The March Madness 2011 Thread

[quote name='lordopus99']It is all excuses. A lot of teams have similiar issues. For example, we (FSU) have been without "our star" the ACC Defensive Player of the Year Chris Singleton for multiple games. He currently is only playing 10 min-ish (due to his foot surgery) and yet we have knock off good teams like a fully healthy ND team (note Bernard James, our best big man, was on an IV prior to gametime).

The Big East plain and simple looks overrated. This isn't the first year their teams have messed over brackets due to people buying into those teams. They didn't have these excuses last year when they also were exiting early (Nova screwed over a bunch that year). The Big East, for the most part, can't play against good/great teams. Period.



That excuse can only be used for UConn, who is still playing and looks to actually be the best of the conference. The rest of the teams in conference are ran by upperclassman (i.e. JR and SR).[/QUOTE]


100% agree on all of this. Plain and simple, they look good beating up on each other day in and day out, but when the new kids come to town, its all downhill for the conference.
 
The Big East was over rated. But all 11 teams that got in deserved bids as they all have good RPIs and overall stronger resumes than any teams that got left out of the tourney.

As stated above the league just has a lot of very good and good teams due to having 18 members, and there was plenty of room for 11 of their teams this year since it was a very weak bubble this year with some other big leagues being down and mid majors not being as strong as in years past with teams like Bradely, Drake, Southern Illinois, Witchita State etc. having dropped off after losing coaches etc.

The Big East just lacks a really great team or two this year. None of the teams are on par with Kansas or Ohio State etc. None of the teams other than UCONN with Kemba Walker really have a sure fire first round pick in the NBA draft this year etc.

But it just fluctuates year to year. In 2009 the Big East got 5 teams into the Sweet 16, 3 in the elite 8 and 2 in the final four. Last year they struggled, but still had WVU in the Final Four. And UCONN has a very good chance of making it this year with SD State and likely Duke in their way.
 
Not sure why I was thinking 18. Will be 17 in 2012 when TCU joins! :D Edit: I just figured out where that brain fart came from--I was thinking of the 18 game Big East conference schedule and mixed that up with number of teams some how!

In any case, the point stands that all 11 teams were locks for the tourney and not weak bubble teams. Sucking in the tournament doesn't change that since selection is based on regular season resume. The Big East teams kicked ass in out of conference play in the regular season (34-19 vs. tourney teams per PTI) so those 11 teams all had 20+ wins and solid RPIs. Just fell apart in the tourney for some reason.

I don't really care as I hate conference homers. I was happy as hell to see Pitt, Louisville, Georgetown, Syracuse and ND lose as I can't stand those teams as a WVU fan! If we had to lose, happy to see our conference rivals go down as well. And in much more embarrassing fashion! :D
 
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[quote name='dmaul1114']
In any case, the point stands that all 11 teams were locks for the tourney and not weak bubble teams. Sucking in the tournament doesn't change that since selection is based on regular season resume. The Big East teams kicked ass in out of conference play in the regular season so those 11 teams all had 20+ wins and solid RPIs. Just fell apart in the tourney for some reason.
[/QUOTE]

Yep exactly. You said it a little better than I did.

I wasn't trying to make excuses for Big East teams, just breaking it down on a team to team basis.

My second chance bracket will have Kansas, Florida, Duke, and I can't decide between UNC or OSU. Almost want to put Butler in Florida's spot.
 
So in my bracket I have:

10/16 left in the sweet 16 (missed Syracuse, Louisville, Purdue, ND, Old Dominion, and K State)

Have 5/8 Elite 8 left (Syracuse, ND and K-State I missed).

My final four is still in tact--Ohio State, Kansas, UCONN (think I have Arizona in another pool) an BYU.
 
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My bracket stands as this...

10/16 for Sweet 16 (went with Xavier, Pitt, Kansas St, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Louisville)
6/8 for Elite 8 (went with Pitt and Notre Dame)
Final Four still in tact (Ohio St, UConn, Kansas, BYU)
 
10/16 in SS: missed with Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Texas A&M, Pittsburgh, & Utah St:lol:

6/8 in EE: missed with Texas A&M & Pittsburgh

Final Four? UNC v Duke and Kansas v BYU

Championship = UNC v Kansas with UNC winning.

But if BYU plays like they did against Gonzaga, NO ONE can beat them.
 
Props to Jimmer for a great career. Can't win em all.

And on that note, I think I'm done keeping up with the tournament. No more Texas, no more SU, no more BYU. Countdown to the NBA draft / 11-12 season starts now. Can't wait to watch Jimmer's career unfold in the league.
 
Always fun to see Duke get crushed! Happy to see Butler move on as well.

I had BYU in my final 4, so hated seeing them go down. That bracket was always a clusterfuck, just weren't any great teams in that region.
 
[quote name='pitfallharry219']It amazes me that Dick Vitale's sucking of Duke's dick has no end, even after a season-ending loss.[/QUOTE]

he gets paid by the ounce.
 
[quote name='pitfallharry219']It amazes me that Dick Vitale's sucking of Duke's dick has no end, even after a season-ending loss.[/QUOTE]

As an ohio state fan (mind you not one of the butt fucking retarded crazy ones that we've become infamous for), it was painful to watch the osu games he called this year, because it sounded so forced of him to call a game outside of his beloved acc. God he bugs the piss out of me
 
Duke losing was a gimme. I just gave them an additional round losing to UConn. They were never really that impressive IMO this year.

