Unless I missed it, we didn't have a 2016-2017 NCAA basketball thread. It's a shame, and in a small way I feel as if I am partly to blame. Anyway, regular season is over, and we are deep into conference tournaments. The Big Dance begins next week.
It seems like the Madness has already begun, with some of the strange storylines:
-Michigan's plane rolling off the runway, forcing them to use the Pistons (?) charter to get to the Big 10 tourney, and them having to play in their practice jerseys since their luggage was stuck on the wrecked plane. Didn't seem to faze them any.
-Kansas and Baylor both getting knocked out early in the Big 12 tournament. If WVU loses, you're going to have a 4, 6, or 8 seed win it.
-Xavier, K State, and TCU seem to have put themselves on the right side of the bubble with big upset wins.
-Probably something interesting in the Pac12 but I haven't watched.
-Boeheim gets owned by the City of Greensboro Twitter account: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2696857-city-of-greensboro-twitter-account-fires-back-at-syracuse-coach-jim-boeheim (that account happens to be run by a childhood friend of mine)
-Northern Kentucky University gets into the Dance by winning the Horizon League tournament. They recently moved up to Division I from Division II and this was their first year of tournament eligibility. The Cincinnati area stands likely to send 3 teams to the NCAA tournament for the first time evah.
Just started looking at the brackets, and already see some weird stuff: Minnesota (24-9, 4th in B10) is a five-seed. Wisconsin, 25-8, second in B10) is an eight seed. To make it even wackier, Wisconsin crushed Minnesota at home and also beat them on the road. Maybe they gave Minnie the higher seed to make up for being the worse team?
Field of 64 68 is set!
Is someone gonna make a group?
Quote from: derspiess on March 12, 2017, 06:22:46 PM
Field of 64 68 is set!
Yay! Worthless games in Dayton!
The wailing and gnashing of teeth going on in Central New York with Syracuse missing the tournament is amusing. :lol:
There was some bitching last night that the winner of the Arizona-Oregon game should get the #1 seed in the West over the Zags.
I can't see that really. While of course Gonzaga has a crapload of wins against bad teams, they also have wins against very good teams, and if the debate is over whether Arizona is the #5 overall (and hence #2 in the West) with Gonzaga be the presumed #4 overall, or the other way around...well, it would seem that either way, they are are going to be #1/2 in the West.
That being the case, I would actually rather have the #2 seed. If for no other reason than I think Gonzaha being slighted for the #1 seed by Arizona, who they beat earlier in the year, would give them a huge chip if and when these two teams have a re-match with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
I think Arizona, overall, has a pretty good bracket. Getting out of SLC should be no particular issue. There are some decent teams in Orlando though. If Maryland starts playing like first half Maryland instead of last third Maryland, they could be very tough.
Quote from: Berkut on March 12, 2017, 07:31:15 PM
There was some bitching last night that the winner of the Arizona-Oregon game should get the #1 seed in the West over the Zags.
I can't see that really. While of course Gonzaga has a crapload of wins against bad teams, they also have wins against very good teams, and if the debate is over whether Arizona is the #5 overall (and hence #2 in the West) with Gonzaga be the presumed #4 overall, or the other way around...well, it would seem that either way, they are are going to be #1/2 in the West.
That being the case, I would actually rather have the #2 seed. If for no other reason than I think Gonzaha being slighted for the #1 seed by Arizona, who they beat earlier in the year, would give them a huge chip if and when these two teams have a re-match with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
I think Arizona, overall, has a pretty good bracket. Getting out of SLC should be no particular issue. There are some decent teams in Orlando though. If Maryland starts playing like first half Maryland instead of last third Maryland, they could be very tough.
I agree. I really like Arizona this year. They are my pick to win that region. Hopefully I haven't tainted them :D
I don't really understand all the hype around UCLA. Have you seen the way their "star" shoots the ball. :x
Quote from: PDH on March 12, 2017, 06:52:22 PM
Is someone gonna make a group?
Who had been running it?
Katmai
Quote from: crazy canuck on March 12, 2017, 09:55:11 PM
Quote from: Berkut on March 12, 2017, 07:31:15 PM
There was some bitching last night that the winner of the Arizona-Oregon game should get the #1 seed in the West over the Zags.
I can't see that really. While of course Gonzaga has a crapload of wins against bad teams, they also have wins against very good teams, and if the debate is over whether Arizona is the #5 overall (and hence #2 in the West) with Gonzaga be the presumed #4 overall, or the other way around...well, it would seem that either way, they are are going to be #1/2 in the West.
