It's about time! March is around the corner, and the conference tournaments have already begun. The Atlantic Sun tournament started yesterday, and four teams have already taken out from the contest for their auto berth. Today the Big South and Patriot tournaments follow suit. There are four teams that existed in 1948 that have never made it into the March Madness: Army, The Citadel, St. Francis Brooklyn and William & Mary (Northwestern was also in this list until they got an at-large berth last year). Three teams cannot make the March Madness due to failure to meet the required Academic Progress Rate: Alabama A&M, Grambling State and SE Missouri State (originally Savannah State was also banned, but they got a waiver; next year they will play their last Division I season). Finally, I now consider March Madness 2013 to have never taken place :bigass:.
I now proceed to announce the names I'll know each of the venues. As we know, I refuse to recognize naming rights as the companies who purchased them don't pay me (changed names are in bold):
First Four:
Dayton: UD Arena
First and Second Rounds:
Pittsburgh: Penguins Arena
Wichita: Sedgwick County Arena
Dallas: Mavericks Arena
Boise: BSU Pavillion
Charlotte: Charlotte Bobcats Hornets Arena
Detroit: Detroit Events Center
Nashville: Nashville Arena
San Diego: Aztec Bowl Arena
Regional Semifinals and Finals (the finals a.k.a. "quarter-finals" by me):
Los Angeles: L.A. Arena
Atlanta: Hawks Arena
Boston: Boston Garden
Omaha: Omaha Arena and Convention Center
Final Four:
San Antonio: Alamodome
I've already selected my full roster for my spoof, which consists of association football teams :sombrero:. I'll do the seeding after next weekend but before Selection Sunday, and then place the teams in the corresponding placements once Selection Sunday is done.
The Big Ten Tournament is being held a week earlier than normal this year so that it can be played at Madison Square Garden, and it begins tomorrow. This will be the 21st B1G Tournament, and only the 2nd not held in either Chicago or Indianapolis (last year's was held in Washington, DC.)
Quote from: Buck87 on February 27, 2018, 12:10:24 PM
The Big Ten Tournament is being held a week earlier than normal this year so that it can be played at Madison Square Garden, and it begins tomorrow. This will be the 21st B1G Tournament, and only the 2nd not held in either Chicago or Indianapolis (last year's was held in Washington, DC.)
They said they're not going to do it again a week early. Go Blue.
Quote from: Alps on February 27, 2018, 07:29:28 PM
Quote from: Buck87 on February 27, 2018, 12:10:24 PM
The Big Ten Tournament is being held a week earlier than normal this year so that it can be played at Madison Square Garden, and it begins tomorrow. This will be the 21st B1G Tournament, and only the 2nd not held in either Chicago or Indianapolis (last year's was held in Washington, DC.)
They said they're not going to do it again a week early. Go Blue.
It would be better to rotate it between Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, and Indy, IMHO.
Go Green.
Quote from: Brandon on February 27, 2018, 07:38:25 PM
Quote from: Alps on February 27, 2018, 07:29:28 PM
Quote from: Buck87 on February 27, 2018, 12:10:24 PM
The Big Ten Tournament is being held a week earlier than normal this year so that it can be played at Madison Square Garden, and it begins tomorrow. This will be the 21st B1G Tournament, and only the 2nd not held in either Chicago or Indianapolis (last year's was held in Washington, DC.)
They said they're not going to do it again a week early. Go Blue.
It would be better to rotate it between Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, and Indy, IMHO.
Go Green.
I think you're going to see the East Coast in regular rotation between Pen* State, Maryland, and Rutgers. At least add Philadelphia into your list, if not Baltimore and/or NYC switching off occasionally. I'd also add Des Moines or Omaha (maybe switching off every rotation) to represent Iowa and Nebraska.
Don't forget the Barclays Center in Brooklyn is another option that's a more likely addition to the Big Ten rotation than MSG (simply because the Big East is so entrenched there). Not this year because the ACC is at Barclays, but the ACC Tournament is heading back to Charlotte next year and Greensboro in 2020.
Quote from: Alps on February 27, 2018, 08:00:52 PM
Quote from: Brandon on February 27, 2018, 07:38:25 PM
Quote from: Alps on February 27, 2018, 07:29:28 PM
Quote from: Buck87 on February 27, 2018, 12:10:24 PM
The Big Ten Tournament is being held a week earlier than normal this year so that it can be played at Madison Square Garden, and it begins tomorrow. This will be the 21st B1G Tournament, and only the 2nd not held in either Chicago or Indianapolis (last year's was held in Washington, DC.)
They said they're not going to do it again a week early. Go Blue.
It would be better to rotate it between Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, and Indy, IMHO.
Go Green.
I think you're going to see the East Coast in regular rotation between Pen* State, Maryland, and Rutgers. At least add Philadelphia into your list, if not Baltimore and/or NYC switching off occasionally. I'd also add Des Moines or Omaha (maybe switching off every rotation) to represent Iowa and Nebraska.
