck, in the NIT. The spirit of Ryan Francis saw them through the 1st round (his 20th Birthday would've been yesterday), but now it's just icing to be in the round of 32.

Still, beating Texas wouldn't be bad :emb:


--on a total side note, I just remembered I have a friend who did her undergrad a Duke, became a b-ball fan, then did her MD at VCU... heh, I'll have to email her tomorrow :lolz: (that'd be like the Gophers beating the Trojans in the BCS)

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Originally Posted by Bobak

I have no expectations for my Trojans. To borrow from Clerks: they weren't even supposed to be here today --they were supposed to be, with luck, in the NIT. The spirit of Ryan Francis saw them through the 1st round (his 20th Birthday would've been yesterday), but now it's just icing to be in the round of 32.

Still, beating Texas wouldn't be bad :emb:


--on a total side note, I just remembered I have a friend who did her undergrad a Duke, became a b-ball fan, then did her MD at VCU... heh, I'll have to email her tomorrow :lolz: (that'd be like the Gophers beating the Trojans in the BCS)

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Atleast their current coach is better than Bibby IMO.

Tennessee still on the path to be National Champs :)

UCLA

Yeah, Southern Illinois University advances to the 16.

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Originally Posted by Bobak

Save for hardcore VCU alums, really bitter UNC alums and the odd blindly-filled-out-my-bracket people, I don't think anyone got the Duke game right.

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More people should've guessed it.

Duke has been playing poorly for a while now.

They got knocked out of the ACC tourny in the first round, and had a 4-loss run just a couple of games before the ACC tourny got started.

Anyway, your Trojans are going down on Thursday, Mr. Bobak. :cool:

Wow, what a surprisingly pleasant weekend --especially after getting totally slaughtered in the Pac10 Tourney Championship game (Oregon, which beat us, is also still in it). Sweet 16 away!

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Originally Posted by galfordo

Anyway, your Trojans are going down on Thursday, Mr. Bobak. :cool:

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It's all frosting for us: we lose? We defied expectations to get that far. We win? The frosting gets even better.

Besides, students/alums of respective universities are automatically better fans in the caste system of sports :emb:

Where's Neo Mike? He's a Duck.
[EDIT: he'd love this triple-postering:
http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2007/writers/s....brooks.si.jpg

Just to throw a friendly wrench at Galfordo --I wonder who will be getting motivated from last season's game?

http://usctrojans.cstv.com/sports/m-...122205aaa.html

For those coming late to the party, here's who's in the Sweet 16:

Thursday, March 22

Region Game Time (all times Eastern)

West No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 4 So. Illinois 7:10 p.m.
South No. 2 Memphis vs. No. 3 Texas A&M 7:27 p.m.
West No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 3 Pitt 9:40 p.m.
South No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Tennessee 9:57 p.m.


Friday, March 23

Region Game Time (ET)

Midwest No. 1 Florida vs. No. 5 Butler 7:10 p.m.
East No. 2 Georgetown vs. No. 6 Vanderbilt 7:27 p.m.
Midwest No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 7 UNLV 9:40 p.m.
East No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 5 USC 9:57 p.m.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bobak

For those coming late to the party, here's who's in the Sweet 16:

Thursday, March 22

Region Game Time (all times Eastern)

West No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 4 So. Illinois 7:10 p.m.
South No. 2 Memphis vs. No. 3 Texas A&M 7:27 p.m.
West No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 3 Pitt 9:40 p.m.
South No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Tennessee 9:57 p.m.


Friday, March 23

Region Game Time (ET)

Midwest No. 1 Florida vs. No. 5 Butler 7:10 p.m.
East No. 2 Georgetown vs. No. 6 Vanderbilt 7:27 p.m.
Midwest No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 7 UNLV 9:40 p.m.
East No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 5 USC 9:57 p.m.

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Goddamn the PAC-10 was strong this year.
Three teams in the sweet sixteen, more than any other conference.

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Originally Posted by Loopz

Goddamn the PAC-10 was strong this year.
Three teams in the sweet sixteen, more than any other conference.

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Careful... I know people forget Vandy's in a major conference (thanks to the football program), but they're in the SEC along with 2 others.

So it's a tie with the Pac10 and SEC:

PAC10
UCLA
Oregon
USC

SEC
Florida
Tennessee
Vanderbilt

Big 12
Kansas
Texas A&M

Big East: Pitt
Big 10: Ohio State
ACC: North Carolina
(with a few Ewoks scattered for good measure*)
.
.
.
.
.
.
*okay, UNLV technically isn't an Ewok, it's more of a wookie that's come out of hibernation.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Loopz

Goddamn the PAC-10 was strong this year.
Three teams in the sweet sixteen, more than any other conference.

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I don't buy the philosophy that the conference with the most wins in the tourney, or the conference with the best record in the tourney is best. There are too many other tourney variables to put in such as matchups, seeding, etc.

Without question, the best conference in the country this year is the ACC. Aside from Wake Forest and Miami, every other team in the conference was strong and could win games out of conference. You could have made a reasonable argument for Florida State and Clemson to make the tourney (especially Florida St.). The ACC crushed the Big Ten in their ACC/Big Ten matchup, and then they had an excellent record out of conference aside from that.

By the way, my Final Four could still happen. I have Florida, Kansas, Georgetown, and Ohio State. I realize that there are 3 #1s in there, but frankly I just don't see how Florida, Kansas, and Ohio State don't make the Final Four. It's the tourney though, so anything can happen. My final game is Kansas and Georgetown, and I have Kansas winning it all. Kansas has been ridiculously good down the stretch and they have a ton of talent.

But when you think of this it bumps the SEC above the Pac10

All three SEC schools are the top three out of the East Division.

Don't expect a UF/OSU basketball rematch, UT is perfectly capable of knocking out the Buckeyes if we play as well as we did in our regular season matchup.

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Originally Posted by lithy

But when you think of this it bumps the SEC above the Pac10

All three SEC schools are the top three out of the East Division.

Don't expect a UF/OSU basketball rematch, UT is perfectly capable of knocking out the Buckeyes if we play as well as we did in our regular season matchup.

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I definitely feel like the Vols are underrated this year, but it's going to be tough for them to beat Ohio State. OSU just got a huge scare, and Oden keeps playing better and better. Plus, the Vols rely on the 3 point shot, which is good for making huge upsets once in awhile, but you can't rely on it. Eventually you get cold.

The SEC wasn't that great this year. Not one West team played even close to the level you would need to make the tourney.

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Originally Posted by Borman

Ualbany lost :(

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That was a depressing shelacking.

Last year, they hung tight with U-Conn.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lithy

But when you think of this it bumps the SEC above the Pac10

All three SEC schools are the top three out of the East Division.

Don't expect a UF/OSU basketball rematch, UT is perfectly capable of knocking out the Buckeyes if we play as well as we did in our regular season matchup.

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Psshhh... you could also do this simple math:

Pac10 landed 3/10 teams.

SEC landed 3/12 teams.

:glee:

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Originally Posted by Bobak

Psshhh... you could also do this simple math:

Pac10 landed 3/10 teams.

SEC landed 3/12 teams.

:glee:

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Bah, meaningless. It actually means that there are less in conference matchups over the course of the season.

The conference RPI is the most accurate way of telling which conference is best. As I said, you can't make judgments on the conference strength based on the tournament. When you do it that way, you throw everything out the door, and you just judge the conferences on how they played for a couple days. Last season, it was obvious that the Big East and Big Ten were the two best conferences, but only one team from either conference made the Final Four, and that was Michigan State.