College Basketball 2007-2008: March Madness!

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JohnBM01

JohnBM01

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This is my postseason thread for college basketball. Even though I've lost energy and interest in covering college hoops on GTPlanet, I still at least want to cover the most important deal for any team eligible for tournament play. It may well be America's most favorite tournament and most popular tournament. Stay tuned to this thread to learn who locked up conference championship honors as well as winning the at-large bids to enter the tournament.

I'll try and focus my energy more on this tournament now that we're closing in on March Madness.
 
I can't wait to see who does well in the tournament now that the Heat have a high draft pick this year! I'm pulling for Derrick Rose.
 
I would have kept you honest, but I was out of town for a while.

The big questioin here in Big Blue country is whether the Cats will make the tournament at all. And then if so is it worth it as we will have such a low seed that we will have to play a 1 or 2 seed first round and not get a chance. Which is more embarrassing; going to the tournament to get sent home immediately or going to the NIT and taking home a trophy that we don't even list on our accomplishments?


All I know is that I have March 20th and 21st off work and I will be found in a bar watching basketball on multiple screens
 
Good for you, mate. Welcome back! Unfortunately since I got lazy doing reports and that I was unable to get a lot of viewer support for February, I'm making even fewer contributions. I may only feature March Madness action and almost make the regular season as open season for any college hoops talk. I was thinking about you, FoolKiller, when Kentucky got owned at Vanderbilt. They have a good chance to make at least an at-large. Of course, Kentucky may just have to win the SEC Championship for the automatic bid, which probably may not happen considering Tennessee and Vandy.

I'll try to keep all of you informed on who makes the dance this year for both the men and women.
 
Get your brackets ready! Back on Saturday, Cornell University became the first school to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament on the road to San Antonio for the men's tournament.

More conference winners to come this week and perhaps even next week.
 
Well, Kentucky's chances went down as they lost freshman star Patrick Patterson for the season due to a stress fracture in his ankle. Selection committees in the past have taken injuries into account and have knocked teams down a few seeds because of it. With Kentucky on the bubble what does that mean? Our only hope is that we still have a couple of games to prove we are still tournament caliber.

Despite it being a loss I feel our game against Tennessee shows that we can do it. Without our best scorer and rebounder we still held our own and kept it close.

Really, they need to go to the tournament because those first two days will be spent in drunken depression, as opposed to drunken revelry, if they don't.

I believe it all depends on our Florida matchup. South Carolina can go either way but if we keep it close even a loss can be acceptable for NCAA bids. But the Florida game is a home game and we have to win at home. Now, a win at South Carolina woudl be helpful too.

I would just rather not wait until after the SEC Tournament to find out if we get in or not.
 
This has been a rough season for Kentucky. I'm still sure they can get at least an at-large bid. Or will the NCAA crew think UK's going to the postseason... but not the NCAA Tourney? We'll see on Selection Sunday.
 
A few more teams have locked up tournament bids.

* Austin Peay State University made this season's Big Dance from the Ohio Valley Conference
* I believe Winthrop won their bid from the Big South
* I think Drake won the Missouri Valley Conference by beating down Illinois State.

Selection Sunday is March 16th. Will your favorite team make the dance? We'll see this Sunday.
 
I think it should be hard for the selection committee to ignore a second seed SEC team. We have proven that without Patterson we can still play, and play well. Kentucky's record since conference play began says a lot about what this team has become. The real question for the committee will be whether they are looking at the current UK team or whether they are looking at the same team that lost to Gardner Webb and San Diego.

Hopefully my Wildcats can put up a big show in the SEC Tournament and convince the selection committee that this is an NCAA team. Fingers crossed that they get in to the tournament and prove themselves big time.

Note: Kentucky struggled when Tubby's players were injured, but when Gillespie's only recruit is injured they can still win? Does this say a lot about Tubby or Gillespie? The fans will debate. The fact is that neither option takes away from Gillespie, but some fans want to blame all the team's problems on Tubby Smith.


