Pitt... you're up two.... with 10:25 left.
Are you serious?!?!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Tourney - Day 1
Day one started exciting, slowed down, then ended with a couple of good ones.
Here's my quick breakdown:
Most exciting game:
Memphis vs. Cal St. Northridge.
This game had the makings of a huge upset until the last few minutes fo the game. CSN gave Memphis a great run for their money - keeping the lead well into the second half. The saying goes "Survive and advance" - but is this a sign of a chink in Memphis' armor?
Best Finish:
UCLA vs VCU.
Hands down- best finish of the day. Maynerd had a chance to win it at the buzzer but his fade-away fell short. After a day of games with only one game that came down to a final possession (Clemson/Michigan) - this finish made the 10-hour day of basketball-watching worthwhile.
Best Perfomance:
Abrahms from Texas. He destroyed Minnesota and was absolutely on fire from "3".
Most disappointing performance:
Illinois. They were lucky to be in the game at the end - they were owned. I knwo they didn't have Fazier - but seriously, they sucked.
My personal favorite:
Zags advance to the 2nd round for the first time since 2006 (the Adam Morrison cries after blowing a lead to UCLA game)
Here's my quick breakdown:
Most exciting game:
Memphis vs. Cal St. Northridge.
This game had the makings of a huge upset until the last few minutes fo the game. CSN gave Memphis a great run for their money - keeping the lead well into the second half. The saying goes "Survive and advance" - but is this a sign of a chink in Memphis' armor?
Best Finish:
UCLA vs VCU.
Hands down- best finish of the day. Maynerd had a chance to win it at the buzzer but his fade-away fell short. After a day of games with only one game that came down to a final possession (Clemson/Michigan) - this finish made the 10-hour day of basketball-watching worthwhile.
Best Perfomance:
Abrahms from Texas. He destroyed Minnesota and was absolutely on fire from "3".
Most disappointing performance:
Illinois. They were lucky to be in the game at the end - they were owned. I knwo they didn't have Fazier - but seriously, they sucked.
My personal favorite:
Zags advance to the 2nd round for the first time since 2006 (the Adam Morrison cries after blowing a lead to UCLA game)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Get Her A Bracket!
Have a significant other who doesn't watch hoops?
Do you spend way too much time watching 'her' shows.... ie HGTV....
Well get her a bracket then!
Guys, you can sucker your girl in that same way he suckers you into watching her shows. Just like that time you starting watching the bachelor and then all of a sudden it becomes destination TV: You're watching thinking Sally definitely should win over Jenny (and Maria is a bitch!)
You slide your girl a bracket - suddenly she cares about Louisville over Memphis (Sure, she may gag and go on and on about Pitino's white suit in the process - but you'll get her yelling at the TV about a college game she may never have watched had you not given her that sweet, sweet symmetrical bracket.
I don't claim to be a love doctor - but - this is a pretty damn good idea!
Do you spend way too much time watching 'her' shows.... ie HGTV....
Well get her a bracket then!
Guys, you can sucker your girl in that same way he suckers you into watching her shows. Just like that time you starting watching the bachelor and then all of a sudden it becomes destination TV: You're watching thinking Sally definitely should win over Jenny (and Maria is a bitch!)
You slide your girl a bracket - suddenly she cares about Louisville over Memphis (Sure, she may gag and go on and on about Pitino's white suit in the process - but you'll get her yelling at the TV about a college game she may never have watched had you not given her that sweet, sweet symmetrical bracket.
I don't claim to be a love doctor - but - this is a pretty damn good idea!
Extra Conference Tourneys
Despite not being an advocate of expanding the dance - I'm all about more post season tournaments.
Why? It's watered down, right? It makes no money, isn't worth putting on TV, etc. etc. etc.
Guess what: It's not about the money - it's not about the TV contracts - it's about the Players.
Coach Kerry Keating at Santa Clara said it best when lobbying to have his Broncos - along with conference player of the year John Bryant - play in one of the lower tier post-season tournaments: A kid of that talent deserves to play a little more basketball.
