Saturday, March 22, 2008
Friday Night Recaps: Tampa Madness
Recaps of the Friday night games you missed while drinking......
To think, you all laughed at the picture of Dickie V’s asking if Cinderella was in
More
The
Heels waste no time fooling around with the Mount, scoring 60 points in the first half and finishing with a ridiculous 113 point total. Four of the
Oklahoma 72 Saint Joseph’s 64
In the first half, it appeared as if the Hawks left their defense back on
Tigers sleepwalk through a 24-point victory over a Texas-Arlington squad that played hard and hung around all game long. Yawn. Anyone else think that
Friday, March 21, 2008
Now THIS is Madness
See video of the great Western Kentucky buzzer beater here: Soft Pretzel Logic
After a day that lacked anything worthwhile this side of Belmont's near miss it was beautiful to see this. Easily the shot of the tournament so far and it ended a great slate of early games. Congrats Hilltoppers, you're movin' on!
And, our buddy Ted has shot some more great video for ESPN the magazine.com, as he convinced a NY freestyle rapper to create a rhyme about the NCAA tournament.
Finally, the guys at Brahsome got a nice screen cap of the absolutely dreadful Adam Morrison look, which he wore throughout the end of the Davidson/Gonzaga game, won by the Wildcats.
Friend of the site Kevin Dwire is live-blogging Arkansas-Indiana.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
STF Session Two Recap
Game of the Moment
South Region: #6
The Other Games
#6 Purdue 90, #11 Baylor 79
#4 Pitt 82, #13 Oral Roberts 63
#8 UNLV 71, #9 Kent State 58.
Might as well pile these three games together, as all of them were over by halftime.
Purdue’s victory was a textbook example of total team effort. Five players scored in double figures, and everyone who played any minutes scored at least 8 points. The Boilermakers will move on play Xavier.
For Oral Roberts, today’s lesson was from the Book of Job. After leading 3-0, and holding their own in the opening minutes, the Panthers went on a huge run and never looked back, nearly doubling up on their opponent at the half. Lavance Fields led the way with 23 points, and Pitt moves on to face
And it looks like the Stanford game is also over by halftime. Take a breather, and enjoy the night games.
STF Early Game Recap
#3 Xavier 73, #14 Georgia 61 (Final): This was the only exciting game of the first session. Georgia brought the energy early, as Sundiata Gaines and Terrance Woodbury led the Bulldogs to an eleven point lead early in the second half. But the Musketeers clamped down on defense, and went on a 18-3 run in the second half to take control of the game. A few late missed shots, free throws and turnovers sealed Georgia’s fate. It’s a shame really, as we will no longer be graced by Dennis Felton’s sense of style. Xavier survives, and will play the Purdue/Baylor winner next.
#1 Kansas 85, #16 Portland State 61 (Final): Today it was the Vikings who were pillaged. Kansas dominated this game from the tipoff, and kept it out of reach even when PSU had decent runs. Four Jayhawks finished in double figures, led by Brandon Rush’s 18. The Jayhawks will now await the UNLV-Kent State winner.
#5 Michigan State 72, #12 Temple 61 (Final): Good defense by the Spartans in this game, but Temple simply could not shoot. Nearly 75% of the Owls’ offense came from three players. None of those players were Dionte Christmas, who had just 3 points on 1-12 shooting, proving that the MSU defense is of the Festivus persuasion. Raymar Morgan had 15 on 7-9 shooting for the Spartans, who will face the Pitt-Oral Roberts winner on Saturday.
It just occurred to me that all three losing teams scored 61 points…freaky.
The Day Has Arrived
The day has finally arrived.......let the madness begin! Today, the pieces of that college hoops puzzle we have been trying to solve since November finally starts to come together. Before we get ready for tip-off and BD's live-blog, a few announcements.....
We finally have our Thursday live-blogging schedule down pat. It's going to be BD guiding you through the 12:30 and 3:00 games, and I'll be here for the 7:00 and 10:00 games. Friday is still up in the air thanks to Easter travel hampering everyone's schedule. So join us at 12:30, we'll keep you entertained in the office.
Very entertaining article by Ted in ESPN the Mag about the fun facts for the teams in action today....must read.
And there are still a few hours to join the STF Bracket Challenge
Some final predictions from the STF staff....
Marco
East Regional Champ: North Carolina
West Champ: UCLA
South Champ: Stanford
Midwest Champ: Kansas
Upset Pick You'd Love to Make But Don't Have the Balls: UC-Fullerton over Wisconsin, Mississippi State over Memphis
Team Most Likely to Bust Your Bracket: Baylor, riding the Bears to the Sweet 16
Champion: UCLA
Eric
East Regional Champ: Louisville
West Champ: UCLA
South Champ: Texas
Midwest Champ: Kansas
Upset Pick You'd Love to Make But Don't Have the Balls: George Mason over Notre Dame (C-A-A!)
