NCAA Basketball: Conference Championships to First Four to Final Four

[milanessa]

Go Baylor Bears! (husband's alma mater)

 

[Cachoo]

My alma mater Kansas State lost to Syracuse today. Too bad. I still have another alma mater in it- Marquette. I hope they can go a long way. I third alma mater did not make the tournament. Isn't it nice to have multiple alma maters?

Vash--This Jayhawk fan loves Frank Martin. There are so many "slick" coaches out there and he is not one of them. What you see is what you get. Marquette looks like they could get to the FF to me. Some of those guys look like they could be comfortable on a football field.


Note to Beefcake: I don't know if you saw it but one of the best games I've ever seen KU play (and lose) was to Ball State in Maui I think in 2001 or 2002. I mean both teams came to play and they both seemed to be hitting everything. Now the gym is air-conditioned but it wasn't then and some of the KU players were cramping up. I think the trainers learned their lesson on that. I would love to watch that game again if I could ever find it.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

K-State tricked me, and suspended one of their key playmaker-rebounders right before today's game w/Syracuse ... I'd have definitely stuck w/Orangemen if I'd have been able to predict that. Le sigh. Syracuse is looking FAR better than in R1.

Syracuse's play yesterday in the second half was exactly what has made our team great this year. They don't always play that way and they've been doing it less as the year has gone on. Something went a little wrong after they lost Fab Melo the first time, and even when they got him back, things were much harder than they had been. But playing that way, I have to believe Samuels wouldn't have been able to make the difference.

Speaking of the Orange: ugh -- "'Cuse". WTF? Ridiculous nickname/shortening.

Psh. Who asked you?

Is Duke like the NY Yankees in that everybody except their fans REALLY hates them?

I kinda like them myself.

Yes.

 

[HeatherC]

I did the bracket pool at work for the first time and while I had a few moments in the first round, my second round has been a lot more solid. The upsets threw me off a bit but then most of those teams lost to the team I got right in round one so it all evened out in the end! That's a good thing since the points for our pool go up in each round and overall, I still have a pretty stinking sweet bracket. I want to win this thing!

Oh yeah, GO BUCKS, BEARCATS, and MUSKETEERS!!!!

 

[Cachoo]

I picked the Orangemen to go out in the Sweet 16 to Vandy but they do seem to be just fine without Melo. And the best names: Christmas, Fab Melo, Scoop Jardine...

UNC is killing right now as I type this. There's over 12 minutes left and they are already at 64 point. Yikes!

 

[Theatregirl1122]

I picked the Orangemen to go out in the Sweet 16 to Vandy but they do seem to be just fine without Melo.

Pretty much everyone picked that. Which is why Syracuse fans were so gleeful to see Vandy lose in the 2nd round. ESPN commentators were all picking Vandy to beat Syracuse and none of them picked them to get upset. So we are all like "whatever happens, you were ALL WRONG! HA!"

And the best names: Christmas, Fab Melo, Scoop Jardine...

Baye Moussa Keita? I do have to admit that Scoop's real name is Antonio. But he got the nickname Scoop as a baby and has used it ever since.


UNC totally handled Creighton. MSU pulled away from St. Louis late. Ohio and South Florida are in a good one, though.

 

[Fridge_Break]

Purdue is up on Kansas right now with about 12 minutes left to play. If that holds, there's going to be a lot more busted brackets -- more than they already are!

 

[Cachoo]

I think I have heart palpitations after the KU/Purdue game. Though I love KU it is hard to see a great player like Robbie Hummel end his college career with a loss. He was nails. We had a guard who has been quiet all season wake up today and not a moment too soon. Jeez I'm still shaking.

 

[Rob]

I think I have heart palpitations after the KU/Purdue game. Though I love KU it is hard to see a great player like Robbie Hummel end his college career with a loss. He was nails. We had a guard who has been quiet all season wake up today and not a moment too soon. Jeez I'm still shaking.

Man that was a game. I like Kansas, but at the end, I felt so bad for Purdue - I have seen my MD Terrapins lose countless games that way -ahead the whole game, lets the other team come back at the very end, dribbles the ball till there are 5 seconds on the shot clock, then spazzes out and turns the ball over. So sad for Hummell.

