tennesseeboy Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 nah..its that David and Goliath kind of thing. I had my heart in my throat for the Belmont Duke game last year. Look at Davidson from the Southern going so far with Stephen Curry last year as well. Its those automatic bids that make it interesting, and keep the big guys on their toes in the early going. Artis Gilmore by the way was announcing at the A-Sun conference. Nice guy...and he seems to have aged well. We somehow get less intimidating as we get old. I hear Bob Lanier is kind of the same for Bona. A real gent and a big supporter of his alma mater. Nice going for a kid from Bennet High. I actually remember him as a good high school pitcher who needed a lot of work as a basketball player. Obviously Bona did right by him as he is one of the all time greats. In those years we had Calvin Murphy at Niagara, Anderson and Morrison at Canisisius, and even Randy Smith (later of braves fame) at Buff. State. we really were a hotbed for hoops. Not to be politically incorrect, but a former buffalo mayor, Tony Masiello, played some great games against little three opponents.
Gordio Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 nah..its that David and Goliath kind of thing. I had my heart in my throat for the Belmont Duke game last year. Look at Davidson from the Southern going so far with Stephen Curry last year as well. Its those automatic bids that make it interesting, and keep the big guys on their toes in the early going. Artis Gilmore by the way was announcing at the A-Sun conference. Nice guy...and he seems to have aged well. We somehow get less intimidating as we get old. I hear Bob Lanier is kind of the same for Bona. A real gent and a big supporter of his alma mater. Nice going for a kid from Bennet High. I actually remember him as a good high school pitcher who needed a lot of work as a basketball player. Obviously Bona did right by him as he is one of the all time greats. In those years we had Calvin Murphy at Niagara, Anderson and Morrison at Canisisius, and even Randy Smith (later of braves fame) at Buff. State. we really were a hotbed for hoops. Not to be politically incorrect, but a former buffalo mayor, Tony Masiello, played some great games against little three opponents. Good info Tenn. I will keep my eye out for them next week. Hopefully they get a favorable draw. I agree with ya about the automatic bids. That is what makes the first weekend of the tourney the best sports weekend of the year. You never know who is going to get upset. As the rounds go on, the big boys usually separate themselves from the mid majors but there are usually one or two teams that make the sweet 16 from the mid majors that noone expects.
Ramius Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 West Virginia, Providence, Virginia Tech, Boston College, and Miami (Fl) all definately deserve to be in the NCAA tourney IMO. West Virginia is 21-10 and 10-8 in by far the best conference in the nation, and that should be enough by itself. They have also beat Villanova and beat a pretty good Ohio St. team by 24 on the road. Providence is also 10-8 in the Big East this year, beating Pittsburgh (who many feel may be the best team in the nation some nights), Syracuse, Rhode Island, and Cincinatti twice in the process. Virginia Tech has wins @ Wake Forest, @ Miami (Fl)-which is a tough place to play, and @ Clemson, who has lost only two other games at home all year. Boston College is 9-7 in the conference and has beaten two teams who have been in the top 5-10 in the country all year long in Duke and North Carolina. Finally, Miami (Fl) has beaten Wake Forest on the road, Florida State, Boston College twice, and only dropped a game to UConn by 3 earlier in the year before conference play. They are a very good team as well. Of course a lot is going to depend on the ACC and Big East tournaments, but name 5 mid-major teams currently on the bubble that have those kind of tournament resumes. As far as Georgetown goes, 16-13 is obviously not good enough to get into the tournament unless they win their conference tourney. I was just putting things into perspective a bit, because IMO the same Georgetown team would easily have 20+ wins had they been playing the same schedule as mid-major conference teams. No way do UM and VT deserve to be in the tournament. I've watched them all season and they have been models of inconsistency. Sure they've both won some bigger games, but they've also lost a handful of games that they should have won. I have 2 main criteria for the power conference teams on the bubble. Win 20 games, and go at least .500 in conference play. Do both, and i feel your team should be in the big dance. Do 1 of them and you are squarely on the bubble. Fail to do either and you do not have much of an argument. Miami - 18-11 overall, 7-9 in conference. VT - 17-13 overall, 7-9 in conference. Maryland - 18-12 overall, 7-9 in conference. Its very tough to make a case any of them belongs in the tournament, barring a deep run into the ACC tourney. In my mind any of these teams would have to at least reach the semis of the ACC tourney before i'd ever consider them for the tournament. BC on the other hand, does belong. 21-10 overall, 9-7 in conference play, and a couple of signature wins. They have the resume to make the tournament.