Team Most Likely to Bust Your Bracket: Pitt
Champion: UCLA
Digital Headbutt
East: North Carolina
Midwest: Kansas
South: Texas
West: Connecticut
Best First Round Game: USC-Kansas State (Gonzaga-Davidson a close second)
Upset Pick: Winthrop over Washington State
Upset Picks You'd Love to Make But Don't Have the Balls: Oral Roberts
Over Pitt, or a #5 seed or lower making the Final Four
Teams Most Likely to Bust Your Bracket: Louisville, Stanford National
Championship Game: UNC vs. Texas
Champion: North Carolina
BD
East Regional Champ: Louisville
West Champ: UCLA
South Champ: Texas
Midwest Champ: Kansas
Best First Round Game: K-State-USC
Upset Pick: Butler over Tennessee
Upset Pick You'd Love to Make But Don't Have the Balls: Wazzu over UNC (Sweet 16)
Team Most Likely to Bust Your Bracket: USC
National Championship Game: Kansas-UCLA
Champion: UCLA, this has been my expectation all year. Not changing it now.
Tooch
East Regional Champ: UNC
West Champ: Xavier
Midwest Champ: Kansas
Best First Round Game: USC/Kansas State
Upset Pick You'd Love to Make But Don't Have the Balls: Belmont over Duke
Champion: North Carolina
Ted
EAST: Louisville
WEST: UCLA
SOUTH: Memphis
MIDWEST: Georgetown
Best First Round Game: ND vs. Mason will have drama
Upset Pick: All I'm saying is, Tennessee isn't making it to the Sweet 16
Team Most Likely to Screw You: UNC (when they lose to Indiana), Pitt (when everyone rides their jock)
National Championship: Louisville/UCLA
Champion: UCLA
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
The "It" Team and Upset Barameter for 2008
As most people are putting the finishing touches on their brackets and as we inch ever closer to start of March Madness (about 16 hours now), I always like to look at some the common trends that always seem to emerge in the brackets from Selection Sunday to tip-off. Just like with every year, certain teams emerge as the “it” teams are the commonplace picks to make an unexpected deep run, and certain upsets become so universally picked that they can hardly even be considered upsets by Thursday. Of course,these “ it” teams and sure-fire upsets almost always crahs and burn by Friday (Remember the buzz around Texas A&M and Maryland last season?) Here are your "it" teams and upset picks for 2008.
The “It” Teams of 2008
Pitt - You can thank Bobby Knight and the Panthers run to the Big East title for this. The Panthers seem to always make the Sweet 16 by managed to only play double-digits seeds, but this year people taking the Panthers to the Final Four in droves. They are finally healthy and have a somewhat favorable bracket in the South, but a lot of people’s brackets may be ruined by 5pm tomorrow if the Panthers fall to ORU.
Clemson - The Tigers are riding a ton of momentum following a run to the ACC finals. They open with Nova and have a possible Sweet 16 match-up with a perennially disappointing Kansas club, so a Final Four run out of the Midwest isn’t out of question. But we are weary of a team making it’s first Dance appearance since 1998.
USC - Stew Mandel has the Trojans going to the Final Four, and we can’t say that it’s a bad gamble. The Trojans are playing their best ball of the season and get a fading K-State team followed by a Wisconsin team that hasn’t seen an athletic team play since December. They could easily reach the Elite Eight and play a Kansas team they almost defeated back in December. Maybe not a bad idea to bet on the peaking Trojans.
Upset Barometers
The Commonplace Upset
Siena over Vanderbilt - Does anyone have Vandy advancing at this point? Sure, the Dores may have peaked against Tennessee, but they suddenly haven’t morphed into NJIT since then. Not since Manhattan over Florida back in 2004 have we seen a more widely predicted upset. Which most likely means Vandy wins by 35.
Saint Joseph’s over Oklahoma - Again, everyone is all over the Hawks. How they got a higher seed than Temple remains a mystery, but we like the Hawks over the injured Sooners.
Gaining Steam
Temple over Michigan State
Owls come into the dance on fire and people are just generally annoyed with the Big Ten and Michigan State. Still, no idea how Temple will react to a physical Big Ten defense. Having Gus there helps....
Oral Roberts over Pitt
Stange game here, people either have Pitt going to the Final Four or losing in the first round the a pesky ORU squad. Hell, Seth Davis has ORU in the Sweet 16. That’s ballsy
Possible Value Picks
San Diego over UConn
UConn peaked about a month ago and play a battle tested Toreroes squad that has wins over tourney teams Kentucky, SMC, and Gonzaga.
Georgia over Xavier
Look what Georgia did with no rest..... now they have four days! Completely not sold on Xavier after watching them 3+ times.
UC-Fullerton over Wisconsin
Sure, why not? Fullerton is fifth in the nation in scoring and shouldn’t a real upset pick be something out of left-field?
Owls May Be The Big 5's Best Chance, Thanks to Gus Johnson
Thankfully, the Big 5 avoided being shut out of the NCAA Tournament, surprisingly landing three teams in the Dance when landing just one team appeared bleak only a week ago. Granted, St. Joes’, Temple and Nova all got double-digits seeds, but don’t be shocked to see a Philly team pull off an upset. Temple gets a Michigan State squad that hasn’t exactly set the world on fire in the weak Big Ten, Nova is playing a Clemson squad that hasn’t played in an NCAA Tournament game since 1998 and SJU is practically favored against a bang-up Oklahoma squad.
But of all the possible Philly upsets, Temple may have received the biggest boost of all when it was announced that Gus Johnson would be announcing the first round game against the Spartans (While you're at it, you may want to take a look at ORU over Pitt in the next game). Gus always seems to be on hand for some of the biggest upsets in recent college basketball history (think UCLA-Princeton in 1996, Syracuse-Vermont in 2005, UCLA-Gonzaga in 2006, and the almost upset of Ohio State-Xavier in 2007). CBS knows what they are doing when they sent Gus to Denver, and you have to believe that plays into the Owls favor.
