March Madness

I have nothing to say except doesn't MOL need a thread on this?! There must be some college hoops fans!

I'll start...

How 'bout that 'nova loss?
I thought Harvard was gonna beat UNC.
Who's in your Final Four? I've got Kentucky, Duke, UVA, and Arizona with Kentucky taking it all. I let the sendings determine my picks.

Anybody?

So good!!! The ACC is ROCKING this tournament! Yes, my team looked a little rough at the end of the Harvard game, but we looked awesome last night against Arkansas. We've had an uneven year so I'm proud of my team!

Indeed, how 'bout NC State knocking off Villanova last night?? Wowza!

Also, I think Duke is overseeded. As usual. I'm not sure when the flameout will happen but it almost always does. They had some major losses this year so they definitely have weak spots. Final Four is unlikely to me but it's March Madness, anything can happen!

Im disappointed the Anteaters didn't win because a team with that mascot should go a couple of rounds. I'm disappointed UNC, Kansas, KY won. I thought the CBS interview with the Georgia St. Coach and his son on Friday was one of the best all time. I will probably root for 'Zona, not just for the name but because they are a blast to watch...they made a very athletic Ohio St look less athletic (and why do they say The Ohio St University? That's annoying). NC St.'s guards broke down their defenders time and time again with their footwork...it was a pleasure to watch...I was giggling in fact. Vanillanova came up pale again. Roosevelt Jones is a beast...sorry he is not in the Sweet 16...I love to watch a guy who can dominate inside AND below the rim. I love the two commercial series with the former players and with Sir Charles and Sam Jackson and Spike Lee. That said, The Who released "The Who Sell Out" in 1967...in 2015, they clearly actually sell out as their music seems to have debuted during the tournament in some car commercials.

Tom Izzo...now that's a basketball coach. Didn't think after Nova shot like smoked salmon that any team could shoot worse, but I think UVA may have.

Announcer pet peeve...it's middle of the afternoon...stop referring to the game as being played "tonight"

Nova just sucks. Every time you think they will do something, they just dont.

I don't know if this is the forum for this ... But ... Well. I've been in jeffl's pool for a number of years ... Year after year, I finish dead last ... The evidence is clear: jeffl's pool is FIXED!!

Soul_29 said:

I don't know if this is the forum for this ... But ... Well. I've been in jeffl's pool for a number of years ... Year after year, I finish dead last ... The evidence is clear: jeffl's pool is FIXED!!

Maybe you should try the lottery. Better odds.

jeffl said:

Soul_29 said:

I don't know if this is the forum for this ... But ... Well. I've been in jeffl's pool for a number of years ... Year after year, I finish dead last ... The evidence is clear: jeffl's pool is FIXED!!

Maybe you should try the lottery. Better odds.

Note that jeffl does NOT deny the pool is fixed!

Soul_29 said:

jeffl said:

Soul_29 said:

I don't know if this is the forum for this ... But ... Well. I've been in jeffl's pool for a number of years ... Year after year, I finish dead last ... The evidence is clear: jeffl's pool is FIXED!!

Maybe you should try the lottery. Better odds.

Note that jeffl does NOT deny the pool is fixed!

Why would I have to fix the pool when you have St. John's taking it all?

Bracket Busted, Bookie's pleased, when does it end!?!?

IMHO, the teams that made the Sweet 16 on Saturday should be playing tonight, and the Sunday winners on Tuesday. Then tonight's winners play their Elite 8 games on Wednesday and the other half on Thursday to establish the Final Four. Day off Friday (I know, first group would have an extra day off), then Final Four on Saturday, Finals on Monday night. Survival of the fittest. Would knock a week off the tournament, meaning one less week of pontificating over-analysis, one less week of kids being away from school. No one would ever play back-to-back days, even though teams ARE asked to play back-to-back days in their respective conference tournaments. That, to me, would be March Madness, especially in as much as the Final Four and Finals would actually be in March. ;-)

interesting premise...and no "March" Madness games in April. Of course, since it would lessen revenue, it wont happen.

by the way, was the Dayton-Providence matchup done intentionally so that the Flyers played the Friars? Does the NCAA have a sense of humor?

Well, in theory, the atheletes are back in class this week. At least I know Carolina's team is back in Chapel Hill.

(No "UNC athletes go to class?" jokes from the peanut gallery, please...)

