First 2009 March Madness thread

[declansharbor]

Originally Posted by Cannon Shell

Can a three seed be a sleeper?

I didnt think so. Who was it that said that, Kellogg? Whoever it was, his sleepers were all #6's or better?

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by declansharbor

I didnt think so. Who was it that said that, Kellogg? Whoever it was, his sleepers were all #6's or better?

Mr. Chalk, Greg Anthony

[ateamstupid]

I got 64 out of 65 right. Wisconsin getting in instead of San Diego State was the one I missed.

Not too bad.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

I got 64 out of 65 right. Wisconsin getting in instead of San Diego State was the one I missed.

Not too bad.

There is always next year

[philcski]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

I got 64 out of 65 right. Wisconsin getting in instead of San Diego State was the one I missed.

Not too bad.

I did too. Had Creighton over Ariz, thinking road performance actually meant something in a tournament where EVERY GAME is on the road. But I guess 2-9 is ok these days, not to mention losing 5 of 6 down the stretch.

FWIW I do think Arizona could be a good team but they have underperformed since the new year

[horseofcourse]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

I got 64 out of 65 right. Wisconsin getting in instead of San Diego State was the one I missed.

Not too bad.

we all expect perfection from you guys...better luck next year!!

[declansharbor]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

I got 64 out of 65 right. Wisconsin getting in instead of San Diego State was the one I missed.

Not too bad.

Scuds will have something to say about this.

[horseofcourse]

Originally Posted by philcski

thinking road performance actually meant something in a tournament where EVERY GAME is on the road.

well, Villanova is playing their first two games in Philly. I guess they do have to travel from campus to the arena.

Now for the question for all the High IQ basketball freaks:
(without looking at their tournament seeding and position)

WHAT TEAM BENIFITTED MOST FROM LOSING THEIR RESPECTIVE
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT AND WHY? (does not matter in what round)

[jwkniska]

Originally Posted by pgardn

Now for the question for all the High IQ basketball freaks:
(without looking at their tournament seeding and position)

WHAT TEAM BENIFITTED MOST FROM LOSING THEIR RESPECTIVE
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT AND WHY? (does not matter in what round)

Carolina. It put them in a ton weaker bracket than being where Louisville is as the overall #1. They've got free squares until they have to play Oklahoma.

[ateamstupid]

Originally Posted by jwkniska

Carolina. It put them in a ton weaker bracket than being where Louisville is as the overall #1. They've got free squares until they have to play Oklahoma.

Gonzaga is far from a free square.

Originally Posted by jwkniska

Carolina. It put them in a ton weaker bracket than being where Louisville is as the overall #1. They've got free squares until they have to play Oklahoma.

Actually I wanted it just from a determination/
attitude point of view. These are kids. They
can be very determined, or they can be
supremely confident (too much so in some cases).

In fact it is fairly incredible what some of these
coaches go through with their salary, being rehired etc...
which many times rests on the backs of very young
immature kids.(Bob Huggins and Larry E. of course party with them)
Or did Bob get drunk with old guys, cant remember...


Check that. I think one team has a 26 year old playing.
But for the most part, it holds.

[philcski]

Originally Posted by philcski

agreed, he's gotta come out and light it up, look to score every play.

i think Gonzaga will be very disappointed with their seed. on a blind comparison their resume isn't that strong. 4 of their top 5 wins are against St Mary's and Tennessee, they have a not-so-good loss to Portland State, and their RPI/SOS is much worse than previous years. I'm thinking 6-7 range.

I'm glad I was wrong on this one.

[SniperSB23]

Originally Posted by SniperSB23

I'm not high on Kansas but there is so much parity this year that anything could happen. I've only seen them three times (Syracuse, Siena, and Missouri) and came away unimpressed in all three. But I'm sure with a better sampling of games I might have come away with a different opinion. Now that they lucked out with Griffin's injury and appear headed to a 2 seed they'll have no problem in the first round. As a 3 seed I thought there was bigtime upset potential from a hot shooting 14 seed that has a little size to contain Aldrich, someone like North Dakota State.

I was so happy when I saw I got my ideal 14 over 3 scenario.

[philcski]

Originally Posted by philcski

Seeds
1: Louisville*, UNC, Pitt, UConn
2: Memphis*, Michigan State, Kansas, Duke*
3: Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Missouri*
4: Washington*, Villanova, West Virginia, Florida State
5: Purdue*, Arizona State, Gonzaga*, Xavier
6: Clemson, UCLA, Marquette, Utah*
7: LSU, Illinois, Tennessee*, Butler
8: Texas, Oklahoma State, Cal, Ohio State
9: Dayton, Texas A&M, Boston College, BYU
10: USC*, Michigan, Utah St*, Siena*
11: Maryland, Creighton, Wisconsin, VCU*
12: Minnesota, Cleveland St*, Western Kentucky*, Mississippi State*
13: Temple*, UNI*, American*, North Dakota St*
14: Akron*, SFA/Southland*, Binghamton*, Radford*
15: Robert Morris*, Portland St*, Cornell*, East Tenn St*
16: Chattanooga*, Big West*, Morehead St*, Alabama St*, Morgan State*

For recordkeeping, the top 50 RPI teams left out: SDSU, UAB, St. Mary's, Illinois State, Niagara (all mid-majors, of course.)

How'd I do?
64/65 accurate. Creighton in for Arizona.
26/65 seeds correct.
55/65 seeds within one line.
Not great, not bad.

And an FYI... as stated above, there were 6 teams in the top 50 RPI left out. Every single one of them was from a non-BCS conference.

1: Louisville* 1, UNC 1, Pitt 1, UConn 1
2: Memphis* 2, Michigan State 2, Kansas 3, Duke* 2
3: Oklahoma 2, Wake Forest 4, Syracuse 3, Missouri* 3
4: Washington* 4, Villanova 3, West Virginia 6, Florida State 5
5: Purdue* 5, Arizona State 6, Gonzaga* 4, Xavier 4
6: Clemson 7, UCLA 6, Marquette 6, Utah* 5
7: LSU 8, Illinois 5, Tennessee* 7, Butler 9
8: Texas 7, Oklahoma State 8, Cal 7, Ohio State 8
9: Dayton 11, Texas A&M 9, Boston College 7, BYU 8
10: USC* 10, Michigan 10, Utah St* 11, Siena* 9
11: Maryland 10, Creighton XXX, Wisconsin 12, VCU* 11
12: Minnesota 10, Cleveland St* 13, Western Kentucky* 12, Mississippi State* 13
13: Temple* 11, UNI* 12, American* 14, North Dakota St* 14
14: Akron* 13, SFA/Southland* 14, Binghamton* 15, Radford* 16
15: Robert Morris* 15, Portland St* 13, Cornell* 14, East Tenn St* 16
16: Chattanooga* 16, Big West* 15, Morehead St* 16, Alabama St* 16, Morgan State* 15