|
|
| Author |
Message |
Xion
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 2117
Location: Los Angeles, CA
|
 Posted: 03/16/03 - 20:57 Post subject: The official NCAA Tournament discussion thread...
|
|
|
..discuss
As a current student at Arizona...I've got them going all the way. I had season tickets this year, and lemme tell you, when they're clicking on all cylinders, there's noone around that can compete. Our depth and balance is just too great...we have so many weapons at our dispossal. Every guy on our bench that gets decent minutes could go and start for any 1 or 2 seed team.
When we get into the overtimes and such that are so prevalent in the tourney...our depth will really shine, and our guys rarely get into foul trouble since we rotate so frequently.
I think our only competition is Kentucky, and unfortunately, they're on the same side of the bracket as us, so we won't get to play them in the final game.
Unfortunately, we have a history of playing down to our competition, as we have 3 losses on the season, all of which were to unranked opponents. So statistically speaking, if we make it to the sweet 16, we're good to go.
The west is stacked, it's going ot be an exciting tournament, and I want to hear some other peoples picks.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
 |
Xenden
RealPoor Sensei
Joined: 08 Jan 2003
Posts: 1532
|
|
Posted: 03/16/03 - 21:16 Post subject:
|
|
|
|
i'll be the first to say it. No one gives a f**k.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Xion
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 2117
Location: Los Angeles, CA
|
|
Posted: 03/16/03 - 21:32 Post subject:
|
|
|
Uh...the NCAA tournament is the most expensive investment a broadcast network can make...it's one of the most popular events in sports.
You sir don't know what the hell you're talking about.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Barnacle Bob
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 2135
Location: WHO KNOWS WHERE I'LL TURN UP!
|
|
Posted: 03/16/03 - 21:37 Post subject:
|
|
|
|
I can see Texas going a long way. It always seems like guard play comes up huge for the teams that go far in the tournament (Juan Dixon, Mateen Cleaves, Khalid el-Amin) and I like T.J. Ford a lot. I haven't looked over the entire bracket and thought about which way I want to go with it entirely yet, but Texas is my early choice.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Akronn
RealPoor Master of Posts
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 8752
|
|
Posted: 03/16/03 - 22:10 Post subject:
|
|
|
College basketball is boring 
I would rather watch ESPN televise poker or something.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
compusmack
RealPoor Master of Posts
Joined: 15 Oct 2002
Posts: 6354
|
|
Posted: 03/16/03 - 22:16 Post subject:
|
|
|
| Akronn wrote: | College basketball is boring
I would rather watch ESPN televise poker or something. |
I agree. NHL hockey is more worthy of my time.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Janoth
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 17 Nov 2002
Posts: 3135
|
|
Posted: 03/16/03 - 22:22 Post subject:
|
|
|
TJ Ford is good, but not that good. When you look at his shooting percentage and scoring it's not good at all. Yes his 7 assists a game make up for it but I don't see enough talent around him to carry them to the final 4.
Xion - As for Arizona, you are pretty cocky for just losing to one of the worst teams in the Pac 10 dude. Arizona is great, but you match them up with a team with a quick backcourt, that holds their opponent to a low FG% and they may have problems. Not to mention they still have injury issues if I am not mistaken. Illinois can win this game.
I don't think Arizona is as good as you are trying to build them up. If you wanna talk about a team that is f*****g awesome, look no further than Kentucky. And the m***********s have as close to a cake walk to the final four as you can get too. There is no such thing as playing down to opponents. Arizona just can't consistantly hit all cylinders. This is not a good sign for a team trying to make the final 4. Especially in a f*****g bracket like the west. I mean jesus christ. If you don't bring your A game about every game after round 2 you are done.
Don't get too cocky man you're setting yourself up. I hope your team feels the same way you do because with that attitude the way Illinois has been playing they will get ripped pretty bad.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Xion
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 2117
Location: Los Angeles, CA
|
|
Posted: 03/16/03 - 22:33 Post subject:
|
|
|
Well we've beaten both Texas and Kansas in the regular season.
I agree, consistency is our biggest issue, but on the UCLA issue, you've gotta give them credit.
UCLA started the season ranked 14th...they have talented players, they had a serious morale problem, and Lavin is a moron. They really brought their A-game...and our shooting went ICE cold. Everyone goes cold once in awhile, and that was our game. Gardner went 2 for 20 from the field, and 0-12 from 3 point land. He was a serious contender for pac-10 player of the year.
Olson said before the game that the Pac-10 tournament was worthless, and he kept a bunch of our starters that have been injured off and on on the bench a good portion of the game...we really didn't care about the loss, and it just gave us a week of rest before the tournament rather than having to play 3 games in 3 days.
Duke is horrible on the road...I really think they're going to fall apart.
I think Kansas is going to be our elite 8 game...and as for Illinois...whatever, heh...they weren't ranked number 1 80% of the season.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Janoth
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 17 Nov 2002
Posts: 3135
|
|
Posted: 03/16/03 - 22:46 Post subject:
|
|
|
| Xion wrote: | Well we've beaten both Texas and Kansas in the regular season.