Another side note: In a discussion this morning I mentioned how Kentucky fans even ignore the many NIT victories in the past when the NIT was equal to the NCAA tournament and the best teams chose which invitation to take. Thinking about that should those past NIT championships count toward the championship count? I only ask because if so then Rupp's NIT championships would give Kentucky the most championships of any college team. It would also help teams like Louisville, who only has two NCAA championships, look a lot better on paper. Of course, then you have to try and figure out when the NIT became a consolation prize and draw a line in the sand. I think it was when TV got to the point that they could cover everything and the NCAA Tournament was just better to advertise. Dunno.
 
For one, I was stunned when San Diego when upset Gonzaga. I ALWAYS regard the University of San Diego in football. They have an impressive football program. But for them to make the tourney really improves them as a sports program. I think they play in a lovely arena and have a wonderful fight song. They are the only school in the WCC that has a football program. And they have a GREAT football program.

Unfortunately for Joey D, his Golden Grizzlies of Oakland University lost in the semifinals to IUPUI. Now Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis will take on the powerful Goldren Eagles of Tulsa's Oral Roberts University.

Since you're here, FoolKiller, which is more likely to you, and how well will they do in the respective tournament:the NCAA Tournament, or the NIT Tournament?
 
In tonight's round of matches, Oral Roberts, Butler, and Western Kentucky all won their conference tournaments. It's good news for you, FoolKiller since both the men and women from your former school (Western Kentucky) made the dance. WKU is one of the winningest programs in men's hoops, and much luck to them in knocking off as many teams as they can. However, I'm not expecting a Final Four return from them like that one Hilltopper team from the 1970s(?). Coincidentally, I think the men and women took on Middle Tennessee State for the respctive genders. I would have liked for South Alabama to win their semifinal game to make it a dream Sun Belt match between the USA Jaguars (starting football soon) and the WKU Hilltoppers. Still, congrats to the 'Toppers.

Also, I figured Butler and Oral Roberts would both be tough to handle. In the PTI Big Finish, Michael Wilbon gave his predictions of who would win tonight's matches. The only one he got wrong was his pick of MTSU over Western Kentucky. More conference champions to be determined in the coming days leading up to Selection Sunday.
 
JohnBM01
Since you're here, FoolKiller, which is more likely to you, and how well will they do in the respective tournament:the NCAA Tournament, or the NIT Tournament?
Click to expand...
Well, since ESPN's Bracketology is predicting a 9 seed I have to say that I think the NCAA is a pretty good possibility. It will proably only last two round for us though.

JohnBM01
In tonight's round of matches, Oral Roberts, Butler, and Western Kentucky all won their conference tournaments. It's good news for you, FoolKiller since both the men and women from your former school (Western Kentucky) made the dance. WKU is one of the winningest programs in men's hoops, and much luck to them in knocking off as many teams as they can. However, I'm not expecting a Final Four return from them like that one Hilltopper team from the 1970s(?). Coincidentally, I think the men and women took on Middle Tennessee State for the respctive genders. I would have liked for South Alabama to win their semifinal game to make it a dream Sun Belt match between the USA Jaguars (starting football soon) and the WKU Hilltoppers. Still, congrats to the 'Toppers.
Click to expand...
Coach Diddle was waving his red towel.
didwav.jpg



Funny Diddle story:

During a heated game against Dayton in 1968, Diddle decided to climb on top of a press table and lead cheers in front of the student section. However, a Dayton sportswriter, who obviously didn't know who he was speaking to, told Diddle that he couldn't climb on top of the table. To which Diddle snapped, "What do you mean I can't get on top of this table? This is my damn gym!"
 
I can't believe I'm asking you this, but who do you think will last longest in the tournament: Kentucky, Western Kentucky, or will both be out in the same round?
 
JohnBM01
I can't believe I'm asking you this, but who do you think will last longest in the tournament: Kentucky, Western Kentucky, or will both be out in the same round?
Click to expand...
It's hard to say. Without seeing seeding yet I would say both make it to the second round. Western looks awesome, but it isn't as if they are in a conference where they are forced to show themselves.

At the same time Kentucky has done well in an SEC that seems to be down this year. I mean, Florida is a bubble team? Kentucky is a bubble team (or was)?