That being the case, I would actually rather have the #2 seed. If for no other reason than I think Gonzaha being slighted for the #1 seed by Arizona, who they beat earlier in the year, would give them a huge chip if and when these two teams have a re-match with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
I think Arizona, overall, has a pretty good bracket. Getting out of SLC should be no particular issue. There are some decent teams in Orlando though. If Maryland starts playing like first half Maryland instead of last third Maryland, they could be very tough.
I agree. I really like Arizona this year. They are my pick to win that region. Hopefully I haven't tainted them :D
I don't really understand all the hype around UCLA. Have you seen the way their "star" shoots the ball. :x
I am so fucking sick of hearing about UCLA and Ball. It strikes me as this completely manufactured hype machine.
It is UCLA, so they have a good team and some good players, but they are third in the Pac-12 when the Pac-12 isn't having a particularly great year. They have pretty good offense, and generally terrible defense. They are not going anywhere.
I made my Yahoo Bracket.
#1 seeds get out of each conference. Michigan, on a mission, makes a big push.
UCLA sucks, fuck UCLA.
Quote from: PDH on March 12, 2017, 10:13:36 PM
Katmai
Sorry i'm in Nome with shitty internet and covering the Iditarod race.
Well, since katmai is apparently distracted by work :rolleyes: I figured I'd throw up a desperation three and create a new group:
https://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/185340/invitation?key=2a648e66dc5c2924&soc_trk=lnk
password: jaron
Half the players are Russian
I want to see WilliamJew's picks.
With Minnesotta choking like dogs, my bracket is fucked. Fucked.
First time in ten years I didn't make a bracket. Tried to do one from my phone yesterday at work, but I had connectivity problem and then forgot about it when I got home.
Quote from: Grey Fox on March 16, 2017, 07:39:37 PM
With Minnesotta choking like dogs, my bracket is fucked. Fucked.
Told ya they were way over-seeded.
Quote from: grumbler on March 16, 2017, 08:32:36 PM
Quote from: Grey Fox on March 16, 2017, 07:39:37 PM
With Minnesotta choking like dogs, my bracket is fucked. Fucked.
Told ya they were way over-seeded.
So so so right.
A guy I know is playing in the tournament today for New Mexico. I don't think they have much of a chance though.
Front page of ESPNs tourney coverage has two pictures on it. Both of them show UCLA.
WTF is going on with the hyping of UCLA this year?
I know everyone loves updates on how other people's brackets are doing. :)
I got through the first day with a perfect bracket in my office pool. I'm rushing to trash talk now before the Day 2 games start and my bracket gets busted.
Michigan-Oklahoma State was unbelievably tense BBall. Evans and Walton played about as well as you can expect point guards to play. Poor gamblers got crewed on that desperation 3 by OSU at the end to make it a one-point game. I'm thinking damned few picked OSU to lose but by only a point.
UD Mind Flayers lost. So I'm happy.
Quote from: alfred russel on March 17, 2017, 10:13:05 AM
I'm rushing to trash talk now before the Day 2 games start and my bracket gets busted.
This was really good thinking. I'm busted. :)
I'm in a 46 person pool, and in 2nd place, with my final 4 intact, but already mathematically eliminated because #1 and I have almost the same pool (same final 4 and champ) from here on.:(
Coach Beilein - class act all the way. :)
Some great games today.
And also a tip of the hat to Berkut's brethren. Some pretty good officiating today - especially in the Kansas game.
The ACC, clearly the best conference in the nation! They got *NINE* teams into the tournament!
Of course, 8 of those 9 were gone the first weekend.
Doesn't this happen nearly every time a conference is seen as especially strong, and gets some huge number of teams into the tournament?
Quote from: Berkut on March 20, 2017, 07:32:49 AM
The ACC, clearly the best conference in the nation! They got *NINE* teams into the tournament!
Of course, 8 of those 9 were gone the first weekend.
Doesn't this happen nearly every time a conference is seen as especially strong, and gets some huge number of teams into the tournament?
It is bad. I now know what it is like to be a big 10 football fan in bowl season the last dozen years or so.
Quote from: Berkut on March 20, 2017, 07:32:49 AM
The ACC, clearly the best conference in the nation! They got *NINE* teams into the tournament!
Of course, 8 of those 9 were gone the first weekend.
Doesn't this happen nearly every time a conference is seen as especially strong, and gets some huge number of teams into the tournament?
It happened to the Big 12 last year, and happened to the Big East a couple times when the conference was really loaded. But I did get tired of hearing how awesome the ACC was. Dick Vitale can STFU now.
Quote from: derspiess on March 20, 2017, 09:36:12 AM
It happened to the Big 12 last year, and happened to the Big East a couple times during. But I did get tired of hearing how awesome the ACC was. Dick Vitale can STFU now.