I agree, consistency is our biggest issue, but on the UCLA issue, you've gotta give them credit.
UCLA started the season ranked 14th...they have talented players, they had a serious morale problem, and Lavin is a moron. They really brought their A-game...and our shooting went ICE cold. Everyone goes cold once in awhile, and that was our game. Gardner went 2 for 19 or some ridiculousness.
Olson said before the game that the Pac-10 tournament was worthless, and he kept a bunch of our starters that have been injured off and on on the bench a good portion of the game...we really didn't care about the loss, and it just gave us a week of rest before the tournament rather than having to play 3 games in 3 days.
Duke is horrible on the road...I really think they're going to fall apart.
I think Kansas is going to be our elite 8 game...and as for Illinois...whatever, heh...they weren't ranked number 1 80% of the season. |
Yes. Arizona is good. But you hit the nail on the head when you said Zona went cold from the field. Thats their weakness. They go cold pretty often. When you guys play a team that actually plays defense it will compound the problem. As for giving UCLA credit, are you crazy? THEIR RPI IS 156!!!!!!!! This team doesn't deserve the title of division 1. They sukkazz. Lucky for them Lavin will be gone after this year. He's spose to be fired monday.
As for Illinois, laugh all you want. Ever since they got their players back from injury they have been a damn meat grinder. They have been missing the full strength of Luther Head and Roger Powell much of the season. You put them in the lineup healthy and thats a 25 point 10 rebound boost right there. Ever since Powell's been back they beat:
Northwestern by 29
Minnisota by 24
Indiana by 26
Michigan State by 30
Over their last 9 games they have won by an average of 18 points. Maybe they havn't been #1 80% of the season, BUT most people who have seen them lately will agree they are easily playing as good as anyone in the country including Arizona. It's no coincedence they took off the same time they got their starting 3 and #1 reserve back. You wanna look at head to head matchups and Illinois matches up very well with Arizona.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Barnacle Bob
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 2135
Location: WHO KNOWS WHERE I'LL TURN UP!
|
|
Posted: 03/16/03 - 22:48 Post subject:
|
|
|
|
so, who's your final four janoth? i'm guessing kentucky and illinois are in there?
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Janoth
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 17 Nov 2002
Posts: 3135
|
|
Posted: 03/16/03 - 22:59 Post subject:
|
|
|
Kentucky
Illinois
Maryland
Syracuse
Look at past final fours and tell me how often the actual number 1 seeds actually make it. Then take into account teams are much more equal this year than years past. The south is wide f*****g open. There are no good picks in this region so I am going with a team that at least has the experience. Sorry but I am not high on texas at all. They could make it because TJ Ford is a baller, but I really don't see them making it. If there is a region where they will make it thats it, though.
Kentucky is an obvious choice. They would have to pull the choke job of the century to not win that joke of a bracket. The commitee handed them a final 4 appearance on a silver f*****g platter.
East is another region I don't know about. I wanna pick Oklahoma but they have injury issues so I am going with Syracuse. They are good. Won at Breslin center earlier this year. Welmont(sp) gets away with the hook on every f****n possesion. Anthony is a baller. All in all another region begging to be won.
West. f**k if I know. I am picking Illinois because I am an Illinois fan, but I still have good reason. They are destroying everyone they play. A lot of top teams are playing like shit right now. Illinois is not one of them. Kansas, Arizona, Illinois, or Duke could come out of this region. This region will come down to luck more than anything else.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
WheresNWS
RealPoor Master of Posts
Joined: 19 Nov 2002
Posts: 6448
|
|
Posted: 03/16/03 - 23:00 Post subject:
|
|
|
|
Arizona, as that was also my college. My sister goes there and went to LA to see them lose to UCLA this weekend.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Barnacle Bob
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 2135
Location: WHO KNOWS WHERE I'LL TURN UP!
|
|
Posted: 03/16/03 - 23:11 Post subject:
|
|
|
One team that might be interesting is Missouri in the midwest.
they're pretty hot right now.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Janoth
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 17 Nov 2002
Posts: 3135
|
|
Posted: 03/16/03 - 23:30 Post subject:
|
|
|
|
Mizzou is totally unpredictable. They could make the Elite 8 or get knocked out in the first round. Who knows. No telling how well they'll play on a given night. Ricky Paulding is the man though
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Phluffheadd
Luke Warm
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 130
|
|
Posted: 03/17/03 - 00:10 Post subject:
|
|
|
SYRACUSE!!!!!!!!! wu wu !!  
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Clevinger
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 3765
Location: Austin
|
|
Posted: 03/17/03 - 00:34 Post subject:
|
|
|
Kentuck and Arizona would have to be the front runners here.
Florida lives and dies on the 3 pointer and if they get hot no one will beat them.
Went to the Missouri and Oklahoma game today and Oklahoma looks weak. They won't go very far.
Syracuse sucks as does Texas.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Xion
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 2117
Location: Los Angeles, CA
|
|
Posted: 03/17/03 - 00:55 Post subject:
|
|
|
Janoth...if we go cold so "often", how'd we manage to go the entire regular season with only 2 losses....and we're undefeated against top 25 teams..so we step it up when we have to.
