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Thread: 2018 NCAA Tournament Thread

  1. #1

    2018 NCAA Tournament Thread

    Just 30 minutes to go...who ya got?
    “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

    Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by DrumNFeather View Post
    Just 30 minutes to go...who ya got?
    Duke v UNC in the final. Duke revenge.

  3. #3
    I've got the AZ-holes vs. Nova with Duke and UNC also in the final four. And Nova winning it.

    Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
    “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

    Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  4. #4
    UVa, Nova, Mich St, and UNC in final 4, UVa over Nova in the final.

  5. #5
    Cincy, Michigan, Nova, Kansas with Nova taking it all. I struggled a lot with the south: originally had Arizona, decided I'd rather be wrong than win with Arizona, switched to Kentucky, decided I'd rather be wrong than be right with Kentucky, thought a lot about Virginia but think they will miss Hunter badly and have traditionally fallen flat in March, settled on darkhorse Cincinnati.

    I will definitely be wrong about everything.

  6. #6
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    Villanova, Kansas, Michigan, Kentucky. All-blue and white Wildcats final. Nova cuts down the nets.

  7. #7
    No upsets yet. Bummer that Gonzaga held on.

  8. #8
    Anyone else see Thamel's annual "we need more mid majors in the tournament" article?

    I think it's an interesting question. The committee is already balancing two sometimes competing objectives:

    1) Get the best teams into the tournament
    2) Incentivize Nov/Dec scheduling

    He is proposing a third objective of getting more mid majors. Hard to argue - ALL the best moments in tournament history have come from mid majors. On the other hand, there have been 12 NIT games between mid majors and high majors so far, and the high majors are 11-1 in those games.

  9. #9
    MADNESS! It has begun. Loyola!

  10. #10
    Hee hee. Now Arizona fans get to wonder why they worked so hard to defend their cheat and liar when he's not really a great basketball coach.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by sancho View Post
    Hee hee. Now Arizona fans get to wonder why they worked so hard to defend their cheat and liar when he's not really a great basketball coach.
    That Harris kid from Buffalo is flat out terrific. How in the world is he at Buffalo? That's what I love about college basketball. There are always these kids and teams that show up, seemingly out of nowhere, and win. And look great doing it.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Two Utes View Post
    That Harris kid from Buffalo is flat out terrific. How in the world is he at Buffalo? That's what I love about college basketball. There are always these kids and teams that show up, seemingly out of nowhere, and win. And look great doing it.

    IMHO, that is why it would be great if the NCAA/NBA went to the baseball rule--you don't have to go to college, but if you do, stay 3 years. You will lose the one and dones (and probably more, because more players may go straight to the G league, although lots of baseball players go to college instead of the minors), so the talent wont be as high, but the competitiveness will be better because the playing field will be more level and the players like Buffalo's will have more of a chance to shine. Rivalries will improve because the players will be around longer and the fans of places like Kentucky will learn the names of their players.

  13. #13
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sancho View Post
    Hee hee. Now Arizona fans get to wonder why they worked so hard to defend their cheat and liar when he's not really a great basketball coach.

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  14. #14
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by concerned View Post
    IMHO, that is why it would be great if the NCAA/NBA went to the baseball rule--you don't have to go to college, but if you do, stay 3 years. You will lose the one and dones (and probably more, because more players may go straight to the G league, although lots of baseball players go to college instead of the minors), so the talent wont be as high, but the competitiveness will be better because the playing field will be more level and the players like Buffalo's will have more of a chance to shine. Rivalries will improve because the players will be around longer and the fans of places like Kentucky will learn the names of their players.
    Yes.

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Two Utes View Post
    That Harris kid from Buffalo is flat out terrific. How in the world is he at Buffalo? That's what I love about college basketball. There are always these kids and teams that show up, seemingly out of nowhere, and win. And look great doing it.
    No. 2 rated JUCO last year. It's really boom or bust at that level. And Wes Clark is a grad transfer from Missouri who averaged 10 PPG his last season there.

    Four players that average 15 or more per game, and the MAC is probably the best of your traditional one-bid leagues. I thought UB could cover the spread and maybe even win, but take Arizona to the woodshed and win by 20-plus? That was glorious! I'm from Buffalo, so I had some skin in this game no matter what, but for the result to happen as it did should be an all-time Schadenfreude Win for everyone on this board.