Serious question: when all of these players who are immediately going into the pros finish the Tournament, do they generally immediately drop out, or did they wait till the end of the year? In other words, will they ever go back into a classroom?

some don't. some cant because they haven't really done much to remain eligible. some schools are really good at keeping the players in class and completing assignments...I know tutors and advisors follow some teams on the road. UNC I believe has always had a good rep as far as actually graduating many players. Some schools/coaches are pathetic. And a good graduation rate to me has to be around what the average 5 year graduation rate is nationally for all male students...which I seem to recall is around 60%. But when Bob Huggins graduated 0% of his black players and 11% of his white players at Cincinnati, it only reinforces that he is a scumbag. And when he talked about his friend Coach Cal after the WVU win, it further reinforced it...scumbags attract scumbags, and there may be no bigger than Coach Calipari.

I follow the Maryland Terp girls. they are 1st seed in their division. beat Princeton last night. hopefully they will go all the way and win it all.

How exactly does a coach graduate players?

scott_clark said:

How exactly does a coach graduate players?

The coach sets a standard. For example, Dean Smith emphasized the importance of the degree, even to players who left early. Many would come back in the summer and take classes until they ultimately earned their degree. His graduation percentage was 96%, which is enormous. Roy Williams has carried on this standard and has an 88% rate.

@jeffl, they finish the year, generally. The draft isn't until the end of June.

We don't have a lot of one-and-dones at Carolina, but Marvin Williams, part of our 2005 national championship team, completed his degree just recently after 10 summers:
http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2014/08/athletes-given-a-new-path-to-return-through-complete-carolina

I thought this was an interesting article reinforcing some of the points above, even though it's a few years old: https://popculturehasaids.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/graduation-rates-and-proof-of-college-basketballs-racism-plus-a-small-apology-to-roy-williams/

http://forum.maplewoodonline.com/discussion/115239/the-deafening-silence-about-the-only-new-york-metro-mens-basketball-team-still-in-post-season-play#Item_1

jeffl said:

Serious question: when all of these players who are immediately going into the pros finish the Tournament, do they generally immediately drop out, or did they wait till the end of the year? In other words, will they ever go back into a classroom?

I've seen players do it both ways. Even for someone serious about his studies, the reasonable decision might be to spend those two or three months honing your skills to improve your draft position. The difference could mean millions of dollars. I knew someone who did that and then returned to complete his degree later.

Andrew Gaze famously flew home to Australia right after Seton Hall lost in the final to Michigan, never seeing the inside of a South Orange classroom again. Seton Hall took some heat for that, but it was a bit unfair because plenty of other players stopped going to class without it being as obvious because they were still living and working out in the same place.

Are you sure Gaze didn't leave BEFORE the Michigan game? As I recall, he was invisible that night.

Train_of_Thought said:

Are you sure Gaze didn't leave BEFORE the Michigan game? As I recall, he was invisible that night.

One basket in 39 minutes. The Clougherty call was terrible, but it wasn't the only reason they lost.

A coach should implant a control chip in the brains of every NCAA athlete. That way, arguably, he could control their every move. When to eat, when to study, when to practice. Et cetera.

Well, that sucked.

Kentucky laid the smack down on WV...Wow! Pulling for Xavier, gotta love the Stainbrook Uber story.

On Wisconsin! (Sorry TarheelsNj).

I was 3 for 4 last night, solely using wine-related criteria. Had to give UNC the nod over Wisconsin in that regard although I am thrilled Frank Kaminsky gets to keep playing. Sorry Stainbrook cant keep playing because he is a hero to all the guys who don't look like basketball players who can play great basketball. KY fans may want to keep the K-Y handy because as his history was outlined very succinctly in the New York Times sports page, if the trend continues with Calipari programs, the KY program will eventually get screwed. That said, its remarkable (remarkably sad) that UMass is honoring the anniversary of the team that put Calipari on the map (dirtbag roads and all).

Was just reading about St. John's parting ways with coach Steve Lavin, when I couldn't help but notice the article (espn.com) noting that St. John's was eliminated by San Diego State "in the second round" of this year's tournament. I know this is just respecting the NCAA's official terminology -- namely using "first round" to refer to what the rest of the civilized world calls "play-in games." Just another area in which the NCAA really needs to get over itself. Do they really stand by the 'it therefore naturally follows' notion that 60 teams have first round byes? I mean, if St. John's was in the second round without winning a game, they obviously must've had a bye, no? It's just asinine.

So who had Wisconsin/Duke in the finals?