So, right now I say same round but after I see the brackets and do some research one what I am sure will be teams I don't follow I will be able to make a better determination.
 
An unreal incident occured today. A raging storm in Atlanta resulted in two holes on the top of the Georgia Dome. As a result, the Kentucky/Georgia match was postponed. Crazy. Don't forget- Selection Sunday is this Sunday! Think about your brackets when the selections are made. Don't wait for my commentary- just post bracket information on here in my abscence.
 
Okay, people! This may be my final time covering college hoops on GTPlanet due to a lack of interest and involvement. I'm talking about getting others to chat college hoops even when I'm trying to prepare something for my threads. Sixty-five teams have a chance to win the National Championship. FoolKiller says I'm being too nice in saying that 65 make the dance and have a chance to win the national championship, but I'm just being fair. Not realistic, but fair. Don't forget the upset.



Here are the brackets as follows:


#1 Seeds (denoted with = !)

The 2008 Men's NCAA Tournament
~ East Regional ~ ​

Raleigh, North Carolin
a - Thursday (Rd. 1) and Saturday (Rd. 2)
* #1 North Carolina! vs. #16 (the Play-in Game winner of Mount St. Mary's College and Coppin State (Tuesday match))
* 8 Indiana vs. #9 Arkansas

Denver, Colorado - Friday (Rd. 1) and Sunday (Rd. 2)
* #5 Notre Dame vs. #12 George Mason
* #4 Washington State vs. #13 Winthrop

Birmingham, Alabama
* #2 Tennessee vs. #15 American <<< American's first NCAA tournament appearance
* #7 Butler vs. #10 South Alabama <<< USA coach, Ronnie Arrow, came to USA from Texas-A&M-Corpus Christi after conesecutive 20-win seasons at TAMUCC
* #3 Louisville vs. #14 Boise State
* #6 Oklahoma vs. #11 Saint Joseph's





The 2008 Men's NCAA Tournament
~ Midwest Regional ~​

#1 Kansas! vs. #16 Portland State <<< 8th #1 seed in school history
#8 UNLV vs. #9 Kent State
#5 Clemson vs. #12 Villanova
#4 Vanderbilt vs. #13 Siena
#2 Georgetown vs. #15 Maryland-Baltimore County <<< UMBC's first ever tournament appearance
#7 Gonzaga vs. #10 Davidson

Omaha, Nebraska - Friday (Rd. 1) and Sunday (Rd. 2)
#3 Wisconsin vs. #14 California State-Fullerton
#6 Southern California vs. #11 Kansas State





The 2008 Men's NCAA Tournament
~ South Regional ~​

North Little Rock, Arkansas

#1 Memphis! vs. #16 Texas-Arlington
#8 Mississippi vs. #9 Oregon

Denver, Colorado -
#5 Michigan State vs. #12 Temple
#4 Pittsburgh vs. #13 Oral Roberts

???, ?? - ??? (Rd. 1) and ??? (Rd. 2)
#2 Texas vs. #15 Austin Peay State
#7 Miami vs. #10 St. Mary's

Anaheim, California
#3 Stanford vs. #14 Cornell
#6 Marquette vs. #11 Kentucky





The 2008 Men's NCAA Tournament
~ West Regional ~​

???, ?? - ??? (Rd. 1) and ??? (Rd. 2)
#1 California-Los Angeles! vs. #16 Mississippi Valley State
#8 Brigham Young vs. #9 Texas A&M

???, ?? - ??? (Rd. 1) and ??? (Rd. 2)
#5 Drake vs. #12 Western Kentucky
#4 Connecticut vs. #13 San Diego

???, ?? - ??? (Rd. 1) and ??? (Rd. 2)
#2 Duke vs. #15 Belmont
#7 West Virginia vs. #10 Arizona

???, ?? - ??? (Rd. 1) and ??? (Rd. 2)
##3 Xavier vs. #14 Georgia
#6 Purdue vs. #11 Baylor <<< now if only Baylor's football team can be as good as their basketball this season...





There are your brackets. Now let me share with you all my predictions. These are based on no extreme basketball knowledge or any hardcore sports knowledge. So here goes...