It's not about the lights. It's about getting some refs, a scoreboard, and playing in a game as a team. One last shot to play together and one last shot for a kid like John Bryant to experience post season play.
Keating knows a little about post season play. He was a guard for PJ Carlisimo's Seton Hall teams from 1989-1993. That has no real bearing on the story - just a fun fact.
Why? It's watered down, right? It makes no money, isn't worth putting on TV, etc. etc. etc.
Guess what: It's not about the money - it's not about the TV contracts - it's about the Players.
Coach Kerry Keating at Santa Clara said it best when lobbying to have his Broncos - along with conference player of the year John Bryant - play in one of the lower tier post-season tournaments: A kid of that talent deserves to play a little more basketball.
It's not about the lights. It's about getting some refs, a scoreboard, and playing in a game as a team. One last shot to play together and one last shot for a kid like John Bryant to experience post season play.
Keating knows a little about post season play. He was a guard for PJ Carlisimo's Seton Hall teams from 1989-1993. That has no real bearing on the story - just a fun fact.
Should the Tournament Expand?
A lot of coaches have been saying it should happen (Bruce Pearl, Tubby, Roy Williams to name a few) - and hell - why wouldn't they? Getting to the NCAA Tournament is their meal ticket. More tourney spots means more meal tickets for coaches and what's not to like about that in the high-pressure world of NCAA basketball coaching?
From a fan's perspective, I have mixed feelings. Everyone knows this time of year is my absolute favorite: I love me some March Madness and really can't get enough of it! So the prospects of more play-in games or expansion to 128 teams is a bit appealing to me. I'd love to see a couple of bubble teams battle it out for a chance to play a 2 seed.
I also like the prospect of that meaning more mid-majors getting a shot. The St. Mary's of the world won't be forced to have to beat a top notch Gonzaga team just to make it in the field, and teams like Portland might have an easier shot of atleast getting a whiff of the bubble....
But there in lie the problem: There will always be a bubble. Weather its #65 or 128, there will be a bubble somewhere and someone will inevitable get left out. Let's say they expand to 8 play-in games. 4 games for the lowest seeds, and 4 games for bubble teams to get slotted in somewhere in the 12-15 seeds. While it would have solved our "Arizona or St. Mary's" dilemma, we'd be left debating "Should it be Kentucky or Davidson" - which were two teams far from bubble talk this year for the top 65.
But my biggest argument against any expansion is this: The tournament expanded when they started using automatic bids.
Fact is - the NCAA Tournament really starts in the team's conference tournament. Every team (as long as they play well enough in the regular season and actually make their conference tournament) has a shot of representing their league in the Big Dance: Put up or shut up.
Granted, there are a myriad of problems:
1. Conference Tornaments should be held at either a neutral site or at the home of the regular season champ/higher seed. This rewards teams for better regular season.
2. Like the WCC, the top 1 or 2 seeds should get every advantage possible to make it to the championship game. In the WCC, both the 1 and 2 seeds get first and second round byes - automatically getting into the conference semis. I see that as a just reward - especially with teams that have little chance of getting an at-large bid otherwise. A team that wins their conference out to get something for their accomplishment that puts them at least a couple of steps towards winning the conference tourney.
3. Bigger schools need to start scheduling small schools in home and homes. It's ridiculous that these big schools get to play cupcake schedules (MINNESOTA) and never go on the road to some of these mid-majors. Give them some sort of incentive or change the RPI formula to accommodate that. Not sure how... but it needs to happen.
So - should the field of 65 expand? I don't think so: fact is it already is expanded. We just need to even the playing field.
What do you think?
From a fan's perspective, I have mixed feelings. Everyone knows this time of year is my absolute favorite: I love me some March Madness and really can't get enough of it! So the prospects of more play-in games or expansion to 128 teams is a bit appealing to me. I'd love to see a couple of bubble teams battle it out for a chance to play a 2 seed.
