Crimson Red Sports

Just want to remind my fellow fans that the games are all over different channels. They include TruTV, TNT, TBS, and CBS.




 :stars:      

I think the first game starts at 11:30 am. I will be away from the computer until probably 4pm so I won't be able to provide updates.



 :(

11 a.m. CST.  Notre Dame game.

If Alabama is not in, then I am not either.  We should be getting close to spring practice.

Your love of basketball is known far and wide.   :lol:

Well I am looking forward to the next in all our sports now. All our teams are getting good. RTR!

So far, I am 4-0 in games.



 :dance:

MTSU whooping Minnesota 59-44 right now. 11:00 to go.



 :popcorn2:

I picked MTSU.   :clap:

I wanted to pick MTSU but talked myself out of it, so naturally they won.



 :wall:

Me too.   :)

Vandy lost to Northwestern.  >:(

I do what I can.  :lol2:

Yeah, how was I supposed to know that an IDIOT ON THE VANDY TEAM WOULD INTENTIONALLY FOUL A NW PLAYER WITH 14 SECONDS LEFT AND VANDY LEADING BY 1??

 >:( >:( >:( >:(

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2017/03/16/vanderbilt-northwestern-ending-highlights-matthew-fisher-davis-foul-video

Well, I'll bet he does now.  :lol2:

The announcers kept bragging about the intelligence of the players on both teams, and called it the "SAT game".

I'll bet every team in the bracket has players with SAT/ACT scores lower than the student body.  Time to stop repeating the fallacy of "student athletes" in bb.

I thought people that went to Vandy were supposed to be smart.

Right you are, 2.

THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SMART.

But now we make exceptions during recruitment of athletes.  So we will never know if it was a stupid mistake ... or stupidity.

 :dunno:

(https://cdn.meme.am/cache/instances/folder367/400x/61751367.jpg)

The hardest games for me to pick were:

Cincinnati over UCLA
Vandy over Northwestern
W. Virginia over Notre Dame
Cincinnati over Kentucky
Marquette over S. Carolina
Miami over Kansas
Michigan over Louisville, then over Purdue


I'll probably get burned with half of them.




 :tinfoil:

Well, I'm 9-2 so far.



 :4:

I'm 13-3 on the first day. Some really tough games on Friday.



 :dog:

Looks like ricky did something wrong again.   :unsure:

14-2 on day 1.  I'll take it.  Missed on Vandy foolishness, and underestimated Wisconsin. 

 :worship: :worship: :worship:

Either Ricky "did something wrong", or he made the worst picks in history!   :dunno:

I never got my pics in at all...  :'( :'( :'(

Ricky did something wrong. I make the worst picks in BB history, Its a direct reflection of my knowledge of Basketball

Bottom of the Totem Pole.   ;D

So, I just checked on my bracket. I'm 13-3, but it shows me at 51%?  ???

Compared to other pickers on ESPN.

I did't know if I should keep using the first thread or start a new one for each day, so here goes. Open to suggestions.

A few interesting games, today:


USC/SMU
Oklahoma/Michigan
JSU/Louisville (I predict I giant slaughter of Gamecocks)
Rhode Island/Creighton
Arkansas/Seton Hall



 :dunno:

Well I am not very good at picking. Maybe I'll get a Blessing one day. lol, RTR!

I missed 5 picks it looks like. Of course I have to pick with my heart not my knowledge if I did I would not pick any winner. RTR!

 :dunno: :dunno:

I count 5 in the first row!   :lol2:

How do I get to the picks I must be looking at the wrong one. RTR!

I merged topics.  Easier to keep tabs on one thread.

Observations from the Tournament.

Baylor and Oregon are both playing right now.  Baylor's uniforms are actually uglier than Oregon's uniforms.  Baylor maxed out on the neon yellow highlighter color.   :yuck:

Verne was calling a game last night.  I guess he's still around for bb.   :stars:

The teams in the Tournament have some really good shooters.  That is something Bama sorely lacks, and will need to take that next step.

I would have but I can't change my stuff after 24 hours. This is a better way to do it. Thanks.



 :wave:

JSU leading Louisville 15-11.




 :o

Louisville 38 JSU 29  Half

Moderators do it with power.   :joker1:

... and I'll change anyone's picks who gets too far ahead!   :lol2:

Aight I am going over to the bracket that pmull has going on espn and check out against all you fellas. RTR!