Ramius Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Wow. Beat #1 UNC in the ACC semis and lose to Duke in the finals to finish the season out at 25-9 (12-7 ACC) and all FSU gets is a 5 seed? We got hosed.
Lt. Dan's Revenge Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Wow. Beat #1 UNC in the ACC semis and lose to Duke in the finals to finish the season out at 25-9 (12-7 ACC) and all FSU gets is a 5 seed? We got hosed. I noticed that too. I thought they were a lock for at least a 4 seed. At least they play Wisconsin, though. They are a pretty weak team this year IMO. Oh and just because we were all talking about East Tennessee State - pretty tough draw for them getting a 16 seed and playing Pitt. Thought they would get a 14 or 15. Although I suppose a #1 seed has to fall to a #16 at some point, right...?
Gordio Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Wow. Beat #1 UNC in the ACC semis and lose to Duke in the finals to finish the season out at 25-9 (12-7 ACC) and all FSU gets is a 5 seed? We got hosed. They should of got a 4 seed. Keep in mind though they beat UNC without Lawson. That might of been the thinking. Dont be too concerned with the seed Ramius. Looking at the brackets just now, Florida St got a pretty favorable slot. They play a Wisconsin that I really do not think should of even made the tournament. I know Bo Ryan's teams have some success in these kind of tournaments, but if FSU does not let Wisky dictate tempo, they should beat them by double digits. This is not a good wisconsin team. My guess is then they will probably get Xavier. This is another very beatable team imo. I think they have been a little overrated all year. I think FSU at worst is in the sweet 16 if they play up to their potential.
Ramius Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 They should of got a 4 seed. Keep in mind though they beat UNC without Lawson. That might of been the thinking. Dont be too concerned with the seed Ramius. Looking at the brackets just now, Florida St got a pretty favorable slot. They play a Wisconsin that I really do not think should of even made the tournament. I know Bo Ryan's teams have some success in these kind of tournaments, but if FSU does not let Wisky dictate tempo, they should beat them by double digits. This is not a good wisconsin team. My guess is then they will probably get Xavier. This is another very beatable team imo. I think they have been a little overrated all year. I think FSU at worst is in the sweet 16 if they play up to their potential. I'm not bitching too loud, more like some grumbling. I'm really happy at how good we've been this season. I know we beat UNC without Lawson, but keep in mind earlier this year, it took a miracle Lawson 3 at the buzzer for UNC to beat us. We've shown we can hang with them. I don't mind our draw too much, but i dont know a whole lot about Wisconsin or Xavier. If we got to the sweet 16 and faced Pitt, it'll be the second time we've seen them, and we matched up with them pretty well back in december.
Lt. Dan's Revenge Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Anyone do their first draft of their bracket yet? My first inclination at my final four picks are Louisville, Memphis, North Carolina, and Villanova. Any thoughts on those teams going to Detroit?
Gordio Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Anyone do their first draft of their bracket yet? My first inclination at my final four picks are Louisville, Memphis, North Carolina, and Villanova. Any thoughts on those teams going to Detroit? Villanova is an interesting team. By playing in Philly, they basically are guaranteed to at least get to the sweet 16 imo. if they get that far(& they should) they will probably meet Duke or maybe Texas. Texas smacked them around pretty good earlier this year. Duke, if they are not hitting there threes they could be beat, although I think Duke would matchup failry well with a smaller Villanova team. They already have proven this year that they can beat Pitt. I guess what Iam trying to say is that they have as good as chance as anybody coming out of that region. I got louisville, memphis also. I got Oklahoma coming out of the south but that is more my heart picking(you may recall I have a futures bet with them winning it all). I honestly could see them getting beat in the 2nd round by Clemson. If Lawson is ready to go, Carolina is going to be awfully tough to beat. SU may give them a decent game.
