South Regional Discussion and Analysis

RedOctober3829

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SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
55,299
deep inside Guido territory
No surprise Florida is overall 1 seed and is in South
Orlando Thursday
1 Florida
16Albany/MSM

8Colorado
9 Pittsburgh

San Diego Friday
5VCU
12 Stephen F Austin

4 UCLA
13 Tulsa

St Louis Friday
2 Kansas
15 Eastern KY

7 New Mexico
10 Stanford

Buffalo Thursday
3 Syracuse
14 western Michigan

6 Ohio State
11 Dayton
 

mabrowndog

Ask me about total zone...or paint
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Dec 23, 2003
39,676
Falmouth, MA
New Mexico gets punked. They're deserving of far better than a 7-seed.
 
And clearly Kansas was the bottom of the #2 seeds, or 8th overall. Which is fucking horseshit.
 

DukeSox

absence hasn't made the heart grow fonder
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2005
11,742
group of death with those top 3 seeds
 

mabrowndog

Ask me about total zone...or paint
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Dec 23, 2003
39,676
Falmouth, MA
shawnrbu said:
It's early, but the committee likes the A-10 schools (VCU getting a 5 and Dayton avoiding a play-in game in Dayton).
 
I brainfarted in my brackets by putting Dayton in the play-in. They can't play there, since it's their home court.
 

ivanvamp

captain obvious
Jul 18, 2005
6,104
As a Syracuse guy, this is the region that most interests me, for obvious reasons.  Some thoughts...
 
- I don't think this is the most difficult region.  That goes to the Midwest, which is loaded with Wichita St, Kentucky, Louisville, Duke, and Michigan.  But it is a challenging region for sure.  First off, they have the #1 team in the nation in Florida.  And then Kansas, who, if Embiid is back and healthy, is a top-5 team and who has been at #1 this year.  Then Syracuse, who I think is seeded a little high at #3, but who, when right, is also a top-5 team and who also has been at #1 this year.  UCLA and VCU are also very tough.  And don't sleep on Pitt, who plays a style that just might give Florida a problem in the 2nd round.
 
- First round games I'm interested in:  SU-WMU (obviously), Colorado-Pitt, Ohio St.-Dayton.
 
- Predicted to make it to Memphis:  Florida, VCU, Ohio State, Kansas (yes, I see Ohio State knocking off Syracuse, unfortunately….obviously I hope I'm wrong)
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Dec 16, 2010
53,850
shawnrbu said:
It's early, but the committee likes the A-10 schools (VCU getting a 5 and Dayton avoiding a play-in game in Dayton).
 
They like VCU so much they play Sun in NYC, fly home, then fly out west to play Thursday in Southern California, and if they win, play UCLA 2 hours from LA.
 
EDIT: Also, A-10 6th Man of the Year Melvin Johnson will likely miss this game with knee injury suffered in A-10 semis.He has MRI today. Keep an eye on that.
 

canderson

Mr. Brightside
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Jul 16, 2005
39,435
Harrisburg, Pa.
EastCoasterOutWest said:
Does SFA play high-tempo normally? How good are they handling the ball?
Not high tempo, a half court swarming defense. The offense is one of the best in the NCAA at turnovers (3rd IIRC) and is one of the most efficient at possessions. They are not run and gun - they'll work you to death with passing and ball movement, not just screen after screen. But they still score quite a bit. They also love transition offense so while not run and gun they do try to get up the floor quickly when they can get into a transition run.
 
Why I like the matchup is VCU can't shoot well (41% on the year) and SFA will be the best defense they've seen all year in the half court game. What causes them issues usually is interior height, but VCU prefers a smaller lineup so it plays into SFA's scheme IMO.
 
SFA has one of the best rebounding teams in NCAA too, basically a one-and-done approach for the opposing offense and they crash the boards on offense too occasionally, given them a pretty healthy advantage on offensive boars too.
 
IF SFA can get the ball up the floor they have a pretty good shot at the upset. They've done it all season and have faced several full court presses, granted none likely as good as VCU (though I've read this year's isn't really that great), so I have some hope.
 
They're still facing an uphill battle, but they have a trio of guys on offense that can score at will to help spread the havoc.
 

Old Fart Tree

the maven of meat
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Jan 10, 2001
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Boulder, CO
I like Stanford's chances at a round 1 upset, but honestly, it sucks that "we made the tournament" is apparently enough to announce that Dawkins' job is safe. Montgomery showed that you can put together a winner at Stanford; Dawkins seems to be a weak recruiter, terrible at player development, and an inept offensive Xs and Os coach. If you can turn Stanford Football into a powerhouse, why can't you turn the basketball program around, where it only takes a handful of recruits?
 
Instead, they announced his job is safe because he made the tourney... with a team that ought to have made the tourney. And while winning is more important than watchability, most Stanford games under his tenure have been unwatchable rockfights. On the plus side, I've made some good coin banging the under against Stanford, so what the hell.
 
Edit: good comment on a Stanford Board regarding Muir's policy on Dawkins: "We bow to 67 programs, max."