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[NCAA Tournament] Bracket Pool in OP
Hi I'm Vee!
Formerly VH; She/Her; Is an E X P E R I E N C ERegistered User regular
Formerly VH; She/Her; Is an E X P E R I E N C ERegistered User regular
Previous OP:
NCAA Tournament has started!
Here's the bracket pool:
Well folks, we're a week away from the best month in sports.
March competes with the Christmas season for my favorite time of the year, and most of that is because of college basketball. God I love the tournament. I love it so much you guys.
Last year's tournament was awesome right up until the Final Four, which was pretty bland and boring (unless you're a UConn fan, I guess). It taught me a valuable lesson about upsets in the tournament; namely, some upsets are awesome, but let's not get too ridiculous.
So here's hoping this year's Final Four is a bit more reasonable.
Conference tournaments are coming up in a couple of weeks. Then Selection Sunday, and then the tournament. So let's see what's up right now!
Jerry Palm's "If Selection Sunday was today" bracket. Last updated Feb 24th.
Joe Lunardi's bracket, which is slightly outdated (last update Feb 20th):
At this point, in terms of "best teams", it seems like it's Kentucky and Syracuse, and then a bunch of other people. Each of them has one loss, and aside from Murray State, everybody else in the Top 25 has at least 3.
Do you guys think you're going to be chalking it up this tournament, or would you go with a lot of the underdogs? Anybody want to make some Final Four picks? Right now I'm probably leaning towards UK, Syracuse, Michigan State, and Kansas, although I think North Carolina and Ohio State are going to be serious contenders as well. I was thinking about Duke, but never mind, fuck Duke.
My favorite stat right now: Anthony Davis is ranked in the Top 40 in blocks/game. Just below Wake Forest, and just above Harvard. :P
March competes with the Christmas season for my favorite time of the year, and most of that is because of college basketball. God I love the tournament. I love it so much you guys.
Last year's tournament was awesome right up until the Final Four, which was pretty bland and boring (unless you're a UConn fan, I guess). It taught me a valuable lesson about upsets in the tournament; namely, some upsets are awesome, but let's not get too ridiculous.
So here's hoping this year's Final Four is a bit more reasonable.
Conference tournaments are coming up in a couple of weeks. Then Selection Sunday, and then the tournament. So let's see what's up right now!
Jerry Palm's "If Selection Sunday was today" bracket. Last updated Feb 24th.
Joe Lunardi's bracket, which is slightly outdated (last update Feb 20th):
At this point, in terms of "best teams", it seems like it's Kentucky and Syracuse, and then a bunch of other people. Each of them has one loss, and aside from Murray State, everybody else in the Top 25 has at least 3.
Do you guys think you're going to be chalking it up this tournament, or would you go with a lot of the underdogs? Anybody want to make some Final Four picks? Right now I'm probably leaning towards UK, Syracuse, Michigan State, and Kansas, although I think North Carolina and Ohio State are going to be serious contenders as well. I was thinking about Duke, but never mind, fuck Duke.
My favorite stat right now: Anthony Davis is ranked in the Top 40 in blocks/game. Just below Wake Forest, and just above Harvard. :P
NCAA Tournament has started!
Here's the bracket pool:
I put up a Yahoo bracket group:
Group ID#: 99128
Group Password: wang
Or just click this link!
http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/register/joinprivategroup_assign_team?GID=99128&P=wang
Or if you prefer using ESPN instead of Yahoosports, go check out SE++'s March Madness thread
Hi I'm Vee! on
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Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
Yeah, it's hard for me to tell because I'm a Kentucky fan, so obviously I watch a lot of them and am biased.
But man, they are definitely the best Kentucky team since Calipari got here, and one of the best teams I've followed closely since I really started watching college basketball. They're just good at everything. Defense, shooting, driving the lane, in transition, in half-court, blocking, rebounding...
Anthony Davis is such a game-changer. I really don't know if this team can be beat by any of the current teams when it's firing on all cylinders.
So I do not know how my team is a three seed. We have a seven man rotation, assuming no foul trouble. Those seven guys are:
1) Jordan Morgan, a 6'8" center whose dad was shocked when he got ANY scholarship offer, much less one from Michigan. He gets by on hard work and outrunning other centers down the floor for easy dunks. Also, he's an excellent setter of screens.
2) Zach Novak, a 6'4" power forward. Seriously. I mean, I love Novak to death, but...
3) Tim Hardaway, who's a crappy rebounder and frequently a bad defender who falls in love with the three even though he's shot teribbly this year.
4) Stu Douglass, who is a great defender and has finally learned how to create his own shot.
5) Trey Burke, a true freshman point guard running one of the more complex offenses in the country
6) Evan Smotrycz, a really athletic tall dude who turns the ball over all the time and is in an amazing shooting slump.
