NCAA Tournament

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#76      

wILL-INI

wILL-INI
Charlotte, NC
wILL-INI
BlindLoyalty said:
I tend to agree.

With a full roster, Arizona only lost 3 games all season (@Col, @ WA, UCLA). 3 of their losses were consecutive games in November without Rawle Alkins and a 4th loss was without Allonzo Trier and Sean Miller @ Oregon.

Most cbb fans haven't see much of Ayton b/c he plays in the PAC12. Once the tournament starts, that will change. I have seen him 2 times in person this season, the guy is a generational talent. I dislike UA fans and Sean Miller, but I think it is possible that he can single-handedly carry Arizona to the title.
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He has the talent to wreck brackets. Also since were done and my #1 thing i cheer for in the NCAA tournament is Madness. I really hope they do make a run, win the title, as they are handed the trophy, just like in the movies, a cops comes and slams cuffs on them as they immediately forfeit the title.
 
#77      

wILL-INI

wILL-INI
Charlotte, NC
wILL-INI
SampsonRelpenk said:
Y'all really think we didn't deserve to make the tournament in 2013?
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I think had we not had 22 wins going in, no. It's not as black and white as I previously made it sound.
We were 22-12 heading into the tournament. Not 18-14.
 
#78      

RedRocksIllini

RedRocksIllini
Morrison, CO
RedRocksIllini
wILL-INI said:
He has the talent to wreck brackets. Also since were done and my #1 thing i cheer for in the NCAA tournament is Madness. I really hope they do make a run, win the title, as they are handed the trophy, just like in the movies, a cops comes and slams cuffs on them as they immediately forfeit the title.
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I was hoping for a similar scenario last year while attending the final four and watching UNC win the title and then...nothing happened. Business as usual.
 
#79      

PlayAZ

P
PlayAZ
illinitiger said:
Midwest is brutal....Kansas, Duke, MSU, Aub...I could see NM state knocking off clemson (#12 vs #5)...Ill take MSU in the rematch over Duke.

West looks weakest with Xavier #1 limping into tourney after losing to Providence in conf tourney. I can see Michigan giving NC a run on their side of west bracket. Oh St has a chance against Xavier on the other side of West if they can get past Gonzaga.

May see Sexton vs Brunson in East round 2

Sent from my VS500 using Tapatalk
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Have Ohio State losing to South Dakota State first round.:chief:
 
#80      

wettsten

wettsten
Chicago
wettsten
IlliniJim20 said:
I know this sounds like sour grapes, but it sure seems like Kansas often gets an easier route, on paper, to the final four.
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really? they probably get duke or michigan st in the elite eight. they should have put kentucky in the midwest bracket too so that all of the "champions classic" teams are in the same region.
 
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#81      

KBLEE

KBLEE
Montgomery, IL
KBLEE
IlliniJim20 said:
I know this sounds like sour grapes, but it sure seems like Kansas often gets an easier route, on paper, to the final four.
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They may have an easier 4/5 matchup, but they will likely have to beat MSU or Duke to get to the Final Four. Hardly easy this year.
 
#82      

frozenrope9190

frozenrope9190
Aurora, IL
frozenrope9190
This looks like a tale of the mid-range teams in your conference dictating everything. If the SEC or the Big 12 perform well in non-conference, then it's already decided when it gets to conference play who is getting in, because the opportunity for quality opponents goes through the roof. Nebraska and Oregon didn't get enough good shots at quality opponents once they hit conference play, but a team like Texas or Syracuse or Creighton. Heck, they considered putting every Big 12 team in the dance except for Iowa State.

Gotta win those ACC - Big 10 matches in the future, I guess.
 
#83      

ChiefIllini

C
ChiefIllini
I think this is a historically down year for the B1G. Most teams should be improved next year.

Purdue, MSU, and OSU are going to lose at least a decent amount of talent, but as always MSU has a strong class coming in. Purdue's got a decent young core as does OSU (they've got a few kids coming in too). Anyway, those three will probably be down.

PSU has some underclass studs. Never counting out a beilein team. MD has a pretty insane class coming in. IU is in the running for Langford still. Iowa can be great if they learn to defend. Heck, even Wisconsin will probably be a better team next year, if Happ comes back.

As for the rest, lots of question marks. Minny, NW, Nebby, and of course Rutgers have a lot to prove, but I think at least Nebrasketball will have another tourney shot.

Already enough opinions on us, I'll keep mine to myself for now.
 
