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- Houston, Texas, USA
- JMarine25
Every eligible team has a dream- to be among the 64 or 65 teams with a chance to win a National Championship. North Carolina State beating Houston. Duke losing to UNLV. Texas Western College (now Texas-El Paso) with an all-Black team beating Kentucky. Vermont beating Syracuse in the First Round. UCLA wins 11 titles. Kentucky wins 7. Denny Crum. John Wooden. Adolph Rupp. Tubby Smith. Roy Williams. Jim Calhoun. Mike Kryzewski. Rick Pitino. Jim Valvano. Geno Auriemma. Pat Summitt. Kim Mulkey-Robinson(?). You play college basketball do beat into peoples' heads just how much of badasses your team is. Think about this as running the proverbial gauntlet. It's called the Big Dance for a big reason. Think of it as a dancing contest where a ballroom floor is packed with dancers, and only the best advance while others stumble and fall out of the running. Where teams NEED to be is in the Final Four. No matter how you pencil in your brackets, expect the unexpected. The true mark of college basketball fan is to consider high-quality teams vs. mid-major teams. Who thought that Indiana State under Larry Bird wouldn't end up in the title game in 1979 against Michigan State? Who would have thought that the University of San Francisco would not only win in 1955, but also the year after... even going unbeaten one year? GTPlanet, welcome to your thread for college hoops postseason action. I hope you find this to your liking. Here in this introduction, I'll present you with stuff I've learned and even further introduce you to why most people actually give more of a damn about college hoops postseason compared to college football's FBS/1-A postseason.
--- Powers vs. Mid-Majors ---
It's easy to underrate a team simply because they aren't as good as the top seeds in a certain regional. Let it be known that college basketball is more unpredictable than college football. Like in college football, you know that Michigan would beat Duke any day of the week even if the team was deaf and blind. But in college basketball, Michigan may either blow away or get blown away by Duke. Good teams will come along. No one expected George Mason to go to the Final Four in their first foray. Many people's brackets were looking terrible last season. I picked Montana to beat Nevada, and Montana lost. It's why I try to focus on as many teams as possible because if you don't know about them now, you may will in the tourney. Being a football guy that likes a little basketball every now and then, I can tell you that college football types may not know very much about certain schools that don't currently have full-fledged NCAA programs. Campbell and Old Dominion will return to football in a few years. Kentucky Christian University (NCAA Division 2, I believe) will reinstate football. But what about teams like Detroit? Texas-A&M-Corpus Christi? Hartford? Gonzaga? Loyola Marymount? Wisconsin-Green Bay? These teams are going to be brand-new to most people. Don't follow the typical American perspective in which a product or team foreign to Americans is usually bad. Just because you never heard of a certain school or think a team is in a more inferior conference, it doesn't mean that they will easily lose. My home state of Texas has about four schools in a major conference- the Big XII. But what about other teams here? What about North Texas? Texas-San Antonio? Rice? Houston? Sam Houston State? Texas State? All you have to do to automatically make an NCAA tourney bid is to win your conference's title. This may be granted that you have to go to a tournament, but you still need to win if you want to have the best chance of making the dance.
With this said, is there any chance a foreign (at least in terms of most college football fans) school goes to the Final Four or wins the National Title? Here is a little "almanac" for you college football types that know the teams I'm about to mention. If you don't follow college football, skip to the next paragraph. The last current non-football school to win the National Championship was Milwaukee's Marquette University in 1977 under head coach Al McGuire. Last current non-football school (and I may need to check this) to appear in the Title Game to lose was Seton Hall in 1989. Last football school on the 1-AA/FCS level to win the National Championship was Villanova in 1985 under head coach Rollie Massimino. Last current 1-AA/FCS football school to be the National Champions Runners-Up was Georgetown in 1985. Any chance these teams may fight back and make a Final Four run? Villanova and Georgetown look most likely to make a serious postseason run.
