2021 NCAA Tournament (Other games)

[RiseUNT]

16 minutes ago, CMJ said:

After some of the blowouts today, we shouldn't feel so bad about our 23 point loss.  Sometimes it just goes sideways in the Tournament for one team and the other squad is playing at a God level.

 

See USC vs Kansas.

Everyone I talk to I remind them we were on game six in 12 days with back to back overtime games and zero bench. Also we looked great the first ten minutes.

[CMJ]

So here is the breakdown of the big boy leagues.

 

Big 10: 9 teams, 7-8, 1 team in Sweet Sixteens
Big 12: 8 teams, 8-7, 1 team in Sweet Sixteen
ACC: 7 teams, 4-5, 2 teams in Sweet Sixteen
SEC: 6 teams, 6-4, 2 teams in Sweet Sixteen
Big East: 5 teams, 4-3, 2 teams in Sweet Sixteen
Pac 12: 5 teams, 10-1, 4 teams in Sweet Sixteen

 

I think a bid or two easily could have been taken from the Big 10 & 12 and given to a WKU or pick your deserving squad from one of the Mid Major conferences.  It's not like those leagues represented particularly well.

Edited March 23, 2021 by CMJ

[emmitt01]

6 minutes ago, CMJ said:

So here is the breakdown of the big boy leagues.

 

Big 10: 9 teams, 7-8, 1 team in Sweet Sixteens
Big 12: 8 teams, 8-7, 1 team in Sweet Sixteen
ACC: 7 teams, 4-5, 2 teams in Sweet Sixteen
SEC: 6 teams, 6-4, 2 teams in Sweet Sixteen
Big East: 5 teams, 4-3, 2 teams in Sweet Sixteen
Pac 12: 5 teams, 10-1, 4 teams in Sweet Sixteen

 

I think a bid or two easily could have been taken from the Big 10 & 12 and given to a WKU or pick your deserving squad from one of the Mid Major conferences.  It's not like those leagues represented particularly well.

But you know it’s not about “deserving”.  It’s about laboring under the assumption that, because you play in a P5 conference, you must be pretty good.  And if you lose a few games during the year, no problem, because the other teams in your league are P5 too so they must have been pretty good.  

[CMJ]

I mean, the Big 10 was arguably the best league in December.  But because OOC games tend to end in January, we really can't compare if teams and conferences improve over the season.  The Pac 12 obviously greatly improved over the course of the season - but because they're just playing each other no one could really tell.

[greenminer]

L-C vs. Oregon State today @ 1:40PM
Villanova vs Baylor today @ 4:15 on CBS.

Rooting for LC, 'Nova and Zags.  The rest can eat a pile o' poo.

[CMJ]

9 minutes ago, greenminer said:

L-C vs. Oregon State today @ 1:40PM
Villanova vs Baylor today @ 4:15 on CBS.

Rooting for LC, 'Nova and Zags.  The rest can eat a pile o' poo.

No love for Oral Roberts?

[greenminer]

sure! Until then run into Nova, LC or zags

[CMJ]

I'm pretty heartbroken than Loyola Chicago lost.  I really thought they might be the favorite in their region now.  C'est la vie.

 

The Pac-12 shows their dominance.

[greenminer]

I thought for sure LC would get past OSt.  Haven’t had a chance to dig into what happened.  I didn’t think the Beavers were equipped to crack the LC defense.

[UNTLifer]

And Villanova shoots 17% from three. 

[CMJ]

Baylor didn't shoot well either.  Baylor really shut down the Wildcats in the second half though.  They barely scored over 20 points.

[CMJ]

Almost saw history from Oral Roberts there.

[CMJ]

Houston advances.  No disrespect to the Cougars because you can only play who is in front of you, but they've had the easiest trip I can ever remember to the Final Four based on seeding (provided they win on Monday).

 

Beating 15/10/11/12 is a dream path.

Edited March 28, 2021 by CMJ

[Cougar King]

45 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Houston advances.  No disrespect to the Cougars because you can only play who is in front of you, but they're had the easiest trip I can ever remember to the Final Four based on seeding (provided they win on Monday).