EAST REGIONAL (John's Predictions):

* #1 North Carolina will win regardless of who #16 is. I think Mount St. Mary's will advance in the Play-In game.
* I think #8 Indiana will beat #9 Texas A&M with players like Joe Crawford's brother, Jordan Crawford.
* I'm picking an upset that would infuriate BlackBeadyEyes. I think #12 George Mason will lay down the upset against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. A #12 beating a #5. First time since last year when Virginia Commonwealth upset Duke.
* I'm sorry. I don't buy Washington State. #13 Winthrop advances.
* American's first visit to the Dance will be cut short by #2 Tennessee.
* This one is tough. I respect Ronnie Arrow as USA coach. #10 South Alabama gets the win light in this match.
* Louisville as a #3 seed? Overrated. I don't think #14 Boise State will let them know about it since #3 Louisville gets it done.
* #6 Oklahoma is good, but I'm picking #11 Saint Joseph's University in an upset.

** In this classic battle of two powerful and legendary basketball powers, I got North Carolina advancing.
** George Mason and Winthrop can go either way. Winthrop gets to be a disappointment in tournament play sometimes. Not this time. I predict a Winthrop win.
** A matchup of Tennessee and Sosuth Alabama is a great one. I think Tennessee will bathe South Alabama in a contest that will be decided by no less than 10 points.
** Louisville advances to the Second Round to face Saint Joseph, but that's where St. Joseph's postseason continues.

*** North Carolina and Winthrop would be a matchup of the two Carolinas. I think this is where North Carolina will advance.
*** Midnight for St. Joseph's. Tennessee will advance. I love St. Joseph's and their great coach, Phil Marteli, but this is as far St. Joseph's will get.

**** This game may go to Overtime. North Carolina blue will be all over Tennessee's orange. (North Carolina to win East regional)



MIDWEST REGIONAL

* #1 Kansas will hammer Portland State unless the Vikings keep it close against the Jayhawks of Kansas.
* I think #9 Kent State will just pull away with the win.
* Villanova is better than their seeding implies. #12 Villanova will take care of business with their handsome head coach, Jay Wright, calling the shots.
* Here's another upset special- how about #13 Siena College taking down #4 Vanderbilt?
* The #2 Georgetown University Hoyas will have no problems retriving a win over the Retrivers of #15 University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Georgetown would even win this match if this was a game of college lacrosse.
* The state of Washington vs. the state of South Carolina. In a close fight, #10 Davidson stops Gonzaga's postseason before it starts.
* California State University-Fullerton's sports teams are known as the Titans. Well, they'll be a titan-ic failure when #3 Wisconsin lowers the boom on California State-Fullterton.
* This one should be fun. The USCal Trojans have O.J. Mayo, but I don't think Mayo will have enough mustard to take down #11 Kansas State.

** Kansas is better than Kent State. End of story.
** Siena will have played two "V" schools. They beat Vanderbilt, but they won't beat Villanova.
** Georgetown's mascot type is a dog. I think Georgetown will eviscerate the Wildcats of Davidson College.
** I'm picking another stunner- Kansas State knocking off Wisconsin.

*** A few years ago at Villanova, the Wildcats beat down (then) #2 Kansas by 30. I think Kansas will get long-overdue revenge.
*** Bye, bye, Kansas State. Georgetown owns you.

**** Kansas and Georgetown would be an amazing match. I say Georgetown knocks off Kansas in an absolute thriller. (Georgetown to win Midwest Regional)



SOUTH REGIONAL

* Would it be against me to pick a Texas team to go down? Well, I see no way Texas-Arlington gets past #1 Memphis.
* Oregon lost to Oakland University (Joey D country) early in the season. Well, the Ducks of #9 Oregon won't flounder in this match against Mississippi State of the SEC.
* Temple's going to get clocked in their respective temples once #5 Michigan State's done with the Owls.
* I think #13 Oral Roberts is an exceptional school. The Tulsa-based university will thrart Pittsburgh, because I don't know if Pittsburgh is really game enough to make a serious run. And I love the Pittsburgh Panthers.
* The state capital of Texas is Austin. #2 Texas will be the capital of this match against #15 Austin Peay State University.
* Miami isn't terribly impressive in basketball. I see #10 St. Mary's advancing. The former football school has had a great season in WCC play as well as non-conference. St. Mary's will continue their postseason by surviving the Hurricanes.
* Don't call them the Cardinals! #3 Stanford and their Cardinals will make sure Cornell doesn't even visualize an upset.
* Ah, yes... the FoolKiller special. I love Marquette and their basketball program, but I think #11 Kentucky will remind Marquette just who the hell they're messing with.