That 37 point turn around against Kansas earlier this season was a testimony to what we can do.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Akronn
RealPoor Master of Posts
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 8752
|
|
Posted: 03/17/03 - 00:57 Post subject:
|
|
|
| Clevinger wrote: | | Florida lives and dies on the 3 pointer and if they get hot no one will beat them. |
The problem with one-game playoffs is that if anybody 'gets hot' nobody will beat them. Now keeping in mind that the gap between haves and have-nots is still pretty wide even within this tournament (how does that happen? It's like there's 30 quality programs in the entire country), you still get tons of upsets. In fact, only twice in the last 20 years has there not been at least one team seeded worse than 11th in the sweet 16.
It's a longshot gambler's paradise 
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Janoth
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 17 Nov 2002
Posts: 3135
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Xion
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 2117
Location: Los Angeles, CA
|
|
Posted: 03/17/03 - 14:49 Post subject:
|
|
|
I'm sure I could find plenty more links in support...it takes a lot of support from AP journalists to keep getting voted #1 for 80% of the season
I'm not saying you don't have a point...I'm just saying I think we'll be able to overcome our problems when the time comes.
We beat Texas..we pulled it together against Kansas..we beat every top 25 team we were put up against.
We may be vulnerable to the upset because we go cold sometimes, blah blah blah, but the reality is, I think we're the only team capable of beating Kentucky right now.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Janoth
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 17 Nov 2002
Posts: 3135
|
|
Posted: 03/17/03 - 15:07 Post subject:
|
|
|
First off i'm not saying Arizona isn't an awesome team. I know how good they are. It will be quite an accomplishment to beat them. I'm just sayin it would be very very cocky to mark that down as a win already, as it looks like you're doing. ANY team can beat ANY OTHER team on a given night in the tournament. Indiana last year made the championship game as a 5 seed, knocking off several better teams in the process. Arizona could beat UK. So could Duke, SYracuse, Illinois, or any other number of teams that aren't percieved to be as good. In fact history shows teams going into the tournament with big winning streaks get beat. Look at Stanford a couple years back. They were riding a 19 game winning streak and lost in like the 2nd round. I think UK will make it to the final 4 purely because their bracket is b******t. I think they lose in the final 4, though.
A couple years back the table was turned. IL was a #1 seed and spent much of the season at AP #1. Arizona beat them and hadn't been number 1 since the preseason(I think, hard to remember back that far). If you wanna go by what people in the AP are saying, Illinois is playing as well or better than anyone in the top 10 with the exception of Kentucky. Those guys are just like you and me, they don't know either. Just be careful because what I am saying is Illinois is good. You give them the players they have back now from injury the whole season and they are easily a #2 seed, probably a #1.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Nobunaga
Toomuchtimeonhands
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 932
|
|
Posted: 03/17/03 - 15:08 Post subject:
|
|
|
Tj Ford is a stud but Texas doesn't have a go to guy that they can count on. Plus the fact that they lost to Texas Tech the other day...Texas will not win the NCAA.
Arizona has the best talent but their bracket is ridiculous and they have the toughest road by far for any #1 seed. And they lost to UCLA!%$%$%$%
If I had to pick a Wildcat team, I'd have to go with Kentucky this year.
^^
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Xion
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 2117
Location: Los Angeles, CA
|
|
Posted: 03/17/03 - 15:57 Post subject:
|
|
|
UCLA's not that bad of a team when coached well...look for them to really explode next year...they have a lot of talent...they started the season ranked 14th.
Lavin's idiocy really showed itself when his players managed to build up a lead against Oregon, and he tries to burn 6 minutes off the clock..he basically tried to play not to lose...and ended up losing.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Janoth
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 17 Nov 2002
Posts: 3135
|
|
Posted: 03/17/03 - 16:17 Post subject:
|
|
|
|
There has to be more problems than just coaching on that UCLA team. A top 15 team doesn't drop to a top 150 team just by having a s****y coach.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Nobunaga
Toomuchtimeonhands
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 932
|
|
Posted: 03/17/03 - 17:51 Post subject:
|
|
|
|
Trust me, UCLA has had no coaching under Lavin. If they won at all was because it was because of talent. I was at the game against Oregon and UCLA blew an 11 pt lead with 3 minutes left in the game and once Oregon started the press, everyone in the building had a feeling it was over. I didn't see ONE set offensive play in the 2nd half by UCLA. Lavin didn't play Ray Young at all in the 2nd half and he was arguably the hottest player in the Pac-10 tourney.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
Xion
RealPoor Guru
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 2117
Location: Los Angeles, CA
|
|
Posted: 03/17/03 - 19:39 Post subject:
|
|
|
|
Yeah...Lavin basically coached like a p***y and told his guys to try and burn out the clock instead of trying to score...he lost as a result.
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
attarom
Total Newbie
Joined: 17 Mar 2003
Posts: 37
Location: NBC studios in New York
|
|
Posted: 03/17/03 - 21:41 Post subject:
|
|
|
|
hahahah omg lol
|
|
|
Back to top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