Brandan Wright All-Stars: Tournament Edition
It's the most wonderful time of the year. The most chaos you will see because you'll get to see some close games that will make or break a team's season. And when you see that #4 seed sweating over the final minutes (and you know who you are...Washington State!), The difference is going to be who can make their free throws. In those moments, look for these players to completely screw their teams over.
These are the Brandan Wright All-Stars of the NCAA Tournament.
EAST REGION
Center-Ronald Douglas, South Alabama
Forward-David Padgett, Louisville
Forward-Arvydas Lidzius, St. Joseph's
Guard-JP Prince, Tennessee
Guard-Matt Bauscher, Boise State
MIDWEST REGION
Center-Sasha Kaun, Kansas
Forward-Taj Gibson, USC
Forward-Marcus Morgan, Cal State Fullerton
Guard-Ray Reed, Cal State Fullerton
Guard-Cliff Hammonds, Clemson
SOUTH REGION
Center- Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State
Forward- Joey Dorsey, Memphis
Forward- Jermaine Griffin, UT-Arlington
Guard- Damion James, Texas
Guard- Luis Guzman, Temple
WEST REGION
Center- Deandre Jordan, Texas A&M
Forward- Trent Plaisted, BYU
Forward- Lance Thomas, Duke
Guard- Ty Rogers, Western Kentucky
Guard- Matt Roland, Texas A&M
STF Regional Previews: West
1 UCLA vs. 16 Mississippi Valley State (Anaheim)
If the 16 over 1 is ever going to happen this would be the most shocking one possible as the Delta Devils boast a 17-15 overall record and five 30-plus point losses to teams that either reached the dance or just missed. Including a 71-26 point drubbing in Pullman to Washington State. A team the Bruins beat twice this season in the Pac-10.
The Pick: UCLA
8 BYU vs. 9 Texas A&M (Anaheim)
The player to see here is BYU big man Trent Plaisted as he's shown this year he can get the job done against prime competition averaging a double double against this years field (MSU, L'Ville, and UNC). On the other side it's a bit of a tossup as the Aggies still lack to the go-to threat they lost when Acie Law graduated after last season. Donald Sloan tries to fill the role, but his inconsistency has been a big part of the Aggies inconsistency as a whole. If he's not hitting from the perimeter the Cougar defense will key inside and make it almost impossible for A&M to win.
The Pick: BYU
5 Drake vs. 12 Western Kentucky (Tampa)
The Hilltoppers can play with anyone as Courtney Lee is one of the nations top seniors and he can do it all. Be it shoot from outside, rebound, or break down the defense off the dribble and get to the rim. The team as a whole can score in bunches, but it's that all-too-necessary defense that seems to get in the way. I think most people know what Drake can do at this point. They're one of the country's best three-point shooting squads, yet they're most valuable player Adam Emmenecker attempted only two all season (he missed them both). He's a bit of a poor man's Steve Nash as he makes the engine go while Josh Young and Jonathan Cox light up the scoreboard. WKU can certainly beat Drake if their shots aren't falling, but I think the Bulldogs will be ready to play.
The Pick: Drake
4 Connecticut vs. 13 San Diego (Tampa)
If you're searching hard for that upset special out west this may be the one. The Toreros' Brandon Johnson is a do-it-all guard who handles the ball at all times and possess a smooth stroke from all over the court. The problem is a lack of consistent help as Freshmen Rob Jones and Trumaine Johnson aren't ready for prime time just yet. Making their WCC Tourney win that much more impressive. UCONN has an enormous defensive presence in supreme shot blocker Hasheem Thabeet alongside Jeff Adrien and A.J. Price has been fantastic running the point. Add to that a continuously improving Stanley Robinson and San Diego looks like a real long shot, but hey it's a shot.
The Pick: UCONN
6 Purdue vs. 11 Baylor (Washington D.C.)
Despite their success this year in the sloth styled Big Ten many don't seem to think Purdue is a real threat to make some noise this year. Part of that is the four freshmen they rely heavily on to get the job done and that none of their players jump out at you defensively. Their a polar opposite to their opponent across the board. While certainly not tourney experienced the Bears (last appeared in 1988) start four juniors including work horse guard Curtis Jerrells. Jerrells can score with the best guards in the country and he's got super frosh LaceDarius Dunn to help out off the bench. Factor in the pair of seven footers the Bears rotate and the defense starts to look good as well. It's a very balanced squad that goes 10 deep and relies heavily on upper class men. Hmm... smells like an upset doesn't it?
The Pick: Baylor
3 Xavier vs. 14 Georgia (Washington D.C.)
As fun to watch as the Georgia's run through the SEC tourney was to watch I'm not sure it'll translate to the big dance with Xavier sitting on the other bench. The Musketeers are loaded and just about everyone can shoot the three and play in your face defense. The big question is the teams engine Drew Lavender who's been slowed by injury recently. Leading to a pair of losses to St. Joe's over the last week, but all indications point to the semi-final tourney loss being a good thing as it gave him time to rest. If he's good to go I have little reservation about Xavier reaching the Elite 8. Remember this team gave Ohio State their toughest test of the tournament last season and they're even better this year. Stanley Burrell, the teams best defender, should give Georgia's top player Sundiata Gaines fits all day and with Gaines' tendency to force shots it doesn't look good. All that said I think this could be a tougher game for Xavier than the possible Duke match up, despite Georgia's 4 SEC regular season wins.
