College Basketball 2012-2013

And I didn't even know about New Mexico. My bracket is no good now. I talk up the Mountain West and they play like shit every year.

 

As much as the Mountain West is overrated (1-3, at least Colorado State won), the Atlantic 10 is underrated. Butler aren't as good as the back-to-back championship game teams, but are just as tough. They won yesterday. VCU went to the FInal 4 two years ago, and don't be surprised if they go again. Rick Majerus built a great foundation before his death and the U of St. Louis is a sleeper pick for a lot of people to get to Atlanta. Add LaSalle winning and the Atlantic 10 is 4-0.

 

Loving the Harvard upset.

You gotta point the finger at coaching if this is a pattern, do you not?

 

The coach does take the blame. He allows them to play a half court game and it gets them in trouble. Have to keep running instead of trying to figure out the zone. His defense needs to change. If they can play the kind of defense they did back when they were great then that will lead to more fastbreak chances.

And the Mountain West isn't overrated. The conference is having a bad tournament and that happens. I didn't watch the New Mexico game, but I can't imagine they had a good game. I know UNLV played their worst game all year. The conference is only getting better since UNLV and New Mexico are having good recruiting classes. Some of the other teams are too and Boise State is a young team. They should be the best conference out West again next season. Hopefully they do better in the tournament. No reason they shouldn't since New Mexico and UNLV were the favorites. Have to win those games and not play to the opponents level.

 

Won't stray too much from the tournament, but the MWC was not the best conference in the west, and not just saying from the tourney results. The Pac 12 went 9-8 v the MWC this season, each league sent 5 teams to the dance, the 5 from the Pac went 7-3 v the MWC, while the 5 MW invites went 5-4 against the Pac. If you want to say the gap is closed fine, but the MWC is still second fiddle.

Atlantic 10 strikes again, Temple takes out NC State, and so far Lasalle is all over #4 seed K State. You want to talk about an overrated conference the Big 12 is waaayy down.

Really liked Wisconsin to do some damage, but out they go against Ole Miss.

 

The Mountain West is still the best conference, even if they have had a shit tournament. I know the records and most of those games were close, UNLV should have beaten Oregon and San Diego State should have beaten Arizona. And the PAC 12 has some bad teams. Most of the league is bad after the tournament teams. The only team that was decent was Arizona State. The only bad team in the Mountain West is Fresno State. The rest of the league is decent to good.

 

Not only did UCLA lose Jordan Adams to injury, then controversy in the morning as star 'freshman' Shabazz lying about his age, he's actually 20 not 19 came out in the LA Times. Hmmm, kinda of interesting that the story broke the morning of the game :roll: Add in everyone wanting Ben Howland's head before the game and it wasn't going to be pretty. LA is regarded as laid back, but when it comes to the Lakers, USC football, and UCLA hoops the fans/alumni are over the top and have their knifes sharpened constantly.


How great was it to watch Florida Gulf Coast beat Georgetown?? To see the heart, guts, and enthusiasm of those kids it's what the tournament is all about.

EDIT: Howland got the axe, UCLA is rumored to try and attempt to get Shaka Smart to leave VCU. He has turned down other jobs, so not a given he'll want to move west.

 

:bow-yellow: :clap: To Florida Gulf Coast by being the first #15 seed to advance to the Sweet 16. They did it with style, fun, a great point guard, a fantastic dreadlocks wearing leader, and a bunch of other fearless players. Totally outplayed Georgetown, and followed it up be dispatching San Diego State w/a dominating second half. Now they get a shot a big brother Florida. They remind me of the Gonzaga team (when nobody had ever heard of Gonzaga) of the late 90's that went to the Elite 8, super confident and with no fear. The famous quote from that Zags team was 'Don't call us Cinderella cause we would take the glass slipper and break it over your head'. Going to be must see tv when they play the Gators.

Oh and Arizona in the Sweet 16 :character-beavisbutthead:

 

Gotta be honest. I haven't seen much from the 3-6 seeds (heck, even some of the ones and twos) that scare me, as it relates to their ability to eliminate Louisville or Indiana. Despite their weaknesses, I feel better about their chances of getting to Atlanta (although the Hoosiers almost made a liar out of me yesterday).
It was quite interesting in Dayton this past week. The open practices are very revealing when it comes to ascertaining a program's relevance on the national scene. The elite teams don't screw around much and move at a blistering pace for the bulk of the allotted time, usually 50 minutes, if my memory serves. They have fun and cut up, just for shorter periods and at a much faster pace. And their drills are longer and more complicated, sometimes leaving most of the crowd wondering what the heck is going on.
Still aren't sold on the big favorites, but outside of Florida Gulf Coast, I don't see anybody knocking them out...unless they beat themselves, which, of course, could always happen.
Speaking of FGC....well, I don't normally like to crow, but, what the hell. See my pre-tournament post from March 18th. I'd draw your attention to the next to last line. The one right before the last one. The one about FGC being my dark horse and why.

Thank you.

And now I have to go night, night, cuz I gotta catch a plane to Baltimore in the morning to the West Regional at the Verizon Center!

Senator, I'm headed your way! (Hey, where's the best bar to watch us trounce the Mexicans?)!

 

DC.

 

Enjoy the games tonight in DC, Jump. Classic matchup between Indiana v Syracuse. I picked the Hoosiers in my bracket to win it all, so I'll stick with it, but the Orange beating them would not be a shock. Temple outplayed the Hoosiers the last time out, but Indiana's poise was the difference/

Marquette v Miami. The Hurricanes lost their top rebounder, so they will have to go smaller. Marquette is tough minded, well coached, but Miami is both of those things and slightly more talented, Canes in a close one

Out west and playing at Staples in the second game is WIchita State v LaSalle. Hard to fathom that one of these two teams are going to be in the Elite 8, but they did it on the floor (especially LaSalle since they had to win the dreaded 'play-in' game, thus winning 3 games in 6 days). Will take WSU to win a tight defensive game.