I was offered the power years ago but I was afraid I would accidentally destroy the site since I am a computer idiot, so I refused the offer.



 :shake:

I'm 19-5 on games right now. Missed on USC, Minnesota, Maryland, Vandy, & Creighton. Of course, on Saturday it gets much tougher.



 :dog:

LF has missed only 4 (only 1 on the right side of the bracket!).

She's kicking me again!!   :(

Well, after the first round I am 25-7. Saturday has some good match-ups.

Virginia/Florida
Villanova/Wisconsin
Iowa State/Purdue
West Virginia/Notre Dame



 :popcorn2:

I'm 24-8 with 15 of my Sweet 16 teams still alive, and all of my Elite 8's still in. I had Vandy knocking off Gonzaga as the major upset of the tournament.  :wall:

W. Va. 32  Notre Dame 29


I usually picked WVA to win in past Tourneys but I picked Notre Dame in this game. ND leads nation in FT's at 80% and have the fewest turnovers per game, 9.3. Still 3:48 left in first half.



 :popcorn2:

Ole Miss knocked #1 seed Syracuse out of the NIT.  Reminds me of Bama knocking Syracuse out of Sweet 16 in 2004.

Excellent!! Plus, they were playing in Syracuse. Jim Boeheim is a whiner and low life.



 :clap: :clap: :clap:

W. Virginia 83 Notre Dame 71 Final
Well, so much for going against my instincts and using logic to pick ND.







(http://www.call-with-current-continuation.org/star-trek-spock1.jpg)







 :facepalm:

Missed that game this morning.  WOOT.
I hate Syracuse (and their cheating coach!).

Well I don't know where I am but it is pretty sitting on the bench for the game. RTR!

Villanova loses to Wisconsin. 

Not surprising. They just didn't have he same mojo as last year. I think I had them losing in the Sweet 16, not the round of 32.

Some really good games Sunday. My picks in ( ).

Michigan/Louisville (Michigan)
Wichita State/Kentucky  (UK)
Michigan State/Kansas  My original pick did not make it but I would pick MSU.
Arkansas/UNC  (UNC)
S. Carolina/Duke (Duke)
Cincinnati/UCLA  (Cincy)



 :popcorn2:

I had Virginia in the Final Four.  :wall:

OUCH!! That hurts. Someone else had Villanova.

ACC sent 9 teams to the Big Dance. Six have been eliminated so far. I love it. Breakdown of won/loss record of each conference as of Sunday morning. See link for all conferences.


ACC      6-6
BIG 12  6-3
PAC 12  6-0
BIG 10  7-3
BIG EAST 5-5
SEC      5-1



http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2017-03-19/march-madness-how-every-conference-has-fared-ncaa-tournament





 :lol3:

I had Villanova going to the NCG. Then UNC winning it. RTR!

I'm kicking butt with my ESPN bracket. I rank number 4,720,000. I'm definitely on a run to make it to first place.



 :dance:         

Apparently Ricky and I are the only ones not smart enough to pick all of the favorites!

 :dunno:

I picked Michigan over Louisville.



 :wave:

SC giving Duke fits. SC 68 Duke 60 with 4:00 left in game.



 :popcorn2:

I picked Duke to win it all, but was pulling for SC all the way. They looked like world beaters. The lowly SEC has 3 teams in the sweet 16.

Me too, on Duke. The mighty ACC had 9 teams in the Tourney and there was talk of them having 11 since the conference was so deep. They have had 9 teams eliminated while the lowly SEC had 5 teams in Tourney and 3 in the Sweet 16. Arkansa could have beaten UNC.




 :clap:

SEC almost had 4/5 in the S16.  Arky should have won that game v. UNC, went stone cold at the end.

This is the only stat that I am even moderately interested in.  :lol2:

Updated records of each conference in the Big Dance.