 

[Beefcake]

Harrowing end to that Purdue game. Sigh, they had it, then they had it again ... but alas it's a game of inches. If Hummel's 3-pointer would've dropped, and it was a half-inch from doing so, it's a four point lead with seconds left. Not to be.

Funny Tweet from one of the CBS contributors, on Hummel, who -- having lost two full years to injuries -- is a sixth year senior.

Robbie Hummel will talk about that first half with his grandkids. Because they're sitting court side.

 

[Cachoo]

That was a funny tweet: I know he has had a lot of injuries but he shoots so wonderfully--I hope he has a career in the NBA.

Rob--I went to a small university that won back to back championships in the NAIA and of course after I graduated I had no way to follow them (BI: before internet.) I saw an article in the newspaper about KU's new coach (Larry Brown), how he was a basketball genius and how this unrecruited Topeka guard had the balls to tell Larry he thought he could be a guard on the team. They called him Turgeon the surgeon and he is the reason I started watching KU (along with major withdrawl from my college.) Now all of the in-laws are KU grads and the games are a family affair. But back then it was Mark Turgeon. I hope he does well with your team. I think he is a good guy and a good coach.

And about the game--I thought it was masterfully coached by Purdue until the last minute and then I thought they played not to lose. I've seen KU do this so many times and the thing is I don't know how you keep from tightening up and keep the nerves out.

 

[Beefcake]

Nobody likes a braggart. So, I'll be accompanying my brag about my Beefcake's Perfection being in the Yahoo Brackets Contest 99 percentile of players with a second number -- 12,697. That is my ranking.

OTOH, it's out of 3,170,908 entries, which include people placing ten or more brackets each to achieve one or two superlative versions. Any of us hitting above the 60 percentile with either of our measly two brackets in the mix, should be quite pleased with ourselves.

 

[Rob]

Rob--I went to a small university that won back to back championships in the NAIA and of course after I graduated I had no way to follow them (BI: before internet.) I saw an article in the newspaper about KU's new coach (Larry Brown), how he was a basketball genius and how this unrecruited Topeka guard had the balls to tell Larry he thought he could be a guard on the team. They called him Turgeon the surgeon and he is the reason I started watching KU (along with major withdrawl from my college.) Now all of the in-laws are KU grads and the games are a family affair. But back then it was Mark Turgeon. I hope he does well with your team. I think he is a good guy and a good coach.

Oh that is cool. I like Turgeon a lot. He squeezed every bit of talent and some out of our young undersized team this year. They were doing much better than expected until injuries kind of deflated them the last couple of weeks of the season. Turgeon is clearly working hard on their basics (like free throws and moving/passing/following the shot for a rebound), and he came down really hard on our resident ball hog Terrell Stoglin. And his recruiting efforts seem to be paying off so I expect Turgeon will be successful at Maryland.

 

[Fridge_Break]

Nobody likes a braggart. So, I'll be accompanying my brag about my Beefcake's Perfection being in the Yahoo Brackets Contest 99 percentile of players with a second number -- 12,697. That is my ranking.

OTOH, it's out of 3,170,908 entries, which include people placing ten or more brackets each to achieve one or two superlative versions. Any of us hitting above the 60 percentile with either of our measly two brackets in the mix, should be quite pleased with ourselves.

I'm thinking you're going to be running away with our bracket contest, but both of mine are above the 60th percentile (87th and 61st) and right now this is the best I've ever had a bracket do.. usually I've lost a F4 team by now and multiple Elite Eight ones. My Final Four is still in tact and I've only lost 2 Elite Eight teams! Go green!

 

[Beefcake]

Ah, I dunno, long way to go. I'm hoping merely for hardware to add to my Yahoo "trophy shelf" lol: I didn't know that it existed until inputting my brackets last week ... right now my trophy shelf is just a 2nd place from our "2nd Chance" game last year)*

I believe that the points go up for each round, so nailing the F4 and winner will go a long way toward determining things. If Ohio State wins, then I may be in good shape. Any other ... who knows? I'm looking at "points possible", and a good ten of our brackets are within 10 points in that respect.

*Any interest in doing this again, this year? I will run if five or more will enter.

 

[mkats]

Is Duke like the NY Yankees in that everybody except their fans REALLY hates them?

I kinda like them myself.