Furthest east it should honestly go is maybe DC or Detroit. Big 10 is mainly a mid-western conference with 2 outliers in Rutgers and Maryland and an outskirt in Penn State
There is only one blue, and it is Big Blue.
Anyway, having the Big 10 in NYC is silly, and, judging by the early crowds, not working out so well. The natural place for the Big 10 is Indy, the "crossroads of America" and a college basketball region.
Similarly it is dumb to have the ACC in Brooklyn. Belongs in Greensboro, or Charlotte, or Atlanta. I really don't get why the SEC is in St. Louis. Nashville seems the most logical place right now.
BTW, the Big 10 in NYC joins the Pac 12, WAC, West Coast (all in Las Vegas), Big Sky (Reno), and Big 12 (Kansas City) in holding a tournament in a state that none of its teams are actually located.
Quote from: SP Cook on March 01, 2018, 02:28:28 PM
I really don't get why the SEC is in St. Louis.
St. Louis -- and Nashville too, for that matter -- is convenient for all those UK fans out in the western part of the state for whom either of those locations are closer than Lexington. The UK fans who attend the conference tournament are typically those who don't get to go to games in Rupp Arena. Trust me, the Purchase area is just as much Big Blue country as the Bluegrass region or the mountains.
I don't know if having the tourney in STL was some sort of bone thrown or promise made to Mizzou for joining the SEC or what. We'll know if the tournament ends up in some Texas city in a few years, because that would indicate A&M got the same deal.
Nashville, Atlanta, even Birmingham; all are logical sites for the SEC tournament. Nashville is marginally closer than Atlanta (a couple of hours) and UK's had a lot of success in Atlanta, but most of the people I've talked to who have attended tournaments in both places say they prefer Nashville for a variety of reasons.
I'd love to see it played in Louisville sometime, but the rest of the conference would go ballistic. Perhaps the Yum Center management would be more inclined to submit a bid now that Pitino and Jurich are out of the picture.
Is STL a one-shot deal, or are they scheduled to host any future tournaments? I honestly don't keep up with that stuff.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 01, 2018, 10:45:44 PM
I'd love to see it played in Louisville sometime, but the rest of the conference would go ballistic. Perhaps the Yum Center management would be more inclined to submit a bid now that Pitino and Jurich are out of the picture.
Is STL a one-shot deal, or are they scheduled to host any future tournaments? I honestly don't keep up with that stuff.
The fake math that Louisville used to finance the YUM Center has become a huge dead weight to both the city-county and the Commonwealth. With the FBI hauling off the Louisville athletic department and your governor's dropping the hammer on the arena management, the building is much less under UL's control now.
As to the SEC Tournament, it is signed for Nashville next year through 2025, with the exception of 2022 when it will be at Tampa.
It'd be hard to beat that game in Louisville last night!
I've always thought that conferences should try to use Final Four sites for conference tournaments to give their teams experience playing there and potentially an experience advantage should they make it that far. For example, the Big 12 should be playing in the San Antonio this year, the BIG in Minneapolis next year, the SEC in Atlanta in 2020, and the BIG in Indy in 2021
Quote from: hbelkins on March 01, 2018, 10:45:44 PM
Nashville, Atlanta, even Birmingham; all are logical sites for the SEC tournament. Nashville is marginally closer than Atlanta (a couple of hours) and UK's had a lot of success in Atlanta, but most of the people I've talked to who have attended tournaments in both places say they prefer Nashville for a variety of reasons.
I'd be fine with y'all sticking to Nashville. :)
(signed, an increasingly bitter alumnus of an Atlanta-based ACC school set to miss the tournament for something like the 8th year in a row)
Quote from: Eth on March 02, 2018, 01:14:24 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on March 01, 2018, 10:45:44 PM
Nashville, Atlanta, even Birmingham; all are logical sites for the SEC tournament. Nashville is marginally closer than Atlanta (a couple of hours) and UK's had a lot of success in Atlanta, but most of the people I've talked to who have attended tournaments in both places say they prefer Nashville for a variety of reasons.
I'd be fine with y'all sticking to Nashville. :)
(signed, an increasingly bitter alumnus of an Atlanta-based ACC school set to miss the tournament for something like the 8th year in a row)
Didn't stop you from beating my Wolfpack again. I'm glad Lammers graduates this year.
Quote from: Brandon on February 27, 2018, 07:38:25 PM
Go Green.
Go White.
Thank God they've got a shot at a tournament run this year. The other fan bases I've found myself around (Valpo and Iowa State) are just about done with their respective rebuilding seasons.
Quote from: SP Cook on March 02, 2018, 09:28:05 AM
The fake math that Louisville used to finance the YUM Center has become a huge dead weight to both the city-county and the Commonwealth. With the FBI hauling off the Louisville athletic department and your governor's dropping the hammer on the arena management, the building is much less under UL's control now.