The Pick: Xavier
7 West Virginia vs. 10 Arizona (Washington D.C.)
While Arizona's final profile doesn't look overly spectacular they can get the job done on both ends of the floor. In large part due to the defensive emphasis interim coach Kevin O'Neil has brought to the team. Their also tested as they played the nations 2nd toughest schedule. Nearly knocking off UCLA, Memphis and Kansas (in Lawrence) this season. The biggest of their offensive cogs is freshman Jerryd Bayless who may finally get the national recognition he deserves if the 'Cats can advance. He's dropped thirty multiple times this season and looks a lot like Arizona alums Gilbert Arenas and Mike Bibby (more Bibby). With West Virginia it all starts and ends with Joe Alexander. If he gets hot their may not be anyone in the country who can slow down the versatile big man. If he can't get going though it could be a long afternoon for West Virginia as they lack a second option as strong as Arizona's Chase Budinger. All in all it looks like the definition of a pick 'em.
The Pick: Arizona
2 Duke vs. 15 Belmont (Washington D.C.)
Belmont does one thing well and that's shoot, but so does Duke and they have a solid front court that Belmont can't compete with. If Belmont is to pull the upset they'll need a shooting day for the ages and with Duke's defense I just don't think it happens. But expect Duke to have all kinds of trouble with teams like Xavier and Arizona should they advance as the Blue Devils struggle quite a bit against athletic point guards.
The Pick: Duke
Some West Region Superlatives...
Dark Horse for Final Four: Xavier
Dark Horse for Sweet 16: Arizona
Best First Round Upset: Baylor over Purdue
Best Opening Round Game: Arizona-West Virginia
Best Potential Game: UCLA-Xavier
Round of 32: UCLA over BYU, Drake over UCONN, Xavier over Baylor, Duke over Arizona
Sweet 16: UCLA over Drake, Xavier over Duke
Elite Eight: UCLA over Xavier
Regional Champ: UCLA
Get a Load of the Competition
Last year, before we started STF, Marco had his own blog called Just Call Me Juice. In his bracket pool that year, several of us bloggers went up against a penny, randomly flipped to provide incentive to pick well lest we lose to pocket change.
This year, we didn't want to repeat that feat, so we came up with a new idea. I now present the bracket chosen by my five-year-old son, Jack, who picked based on the classic "whose mascot would win in a fight" strategy.
Some notes:
- These picks were made using the only metric that a kindergartener can understand: whose mascot would win in a fight.
- Obviously, we struggled on the Duke choice. Eventually his head won out over his heart.
- One of the most difficult discussions we had was me trying to explain the difference between a bulldog and a retriever for the G'Town/UMBC game. At one point, he thought maybe UMBC's mascot was a weenie dog, so I wrote that on the bracket. Also confusing? A Hoosier. They were bound to lose to a razorback hog. In fact, to a five-year-old, the only thing cooler than a hog with razors on it is a hurricane.
- Speaking of dogs... He got quite annoyed with the number of bulldog fights he had to choose. Six teams use the bulldog as a mascot, and he got annoyed with them. Michael Vick he ain't.
- He laughed out loud when I said "OK, who would win between a Bulldog, and a Duck?" I think that's how we all feel about this one.
- Obviously, a hurricane can kick just about anybody's ass. He chose well given the criteria, even forgoing his Kansas indoctrination.
So here's the bracket. You have a short time left to join the STF Bracket Challenge if you think you can beat this action.
Coppin State Was Clearly Distracted by Erin Andrews' Butt
While we are sad to see Fang leave the NCAA Tournament so quickly, we also big fans of "The Mount" so last night's play in game was a win-win for us at STF.
A reader by the name of Jon Buck attended the Mt. St. Mary's vs. Coppin State matchup in Dayton last night, and sent us these awesome pictures of the oft-forgotten extra tournament game. Now we have an idea as to what may have distracted Coppin State down the stretch....
More play-in pictures below.....
Did I say half-full? I meant half-empty.
Thanks, Jon!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Ranking the Big East Chances in the Dance
Because someone far more relevant than me will probably live-blog the games on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (Friday I'll be sneaking out of work early to see which puns Jim Nantz can employ in his coverage of the Raleigh first-round games; Sunday I'll be drunk), I'm gonna take a stab at evaluating the Big East's 8 entrants and their chances in the Dance. Since I like building towards a stunning climax (ask your mom. Zing!), I'll go worst to first, like the '91 Twins.
Last year in the Elite Eight, what happened? His team can't score for six minutes, Tyler is completely out of the game, and the dude doesn't call a timeout? WHAT? That's good coaching? Nay. He will choke himself out of his Tournament at some point - it could even come against Indiana. DJ White on Tyler? Gordon playing to get himself a Top 4 pick? You never know.
Tennessee is a joke too. How long has Chris Lofton been in college? Did he play with Allan Houston? Remember 2 years ago when they needed a last second shot to beat Winthrop? Might happen again in their 2/15 game. My point is, Louisville - despite entering the Tournament on a down note of two straight losses - will win the East, thus advancing farther than any other Big East team.
Profit Sharing for College Hoops?
I think we all love the NCAA tournament, and most of us who read this blog would declare it to be the most exciting championship in sports. But for those of us who like a little variety, and have a lot of respect for proud programs languishing in the teens of the seeding (if they're lucky), it's worth our while to examine the economics of where the NCAA's money goes.
