So do we want Rhode Island to win this?
Making the sweet 16 and playing Rhode Island would be about as lucky as you can get. I felt we should have been at least a 6 seed and played an 11 seed like them in the first round. Even better with a spot in the elite 8 on the line.
Rhode Island is better than an 11 seed. If they win, it would be a battle of maybe the two hottest teams in the country. Rhode Island would have won ten in a row and 14 of 16. They are a tough team that can defend and attack the rim on offense.
ā¦and Rhode Island 8 fouls to Oregon 1. The bald ref on the baseline loves calling crap fouls.
I think theyāre around 30th in Ken Pom. But, they would be the lowest ranked team weāve faced all tourney by that metricā¦ and preferable to #14 Oregon (albeit now minus Boucher)
So I agree theyāre better than their seed line, but kinda would prefer to see them over Oregon. Theyāre red hot right now, but played in a weak league and lost to some miserable teams.
Plus, theyāve been shooting above their season avg. from deep these first two gamesā¦gotta expect some reversion to the mean 
I think we match up well against Oregon though, so Idk. Tough call. Just gotta win regardless!
URI looks like the better team tonight. If I didnāt know better Iād think they were the #3 seed. But I suspect theyād revert to the mean if we played them.
The defense on that last possession by Rhode Island frightens me a bit. Great denial of the pass to the wingsā¦leading to a turnover. Reminds me of what SC did to us earlier this year. Consistency appears to be an issue there though.
I donāt disagree. Oregon certainly has a higher ceiling than Rhode Island.
Haha. There was just a possession in ri-Oregon game where three separate players were literally knocked to the floor in different actions and the refs called nothing.
My gosh watching the end of that game, yea Iād rather play Rhode Island. down three with thirty seconds left and they just start wasting time and only looking for threes.
The good news is that for stretches of that game, both teams looked inferior to Ok St/Louisville. Should be fun against the Ducks next week!
So, is Oregon significantly worse than before they lost Boucher to injury? They looked pretty ordinary tonight.
I think they are a lot worse on d because he was a rim protector and they gamble a lot on the perimeter. Will be interesting to see if Michigan can play Wagner and Wilson together a lot. Oregon plays small a lot now and not sure they can matchup on d with those two on the floor.
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The DJ/Brooks matchup will likely be key. DJ has struggled with combo forwards who can dribble
Duke in trouble!
This usc-duke second half is wild. Big shot after big shot. First half was a lot of bad basketball but both teams have settled in here. Gotta say I didnāt think usc was real after Michigan played them ages ago but they are a darn good team.
Iād love nothing more (outside of Michigan) than to see both duke and ucla go down tonight but the committee really screwed duke with South Carolina as the 7 in Greenville.
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Duke down 9 with 5:39 to go.
Duke getting some incredibly favorable whistles down the stretch. Iām shocked.
That block call against South Carolina was horrible.