** I don't think Oregon is in Memphis's league.
** Oral Roberts will not surpass Michigan State.
** Texas will be just a bit better than St. Mary's.
** Two more powerful basketball schools will collide. While this isn't one of the classic Kentucky teams that would be an easy pick to win the title, I think Kentucky will edge past Stanford.

*** I love for Memphis to advance over Michigan State, giving John Calipari brighter hopes of making the Final Four.
*** I'm your GTPlanet friend, FoolKiller, but I don't think Kentucky can vault past Texas. No state pride involved in this prediction. Honest!

**** Memphis and Texas for Final Four honors. Texas' caravan ride into San Antonio will be halted by Memphis. Otherwise, Texas would be hellacious favorites to win in a city about 2-3 miles away from Austin! (Memphis to win South Regional)



WEST REGIONAL
(Honest fact: I didn't think about this region very much in preparing my predictions. So I'll improvise.

* #1 UCLA will have no problem with the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State.
* The #8 vs. #9 match is always interesting. I say in a close fight or a game-winning shot, #8 Brigham Young makes magic happen.
* Both of these schools are great schools. It's tough to pick one over the other. Unless #12 Western Kentucky chokes badly, I think they'll win over Drake in a dogfight (no pun intended).
* I love the University of San Diego in football. They could play in FBS if they wanted to, but I think the Toreros of San Diego will lose to #4 Connecticut.
* Belmont's good, but they aren't #2 Duke. An upset is possible, but not likely.
* I would favor #7 West Virginia here against Arizona.
* I think Xavier is a bit overrated this season, but the Musketeers of #3 Xavier will take down an improving Georgia.
* I hate Baylor in about every sport except women's basketball. This would be closer if it were a women's game, but it won't be because #6 Purdue takes care of business.

** UCLA and Brigham Young is a basketball version of this past season's Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl. You can bet the farm on the University of California-Los Angeles advancing.
** If San Diego advanced over Connecticut, San Diego/Western Kentucky would be a great matchup to decide the West. But this is the WESTERN regional, so Western Kentucky University of Bowling Green, Kentucky will knock off Connecticut in an upset.
** Duke could beat West Virginia in their sleep.
** This is a tough call. I'm predicting Xavier in a match either decided by less than five points or in Overtime.

*** UCLA and Western Kentucky- a battle of two highly-praised winning programs. Sadly, I think Western Kentucky will feel the wrath of UCLA,. Western Kentucky won't go down without a fight, however.
*** I'll pick Duke to advance over Xavier.

**** UCLA and Duke is another high-profile match. I favor UCLA to win the West regional, but it will be awfully close. (UCLA to win West Regional)





FINAL FOUR PREDICTIONS

* Get ready for a rematch of last year's match. I think North Carolina will have learned their lesson from last year's overtime meltdown against Georgetown and win.
* Did Memphis and UCLA play each other this season? I think the Tigers of Memphis will be one step closer to realizing their destiny.


** For all the marbles! I'm predicting North Carolina against Memphis. I'm predicting this to be a crazy finish. I predict that free-throw shooting from the foul line will be a factor for Memphis to win this match. So I say it's a dream finally realized- the UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS wins the National Championship and parties all night in San Antonio and Memphis.





This may be my final time committing to college hoops on GTPlanet since there isn't as much involvement in my threads. Unless someone else may commit to talking college hoops on GTPlanet, I think it isn't truly possible to establish a college hoops audience on here. So I may "retire" from chatting college hoops on this site. I may just offer college hoops threads to be updated any time by people like you.