--- Tournament 101 ---
The first step to making out your bracket is to closely follow Selection Sunday's results. Selection Sunday is when the NCAA boys and girls in Indianapolis, IN (likely done celebrating their city's Super Bowl XLI champs) decide which 64 will play for a National Championship. Teams will usually pack a certain room or their basketball court in determining if they will make The Big Dance. If they are in the tournament, the team will have a wild celebration. You know what that feeling means? It means that for every win and loss you've picked up, you have a chance to play for something major. You have a chance of showing every school in your division who the baddest team in the land is. Heaven is making this tournament. Your team will be immortal if you win the National Championship. Especially in the men's bracket, there are actually 65 teams. Thing is, that 65th entrant has to play their way into the tournament. This is known as the "Play-In Game." After winning this game, you are among the 64 who have a chance at winning the ultimate prize- the National Championship. There are four Regional tournaments set in four different regions of America. Teams will play at a certain court for each round of the Regionals. A #1 seed will be determined by which team has shown the best prowess all season long. That specific team will be the top seed in a regional bracket. It means that your team is the toughest of all in the championship bracket. Does it mean your team is guaranteed to make a Final Four? Absolutely not. UCLA and Kentucky can attest to this- you have to EARN your way through the tournament. It isn't the BCS in which the best teams are guaranteed a BCS Bowl Game and doesn't have to play any other games other than the BCS Bowl. Round 1 consists of 64 teams (counting the Play-In Game winner). Certain games are usually played on certain days. Teams projected to win Round 1 and lose in Round 2 are known as being "one and done." Round 2 will see 64 come down to 32. Of these 32, 16 will advance. These are the regional quarterfinals. Those who advance to the Second Round and lose the next are usually known as being "two and out." The Sweet Sixteen (I promise not to quote Hilary Duff like I did last postseason) consists of the sixteen best teams that survived the first two rounds of play. Being in the Sweet Sixteen or higher is where every team needs to be. Sixteen teams will become 8 when all is said and done. The Sweet Sixteen means that you are among the best majors and best mid-majors. The Sweet Sixteen is actually the start of regional semifinals for the four regions. Past the Sweet Sixteen is the Elite Eight. As the name implies, the nation's eight elite teams compete for the coveted Final Four. This is where regional finals take place. Winning the Elite Eight makes you a regional champion. You've conquered all there is to be conquered for you to advance. Next is the dream for every eligible team- the Final Four. The Final Four describes what most coaches want to be in. Career statistics for coaches can be greatly cashed in on taking a team to the Final Four as a coach. Players even get Final Four love. Look at the most recent player to go to a Final Four and win something big- Dwayne Wade of Marquette. Anyhow, the Final Four is an indication that America is closing in on seeing a National Champion be crowned. All that must happen is to win one more game to compete for everything. The Final Four is where regional champions meet each other to decide who should play for a National Championship. Final Fours are great, but one thing matters much more- the National Championship game. For some reason, the National Championship game isn't as hyped as the Final Four. Still, this is where you need to be. This is where the Final Four game winners are trimmed down to two and means a National Championship is on the line. Make it to the Final Four and savor the glory. You'll never acheive true glory until you win the title. It's about the team that endures the longest. It's like winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans- who can outlast and succeed best? You win this game, and you deserve lots of love from America. Cut down the net! Celebrate like it's the New Year. You won the damndest big game of all.
And that's the tournament, boys and girls! ^_^
--- How Do You Choose One Team Over Another? ---
As mentioned earlier, a true college hoops fan (in the words of a certain college basketball guru whose name fails me) doesn't drink the Kool-Aid of big schools. Remember how it was projected that the Missouri Valley Conference could get in as many as 6 teams last postseason? Could it happen again? Well, maybe not this year. There are a lot of teams in the MVC that could make some big noise against the teams from major conferences.
Allow me to reiterate some of my past points.
The first step to making out your bracket is to closely follow Selection Sunday's results. Next thing you want to do is to study each selection and find out how they made it to the tournament.. When you study a team, you learn about how the team got to the Dance. So if the University of the Pacific (for example) makes the tournament, get to see WHY they were selected. This is especially true if a team was an at-large bid (meaning that they didn't win their conference championship, but were among the teams to get in by way of the NCAA selecting them to play. Remember that there are over 330 total Division 1 schools. It can be hard picking 65 out of 300+. There may be a situation in which a good team doesn't make it in. That brings me to my third point- don't be completely discouraged if your favorite team doesn't advance. Remember when Hofstra was 24-6 last season... yet didn't make the tournament? And remember that Air Force was in the tournament? Nothing is guaranteed in the selections process if you're an at-large school. You have to have a winning record in college football to go to a Bowl Game in 1-A/FBS. You have to be among the best teams with the best performance. If the NCAA thinks your mid-major school can beat a Kentucky or a North Carolina (I chose UNC rather than Duke because Duke's struggling as of this post), you're going to the Dance. But if you still did a great job but not good enough, let the NIT be your backup. I didn't mention the NIT in my last section because most teams would rather the NCAA than the NIT. The NIT is basically an also-ran tournament for good teams that weren't good enough to challenge for a National Title. It isn't as prestigious and not many people care if you win this tournament, but the thing that's underrated is that it gives you momentum for next season if you win. If the NCAA Tournament is like BCS Bowl games, then the NIT is more like the non-BCS bowl games. Finally, just get out and support your favorite team! Hope all goes well.
