NC State, Marquette, Creighton, San Diego State, Gonzaga, Clemson - those teams have no chance of winning it all, IMO.
NCAA Tournament 2nd Round Sunday Thread
- Thread starter RedOctober3829
- Start date
Alas, it was not to be. But if you're checking out the campus as part of a college visit or something, it'll still be a great atmosphere.
This has been a watershed year for JMU sports. When I arrived as a freshman in 1995, the closest thing we had to a draw was that Lefty Driesell was the basketball coach. The football team was I-AA and not particularly good at that level. This year we played in our first bowl game, saw more time nationally ranked in football than the one week at 25 we got last year, saw the basketball team spend time on the national polls, had the most wins of any team in DI entering last night's game, and won our first NCAA tournament game in 41 years. It's not quite as dramatic a turnaround from the Victor Kiam years to the Patriots dynasty, but it is pronounced and it is exciting for us in the alumni community.
They made "Fightin' Texas Aggies" in extremely small lettering, like they were embarrassed to have it on their jersies.
I would have enjoyed watching a healthy Northwestern team play UConn. UConn still wins, and they are probably still a 10 point favorite, but NU's starting center, Matthew Nicholson, is incredibly strong and physical and would have been a good matchup defensively on Clingan. NU's 2nd and 3rd centers are finesse players who Clingan abused on both ends. NU really missed Ty Berry on offense. He's an athletic wing, their best or 2nd best 3 point shooter and can get his own shot, which NU desperately needed. UConn is so well coached and were smart to double Bouie on just about every possession in the first half, and completely bamboozled them. Berry might have helped there. Again, UConn still likely wins going away, but it would have been a much better game.
Given my daughter's a JMU alum and I like what they've accomplished down there, I'm hoping Chesney does well; even though it's Dad's alma mater they got him from.
If the Thursday Friday games break right, it could be a pretty awesome weekend of very high level matchups of teams that all have a legitimate chance.
Looking at the brackets, I think I'm going to throw a few bucks on Arizona. Their biggest problem is consistency, but when they play well they can beat anyone. I also really like their road. They should beat Clemson, and if they do, there is a chance that Alabama could take out UNC. Even assuming that doesn't happen though, Arizona travels really well and Los Angeles will be an away game for North Carolina if they get there. And then of course the final four is in Phoenix.
Looking at the brackets, I think I'm going to throw a few bucks on Arizona. Their biggest problem is consistency, but when they play well they can beat anyone. I also really like their road. They should beat Clemson, and if they do, there is a chance that Alabama could take out UNC. Even assuming that doesn't happen though, Arizona travels really well and Los Angeles will be an away game for North Carolina if they get there. And then of course the final four is in Phoenix.
Big East coaches are crowing about how the committee made a mistake because the conference is 6-0. But, didn't the committee also say those three teams were very likely to make the second weekend by giving all of them top 3 seeds? Shouldn't you try to show that the committee made a mistake (by overperforming your expectations)?
Let's not forget that both Marquette and Creighton both got everything they wanted from double-digit seeds this weekend. If they lose their next game all of a sudden the conference is 7-2 heading into the Elite 8 and has underperformed relative to seeding.
I don't really think any conference has major bragging rights, though some might want to hide (SEC, B12). The ACC is closest if you forget that Virginia finished 3rd in the league.
Let's not forget that both Marquette and Creighton both got everything they wanted from double-digit seeds this weekend. If they lose their next game all of a sudden the conference is 7-2 heading into the Elite 8 and has underperformed relative to seeding.
I don't really think any conference has major bragging rights, though some might want to hide (SEC, B12). The ACC is closest if you forget that Virginia finished 3rd in the league.
"Look how they did in the tournment" is always kind of stupid but it's a fun game to play. It's a really small sample size. We have so many good metrics these days to judge teams. And now you have all these great pre-conference season tournaments that you get an awful lot of information. Coaches are just trying to be ambassadors and make their case for future years when they may be on the bubble.
That said I understand the Big East argument. They have a 1, 2 and 3 seed and those three teams have all shown that their seeds were justified. Making the sweet 16 is an accomplishment whatever your seed. Anyone who has watched the big east rightly has trouble accepting that the league really was as top heavy as the committee implies. That said, there is no obvious injustice here to me.
My "new" brackets starting with the sweet 16:
East
UConn over San Diego St
Illinois over Iowa St
UConn over Illinois
West
North Carolina over Alabama
Arizona over Clemson
Arizona over North Carolina
South
Houston over Duke
Marquette over NC State
Houston over NC State
Midwest
Purdue over Gonzaga
Tennessee over Creighton
Tennessee over Purdue
Final Four
UConn over Arizona
Houston over Tennessee
National Championship
UConn over Houston, 74-64
East
UConn over San Diego St
Illinois over Iowa St
UConn over Illinois
West
North Carolina over Alabama
Arizona over Clemson
Arizona over North Carolina
South
Houston over Duke
Marquette over NC State
Houston over NC State
Midwest
Purdue over Gonzaga
Tennessee over Creighton
Tennessee over Purdue
Final Four
UConn over Arizona
Houston over Tennessee
National Championship
UConn over Houston, 74-64
I really want no part of Arizona in the semis since the game is in Phoenix. But it would make a great story if UConn could beat em in their backyard. I would much rather see UNC.
As much as I want to see Duke eat shit it would be an amazing final four with UConn, UNC, Purdue, Duke.
As much as I want to see Duke eat shit it would be an amazing final four with UConn, UNC, Purdue, Duke.
Last edited: