B1G/NCAA basketball

[The Oracle]

Plenty of talk of all those other 3 "upsets" happening too. Tulsa is the one I hope/don't wanna see. I got UCLA making a run.

[entropy]

I wish more "experts" were picking baylor for that reason... Baylor sees/hears it as well

[The Oracle]

Baylor is a team I can't figure out. I usually hate them, you can't ever trust them. They've been playing well down the stretch though. Usually I'd pick Nebraska 10 times out of 10, but not sure I can do that this year the way they been playing. I think they have a little too much size for Nebby too.

[entropy]

their size worries me. They're athletic, but i'm not sure how good of a basketball team they really are...

i expect them to play a lot of zone and force UNL to take jump shots. not sure Nebraska can win without getting some penetration baskets..

[The Oracle]

their size worries me. They're athletic, but i'm not sure how good of a basketball team they really are...

i expect them to play a lot of zone and force UNL to take jump shots. not sure Nebraska can win without getting some penetration baskets..

That's usually whey I think they're shitty. This year just seems different. Who knows, maybe they're fooling me.

[entropy]

I really just want one win..... just one... =)

[Cody_Russell]

I think either Dayton beats Ohio State or Stephen F Austin beats VCU. I can't decide which one lol....

[Cody_Russell]

I think Baylor is losing in the 1st round. There is always that high seed 10/11/12 loss team that loses.

[entropy]

some interesting stats:

In the NCAA Tournament, there are 38 Illinois-born players and 20 from Indiana. Neither state has a school in the big dance.

In nine seasons under Matt Painter, 15 players have left the #Purdue program with eligibility remaining.

[The Oracle]

That is interesting....

[hack]

Purdue should never be this bad with that amount of instate talent.

[Cody_Russell]

LOL everyone is picking Cinci to be upset by Harvard and Oklahoma to be upset by ND State.

Not happening because of the media.

[hack]

Reading Nate Silver with interest:

Preseason rankings provide some estimate of each team’s underlying player and coaching talent. It’s a subjective estimate, but it nevertheless adds some value, based on our research. This benefits Louisville, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State and other teams that slightly underachieved expectations but that have the skill to make a deep run.

That's not a full on ``watch the games you idiot'' kind of statement, but OSU and Kentucky did not slightly underachieve. Frankly in Kentucky's case the bombed, and in OSU's, well, IMO those expectations were silly to begin with because they lost DeShaun Thomas and replaced him with nothing.

[hack]

I'm waffling on MSU. Were they not Sparty I would like them more and respect their tournament prospects just like everyone else, on the notion that FINALLY they are healthy. However:

1. They are 4-2 since they were made whole again after all that unique-in-the-history-of-mankind horror they've lived through. Losses to Craft & Co., who Talent rightfully points out cannot score in the last four minutes of a game, and to Illinois.

2. Maybe it's not well known outside the state of Michigan, but the loss of two starters for total of 16 games is not the bottom of the well for injuries, cause when you run out of starters not playing you still have Appling's wrist on which to rely. How hurt is he still? I don't know, given the depth of the excuse making.

3. Then again, that draw to me doesn't look like there's a team that can run away from them on offense when they have a stretch of cold shooting. They really did, it seems to me, get the perfect draw. It's enough to make me hope Izzo DOES bolt to the Pistons, even though I don't have high hopes he'd succeed in that role.

[The Oracle]

I actually love the amount of gross manhood being spewed over these guys' tourney hopes. Puts an even bigger X on them. All the ESPN/President's of the US/GMA hosts people can't be right, can they?