BYU is the first Final Four team I lost :cold:

As for Dick Vitale, he is all about the ACC, not just Duke. He gets lots of love from teams and fans of the ACC teams (in comparison to other conferences). Remember Analysts are fans of sports just like you and I. No matter how bad Michigan has been in football Desmond Howard always picks them to win games. Kirk Herbstreit is all about the Big 10.
 
C-A-T-S... Cats, Cats, Cats! Epic win tonight by the boys in blue. And no... That game didn't suck! Finally big blue wins on a buzzer beater in the tourney.
 
[quote name='jughead']C-A-T-S... Cats, Cats, Cats! Epic win tonight by the boys in blue. And no... That game didn't suck! Finally big blue wins on a buzzer beater in the tourney.[/QUOTE]

Now if they can avenge their loss to UNC, that would be awesome. Then, if they have a rematch with UConn, the same would be nice.
 
I said it with 5 minutes left in the game, Buford should not be shooting the damn ball, he was 2/15 at that point, the only person that is allowed to do that is Kobe. And also, why no timeout? You have 4-5 seconds left if you call one, more than enough time to get a decent shot off that doesn't involve Buford. Matta... what a sad crock...
 
I can't believe my team at the end of the game reverted back to what they did all season which is NOT SHOOTING THE BALL. Kitchen drives to the basket only to pass the ball with 1 second left... seriously what a putz. He screwed up at end of regulation as well by not shooting the ball in time or by giving the ball to an open Singleton, who is easily our best scorer. :roll:

But hey VCU hit 3s like anyones business. Kansas might have their hands full.

My bracket is now officially screwed.
Eight 8: 3/8
Final 4: 2/4
My winner Ohio St lost... shucks. What's crazy is I am in the 91% of yahoo sports brackets.
 
I cant believe wisconsin forgot to show up... seriously the score was not indicitive to what actually happened. you ahve to give them props for the late rally.... but really, they should have stayed dominant throughout and that makes me asad panda :( Oh well, packers won the super bowl so fuck y'all cities!! :D
 
I have 1 Team remaining in bracket. Every other team: Eliminated. Thank goodness I have that team picked to win the Title.
 
[quote name='KingBroly']I have 1 Team remaining in bracket. Every other team: Eliminated. Thank goodness I have that team picked to win the Title.[/QUOTE]

Same, although my team I had losing the Championship game (Kansas). At least I won't finish last in the bracket league. Damn close, but not last, so at least I have that little bit of integrity.
 
With the Buckeyes going down last night, I hope Butler can finish what they came so close to finishing last year GO DOGS!

However if Butler doesn't make I would love to see VCU go all the way.
 
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My bracket's pretty bad now as well as I had Ohio State winning it all. I'm not in an money pool and hate OSU so it still put a :D on my face.

Only 3 elite 8 left (Kansas, UCONN and Arizona) and 2 Final Four (Kansas and UCONN).
 
Yeah, I can't see VCU beating Kansas. Butler could beat Florida, but they'll have to be lights out shooting as Florida is going to kill them in the post and on the boards.

Other side of the bracket is a toss up as UNC/UK and UCONN/Arizona are all pretty evenly matched teams.
 
[quote name='pitfallharry219']I'll actually believe Sullinger is coming back when the deadline to enter the draft has passed.[/QUOTE]

I fully expect to hear this:

"I loved my time in (whatever city Ohio State is in) but I've thought long and hard about it. prayed some. And I have decided it's the right time to take care of my family and enter the NBA draft..... Please refer all questions to my agent, all shoe contracts to my marketing guy, and all personal appearances to my personal secretary."
 
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[quote name='confoosious']I fully expect to hear this:

"I loved my time in (whatever city Ohio State is in) but I've hough long and hard about it. prayed some. And I have decided it's the right time to take care of my family and enter the NBA draft..... Please refer all questions to my agent, all shoe contracts to my marketing guy, and all personal appearances to my personal secretary."[/QUOTE]

The kid said he is a man of his word when asked if he would change his mind.That and the big chance of a NBA lockout this year probably factored in his decision.
 
[quote name='confoosious']It'd be nice if he did but the "take care of my family" is a get out of jail free card for anything.[/QUOTE]

Well when you have a system like the NCAA that makes millions off of theses players,while they don't get anything than you can't really blame them for wanting to jump so quickly to the next level.
 
Well, keep in mind there's also a good chance of an NBA lockout over the summer as well (they seem nearly as far apart in talks over the new CBA as the NFL), so that could play into a lot of underclassmen's decisions.

I hate OSU, but hope he comes back. I like college sports more than pro, so I like to see stars stick around more than one year. Just get a big insurance policy against injury.

That said, the NBA needs to change it's rule. Forcing players to go to college for only 1 year is stupid. Either let them go straight to the NBA out of high school like before, or require them to be three years removed from high school like the NBA. As it stands now, they only have to stay academically eligible through the fall semester if they only plan on playing one year since the season is over before the spring semester.

Or do it like baseball and leave it up to the players. They can go pro straight out high school, but if they choose not to then they have to stay in college for 4 years before they're eligible for the draft again.
 
[quote name='themaster20000']Well when you have a system like the NCAA that makes millions off of theses players,while they don't get anything than you can't really blame them for wanting to jump so quickly to the next level.[/QUOTE]

did you watch the Fab Five documentary? Jalen Rose is still bitter.
 
[quote name='confoosious']did you watch the Fab Five documentary? Jalen Rose is still bitter.[/QUOTE]

At least he admitted that he took money,not like Chris Webber who won't even admit it.
 
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