2017 NCAA Men's Basketball

[progeezer]

With the implosion of my beloved Badgers pretty much complete having gone from 21-3 & #7 to unranked as of this coming Monday for sure, along with the fact that it's March now, I figured "what the hell", I'll just thread this up now & it'll work through the Monday night NCAA championship game.

If WI loses more than one more game (incl the B1G tourney) before the dance, my guess is they'll be playing a higher seed than they are in the first round.

Ethan Happ, who 3 weeks ago was being talked about in the same way as Caleb Swanigan for B1G player of the year, is now being called Ethan "Happless" in the local media.

[Lopez]

Villanova. 'nuff said. Though I do get a bit nervous about the Wildcats playing Butler again and again and again.

[doh]

I enjoy the Little Dance that preps for the Big Dance. For a topsy-turvy tournament, check out the Horizon League. 5/5 games so far have been an upset.

[oilersfan]

Looking forward to the Shockers trying to make another run. Whether they do or not--what a great program. Good kids, great coaching...makes me very proud.

[Facelift]

Looking forward to the Shockers trying to make another run. Whether they do or not--what a great program. Good kids, great coaching...makes me very proud.

They deserve a 4 or 5 seed, but the gutless selection committee will almost surely put them lower.

[Scott Bails]

Villanova. 'nuff said. Though I do get a bit nervous about the Wildcats playing Butler again and again and again.

The 'Cats look strong again, but yeah, those Butler games are concerning.

[Camelogue]

My sleeper team if you can call them that is Butler.

If WVU can shoot well, and their defense plays as it usually does, they may make a nice run.

[proggy_jazzer]

Hoping against hope for a berth for my Iowa Hawkeyes, who are decidedly on the bubble. However, they are coming together at the right time, having a few quality wins in the past month and also having already beaten the top three seeds of the B1G tourney this season. I think if they make the semis of that tournament they ought to be in the big show, and could potentially do some damage there.

My favorite time of the year!

[Facelift]

The top 20, according to Kenpom.com (a metric that the committee has been instructed to consider this year).

1. Gonzaga
2. Villanova
3. West Virginia
4. North Carolina
5. Virginia
6. Florida
7. Kentucky
8. Louisville
9. Kansas
10. Wichita St.
11. Baylor
12. St. Mary's
13. SMU
14. Purdue
15. Duke
16. UCLA
17. Oregon
18. Florida St.
19. Oklahoma St.
20. Cincinnati

Shows how the polls are vastly overrating the Pac-12 schools and Kansas.

[Lou]

Big shout out to NKU (Northern Kentucky) who won the Horizon League Championship tonight giving them an automatic NCAA spot.
This is their FIRST year in Division 1 basketball!

[progeezer]

Hmmm...if the Badgers beat Michigan tomorrow (they're slightly favored) in the B1G Championship game, they'll probably be back up to a #3 or a #4 seed.

[Lou]

Big Ten was so bad this year that the tournament winner, Michigan, only got an 8 seed in the NCAA's

[progeezer]

Big Ten was so bad this year that the tournament winner, Michigan, only got an 8 seed in the NCAA's

And so did the loser of that game, who I'm a bit familiar with.

My good friend Lopez, a Villanova alum, will likely be tactful (unlike me) after they beat the Badgers in the 2nd round (Va. Tech who?)

[progeezer]

And Michigan is a #7 not an #8. Silly me for taking your word for it.

[Lou]

And Michigan is a #7 not an #8. Silly me for taking your word for it.

Ooops!

[proggy_jazzer]

Big Ten was so bad this year that the tournament winner, Michigan, only got an 8 seed in the NCAA's

That's the thing about conference tournaments: a middle-of-the-pack team can get hot over 4 days and win it all. The three arguably best teams in the conference, Purdue, Minnesota, and Maryland, are seeded 4, 5, and 6 respectively. I think the B1G is down a bit in power this year compared to the ACC, but still quite good top-to-bottom. I'm pretty sure no one wants to see any of the 7 B1G teams in an early round game. Having said that, though, I will add that watching the recent Duke/NC tournament matchup was like watching a whole different sport. Damn, those guys are good.

Meanwhile, my Hawkeyes are a #1 seed in the NIT, in spite of their wretched performance against Indiana in the B1G tournament. Hoping they can end their season on a higher note...

