It's the most wonderful time of the year...

[TheKilo]

You can have the Super Bowl, the BCS and even (gasp) the World Series. It's time for March Madness, baby. The best sporting event of the entire year.

 

With selection Sunday 6 days away, I figured it would be appropriate to begin "Bubble" discussion.

 

TheKilo's Projected Field as of 3/10: - Bubble teams in Parentheses, Auto bids in Italics

 

ACC: Duke, Clemson, UNC, Miami (FL)

 

Big East: UConn, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt, WVU, Marquette (Syracuse, Villanova)

 

Big Ten: Indiana, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Purdue (Ohio State)

 

Big 12: Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas State (Baylor, Texas A&M)

 

Pac-10: UCLA, Stanford, USC, Washington State (Oregon, Arizona State)

 

SEC: Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Mississippi State, Kentucky (Ole Miss, Arkansas)

 

A10: Xavier (Massachusetts, Dayton, St. Joe's

 

Other Conferences:

Drake - MVC

Cornell - Ivy

Belmont - Atlantic Sun

Winthrop - Big South

George Mason - CAA

Siena - MAAC

Austin Peay - OVC

Memphis

BYU

Gonzaga

Butler

St. Mary's

Davidson - Southern Conference

San Diego - WCC

 

Bubble teams from Mid-Majors:

Kent State

UNLV

South Alabama

UAB

VCU

Western Kentucky

UNLV

[TheKilo]

I have 41 teams in the tournament as of now.

 

These are tournaments still to be decided (that will only get one team:

America East

Big Sky

Big West

Horizon (assuming Butler wins)

Mid-American (assuming Kent State wins)

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference

Mountain West (assuming BYU wins)

Northeast

Patriot

Southern (assuming Davidson wins)

Southland

Southwestern Athletic Conference

Summit

Sun Belt (assuming South Alabama wins)

Western Athletic

[TheKilo]

Assuming there are no upsets, I have 56 teams set into the bracket for the field of 65. That leaves nine spots for any one of the following bubble teams:

My picks are bolded.

 

Syracuse

Villanova

Ohio State

Baylor

Texas A&M

Oregon

Arizona State

Ole Miss

Arkansas

Massachusetts

Dayton

St. Joe's

UNLV

UAB

VCU

Western Kentucky

[HeadOfSoxNation]

I really hope 'Cuse gets in. Those kids have done SO much this season with the injury hand they were dealt and all. Plus, they got hosed last year.

[Cocos Disciples]

Love March Madness. Can't wait.

[Mr Crunchy]

it was always my endof winter nirvana but for whatever reason i cant get into it balls to the wall

i dont know if its the lack of a good local team

or the fact that the usual suspects are on top like nc doke and kansas or if its the nba raping the ncaa to death or even a patriots hangover but i am not where i should be mentally for this time of year

nc is the best team ive seen for 40min

memphis and tenn are athletic but lack the depth and height of nc i feel

izzo got beat bad in columbus yesterday but he should be feared

never rule out uconn and calhoun although theyre real young

out west ucla may do some damage but 55pts a game wont beat the iron

should b as competetive as any but im takin the heels

f*** duke

[YanksHater213]

San Diego crushed someone bubble last night, big win over the Zags.

 

As for overall, I'm taking UCLA. I picked them at the beginning of the year, and I'm not changing it. I love how they match up with all the other top teams in the country. They've got 3 legitimate bigs who can guard the likes of Hansbrough, Beasley, etc., a solid post game with Love, and I don't think I've seen a back court as good as this in a while with Westbrook and Collison and can go against any back court in the country, and two electric wing players in Shipp and Mbah a Moute.

 

Their only loss out of conference came by 2 at home vs Texas. It was Collison's second game back - and UCLA is simply a better team since then.

[Mr Crunchy]

ucla is good

but they'll need to be better offensively against teams outside the west coast.

[TheKilo]

Good game between IUPUI and Oral Roberts. It's a one-bid league, though.

 

Also, Middle Tennessee beat South Alabama, which will probably cost another bubble team a spot.

