(non-GT unfortunately) March Madness Thread

[GTJT622]

Pitt has gone from a 2 pt dog this time yesterday to now being a 1 pt favorite. Quite a swing on the spread.

I'd love to see Pitt and ND win tonight so the ACC can boast a perfect 7-0 record heading into the Round of 32.

 

[Texwood]

Some first round WATCH OUT's I have my eye on...

Thursday
-WATCH OUT DUKE! The Hitler Youth are 10.5 pt favorites against Colonial's UNC Wilmington. I've seen UNCW about 7 times this season. They are dangerous. The Colonial isn't nearly as strong anymore without departed VCU, Richmond, ODU, etc. But, don't sit on the Seahawks. It's an early game (12:15 tip, first game of the NCAAT) in Providence. The crowd will get behind the Seahawks in the 2nd half if they can hang around. Duke lives and dies with the 3 and if they aren't on, that's an even bigger WATCH OUT because the kids from New Jersey don't play much defense at all.
-WATCH OUT BAYLOR! The Bears were sent packing in their first game last year by 14-seed Georgia State. Yale has the potential to do it again. The Bears are "only" around a 5 or 6 pt favorite so it isn't like Vegas is expecting a blowout here to start with. Don't be surprised if the Bulldogs drive the Baylor bunch crazy.
-WATCH OUT MIAMI! I've seen Buffalo play a few times this season and saw their last 2 wins in the MAC tournament. The Canes laying 13.5 pts seems far too many IMO. I like the Canes to win, but it won't be that easy.
-WATCH OUT PURDUE! The Boilermakers are laying 9 pts to Little Rock, who is very athletic and will get up and down the court for easy baskets. Purdue is a solid team from a solid conference. If they bring their "A" game, they should win and perhaps even by double digits covering the spread. However, if they bring anything less, they could be sent home.
-WATCH OUT INDIANA! Chattanooga is getting 12 pts. That's seems like waaaaaay too many. The Mocs won a very competitive SoCon this year. The Hoosiers are money at home, but just so-so away from Bloomington. An outright upset here will not surprise me at all. At least one 12-seed always beats a 5-seed in the NCAAT and this seems like the most likely one to me.
-WATCH OUT ARIZONA! Wichita State has a solid backcourt. In fact, some make the case it is perhaps the best in the nation. Gregg Marshall's bunch is loaded with experience and as VCU proved a few years ago, a team can come out of the Dayton early-week play in games and make a significant run. This game will be in Providence - note, 3 hours east of Arizona's time zone. This game could be a SHOCKER (pun intended). {edit note: the opening line on this game is a Pick 'Em in Vegas}

Friday
-WATCH OUT CALIFORNIA! I know you are a sexy pick right now and rightfully so. But, true freshmen can have their eyes really big right now and the Rainbows from Hawaii are a very good team that most of the nation knows little about. Cal is laying 7. Like Purdue, if they play their best ball, they will likely win and cover.
-WATCH OUT TEXAS A&M! My sister's Aggies are laying 13 to Green Bay. The SEC really sucks in basketball. Especially this year. Green Bay plays the kind of game that may negate A&M's frantic pace and slow things down to a halfcourt event which most NCAAT games eventually evolve to.

This has got to be one of the most epic upset prediction posts in the history of the interwebs.

5-seed Baylor? Dead!
5-seed Purdue? Dead!
6-seed Arizona? Dead!
4-seed Cal? Dead!
Niedermeyer? Dead!

Hitting upsets of this magnitude at a 4 of 7 clip is outrageous. Hope you played all of these on the ML GTJT!!!

The Aggies better watch their backs tonight.

 

[GTJT622]

Yep. Went 5-2 vs the spread yesterday. 2-0 so far today with a push on the Sooners laying 14.

I've got Northern Iowa in the Sweet 16. Could be the kiss of death for them. Playing them getting 4 tonight vs Shaka's Boys from Mexico.

 

[GTJT622]

And, down goes Pitt. No surprise there.

SFA is in great shape to send WVU home which should be making the Irish drool with the prospects of getting to the Sweet 16 if they can get past Michigan later tonight.

 

[Texwood]

No surprise, but Pitt had their chances down the stretch. I was really hoping they could pull it out. Let's go Irish!