In my next report, I'll talk about the teams that DIDN'T make the Dance. That will be followed up by a look at the women's tournament in my report after my NIT report. Take care, everyone!
 
As an interesting side note, I'm taking part in the Facebook bracket challenge presented by CBS Sports with these same picks. The kind of bracket I'm trying to set up will allow for some enticing matchups at the Regional Final levels. Hope all of you have filled out your brackets as well. Get the office pool going. Have a bracket battle with your friends. March Madness will kick off for real starting Thursday. It's the road to San Antonio for the men's national championship! And when I learn the women's brackets, it will be the road to Tampa.
 
Sorry, I haven't had a chance to study my brackets. I just know Kentucky got in.

I've just been to fumed over that Georgia game. Bad calls are one thing but with 1.2 seconds left and a Georgia defender runs over Bradley, trying to receive an inbounds pass, two feet in front of a ref and it is not called at all it is absurd.

Gillespie could be seen clearly yelling at the ref, "You just lost us the game!"

The no-call was so obviously bad, and game changing, that security immediately came out and then escorted the ref out of the building after the game.
 
Quick Summation of my bracket:

Early upset pick: St. Marys over Miami

Final Four:

- Kansas
- MSU (gotta represent the home team!)
- UCLA
- Tennessee

Final: Kansas v UCLA

Champion: UCLA

====

I'll admit that I don't follow it close enough, but I usually do fairly well each year.
 
FoolKiller, as a friend, I cheer for Kentucky just because of you. Same with Western Kentucky. Let me just say that I'd like to congratulate Kentucky for getting into the tournament. Their seeding isn't too favorable. As I mentioned before, this isn't one of your average Kentucky teams that could pick up a seed anywhere between #1 and #4. Your rivals at Louisville are #3 in their region. I probably figured Louisville to be either a #5 or a #7. The crew in Indianapolis, however, gave your hated rivals PLENTY of love. I think the best-case scenario for Kentucky is that they make the Sweet 16 or higher. Last year, you said they wouldn't be among the Sweet Sixteen. Are you changing your predictions this season?





The 2008 MasterCard NIT Brackets

--- Bracket Section A ---
#8 North Carolina-Asheville at #1 Ohio State! (Tuesday)
#5 New Mexico at #4 California (Wednesday)
#6 Cleveland State #3 Dayton (Wednesday)
#7 Utah State #2 Illinois State (Wednesday)



--- Bracket Section B ---
#8 Morgan State at #1 Virginia Tech! (Wednesday)
#5 Alabama-Birmingham at #4 Virginia Commonwealth (Wednesday)
#6 Charlotte at #3 Nebraska (Wednesday)
#7 California-Santa Barbara at #2 Mississippi (Wednesday)



--- Bracket Section C ---
#8 Alabama State at #1 Arizona State ! ()
#5 Oklahoma State at #4 Southern Illinois ()
#6 Rhode Island at #3 Creighton
#7 San Diego State at #2 Florida



--- Bracket Section D ---
#8 Robert Morris at #1 Syracuse!
#5 Maryland at #4 Minnesota
#6 Akron at #3 Florida State
#7 Stephen F. Austin at #2 Massachusetts

(Full bracket here: http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/media/sports/ncaa/2008_nit.html )


These are teams that (to use golf terms) missed the cut.




Just to get you set for March Madness, here is a look at last year's March Madness complimented by the classic song, "One Shining Moment":



Any of you have predictions to share?
 
There are 65 men who can play for a title. Let's continue with women.