Yes. I'm a Duke grad and I expected a hell of a lot of ribbing today at work - fortunately my Maryland coworkers were fairly mild about it! I only had us going as far as the elite eight in my bracket and that I thought was even a stretch as we've been pretty overrated all year, but I must say I did not expect us going out this early Oh well, you win some, you lose some. I don't mind the ribbing from UNC/UK/MD/etc. fans as long as you're willing to take it back when your team is in the hole

I hope Kendall Marshall gets well soon (point guard for UNC), broke his wrist. Obviously I will not complain if they lose soon but he seems like a nice guy and a hard worker, and I hate to see someone like that get hurt.

 

[mkats]

he came down really hard on our resident ball hog Terrell Stoglin.

I don't know much about Stoglin other than IIRC he was the highest scorer in the ACC at some point this season, but shortly after he got benched in the Duke-MD game, he tweeted "Really loved riding that pine today... smh". Great attitude to have on your team

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Apparently Marshall just had screws put in his wrist.

 

[Rob]

I don't know much about Stoglin other than IIRC he was the highest scorer in the ACC at some point this season, but shortly after he got benched in the Duke-MD game, he tweeted "Really loved riding that pine today... smh". Great attitude to have on your team

He's a pill. As far as ball hogs go, he's not as mean spirited as John Gilchrist was and not as inspiring as Greveis Vasquez was - he's somewhere in between. He is a good shooter, but his scoring would have been even better if he'd passed the ball and had a chance to get it back for an open look.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Looks like the cupboard will really be bare for UConn next year. Lamb and Drummond are all but gone to the NBA and Alex Oriakhi has requested a transfer.

 

[Cachoo]

Yikes and Calhoun does not strike me as the healthiest of coaches. I also wonder about the Big East--who is in and who is out of the league. It seems to change a lot.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Yikes and Calhoun does not strike me as the healthiest of coaches. I also wonder about the Big East--who is in and who is out of the league. It seems to change a lot.

The big east is committing slow suicide. It was formed as a basketball league and managed by basketball people who did not see it and did not act when it became clear that conferences were the future of football and football was going to be the driving force in college sports. They have continuously been reactive instead of proactive and have, honestly, made some insanely stupid choices.

 

[Fridge_Break]

Spartans

Mid-way through the second half I ended up grabbing a bottle of Sierra Mist and a bottle of Parrot Bay and emptied both at maximum pourage until my glass was filled and then proceeded to down it in about 90 seconds. Mr. Fridge Break shut off the TV and took me to Coldstone and then Taco Bell as a consolation.

 

[Cachoo]

Sorry Fridge Break but I'm glad Mr. Fridge Break took care of you. I still like Izzo a lot.

Theatregirl your Orangemen are certainly proving me wrong. I really would not want to play them. We all know about their defense but the shots they were hitting tonight---scary good.

KU is up tomorrow. They keep running the "ticker" that states that NC State's five starters average double figures. That scares me but this is the tournament and I can think of a lot of teams that would love to be in the S16 and are watching at home.

I am sleepy but want to see the outcome of the Fla/Marq game.

 

[HeatherC]

GO BUCKEYES!!!

Thank you for saving my bracket tonight, LOL

 

[ChelleC]

Go Big Blue!!!!!!!!

 

[Rob]

Tar Heels looked lost without the point guard. They pulled it out, but not in style. Eek KU slow start.

 

[aka_gerbil]

Go Big Blue!!!!!!!!

CATS CATS CATS!!!!

 

[Cachoo]

The Jayhawks are trying to give me a heart attack: In the end it is survive and advance but our guard play must improve to have a chance on Sunday.

 

[Beefcake]

GO BUCKEYES!!!

Thank you for saving my bracket tonight, LOL

Mine too! If the Buckeyes win, I'm in very good shape in the Theatregirl Brackets Disaster Game.

OSU seems to be continually on the verge of being unbeatable. The team flirts with hitting its stride and being a machine that blows out other elite teams. Today, more of the same ... I just knew that however Ohio State executed would truly determine who won.

The Bucks are exciting, and I'm still envisioning (er, or hoping for) this "stride" happening.

Oh, and goo Jayhawks! Not a fan of either team, but I think that if Kansas wins Sunday, I'm in good shape to overtake Chelle in our game. And lead ... at least for a coupla days.