B1G/NCAA basketball

[lineygoblue]

Agree, Drok. MSU deserves nothing. They've still got a mess to clean up over there and they're not making a lot of progress. Their entire athletic program should be on probation due to a lack of institutional control. How anyone could think that MSU was in "control" during all that has to be taking large amounts of hallucinogens.

I'll be pulling for T Tech.

[froot loops]

I will say this, it was the best reffed game I have seen in the NCAA Tournament that I can remember. They let them play and had none of the ticky tack nonsense you normally see in the tournament. I'm presently at the pep rally in Breslin searching for lineygoblue and drok.

[drok]

Lol! Congrats

[lineygoblue]

Sorry Loops. I had to stay home and shampoo (what's left of) my hair. I hope you understand.

[Niffla]

First off, congratulations to Michigan State and their fans.

Now I'm probably going to come off as a bitter, butthurt, hating Michigan fan...but...why the hell does Izzo cry so much? He has been to what, 8 Final Fours? How many Big Ten titles?

He cried tears of Joy after beating Michigan for the regular season conference title...then he cried tears of joy after beating Michigan for the conference tournament title...and then after beating Duke? Is he going to cry if they beat Texas Tech? And then -- if they win it all, of course he's going to cry then too.

Isn't that...just a tad bit over the top? Jeezus.

Still though I genuinely applaud their season. Hell of a season. And congrats to our boy Loops, too.

[froot loops]

Thanks. Izzo is just a very emotional guy, always has been. He really took that ESPN article last year hard and this Duke thing has really eaten at him. He has lost approximately three thousand 5 star recruits to Duke.

[hack]

Congrats, Froot. That is one hell of a basketball team. An Izzo classic.

[Niffla]

I think it's going to be State & Virginia for it all. Would be a hell of a final.

[froot loops]

Thanks, I hope they finish it. Most of the time when they get to a final four there is some team heavy with NBA talent waiting to dispatch them, its not the case this year but all 4 teams probably feel the same way.

[froot loops]

Here's a good article for Niffla to read. It has tears in it, but not unfortunately not Izzo tears.

[crashcourse]

love to see auburn ttech

[hack]

MSU/Va would be amusing. I think that's what it's going to be, too. Though I wouldn't rule out Tech. That defensive scheme of theirs is flat-out evil. I bet we see copycat action soon. Crash, what do you think Kansas would do if Self falls in the FBI probe? I'd imagine that if the school itself isn't sanctioned for too long, that's a job Chris Beard would be a natural fit for. Maybe it's just recency bias but that guy with access to elite recruits could be frightening for a while until somebody figures out how to attack that defense.

[WingsFan]

[WingsFan]

[lineygoblue]

T Tech appears to be "that" team in the tournament this year. They have everybody's number when it comes to playing defense. They've made the commitment to be the absolute best defensive team in the country, and so far, nobody has been able to match them, or figure them out. I saw them coming back during the conference tournament week, and when they ended up in Michigan's bracket, I had that game figured as Michigan's departure spot. I don't think Virginia is going to figure them out either.

Its always a touch of satisfaction to see Izzo denied yet another 'king of the basketball world' crown. Tom is a great coach, but he has anger issues, and he begs calls like there's no tomorrow. Unfortunately officials have given in to his sideline antics, and it helps Sparty win a lot of games. All that couldn't help them last night against the Red Raiders though. They won because they were the better team, and that's that. I have no problem with Michigan losing to T Tech as their tournament exit point. The Red Raiders were just better. 68 teams enter the tournament, and 67 end it by losing. There's no way around that.

For Michigan, Beilein has an excellent record over the past 5 years, and I see nothing on the horizon that will discontinue that. He's running one of the cleanest programs in the NCAA, and he's recruiting good players that should be able to come in and take the place of any attrition. I hope that Matthews is the only guy we lose, but I suppose there might be one or two others that 'scratch the NBA itch'. We'll see.

Farewell until the real sports season begins.