I will look to update this thread as much as I can with postseason previews and such. This is your before, during, and after thread for postseason basketball. So come on in and let's talk postseason!
--- Powers vs. Mid-Majors ---
It's easy to underrate a team simply because they aren't as good as the top seeds in a certain regional. Let it be known that college basketball is more unpredictable than college football. Like in college football, you know that Michigan would beat Duke any day of the week even if the team was deaf and blind. But in college basketball, Michigan may either blow away or get blown away by Duke. Good teams will come along. No one expected George Mason to go to the Final Four in their first foray. Many people's brackets were looking terrible last season. I picked Montana to beat Nevada, and Montana lost. It's why I try to focus on as many teams as possible because if you don't know about them now, you may will in the tourney. Being a football guy that likes a little basketball every now and then, I can tell you that college football types may not know very much about certain schools that don't currently have full-fledged NCAA programs. Campbell and Old Dominion will return to football in a few years. Kentucky Christian University (NCAA Division 2, I believe) will reinstate football. But what about teams like Detroit? Texas-A&M-Corpus Christi? Hartford? Gonzaga? Loyola Marymount? Wisconsin-Green Bay? These teams are going to be brand-new to most people. Don't follow the typical American perspective in which a product or team foreign to Americans is usually bad. Just because you never heard of a certain school or think a team is in a more inferior conference, it doesn't mean that they will easily lose. My home state of Texas has about four schools in a major conference- the Big XII. But what about other teams here? What about North Texas? Texas-San Antonio? Rice? Houston? Sam Houston State? Texas State? All you have to do to automatically make an NCAA tourney bid is to win your conference's title. This may be granted that you have to go to a tournament, but you still need to win if you want to have the best chance of making the dance.
With this said, is there any chance a foreign (at least in terms of most college football fans) school goes to the Final Four or wins the National Title? Here is a little "almanac" for you college football types that know the teams I'm about to mention. If you don't follow college football, skip to the next paragraph. The last current non-football school to win the National Championship was Milwaukee's Marquette University in 1977 under head coach Al McGuire. Last current non-football school (and I may need to check this) to appear in the Title Game to lose was Seton Hall in 1989. Last football school on the 1-AA/FCS level to win the National Championship was Villanova in 1985 under head coach Rollie Massimino. Last current 1-AA/FCS football school to be the National Champions Runners-Up was Georgetown in 1985. Any chance these teams may fight back and make a Final Four run? Villanova and Georgetown look most likely to make a serious postseason run.
--- Tournament 101 ---
The first step to making out your bracket is to closely follow Selection Sunday's results. Selection Sunday is when the NCAA boys and girls in Indianapolis, IN (likely done celebrating their city's Super Bowl XLI champs) decide which 64 will play for a National Championship. Teams will usually pack a certain room or their basketball court in determining if they will make The Big Dance. If they are in the tournament, the team will have a wild celebration. You know what that feeling means? It means that for every win and loss you've picked up, you have a chance to play for something major. You have a chance of showing every school in your division who the baddest team in the land is. Heaven is making this tournament. Your team will be immortal if you win the National Championship. Especially in the men's bracket, there are actually 65 teams. Thing is, that 65th entrant has to play their way into the tournament. This is known as the "Play-In Game." After winning this game, you are among the 64 who have a chance at winning the ultimate prize- the National Championship. There are four Regional tournaments set in four different regions of America. Teams will play at a certain court for each round of the Regionals. A #1 seed will be determined by which team has shown the best prowess all season long. That specific team will be the top seed in a regional bracket. It means that your team is the toughest of all in the championship bracket. Does it mean your team is guaranteed to make a Final Four? Absolutely not. UCLA and Kentucky can attest to this- you have to EARN your way through the tournament. It isn't the BCS in which the best teams are guaranteed a BCS Bowl Game and doesn't have to play any other games other than the BCS Bowl. Round 1 consists of 64 teams (counting the Play-In Game winner). Certain games are usually played on certain days. Teams projected to win Round 1 and lose in Round 2 are known as being "one and done." Round 2 will see 64 come down to 32. Of these 32, 16 will advance. These are the regional quarterfinals. Those who advance to the Second Round and lose the next are usually known as being "two and out." The Sweet Sixteen (I promise not to quote