Fortunately, you don't have to listen to me struggle to explain it all. Lindsey Luebchow of the Higher Ed Watch Blog has followed the money trail for us, and makes a compelling argument that in order to serve their mission statement to promote collegiate athletics, the NCAA should start distributing revenue a little differently.
A little competition on a level playing field is good for the overall health of the sport, right?
[Higher Ed Watch Blog]
STF Regional Previews: Midwest
1 Kansas vs. 16 Portland State (Omaha)
Kansas is one of the most experienced and well-rounded teams in this entire tournament, so the Jayhawks should be damn thankful that they landed perhaps the easiest regional of the No. 1 seeds. The Jayhawks should have absolutely no problem disposing of Portland State.
The Pick: Kansas
8 UNLV vs. 9 Kent State (Omaha)
This game right here is the ultimate 8-9 first round matchup. Why? Because it's nearly impossible to pick. UNLV is coming off a huge upset of BYU in its conference tournament, while Kent State picked up some big wins this season against George Mason and at St. Mary's. In the end, the coin toss went the Rebels' way.
The Pick: UNLV
5 Clemson vs. 12 Villanova (Tampa)
Anybody who witnessed Sunday's gem of a game between North Carolina and Clemson has got to agree - Clemson is for real. This is a team that has somehow, someway battled with North Carolina all season long and even defeated Duke in the ACC Tourney. Look for the Tigers to make a lot of noise in the early going of the tournament.
The Pick: Clemson
4 Vanderbilt vs. 13 Siena (Tampa)
Siena provides one of the lone, true upsets of this regional. They've got a win against Stanford under their belts this season and should take advantage of a Vanderbilt team that dropped three of its final five games of the season - including two to Arkansas (Hoosiers beware!)
The Pick: Siena
6 USC vs. 11 Kansas State (Omaha)
Ahh, yes - the battle of the two best freshmen in all of college basketball, O.J. Mayo and Michael Beas(t)ley. Put that aside for a moment though. The more interesting matchup may come between Mayo and K. State's Bill Walker, who are former high school teammates. In the end, Beasley will undoubtedly turn in yet another huge performance and lead his team to victory.
The Pick: Kansas State
3 Wisconsin vs. 14 CS Fullerton (Omaha)
Like Davidson, who I'll get to in a moment, momentum will be the ultimate key for the Badgers. Wisconsin played well during the Big Ten Tournament, despite a quasi-injury to Trevon Hughes who is still struggling to find his shot. As long as Brian Butch and Michael Flowers are playing well though - and Joe Krabbenhoft is up to his usual garbage-cleaning ways - the Badgers should advance to Round 2 without breaking a sweat.
The Pick: Wisconsin
7 Gonzaga vs. 10 Davidson (Raleigh)
Forget the Houston Rockets. Nobody cares about the NBA anyway, right? Well as everybody knows by now, the Wildcats have won 22 straight. Davidson played at UCLA, at Duke and at North Carolina early in the season, and lost all three...however, they lost by just six to Duke and just four to the Tarheels. There's no question that Gonzaga is a formidable foe, but Davidson has all the momentum they need heading into this one.
The Pick: Davidson - the streak stays alive
2 Georgetown vs. 15 UMBC (Raleigh)
Everybody keeps talking about Roy Hibbert, the difference maker - and rightfully so. But Hoyas' guard Jessie Sapp - as well as the other G-Town guards - deserve some attention. Sapp and his backcourt mates will be the ultimate difference makers for the Hoyas in the tournament and could provide the extra push Georgetown needs to make a title run.
The Pick: Georgetown
Some Midwest Region Superlatives...
Dark Horse for Final Four: Clemson
Dark Horse for Sweet 16: Davidson
Best First Round Upset: Siena over Vanderbilt
Best Opening Round Game: Mayo-Beasley
Best Potential Game: Clemson-Villanova
Round of 32: Kansas over UNLV, Clemson over Siena, Wisconsin over Kansas State, Georgetown over Davidson
Sweet 16: Kansas over Clemson, Georgetown over Wisconsin
Elite Eight: Kansas over Georgetown
Regional Champ: Kansas
Monday, March 17, 2008
McCains' Late Push for President of College Basketball
We already covered our pick for the president of college hoops back in a Closer back on Super Tuesday, but can a late, swift political tactic by John McCain possibly sway our vote?
Hey! We're Experts!
Connor Ennis of the New York Times has blown our minds twice in the latter half of this basketball season, including us in his college sports-centric Quad Blog for our coverage of conference tournaments and the NCAA selection show.
Both times our little site has been linked alongside a host of national sports writers we can only hope to one day emulate. It's humbling and exciting at the same time. So, since Mr. Ennis wisely protects his privacy by withholding his email address, we'd like to publicly thank him for his support of Storming the Floor. Thanks, Connor! Drop us a line at stormingthefloor@gmail.com and we'll thank you again.
STF Regional Previews: South
STF South Region Preview
#1 Memphis vs. #16 Texas-Arlington
• UTA Mavericks are making their first trip to the NCAA tournament.
• Mavs got here by playing schools named Schriener, Hardin Simmons, and Texas-Permian Basin.
• Memphis has gone 8-1 against other teams who made the Dance.