The NCAA Women's Tournament - The Road to Tampa Bay
~ Greensboro Region ~

Bridgeport, Connecticut
* #1 Connecticut! vs. #16 Cornell (Sun
* #8 Texas vs. #9 Minnesota


* #5 Old Dominion vs. #12 Liberty
* #4 Virginia vs. #13 California-Santa Barbara

Des Moines, Iowa
* #2 Rutgers vs. #15 Robert Morris
* #7 Iowa State vs. #10 Georgia Tech

Des Moines, Iowa
* #3 California vs. #14 San Diego
* #6 George Washington vs. #11 Auburn





The NCAA Women's Tournament - The Road to Tampa Bay
~ Spokane Region ~

College Park, Maryland - Sunday (Rd. 1) and Tuesday (Rd. 2)
* #1 Maryland! vs. #16 Coppin State
* #8 Nebraska vs. #9 Xavier

Albuquerque, New Mexico - Saturday (Rd. 1)
* #5 West Virginia vs. #12 Arizona(?)
* #4 Vanderbilt vs. #13 Montana

Stanford, California - Saturday (Rd. 1) and Monday (Rd. 2)
* #2 Stanford vs. #15 Cleveland State
* #7 Texas-El Paso vs. #10 Western Kentucky
* #3 Baylor vs. #14 Fresno State
* #6 Pittsburgh vs. #11 Wyoming





The NCAA Women's Tournament - The Road to Tampa Bay
~ New Orleans Region ~

Norfolk, Virginia - Sunday (Rd. 1) and Tuesday (Rd. 2)
* #1 North Carolina! vs. #16 Bucknell
* #8 Georgia vs. #9 Iowa

Bridgeport, Connecticut Sunday (Rd. 1) and
* #5 Kansas State vs. #12 Chattanooga
* #4 Louisville vs. #13 Miami University

Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Saturday (Rd. 1) and Monday (Rd. 2)
* #2 Louisiana State vs. #15 Jackson State
* #7 Marist vs. #10 DePaul

Des Moines, Iowa - Saturday (Rd. 1) and Monday (Rd. 2)
* #3 Oklahoma State vs. #14 East Tennessee State
* #6 Ohio State vs. #11 Florida State





The NCAA Women's Tournament - The Road to Tampa Bay
~ Oklahoma City Region ~

West Lafayette, IN - Sunday (Rd. 1) and Tuesday (Rd. 2)
* #1 Tennessee! vs. #16 Oral Roberts
* #8 Utah vs. #9 Purdue
* #5 Notre Dame vs. #12 Southern Methodist
* #4 Oklahoma vs. #13 Illinois State

Baton Rouge, LA - Saturday (Rd. 1) and Monday (Rd. 2)
* #2 Texas A&M vs. #15 Texas-San Antonio
* #7 Syracuse vs. #10 Hartford

College Park, Maryland - Sunday (Rd. 1) and Tuesday (Rd. 2)
* #3 Duke vs. #14 Murray State
* #6 Arizona State vs. #11 Temple






Those are the women. So I've put forth the men and women of NCAA hoops.​
​
 
Tonight's the play-in game to determine who makes the dance. Two Maryland non-football schools will play to meet North Carolina in the first round on Thursday. It's Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, MD going up against Coppin State in Baltimore, MD. Who will advance to the dance? Find out tonight.

As an off-topic note, I learned Mount St. Mary's College changed its name to Mount St. Mary's University. There is a MSMC in Los Angeles (an all-women Catholic(?) school), but MSMU is in Emmitsburg, MD. That's the one facing Coppin State. It's the Mountaineers of MSMU vs. the Eagles of CopSU.
 
I think Mount St. Mary's will win this play-in matchup tonight. Winner faces North Carolina, and I'm not anticipating a beatdown of anything less than 15 points when North Carolina greets the Play-In Game winner.


When I do my full scores, I'll make more "streamlined" reports. I'll try to be as to the point as possible. This is especially for the Play-In game all the way to the Sweet Sixteen. Then I make things interesting in those reports.


March Madness is on the way. Get ready, GTPlanet!
 
Coppin State lost to Mount St. Mary's as I predicted. They lost 69-60 to the Mountaineers of Mount St. Mary's University. So now Mount St. Mary's will try to work to stun #1 North Carolina this Friday. So the field of 64 is complete. Anyone willing to share predictions before the action kicks off Thursday?
 
I don't follow much college basketball but I do always take a stab at the madness. My final four are...

North Carolina
Kansas
Texas
Duke

Kansas will take the championship.
 
UnoMOTO
I don't follow much college basketball but I do always take a stab at the madness. My final four are...

North Carolina
Kansas
Texas
Duke ANYONE ELSE!!!

