NCAA Tournament

[Bourbon42]

Anybody got any comment on the SC predictions for the NCAA Tournament?

[Marc]

I think Stanford in the West, Duke in the East, and Michigan State in the Midwest are gimmes. But, the SEC is still in question. That conference is so good from top to bottom that any team can beat the other team on any given night. So, I'll have to wait and see in that conference. Don't be surprised to see one of the mentioned teams above not make it, because one probably won't.

[Jersey Devil]

All I know is that I really don't see Michigan State repeating. That said, I have no clue who's going to come out on top. This will definitely be a year for upsets.

[IGotGame]

DAWGS will take the SEC!

[Marc]

Originally posted by IGotGame
DAWGS will take the SEC!
'Fraid to break it to you, but the SEC is just too good and has too many talented teams that are better than Georgia. You have the Vols, Kentucky, Florida, etc. who could all win it. I just don't see it happening...

[iFroggy]

Did he mean the MSU (Mississippi State) Bulldogs and Georgia Bulldogs? They are both ranked so badly I didn't know. ;) lol

[NickHammy]

hey... are buckeyes goin' anywhere this year?

[Marc]

Originally posted by NickHammy
hey... are buckeyes goin' anywhere this year?
Don't think so - at least not the Final Four. They don't have the star power of Scoonie Penn or Michael Redd, unfortunately.

[NickHammy]

Yeah i understand that but do they have a chance at making the tournament? It would make it a lot more exciting if they were in (at least for me). Not that isn't entertaining anyway.

[mattzeme]

Ohio State's on the outside looking in for the NCAA's. They're looking at the NIT, which they might very well win. A home loss to Indiana really hurt them. It would take an incredibly strong (and improbable) finish, including a run into the Big Ten Tournament semis (or finals), for the Bucks to somehow get in. Indiana AND Purdue must both stumble significantly as well.

[NickHammy]

Now with two big wins over Iowa and Wisconsin I am very confident that Ohio State can make it to the NCAA tournament. Winning at least 3 of the next 5 games would be good. They will also have to win a few games in the Big Ten tournament.

[mattzeme]

Just to reaffirm what I said in an e-sports column a week ago, Ohio State is now a near-lock for the Dance. Even if they lose to the Mighty Illini on Thursday, they're still solidly positioned in the upper echelon of the Big 10, with a conference record that is three games above .500. Furthermore, with teams much more decidedly on the bubble struggling, it's highly unlikely that Ohio State, and other third or fourth-place teams in power conferences, will fall all the way out of the tournament field.

[Spike]

Yeah I have a question. Why are there 65 teams in the N.C.A.A. Tournament this year instead of 64? I never heard why that is.

[iFroggy]

I believe that is because of the "Play-In Game."

[Spike]

Yeah I know about that.

But why is the N.C.A.A. even letting them do that?

And what is the "The Play-In Game" anyways? Is that like another conference tournament that just started yesterday?

[Tom Baker]

The play-in is a result of an agreement that there be a set number of automatic bids to conference champions. They couldn't have the requisite number of automatic bids and at-large bids under the 64-team format, so they went to 65.

The winner of the play-in game gets to play Illinois, the top seed in the Midwest, so they know they're pretty much gone by Friday anyway. Then again, it's March Madness--anything can happen, and usually does...

[Marc]

Originally posted by Spike
Yeah I know about that.

But why is the N.C.A.A. even letting them do that?

And what is the "The Play-In Game" anyways? Is that like another conference tournament that just started yesterday?

I think the NCAA promised a tournament bid to one smaller conference and they had to fullfil their promise. The conference name slips me, though.

[NickHammy]

The play in game was added to allow another one of those automatic bids from the small confrences into the tournament.

[Spike]

Thanks for the info guys.

So what do you guys think is the weakest region? I think it's the West. I think the #2 seed is the weak. I think the #4 seed is weak.

The pressure is really on Stanford because this region should be a cakewalk for them. If they go out in the 2nd round again this year or even in the Sweet Sixteen, people won't be praising coach Mike Montgomery of Stanford as the guy who took an academic school and turned them into an annual college basketball powerhouse but rather they'll be thought off maybe like Duke before 1991, "The Buffalo Bills of the N.C.A.A. Tournament".

[Marc]

If you would like to continue this thread, please use this link: http://www.sports-central.org/community/boards/showthread.php?threadid=733

We don't need two of the same threads open.