NCAA thoughts

[The Great iBoldin]

This is probably the closest I've ever followed college basketball this season, so I want to post some thoughts on seeding, teams, etc. Sort of like I do with football. Agree to disagree or agree with me, maybe it'll stir up some conversation.

 

- While I'm in agreement that some of the seeds don't make sense, I don't think there should be too many gripes with teams getting left out or in.

 

Anytime you've got a situation like the bubble was this year, you're going to have teams left out, which leads to hurt feelings, rage, controversy, everything under the sun. While I do think VT, 'Bama and Colorado (amongst a couple of others) have legitimate gripes, these teams put themselves in the situation to begin with. The Buffs are in the 300's for non-conference schedules. A ranking of over 300? How do you honestly put yourself in that position on the bubble and expect to really get in? One of the selection committee's favorite things to do is go after teams that have shitty non-conference schedules and take them out right away.

 

I think Alabama has some gripes. They won their SEC division, beat Georgia and played generally well at the end of the year. I really did expect them to get in, but that's the way it goes. They're certainly built a better resume then Colorado in my opinion.

 

VT may be a little disappointed, but the history of them not making it is there, and there really is nothing to suggest why the selection committee should break that trend. I thought Duke was a great win, but Duke generally has a couple of those per season, as does every elite team in the NCAA. I can see why there was anger, but I also see why the NCAA left them out.

 

- On the in side of the bubble, I loved VCU getting in. What a scrappy team, and I think the CAA was the best of the mid major divisions this year and deserved 3 bids. That may be a lot for a mid major conference but it really was a quality conference this season. While USC is peaking seemingly at the right time, I don't think VCU should be taken for granted and will end up either losing by 2 or 3 or winning. I think that play-in game will be a lot better then some of the snoozers this year (ie: Texas A&M and FSU)

 

- I'm really going to be rooting hard for Old Dominion this year. They're a mirror image of my high school team, where we worked so hard, played incredible defense and wiped up both offensive and defensive boards. It's a kryptonite to some of the high scoring, up tempo teams like St. John's or Kentucky this year. I don't expect Butler to keep up with them at all and Pitt is either going to be upset or they're going to be in for a ruthless game. I have ODU going to the Elite 8 as my Cinderella team.

 

- Other upsets possibilities include Wofford, Belmont, Richmond, Missouri (11 v. 6 constitutes upset), Utah State, and 'Zaga.

 

- Meh, Kansas State doesn't scare me and I don't think they go as far as people are predicting. I think they're going to have trouble with any of those teams they could potentially face. Do people really seeing them surviving a gauntlet of something such as Utah State - Wisconsin - Pitt? Or Utah State - Belmont - ODU? Maybe the second one, but certainly not the first in my mind. Let's not forget how shitty this team was early in the season. They weren't even in many bracketologies at that point.

 

- DJ Kennedy lost for St. John's could be huge. Do they have the interior presence to beat the Zags? They've got the 7-footer Sacre from Vancouver who is just phenomenal in the post and he could be a potential X-Factor.

 

I'll be posting more later.

[Real Deal]

K-State will go into Pullen mode, and he's not going to be able to go ballistic on every team he faces. He has been inconsistent this year, and still can't find that balance between being a facilitator and a scorer.

[The Regime]

This is what I had to say about Utah State in another thread just in case you didn't see it.

 

They're really overrated if you ask me. People are choosing them as their dark horse pick but the fact of the matter is that they aren't as good as their record indicates. For starters the WAC is just terrible, I would know because I watched UNR play atleast 4-5 games this season. Utah State has one notable win on the season and that was against Saint Mary's. I'm not impressed.

 

The Aggies really aren't battle tested, and haven't played a team the caliber of K State. Pullen and K State are starting to play some of the best of basketball of the season at the right time, so I personally wouldn't pick them in the upset.

 

I really like St. Johns in the tournament this year. I'll probably be rooting for them and San Diego State. I wasn't aware that DJ Kennedy was out, but I still think that St. Johns uptempo style is going to give Gonzaga troubles. Dwight Hardy is just amazing, and he doesn't get nearly the coverage that guys like Kemba, Barnes, or Jimmer get, yet he is just as capable of dominating games offensively. I feel like St. John's is talented enough to make it to the Sweet 16.

[The Great iBoldin]

K-State will go into Pullen mode, and he's not going to be able to go ballistic on every team he faces. He has been inconsistent this year, and still can't find that balance between being a facilitator and a scorer.

 

Agreed. I just don't think they're that good. This is a team that lost to Colorado three times in a row and play a plucky 12 seed.

 

This is what I had to say about Utah State in another thread just in case you didn't see it.

 

 

 

I really like St. Johns in the tournament this year. I'll probably be rooting for them and San Diego State. I wasn't aware that DJ Kennedy was out, but I still think that St. Johns uptempo style is going to give Gonzaga troubles. Dwight Hardy is just amazing, and he doesn't get nearly the coverage that guys like Kemba, Barnes, or Jimmer get, yet he is just as capable of dominating games offensively. I feel like St. John's is talented enough to make it to the Sweet 16.

 

I like Utah State because they play awesome defense and slow things down on offense and get great looks. I'm not too worried about who they've played because the played both BYU and Georgetown well enough to give me hope they can beat the Wildcats. The WAC is awful, but at the same time the Aggies absolutely decimated it. It all goes back to stingy defense, if they can contain Pullen they probably win by 8-10 points.

 

I obviously agree with the Johnnies, they're a great team that's battle tested and plays solid defense to accompany that. I just don't think we should discount Gonzaga just yet. They're a good team as well.