| March 16th, 2009 09:10 AM |
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| hafner_for_mvp |
Talk about tourney and/or bracket lingo here. Share what some of your bracket looks like, your upsets, guarantees, etc...whatever. This is where to do it at. |
| March 16th, 2009 09:25 AM |
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| stillinpreschool |
I think this bracket has the least upset potential of any in recent memory, especially in terms of #1 seeds. UConn, Louisville, Pitt and UNC are very safe bets to make the Final 4, IMO. |
| March 16th, 2009 09:31 AM |
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| hafner_for_mvp |
I don't think UConn has a prayer without Dyson. It's kind of sad too because they were my pick before he got hurt. Without him they are a very beatable team with more than one weakness. I could see Mempis, Washington, or Missouri all beating them in the West region.
I agree with Louisville and Pitt. No one should touch the Cardinals in the MW region.
When Blake Griffin is healthy and playing I'm still not convinced there's a clearly superior team to Oklahoma in college bball. Assuming they and North Carolina meet in the elite 8, and Griffin isn't hurt, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Oklahoma advance. |
| March 16th, 2009 09:31 AM |
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| BGSUGA |
Quote:
stillinpreschool wrote:
I think this bracket has the least upset potential of any in recent memory, especially in terms of #1 seeds. UConn, Louisville, Pitt and UNC are very safe bets to make the Final 4, IMO.
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I disagree. I think all 4 have a chance to get knocked off before the final four. There is no dominant team. |
| March 16th, 2009 09:37 AM |
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| whippets0039 |
i have Oklahoma vs Louisville in NC |
| March 16th, 2009 09:39 AM |
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| hafner_for_mvp |
Quote:
whippets0039 wrote:
i have Oklahoma vs Louisville in NC
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As do I. |
| March 16th, 2009 09:48 AM |
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| Frank the Tank |
I've got Missouri/North Carolina in the Championship.
Last year there were 4, clear cut #1 seeds that were very likely to make it to the final 4. This year isn't that way so much and I think there are many different teams that could make it.
People have overlooked Missouri all year and i think they sneak in. |
| March 16th, 2009 09:53 AM |
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| ronburgandy |
Pitt, UCONN, UNC, Louisville, Oklahoma, Missouri, Duke, Memphis...all teams that have a legit chance of winning the NC, IMO. Definitely wasn't like that last year. |
| March 16th, 2009 10:09 AM |
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| stillinpreschool |
Quote:
ronburgandy wrote:
Pitt, UCONN, UNC, Louisville, Oklahoma, Missouri, Duke, Memphis...all teams that have a legit chance of winning the NC, IMO. Definitely wasn't like that last year.
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OK and Missouri are not legit contenders. The Big 12 was not good this year. Crap, Baylor almost won the tourney.
I'm not sold on this year's Memphis team, either. Their best win is a VERY over-rated Gonzaga team. I saw Gonzaga v. IU in Indianapolis, and the final yields a bigger spread than what the score actually was. Any one of the top half of Big Ten teams beats Gonzaga, which means there are many teams that beat Gonzaga. Other than Gonzaga, Memphis hasn't beaten anyone worth talking about, and lost to non-qualifier Georgetown, the 'cuse, and the giant question mark that is Xavier.
In my mind Duke also is a giant question mark. They've lost some games to some OK teams, and have an absolutely TERRIBLE loss on their resume. Nothing about their season has hinted anything more than "Elite 8" so far. |
| March 16th, 2009 10:13 AM |
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| ronburgandy |
To each his own. |
| March 16th, 2009 10:13 AM |
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| scout15 |
lol I think about every team in the tournament has been questioned by someone on this forum over the last couple days. |
| March 16th, 2009 10:28 AM |
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| Frank the Tank |
Quote:
stillinpreschool wrote:
OK and Missouri are not legit contenders.
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They absolutely are. OK has the best player in NCAA along with a good supporting cast, how you think they aren't a contender is beyond me. |
| March 16th, 2009 10:33 AM |
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| stillinpreschool |
Quote:
Frank the Tank wrote:
They absolutely are. OK has the best player in NCAA along with a good supporting cast, how you think they aren't a contender is beyond me.
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Their record is inflated because the Big 12 is terrible and the best team they played OOC is Purdue.
Did I mention that Baylor nearly won this conference's tournament?
Big 12 basketball this year = Big 10 Football lately. |
| March 16th, 2009 10:44 AM |
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| Frank the Tank |
Upsets happen. Baylor almost winning doesn't mean the Big 12 is terrible. Oklahoma, Texas, OK State, Missouri, Texas A&M... Weak conference? Hmm |
| March 16th, 2009 10:45 AM |
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| ronburgandy |
Before Griffin got hurt, OK was playing some of the best basketball in the country. |
| March 16th, 2009 11:27 AM |
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| scout15 |
The Big12 is a good conference with good teams and great players. The one TEAM no one is talking about is Kansas.....they will surprise. Very young but have Sherod Collins running the show and they are the defending National Champs. |
| March 16th, 2009 11:47 AM |
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| OSU Josh |
I created 2 rematches of recent title games in my bracket: UNC vs Illinois in the sweet 16 and Kansas vs Memphis in the final 4. My title game is UNC over Memphis.