I also like the prospect of that meaning more mid-majors getting a shot. The St. Mary's of the world won't be forced to have to beat a top notch Gonzaga team just to make it in the field, and teams like Portland might have an easier shot of atleast getting a whiff of the bubble....
But there in lie the problem: There will always be a bubble. Weather its #65 or 128, there will be a bubble somewhere and someone will inevitable get left out. Let's say they expand to 8 play-in games. 4 games for the lowest seeds, and 4 games for bubble teams to get slotted in somewhere in the 12-15 seeds. While it would have solved our "Arizona or St. Mary's" dilemma, we'd be left debating "Should it be Kentucky or Davidson" - which were two teams far from bubble talk this year for the top 65.
But my biggest argument against any expansion is this: The tournament expanded when they started using automatic bids.
Fact is - the NCAA Tournament really starts in the team's conference tournament. Every team (as long as they play well enough in the regular season and actually make their conference tournament) has a shot of representing their league in the Big Dance: Put up or shut up.
Granted, there are a myriad of problems:
1. Conference Tornaments should be held at either a neutral site or at the home of the regular season champ/higher seed. This rewards teams for better regular season.
2. Like the WCC, the top 1 or 2 seeds should get every advantage possible to make it to the championship game. In the WCC, both the 1 and 2 seeds get first and second round byes - automatically getting into the conference semis. I see that as a just reward - especially with teams that have little chance of getting an at-large bid otherwise. A team that wins their conference out to get something for their accomplishment that puts them at least a couple of steps towards winning the conference tourney.
3. Bigger schools need to start scheduling small schools in home and homes. It's ridiculous that these big schools get to play cupcake schedules (MINNESOTA) and never go on the road to some of these mid-majors. Give them some sort of incentive or change the RPI formula to accommodate that. Not sure how... but it needs to happen.
So - should the field of 65 expand? I don't think so: fact is it already is expanded. We just need to even the playing field.
What do you think?
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Game 1; and a Prediction
It's official - the 2009 NCAA Tournament has begun!
In the opening round game, Morehead State took down Alabama State 58-43 in a less-than-entertaining match-up.
But here's my theory:
I've always said that if a #1 seed ever gets beat - it'll be to a team that plays in the play-in game. My thinking is that that team will not have had a 5+ day lay-off from playing, and might catch a team coming out cold. (Also, the last two seeds are often teams that played terrible in the year and won their conference tourney - so they could have a player or two that miraculously came into their own over the last month of play - - short deviation: a buddy of mine, after his senior year of high school, played in an all-star game after the season, and out of nowhere started dunking all over the Gym. No one saw it coming - not even him... now translate that into a college squad finally finding their rhythm. Could it happen? Eh... Maybe.
But back to the upset: This year is a special year: The play-in game is being played in Dayton - the same site as the 1 Louisville vs 16 Morehead State match-up. I'm not saying... I'm just saying... Morehead State HAS played one more game in that gym than Louisville this week.... could it translate into upste city for the first time for Number 16?
In the opening round game, Morehead State took down Alabama State 58-43 in a less-than-entertaining match-up.
But here's my theory:
I've always said that if a #1 seed ever gets beat - it'll be to a team that plays in the play-in game. My thinking is that that team will not have had a 5+ day lay-off from playing, and might catch a team coming out cold. (Also, the last two seeds are often teams that played terrible in the year and won their conference tourney - so they could have a player or two that miraculously came into their own over the last month of play - - short deviation: a buddy of mine, after his senior year of high school, played in an all-star game after the season, and out of nowhere started dunking all over the Gym. No one saw it coming - not even him... now translate that into a college squad finally finding their rhythm. Could it happen? Eh... Maybe.
But back to the upset: This year is a special year: The play-in game is being played in Dayton - the same site as the 1 Louisville vs 16 Morehead State match-up. I'm not saying... I'm just saying... Morehead State HAS played one more game in that gym than Louisville this week.... could it translate into upste city for the first time for Number 16?
Down on the Big Ten? Try 'D'
I've heard sevveral announcers say that the Big Ten won't perform well in the tournament due to the fact that teams "Can't Score Points". While that may be true for my hometown Gophers, I prefer to to look a this trend another way:
The Big Ten plays good defense!!