Everybody knows that I'm probably the biggest supporter that former Gov. Ernie Fletcher ever had. What was done to him by the attorney general at the time was an abomination. (And because I work for the Transportation Cabinet and because I'm related to someone who figured prominently in what happened, I know a lot more about that situation than what ever got publicly reported in the press.)
That being said, the two biggest mistakes he made were moving forward with the building of that arena in Louisville (Freedom Hall was just fine as it was/is) and changing the Kentucky parkway route markers.
Back on the subject, I still don't understand why mid-major conferences like the Ohio Valley (where my alma mater plays) have tournaments. They can't be making any money playing in half-empty arenas, and TV is only going to carry the final game, not the preliminary rounds. Plus, those conferences normally are only going to get one bid, and one would think they'd want their strongest team to make the NCAA for the possibility of some upsets. However, the top seed is prone to being upset in the conference tournament, and sometimes that can result in a team with a losing record earning the right to be the 68th seed and a date with a powerhouse in the first game.
Quote from: Brandon on February 27, 2018, 07:38:25 PM
Quote from: Alps on February 27, 2018, 07:29:28 PM
Quote from: Buck87 on February 27, 2018, 12:10:24 PM
The Big Ten Tournament is being held a week earlier than normal this year so that it can be played at Madison Square Garden, and it begins tomorrow. This will be the 21st B1G Tournament, and only the 2nd not held in either Chicago or Indianapolis (last year's was held in Washington, DC.)
They said they're not going to do it again a week early. Go Blue.
It would be better to rotate it between Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, and Indy, IMHO.
Go Green.
I would add Cleveland to that list as well, although I believe the MAC has a stranglehold on Cleveland.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 02, 2018, 10:02:57 PM
Back on the subject, I still don't understand why mid-major conferences like the Ohio Valley (where my alma mater plays) have tournaments. They can't be making any money playing in half-empty arenas, and TV is only going to carry the final game, not the preliminary rounds. Plus, those conferences normally are only going to get one bid, and one would think they'd want their strongest team to make the NCAA for the possibility of some upsets. However, the top seed is prone to being upset in the conference tournament, and sometimes that can result in a team with a losing record earning the right to be the 68th seed and a date with a powerhouse in the first game.
Yeah, my least favorite part about College Basketball is the concept of the conference tournament...or at least the idea that a conference's auto bid should be the tournament champion. I always consider the regular season champion the true champion of any conference.
IMO there should be no at-large berths, as they are almost exclusively handed over to teams from major conferences. I think both the regular season and the tournament champions (or if both are the same, the tournament runner-up) should qualify. Since this adds up to 64 teams, the First Four can be scrapped altogether.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on March 03, 2018, 07:59:12 AM
IMO there should be no at-large berths, as they are almost exclusively handed over to teams from major conferences. I think both the regular season and the tournament champions (or if both are the same, the tournament runner-up) should qualify. Since this adds up to 64 teams, the First Four can be scrapped altogether.
a) What about regular season winners who also win the conference?
b) Why should two teams from a weak conference get in over three teams from a strong conference?
Quote from: Alps on March 03, 2018, 02:57:58 PM
b) Why should two teams from a weak conference get in over three teams from a strong conference?
Conferences shouldn't matter. If a team doesn't make it solely because its conference is weak (especially if it's a strong team in a weak conference), that's equivalent to discrimination. It's not as much of a problem in basketball, but in football, where only 4 teams qualify, a team can go undefeated without anyone even considering them qualifying, just because they are in a bad conference.
I don't follow college sports at all, but it just seems really unfair.
Quote from: 1 on March 03, 2018, 03:15:02 PM
Quote from: Alps on March 03, 2018, 02:57:58 PM
b) Why should two teams from a weak conference get in over three teams from a strong conference?
Conferences shouldn't matter. If a team doesn't make it solely because its conference is weak (especially if it's a strong team in a weak conference), that's equivalent to discrimination. It's not as much of a problem in basketball, but in football, where only 4 teams qualify, a team can go undefeated without anyone even considering them qualifying, just because they are in a bad conference.
I don't follow college sports at all, but it just seems really unfair.
Teams have plenty of chances to play non-conference games in the first half of the season. If they do well there, chances are they'll have a good in-conference year as well, and would probably earn a bid even if they should somehow fall in the conference tournament. If a team from a weak conference goes, say, 2-12 against non-conf opponents and then 16-2 in house for a regular season title, I still don't think highly enough of them to award them an auto berth. That's what the NIT is for.
Showing my age again, I remember when the NCAA tourney had a lot fewer teams than it does now.. The conferences were sorted geographically into the four regions, and there were a limited number of bids available for independents. In the Mideast Region, Notre Dame usually got a bid. The conferences that played in the Mideast were the SEC, OVC, Big Ten and Missouri Valley. Only the conference champion made it, and very few conferences had tournaments. A slow expansion started in the late 70s or early 80s, but they still did things geographically. At one point, the higher-seeded teams in each region got a first-round bye. The NCAA set up Kentucky and Louisville to play in 1982, with Louisville getting a bye, but Middle Tennessee from the OVC beat UK in the first-round game because UK was overlooking MTSU for U of L.
