2018 NCAA Tournament

[deepdarkblue]

Vitale picks us 83-77

Oh, lord. We're fucked.

 

[aiw]

Gottlieb, too.

 

[CK86]

Lotta Duke fans at the bar I'm at close to arena.

 

[physicsfactor]

Duke fans too drunk to find the arena. KU crowd will overwhelm Allen.

 

[deepdarkblue]

Duke fans too drunk to find the arena. KU crowd will overwhelm Allen.

Shouldn't they be in church all day?

 

[CK86]

There are way more Duke fans than I expected.

 

[CK86]

I figured it would be like 70-30 KU to Duke fans. It looks like it could be closer to 50-50.

 

[rome8180]

At least there will be some friendlies to catch CK when he falls down the arena stairs.

 

[rhfarmer]

Man, I know it's not a normal thought process here, but holy shit did Bill Self coach circles around K tonight. His set plays to get open looks against the various zone looks that Duke played were brilliant.

Lots of back screens with rolls to the basket, great spacing and ball movement. It's a shame that Kansas fell backwards into the Final Four because K wouldn't foul up 3 with 25 seconds left and 2 or 3 fouls to give before the double bonus, but Self did great and he shouldn't be disparaged because K is a fucking dumbass.

 

[DukeCrow]

As long as we don’t run that 1-3-1 bullshit with Bagley at top and Duval down low. That was a weird and awful defensive possession

If only…

 

[DukeCrow]

Rooting for Loyola (+1) and FSU (+4) tonight because I want the biggest spread possible for the natty champer.

Good call, but the spread for Nova against anyone on the left side of the bracket will be huge

(And it sounds like you're on TDD when you call it the "natty champer." But maybe that's the effect you're going for?)

 

[Slap the Floor]

It's very interesting the route Bill Self has taken recently. Whereas Duke and UK are all in on one and dones, Self has shited a little bit and has been really running the transfer game recently. Malik Newman as a 5-star McDonald's AA that played at MIss State for a year, got to sit out and learn at Kansas for an entire year, and then as a redhirt sophomore is a well experienced player that knows the system.

Next year Dedric Lawson the kid that averaged 19ppg at Memphis will be eligible, and he's 6'9 230lbs, and his brother who is a 6'8 guard that averaged 12ppg at Memphis. They have a 5'11 guard Charlie Moore who averaged 12ppg at California as a freshman who will be eligible next year.

That's a lot of talent with college experience sitting out, getting stronger, just developing and focusing on basketball and learning the system. It's like adding one and talent (experienced talented players) without having to go through the learning curve. With the transfer additions along with Dok and De Sousa coming back a year developed to really firm up their interior with Lawson, and with Dotson, Grimes and McCormack coming in I'm really not sure how Kansas isn't the #1 team next year. if Newman comes back it should be unanimous.

 

[SeanMayTriedToEatMe]

Michigan is favored by 5 points over Loyola in the earlier game on Saturday.

Villanova is favored by 5-5.5 points over Kansas in the later game.


The dynamic in Ann Arbor should be interesting if Beilein pulls this off. Harbaugh is worshiped despite accomplishing nothing at Michigan and having an atrocious record against OSU and MSU. Beilein was supposed to be the old guy keeping a program relevant for a few years before retirement.

 

[Inveigle]

Michigan is favored by 5 points over Loyola in the earlier game on Saturday.

Villanova is favored by 5-5.5 points over Kansas in the later game


The dynamic in Ann Arbor should be interesting if Beilein pulls this off. Harbaugh is worshiped despite accomplishing nothing at Michigan and having an atrocious record against OSU and MSU. Beilein was supposed to be the old guy keeping a program relevant for a few years before retirement.

Thats kind of where we are at Duke. Expectations are so low in football that Cut could win 6 games and go to any bowI and fans are happy, but Coach K is riding off into the sunset dragging his trophies

 

[StopThePumpFakesShav]

While this Final 4 is about as stress free as it gets in that I wouldn't be bothered by any of these four programs winning the title, I actually have decided that I'd like Villanova to win comfortably on Saturday. Seeing them beat Kansas with ease would give me some closure on the season by confirming that they are the best team and that Duke probably would have lost to them. If Kansas wins, I'm gonna be haunted by the Allen shot that rimmed out more than I was planning to be.

 

[physicsfactor]

I’m petty. I think KU is in Duke’s spot because of that horrible charge call (and also because of all the terrible things Duke did), so I want KU to get blown out.

 

[CMon85]

That charge call is something I won't get over for a while.

 

[DukeCrow]

Yes, Nova please beat the shit out of them. I want to be 100% convinced that we couldn't have beaten Nova. That would help tremendously.

 

[StopThePumpFakesShav]

That charge call is something I won't get over for a while.

I actually thought we got a decent whistle the rest of the game and that Carter could have fouled out well before that on that bump of the Kansas player where we ended up getting the ball even though the Kansas player didn't even step out of bounds (I believe). So I'm not really worked up about the block call even though I agree it was not correct.

 

[physicsfactor]

The guy dribbled out of bounds. It was the correct call. There was also a great one where a KU player turned around and dribbled right into Duval who happened to be standing there, and they called a blocking foul. They didn’t do so hot with the blocking fouls.