I know this might come as a foreign idea to alot of the east coasters out there - but the Big Ten season is a rough and tumble league that bares down on 'D'. The gams get aggressive - and as Jay Bilas points out, gets called a little tighter.
Instead of Big Ten teams not being able to "score enough" points - I think the tournament frees up their play, and that they often play a lot more aggressive defensively than other teams.
It's pretty simple logic: Good defense means you're not letting the other team score points. When it comes to defensive efficency, the Big Ten has 3 of the top 10 defenses in the nation, with Minnesota sitting in the top 20.
I say you'll have at least 3 Big Ten teams in the Sweet 16, and 2 in the Elite 8.
The Big Ten plays good defense!!
I know this might come as a foreign idea to alot of the east coasters out there - but the Big Ten season is a rough and tumble league that bares down on 'D'. The gams get aggressive - and as Jay Bilas points out, gets called a little tighter.
Instead of Big Ten teams not being able to "score enough" points - I think the tournament frees up their play, and that they often play a lot more aggressive defensively than other teams.
It's pretty simple logic: Good defense means you're not letting the other team score points. When it comes to defensive efficency, the Big Ten has 3 of the top 10 defenses in the nation, with Minnesota sitting in the top 20.
I say you'll have at least 3 Big Ten teams in the Sweet 16, and 2 in the Elite 8.
Tourney Tid-Bits
A short deviation from the T-P-S-type reports I'm working on:
CBS has released who will be paired up for each site at this year's tourney:
http://www.cbssports.com/cbssports/story/11509998
Some notables:
+What a year for the Gophers to get the 'A'-Team! The "Billy Packer-less" pairing of Jim Nance and Clark Kellogg will be in Greensboro, as the Gophers get the "A-Team" announcers as a product of playing at the same site as Duke and UNC.
+Gus Johnson and Len Elmore are paired up in the Minneapolis Region... I can hear "Ha HAA!" and "Rise and Fire" coming from Kirby Puckett Place already.
+Personally, I'm glad Kevin Harlan is in Portland - to call the Zags game.
I mentioned this in a previous e-mail, but I find it really odd that 3 #1 seeds are playing in the 1:30/2pm time-slot, and 3 #2 seeds and 2 #1 seeds are playing on Thursday. Only 3 schools of the 8 on the top two lines will be playing in prime time... a HUGE shift from previous years where 1s and 2s took the prime-time, and late night spots. Meanwhile, 3 of the 7/10 match-ups are in the 6pm time slot. Maybe I'm the only one that finds this interesting, but as a TV guy I'm intrigued - and glad - they made the shift.
CBS has released who will be paired up for each site at this year's tourney:
http://www.cbssports.com/cbssports/story/11509998
Some notables:
+What a year for the Gophers to get the 'A'-Team! The "Billy Packer-less" pairing of Jim Nance and Clark Kellogg will be in Greensboro, as the Gophers get the "A-Team" announcers as a product of playing at the same site as Duke and UNC.
+Gus Johnson and Len Elmore are paired up in the Minneapolis Region... I can hear "Ha HAA!" and "Rise and Fire" coming from Kirby Puckett Place already.
+Personally, I'm glad Kevin Harlan is in Portland - to call the Zags game.
I mentioned this in a previous e-mail, but I find it really odd that 3 #1 seeds are playing in the 1:30/2pm time-slot, and 3 #2 seeds and 2 #1 seeds are playing on Thursday. Only 3 schools of the 8 on the top two lines will be playing in prime time... a HUGE shift from previous years where 1s and 2s took the prime-time, and late night spots. Meanwhile, 3 of the 7/10 match-ups are in the 6pm time slot. Maybe I'm the only one that finds this interesting, but as a TV guy I'm intrigued - and glad - they made the shift.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
My trip to Vegas, Monday Night
I went out on Saturday night with Richard Fox, Stepp, Bankhead, and Nathan Doudney (The T-Tech transfer)– we go to this bar in the Bellagio and they introduce me to a couple of pretty cool guys “Erick” and “Gavin” – who end up taking care of the entire tab at the bar (literally hundreds of dollars of booze) – so I figure these guys are connected/well off. But it was weird cause one guy was pretty loud and not very well dressed (Gavin) and Erick just seemed like one of the guys.