Hilary Duff like I did last postseason) consists of the sixteen best teams that survived the first two rounds of play. Being in the Sweet Sixteen or higher is where every team needs to be. Sixteen teams will become 8 when all is said and done. The Sweet Sixteen means that you are among the best majors and best mid-majors. The Sweet Sixteen is actually the start of regional semifinals for the four regions. Past the Sweet Sixteen is the Elite Eight. As the name implies, the nation's eight elite teams compete for the coveted Final Four. This is where regional finals take place. Winning the Elite Eight makes you a regional champion. You've conquered all there is to be conquered for you to advance. Next is the dream for every eligible team- the Final Four. The Final Four describes what most coaches want to be in. Career statistics for coaches can be greatly cashed in on taking a team to the Final Four as a coach. Players even get Final Four love. Look at the most recent player to go to a Final Four and win something big- Dwayne Wade of Marquette. Anyhow, the Final Four is an indication that America is closing in on seeing a National Champion be crowned. All that must happen is to win one more game to compete for everything. The Final Four is where regional champions meet each other to decide who should play for a National Championship. Final Fours are great, but one thing matters much more- the National Championship game. For some reason, the National Championship game isn't as hyped as the Final Four. Still, this is where you need to be. This is where the Final Four game winners are trimmed down to two and means a National Championship is on the line. Make it to the Final Four and savor the glory. You'll never acheive true glory until you win the title. It's about the team that endures the longest. It's like winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans- who can outlast and succeed best? You win this game, and you deserve lots of love from America. Cut down the net! Celebrate like it's the New Year. You won the damndest big game of all.
And that's the tournament, boys and girls! ^_^
--- How Do You Choose One Team Over Another? ---
As mentioned earlier, a true college hoops fan (in the words of a certain college basketball guru whose name fails me) doesn't drink the Kool-Aid of big schools. Remember how it was projected that the Missouri Valley Conference could get in as many as 6 teams last postseason? Could it happen again? Well, maybe not this year. There are a lot of teams in the MVC that could make some big noise against the teams from major conferences.
Allow me to reiterate some of my past points.
The first step to making out your bracket is to closely follow Selection Sunday's results. Next thing you want to do is to study each selection and find out how they made it to the tournament.. When you study a team, you learn about how the team got to the Dance. So if the University of the Pacific (for example) makes the tournament, get to see WHY they were selected. This is especially true if a team was an at-large bid (meaning that they didn't win their conference championship, but were among the teams to get in by way of the NCAA selecting them to play. Remember that there are over 330 total Division 1 schools. It can be hard picking 65 out of 300+. There may be a situation in which a good team doesn't make it in. That brings me to my third point- don't be completely discouraged if your favorite team doesn't advance. Remember when Hofstra was 24-6 last season... yet didn't make the tournament? And remember that Air Force was in the tournament? Nothing is guaranteed in the selections process if you're an at-large school. You have to have a winning record in college football to go to a Bowl Game in 1-A/FBS. You have to be among the best teams with the best performance. If the NCAA thinks your mid-major school can beat a Kentucky or a North Carolina (I chose UNC rather than Duke because Duke's struggling as of this post), you're going to the Dance. But if you still did a great job but not good enough, let the NIT be your backup. I didn't mention the NIT in my last section because most teams would rather the NCAA than the NIT. The NIT is basically an also-ran tournament for good teams that weren't good enough to challenge for a National Title. It isn't as prestigious and not many people care if you win this tournament, but the thing that's underrated is that it gives you momentum for next season if you win. If the NCAA Tournament is like BCS Bowl games, then the NIT is more like the non-BCS bowl games. Finally, just get out and support your favorite team! Hope all goes well.
I will look to update this thread as much as I can with postseason previews and such. This is your before, during, and after thread for postseason basketball. So come on in and let's talk postseason!
). These guys don't stop trying. They might hit brick after brick, but they still try. The opposing team might run circles around their defense, but their arms NEVER come down (watch South Carolina v Kentucky's first half to see what I mean). These are the teams that almost always look like they should make it and they are the teams you always want to watch. When your team loses you will root for one of these teams. 
I guess I missed all the good parts!
I had heard about Tajuan Porter before, but d-a-m-n.