The Pick: Memphis
#2 Texas vs. #15 Austin Peay
• Longhorns have beaten top-seeded tourney teams Tennessee, UCLA, and Kansas this season.
• One of the teams they lost to, Michigan State, is in this bracket. WEVENGE!!!
• Peay is loaded with upperclassmen, and led by wily coach Dave Loos (18 years at AP). The Govs ran up 82 points against bracket-mate Memphis this season, but yielded 104 on the other end.
The Pick: Texas
#3 Stanford vs. #14 Cornell
• Cornell drew the first NCAA bid this season by going 14-0 in the Ivy League.
• The Big Red have their own giant in seven-foot St. Bonaventure transfer Jeff Foote, but they drew a school that puts both 7’ Lopez brothers on the floor at the same time.
• Neither team scores in bunches, so this could be like watching a Teddy Bear climb a Tree for forty minutes.
The Pick: Stanford.
#4 Pittsburgh vs. #13 Oral Roberts
• Pitt began the season on an eleven-game winning streak. If they can finish it the same way (five and counting as of today), they’ll have a snazzy new trophy for their case.
• The Panthers tore through three ranked and higher-seeded teams to take the Big East tournament auto-bid.
• Oral Roberts hasn’t fared too well against power-conference teams this season, losing to tournament-bound Texas A&M, Arkansas, and Texas in the early season.
The Pick: Pitt.
#5 Michigan State vs. #12 Temple
• The Spartans are an enigma this season. They scored just 36 points at Iowa in January, then hung 103 on Indiana in March. Lord knows which team shows up.
• Everybody knows Drew Neitzel, but Sophomore Raymar Morgan is Michigan State’s most prolific scorer (14 ppg) and rebounder (6.3 rpg).
• It’s Christmas time in Philly, as local hero Dionte Christmas has racked up a 20-point-plus scoring average this year and can bomb from deep. But the gifts are also coming from another local, Mark Tyndale, who dishes out 4.2 assists per game.
The Pick: Temple
#6 Marquette vs. #11 Kentucky
• Freshman sensation Patrick Patterson was averaging over 35 minutes per game for the Wildcats before suffering a stress fracture that has shelved him for the postseason.
• Marquette’s tallest player is Ousmane Barro, a 6’10” Senegalese who averages 5 points per game, just over one block per game, and has five fouls to give.
• Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie hasn’t had to remove a flaming bag of dog poop from his front porch since February’s blowout loss to Vanderbilt. So that’s nice.
The Pick: Marquette
#7 Miami vs. #10 St. Mary’s
• Hurricane fans are really hoping we won’t have to see that (FL) thing any more, since Miami (OH) didn’t make it to the tournament.
• Aussie Patrick Mills gets all the press, but St. Mary’s is loaded, with Diamon Simpson scoring (13 ppg) and rebounding (9 rpg), Omar Samhan clogging the lane, and Todd Golden playing the role of annoying white jump-shooter.
• Picked to finish last in the ACC this year, Miami instead knocked off tournament teams Duke and Clemson en route to a 22-win season.
The Pick: St. Mary’s
#8 Mississippi State vs. #9 Oregon.
• Why I’m Warming Up to Oregon: I have my reasons.
• Tyler Hansbrough’s younger brother Ben plays for the Bulldogs. Isn’t that cute?
• Mississippi State’s tenacious rebounding is, well, Bulldog-esque. Jamont Gordon, Charles Rhodes, and Jarvis Varnado have each notched double-figure rebounding games this season.
The Pick: Mississippi State
Predictions
Second Round: Memphis gets past the Bulldogs. Temple succumbs to Pitt. Stanford dominates inside to get past Marquette. Texas handles St. Mary’s.
Sweet 16: Pitt continues to surprise by taking down Memphis. Texas ekes out enough offense against Stanford’s elite D to move on.
Regional Final (Elite Eight) Prediction: Texas vs. Pitt, with the Longhorns heading to the Final Four, where they party like it’s 2003.
Regional MOP: D.J. Augustin.
Not So Dark Secret: Herb Sendek Is Slightly Miffed at the NCAA Selection Committee
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
The wretched buffoons...how could they pick the Wildcats over ME?!? I will get my revenge yet, just like I did with those swamp mutts!
STF Regional Previews: East
STF Regional Preview: East Region
1 North Carolina vs 16 Coppin State/Mount Saint Mary’s (Raleigh)
Instead of the play-in game, shouldn’t we just combine both Coppin State and Mount Saint Mary’s and let them play with 10 guys against UNC’s five? Wouldn’t that be a blast? We’ll support anything that keeps Fang Mitchell in the tournament.
The Pick: North Carolina
8 Indiana vs 9 Arkansas (Raleigh)
Man, the Dakich era is off to a rousing start, isn’t it? Since taking over for Kelvin Sampson on February 3rd, the Hoosiers have lost to the likes of Minnesota and Penn State, slipping all the way to an #8 seed. Still, we like Eric Gordon to go off for at least one big tournament game before his IU career ends this weekend.
The Pick: Indiana
5 Notre Dame vs 12 George Mason (Denver)
This game looks like it has the potential to be the trendy upset pick of the year (along with Siena over Vandy). The Cinderella Patriots, playing in the traditional 12-5 upset game, get to play an Irish squad that can look very ordinary outside of South Bend. Mason also has an experienced big man in Will Thomas that can possibly shut down Gody. Yeah, we’re going with the Irish too. We’ll save the upset pick for Siena.
