NCAA Tournament Thread

[Floater]

O-H-I-O sweet 16!!!

[backwardsk]

Kendall Marshall fractured his right wrist late in the game tonight.

Obviously a brutal loss for Carolina.

That is disappointing. What a tough dude to get up and keep playing. The studio on TBS mentioned thatBarnes might play point forward.

[PrivateO]

If UC wins this, 25% of the Sweet 16 will be represented by the State of Ohio. 7-0 in the tournament.

Great comeback win. Kenny Frease had the game of his life with 25 points and 12 boards. He needed it since Mark Lyons had a disappointing game and Dez Wells got hurt early and did not return. Just a rollercoaster of a season after the brawl and it's great to be back at the Sweet 16. Only one of four teams to make it 4 of five seasons to the Sweet 16. X, UNC, Michigan St., and Kansas. Great company if I say so myself.

I'll enjoy it for now, but it's on to Baylor. Not sure how we'll beat Baylor though. Not a good matchup.

[OFFNY]

Kendall Marshall fractured his right wrist late in the game tonight.

Obviously a brutal loss for Carolina.

Now we'll see if they can really play.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Welp, 50% of my Final Four did not survive the first weekend. What a clusterf.....

[crissfan172]

Welp, 50% of my Final Four did not survive the first weekend. What a clusterf.....

I have 10 Sweet Sixteen teams, 6 Elite Eight, and all Final Four. I pretty much need a perfect run the rest of the way to win my pick 'em group, though.

[PrivateO]

Thoughts on Sweet 16 matchups?

Thursday:
Wisconsin-Syracuse. Wisconsin never disappoints and without Fab Melo, Syracuse has looked suspect. I had the Commodores over the Orange in my bracket, so I'll stick with that theme. My pick: Wisconsin.

Louisville-Michigan St. I haven't seen much of Louisville or Michigan St. except for their conferences' tournaments. Could be a low scoring affair though. My pick: Michigan St.

Cincinnati-Ohio St. I have the Buckeyes going to the Final Four in my bracket but this Bearcats has been playing good basketball lately. I love to see them lose (see: Crosstown Shootout), but when they shoot well, they are almost unbeatable. My pick: Cincinnati.

Florida-Marquette. Behind UC-OSU, this is the game I'm most excited to watch. I love watching Crowder, Cadougan, and Co. play, but Florida has also looked very good in their wins over Virginia and Norfolk St. Was that them playing well or who they were playing against? My pick: Marquette.

Friday's games:

Xavier-Baylor. Heart says X, brain says Bears. I just can't see the Muskies pulling this off facing a long, athletic, tall team in Baylor. Our weakest position is the 4, so there will be mismatches. The perimeter D will have to be strong to negate Heslip's control of the game. I just don't think it's going to be enough, especially if Dez Wells sees limited minutes (He missed 3/4 of the Lehigh game after suffering an injury to the foot. He's currently in a boot but he says he will play Friday). My pick: Baylor.

Ohio-UNC. Did you guys hear Kendall Marshall broke his wrist? Joking aside, I still think the Tarheels win this game even if he doesn't play. The Bobcats fun run should come to an end Friday night. My pick: UNC.

Indiana-Kentucky. A rematch of the infamous game on December 10th when IU hit a buzzer beater to beat the Wildcats. It proved to be the only regular season loss for John Calipari's team. With that said, I think Kentucky has gotten better and better and should handle the Hoosiers in this game, ending a great season for Tom Crean's young squad. My pick: Kentucky.

Kansas-NC State. NC State has shown a lot of confidence in the tournament, upsetting San Diego St. and a very good Georgetown team. I'm just not sure they can handle Taylor and Robinson of the Jayhawks. My pick: Kansas.

[crissfan172]

Wisconsin/Syracuse: It's hard for me to pick against a Bo Ryan coached team, but I just think Syracuse's athleticism is going to be the deciding factor. That being said, if there's one team that will be able to control tempo and exploit Boeheim's zone, it's Wisconsin. Still...gotta go with Syracuse.

Louisville/Michigan State: I haven't really gotten to see Louisville play at all this year, so I'm making this pick out of ignorance. I agree that it's going to be a low-scoring game because that's what Michigan State wants. If MSU can shoot the ball well again on Thursday, I think they get the win. So, I'm going with Michigan State.

Cincinnati/Ohio State: Both teams shoot the ball from behind the arc around the same percentage, so I think Sullinger ends up being the difference maker. I have Ohio State.

Florida/Marquette: I originally had Marquette going to the Elite Eight, but I think Florida is just playing too well right now. I think they'll find a way to win. Gotta go with Florida in this one.

Xavier/Baylor: I'd like to see Xavier win this one, but I think Baylor's length and athleticism will lead them to a win. I think Baylor wins.

Ohio/UNC: I heard that Marshall might play on Friday. Personally, I think him playing will hurt the team. It's easy to defend a player that can only go one way, and that's exactly what he's going to be with his hand injury. Either way, UNC is just too good to lose this game, IMO. I have UNC.

Indiana/Kentucky: Indiana is going to have to shoot lights out from downtown to have a shot in this game. Davis should be able to handle Zeller 1-on-1, so the rest of the defenders can guard the 3 point line. If they can't get open, Kentucky will win fairly easily. Gotta go with Kentucky in this one.

Kansas/NC State: I don't think Kansas is nearly as good as the 2 seed they got. I think NC State is going to surprise people and pull the upset. I've got NC State winning this one.

[crissfan172]

Wisconsin/Syracuse about to tip-off. Who ya got?

[crissfan172]

Wisconsin just scored on their last 2 possessions, but they're doing a terrible job attacking the zone. I understand they can't really run their offense against the 3-2 zone, but you don't beat the zone by passing around it. You have to get penetration.

[hoosiers]

http://ncaa-tournament.si.com/2012/0...-the-sweet-16/

Not sure if anyone has read this article - it's about Net Efficiency Margin (not unrelated to the Kenpom analysis) and it is used to see who is playing better at this time of year.

Anyway, some interesting thoughts about who is hot (NC State), etc. Interesting thoughts Wisky-Syracuse.

[crissfan172]

This has been a great game so far. Syracuse is outplaying Wisconsin, but the 3-ball is keeping Wisconsin in it.

[Pedro Cerrano]

I just can't believe these teams are at 50 pts with over 10 mins to play...

The Badgers need to sustain this sort of 3P% efficiency to stay in this game.

[crissfan172]

Man...Wisconsin can't miss. The ball movement this half has been much better.

[crissfan172]

Terrible final possession.