Arizona v Ohio State. :whistle: who to pick? Talent and athletic wise, Arizona is every bit the equal to the Buckeyes. The big issue is without a true point guard can Arizona take care of the rock?? Decided not to go to the game because it's a pain to get to Staples at the 4:45 Pacific Time start, and you have to pay for the doubleheader (over $100 plus stub hub fees for super nosebleed seats). U of A!! U of A!!

 

Went to the Laughing Man Tavern on G Street, which was listed as the AO Chapter hangout. Decent crowd for a Tuesday night. The proprietors said Friday night was crazy packed. A group of us from the Louisville TV stations (yes, we get along with our competitors) also had dinner there during the first half, then joined the Outlaws downstairs for the second. A good time was had by all, and we got a point in Azteca.
The Hoosiers looked like a high school team trying to figure out how to attack a 2-3 zone for the first time. Except this was against the maestro and future HOF'er of said defense, Jim Boeheim. Thus, our stay in DC was short, but sweet. The games were blowouts (well, Indiana tried to stay within striking distance, but failed miserably). The Big East has put a stranglehold on the proceedings in Washington. The final is a toss up for me. The Orange looked awfully good, but so did Marquette, and they certainly know each other quite well. The "Cuse has a history of inconsistency at this point in the tourney, but they have a lot of guys playing well right now, and Indiana reps a far more important scalp for me than Miami.
The interesting thing to me is that Ohio State, Louisville and Kansas are strong possibilities to return to the Final Four again, with no dominant team like Kentucky last year to thwart them. All eyes here will be on the Cards tonight, of course. I like their chances...unless the bad shooting Louisville shows up. At this level, good teams can get hot and score enough on even the best defenses, no matter what you do. Still rooting for FCGU, but, honestly, don't like their individual matchups with the Gators. Still, isn't about time Texas Western won the title again? Too tire to type any more. Time to look at the futbol for this weekend. Peace.

 

Proud of my boys, thought it was going to overtime, but the kid hit an NBA 3. The other 3 games were blowouts.

Tonight:

Duke v Michigan State: Heavyweights, think they would split if they had to play 10 games at 5 and 5. I'll flip a coin and pick Duke
Louisville v Oregon: Sorry Jump, pulling hard for the Ducks, but the Cards D would be too much for Oregon's freshmen backcourt
Michigan v Kansas: Which KU team will show up? The one in the first half against Carolina where they looked terrible, or the one in the second half where they destroyed the Tar Heels? I'll go with Michigan, but regretting the pick already.
Florida v Florida Gulf Coast: Cinderella has gotten all kinds of love, and the Gators have been totally silent. Billy Donovan has had a full week to prepare, I think Florida wins it going away.

 

I agree with all your picks, joe. Time for the chalk to take over.

 

We get Duke next, who will not be as bothered by most teams with our defensive pressure, so we'll have to bring our A offensive game or we're done.

Trey Burke. Wow.

Gators flying under the radar.

 

Just got my marching orders for Atlanta. The Final Four is one of those events I have a love/hate relationship with. It's cool to get to go, but it's a hornet's nest when you get to the venue. Fortunately, we won't be throwing 'bows in the locker rooms with the Lexington and Indianapolis stations this time around, like we do with IU and UK.
The Gators WERE flying under the radar when, WHAM, they got erased by a heat seeking Sidewinder missile, courtesy of Trey Burke and the Wolverines. Gotta admit, that one shocked me. Perhaps it shouldn't have. It seems that as UK goes, so goes the SEC.
Then there's the 'Cuse. They may be playing the best ball right now, and if the they end up in the final vs. Louisville, they may well win it all. That would not shock me at all.
Not to say that the Cards beating Wichita State is automatic. Anything but. Overlooked in the hype over Kevin Ware's spectacular but ultimately routine injury is the fact that he was becoming a key contributor to this team. His loss is much bigger than many will admit to except, perhaps, Pitino. Still, they are the favorites, rightly so. Any one of the starters and at least two of the primary subs can go off on any given night (see Montrezl Harrell in the Big East Tourney Championship game).
And then there's Burke, who can carry his team on his back. He's capable of single-handedly willing his team to the title. They've got enough talent and role players to get it done.
Unless they go into one of their previously regular shooting funks, Louisville should win it. But they aren't prohibitive favorites like Kentucky last season. All four are capable of pulling it off. Just hope I can survive the inevitable schleping that comes with working at a domed stadium. My sore feet will be much happier if the Cards win. Which they should.

 

Have fun Jump schlepping about :lol: I know it's about the revenue, but wish they didn't play in dome stadiums since it tends to affect shooting.

Wichita State v Louisville; Great run for the Shockers ends here as the Cards wear them down. WSU reflect there coach and should hang in there until the final ten minutes. As soon as Ohio State pressured them that's when the lead evaporated, how are they going to handle the Ville's pressure for 40?? Cards by double digits.

Michigan v Syracuse; Syracuse has managed to control the tempo in every game and only Cal scored 60 on them. Their zone has suffocated everyone, can Michigan figure it out? I hope so, since Louisville v Michigan is the best game for the neutrals, but a real troubling stat is UM's coach Belein record while at West Virginia against the Cuse was a less than stellar 0-9 :shock: Gotta to pick the Orange.