Kansas will take the championship.
Click to expand...
Fixed that for ya!

I still don't know. All my brackets are different.
 
Hey now...I threw Kentucky a bone by upsetting Marquette in the first round. The glory will be short lived by a stomping at the hands of Stanford in round two.
 
UnoMOTO
Hey now...I threw Kentucky a bone by upsetting Marquette in the first round. The glory will be short lived by a stomping at the hands of Stanford in round two.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have them losing to Stanford as well.

I just can't see Duke in the final four for both hatred reasons and they seem to be a bit of a wild card. I can't remember who, but I heard someone say that it is hard to see the actual Duke team for all the hype surrounding them.
 
Not a lot of people are picking Duke as a Final Four contender anyways. It isn't like they cloned J.J. Redick, made him a Freshman, and are automatic favorites to win it all. Something just tells me that Memphis is going to come through in the end unless someone knocks their brains out. My only concern with the Tigers is their free throw shooting from the foul line. I think Memphis can make just enough noise to get to the Final Four and maybe win it all. The National Title game to me is North Carolina and Memphis. I was going to pick North Carolina, but I sometimes believe in good fortune and the possibility of an upset. Here are some First Round upsets from a bracket I filled out online:


John's Potential First Round Upsets: (upsets defined as seeds 9-16 beating 1-8 seeds)
~ East ~
* #12 George Mason defeating #5 Notre Dame
* #13 Winthrop defeating #4 Washington State
* #11 Saint Joseph's defeating #6 Oklahoma
* #10 South Alabama beating #7 Butler

~ Midwest ~
* # #9 Kent State defeating #8 UNLV (UNLV - 1990 National Champions, beating Duke)
* #4 Vanderbilt losing to #13 Siena
* #11 Kansas State defeating #6 USCal
* #10 Davidson defeating #7 Gonzaga

~ South ~
* #9 Oregon defeating #8 Mississippi State
* #11 Kentucky defeating #6 Marquette (I love Marquette, but have my doubts)
* #10 Saint Mary's defeating #7 Miami

~ West ~
* #12 Western Kentucky defeating #5 Drake



I went a little crazy with upsets. I was probably thinking of the March Madness when George Mason was America's sweethearts in making the Final Four in their first-ever trip to the Dance. I actually have George Mason losing to Winthrop (meaning Winthrop beats Washington State in my bracket) in the second round. I'll see how things go. I'm on Facebook doing the CBS Sports tournament thingie (I rarely use the word "thingie"). I just felt pretty confident I came up with as chaotic of a bracket as I could. Chaotic, but realistic. I think the easiest upset pick was Saint Mary's beating Miami. The toughest upset I picked was Siena College beating Vanderbilt.

Earler this week on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption," Michael Wilbon was talking about how this March Madness seems mediocre. I think mostly because he thought this favored more "BCS conferences" than mid-majors. I think there are some very good matchups. Many people are in agreement that the match between Kansas State and Southern Cal will be the most interesting matchup in the First Round. Three WCC teams made the dance (Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, and San Diego). It used to be that Gonzaga was the best team in the WCC. They still are, but San Diego stunned the Bulldogs in the WCC Championship game. I think they may get rocked by 14 or more points when they face UConn. Not the UConn teams of old, but definitely not one that's National Championship worthy. Speaking as a Black American, I sometimes wonder when will an HBCU (historically-black colleges and universities) have a George Mason-style run. Winston-Salem State joined the D1 circus a few years ago. When they were in Division 2, they did get themselves a National Championship. I see no way Mississippi Valley State knocks off UCLA. Schools from the SWAC and MEAC (MVSU is a SWAC school) are some of the low-majors in college hoops. Having said this, I really imagine what it would be like for one of the HBCUs staged an impressive run in Division 1 hoops.

The action begins Thursday! I'll be here making reports on each round of competition. I'll use more "cut to the chase" tactics for the first and second rounds. Then for the subsequent rounds, I'll add a little more content. This may be my final time covering college hoops on GTPlanet, so I hope to make this enjoyable for all of you. And by the way, I'll lightly focus on the women's tournament as well.
 

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