[Mr Crunchy]

ok hoop fans

game on for you degenerate gamblers,hoop nuts and men like jacksonian who like strapping negroes in shorts

 

Mar 12 723 SYRACUSE -2½EV o147½-110 -145

12:00 PM 724 VILLANOVA +2½-120 u147½-110 +125

 

Mar 12 725 PROVIDENCE +7½-110 o138½-110 +300

2:20 PM 726 W VIRGINIA -7½-110 u138½-110 -360

 

Mar 12 727 CINCINNATI +9-110 o128½-110 +370

7:00 PM 728 PITTSBURGH -9-110 u128½-110 -450

 

Mar 12 729 SETON HALL +10½-110 o149½-110 +450

9:20 PM 730 MARQUETTE -10½-110 u149½-110 -600

 

Mar 12 731 ST LOUIS +6-110 o114½-110 +220

12:00 PM 732 DAYTON -6-110 u114½-110 -260

 

Mar 12 733 FORDHAM +7½-110 o129½-110 +270

2:20 PM 734 ST JOSEPHS -7½-110 u129½-110 -330

 

Mar 12 735 DUQUESNE -6½-110 o162½-110 -275

6:30 PM 736 LA SALLE +6½-110 u162½-110 +235

 

Mar 12 737 RHODE ISLAND -1½-110 o148-110 -125

8:50 PM 738 NC CHARLOTTE +1½-110 u148-110 +105

 

Mar 12 739 BALL ST +2½-110 o120-110 +125

12:30 PM 740 E MICHIGAN -2½-110 u120-110 -145

 

 

Mar 12 741 NO ILLINOIS +6-110 o146-110 +220

3:00 PM 742 CENT MICHIGAN -6-110 u146-110 -260

 

Mar 12 743 BOWLING GREEN +1-110 o122-110 EV

5:30 PM 744 TOLEDO -1-110 u122-110 -120

 

 

Mar 12 745 BUFFALO +9-110 o128½-110 +350

8:00 PM 746 MIAMI OH -9-110 u128½-110 -430

 

CONFERENCE USA - FIRST ROUND

Preview Matchup/Injuries Compare-Team-Stats

 

Mar 12 747 E CAROLINA +9½-110 o136½-110 +425

1:00 PM 748 TULSA -9½-110 u136½-110 -550

 

Mar 12 749 SMU +10½-110 o142-110 +500

3:30 PM 750 UTEP -10½-110 u142-110 -700

 

Mar 12 751 TULANE +2-110 o129½-110 +115

7:00 PM 752 MARSHALL -2-110 u129½-110 -135

 

 

Mar 12 753 RICE +15-110 o124-110

9:30 PM 754 SO MISS -15-110 u124-110

 

 

MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE - OPENING ROUND

Mar 12 755 COLORADO ST +6½-110 o138½-110 +245

2:00 PM 756 WYOMING -6½-110 u138½-110 -290

 

 

BIG WEST CONFERENCE - 1ST ROUND

Preview Matchup/Injuries Compare-Team-Stats

 

 

Mar 12 757 LONG BEACH ST +10½-110 o126½-110 +500

9:00 PM 758 CAL IRVINE -10½-110 u126½-110 -700

 

Mar 12 759 CAL RIVERSIDE +3½-110 o121½-110 +145

 

11:20 PM 760 CAL POLY SLO -3½-110 u121½-110 -165

 

 

Preview Matchup/Injuries Compare-Team-Stats

 

 

PAC 10 CONFERENCE - FIRST ROUND

Mar 12 761 CALIFORNIA -2½-110 o152½-110 -145

9:00 PM 762 WASHINGTON +2½-110 u152½-110 +125

 

Mar 12 763 OREGON ST +18-110 o130½-110

11:30 PM 764 ARIZONA -18-110 u130½-110

[See Red]

So long, Syracuse!

[TheKilo]

So who's starting up the NCAA pool?

[Cocos Disciples]

I'll do it. Just a sec.

[TheKilo]

UConn sucks.

[Mr Crunchy]

thats a primary reason for my apathy this year

we had years locally where bc umass pc uri uconn and i even consider all the old big east clubs as local.. but at least a few schools were involved and had a pop at the final 4 whicb i consider a huge accomplishment to achieve.

this year?

uconn had a brief period of tremendouis ball but the last 2 efforts were dismal

uri was in the top 15 at 1 point and fell apart in that 2nd rate conference

umass has a shot at the dance if they do some damage in the a10 tourney

i just turned the game on and they were up 15? i think and 5 minutes of actual time passed and they were down 3

tim welch at pc had some good teams with ryan gomes recently

hes 1-9 in his last 10 big east tourney games....

ciao

nova sucks and i refuse to acknoledge louisville and marquette as eastern teams

so

georgetown by default gets my loyalty locally

i knew old pat ewing from the 1001 arcade in harvard square

i got to know charles smith who ended up doing some time locally for killing a coed in his suv after a game

he blew an .08 and that hung him but i dealt with his mom on some old debts he left behind and we cut him a huge deal in the process,he was greatful and appeared to be a genuine guy at heart...

ewings kid is at gtown as a 26 year old sophomore and they do have hibberd so they got a pop,i dont know anything about their guards and in the big show guard play is essential

it will be interesting if the heels get bounced cause after that its wide open

[schillingouttheks]

Good night, Maryland. I thought they would be one of the bubble teams to get in, but they're about to lose to BC in the first round of the ACC tourney. Out.