ACC      7-8
BIG 12  8-3
BIG 10  8-4
BIG EAST 5-5
PAC 12  8-1
SEC      7-2


http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2017-03-20/march-madness-how-every-conference-has-fared-ncaa-tournament



 :popcorn:

Let's sort them by winning percentage:

1.  PAC-12 (8-1)
2.  SEC (7-2)
3.  Big 12 (8-3)
4.  Big 10 (8-4)
5.  Big East (5-5)
6.  ACC (7-8)

Every year, the media hypes up the ACC and the Big East while trashing the SEC.  Then every year the ACC and the Big East get their tails handed too them, while the SEC does very well and usually has at least one team in the final four.  Reminds me of Notre Dame in football, although I think we may have permanently set that record straight in 2012.  :lol2:

Well PAC 12 holding their own. I still have a chance at one team. UNC I understand should have lost but pulled it out. RTR!

Now I got 2 teams that hurt me. Villa and Ariz. My NCG team left is UNC who I picked to win it all. RTR!

Some more interesting games tonight to round out the Elite 8.


Butler/UNC  Butler has beaten Villanova twice this year plus I am not totally sold on UNC. Not sure about this one.

UCLA/Kentucky  The big game tonight. UCLA has already beaten UK once this year and I don't see them doing it again.

Wisconsin/Florida  Florida and their uptempo game is what I expect to win.

So. Carolina/Baylor  Everyone thinks Baylor will blow them out. I'm not so sure of that but USC is an enigma to me.



(http://barfblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/dart.jpg)




 :popcorn2:

UNC crushing Butler in first half, 52-34 and still playing.



 :o

SC 15 Baylor 15 early.



 :popcorn2:

UNC 52 Butler 36  Half



 :-X

SC on 16-0 run. USC 31  Baylor 15 in first half.



 :stars:   

USC 37 Baylor 22  Half




 :clap:   

SC's biggest concern should be, can they keep Frank Martin if some big program pursues him?
UNC 61 Butler 41, 15:00 left in game.



 :think:

SC has taken the bull by the horns. Curb stomped Baylor 70-50 to make it to the Elite 8.

UK 73  UCLA 61  4:: left

Florida 51  Wisconsin 43  13:50 left



 :clap: :clap: :clap:

Florida 84 Wisconsin 83  FINAL

3 SEC team in Elite 8. One from ACC.



 :D   

Florida wins at the buzzer.  Here's the video and summary:

http://scores.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/game?gameId=400947266

This makes me feel much better about where our team is at. Our play in the SEC Tournament was as good as anything I saw in the Sweet 16.

The SEC haters cannot like this. Three teams in the Elite 8 and a guarantee of at least one team in the Final 4.

The SEC has as many teams (3) in the Elite 8 as the other four Power Conferences combined, despite those conferences receiving (combined) more than Five Times as many invites.   ???

Invites by Conference:

ACC: 9
(Big East: 7)
Big10: 7
Big12: 6
SEC: 5
PAC12: 4

Do we have an SEC vs SEC match up in the Elite 8? Wow. This would be cool if we had an SEC on SEC for the NCG. RTR!

We do, Preacher. South Carolina vs Florida.

Okay, here we go to decide part of the Final Four starting at 4 pm.


Xavier/Gonzaga    I am just not convinced that Gonzaga is for real.
Oregon/Kansas    Is Kansas as good as they looked against Purdue?


 :dunno:



 :popcorn2:       

Kansas, Kentucky, and UNC best so far. I agree with MD, not sure Gonzaga is for real but I expect they will beat Xavier.

Updated won-loss records of each conference in the SEC Tournament. Effective today March 25th at 1:30 pm.



ACC      8-8
BIG 12  9-5
BIG 10  8-7
PAC 12  9-3
SEC     10-2
BIG EAST 6-6
MOUNTAIN WEST  4-1  (Gonzaga & St. Mary's)


 :lol:


http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2017-03-25/march-madness-how-every-conference-has-fared-ncaa-tournament

Not tourney news, but still NEWS!  Archie Miller to IU.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/19001709/archie-miller-coach-indiana-hoosiers

Gigantic hire by Indiana. Miller can coach and Dayton is in trouble trying to replace him. Of course, Gottfried is available. I was hoping we could snag Miller after Grant was fired. Oh yeah, Grant is available for hire, too.



 :eyeroll:

Well, Gonzaga is for real. They destroyed Xavier 83-59 & is in the Final Four.



 :clap:

Intriguing game between Oregon and Kansas. I am shocked to see Oregon advance this far after losing one of their best players. A great team and coaching effort.



