As far as snubs go, gotta agree with Dickie V (oy) that Belmont should’ve been in. 26 wins is as many as the Zags. They beat major teams every normal non-con season. Should’ve switched them and Staee
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LOL of course all of ESPN said MSU was the most likely 11 seed to advance. Even though they have to win thursday to even get there. They all noted how great they’ve been playing, completely forgetting all the games they didn’t play well. Rece Davis went so far as to say MSU and Syracuse will be favored in the first round which there is no chance of that being true.
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They might want to note the location of all their good performances (and bad ones).
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and MSU got whipped by Maryland twice in a row. MSU is not good outside of the Breslin Center. Got whipped by Michigan at Crisler but held onto beat Michigan at Breslin despite Michigan playing like crap for most of the game.
OSU lost to MSU in a trap game between Michigan and Iowa game and that was after a great game against Michigan.
I’m not sure how Illinois lost to MSU but the refs are letting them play to the point where it resembled closer to a football game than a basketball game which favors MSU.
Overall, I’m not buying MSU as a 11 seed to get out of 1st weekend. They’re a bad shooting team with PG issue and C issue. At least, Izzo has tightened up the rotation which helps. However, they’re far too reliant on the long twos which is dumb.
UCLA has limped into the NCAA with 4 straight losses although it was against 4 NCAA tourney teams. Their profile is meh overall. Texas will likely run MSU out of the court. Their profile screams Texas dominating MSU in the 1st round if MSU beats UCLA
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MSU plays BYU in the first round if they win but I agree.
I keep forgetting to include BYU but BYU’s profile is pretty solid. BYU should be able to handle MSU, they play solid defense and can shoot it from deep.
The first thing that stands out to me about St. Bonaventure is their super tight rotation: only 7 guys. And their starters all play at least 82% of the minutes. One of their backups is a C only so the other bench guy replaces any of the other 4. And from the looks of it they don’t autobench, obviously. Their PG has played 38+ minutes in 12 of the last 14 games, and a couple of those games he had 4 fouls.
The other thing that sticks out, and this is applicable to LSU as well, they give up a ton of 3s but teams shoot a really low percentage. There’s got to be some luck there. Definitely in the case of LSU since it’s not like teams are afraid of going inside on them. Maybe Bona forces tough 3s cause no one wants to attack their big shot blocking C.
I like them to beat LSU though. They pound the glass, and they’ll slow the game down.
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Re: the Bonnies, I’d much rather face LSU. Without Livers we should be looking at matchups where Hunter can dominate and they have one of the best interior defenders in the country. If a team can neutralize Hunter, Michigan is much more vulnerable offensively IMO given his limitations outside of the paint and no Livers
Sorry just skimmed the discussion this may have already been talked about a ton
Yeah after looking into the Bonnies more I think i agree. If Dickinson gets neutralized we have fewer answers now sans Livers.
But LSU is a bit concerning just cause they’re gonna score and a shootout isn’t really something we want to be in without Livers. But I could see Johns having a good game attacking the class.
2 totally different teams. Will be fun to watch.
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I guess one good thing about facing St. Bonaventure would be that Martelli is likely very familiar with their style of play given that he coached in the same conference as St.B and their coach Mark Schmidt for 12 years (Schmidt was hired in 2007, Martelli coached at St. Joe’s until 2019)
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The Bonnies play with a chip on their shoulders, they took good shots against VCU and played hard on defense. They are a quality opponent who have my respect.
I’d like to beat LSU just because they have the dirtiest athletic department in the NCAA.
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Could be wrong but I think the Bonnies run a zone
Now that Dylan is doing a CBB guide, I have much less interest in doing a bracket against all of you!
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He’s got us now. Gotta pay up to make sure you aren’t at a disadvantage. Plan falling into place for Dylan here… 
I’m totally up for participating in a brackets contest. TBH I have so little time this week and that’s a shame, but can’t control workflow. But I’d toss in an entry for sure.
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Lsu looks good on paper. That’s why its trendy or appears tough but they have underachieved hard for a reason. The Bonnies are no joke. Welch, lofton , and their big ( not even gonna attempt it) are a really nice trio and athletic.
That game will be real close. I posted a few times on here throughout the year “lsu seems like they should be better. “
We just need to take care of business on our end and we will get to the sweet 16. Fl st worries me some too but maybe uncg can make something happen for us.
Anyone else think Purdue may be a sneaky pick to the Final Four? Just a thought.
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I don’t like that at all. They mostly lost to all the elite B1G teams, and I can’t see them beating Baylor.
I have been debating it. Been flopping between Arkansas and Purdue. I don’t like Baylor to make it post-covid pause and think they may lose to Wisconsin/UNC or to Purdue. Im playing odds and putting Purdue in the elite 8 beating Baylor since they have an “easy” round 2 vs Villanova.
I don’t trust OSU to make a final 4 based on their defensive metrics and historical trends.
That leads me to Arkansas and Purdue in the elite 8. I don’t love it, but feels like you always need to have 1 region that gets blown up and this seems like a good fit.
Edit: forgot to mention the thing that is pushing me towards Purdue is the coveted top 25 AdjO and AdjD on kenpom that I believe no one else in that region has
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Maybe I’m crazy but their matchup with North Texas looks tough. Not saying they’ll lose but the Mean Green are pretty decent. I’m also probably a little biased because I have family in Denton.
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Yeah that’s pretty much my exact same thinking too. I don’t love OSU and Baylor due to their terrible defensive ratings in Ken Pom and Torvik this month and Purdue seems like a solid squad on both ends who could avoid upset and battle the higher seeds.