[Mr Crunchy]

fkn bc went what?.1-9 to close out their acc schedule....but they got the terps on the road back around xmass...too bad ty rice wasnt with craig smith and that bc team from 04-05 that was ranked as high as 2,went to the acc finals against duke and took #1 seed villanova to 1 ot maybe 2 in the final 8 i believe...

bc never had the package of guards and big men

in 94 they beat top ranked carolina then smoked bobby knight and indi as an 8 seed

they had florida to beat and they wouldve made the 4 but that ********** andrew declerq(sp) and i think it was all world duane schintzius that dominated a very slow billy curley and a 6'4 barrel in danye abrams.

the past few years they had some huge forward play from jarred dudley and craig smith but the guards couldnt shoot for s*** and the big men,well smith anyway coudlnt shoot free throws despite his all american status.that 06 team was good enuff to do it all with sean williams smith dudley and sydney alas no shooters and a 60-59 ot heartbreaker to nova

some day theyll put it together

despite beating the terps this aint the year i fear

[TheKilo]

Don't sleep on UConn. Calhoun will have them ready to play.

 

I'd like to see them sit Dyson more.

[Mr Crunchy]

uconn is usually hitting stride at this point if theyre destined to make a run in the big tourney

too much inconsistant play but a lot of talent

did anyone notify the duke a.d about the black talent pool out there?

i didnt see a lot of duke this year but what i saw today looked like a young republicans meeting.

jesus theyre white and slow

wisc is for real out there in cheese land

i like gtown tonite

i got ucla laying 3.5 up 3 at the line for 1 and the kid throws up an air ball?

[Mr Crunchy]

nice 3 pt final

gaaaaaaaag

[rician blast]

A sports lovers weekend. Pro basketball and hockey, college basketball and hockey and HS basketball and hockey.

 

Went to the Ffd Prep vs. ND of FFd Division 1 final today. Fkn Prep wins again...damn, those arrogant mother f***ers just have a knack for pulling these games out. The better team won, though, and the best player, IMO, led the way.

 

Congrats to Prep.

[TheKilo]

No preliminary thoughts on the bracket? I'll post mine shortly...

[YanksHater213]

My Final Four is:

 

Louisville, Kansas, Stanford, and UCLA.

 

I think the South is the weakest region, Texas is a weak 2, Atchley can't defend the Lopez boys, Memphis is the most putrid free throw shooting team I've ever seen, and they peaked in terms of playing way too early. In this section I have Oral Roberts making the Sweet 16, taking out Pitt and MSU. Pitt just reached their max potential, and I don't really see them winning against Oral, plus you have to pick at least one ridiculous game in the first round. Definitely the most intriguing

 

The West region is extremely cut and dry. It's clear UCLA is far and away the best team and should have no problem winning it.

 

In the East, I've got Butler taking out Tennessee in the 2nd round, Louisville taking out UNC in the Elite 8. I love how Louisville matches up with UNC. A few pretty nice bigs and solid perimeter shooting is how you beat them, and Louisville has that.

 

In the Midwest, I have Kansas in the Final Four after beating Kansas State in the Elite 8. I really love Beasley, and Huggins is a damn good coach over there, I see them beating USC, Wisconson, and Georgetown. Wisconson is overrated, the Big Ten blows and their schedule was just mediocre, especially with the Big Ten schedule added in.

[See Red]

My Final Four is:

 

Louisville, Kansas, Stanford, and UCLA.

 

I think the South is the weakest region, Texas is a weak 2, Atchley can't defend the Lopez boys, Memphis is the most putrid free throw shooting team I've ever seen, and they peaked in terms of playing way too early. In this section I have Oral Roberts making the Sweet 16, taking out Pitt and MSU. Pitt just reached their max potential, and I don't really see them winning against Oral, plus you have to pick at least one ridiculous game in the first round. Definitely the most intriguing

 

The West region is extremely cut and dry. It's clear UCLA is far and away the best team and should have no problem winning it.

 

In the East, I've got Butler taking out Tennessee in the 2nd round, Louisville taking out UNC in the Elite 8. I love how Louisville matches up with UNC. A few pretty nice bigs and solid perimeter shooting is how you beat them, and Louisville has that.

