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March Madness: The Brackets

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Off Topic
Posted on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 05:45:03 PM EST
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The brackets.

The number one overall seed is the defending champions Florida Gators. Other number 1s were Ohio State, Kansas and surprisingly for me, North Carolina.

UCLA has a beef is you ask me.

Most dangerous 2, imo, Georgetown. 2 most likely to have an early exit? Sorry, TChris, the Badgers of Wisconsin.

Early dark horse (defined as 5 seed or lower?)? I dunno. None that I can see. Let me think some more. Ok, gun to my head - Southern Cal.

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    March Madness: The Brackets | 29 comments (29 topical)

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    Duke is my darkhorse. (5.00 / 2) (#3)
    by cal11 voter on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 06:40:44 PM EST
    I'll be rooting for the Pac-10 teams.  UCLA's draw looks pretty good.

    Duke - darkhorse (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 08:24:43 PM EST
    Not often a sentence one will see.

    Parent
    Watch out for UNLV (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Dadler on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 07:08:28 PM EST
    That's a dark horse with a much lower seeding than they deserve.  What are they, a 7?  Nonsense.  Lon Kruger has now taken four different teams to the tourney.  And I think this is the year the Pac-10 asserts itself as a premier tourney conference.  But I'll probably eat my words.  Hope not.

    Still, I'm a UC boy by degree, so I gotta pull for the Bruins, although I'm looking at them being set up for a revenge upset at the hands of a dehyped Gonzaga.

    And Winthrop will beat Notre Dame, finally winning a game in the tournament.

    College hoops is the sh*t.  Makes the NBA look like a bunch of loafers.

    Lon Kruger (none / 0) (#12)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 08:09:16 PM EST
    former Gator Coach

    Parent
    And I may be going to my first NIT game (5.00 / 2) (#5)
    by Dadler on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 07:11:45 PM EST
    Since San Diego State underperformed all year, didn't make the NCAAs, and now only has the Not Invited Tournament to play for.  

    Oh well, if there's hoop to watch, I'll be in the arena.

    Peace y'all.

    You're like me (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 08:08:39 PM EST
    Love the hoops.

    Parent
    #6 Seed for Vandy a gift (5.00 / 2) (#7)
    by Slado on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 07:33:35 PM EST
    Can't believe we got a #6 seed and get a chance to go through GW and Washington State to make the sweet sixteen.

    I couldn't have asked for more now we just have to TCB.

    Gators are the clear favorite with all 5 starters back from last year, that being said no team in this field is dominate like most years so I consider it wide open.

    Can't wait for the play in game!

    Go Dores!

    That is an easy draw (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 08:05:05 PM EST


    Parent
    Darkhorse? (5.00 / 2) (#8)
    by Walter in Denver on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 07:51:08 PM EST
     Nevada as a 7 seed has a fine team and a chance to advance.

    Good pick (5.00 / 1) (#9)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 08:04:36 PM EST


    Parent
    The Frauds (5.00 / 2) (#16)
    by surfmonkey89 on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 01:09:09 AM EST
    Hey everyone,

    Gonzaga grad here. I doubt you have much to fear from us this year: we're rebuilding and our top big man is suspended due to getting caught with weeds and 'shrooms in his backpack....

    I do think there are a number of frauds this year though, due to the fact that the committee continues to overvalue BCS conferences and undervalue mid-majors.

    I believe that this year, as usual, the Pac 10, Big 10 and Big East are overrated. The Pac 10 is full of mediocre teams that can't win on the road, so I question whether they can win at a neutral site. UCLA and WSU are in trouble imo, and WSU could be one and done if they're not careful. UCLA will probably make the Sweet 16 due to their cupcake bracket, but they won't be in the FF this year.

    Georgetown, Pitt, Wisconsin, Oregon, USC...see ya, wouldn't want to be your alumni.

    The teams to beat this year are Florida, OSU and Kansas, and the dark horses are Virginia, Memphis, Texas A&M and Texas. I'd put Nevada in there but they just lost one of their best players to a hamstring injury suffered by slipping on a corporate logo on the court (no joke).

    I don't see a midmajor surprising anyone this year.

    That's my $.02.

    Watch out for the Longhorns..... (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by kdog on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 09:40:55 AM EST
    Durant's game is sick...you can only hope to contain him.  I think they will give NC a helluva game in the Sweet 16.

    No St. Johns...again. Always next year:)

    As much as I hate to say it (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by peacrevol on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 10:17:15 AM EST
    being a Texas A&M former student, you aint lying. That t.u. team is good. Kevin Durant scored 37 against Kansas and was a no-brainer all Big XII tourney player. But, find an answer for him and keep him under 30 pts and Texas can be beat. Texas Tech got a bid and should not have in my opinion. OKstate is a better team, but tech slipped up and beat Kansas and Texas A&M(x2), but in the rest of the conference games, they were 7-10 against the rest of the conference counting the Big XII tourney. Kansas State routed tech in their first game of the tourney and then lost to Kansas in the next round.