  16. #16
    Five-O Diehard Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SoCalPat View Post
    No. 2 rated JUCO last year. It's really boom or bust at that level. And Wes Clark is a grad transfer from Missouri who averaged 10 PPG his last season there.

    Four players that average 15 or more per game, and the MAC is probably the best of your traditional one-bid leagues. I thought UB could cover the spread and maybe even win, but take Arizona to the woodshed and win by 20-plus? That was glorious! I'm from Buffalo, so I had some skin in this game no matter what, but for the result to happen as it did should be an all-time Schadenfreude Win for everyone on this board.
    Clark isn’t a grad transfer. They talked during the game last night about his struggles to get eligible and get a scholarship. But they said he did it because of Oats, who coached him in HS.

    He didn’t play for almost 2 years

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by sancho View Post
    Hee hee. Now Arizona fans get to wonder why they worked so hard to defend their cheat and liar when he's not really a great basketball coach.
    Next year they will have only 6 players coming back w/ currently no recruits coming in.

    And they are down 2 coaches as the Book is gone & Romar is going to Pepperdine.

    Couldn't happen to a nicer group of fans.

  18. #18
    Hope y'all are watching this.

  19. #19
    Wow, that just happened.

  20. #20
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    135 and 1.

  21. #21
    Its not just that UVA was a no. 1 seed; they were THE no. 1 seed. Mind boggling

  22. #22
    That was a good reminder of why we all love this despite all of the corruption and other baggage.

  23. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by concerned View Post
    IMHO, that is why it would be great if the NCAA/NBA went to the baseball rule--you don't have to go to college, but if you do, stay 3 years. You will lose the one and dones (and probably more, because more players may go straight to the G league, although lots of baseball players go to college instead of the minors), so the talent wont be as high, but the competitiveness will be better because the playing field will be more level and the players like Buffalo's will have more of a chance to shine. Rivalries will improve because the players will be around longer and the fans of places like Kentucky will learn the names of their players.
    With baseball, JC players are eligible after two years. This route may become more desirable for basketball players, further diluting the 4 year programs. Still more competitiveness, but I wonder if the game would be too diluted.

  24. #24
    The NCAA playoffs are always a great reminder that one and done is pretty much irrelevant. How many ones and dones are from Villanova, a team like the old Majerus coached Utes and more. It’s about teamwork and hard work. It’s about defense,and that one special gamer, who usually isn’t a future NBA star. Players of ones and dones caliber have always been poisonous. Remember how LSU did with Shaq. Look how much good they’ve done UCLA, Georgetown, Arizona, Vegas, even Kentucky (considering the embarrassment of riches there). As a Georgetown fan, I remember painfully that it was before JT III started recruiting the five stars (and with his Princeton offense) that he won the Big East (the old impossibly competitive Big East) regular season and tournament multiple times and went to the Final Four. With the five stars, he couldn’t win a single NCAA playoff game, and, incredibly, wound up with losing seasons. NCAA basketball has never beeen better. Who cares about the ones and dones. The only thing wrong with college basketball is that the Utes have been disappointing, not living up to their legacy or potential.

  25. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by SeattleUte View Post
    The NCAA playoffs are always a great reminder that one and done is pretty much irrelevant. How many ones and dones are from Villanova, a team like the old Majerus coached Utes and more. It’s about teamwork and hard work. It’s about defense,and that one special gamer, who usually isn’t a future NBA star. Players of ones and dones caliber have always been poisonous. Remember how LSU did with Shaq. Look how much good they’ve done UCLA, Georgetown, Arizona, Vegas, even Kentucky (considering the embarrassment of riches there). As a Georgetown fan, I remember painfully that it was before JT III started recruiting the five stars (and with his Princeton offense) that he won the Big East (the old impossibly competitive Big East) regular season and tournament multiple times and went to the Final Four. With the five stars, he couldn’t win a single NCAA playoff game, and, incredibly, wound up with losing seasons. NCAA basketball has never beeen better. Who cares about the ones and dones. The only thing wrong with college basketball is that the Utes have been disappointing, not living up to their legacy or potential.
    The tournament is nice that way. Lesser teams and players can shine.

    In the end, though, only power programs win it all. Since Syracuse became the first national champion to win on the strength of a one and done, the following one and done type programs have won it all: Duke, UNC, Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas. Uconn is the only recent champion that is not perennial power (maybe Florida?), and they lost their power status due to football realignment.