Okay, the first few auto bids are in! They are...
A-Sun: Lipscomb (First March Madness appearance!)
Big South: Radford
Big Ten: Michigan
MVC: Loyola (IL) (Ending a 33 year drought)
OVC: Murray State
I forgot to say that this year all teams (except those penalized due to APR) were eligible for the March Madness, as up to four teams have ended their transition and are can now qualify. They are Abilene Christian, Grand Canyon, Incarnate Word, and 1's College (i.e. UMass Lowell). As of now, only Grand Canyon can match Northern Kentucky's feat last year, as both Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word failed to qualify for their conference's tournament, and UMass Lowell has been eliminated (as well as Northern Kentucky, a No. 1 seed which has been surprised by Cleveland State).
I've also conducted my own Selection Sunday, one week before the official one :sombrero:. All 68 teams of my choice are now seeded, and the top 4 teams are already placed in my bracket. Once the official Selection Sunday is done I'll fill the rest of the bracket (as every other team can be literally in any of the four sides).
Update on auto-bids:
A-Sun: Lipscomb (First March Madness appearance!)
Big South: Radford
Big Ten: Michigan
MAAC: Iona
MVC: Loyola Chicago (a.k.a. Loyola (IL)) (Ending a 33 year drought)
OVC: Murray State
Southern: UNC Greensboro
I miss the posts by the road from which I was upgraded in WI :bigass:.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 03, 2018, 09:47:37 PM
Showing my age again, I remember when the NCAA tourney had a lot fewer teams than it does now.. The conferences were sorted geographically into the four regions, and there were a limited number of bids available for independents. In the Mideast Region, Notre Dame usually got a bid. The conferences that played in the Mideast were the SEC, OVC, Big Ten and Missouri Valley. Only the conference champion made it, and very few conferences had tournaments. A slow expansion started in the late 70s or early 80s, but they still did things geographically. At one point, the higher-seeded teams in each region got a first-round bye. The NCAA set up Kentucky and Louisville to play in 1982, with Louisville getting a bye, but Middle Tennessee from the OVC beat UK in the first-round game because UK was overlooking MTSU for U of L.
1976 was the first year the NCAA allowed 'At-Large' bids for conferences
1978 was the first year the NCAA started seeding the b-ball tourney (though it would be the following year, '79, that the seeding method we're familiar with started)
Update on auto-bids. I wanted Cleveland State to get the Horizon berth despite a losing record, but it didn't happen.
ASUN: Lipscomb (First March Madness appearance!)
Big South: Radford
Big Ten: Michigan
CAA: College of Charleston
Horizon: Wright State
MAAC: Iona
MVC: Loyola Chicago (a.k.a. Loyola (IL)) (Ending a 33 year drought)
NEC: LIU Brooklyn
OVC: Murray State
Patriot: Bucknell
Southern: UNC Greensboro
Summit: South Dakota State
WCC: Gonzaga
I think I'll predict a Gonzaga championship in one of my brackets this year :sombrero:.
Update (March 9): added the Patriot auto-bid, I forgot to do so yesterday.
ACC: Virginia :clap: :clap: :clap:
Today is Selection Sunday! Here are all auto-bids:
AM East: UMBS
AAC: Cincinnati
A-10: Davidson
ACC: Virginia
ASUN: Lipscomb (First March Madness appearance!)
Big 12: Kansas
Big East: Villanova
Big Sky: Montana
Big South: Radford
Big Ten: Michigan
Big West: Cal State Fullerton
CAA: College of Charleston
CUSA: Marshall (ending a 31 year drought)
Horizon: Wright State
Ivy: Penn
MAAC: Iona
MAC: Buffalo
MEAC: NC Central
MVC: Loyola Chicago (a.k.a. Loyola (IL)) (Ending a 33 year drought)
MT West: San Diego State
NEC: LIU Brooklyn
OVC: Murray State
Pac 12: Arizona
Patriot: Bucknell
SEC: Kentucky
Southern: UNC Greensboro
Southland: Stephen S. Austin
SWAC: Texas Southern
Summit: South Dakota State
Sun Belt: Georgia State
WCC: Gonzaga
WAC: New Mexico State
Too bad Grand Canyon couldn't accomplish the same feat as Northern Kentucky last year...
Here are all first appearances since 2011. Note I now refuse to recognize the 2013 March Madness as there is no official winner (so I assume it wasn't played).