Then, we get a ride from Erick to go to another “club”. The valet pulls up with this pimp Lexus SUV for Erick and a BMW Convertible for Gavin – completely decked out. We are driving around and Erick starts talking about crazy stories about strip clubs, and how he was pissed off (and he thought it was hilarious) that he got bumped from his table by Bob Saget the other day (“We got f-ing bumped by Danny –F-ing Tanner”, he said, laughing). Then he said he was at another club another night and that “the commercial shoot the next day was brutal”.
Now I’m starting to wonder – who the hell are these guys?
We get to the other “club” – which is this nice little “poker and pub” joint – the outside looked like something you’d find in northern Wisconsin, but inside it was a really nice billiard place with leather chairs. It hadn’t hit me until we were all sitting around talking about basketball that I noticed that these guys all had “Full Tilt Poker” Hats on. That’s when I started putting the pieces together. The other cue was one of the guys we were with does great prank calls… and they asked him to prank call Phil Hellmuth… for real... cause they are buddies.
Turns out I was hanging out with some of the best poker players in the world:
Erick Lindgren (2004 WPT Player of the Year, 2 WPT Championships)
Gavin Smith(2006 WPT Player of the Year)
Dan Negreanu (4 World Series of Poker Championships)
These guys were all super nice and down to earth – and here I am kicking it with them having no clue who they were. Fox later told me he thought it was funny watching me figure it out – as I started recognizing these guys from ESPN’s World Series of Poker coverage.
Turns out, Stepp and Doudney played in a big Vegas poker tournament where Erick Lindgren recognized Blake and said he’s a huge fan – while Blake was recognizing him and said he’s a huge Lindgren fan. Small world.
So the next night, we meet up with these guys again – this time at the MGM grand. Gavin rounds up about 6 of us to go to the Poker room. You should have seen the faces of these guys playing poker as Gavin walked in. It would be like if you’re playing hoops and the 2006 player of the year walked in and asked to shoot around.
Gavin basically told the pit boss: Get us a table for 8. The immediately told 3 college aged guys to move. (Gavin just ran the place… getting the dealer to change the rules for our table with betting requirements – etc.)
We sit down with Gavin, Fox, Blake, Doudney (who now lives part time in Vegas playing poker professionally), a Zag grad we know, a big time booster, Ray Giacoletti (GU assistant coach – former Eastern Washington Head Coach), and Mark Few (I sh*t you not… he was a little tipsy since we had just won the conference championship. Don’t worry – I didn’t have words with him).
So Gavin and Doudney start putting in the max bet of 200 dollars – blind. These guys go back and forth – basically playing even with literally about $3000 crossing the table in the course of 10 minutes. Finally, they settle down and we start playing for real.
I end up winning about 500 bucks – including a couple of head-to-head showdowns with both Gavin Smith and the GU assistant coach – meanwhile the GU Coaches are losing money left and right. But the funny line of the night - (and yes, there was far too much build-up and explaining who was who here) but Gavin – being fairly obnoxious (which is his MO) – goes – “Hey Fewy, I’m a huge Gonzaga fan. Why the hell didn’t you put Austin Daye on Stephan Curry last year to stop him from scoring 40” – Few looks back at him, smiles, and says “cause I didn’t want him to score 70”.
Guess that gives you a little insight into Few’s take on Daye’s defensive prowess. Either way – seeing a little sense of humor with him turned me slightly back towards his corner…
Then, we get a ride from Erick to go to another “club”. The valet pulls up with this pimp Lexus SUV for Erick and a BMW Convertible for Gavin – completely decked out. We are driving around and Erick starts talking about crazy stories about strip clubs, and how he was pissed off (and he thought it was hilarious) that he got bumped from his table by Bob Saget the other day (“We got f-ing bumped by Danny –F-ing Tanner”, he said, laughing). Then he said he was at another club another night and that “the commercial shoot the next day was brutal”.