7) Matt Vogrich, who until the last two weeks was a guy whose only skill was shooting threes but was only making like 28% of them.
This makes no sense. And if Minnesota didn't choke horribly Wednesday night, this team would be tied for the lead in the best conference in the nation. Don't get it.
And yeah, I don't see how Kentucky loses, except Calipari is a shit game coach and his teams always blow it in the tournament because he's a let's go illegally recruit a bunch of guys and throw the ball out kind of coach. Unfortunately, I feel like MSU is the most likely other champion, which makes me sad.
I like how Long Beach is fearless, they're willing to play anyone anywhere. No one will come to the Pyramid, so they've left home to play North Carolina, Kansas, San Diego State, Creighton, Pitt, Xavier, Louisville, and Kansas State.
Oh, I didn't see the first attempt.
I'm honestly surprised there isn't more NCAA Basketball talk on these forums, considering how popular the college football thread is. I know they're two different sports, but even so...
It usually gets crackin at tournament time. Some kid from a tiny school with hit a clutch 3, and there'll be 2 pages of people going "Oh shit!"
It's funny, college basketball is able to encapsulate the best arguments for and against a playoff in college football. The people who want a playoff point to March Madness and how awesome it is, and they're right. The people who don't want a playoff point to how March Madness makes everyone not care about the regular season, and they're right.
I like my Badgers chances this year as long as they show up to play. If they decide to actually make their fucking shots they can and will beat anyone
Tournament for us will about what it always is at best - win, tough win, holy shit we were so close to E8 we only lost to [higher seed team that has solid post presence and plays defense] by a couple! Problem is since we'll be like a 12 seed we get to play post presence/defense team in rd 1, so this time we'll spit the bit there instead of the sweet sixteen.
Blah blah weak SEC this year blah blah blah
hell yeah oh god that's a long time
three trophies this season. also, stupid Indiana forcing us to be the #3 seed in the conference tourney (if my understanding of the tiebreaking procedure is correct).
Also, Gus Johnson would want me to leave this here.
It's record against Wisconsin (the fourth place team). MSU was 2-0, Michigan 1-0, OSU 1-1.
Though I think y'all beat us in the semis. Only with home cooked officiating can we defend Sullinger without Morgan fouling out and Smotrycz/McClimans on Sullinger = death. That is a bad, bad matchup for us. And so is Purdue's Hummel at the 5 lineup. Hell, the Cats took us to OT both times, and they have a ton to play for.
What I'm saying is I expect a disappointing tournament and with the Sparties suffering an injury I think Wisconsin takes our three seed and we get dropped to a four, which is terrifying regardless of which #1 we draw. I'm fine with any of the twos (I think I'd prefer Mizzou, for style reasons), but Kentucky/Cuse/Kansas/UNC are terrifying and I would rather not play them until the most inexplicable Elite Eight ever. Also I'm saying that OSU beats Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament final, approximately 52-46.
I mean avoiding Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Indiana (not to mention an underperforming Illinois team that gets hot in the tourney) until the championship round. Assuming Purdue wins against Nebraska (safe bet) we still match up very well against them, especially the way Matta gets the team up for the conference tourney.
Mostly I'm wondering if there's a Big Ten team that can challenge them for a 1 seed at this point, since I'd much rather Kentucky play in Atlanta than St. Louis.
Kansas is just one of those teams that when no one's talking about, they often give people something to talk about. My No. 1 seed darkhorse if you will.
'cuse and Kentucky, obviously, very good too.
I think the fourth number one is still a little up for grabs, but UNC has the inside track. Sparty could get it if they win the Big Ten and UNC loses the ACC. Possibly Duke if they win the ACC?
Did they get a sponsorship from Mountain Dew or something?
I couldn't stand to watch Kentucky while they had Tubby Smith. Man, am I glad they've got a good coach again. Go Cats!
*Ignore those previous NCAA violations.
Maybe in how badly they got behind early, but not in the loss itself. Duke's been playing above the caliber of their players this season. Coach K is a miracle worker. If UNC didn't have injury troubles they would be far and away the favorite in the ACC tournament this year and probably a lock on a #1 seed.
Draymond definitely deserved player of the year honors, though.
Tournament will be tough without Dawson, though. Nix is going to have to step it up and play consistently well.
Edit: Also, Kentucky will be upset in the tournment. And then players will leave. And then a ways down the line there will be sanctions. Because that's what Calipari teams do.
I can't help but feel like today's games will keep us to 6 conference bids. Minnesota did TERRIBLE in conference play and Iowa's best out of conference win is Drake, who finished 3rd in a mid-major. Unless one of those two manage to win the tournament (hahahahahaha) I'm pretty sure Purdue is our last team in.
Sorry USF fans!