NFT: The Madness begins!!

I think Louisville wins big.
Yale-LSU should be a fun up and down game. Yale has two guys who have a chance to be either drafted or get to NBA camps.
Auburn is hot.
Maryland-Belmont should be a great game.
Howard vs. Morant will be must watch for me later.
Wofford is my surprise team in the midwest.

Florida - I just don't think Nevada is particularly good. Beat absolutely no one of note, got blown out by a terrible New Mexico team, lost twice in the last month to SDSU.

St. Mary's - Villanova is a hard team to peg. Their play has varied wildly this year. St. Mary's should be riding a surge of confidence after their impressive dismantling of Gonzaga.

Murray State - Marquette stumbled big time late in the year, losing 5 of their last 6. The Markus Howard-Ja Morant matchup should be a good one.

Seton Hall - Wofford has been a trendy pick to be the mid-major that goes deep into the tournament, but I think Seton Hall will give them a real battle.

another Cuse player gets Fab Melo'd right before their game

I had Cuse knocking off Gonzaga before, but no way do I think they can do that without Howard.

fail in the first round? ;)

In comment 14350935 BigBlueDownTheShore said:

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fail in the first round? ;)

Same one as last time.

Talented and played in tough conference, but the situation with the coach and players must be affecting the team. The problem is I have Belmont beating Maryland. Do I really go with Yale or Belmont going 2 rounds deep. Ugh

In comment 14350934 Greg from LI said:

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I had Cuse knocking off Gonzaga before, but no way do I think they can do that without Howard.

Same.

to the Murray-Marquette game and nod to the schedulers for putting it on at a perfect time. (for me at least)

In comment 14350935 BigBlueDownTheShore said:

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fail in the first round? ;)

Will Vippy Sue win an NCAA tournament game for the first time in 12 years?

It's sure gonna suck when Blackshear follows Buzz to College Station as a grad transfer, huh?

In comment 14350948 UConn4523 said:

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Same one as last time.

That's funny, there's a mistake on my bracket. Somehow, they forgot to include UConn.

In comment 14350969 Greg from LI said:

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In comment 14350948 UConn4523 said: Quote: Same one as last time. That's funny, there's a mistake on my bracket. Somehow, they forgot to include UConn.

they are a 2 seed in the Albany region. :)

my brackets, let March Madness commence!

In comment 14350969 Greg from LI said:

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In comment 14350948 UConn4523 said: Quote: Same one as last time. That's funny, there's a mistake on my bracket. Somehow, they forgot to include UConn.

We stink, never claimed otherwise. Our trophy case is pretty full though, we will let others have a shot for a while.

I think all of Big 10 teams play such a slow tempo offensively that is they go down a few buckets it's tougher for them to come back, particularly against athletic teams. Oregon over Wisconsin as well.

If Mark Turgeon loses to Belmont, they should really eat the buyout because attendance will be in the shitter.

In comment 14350926 Greg from LI said:

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Florida - I just don't think Nevada is particularly good. Beat absolutely no one of note, got blown out by a terrible New Mexico team, lost twice in the last month to SDSU. St. Mary's - Villanova is a hard team to peg. Their play has varied wildly this year. St. Mary's should be riding a surge of confidence after their impressive dismantling of Gonzaga. Murray State - Marquette stumbled big time late in the year, losing 5 of their last 6. The Markus Howard-Ja Morant matchup should be a good one. Seton Hall - Wofford has been a trendy pick to be the mid-major that goes deep into the tournament, but I think Seton Hall will give them a real battle.

St Mary’s concerns me. I’d love nothing more than a (potential) first weekend “revenge” tour: beating St Mary’s tonight then (perhaps) Old Dominion on Saturday.

Bottom line for me with ‘Nova: somehow survive the weekend and this bridge year has been a resounding sucess. Looking forward to the influx of new talent next year.

.

NCAA Tourney leading right up to the Masters.

I usually fill out two brackets and hope for the best. We have a guy here in the office who will fill out like 10 brackets and go heavy on upset combinations (not replicating them on each entry), then when an upset happens, he will walk around and gloat like he is some sort of CBB expert.

Sad thing is, some people actually fall for it and will seek him out for his advice on picks.

I am sure there are others out there who have a similar person in their office pools.

Howard vs Morant should be good.


Greg, what are you thoughts on the Hoos?

The bracket is pretty favorable. The team is the most versatile we've had, the best offense we've had without much dropoff in defense.

Hunter needs to step up. My one reservation with him is that he isn't always as aggressive as we need him to be.

Ty Jerome played through the flu, which would help explain why he had such a terrible game. Hopefully he's fully recovered by now.

I am thinking of changing my pick....thoughts?

In comment 14351119 Greg from LI said:

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The bracket is pretty favorable. The team is the most versatile we've had, the best offense we've had without much dropoff in defense. Hunter needs to step up. My one reservation with him is that he isn't always as aggressive as we need him to be.