Now I’m starting to wonder – who the hell are these guys?
We get to the other “club” – which is this nice little “poker and pub” joint – the outside looked like something you’d find in northern Wisconsin, but inside it was a really nice billiard place with leather chairs. It hadn’t hit me until we were all sitting around talking about basketball that I noticed that these guys all had “Full Tilt Poker” Hats on. That’s when I started putting the pieces together. The other cue was one of the guys we were with does great prank calls… and they asked him to prank call Phil Hellmuth… for real... cause they are buddies.
Turns out I was hanging out with some of the best poker players in the world:
Erick Lindgren (2004 WPT Player of the Year, 2 WPT Championships)
Gavin Smith(2006 WPT Player of the Year)
Dan Negreanu (4 World Series of Poker Championships)
These guys were all super nice and down to earth – and here I am kicking it with them having no clue who they were. Fox later told me he thought it was funny watching me figure it out – as I started recognizing these guys from ESPN’s World Series of Poker coverage.
Turns out, Stepp and Doudney played in a big Vegas poker tournament where Erick Lindgren recognized Blake and said he’s a huge fan – while Blake was recognizing him and said he’s a huge Lindgren fan. Small world.
So the next night, we meet up with these guys again – this time at the MGM grand. Gavin rounds up about 6 of us to go to the Poker room. You should have seen the faces of these guys playing poker as Gavin walked in. It would be like if you’re playing hoops and the 2006 player of the year walked in and asked to shoot around.
Gavin basically told the pit boss: Get us a table for 8. The immediately told 3 college aged guys to move. (Gavin just ran the place… getting the dealer to change the rules for our table with betting requirements – etc.)
We sit down with Gavin, Fox, Blake, Doudney (who now lives part time in Vegas playing poker professionally), a Zag grad we know, a big time booster, Ray Giacoletti (GU assistant coach – former Eastern Washington Head Coach), and Mark Few (I sh*t you not… he was a little tipsy since we had just won the conference championship. Don’t worry – I didn’t have words with him).
So Gavin and Doudney start putting in the max bet of 200 dollars – blind. These guys go back and forth – basically playing even with literally about $3000 crossing the table in the course of 10 minutes. Finally, they settle down and we start playing for real.
I end up winning about 500 bucks – including a couple of head-to-head showdowns with both Gavin Smith and the GU assistant coach – meanwhile the GU Coaches are losing money left and right. But the funny line of the night - (and yes, there was far too much build-up and explaining who was who here) but Gavin – being fairly obnoxious (which is his MO) – goes – “Hey Fewy, I’m a huge Gonzaga fan. Why the hell didn’t you put Austin Daye on Stephan Curry last year to stop him from scoring 40” – Few looks back at him, smiles, and says “cause I didn’t want him to score 70”.
Guess that gives you a little insight into Few’s take on Daye’s defensive prowess. Either way – seeing a little sense of humor with him turned me slightly back towards his corner…
Championship Week
I'm finally back from Vegas and I couldn't be in more need of a vacation. That place just sucks the energy out of you!
I'll be including a kind of cool story from what happened out there shortly, but for the time being - let's catch up on what has happened this week:
Monday: Gonzaga Rolls. And I mean roll. I've never heard a coach - much less a coach I could care less for, Mark Few, say his team played perfect. But after both the Semi-final thumping of Santa Clara and one-time top 25 team St. Mary's the following night - Few said his boys played "perfect". I've got to admit, I was impressed with what Few has done with a team that has often relied on it's talent to win games. Fact is, this team hadn't shown a lot of heart until this weekend. I have to attribute that to Few and the coaching staff.