  26. #26
    Sam the Sheepdog LA Ute's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SeattleUte View Post
    The NCAA playoffs are always a great reminder that one and done is pretty much irrelevant. How many ones and dones are from Villanova, a team like the old Majerus coached Utes and more. It’s about teamwork and hard work. It’s about defense,and that one special gamer, who usually isn’t a future NBA star. Players of ones and dones caliber have always been poisonous. Remember how LSU did with Shaq. Look how much good they’ve done UCLA, Georgetown, Arizona, Vegas, even Kentucky (considering the embarrassment of riches there). As a Georgetown fan, I remember painfully that it was before JT III started recruiting the five stars (and with his Princeton offense) that he won the Big East (the old impossibly competitive Big East) regular season and tournament multiple times and went to the Final Four. With the five stars, he couldn’t win a single NCAA playoff game, and, incredibly, wound up with losing seasons. NCAA basketball has never beeen better. Who cares about the ones and dones. The only thing wrong with college basketball is that the Utes have been disappointing, not living up to their legacy or potential.
    You take on too large a burden of proof when you say one-and-done is irrelevant, unless by "irrelevant" you mean irrelevant to the eventual championship, and even that proposition goes too far. Here's a more fact-based and nuanced analysis of the one-and-done era's impact on college basketball:

    It has changed everything from recruiting and playing style to marketing and fan consumption. And although it's impossible to guess who would've made NCAA Tournament runs and captured national championships had the rule not existed, national championship games themselves have rarely been decided by one-and-doners.
    Read the whole thing. It's good:

    https://herosports.com/news/college-...c-gonzaga-ahah
    Last edited by LA Ute; 03-17-2018 at 10:21 AM.

    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
    --Antoine de Saint-Exupery

    "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
    --Yeats

    “True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”

    --John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell

  27. #27
    This is in response to Sancho’s post:

    You forgot Villanova, which slew the five star rich North Carolina, in probably the greatest NCAA championship game if not greatest basketball game ever. Again, no team reminds me more of the Majerus Utes than Villanova; I’ll also never forget how they destroyed that athletic and high octane offense Oklahoma team in the semifinals.

    Yes, the same power programs dominate, as always. Basketball seems more geared to dynasties than football. See the NBA. But now the population is bigger, bettter fed, there are more opportunities for kids. Overall, everything is better. There are plenty of five stars for Duke, Kentucky, etc. to reload with. And the five stars still don’t usually win championships, as LA Ute’s article demonstrates. College basketball is fine; the only problem is perceptions, which nattering neebobs of negativism like LA Ute don’t help.

    Read Richard Pinker’s (the Better Angels of Ourselves) new book, Enlightenment Now. This kind of nostalgia for a past that can’t be recovered, and is in any event much inferior, is like a mental illness in our society today. Life is too good! It’s just such nostalgia that led to fascism, by the way.
    Last edited by SeattleUte; 03-17-2018 at 11:31 AM.

  28. #28
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    Has the Bronco Effect impacted the Virginia basketball team?

  29. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by SeattleUte View Post

    You forgot Villanova, which slew the five star rich North Carolina, in probably the greatest NCAA championship game if not greatest basketball game ever.
    Boy, I don't think I could disagree with a statement more. You think that game was better than (just the ones I can remember off the top of my head): Walton v. David Thompson; Ewing v. Worthy/Perkins/Jordan, Ewing v phi slamma jamma, villanova v Gtown, Fab 5 v. UNC?

    or in the semis Duke v. unlv or duke v UK (Laettner shot).

    All of those games were better IMHO because the quality of the play and players was much better and many of the matchups titanic. College basketball has been diluted and diminished. It is a lot of fun to watch, but it is basically a three week season, and a lot of the players that could make it really exciting are in the NBA.

  30. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by SeattleUte View Post
    This is in response to Sancho’s post:

    You forgot Villanova, which slew the five star rich North Carolina, in probably the greatest NCAA championship game if not greatest basketball game ever. Again, no team reminds me more of the Majerus Utes than Villanova; I’ll also never forget how they destroyed that athletic and high octane offense Oklahoma team in the semifinals.
    Something great about this Villanova team is that the guys who rode the bench to a title two years ago are now starters on this year's 1-seed.

    I don't see the majerus comparison, though. Majerus teams were defined by defense and rebounding. Villanova is defined by outside shooting.

    That's the biggest change in basketball at all levels - it's all about the three now. A Tom Izzo, out-work-you team can only go so far in today's basketball.

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