The pick: Notre Dame
4 Washington State vs 13 Winthrop (Denver)
Washington State got a very favorable #4 seed for a club that doesn’t have an impressive win since beating USC on February 9th. Don’t get me wrong, we love the rec-team-looking Cougars as much as the next guy, but they got a huge break by the committee. This Winthrop team isn’t as talented as the one that defeated ND last year, but they do have a victory over Miami (FL), which has to mean something. Look for this one to go down to the wire in a low-scoring affair.
The pick: Washington State close
6 Oklahoma vs 11 Saint Joseph’s (Birmingham)
Ah yes, another upset that everyone will have penciled in. An experienced Hawk team gets a break by drawing an inexperienced and beat-up Sooner club. Hawks will pull this one out as long they remember that they play 40 minutes in college basketball, not 38.
The pick: Saint Joseph’s
3 Louisville vs 14 Boise State (Birmingham)
The Cards dropped to a #3 seed after an early exit in the Big East tournament and now must face another wacky sports team from Boise State. Much like their trick-play loving football counterparts, the Broncos made the Dance by defeating New Mexico State 107-102 in triple overtime. Still, don’t expect any Fiesta Bowl miracles here. The WAC was terrible this season and Statue of Liberty plays will often result in a traveling violation in basketball.
The pick: Louisville
7 Butler vs 10 South Alabama (Birmingham)
The first of three mid- major contests features a Butler team that should feel slighted by a low seeding and a South Alabama squad that got very favorable seeding for a team that just lost at home to Middle Tennessee State. The Bulldogs may be lacking in the quality wins department, but the leadership of A.J. Graves, inside game of freshman Matt Howard and overall awesomeness of Philly product Mike Green should put Butler over Team USA.
The Pick: Butler
2 Tennessee vs 15 American (Birmingham)
I know that Tennessee probably has more athleticism between its team managers than AU, but I think that the Eagles can keep it close for awhile at the very least. AU ranks 6th in nation in three point shooting and can stay in the game if they can control the tempo. Those are all very big ifs, but it would be enjoyable to see an enraged Bruce Pearl rip his shirt off.
The pick: Tennessee
Some East Region Superlatives…
Dark Horse for Final Four: Louisville
Dark Horse for Sweet 16: Butler
Best First Round Upset: Winthrop over Washington State
Best Opening Round Game: Butler-Team USA
Best Potential Game: Tennessee-Louisville
Round of 32: North Carolina over Indiana, Notre Dame over Washington State, Louisville over Saint Joseph’s, Butler over Tennessee (had to pick at least one freakin’ upset)
Sweet 16: North Carolina over Notre Dame, Louisville over Butler
Elite Eight: North Carolina over Louisville
Regional Champ: North Carolina
Sunday, March 16, 2008
STF Selection Sunday Instant Analysis: Seeds, Snubs and Superlatives
This feels a little bit like that moment after the State of the Union address, when a member of the opposition party comes on the screen and does a point-by-point rebuttal of the speech. Except that we at STF look a lot better than that guy Fred Thompson who rebutted the SOU as a Senator, and then went on to play the District Attorney on Law & Order.
Best Game: #7 Gonzaga vs. #10 Davidson. It’s like hoops evolution. The upstart mid-major of yesteryear gets a taste of their own medicine by facing the upset-minded new guys.
Seeded Too High: Oregon, who many think shouldn’t have been in at all, got a 9 seed in the South. Ernie Kent is on his 8 1/2th life.
Seeded Too Low: Wisconsin gets a #3 seed after winning the Big Ten. Clemson also has a gripe after coming up just short in the ACC.
Who Got Screwed: Butler has to play South Alabama in Birmingham. Tennessee got the #2 seed in UNC’s bracket despite being considered worthy of a #1 seed themselves. Arizona State doesn’t make the tournament at all, while Baylor, who lost in the first round of the Big 12 tournament to horrible Colorado, get in.
Toughest Region: The East. UNC, Tennessee, Louisville, Notre Dame, Washington State. That’s a lot of good basketball very early.
Easiest Road to the Elite Eight: Duke.
#1 Seed Most Likely to Miss the Final Four: Memphis. C’mon, they won Conference USA, for chrissakes. They played #7 seed Tulsa to win their tournament. No way.
Best Televised Reaction Shot: West Virginia’s high-stepping, track-suited celebration was made for TV. And just so Bob Huggins. We must ignite this couch!
Worst: Memphis looked flat-out bored.
Basketball State: The state sending the most teams to the Big Dance is California. San Diego, UCLA, Stanford, USC, Saint Mary’s College, Cal State Fullerton.
First Timers: UMBC, Portland State, American University, Texas-Arlington
Least Likely tournament teams: Coppin State - first team in with 20 losses. Georgia - played through wrath of god and absolute worst seed they could have to take the SEC.
Hot Trend: Mid-major vs. Mid-major. Gonzaga-Davidson, Western Kentucky-Drake, South Alabama-Butler. Gotta go through someone your own size to get your heavyweight shot this year.
Best Game Filled With “The Hills”-Style Drama: #6 USC vs. # 11 Kansas State. Beasley on Mayo. Two teams that underachieved a bit this year and we know for certain that one of them will get into the second round.
Upset Game Everyone Will Jump At But Won't Happen: George Mason over Notre Dame. This is not the same team that made the Final Four run. But they do have name recognition.