Meanwhile, I go 4 for 5 on my bets:
Wins:
W. Kentucky -4.5 vs. N. Texas (W 77-70)
VCU -3 vs George Mason (W 71-50)
Siena -3 vs Niagara (W 77-70)
Chattanooga +1.5 vs. College of Charleston (W 80-69)
Loss:
Ark-Little Rock -1.5 vs. S. Alabama (L 44-54)
Tuesday:
Big win for Cleveland State over Butler to advance, as major conference bubble teams cringe. I really, REALLY hope Cleveland State wins a game in the dance (or is atleast respectable) to shut up the pundits that wold rather have a sub-.500 team from the SEC or ACC in that slot instead of Cleveland State.
Wednesday:
Great win for Portland State, as they advance to the dance for the second straight year. They could be a force to be reckoned with, as they already beat Gonzaga at Gonzaga this year.
I'll be including a kind of cool story from what happened out there shortly, but for the time being - let's catch up on what has happened this week:
Monday: Gonzaga Rolls. And I mean roll. I've never heard a coach - much less a coach I could care less for, Mark Few, say his team played perfect. But after both the Semi-final thumping of Santa Clara and one-time top 25 team St. Mary's the following night - Few said his boys played "perfect". I've got to admit, I was impressed with what Few has done with a team that has often relied on it's talent to win games. Fact is, this team hadn't shown a lot of heart until this weekend. I have to attribute that to Few and the coaching staff.
Meanwhile, I go 4 for 5 on my bets:
Wins:
W. Kentucky -4.5 vs. N. Texas (W 77-70)
VCU -3 vs George Mason (W 71-50)
Siena -3 vs Niagara (W 77-70)
Chattanooga +1.5 vs. College of Charleston (W 80-69)
Loss:
Ark-Little Rock -1.5 vs. S. Alabama (L 44-54)
Tuesday:
Big win for Cleveland State over Butler to advance, as major conference bubble teams cringe. I really, REALLY hope Cleveland State wins a game in the dance (or is atleast respectable) to shut up the pundits that wold rather have a sub-.500 team from the SEC or ACC in that slot instead of Cleveland State.
Wednesday:
Great win for Portland State, as they advance to the dance for the second straight year. They could be a force to be reckoned with, as they already beat Gonzaga at Gonzaga this year.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Live, From Las Vegas
I'm in Vegas for the WCC Tournament - and while this tourney hasn't been all that great, there have been plenty of games to talk about around the nation.
1. Congrats to Cornell - the first team to advance to the dance thanks to it's regular season championship in the Ivy League.
2. Buzzer Beater City: Two great buzzer beaters this weekend: Penn State with Taylor Battle's lay-up against Illinois that seemed to hang on the rim for 3 seconds, and then the Creighton/Wichita St game with saw TWO buzzer beaters: WS' bucket with 7 seconds left to take a 1 point lead - then the amazing shot at the buzzer to win it for Creighton March is Officially here!
3. The teams in the tourney at the time of this entry:
Cornell - Ivy
Radford - Big South
4. Finally, if you are wondering: I'm 2 for three on my college basketball bets:
W- Illinois State -5 over Evansville
W- Northern Iowa -1.5 over Bradley
L- VMI +3 over Radford
Not bad. Looking at Indiana +16 at Wisconsin... wat to parley it with some others. Any ideas?
1. Congrats to Cornell - the first team to advance to the dance thanks to it's regular season championship in the Ivy League.
2. Buzzer Beater City: Two great buzzer beaters this weekend: Penn State with Taylor Battle's lay-up against Illinois that seemed to hang on the rim for 3 seconds, and then the Creighton/Wichita St game with saw TWO buzzer beaters: WS' bucket with 7 seconds left to take a 1 point lead - then the amazing shot at the buzzer to win it for Creighton March is Officially here!
3. The teams in the tourney at the time of this entry:
Cornell - Ivy
Radford - Big South
4. Finally, if you are wondering: I'm 2 for three on my college basketball bets:
W- Illinois State -5 over Evansville
W- Northern Iowa -1.5 over Bradley
L- VMI +3 over Radford
Not bad. Looking at Indiana +16 at Wisconsin... wat to parley it with some others. Any ideas?