Wooderson Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Anyone do their first draft of their bracket yet? My first inclination at my final four picks are Louisville, Memphis, North Carolina, and Villanova. Any thoughts on those teams going to Detroit? What'd you sneak a peak at my bracket? Haha. I agree, I think 'Nova has a good shot at the final four. I think Memphis is also a good call in the West, I'm not sure how far UConn will be going. I think the Midwest is going to be difficult to pick. I think Wake has a good shot, as well as Michigan St. It'll be interesting to see how everything plays out this year. It's been a crazy year for college basketball and this tourney should end up being a good one.
Lt. Dan's Revenge Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Villanova is an interesting team. By playing in Philly, they basically are guaranteed to at least get to the sweet 16 imo. if they get that far(& they should) they will probably meet Duke or maybe Texas. Texas smacked them around pretty good earlier this year. Duke, if they are not hitting there threes they could be beat, although I think Duke would matchup failry well with a smaller Villanova team. They already have proven this year that they can beat Pitt. I guess what Iam trying to say is that they have as good as chance as anybody coming out of that region. I got louisville, memphis also. I got Oklahoma coming out of the south but that is more my heart picking(you may recall I have a futures bet with them winning it all). I honestly could see them getting beat in the 2nd round by Clemson. If Lawson is ready to go, Carolina is going to be awfully tough to beat. SU may give them a decent game. I do remember the Oklahoma pick, and with those odds I would be rooting for the same thing! Clemson is going to be a really, really tough matchup for them, with their length and the press that they play. OU has struggled against that type of team this year a bit. Missouri is a good example of that. I was tempted to pick Clemson to upset, but I think that Griffin will be too much inside and will also handle Booker well, which is a big part of the Tigers offense. Warren will be the key to that game. I'm not too sure how sold I am on Memphis being in my final four, and I think Missouri is going to give them a real run in the Sweet 16. As crazy as it sounds, I actually like the way Memphis matches up with UConn if they meet in the Elite 8 better than they match up with Mizzou. A couple major first round upsets I am leaning towards are Cleveland St. to beat Wake and Portland St. over Xavier. Pulling the trigger on Cleveland St. for sure, and am still kicking around the Portland St. game. The problem is that I see Florida St. beating either Xavier or Portland St., so I may want to just pick Xavier to win and get the upset points in the second round game when they play the Noles.
Lt. Dan's Revenge Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 What'd you sneak a peak at my bracket? Haha. I agree, I think 'Nova has a good shot at the final four. I think Memphis is also a good call in the West, I'm not sure how far UConn will be going. I think the Midwest is going to be difficult to pick. I think Wake has a good shot, as well as Michigan St. It'll be interesting to see how everything plays out this year. It's been a crazy year for college basketball and this tourney should end up being a good one. Why would I try to shadow a bracket from a guy who still tries to hook up with high school freshman who are 6 years younger than him? Either way, not real high on Wake, too inconsistent for my liking. Then again, maybe I'm just a bit bias at this point since they covered about 1/7 spreads for me throughout this year.
Wooderson Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Why would I try to shadow a bracket from a guy who still tries to hook up with high school freshman who are 6 years younger than him? Either way, not real high on Wake, too inconsistent for my liking. Then again, maybe I'm just a bit bias at this point since they covered about 1/7 spreads for me throughout this year. Wait, weren't you the one who was trying to mack my sister's 16 yr old friend? Haha.
Gordio Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Why would I try to shadow a bracket from a guy who still tries to hook up with high school freshman who are 6 years younger than him? Either way, not real high on Wake, too inconsistent for my liking. Then again, maybe I'm just a bit bias at this point since they covered about 1/7 spreads for me throughout this year. You like Portland St over Xavier. The early line is +11.5. I have watched Portland a few times & it seems if they are knocking down there 3s they are competitive. I am really not that high on Xavier. For some reason I also like UCLA minus the 7 over VCU. Everybody is on VCU's back right now. Line opened up at 9 & now it is down to 7. I imagine by game time it will be down to 4 or 5. When everybody is on an underdog like this the opposite usually happens. Any of the early lines stick out to you. Need some advice. I got taken behind the woodshed with the book this weekend for the tournament games. Got to make it up this week.
