Might as well start an open thread for the games today. Here’s the early afternoon session.
Any upsets this morning? I love RJ Hunter and Georgia State, but couldn’t pick them after watching them only score 38 points in the conference final.
TIP (ET) NETWORK SITE GAME
12:15 p.m. CBS Notre Dame vs. Northeastern
12:40 p.m. truTV UAB vs. Iowa State
1:40 p.m. TBS Baylor vs. Georgia State
2:10 p.m. TNT Arizona vs. Texas Southern
After conc. I CBS Butler vs. Texas
After conc. I truTV SMU vs. UCLA
After conc. I TBS Xavier vs. Ole Miss
After conc. I TNT VCU vs. Ohio State
I think OSU wins. I feel like VCU gets too much credit since they made that tourney run. If you can break the press (like UM did two years ago) then that’s game, and a team like OSU should be able to do that.
Kind of odd watching Iowa State and Notre Dame in the early games. The two former PGs that Michigan offered leading the way.
I love Derrick and think he will have a big year, very disappointing his whole season was derailed due to the injury, but watching Monte play is really fun. No turnovers, sees the game, makes plays. D-Jack has also really come along this year which is good to see.
Kind of odd watching Iowa State and Notre Dame in the early games. The two former PGs that Michigan offered leading the way.
I love Derrick and think he will have a big year, very disappointing his whole season was derailed due to the injury, but watching Monte play is really fun. No turnovers, sees the game, makes plays. D-Jack has also really come along this year which is good to see.
When we initially offered, I thought Jackson was by far the best of the bunch. After watching him last year, I obviously thought I was way off on that. Then, I watched him about 4 or 5 games this year and seen what the HS film reflected…a super athlete, but with a much improved jumpshot. No doubt Jackson has the most NBA potential of the group.
Kind of odd watching Iowa State and Notre Dame in the early games. The two former PGs that Michigan offered leading the way.
I love Derrick and think he will have a big year, very disappointing his whole season was derailed due to the injury, but watching Monte play is really fun. No turnovers, sees the game, makes plays. D-Jack has also really come along this year which is good to see.
When we initially offered, I thought Jackson was by far the best of the bunch. After watching him last year, I obviously thought I was way off on that. Then, I watched him about 4 or 5 games this year and seen what the HS film reflected…a super athlete, but with a much improved jumpshot. No doubt Jackson has the most NBA potential of the group.
When I watched D-Jack in HS he was hit or miss. Sometimes he would dominate, other times he’d struggle to make shots. Definitely has NBA potential with his athleticism, saw some people on Twitter comparing him to Eric Bledsoe.
Monte Morris is the kind of guy that can anchor a program for a few years and do everything you want from the PG spot.
I think Derrick can be that sort of player too, this was just a lost year.
There's the first big upset of the tourney... Iowa State falls to UAB. Love watching Iowa State play too, but what a disappointing opener.
Not surprised at all. Very much like UM in the sense that they are very good offensively but very poor defensively. When the shots aren’t falling, you become very vulnerable.
Today has to be the most “chalk” day in NCAA tournament history. The only lower seed to win was Dayton over Providence, but I think that was far from unexpected.
Was super disappointed to see how Valpo finished their game. Had 30 seconds and were down by three. They did nothing in 17 seconds and called timeout. Then did nothing with those last 13 seconds. Maryland was overplaying their shooters, so a 2 was open if you could beat your man. Sad to see them go for one shot instead of trying to extend the game. Though not awful to see the B1G win that game.
IU and Crean were up for much of the game against Wichita St. Fell behind with about 10 minutes to go and the Shockers never looked back. Again, can’t believe that the Hoosiers were ranked higher by the committee than OSU.
Games I"m interested in today:
OSU-Zona
Butler-Notre Dame
Nothing else really catches my eye. Two 4-5 matchups, but none of the four teams are inspiring. Rooting for UAB over UCLA, though I expect the Bruins to roll. Would pull for Georgia State as that’s a great story, but Xavier is probably my second favorite college bball team.
MSU is probably going to hold onto this win against Virginia. But man, it’s been ugly to watch. Obviously not an MSU fan by any means but no way was I going to choose that game over Hull-Chelsea or Blues-Wings.
MSU is probably going to hold onto this win against Virginia. But man, it's been ugly to watch. Obviously not an MSU fan by any means but no way was I going to choose that game over Hull-Chelsea or Blues-Wings.
I think it’s been a thing of beauty…both teams unwilling to cede anything easy. Tough, intense basketball.
I can't call it a thing of beauty when every possession ends in a foul and neither team can shoot. It's boring to watch
Just a matter of preference. I think it’s a thing of beauty that neither team will relent…it is indicative of a certain mindset that I admire. If you love outside shooting and no defense, this is not a game for you. If you love interior defense and all out hustle, then this game is paradise.
That game was ugly. Any game with that many fouls is ugly. 59 FTAs in a 53 possession game is ridiculous. But that’s probably how you could officiate a lot of games with those two teams.
MSU is playing well and really putting it together – have a hard time seeing anyone in that bracket beating them honestly – but that was just ugly by Virginia. Their offense did nothing for me… They kept trying to post ISO Dawson? Made no sense. No shooters, pretty weak showing by the outright ACC champ.
A lot of people compare UVA and Wisconsin and I know they both play Pack-Line… But man, Wisconsin is so much more enjoyable to watch.
MSU can play as physical and ugly as Virginia, but they won the game with two four minute stretches in each half where they really pushed the pace. Virginia just doesn’t have that in the tank.
Still think two of the best three teams in the field are in the West region.
Just for context, I remember the Pistons beating the Pacers in game 2 of the 2004 ECF…tht game was either in the high 60s/low 70s…not free flowing at all. But I can honestly say that was one of the most entertaining basketball games I’ve ever seen. The effort on behalf of both teams was simply extraordinary.
That game was ugly. Any game with that many fouls is ugly. 59 FTAs in a 53 possession game is ridiculous. But that's probably how you could officiate a lot of games with those two teams.
MSU is playing well and really putting it together – have a hard time seeing anyone in that bracket beating them honestly – but that was just ugly by Virginia. Their offense did nothing for me… They kept trying to post ISO Dawson? Made no sense. No shooters, pretty weak showing by the outright ACC champ.
A lot of people compare UVA and Wisconsin and I know they both play Pack-Line… But man, Wisconsin is so much more enjoyable to watch.
MSU can play as physical and ugly as Virginia, but they won the game with two four minute stretches in each half where they really pushed the pace. Virginia just doesn’t have that in the tank.
Still think two of the best three teams in the field are in the West region.
Let’s be honest, it’s UK and then everybody else. I think the only team with a realistic chance of beating UK is Arizona. They have the combination of size and athleticism to compete with the bigs of UK. The question is do they have the depth?