to play so well for 4 days against competition so much better then A&M and win the conference tourney in inarguably the deepest, best conference THIS year and then play like dog shit and lose in the first round to a Crap XII team??

This is just mind boggling. I mean I don't care one way or another but it's insane. Were they just fatigued from the 4 in 4 stretch? Did they play over their heads? Did GMac stay in New York City?

I didn't watch the game. Someone answer me?

Other thoughts:

- Duke did NOT look like a future Final Four member, let alone a National Champion. However, they have the easiest path that ANY team this year has to the Elite Eight.

- Big East 0-3 (granted the 3 worst teams IMO played and the 5 better ones all play today). ACC 2-0 (both closer then they should have been). Mid-major and crappy power conferences are playing super well while the big boys are struggling. Strange...

- Bars or State game? Bars or State game? I usually like to have sound and HDTV but I'm thinking hard liquor may be the way to go at a bar for this one

- Adjusted final four picks: UConn, Nova, Texas, and UCLA (new one -- they looked great after the inital speed bump).

- Finally: I've got a pretty good sports mind. I ought to stick to using my head and not my gut. I'm a northeast guy so I naturally picked all 3 Big East teams to win and BC to lose. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. None of my 4 upsets panned out. I'm like 5 for 16 this year. I ought to kill myself..

[Edited on March 17, 2006 at 7:54 AM. Reason : at least no money is on it this year...]

3/17/2006 7:52:44 AM

I didn't watch the game either.

Same thing happened to State Sendek's first year. Play really nasty inspired ball in the conference tournament, ran out of gas, and collapsed.

A&M is a good school, and luckily I picked the upset in that one. McNamera could only carry them so far... I had a feeling it wouldn't last. They haven't played well all season and it looks like they finally quit playing on the hot streak they'd been on

3/17/2006 7:56:31 AM

You know what's funny with Boeheim. He'd be on the hottest of hot seats right now after 40 years at that school if the 2003 run didn't happen. Now he'd never be fired but is there a team around that consistently underachieves come tourney time then Cuse?

Yet I fall in the trap EVERY YEAR! Hook, like, and sinker. Every fucking year. The one year I picked them out in the 2nd round what do they do? Win the f'n National Championship...

[Edited on March 17, 2006 at 8:02 AM. Reason : f]

3/17/2006 8:01:35 AM

syracuse lost to fucking BUCKNELL this year. that was all i needed to know when i filled out my bracket. i have A&M in the second round

3/17/2006 8:03:43 AM

Usually I just fill out a bracket and let it go. I've had mixed results with that strategy. This time I kept changing games until 10 minutes before first tip-off....I'm now sitting at 14/16 with one sweet 16 team out (fucking Syracuse).

- Looking at teams playing well in the conference tournament and beforehand is tough. A majority of the time you can ride them through a couple games of the NCAA tourny and beyond. However, the NCAA tourny is almost like a whole new season. You also have to worry about them "blowing their load" in the conference tournament. I was split on Syracuse. I always had them at least winning the first round game...but losing in the 2nd round in the beginning and switched it to the sweet 16 in the end.

- You do have to look at trends...like with teams that choke a lot in the tourny. But you can't always go by that (i.e. Boston College). I was more worried about the fact that BC would be tired after 4 days rest and a 2,000 mile trip than rather or not they usually choke in the tournament. Boston College has A LOT of experience and a pretty good coach. They are also playing extremely solid right now and it's not because they are necessarily "lighting it up". They are playing good defense, good post play, and solid outside shooting. I liked their confidence in the ACC tourney. I think it was pretty ballsy calling an upset over them in the 1st round.

- Duke didn't look good, you're right. You're also correct that they have the easiest road. They fall into a category I struggle with every year: "Teams You Know Shouldn't Make it to a Certain Round...But Their Road to that Round is to Easy." Tennessee also falls into that category for me. I want them to lose in the 2nd round, but I still think they can and should beat Wichita State.

- Finally...the tournament is a crapshoot. I could be sitting pretty bad right now if some of those last second games went the other way. However, 5/16 is pretty fucking bad...sorry dude.


And I think I'm gonna do the bars tonight/afternoon. Friday is my night of drinking and I think I'm making a day of it drinking at my favorite bar, eating bar food, and watching games all day.

3/17/2006 8:13:26 AM

yeah seriously i look at my upset games and look at the most probable, and the obvious pick is syracuse. they got lucky as shit in their conference tourney, it was an easy pick.

3/17/2006 8:14:26 AM

I've always done well but this year I let my biases get in the way. I know BC has a history of choking hard and with these players even plus I just generally dislike them...

I'm a Big East guy so I ride those teams hard.. I just looked at my bracket and subconsciously I picked 3 B.E. teams in the Final Four, which is just dumb (Pitt, UConn, Nova). Didn't even realize I did it..

FYI I got 9/16 not 5... I was exaggerating..