Monday, March 2, 2009
Conference Tournament Kick-Off
It's March 3rd - and that means it's time for the start of conference tournaments!
We are at the official beginning of the road to the Final Four – where you can win your way in and survive and advance.
Today, three conference tournaments kick off: Big South, Ohio Valley, and the Horizon League.
So what to watch for?
Big South:
I think the most intriguing match-ups come in the Big South. Radford took the #1 seed, but they’ll be fighting off the likes of VMI and Liberty.
VMI (2 Seed) is one of the highest scoring team in D-1 scoring 90+ points 19 times this season (and put up 100+ 10 times, including 111 in a win at Kentucky!). They play Coastal Carolina who they spilt the season series with (W, 103-102, L, 100-97).
Liberty (3 Seed) features a familiar name: Seth Curry. Yup, Steph Curry’s Brother. They play Gardner Webb – where in the last meeting, visiting Liberty won in a 2OT thriller 95-90.
It would be a fun storyline if either VMI with their scoring, or the Other Curry brother at Liberty made a trip to the Tourney. Highest seed hosts these game, with the #1 seed hosting the semis and the highest remaining seed hosting the championship – although no team losing here would be in contention for an automatic bid. Championship game: March 7th.
Ohio Valley:
I’ll be honest, this conference bores me. Not a whole lot here other than Tennessee-Martin is the number 1 seed and could be a good 14/15 seed story line come tourney time. They have the 56th best “adjusted offense” according to KenPom.com.
These games are hosted by the higher seed until the Semis, which are held at the Summet Center in Nashville. Championship Game: March 7th.
Horizon League:
The bottom dwellers face off and beat up on each other for two rounds before getting a shot at the 1 seed Butler and the 2 seed UWGB. Watch to see if both Cleveland State and Wright State advance, as they have given Butler fits. If Butler losses, they’ll likely get two seeds from the Horizon, taking one of the coveted at-large bids. Opening rounds hosted by higher seed, with the rest of the tournament being held at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indy.
Gotta love “Survive and Advance”… next update tomorrow.
We are at the official beginning of the road to the Final Four – where you can win your way in and survive and advance.
Today, three conference tournaments kick off: Big South, Ohio Valley, and the Horizon League.
So what to watch for?
Big South:
I think the most intriguing match-ups come in the Big South. Radford took the #1 seed, but they’ll be fighting off the likes of VMI and Liberty.
VMI (2 Seed) is one of the highest scoring team in D-1 scoring 90+ points 19 times this season (and put up 100+ 10 times, including 111 in a win at Kentucky!). They play Coastal Carolina who they spilt the season series with (W, 103-102, L, 100-97).
Liberty (3 Seed) features a familiar name: Seth Curry. Yup, Steph Curry’s Brother. They play Gardner Webb – where in the last meeting, visiting Liberty won in a 2OT thriller 95-90.
It would be a fun storyline if either VMI with their scoring, or the Other Curry brother at Liberty made a trip to the Tourney. Highest seed hosts these game, with the #1 seed hosting the semis and the highest remaining seed hosting the championship – although no team losing here would be in contention for an automatic bid. Championship game: March 7th.
Ohio Valley:
I’ll be honest, this conference bores me. Not a whole lot here other than Tennessee-Martin is the number 1 seed and could be a good 14/15 seed story line come tourney time. They have the 56th best “adjusted offense” according to KenPom.com.
These games are hosted by the higher seed until the Semis, which are held at the Summet Center in Nashville. Championship Game: March 7th.
Horizon League:
The bottom dwellers face off and beat up on each other for two rounds before getting a shot at the 1 seed Butler and the 2 seed UWGB. Watch to see if both Cleveland State and Wright State advance, as they have given Butler fits. If Butler losses, they’ll likely get two seeds from the Horizon, taking one of the coveted at-large bids. Opening rounds hosted by higher seed, with the rest of the tournament being held at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indy.
Gotta love “Survive and Advance”… next update tomorrow.
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