2011: Northern Colorado
2012: Norfolk State, North Dakota State
2013: (No March Madness)
2014: Cal Poly, NC Central
2015: Buffalo, North Florida, UC Irvine
2016: Cal State Bakersfield, Florida Gulf Coast (first recognized by me), Stony Brook
2017: Jacksonville State, North Dakota, Northern Kentucky (on the first year of elegibility!), Northwestern (at-large), UC Davis
2018: Lipscomb
Don't forget the selection show is on TBS, not CBS.
Quote
first appearances since 2011
2011: Northern Colorado
2012: Norfolk State, North Dakota State
2013: Florida Gulf Coast - went on to become the first ever 15 seed to advance to the Sweet 16
2014: Cal Poly, NC Central
2015: Buffalo, North Florida, UC Irvine
2016: Cal State Bakersfield, Stony Brook
2017: Jacksonville State, North Dakota, Northern Kentucky (on the first year of eligibility!), Northwestern (at-large), UC Davis
2018: Lipscomb
Here's another version of the list, for those interested in the history of how things actually happened in real life as opposed to someone's weird opinion of it
Since I have struck the entire 2013 March Madness I consider no 15 seed to have reached Sweet Sixteen yet. Much like I consider the Tour de France wasn't run from 1999 to 2005.
Just because the NCAA vacated the championship doesn't mean the event didn't happen. It still happened. Louisville still won the tournament that year. FGCU still made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Just because the NCAA punishes one team doesn't strike the entire event from the history book.
On that note, I find the notion of the NCAA taking away wins as a punishment to be an extremely ridiculous concept...you can't rewrite history, folks...
A side note on the inanities of the NCAA tournament:
Georgia State will rep the Sun Belt as their tournament champion, defeating Texas-Arlington.
UTA reached the finals by upsetting Louisiana-Lafayette in the semis.
ULL had blown through the Sun Belt regular season at 26-4, with only one conference loss in the regular season (on the road at Georgia State).
However, because ULL's RPI is low because they beat no major teams, they more than likely will get shut out of an at-large NCAA bid.
The Ragin' Cajuns MBB team, though, is insured an NIT bid, because that tournament grants an automatic bid to the regular season champion of the Sun Belt if they don't make the NCAAs.
Probably won't ease the bitterness, though.
Something to make Bugo cheer: Arkansas men's basketball team has earned a No. 7 seed in the east region of the NCAA Tournament.
The Selection Show was a hot mess. Quit trying to fix things that aren't broken and go back to what works.
Quote from: HazMatt on March 11, 2018, 08:01:21 PM
The Selection Show was a hot mess. Quit trying to fix things that aren't broken and go back to what works.
This. CBS/TBS are trying to make two hours of a show out of about 45 minutes of material. And the analysts have little knowledge of basketball below the top teams, and just read out the names without the ability to say anything off-the-cuff about any of the teams. For just one example, one "pod" has WVU-Murray State and Marshall-Wichita State. Wichita State's head coach is Gregg Marshall, who Marshall passed over for the head job in favor of a coach who failed totally, and its assistant is Donnie Jones, who was Marshall HC and left the program high and dry in a pay dispute, going to UCF, where he failed totally. The winner would play, probably, WVU, which, are both in the same state and WVU refuses to play Marshall. Just one example, there are two dozen in the field like that. I doubt any of the people on TBS could tell you were any of the mid-major schools not named for states or cities are even located.
Quote from: SP Cook on March 11, 2018, 08:37:31 PM
Quote from: HazMatt on March 11, 2018, 08:01:21 PM
The Selection Show was a hot mess. Quit trying to fix things that aren't broken and go back to what works.
This. CBS/TBS are trying to make two hours of a show out of about 45 minutes of material. And the analysts have little knowledge of basketball below the top teams, and just read out the names without the ability to say anything off-the-cuff about any of the teams. For just one example, one "pod" has WVU-Murray State and Marshall-Wichita State. Wichita State's head coach is Gregg Marshall, who Marshall passed over for the head job in favor of a coach who failed totally, and its assistant is Donnie Jones, who was Marshall HC and left the program high and dry in a pay dispute, going to UCF, where he failed totally. The winner would play, probably, WVU, which, are both in the same state and WVU refuses to play Marshall. Just one example, there are two dozen in the field like that. I doubt any of the people on TBS could tell you were any of the mid-major schools not named for states or cities are even located.
Wichita State's coach also has a loudmouthed drunk wife. She really showed herself last year after UK beat Wichita State.
Okay, now time to fill the brackets! This time due to obvious reasons I'm not predicting a Middle Tennessee win.
Quote from: 1995hoo on March 11, 2018, 11:10:52 AM
ACC: Virginia :clap: :clap: :clap:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-ok_phijwNQM%2FUYTaq4JtRGI%2FAAAAAAAAA_g%2F60wfZ2u0bbU%2Fs1600%2FDwayne%2BJohnson%2BFaster.jpg&hash=5e8bbdcd386b3062d03bee19ce23a71a536d2d26)
The bracket this year is a headscratcher.
UK got screwed again, to no one's surprise.