[Edited on March 17, 2006 at 8:17 AM. Reason : f]

3/17/2006 8:17:45 AM

when fillin out brackets you cant let your heart get in the way. it fucks them up.

3/17/2006 8:19:39 AM

The only time I let my bias get in the way is when picking for NC State and picking against UNC.

So I did one separate bracket this year that had State going far...however I have UNC going out in the 2nd round for both my brackets. I'll probably fuck up on this one, but I don't think they'll get past Michigan State. They're still young as shit and didn't play as well against UVa and BC in the ACC tourny as they had those past few games. And their "role" players can't continue to shoot that well.

3/17/2006 8:24:44 AM

i went ahead and kept it real this year and picked texas over ncsu. but ill be happy to have my bracket busted if state can pull out a few wins.

3/17/2006 8:26:15 AM

I'm just hoping Gonzaga fucks up as soon as possible. Although I have them in my sweet 16 (again, I don't want them there, I just don't think Indiana will beat them)....half the dumbasses in my bracket have them in the Final Four.

3/17/2006 8:28:40 AM

it is called playing down to the comp. and not at the level you are capable of, happens so many times it amazes me, thats what sets the great teams apart from the good teams

3/17/2006 8:30:15 AM

i had gonzaga out yesterday. if xavier didnt blow it i was like 19 points away from perfect (thats what i like to tell myself to make my 4 losses sound better)

3/17/2006 8:35:33 AM

i got the zags and ball headbutting morrison out next round

[Edited on March 17, 2006 at 8:39 AM. Reason : .]

3/17/2006 8:38:51 AM

Quote :

"How is it possible???"

maybe the Big East is just overrated?
*ducks*

3/17/2006 8:47:09 AM

Nah. I don't buy that. I mean I'm not going to jump down your throat for that but the Top 5 teams haven't even played yet. Seton Hall even BEING in the tourney was a farce though. Cincy was far more qualified but got snubbed...

It's funny with Marquette though. Novak is a 98% FT shooter.. yes 98%. and he missed one. Then he missed a WIDE OPEN 3 to tie it. The guy just doesn't miss open shots... ever. He is like the poor mans Redick with better size. It was funny to see him look like someone fucked his sister in front of him though after that...

3/17/2006 8:49:36 AM

the big east is not overrated

syracuse was obviously fatigued, mentally and physically

GMac was hurting

march is mad

3/17/2006 8:57:13 AM

the Big East is overrated, but not by much... they're almost heralded as the guarenteed national championship conference from now on... and nobody can live up to that...

personally, i'm surprised as hell that syracuse lost, SH and Marq don't shock me, but i thought Syracuse would play Duke

3/17/2006 8:58:53 AM

Teams that are a lock don't play hard in their conference tournaments. ACC tourney is probably the best in terms of teams not phoning it in. SO if that's your point of reference....

3/17/2006 9:01:24 AM

its almost like these are college athletes and not robots whose performances can vary

3/17/2006 9:05:49 AM

plus they lost to fucking bucknell

3/17/2006 9:07:17 AM

^^ except for ncsu. we are definitely basketball robots

3/17/2006 9:21:58 AM

Quote :

"the big east is not overrated syracuse was obviously fatigued, mentally and physically GMac was hurting march is mad"

Wasn't the big East 0-4 yesterday?

(Granted, I realize all 4 teams will probably win today)

3/17/2006 9:30:22 AM

Quote :

"Same thing happened to State Sendek's first year. Play really nasty inspired ball in the conference tournament, ran out of gas, and collapsed."

i dont know if anyone has addressed this, but its not really the same at all.

we ended up losing to a good UNC team, not a decent big 12 team. we lost b/c, frankly, dean smith had a stroke of genius. he put zwikker on gainey and kept zwikker no higher than foul line extended. he knew gainey wasnt a shooter and zwikker effectively cut off any penetration.

even wiht that, we played close.

3/17/2006 9:52:16 AM

Quote :

"Wasn't the big East 0-4 yesterday?"

0-3

Cuse
Seton Hall
Marquette

they have 5 games today

UConn
Nova
Pitt
W Virginia
G-Town

3/17/2006 10:43:55 AM

I should've picked Syracuse out. I thought they were awful all season.

But then I let them trick me last weekend.

3/17/2006 10:44:45 AM

i got it right, and UMW... to bad i missed everything else

3/17/2006 10:45:51 AM

Georgetown's losing today and Pitt tomorrow.

3/17/2006 10:52:17 AM

i have pitt in the final four

btw, how is pitt gonna lose tomorrow if they play today, and if they win today, they play sunday

3/17/2006 10:56:53 AM

i didnt read this thread

i just wanted to post here and boast that i picked a & m in my brackets

boo yah

3/17/2006 11:24:12 AM

in 1 of my 5 brackets

i had cuse beating duke, then beating us and going to the 4

3/17/2006 11:55:01 AM

I know I'm gonna regret telling you guys this, but.........I have Pitt as my national champion

3/17/2006 1:49:21 PM