Game You Can Get Work Done During: Wisconsin vs. Cal State-Fullerton. I’m snoozing just thinking about it.
Potential Match-up CBS is Praying For: #1 UNC vs. #8 Indiana. Two all-time programs with enormous fan bases. Even casual fans will find something to like about this matchup.
MENSA game: #3 Stanford vs. #14 Cornell. If we substitute SAT scores for baskets, this could be one hell of a game.
By Extra P and Marco
And yeah, now would be an excellent time to sign up for the STF Bracket challenge if you haven't already
Let’s get this party started!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Auto-Bid Watch: Championship Week
From here on out, Auto-Bid Watch will be a running tally of who's in and who's out of the auto-bid picture. I'll be tracking who makes each conference tourney, and who's been knocked out, every day.
We'll start our sojourn with the leagues that will crown a champion on March 8th (or before), and add more leagues as they get going. Teams are ranked according to seed. I'll also be keeping a running tally of bids won in the header so you don't have to scroll if'n you don't want to.
In: Cornell (Ivy), Winthrop (Big South), Belmont (Atlantic Sun), Austin Peay (Ohio Valley), Drake (Missouri Valley), George Mason (CAA), Siena (MAAC), San Diego (WCC), Butler (Horizon), Davidson (SoCon), Oral Roberts (Summit), Western Kentucky (Sun Belt), Mount St. Mary's (NEC), Portland State (Big Sky), American University (Patriot), UMBC (AEC), Memphis (C-USA), Temple (Atlantic 10), UNLV (Mountain West), Kent State (MAC), Mississippi Valley State (SWAC), Coppin State (MEAC), Pittsburgh (Big East), Boise State (WAC), Cal State Fullerton (Big West), Texas-Arlington (Southland), North Carolina (ACC), Kansas (Big 12), Georgia (SEC), Wisconsin (Big Ten), Georgia (SEC)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
ACC Championship - March 16
2. Kansas
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
This game is being live-blogged by Friend of STF Kevin Dwire at SI.com
Big 12 Championship - March 16
W1.
E2.
W2.
E3.
W3.
E4.
W4.
E5.
W5.
6W.
6E. Georgia
SEC Championship - March 16
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. Illinois
11.
Big Ten Championship - March 16
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. Pitt
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Big East Championship - March 15
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Pac-10 Championship - March 15
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
C-USA Championship - March 15
2. UNLV
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
MWC Championship - March 15
2.
3. Cal State Fullerton
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Big West Championship - March 15
2. Temple
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
A-10 Championship - March 15
2.
3.
4. Boise State
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
WAC Championship - March 15
2. Mississippi Valley State
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
SWAC Championship - March 13
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. Texas-Arlington
8.
Southland Championship - March 15
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
MAC Championship - March 15
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. Coppin State
8.
9.
10.
11.
MEAC Championship - March 15
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Patriot League Championship - March 14
2.
3.
4. Mount St. Mary's
5.
6.
7.
8.
NEC Championship - March 12
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Big Sky Championship - March 12
2.
3. Western Kentucky
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
Sun Belt Championship - March 11
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Summit League Championship - March 11
2.
3. San Diego
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
WCC Championship - March 10
2.
3.
4.
5.
7.
8.
9.
10.
CHECK OUT STF FRIEND KEVIN DWIRE'S LIVE-BLOG OF THE GAME ON SI.COM
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
SoCon Championship - March 10
1. Butler
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Horizon Championship - March 11
1.
2.
3. George Mason
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
CAA Championship - March 10
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
AEC Championship - March 15
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Valley Championship - March 9
1. Belmont
2. Jacksonville
3. Stetson
4. East Tennessee State
5. Lipscomb
6. Gardner-Webb
7. Mercer
8. Campbell
Atlantic Sun Championship - March 8
1. UNC-Asheville
2. Winthrop
3. High Point
4. Liberty
5. VMI
6. Coastal Carolina
7. Radford
8. Charleston Southern
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Ohio Valley Championship - March 8
Cornell-regular season champ as of 3/1
The Bracket is Looming
We are now under 30 minutes until the bracket are revealed. Seriously, it's here. Check back in here right after some very instant analysis from myself and Eric of just went down in bracketville.
Selection Sunday Madness
We have come a long way since camp opened on October 12th, but today, we reached a pinnacle of sorts in college basketball. Today is Selection Sunday, the greatest sporting event that doesn't involve any sort of game. For those 10% of college hoop fans (including most of you of STF fans) who follow the sports from start to finish, today is the day that many pieces of that year long puzzle star to finally come together. Today is the days of drama, broken dreams and renewed promise. Today, we celebrate Selection Sunday, one of the few days each year that has me feeling like an 8-year-old at Christmas every single year. And the madness we have already seen in Indianapolis and Atlanta, I'm sure that we are in for a spectacular March
Portrait of a Floor Stormin': Cal-Fullerton
Second bid in 30 years? Yeah, I'd be on the court as well. Nice to see a baseball school with some hoops success. Congrats Titans!
Portrait of a Floor Stormin': UMBC
We here at STF have been on the Golden Retriever bandwagon since November, so watching UMBC finally make the dance is like watching your child go off the school for the first time. Congrats UMBC!
Portrait of a Floor Stormin': Temple
We certainly enjoyed this one since we were basically smack dab in the middle of it. Pics soon to follow. Christmas time in March! Congrats Owls!