A 5 seed after winning the tournament of what's regarded as top to bottom the toughest conference this year.
Sent to BF Idaho for the first round.
How Xavier got a 1 seed doesn't make much sense to me.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 12, 2018, 02:25:28 PM
UK got screwed again, to no one's surprise.
A 5 seed after winning the tournament of what's regarded as top to bottom the toughest conference this year.
Sent to BF Idaho for the first round.
:rolleyes: The Big 12 would like a word.
You could argue Kentucky as a 4 seed over Wichita State and Gonzaga, but honestly West Virginia has a better profile than both teams. Either way, Kentucky would have been one of the last 4 seeds and been sent out west anyway. Auburn, Arizona have better profiles regardless. Kentucky was a 6 seed going into the SEC tournament I feel and the Tennessee win bumped them up.
Quote from: Rothman on March 12, 2018, 09:08:32 PM
How Xavier got a 1 seed doesn't make much sense to me.
Having watched the Big East play, I'm gonna argue they're the best league this year. So it sounds like we're all homers.
Quote from: Alps on March 12, 2018, 11:37:55 PM
Quote from: Rothman on March 12, 2018, 09:08:32 PM
How Xavier got a 1 seed doesn't make much sense to me.
Having watched the Big East play, I'm gonna argue they're the best league this year. So it sounds like we're all homers.
That's fine, conference-wise, but I thought Providence beat Xavier twice. Reminds me of George Washington beating UMass twice when UMass had Marcus Camby and was ranked #1 through a lot of the season and as soon as they faced a big center in the tourney (Oklahoma), they fizzled. (Yes, that was a long time ago. :D)
Quote from: Rothman on March 12, 2018, 01:15:19 PM
The bracket this year is a headscratcher.
Definitely. WTF is Oklahoma doing as a 10?? Since January 13, they've won
four games, and got bounced in the first round of the Big 12 tourney. How is that even worth a bid, not to mention a pass through the First Four? I felt Oklahoma State was more worthy.
I saw Penn as a potential upset candidate as a 12 or 13. I think they're too good to be a 16. Should be a good game with KU on Thursday.
ASU & Syracuse are real headscratchers as well.
Notre Dame, without their 2 best players, beat Syracuse at Syracuse, they ended up with the same conference record, and Notre Dame advanced farther in the conference tournament, so I really don't get Syracuse in and ND out.
That said, for a team that's been to two Elite 8's in the last 3 years, I actually prefer playing a likely 3-5 games in the NIT over having a 50/50 shot of even making it to the part of the NCAA tournament where bracket picks start counting.
That was a nice win over UCLA by St. Bonaventure last night, their first NCAA tournament win since the 1970 Elite 8.
So after the first day of tournament proper, all three Pac 12 bids are gone. It has never happened before that one of the major conferences get busted out so early. Now that is something.
Also, there are no Washington DC area teams on the March Madness this year, for the first time in 40 years.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on February 27, 2018, 11:50:31 AM
It's about time! March is around the corner, and the conference tournaments have already begun. The Atlantic Sun tournament started yesterday, and four teams have already taken out from the contest for their auto berth. Today the Big South and Patriot tournaments follow suit. There are four teams that existed in 1948 that have never made it into the March Madness: Army, The Citadel, St. Francis Brooklyn and William & Mary (Northwestern was also in this list until they got an at-large berth last year). Three teams cannot make the March Madness due to failure to meet the required Academic Progress Rate: Alabama A&M, Grambling State and SE Missouri State (originally Savannah State was also banned, but they got a waiver; next year they will play their last Division I season). Finally, I now consider March Madness 2013 to have never taken place :bigass:.
I now proceed to announce the names I'll know each of the venues. As we know, I refuse to recognize naming rights as the companies who purchased them don't pay me (changed names are in bold):
First Four:
Dayton: UD Arena
First and Second Rounds:
Pittsburgh: Penguins Arena
Wichita: Sedgwick County Arena
Dallas: Mavericks Arena
Boise: BSU Pavillion
Charlotte: Charlotte Bobcats Hornets Arena
Detroit: Detroit Events Center
Nashville: Nashville Arena
San Diego: Aztec Bowl Arena
Regional Semifinals and Finals (the finals a.k.a. "quarter-finals" by me):
Los Angeles: L.A. Arena
Atlanta: Hawks Arena
Boston: Boston Garden
Omaha: Omaha Arena and Convention Center
Final Four:
San Antonio: Alamodome
I've already selected my full roster for my spoof, which consists of association football teams :sombrero:. I'll do the seeding after next weekend but before Selection Sunday, and then place the teams in the corresponding placements once Selection Sunday is done.
So you won't recognize any of the other sponsors but have no problem promoting Alamo Car Rental??