 

[Texwood]

Huggins draws a technical for being a prick. Love it! Finish 'em off Stephen F.

 

[Buzzforlife]

Over 13 m. brackets at ESPN.com, zero are perfect after today.

 

[GTJT622]

Including First Four games...

ACC 6-1
Big East: 4-1
SEC: 2-1
A10: 2-1
Big10: 5-3
Big12: 3-4
Pac12: 2-5

Pac 12 and Big 12 have been overblown...as usual IMO.

 

[GTJT622]

The ACC has a legit shot now to get 6 teams in the Sweet 16. Money babyyyy.

Go Canes!!

 

[GTJT622]

And, this without the Escort Service Academy in it.

 

[GTJT622]

Canes in great shape now. Enter first ACC team to the Sweet 16. Hopefully, it will be the first of six.

 

[GTJT622]

Random nugget...

...all 6 ACC teams who advanced will play lower seeds who defeated a higher seed in their opener.

3 Miami has already defeated 11 Wichita State (who beat 6 Arizona)
4 Duke about to face 12 Yale (who beat 5 Baylor)
1 Cheaters late tonight will face 9 Providence (who beat 8 Southern Cal)
6 Irish tomorrow faces 14 Stephen F Austin (who beat 3 West Va)
1 France tonight faces 9 Butler (who beat 8 Tejas Tech)
10 Syracuse tomorrow faces 15 Middle Tennessee State (who beat 2 Michigan State)

 

[GTJT622]

Rutgers-Durham is drilling Yale. If they can hang on, they will play the winner of 1 Oregon-8 St. Joe's (late Sunday night tip) in Anaheim next Thursday, March 24.

 

[GTJT622]

Yale finally figuring out that Duke has no interior defense. Just keep attacking them, Yale, and you will win.

Duke a-holes getting tight now. Could they possibly blow a near 30-pt lead? Probably not, but couldn't happen to a much better bunch not named UNC Cheaters if it did.

 

[Texwood]

Stepped away from this one at the half. Yale must have played some great defense in the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half. Didn't Duke have 48 at the half? They have 56 with under 10 remaining!

 

[GTJT622]

With 8 minutes left and a 58-49 lead, Duke is 10 of 20 from outside the arc and Yale is 4 of 18 outside the arc. You'd think Duke would be up by near 30 like they were in the 1st half.

Duke is 8 of 9 at the FT line while Yale is 3 of 5 too. You can hear Ratface crying about Duke having to play what resembles a road game in Round 2 as the crowd gets behind the underdog, whose campus is less than 100 miles away. Yet, that same POS Ratface will conveniently forget the number of times his Hitler Youth have been sent nearby to cushy places like Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte.

Rutgers-Durham will go on and win this game. Glad to see Yale not give up and at least give their team and the audience some fun moments in the 2nd half with the gutsy comeback. If they hadn't dug such a deep hole early, things obviously could've been much different.

Still time for an upset though. Duke lives and dies from outside the arc. Defend them out there and offensively attack their interior and you can beat Duke. One of the worst defensive teams Ratface has ever had.

 

[GTJT622]

I almost laid a unit on Duke laying 5. But, changed my mind. While they still may cover, I'm glad I didn't pull the trigger on that because I'd be poking myself in the eye right now watching this.

I am glad I took the Canes getting 2.5 though. Woohoo!

 

[GTJT622]

Duke survives. If the Oregon or St. Joe's coaching staffs don't see that all you have to do is get the ball in the paint and you'll shoot 60+% against Duke, then they deserve to lose the next round.

Plumlee is alone down there and then he is a poor defender himself. Coming out and trying to jack 3's up against Duke is dumb. Kill them down low. With the post presence Tech has, our guys have to be kicking themselves that we didn't beat them at home a month ago.

 

[GTJT622]

ACC is now 8-1 and has earned 15 units.

And, with a bunch of opportunities for more on the way.

 

[GTJT622]

Random factoid...

...this Sweet 16 Canes team went to the NIT championship game (losing in OT by 2 pts) a season ago.

 

[Texwood]

ACC is now 8-1 and has earned 15 units.

And, with a bunch of opportunities for more on the way.

The ACC is on pace to have a big unit this year. Kudos to great hires by UVA and Miami. Another great hire by VPISU is sure to add to the conference's Viagra effect in future seasons.