    OKstate beat Texas, Texas A&M, Pitt and Syracuse and split with tech. IMHO, there are two teams, just from the Big XII that deserved a bid more than tech and didnt get one - OKstate and Kansas State. I cant help but think they got a bid b/c their coach is a**hole bob.

    Parent

    Good points.... (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by kdog on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 01:47:58 PM EST
    Texas has their weaknesses (young team, undersized team) but Durant is the one player in this years tourney, imo, capable of carrying his team.  Like Carmelo and Syracuse a few years back.

    Whoever wins the NBA Lottery this year is getting a very very special player.  I think he's a lot better than Oden.

    Parent

    A&M (none / 0) (#23)
    by glanton on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 02:42:20 PM EST
    It's been one helluva ride this year, no?  I really worry about foul trouble with them, though.  Jones makes so many dumb fouls.  Then I think, sort of like Southern Illinois, A&M gets punished by referees for their hyper aggressive defensive play.  Ticky-tack fouls really hurt them.  But if they can keep their magical five on the floor they really will be hard to deal with.

    And, we really need Donald Sloan to emerge as a "diaper dandy" next week.  If he puts up some numbers and helps keep Kirk and Law fresh, then true scariness will be afoot.

    Parent

    UT & Texas AM (none / 0) (#25)
    by Slado on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 04:36:14 PM EST
    both have a great shot to make the final 4.   I have UT in my final four and TA&M in my final 8.   I stayed up late watching their multiple overtime game the other day and it was worth every yawn the next day because Durant is a once in a life time talent and Law is the ultimate guard that every team wishes they had.

    Parent
    Slado (none / 0) (#27)
    by glanton on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 05:01:12 PM EST
    Great descriptions of both Law and Durant.

    I am a Longhorn hater but there's no getting around the sheer pleasure of watching Durant play basketball.  Just imagine what he will be like shen he is a little more experienced.  I have watched a lot of u.t. games and Durant's one flaw right now is that late in the game, if it's close, he'll sometimes do something very reckless, and cost the team a key possession.  In a very short amount of time however he'll be a very solid decision maker.  And the talent is, shall we say, Lebron-esque.

    Now Law, he reminds me a great deal of Billups.  Big, strong, almost impossible to "flap"--indeed, he's as cold-blooded as they come when it's time to take a big shot.  He will be drafted in June, somewhere in the middle to late first round perhaps.  And it is no stretch to imagine Law at the end of his career with a handful of championship rings.  Can A&M do it in his last hurrah as a collegian?  It's asking a lot.  My placement of them in the Final Four is based more on Love than Reason.  There are times when scoring for them makes pulling teeth look easy.  

    One final note.  Your pick of t.u. in the Final Four I think is very smart.  Abrams and Augustine are very, very good, and their blue-collar bangers are starting to step up as well.  I am taking a huge risk bouncing them in the first round.  Biggest reason is luck, who they were slated to play.  Reggie Theus seems to have all the trappings of the new rising star in the world of coaching, destiny may be his against the Horns.  

    Also as a bracketologist you have to take some risks to differentiate yourself from your friends, so that if you get it right you can rub all their noses in it.  It's a lot of fun to predict a huge upset and then get it right, and brag over cold Coors Lights as if you really knew what you were talking about.

     

    Parent

    Good points glanton (none / 0) (#28)
    by Slado on Tue Mar 13, 2007 at 08:43:51 AM EST
    As for the brackets I've determined it's blind luck.   Who would have predicted last years final four?

    In 2003 I got every first round game correct and only one 2nd round game incorrect and I still lost my pool because in the sweet 16 I lost 6 out of 8 games and eventually only had 2 teams in the final four and no teams in the finals.

    If you pick 3 of the 4 final four teams and get the winner right you will probably win your pool (unless it's really big).

    My advice is to look at what teams are most likely to weed their way through the feild to the final four and not worry about picking the one 5/12 winner that will make you look smart but won't help you pick the final four.  

    Or give your bracket to your 5 year old and let them pick um.

    Parent

    Hell yeah (none / 0) (#29)
    by peacrevol on Tue Mar 13, 2007 at 09:32:24 AM EST
    If we could've just gotten Durant to go with Law, we'd be a real force to be reconed with...and I must say...though my Ags lost that game, it was quite possibly the best game I've seen, ever. Twice Law hit threes to tie it up and send it to overtime at the buzzer. It doesnt get much better than that.

    Glanton, you're right. Jones seems to LOVE to get into foul trouble. Makes me want to pull my hair out, but the joke's on him, I dont have any hair! But the Aggies have lots of depth, and they just seem to wear teams down late in the game.

    I dont think t.u.(texas university) is a good pick for the final 4 b/c they'll have to get through UNC to get there and UNC is tough. We've got one extremely big obstacle in our path to the final four too. We'll most likely have to get through Ohio State to get there, unless somebody slips up and beats them first...Gig 'Em Tennessee, huh? I'd much rather play Tennessee in the elite 8 than Ohio State, that's for damn sure. I'm so excited I could eat a horse...Wait, is that the right expression? Whatever, I'm excited!!!!!