Not yet. North Carolina is still alive and can win it all.
I was in front of a TV for practically every minute of all 4 days, except for part of the first game yesterday since my kid had his first baseball game. It has been a very enjoyable tournament so far, despite zero buzzer beaters and no major upsets in the first round.
Happy to see WVU claw its way into the Sweet 16. ND did not miss a foul shot, but thankfully WVU's defense was able to shut them down otherwise. Not shocked at all to see 11-seed Xavier in the Sweet 16. You never bet against them in the 1st and 2nd rounds of the tourney, no matter where they're seeded. Sort of the same for Meatchicken-- they are a hot team and hot teams win tourney games-- and you gotta love Beilein.
Duke's loss hurt my brackets but not mortally. So on balance I'm happy to see them out.
Some of you might be interested in Mo Wagner's piece in the Player's Tribune. https://www.theplayerstribune.com/moritz-wagner-michigan-basketball-airplane/ (https://www.theplayerstribune.com/moritz-wagner-michigan-basketball-airplane/)
Mo is a German who came to play for Michigan rather than going pro in Germany. He has an interesting outsider's perspective on American college sports and the utility of assembling a basketball team made up entirely of airplane crash survivors.
He reminds me a lot of the German exchange students that I have taught: focused on getting done whatever needs to get done in order to succeed. Not out of the fear of shame, like my Chinese exchange students, but just because that's the only way they think anyone can be successful.
Quote from: grumbler on March 23, 2017, 02:54:20 PM
Some of you might be interested in Mo Wagner's piece in the Player's Tribune. https://www.theplayerstribune.com/moritz-wagner-michigan-basketball-airplane/ (https://www.theplayerstribune.com/moritz-wagner-michigan-basketball-airplane/)
Mo is a German who came to play for Michigan rather than going pro in Germany. He has an interesting outsider's perspective on American college sports and the utility of assembling a basketball team made up entirely of airplane crash survivors.
He reminds me a lot of the German exchange students that I have taught: focused on getting done whatever needs to get done in order to succeed. Not out of the fear of shame, like my Chinese exchange students, but just because that's the only way they think anyone can be successful.
Sigh. Michigan. The best combo of sports excellence and great academic school and the right college culture to be found in America, with *maybe* the exception of Stanford.
Great bit.
Quote from: Berkut on March 23, 2017, 03:07:09 PM
Sigh. Michigan. The best combo of sports excellence and great academic school and the right college culture to be found in America, with *maybe* the exception of Stanford.
Great bit.
And the funny thing is that the best coach at Michigan isn't Beilein or Harbaugh, it is softball coach Carol Hutchins. She's won the B10 crown more than half the 31 years she has been at Michigan, has a winning percentage north of .750, and coached the first SB team from east of the Mississippi to ever win a national championship. This despite the fact that NCAA scheduling restrictions force Michigan softball to play 3/4 of their games as away games.
Girl sports don't count
This is the bracket of truth (http://www.nameoftheyear.com/2017/03/introducing-2017-name-of-year-bracket.html).
Personally I'm rooting for Andy Brandy Casagrande IV (http://www.popularmechanics.com/adventure/sports/a9555/the-diy-daredevil-who-films-with-sharks-16053751/) although YourMajesty Lumpkins (http://abc7chicago.com/news/1-year-old-shot-in-head-critically-wounded-in-riverdale/1475422/) is a strong contender.
Great win for X. Hell of a game.
Sorry to see Michigan lose.
WVU lost on their own merits (lack of shooting) but one of the shittiest officiated games I've seen, both ways.
Kansas is flat out scary. Would not want to play them right now.
Blech
IU stole UD's coach. The whining from the local news was delicious. UD FAGS
Heard that JT3 got shitcanned. Good time. Loyalty is nice, so are wins.
30 years ago tonight was the debut of One Shining Moment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OuJAxXWrno
I recognize and can name more players and coaches from this 30 year old video than I could watching the last 10 put together.
Was really surprised to see Dave Wannstedt on UCLA's coaching staff though.
That 1987 Tournament was the first one I remember doing a bracket for. It wasn't competitive, I don't even know if bracket pools were a thing back then, I just did it myself for shits and giggles. I hand drew the entire thing out on 4 sheets of 8."x11" paper that were all taped together and hung on the fridge with magnets.
I mostly remember it because I did so ridiculously well on it. I had Indiana beating Syracuse in the final game, and while I don't remember details and don't have the bracket anymore (obviously) I recall getting a silly number of game correct throughout the entire thing.
God I loved college basketball back then, it was my absolute thing.