also, 2 of my upset picks are basically homer picks....Cleveland State and Akron |
| March 16th, 2009 11:50 AM |
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| scout15 |
Akron playing on the West coast against Gonzaga------I dont see it happening. |
| March 16th, 2009 11:50 AM |
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| tigeralum01 |
my sleeper( not a top 3 seed in region) from each region is WVU from midwest, Purdue from west, UCLA from east, and Arizona state from south |
| March 16th, 2009 01:05 PM |
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| Frank the Tank |
I've got VCU beating UCLA 1st round. They upset Duke last year or 2 yrs ago in the tournament, and I do see UCLA as a bit overrated |
| March 16th, 2009 01:14 PM |
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| tigeralum01 |
Shipp and Collison are solid players and they only lost one game all year to a team that is not in the big dance |
| March 17th, 2009 12:44 PM |
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| Frank the Tank |
Thought this was interesting. I don't have the same pick, but interesting anyway:
Pick 'em formula |
| March 17th, 2009 02:15 PM |
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| stillinpreschool |
Quote:
ronburgandy wrote:
Before Griffin got hurt, OK was playing some of the best basketball in the country.
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Easy to do when you don't play anyone.
Kansas - Washington
Oklahoma - Purdue
Missouri - none
Texas A&M - LSU
Oklahoma St. - none
Texas - UCLA (2nd in PAC 10) , Villanova (4th in Big East)
That's the top half of the Big 12 and their OOC wins against ranked teams. That is the order they finished in the conference, too.
They are not good. The top of the conference is less than .500 versus ranked opponents OOC.
Big 12 = not good.
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| March 17th, 2009 02:43 PM |
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| scout15 |
Oklahoma- lets add a few....USC-Tournament Team, Utah-Tournament Team, VCU-Tournament Team....none of those are quality teams?
Kansas- Temple-Tournament Team, Tennessee-Tournament Team, Siena-Tournament...I gues none of those are quality wins
Texas- Winning at Wisconsin isnt a quality win.
Im done with this because saying the Big 12 isnt good is silly
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| March 17th, 2009 03:10 PM |
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| hafner_for_mvp |
LOL at anyone who thinks Oklahoma isn't good.
There are about six or seven teams with a legitimate chance to win it all. Oklahoma is one of them. They are by far the best two seed in the tournament. That might not even be debatable.
But to say the team with the most dominant player in the country has no chance isn't the smartest thing in the world to say.
It doesn't freaking matter who you play. A few years back when George Mason made it to the final four, who did they play during the regular season? Who did Davidson play last year before they went Cinderella. What about Cleveland State back in 1986 or whenever it was. If you're a good team with talented players it doesn't matter who you play. The natural skill set will prevail. |
| March 17th, 2009 03:24 PM |
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| stillinpreschool |
Quote:
It doesn't freaking matter who you play. A few years back when George Mason made it to the final four, who did they play during the regular season? Who did Davidson play last year before they went Cinderella. What about Cleveland State back in 1986 or whenever it was. If you're a good team with talented players it doesn't matter who you play. The natural skill set will prevail.
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There's a huge contradiction in that paragraph. Oklahoma can't be both a "national championship contender" and a Cinderella story.
I never said Oklahoma isn't good, I said they're not a legit contender.
Scout: So they beat tournament teams. The big 12 has NOTHING to show that any of the teams in the conference should be "elite". Nada. Zilch. And isn't being "elite" equal to being a national title contender? Those teams are tourney teams because they won their conference tournament. Most wouldn't be there otherwise. Great, Oklahoma is better than some mid-majors, they're national champs.
The Big 12 is better than the PAC-10 and the SEC. It is not better than the Big 10, the Big East or ACC, and is not even close to the last two. |
| March 17th, 2009 03:24 PM |
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| stillinpreschool |
After thinking about it, the Big 12 and the PAC-10 are probably equals. |
| March 17th, 2009 03:56 PM |
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| hafner_for_mvp |
There's no contradiction anywhere.
Davidson and George Mason were cinderellas. It's hard for Oklahoma to be one since they are emerging from a power conference. But there isn't much difference between to two if you asked someone before the respective seasons what the chances were of GM making the final four or Oklahoma winning it all. A lot of people would have laughed in your face.
Let me ask you then. Who do you think are serious contenders? This field is wide open. It isn't like last year there was a clear drop off after the four 1 seeds. If the best #2 seed doesn't have a prayer then there may be no point in watching the tourney. |
| March 17th, 2009 05:08 PM |
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| stillinpreschool |
I think the 4 #1 seeds have the best chance in quite some time to all make the Final 4.
There's a big gap between the #1s and the #2s.
I also think a team like WVU or Marquette has to be considered "even" compared to Oklahoma to make the tourney. Marquette is just behind because of the injury. Add Syracuse as well. Wake Forest is another one that I see being a contender. |
| March 17th, 2009 05:25 PM |
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| osubucks55 |
I have Louisville vs Syracuse in the final. Syracuse has come on as of late and is playing good basketball. Louisville has been very impressive as well. Memphis and Pittsburgh maybe sneak in the title game. Oklahoma can IF they get back to playing the way they did before Blake Griffin was hurt, if not, then I don't see them advancing past the Elite 8. UNC without Lawson hurts them, although I think they can get to the Elite 8 or Final 4 with out him, although facing Butler in the second round is kind of an intriguing matchup to me. West Virgina and Kansas possibly meeting in the 2nd round is also an interesting matchup. I don't think UConn advances past the Elite 8 either. I actually have Purdue in an upset over the Huskies in the sweet 16. If Purdue plays like they are capable of, I think they will make some noise, probably more noise than most think. |