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on March 16, 2018, 06:33:02 AM
Also, there are no Washington DC area teams on the March Madness this year, for the first time in 40 years.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 27 miles from the District line says "hi". To be yet more nitpicky, so does the joint UVA-VT (even has its own Metro stop) NOVA center. But, yeah, the massive decline into irrelevance of programs like Georgetown, Maryland, and even George Mason is significant.
Quote from: cabiness42 on March 16, 2018, 08:42:14 AM
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on February 27, 2018, 11:50:31 AM
It's about time! March is around the corner, and the conference tournaments have already begun. The Atlantic Sun tournament started yesterday, and four teams have already taken out from the contest for their auto berth. Today the Big South and Patriot tournaments follow suit. There are four teams that existed in 1948 that have never made it into the March Madness: Army, The Citadel, St. Francis Brooklyn and William & Mary (Northwestern was also in this list until they got an at-large berth last year). Three teams cannot make the March Madness due to failure to meet the required Academic Progress Rate: Alabama A&M, Grambling State and SE Missouri State (originally Savannah State was also banned, but they got a waiver; next year they will play their last Division I season). Finally, I now consider March Madness 2013 to have never taken place :bigass:.
I now proceed to announce the names I'll know each of the venues. As we know, I refuse to recognize naming rights as the companies who purchased them don't pay me (changed names are in bold):
First Four:
Dayton: UD Arena
First and Second Rounds:
Pittsburgh: Penguins Arena
Wichita: Sedgwick County Arena
Dallas: Mavericks Arena
Boise: BSU Pavillion
Charlotte: Charlotte Bobcats Hornets Arena
Detroit: Detroit Events Center
Nashville: Nashville Arena
San Diego: Aztec Bowl Arena
Regional Semifinals and Finals (the finals a.k.a. "quarter-finals" by me):
Los Angeles: L.A. Arena
Atlanta: Hawks Arena
Boston: Boston Garden
Omaha: Omaha Arena and Convention Center
Final Four:
San Antonio: Alamodome
I've already selected my full roster for my spoof, which consists of association football teams :sombrero:. I'll do the seeding after next weekend but before Selection Sunday, and then place the teams in the corresponding placements once Selection Sunday is done.
So you won't recognize any of the other sponsors but have no problem promoting Alamo Car Rental??
As far as I know, the Alamodome is named after the actual Alamo, not the Almao Car Rental Company.
#MACtion with Buffalo screwing up 99% of the brackets :-D :-D
Quote from: ET21 on March 16, 2018, 10:53:31 AM
#MACtion with Buffalo screwing up 99% of the brackets :-D :-D
Including mine (well, not too badly, I only had Arizona in the Sweet 16, no farther). Though I'm more annoyed at falling just a couple minutes short of looking like a genius for taking Stephen F. Austin.
I missed six games yesterday, but fortunately Arizona was the only one of those I had winning next round anyway.
I went with all the favorites across the board in my bracket at work (w/ Nova winning it all). Usually I don't do that, but...
...for the College Football bowl series, using the list I got, which consisted of Team A vs. Team B, I picked all the Team B's. Didn't even look at the teams. I wound up tying for first place, winning half the pooled money.
So, simple worked for me once this year already!! :-)
My team's road just got a lot less bumpier. Buffalo took Arizona out, and one of Virginia's star players is out with a broken wrist. Given this year's team's youth and inexperience, anything beyond a regional semifinal is gravy.
Quote from: SP Cook on March 16, 2018, 10:05:55 AM
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on March 16, 2018, 06:33:02 AM
Also, there are no Washington DC area teams on the March Madness this year, for the first time in 40 years.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 27 miles from the District line says "hi". To be yet more nitpicky, so does the joint UVA-VT (even has its own Metro stop) NOVA center. But, yeah, the massive decline into irrelevance of programs like Georgetown, Maryland, and even George Mason is significant.
Calling UMBC "Washington, D.C.-area" is a bit of a stretch. It'd be like calling Kenosha, WI "Chicago-area."
It has finally happened....a 16 seed has taken down a 1
And it was a 20 point beatdown to boot
UMBC 74 Virginia 54
Quote from: Buck87 on March 16, 2018, 11:39:09 PM
It has finally happened....a 16 seed has taken down a 1
And it was a 20 point beatdown to boot
UMBC 74 Virginia 54
(https://m.popkey.co/f8f963/xMpkO.gif)
I woke up expecting to write up "Quinto" (the team that replaces Virginia) in my parody bracket, only to wound up writting "Mazaleon" (the one in Maryland-Baltimore County place) instead. I was like, "SERIOUSLY?". My main bracket is totally busted, as I predicted Virginia to be champion, as do my others that had VA in the Final Four (But make Villanova and Gonzaga champions respectively. Yes, I'm predicting Gonzaga to take the title :sombrero:).
Quote from: tchafe1978 on March 16, 2018, 10:49:59 AM
Quote from: cabiness42 on March 16, 2018, 08:42:14 AM
So you won't recognize any of the other sponsors but have no problem promoting Alamo Car Rental??