I do have the Hoos going to the title game.

But they'll need Buddy B to really step up

with no contrasting style matchups in their region and the most well rounded team Bennett has had there. They're actually better on offense than defense if you go by efficiency metrics and they're pretty damn good on defense as we know. If they're not in the Final Four this year it may never happen. I'm hopping on the bandwagon. Let's do this Greg!

In comment 14351132 Jints in Carolina said:

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I am thinking of changing my pick....thoughts?

You never know. Battle is back and the zone gives teams like Baylor fits. Boeheim has been shooting really well this year and Battle is likely better at PG than Howard has been in terms of ball control. I think they still beat Baylor, but that they lost any chance they had at getting by Gonzaga.

It frustrates me that this is the 4th year in the past decade where a player has gotten suspended just prior to their first game.

In comment 14351122 Greg from LI said:

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Ty Jerome played through the flu, which would help explain why he had such a terrible game. Hopefully he's fully recovered by now.

Greg, I am sure you probably mentioned it, but that loss to FSU in the ACC quarters was a blessing in disguise. After what happened last year, Virginia is kind of "flying under the radar" heading in this year, even as a number 1 seed. Had they beaten FSU and lost to Duke, I think there would be a lot more media attention.

Just my opinion of course.

to call this now, but I think UNC will be the first #1 seed to fall.

.

He's had three straight terrible games. 9 points and one lousy rebound over three games ain't gonna get it done.

will upset Gonzaga and make it to the Final Four!

You heard it here first.

In comment 14351149 FatMan in Charlotte said:

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to call this now, but I think UNC will be the first #1 seed to fall.

Same.

In my bracket: Duke, Gonzaga, Kentucky, TN with Duke Beating TN.

I realize TN is my risky move.

In comment 14351149 FatMan in Charlotte said:

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to call this now, but I think UNC will be the first #1 seed to fall.

I have them winning the whole thing!

In comment 14351164 Jay in Toronto said:

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In my bracket: Duke, Gonzaga, Kentucky, TN with Duke Beating TN. I realize TN is my risky move.

Duke
Michigan
Tennessee
UNC

Duke
Michigan
Cincinatti
Kentucky

Kentucky over Duke

HEELS!

(Tomorrow).

Duke, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennesse

Kentucky over Duke to win. We'll see how I feel about any changes.

to win it all.

'I like a team whose coach is under FBI investigation. Guys will rally.'

Duke, Texas Tech, UVA and UNC

In comment 14351055 Bobby Humphrey's Earpad said:

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I think all of Big 10 teams play such a slow tempo offensively that is they go down a few buckets it's tougher for them to come back, particularly against athletic teams. Oregon over Wisconsin as well. If Mark Turgeon loses to Belmont, they should really eat the buyout because attendance will be in the shitter.

Damn straight! ODU is good and Purdue's best player is nursing a back injury. Should be a fun game been a long 8 years for us ODU fans!

In comment 14351158 ChicagoMarty said:

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will upset Gonzaga and make it to the Final Four! You heard it here first.

LOL I actually picked that too. It was way too much chalk from the S16 on, so I needed an upset into the FF. Buffalo is as good as any team to do that I think.

Jeff Jones and both Stiths, father and son, are all former Hoos.

In comment 14351356 Greg from LI said:

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Jeff Jones and both Stiths, father and son, are all former Hoos.

How about ODU vs. UVA for a ticket to the final four?

In comment 14351149 FatMan in Charlotte said:

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to call this now, but I think UNC will be the first #1 seed to fall.

Not exactly going on a limb here considering Duke and UVA are ranked higher, and Gonzaga is in, by far, the weakest bracket. Additionally, UNC has to travel to Ohio this weekend (shouldnt matter of course, but just mentioning) and then for some fucking reason may have to play Kansas in Kansas City.... the committee cared enough to keep Kentucky from playing home games in its sweet 16, but lets a worse seed Kansas play home games in theres.

which i found surprising given his Duke ballwashing all year.

In comment 14351163 UConn4523 said:

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In comment 14351149 FatMan in Charlotte said: Quote: to call this now, but I think UNC will be the first #1 seed to fall. Same.

Duke fan here, and I think UNC may get farther in than Duke. They are a more balanced team, they played Duke evenly with Zion back in the lineup, so they are a really good team. For Duke, I worry that their abysmal 3 point shooting catches up to them at some point. I am not saying the Duke will be the first #1 to go down, but it would not surprise me if UNC lasted longer. It would also not surprise me if Duke won it all. Love this time of year.

I also like UVAs chances to go deep into the tournament and literally have not seen Gonzaga play. So I'll just be an ACC home and predict that Gozaga is the first to bow out.

With a first round upset

.

In comment 14351373 MetsAreBack said:

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which i found surprising given his Duke ballwashing all year.

With all the talent that Duke has, they can't shoot for shit. If they get far, it's because Reddish really turned it on.