Lt. Dan's Revenge Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 You like Portland St over Xavier. The early line is +11.5. I have watched Portland a few times & it seems if they are knocking down there 3s they are competitive. I am really not that high on Xavier. For some reason I also like UCLA minus the 7 over VCU. Everybody is on VCU's back right now. Line opened up at 9 & now it is down to 7. I imagine by game time it will be down to 4 or 5. When everybody is on an underdog like this the opposite usually happens. Any of the early lines stick out to you. Need some advice. I got taken behind the woodshed with the book this weekend for the tournament games. Got to make it up this week. Yeah, I think even if I don't pick them to win in my bracket I'm going to take Portland State with the points because I think even if Xavier wins, it won't be by much and will be competitive throughout. They have won at Gonzaga this year by 7, lost to Washington by only 1 point on the road, and are winners of their last 6 including their conference championship. Xavier hasn't really impressed me at all on the offensive end this year. As far as VCU goes, we all know how good Eric Maynor is - in fact I believe he is the best point guard playing in that game, not Darren Collison. The guy everyone seems to be talking about is Larry Sanders, and for good reason because the guy has incredible length and has been playing his best ball recently. However, don't discount Alfred Aboya's impact on Sanders and this game in general. He is just as tall as Sanders, and is a more physical player at 25 pounds heavier than Sanders. That might neutralize him and put a ton of pressure on Maynor. If that line does end up dropping to 4 or 5, seems like a good value to me. I haven't taken a look at many other lines as of yet, plan on doing it tonight though and I'll let you know what is jumping out. Without even looking, I like the money line on Utah St. over Marquette, think they are going to win outright. Game is in Boise, which is huge.
Gordio Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Yeah, I think even if I don't pick them to win in my bracket I'm going to take Portland State with the points because I think even if Xavier wins, it won't be by much and will be competitive throughout. They have won at Gonzaga this year by 7, lost to Washington by only 1 point on the road, and are winners of their last 6 including their conference championship. Xavier hasn't really impressed me at all on the offensive end this year. As far as VCU goes, we all know how good Eric Maynor is - in fact I believe he is the best point guard playing in that game, not Darren Collison. The guy everyone seems to be talking about is Larry Sanders, and for good reason because the guy has incredible length and has been playing his best ball recently. However, don't discount Alfred Aboya's impact on Sanders and this game in general. He is just as tall as Sanders, and is a more physical player at 25 pounds heavier than Sanders. That might neutralize him and put a ton of pressure on Maynor. If that line does end up dropping to 4 or 5, seems like a good value to me. I haven't taken a look at many other lines as of yet, plan on doing it tonight though and I'll let you know what is jumping out. Without even looking, I like the money line on Utah St. over Marquette, think they are going to win outright. Game is in Boise, which is huge. Early line on Utah St is +5. I like them too. Game is in Boise like you said, should give them some kind of home court advantage. Keep me posted if anything sticks out to you.
Lt. Dan's Revenge Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Wait, weren't you the one who was trying to mack my sister's 16 yr old friend? Haha. Erroneous! Erroneous on all accounts!
Lt. Dan's Revenge Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Early line on Utah St is +5. I like them too. Game is in Boise like you said, should give them some kind of home court advantage. Keep me posted if anything sticks out to you. Yeah, 5 sounds about right. Not sure if they'll even need it. You do the same, I'm always looking for some good analysis/advice this time of year.
Gordio Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Yeah, 5 sounds about right. Not sure if they'll even need it. You do the same, I'm always looking for some good analysis/advice this time of year. Yeah, looking at them now. If it goes anything like it went this weekend, just take the opposite of what I say. LOL
Lt. Dan's Revenge Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 Yeah, looking at them now. If it goes anything like it went this weekend, just take the opposite of what I say. LOL Hey, you can never fade someone's picks because of just one bad weekend! lol Plus conference tournament games are a lot harder to pick than the NCAA tourney IMO. You never really know what team(s) actually wanna be playing in those games if they already have their NCAA ticket punched. That's why teams like Georgia and Mississippi St. won the SEC tourney the last two years outta nowhere. Total crapshoot most of the time. Keep your head up
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