 :worship: :worship: :worship:   

Oregon and Gonzaga in Final Four. Sounds so strange.




 :unsure:

What a ballgame between Oregon and Kansas last night, this Oregon team is good and I wouldn't be surprised if they make it to the finals and win it all. I looked back at the teams selected for the Big Dance this year and Bama's schedule included many of those selected with Oregon being one of them. We played them there and had a chance for an upset but Oregon was too good and playing at home.

"Close but no cigar" was somewhat the motto for Bama this year as they seemed to find so many different ways to lose a ballgame with missed free throws heading the list. When you look at Bama's schedule it this year, it was very good and provided the team with every chance to make it to the Big Dance provided they win some games and they didn't. Hopefully the players and coaches can anvil look back at what could have been and grow to a team that can play up to their expectations next year. There will be some new players on the team next year via recruiting and transfers and I think a couple of the new ones can add an instant spark to the team. I look back at this year and the one big thing the team missed was having a leader, the "go to"
guy in those close games that were very winnable. I really don't think the team lost any player this year that will have much affect on next years team and if there was one, it would be Bola.

You're right, J. It's crazy when you think about it. SC and Oregon are still alive. Bama beat SC both times they played them, and had Oregon on the ropes late at their place, but couldn't put them away. Florida and Kentucky are 2 more teams that Bama played close, but no cigar. That's 4 of the 6 teams left in the dance that Bama has played, and had chances to beat them all.

I've got a feeling that with the group they will have next year, they should be fun to watch.

The Gonzaga-Xavier plays right before half were CRAZY.  See videos below.

First, a G player slammed the rebound to the floor, and it bounced back up into the X basket.  Then they drove the floor in 4 seconds to score.  Then a X player heaved the ball 80' into the basket.

 :o

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/xavier-hits-insane-80-foot-shot-waved-off-after-review-video-232845146.html
Space down a bit to the first video, then again to the second.

If the returning players will work on their game in the off season and the new ones adapt early to the college level of basketball, this team could have some fun next season.

WOW!!! Crazy stuff!  :o

Bama won at USCe but lost at home.

But I know what you mean.   ;)

We didn't play them at home this year, CP. We beat them in Columbia and we beat them in the SEC tourney.

FINAL FOUR

S. CAROLINA/GONZAGA
OREGON/UNC


What a surprising matchup. Oregon looks the best to me with their defense and team play.



 :popcorn2:

I picked Zaga to win it all.  They've only lost one game all season, and have beaten some good teams along the way -- including Florida, Iowa State, Arizona, and St. Mary's (also Tennessee).  I figured a team that could beat teams with different playing styles and win all but one game all year might just have the consistency to make it in the Tournament.  (Not sure they've played anyone quite like South Carolina though, especially how USCe is playing in the Tournament.)  Gonzaga relies on their Bigs to score more points than most teams (which are relying more and more on the 3-point shot -- a high scorer but prone to inconsistency).

Kansas was lights out against Purdue but looked pedestrian against Oregon.  No consistency.

Kentucky also was very inconsistent playing UNC.  They couldn't make their shots.

UNC is on a mission -- my other bracket in a different group picks them as the winner.

But I'm rooting SEC.

And we were still 2-0 against USCe this year.  ;)

Wow, what a game: Kentucky vs UNC.  I picked UNC to win it all, but Kentucky was their equal yesterday.  Either team could have won!

No idea who will win the championship.  All 4 teams are capable, for sure!

 :dunno:

I don't know why I thought we lost in T-town this year.   :stars:

 :lol2: Don't sweat it, CP. We all have issues with "Sometimerz" from time to time.

I must have been thinking Georgia games.   ???

With USCe getting into the Final 4 the SEC looks competitive. Without this group the SEC would be out but KY falls and we are still in the Final 4 and Alabama beat this bunch one time this year. I have UNC picked as the winner so we shall see. RTR!

ALABAMA WAS 2-0 AGAINST USCe THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 :deadhorse:

Plus, we could have beaten Oregon, Kentucky, & Florida but lack of depth/shooters cost us dearly.



 :dog:

Now I'm not so sure.   ??? ;D

Next year I think we will prove to be stronger than most on schedule. Just be patient and we will win big games. RTR!

At least we beat UNC twice this year!

 :eyeroll:

Which UNC? lol, RTR!