 

[GTJT622]

Glad the ACC got the respect we deserved by giving us 7 bids. In the future, we should be getting 8 or even 9 in some years. Perhaps would have gotten 8 this year if the ESA hadn't gotten caught with their pants down.

Keep winning and we earn more. Hopefully one day the NATS will contribute to the kitty again.

 

[GTJT622]

The pathetic SEC is about to be down to 1. Let's hope the Jackets can add to SEC Hoops misery Monday night.

 

[Texwood]

Seeing how the conferences are stacking up in this tourney makes me think we ought to be slight favorites against USCe. Especially if much of their bench remains under suspension.

 

[GTJT622]

Agreed. I've pretty much blindly played the Jackets when we have been underdogs this year. Was planning to again Monday night. Keeping an eye on the line. We are currently getting 4. ML play is tempting as well.

 

[GTJT622]

The French are down by 2 at the half. I figured they'd at least avoid choking until the 2nd weekend. We've hypothesized when their grabbing style of defense that they get away with in the ACC will catch up with them. We'll see. Still lots of time left.

 

[Texwood]

My bracket that now looks post-apocalyptic has Butler taking down the Hoos. Hoping for more bracket fail in this game!!

 

[GTJT622]

If the French gets past Butler, they'll get the red hot Cyclones who have wiped out their two opponents so far. The French are better than Iona and Little Rock though.

 

[GTJT622]

The American Athletic Conference got 4 bids. They are now pretty much done. Kansas is killing UConn. The AAC will finish with a 1-4 record. The bottom half of that conference is terrible. Tech drilling Houston, from the AAC, is just more proof. That Houston team went 12-6 this season in conference.

 

[GTJT622]

The French are on a nice run right now. Up 9 with 6 mins left.

 

[Texwood]

Brogdon is one of those special sorts that can assimilate the wisdom of his coach and intuitively put it into action on the court. It makes me sick to my stomach that he isn't wearing the white and gold.

 

[GTJT622]

And, the French advance (and cover the 7.5 pt spread on 2 late Brogdon FT's). The ACC is now 9-1.

3 for 3 ACC teams advancing to the Sweet 16. Shaping up to be quite the story. UNC plays in about 30 minutes.

 

[GTJT622]

The Pac 12 continues to crap the bed. The Zags are beating the snot out of the Utes. If that holds, that just leaves the Ducks late tomorrow night (out of 7 bids they received). If I'm St. Joe's right now, my confidence is growing.

 

[GTJT622]

Gotta give the Friars credit. They have come out and are running right with the Cheaters in Raleigh. Fun game to watch if you don't have it on/up.

 

[GTJT622]

Cheaters well on their way now of making it 4 for 4 for the ACC getting to the Sweet 16.

I think that is now 17 units...and counting.

Go Irish!! Go Orange!!

Would love to see 6 of the Sweet 16 be from the ACC.

 

[GTJT622]

Thursday Sweet 16 point spreads of note released so far...

UNC laying 5.5 vs Indiana
French laying 5 vs Iowa State

 

[GTJT622]

Make it 5 for 5 in ACC teams advancing to the Sweet 16. Way to go, Irish!!

That was a great game start to finish and an excellent ending.

 

[GTJT622]

FWIW, pretty sure I heard Greg Gumble state earlier that 5 ACC teams in the Sweet 16 ties a record for most Sweet 16 teams from the same conference...with, of course, the chance to set a new record if Syracuse can hang onto this 2nd half lead and get there too.

 

[GTJT622]

Orange up by 13 and looking good. Assuming they go on to win, this means the Jackets will have played 7 of the Sweet 16 teams (read: almost half) - 6 ACC + Nova. That's 9 games (we went 2-7 in those)...almost a third of our schedule.

 

[GTJT622]

Syracuse up big now. This means all 4 games Friday night will feature an ACC team. With, the chance that we could see one or two ACC teams face one another in the Elite 8 for a ticket to the Final Four...

Friday games...

East Region: 1 Cheaters vs 5 Indiana...6 Notre Dame vs 2 Xavier or 7 Wisconsin (who beat Pitt for the ACC's only loss so far)
Midwest Region: 1 Virginia vs 4 Iowa State...10 Syracuse vs 11 Gonzaga