 

Beating 15/10/11/12 is a dream path.

We don't miss opportunites. At the end of the day, folks will see that we got to The Elite 8 and perception is reality.

[CMJ]

I'm not saying it isn't.  History won't much care who you beat to get there.  But it's also true that it's a dream trip.  It's hard to remember many that were easier.  The first that comes to mind for me was North Carolina in 1991.  If I recall their trip was 16/9/12/10, and even that I wouldn't necessarily say was easier, but it's comparable.  They were upset at the Final Four by Kansas who then lost to Duke in the Title game.

Edited March 28, 2021 by CMJ

[CMJ]

Pac 12 with three teams in the Elite 8.  USC looks legit and both UCLA and Oregon State are gritty as hell.

 

Gonzaga looked fantastic as did Michigan.  Baylor has been dominant too, should be a good matchup with Arkansas's talented team.  Houston had a fairly easy trip, but they've been getting it done.

[MeanGreenTexan]

8 hours ago, CMJ said:

Pac 12 with three teams in the Elite 8.  USC looks legit and both UCLA and Oregon State are gritty as hell.

 

Gonzaga looked fantastic as did Michigan.  Baylor has been dominant too, should be a good matchup with Arkansas's talented team.  Houston had a fairly easy trip, but they've been getting it done.

Michigan looked good, but FSU looked completely lost.  Careless with the ball, missing layups & open jumpers, defensive lapses...  horrible time to have a team-wide off-night.  Michigan is definitely beatable if UCLA keeps playing like they have been. 

Baylor is cruising, but that Arkansas team plays a lot like them: rangy, athletic dudes that play with tempo.  That's going to be a great game.   

Must be nice for the Cougars to have all the hard work done for them by upsets.   They'll likely move on but lose to the Baylor/AR winner (finally, a difficult team).

I don't think Gonzaga is going to lose.  There isn't a weakness with that team.

[UNTLifer]

Gonzaga's play is a thing of beauty.  They just dismantled Creighton and probably could have beaten them by 35.

[greenminer]

I think I read somewhere a couple weeks ago that the line between the top national teams (Gonzaga and Baylor) and everyone else has never been more clear.  It is obviously those two, then everybody else.

[Matt from A700]

Even though Alabama shat the bed in OT, that full court play with 3.8 seconds left to queue up the tying-3 couldn't have been executed better. What a thing of beauty.

[Cougar King]

That Final Four banner is gonna look real nice in the Fertitta Center.

[greenminer]

Overheard the UH broadcast tonight mention they have a player named Sasser.  My memory immediately went back to 1999-2000 SMU when they had a Jeryl Sasser killing it in the WAC.  1999 POY.  Some AP AA honors.  One of the better players I remember watching from that era.  IIRC, the conference tourney was in Vegas and I watched (in person) that SMU team and UTEP compete in the early rounds.  I think he had a huge fro lol.

So, Sasser - Sasser?, I had to look up a possible connection.  Marcus Sasser of Houston has an uncle Jason Sasser who was the 1996 Southwest Conference Player of the Year and a 2017 inductee into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame.

...Jeryl Sasser (of SMU) had an older brother named Jason.  I think it's safe to say it is the same Jason Sasser that is mentioned in Marcus's biography.

Probably no biggie to most people here, but man! that made me think about how long I've been following the game.
 

 

[CMJ]

I remember Jason Sasser at Texas Tech.  That team in '96 went to the Sweet 16.  Can't remember who they lost to, but I do remember they beat UNC in the Round of 32.

[CMJ]

For a tournament with all the upsets this one had, there's a good chance the Final Four will be three 1 seeds and a 2.

[Matt from A700]

Would love to see Baylor/Gonzaga square off in the championship for a chance at each school's first title. Gonzaga was dominant against USC. Baylor was hot for most of the first half last night against Arkansas but I went to bed early.

If my research is correct, the last time the NCAA Tournament was won by first-time champions in back-to-back dances was 1989 (Michigan) and 1990 (UNLV).