    Final 4 Picks - Texas A&M (I have to), UNC, Florida, Kansas. National Champs - effing Florida will probably run the table this year as they did in football. But I'll be yelling for my beloved Ags the whole time. Gig'Em

    Parent

    Also, BTD (5.00 / 1) (#24)
    by glanton on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 02:50:45 PM EST
    You say UCLA has a beef, buyt answer me this.  What do the four #1 seeds have in common?  They all won their conference tournaments.

    And then there's no way you can maintain that UCLA played the kind of schedule UNC did this year.  Not that UCLA didn't play some people--A&M, Florida, West Virginia really stand out as quality opponents.  But in conference it's not really that close.  

    All that being said, I think if the Bruins hadn't folded in the very first round of their tourney, that the committee would have given them the #1 seed anyway.  Or at leats they would have been a lot more likely.

    Still, if you're a Bruin fan, don't fret.  They're in a very unstable region and Kansas and Pitt are both very very beatable.  You guys can get there if you can avoid one of those infamous. Howland-esque, 8 or 9 minute scoring droughts.  

    :-)

    Thanks for posting on this by the way.  

    UCLA is fine... (none / 0) (#26)
    by Slado on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 04:42:49 PM EST
    they don't have to play a game outside the state of California to make the final four.

    #1 and #2 seeds are irrevelant in this tournament.     Either way you play a great team in the Great 8 to make the final 4 if the seedings play out.

    Remember last year two #3's a #2 (UCLS) and a #11 made the final four.  

    Parent

    Something is unbalanced in your life... (none / 0) (#1)
    by dell on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 05:51:15 PM EST
    ...when you get your brackets from a political blog!
    ;-))

    Thanks!

    Heh (none / 0) (#15)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 08:25:41 PM EST


    Parent
    Who Cares? (none / 0) (#2)
    by Rich on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 06:34:16 PM EST
    With all that's going on in the world could anything be less important than "March Madness". Even the Superbowl seems more relevant, or at least less time consuming.

    I did a fellowship at Indiana University (Indiana--xenophobia central, where basketball is "Hoosier Madness") during on e of their championship seasons. The time really taught me how corrupt college sports could be---the college prexie stood up to Bobby Knight once and then never again. The students did not have a decent place to play basketball, themselves. The perennial awful football team had a new stadium. Enough.

    Why should anyone care? (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by Dadler on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 07:15:55 PM EST
    Because like Woody Allen said in Annie Hall (as Alvie Singer, of course): "Because it's physical, and it's very beautiful to watch."  

    Parent
    WHAT? (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by peacrevol on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 09:58:58 AM EST
    Absolutely nothing could be more important than march madness. It's 65 of the greatest college basketball teams in the nation playing for that one place atop them all in the middle of the bracket. It's a time when repub/demo status is less important than texas/texas a&m or duke/nc. For the next two weeks and some change, the world spins a little slower as the sports fans of the world gather with their closest of friends and foe and grab some freshly popped popcorn, an ice cold beer, and a hot dog to then focus their attention spans on the hardwood floors, orange rings of iron, and a bouncy oval ball.

    As for corruption, remember, it's just a game. :)

    Parent

    OH AAAAAND...... (none / 0) (#19)
    by peacrevol on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 10:00:13 AM EST
    GIG EM AGGIES!

    Parent
    Well (none / 0) (#14)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Sun Mar 11, 2007 at 08:25:27 PM EST
    NOw we know you won't care.

    Very meaningful to me.

    Parent

    Brackets under development (none / 0) (#22)
    by glanton on Mon Mar 12, 2007 at 02:38:58 PM EST
    Do not hold me to this, it's subject to change until I submit it to my local pool.  :-)

    But for now, my Final Four is Fla; UNC; A&M; and . . . . wait for it . . . . Southern Illinois.  I went crazy in the West just because I've seen a lot of Kansas games this year and they're great, but also highly vulnerable.  And Pitt, I love Jamie Dixon but their giant version of Ashton Kutcher just isn't going to carry them that far.  UCLA, overrated, like the rest of the PAC-10 this year.  

    I've got Carolina winning it all, there's bias there on my part both for them and A&M however.  God knows A&M has several weaknesses, primarily in the area of foul trouble and a tendency to rely to much on Law.  But their defense is just incredible, all five starters are stellar at defense and folks, if you haven't watched Dominique Kirk get inside somebody's shirt and frustrate the hell out of them I highly reccomend you check it out.  And then of course, Carolina may have the most talent but at times they seem even lazier than FEMA.

    The biggest upset I have on my board at the moment (other than SIU going to the Final Four that is) is New Mexicso State taking out Durant and company in Round 1.  I know that the Horns are playing stellar, and Durant is on another level, but Reggie Theus will have his team totally dialed in come Friday.

    Back to you, BTD....

    March Madness: The Brackets | 29 comments (29 topical)

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