 

In the Midwest, I have Kansas in the Final Four after beating Kansas State in the Elite 8. I really love Beasley, and Huggins is a damn good coach over there, I see them beating USC, Wisconson, and Georgetown. Wisconson is overrated, the Big Ten blows and their schedule was just mediocre, especially with the Big Ten schedule added in.

 

Huggins is at West Virginia this year.

 

I'm taking Kansas to win it all. My one concern with them is that their style of play doesn't typically result in NCAA Tournament success.

[YanksHater213]

Huggins is at West Virginia this year.

 

I'm taking Kansas to win it all. My one concern with them is that their style of play doesn't typically result in NCAA Tournament success.

 

I meant Martin, I was thinking about Huggins because he essentially built this team.

 

I don't think Kansas can win it all, they're usually the team that chokes it up in the Elite 8/Final Four.

 

I was taking UCLA regardless of who was in their bracket because I picked them at the beginning of the year, but I'm a bit nervous about that. Most teams don't make 3 straight Final Fours, and they're a defensive type basketball team who usually doesn't go that far in these types of tournaments.

[TheKilo]

I'll break it down region by region, giving my favorite, dark horse, overrated team, and winner.

[TheKilo]

East:

 

The most loaded region, IMO. Tennessee has a bit of a rough draw, but then again, no games are easy other than the 1/16 games.

 

Favorite: It has to be North Carolina. The most talented team in the region, hasn't lost a game away from Chapel Hill all year, and they have the player of the year candidate. The question is whether or not they can get enough key stops to win. It's unlikely a team gives up 70+ and wins many games (like the Heels did to Clemson and Va Tech over the weekend), but they have offensive firepower to burn.

 

Dark Horse: Winthrop. I've really enjoyed this team's run the last few years. They are a very dangerous tournament team. In my opinion, Washington State is a very weak 4 and that is a very winnable game for Winthrop. If Winthrop wins and Notre Dame takes care of business against George Mason, it would be a rematch of a first round game last year (which Winthrop won).

 

Overrated Team: Washington State. Very unimpressed with them all year. If you keep Derrick Low in check you can have success against them.

 

Winner: I'll take North Carolina for all the reasons I mentioned above.

[TheKilo]

West:

 

Cakewalk for UCLA. I'd be shocked if they didn't win. I do think a potential S16 game against UConn would be a tougher matchup than an E8 with a weak Duke team.

 

Favorite: UCLA. Experienced team who plays great defense and has added the one missing piece from the last two seasons, a big man who can score.

 

Dark Horse: Western Kentucky. Everyone for some reason LOVES Drake. They rely far too heavily on the three for my liking and Courtney Lee can light it up. I'm calling this for the 5/12 upset this year.

 

Overrated Team: Dook. How can a team that loses two of its last three games be a two seed? Anyone?

 

Winner: I'll take chalk and pick UCLA. My #2 choice would be UConn, though.

[TheKilo]

Midwest:

 

Interesting region. Lots of intriguing matchups, especially in the lower half of the bracket.

 

Favorite: Georgetown. Experience means a lot to me in this tournament. Two weeks ago I would have said Georgetown would be a candidate for an early exit. The BET chnaged my mind because even though they lost to Pitt, they won games in different ways. 17 3s one night, a dominant performance by Hibbert the next.

 

Dark Horse: Davidson. This would be an awesome 2nd round game, between Georgetown and Davidson. Davidson played UNC tough and had a huge lead on UCLA before losing it.

 

Overrated Team: Wisconsin. I know, they won the B10. I know, they only have 4 losses. I just don't think they're athletic enough to make a run. They'll have their hands full with the winne rof USC/KState.

 

Winner: Clemson. Love this team. If they get hot, their press and athleticism will cause fits. My dark horse FF team.

[TheKilo]

South:

 

Region that is most up in the air, IMO. I can easily see any of the top 5 seeds making it.

 

Favorite: Texas. Memphis is too inconsistent with their shooting for me to make the FF. I love DJ Augustin and think he will have a tremendous tournament.

 

Dark Horse: Marquette. I think this bracket is an excellent draw for them. A kentucky team that shouldn't be in the tournament, and then a Stanford team who won't be able to run with them. If Dominic James has good shooting nights they can play with anyone in this region.

 

Overrated Team: Michigan State. A 5 seed is too high for a team this inconsistent. What were their good wins again? Expect a second round loss to the winner of Pitt/ORU.

 

Winner: The winner of the Marquette/Texas game. Too close to call ATM.