As far as I know, the Alamodome is named after the actual Alamo, not the Almao Car Rental Company.
This.
On the womens' side, UConn just laid 140 on St. Francis (PA). 94 in the first half. Broke the NCAA tournament single game record early in the 3rd quarter, and only 9 points less than the all-time NCAA record for any womens' game.
UVa destroyed my bracket too. Had them losing to Nova in the championship game.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 16, 2018, 01:41:00 PM
My team's road just got a lot less bumpier. Buffalo took Arizona out, and one of Virginia's star players is out with a broken wrist. Given this year's team's youth and inexperience, anything beyond a regional semifinal is gravy.
And now a Final Four appears to be destiny for UK if they don't revert back that four-game-losing-streak form.
Welp, Texas A&M knocked my Heels out. :coffee:
The South is now the first ever region to have none of its top 4 seeds advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
Who had Loyola in the Elite 8???! Cause I didn't....
Basketball season is over. All I have left is to root for Duke to lose.
Quote from: ET21 on March 23, 2018, 08:48:50 AM
Who had Loyola in the Elite 8???! Cause I didn't....
Even Sister Jean, their 98-year-old chaplain, had them losing yesterday's game because she wanted her bracket to be realistic.
Basketball season is not over. Go Blue!
Quote from: Alps on March 23, 2018, 07:56:41 PM
Go Blue!
I'll do my best. Even though I live in Massachusetts, I can campaign in competitive NH-01, which is only a few miles away from me.
Blue continues to go, and setting up a Final Four matchup with sweetheart Loyola. I already know which side of the bracket I want to win.
Quote from: hbelkins on March 23, 2018, 01:41:16 PM
Basketball season is over. All I have left is to root for Duke to lose.
Or Dook, as they are commonly called
Of my three picks to win it all, now only Villanova remains. Yet somehow I see Loyola taking the title. What a crazy South bracket has been: the top seed was already out by the Second Round, no top 4 seeds remained by the Sweet Sixteen, and no top half seeds played in the quarterfinals (I know any round of 8 as "quarterfinals" regardless of the official name). Nothing of this had happened before.
I like how the "right" semifinal is going to be what I had predicted as the Championship Game last year: Villanova vs Kansas.
Duke lost. North Carolina lost. Tennessee lost. I can live with all those outcomes.
Quote from: ET21 on March 23, 2018, 08:48:50 AM
Who had Loyola in the Elite 8???! Cause I didn't....
As a Rogers Park resident, if I'd done a bracket, I would have.
Quote from: abefroman329 on March 27, 2018, 12:42:34 PM
Quote from: ET21 on March 23, 2018, 08:48:50 AM
Who had Loyola in the Elite 8???! Cause I didn't....
As a Rogers Park resident, if I'd done a bracket, I would have.
I most certainly did not; now I'm kicking myself for having them lose in the first round. Ergo, I'll be rooting for them in the Final Four, just as I have throughout the tourney.
Quote from: Henry on March 30, 2018, 09:40:37 AM
Quote from: abefroman329 on March 27, 2018, 12:42:34 PM
Quote from: ET21 on March 23, 2018, 08:48:50 AM
Who had Loyola in the Elite 8???! Cause I didn't....
As a Rogers Park resident, if I'd done a bracket, I would have.
I most certainly did not; now I'm kicking myself for having them lose in the first round. Ergo, I'll be rooting for them in the Final Four, just as I have throughout the tourney.
But that's exactly why I DIDN'T do a bracket, because I wouldn't have done any research, and done stupid shit like have Loyola go all the way, and then I would've won my office tourney, and that's not the way to do it.
In yesterday night's exciting women's semi-finals, UConn was knocked out of the tournament for the second year in a row. Its game against Notre Dame went to overtime, as did the win by Mississippi State (the team that beat UConn in last year's semis) over Louisville.
There is some hope for women's college hoops, now that UConn's dominance is eroding.
:ded: :ded: :ded: :ded: :ded: :ded: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :verymad: :verymad: :verymad: :verymad: :verymad: :verymad: :verymad: :verymad: :verymad: :verymad: :verymad:
Feel like the last thing holding this state together just came unglued. Last year was a fluke. Now it's a pattern. Turned out to be a battle of who could puke on their shoes last, and UConn did it. Seems death and taxes (a death tax, and being taxed to death) are the only sure things left now in CT.
Last year was a fluke. This year is how it's supposed to end every year.
Nova wins their 2nd tournament in 3 years. And for the Philly area in general, their 3rd major championship victory in 3 years as well, topped with the Eagles Superbowl Victory 2 months ago.
Again, I get a great failure on my main bracket but I correctly predict the Champion on my second bracket! :-D Congratulations Nova!
This is only the third year since the women's tournament started that private universities have won both men's and women's tournaments in the same year.
1992 Duke men/Stanford women
2001 Duke men/Notre Dame women
2018 Villanova men/Notre Dame women