[progeezer]

That's the thing about conference tournaments: a middle-of-the-pack team can get hot over 4 days and win it all. The three arguably best teams in the conference, Purdue, Minnesota, and Maryland, are seeded 4, 5, and 6 respectively. I think the B1G is down a bit in power this year compared to the ACC, but still quite good top-to-bottom. I'm pretty sure no one wants to see any of the 7 B1G teams in an early round game. Having said that, though, I will add that watching the recent Duke/NC tournament matchup was like watching a whole different sport. Damn, those guys are good.

Meanwhile, my Hawkeyes are a #1 seed in the NIT, in spite of their wretched performance against Indiana in the B1G tournament. Hoping they can end their season on a higher note...

Good thing you used the word "arguably".

[proggy_jazzer]

Good thing you used the word "arguably".

Hey, I'm actually a Badger fan as well; lived in WI for several years and even married a native! I think they're a really talented group and a lot of fun to watch, but their last month has been pretty disappointing, the run to the B1G tourny finals notwithstanding. A team that shoots free throws as poorly as they do will always be questionable to advance in close games.

Get any B1G to the Final Four and I'll be happy, though. I think the Badgers, Purdue, or Maryland are the best bets.

[progeezer]

Hey, I'm actually a Badger fan as well; lived in WI for several years and even married a native! I think they're a really talented group and a lot of fun to watch, but their last month has been pretty disappointing, the run to the B1G tourny finals notwithstanding. A team that shoots free throws as poorly as they do will always be questionable to advance in close games.

Get any B1G to the Final Four and I'll be happy, though. I think the Badgers, Purdue, or Maryland are the best bets.

All the Badgers have to do is beat Villanova in the 2nd round.

[Lopez]

All the Badgers have to do is beat Villanova in the 2nd round.

I think someone is trying to get someone else here riled up . We shall see. I've always contended that any team can beat any other team on any day. Look at last Friday. Seton Hall, who has played rather so-so most of the season, came mighty close to beating the Wildcats. It came down to the last 6 seconds of the game.

[Facelift]

That's the thing about conference tournaments: a middle-of-the-pack team can get hot over 4 days and win it all. The three arguably best teams in the conference, Purdue, Minnesota, and Maryland, are seeded 4, 5, and 6 respectively. I think the B1G is down a bit in power this year compared to the ACC, but still quite good top-to-bottom. I'm pretty sure no one wants to see any of the 7 B1G teams in an early round game. Having said that, though, I will add that watching the recent Duke/NC tournament matchup was like watching a whole different sport. Damn, those guys are good.

Meanwhile, my Hawkeyes are a #1 seed in the NIT, in spite of their wretched performance against Indiana in the B1G tournament. Hoping they can end their season on a higher note...

The committee was expected to put less emphasis on conference tournaments this year (as they should - you never know which teams in the big conferences are going to show up), and they seem to have carried through with this - no overreaction by giving an 8-loss Duke team a No. 1 seed, and no overreactions elsewhere with conference tournament winners. If only the respect for advanced analytics could have been applied in more places. Wichita St. as a 10 seed is absolutely ridiculous. Should have been a 4; 5 at worst. They are a 7-point favorite over Dayton as the 10 in their 7/10 game. The 8/9 and 7/10 games are supposed to be draws. Wichita as a 10 is a bigger favorite over their 7-seed than some of the 5's are over their 12's.

[progeezer]

I think someone is trying to get someone else here riled up . We shall see. I've always contended that any team can beat any other team on any day. Look at last Friday. Seton Hall, who has played rather so-so most of the season, came mighty close to beating the Wildcats. It came down to the last 6 seconds of the game.

Ahem, see earlier post #13.

[Lopez]

Ahem, see earlier post #13.

Never mind.

[Camelogue]

I miss the days of the Big East. Most hotly contested post season conference tournament.

The move to the ACC has not gone well for Pittsburgh. Recruiting ground of both NY and Philadelphia was lost.

Sold out arena has become half filled or less most of the time.

It was the ticket in town and now you can't give them away.

No horse in the race but I will be paying attention.

[progeezer]

2:40pm in Buffalo (1:40 here) tomorrow is the geezer-LOPEZ showdown, starring the lower-case geezer as David and the upper-case LOPEZ as Goliath.

Out looking for stones for my slingshot today, but I think it's going to be a problem.