#84      

rtbritt

rtbritt
rtbritt
SescIllini said:
I think the 2017 high school bigs/center class is the best/deepest I can remember. I agree Ayton is the best and most NBA ready. Just from the top of my head there is Ayton, Bamba(Texas), McCoy(UNLV), Jackson(MSU), Fernando(Maryland), Robinson(WKU decommit). A tier lower is Tilmon and a couple more. There is also some tall PF types like Porter and Bagley.
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You left off the best one: Marvin Bagley III (Duke)
 
#85      

grue

G
grue
SescIllini said:
They still finished the conference with a 13-5 record, this is so far a deviation from any precedent in regards to the BIG in the field of 68 teams.

Ohio St was the lowest seed at 5, you are going to tell me Nebraska didn't earn a spot somewhere between #7-11? I'm not a Husker fan at, Illini through and through. But the committee selected 8-10 teams, this is a shame. If you don't finish at/above .500 you don't deserve to be in it. Would rather see a Middle Tennessee State than the 8-10 P5 teams.

Once again, this is the worse process/selection I can remember.
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Nebraska's 13-5 conference record is largely due to the luck of the schedule. They played each of MSU, PU, and OSU once. They lost all of those games. If their schedule had each of those teams twice, that 13-5 would likely be 10-8.

There are easily another half dozen teams I'd take in the tournament before NE, including PSU, and maybe MD. Nebraska's 13 wins are: Rutx2, IA, IL, MNx2, NU, WIx2, IN, PSU, MD, MI. This isn't an impressive resume. Their best win away from home was WI.
 
#86      

LarryGotFouled

L
Plano, TX
LarryGotFouled
grue said:
Nebraska's 13-5 conference record is largely due to the luck of the schedule. They played each of MSU, PU, and OSU once. They lost all of those games. If their schedule had each of those teams twice, that 13-5 would likely be 10-8.

There are easily another half dozen teams I'd take in the tournament before NE, including PSU, and maybe MD. Nebraska's 13 wins are: Rutx2, IA, IL, MNx2, NU, WIx2, IN, PSU, MD, MI. This isn't an impressive resume. Their best win away from home was WI.
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The crazy thing is that they had a 'bad loss' in that 5 to us! Assuming Nebraska had beaten us, they would have been 14-4 in the B1G but *still* no quality wins. Hard to believe that beating Illinois this year was the difference in them making the tournament, so that would have meant a 14-4 B1G record not getting selected. That would have been truly amazing.
 
#88      

KrushCow31

KrushCow31
Former Krush Cow
Chicago, IL
KrushCow31
Call me crazy, but I have Loyola in the Sweet 16. Not sure what to do with Virginia vs Arizona or Duke vs Michigan State though.
 
#89      

grue

G
grue
whatahack said:
I'm sure many will disagree, but if you have a below .500 record in your conference, I don't think you should get it the tournament.
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What is the rational for this?

Hypothetical: The ten best teams in the country are in the same conference. They won 100% of their non-conference games, in blowouts. Half the teams went 10-8, and the other half 8-10.

Should the bottom half be excluded from the tournament? Would the tournament be better as a result?

Let's change the above story. Now half the teams go 15-3, and the other half 3-15. Should the second group be excluded? If so, why? They soundly beat every other team being considered for the tournament.
 
#90      

FightingIllini09

F
Belleville, IL
FightingIllini09
KrushCow31 said:
Call me crazy, but I have Loyola in the Sweet 16. Not sure what to do with Virginia vs Arizona or Duke vs Michigan State though.
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Those 2 games (if they occur) will be absolute barnburners.

I have Duke in the F4, and that's the game I'm most nervous about - much moreso than Kansas if Selfie even makes it that far.
 
#91      

sacraig

sacraig
The desert
sacraig
BlindLoyalty said:
I tend to agree.

With a full roster, Arizona only lost 3 games all season (@Col, @ WA, UCLA). 3 of their losses were consecutive games in November without Rawle Alkins and a 4th loss was without Allonzo Trier and Sean Miller @ Oregon.

Most cbb fans haven't see much of Ayton b/c he plays in the PAC12. Once the tournament starts, that will change. I have seen him 2 times in person this season, the guy is a generational talent. I dislike UA fans and Sean Miller, but I think it is possible that he can single-handedly carry Arizona to the title.
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What about UI/UA fans?
 
#92      

urbanite

U
urbanite
ChiefIllini said:
I think this is a historically down year for the B1G.
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That seems to be the narrative, but it's somewhat unfounded. Going by KenPom efficiency margins, while the conference median is the lowest since 2004, the conference average is the best since 2014, and the average of the top four teams is the best since 2013.
 
#94      

ChiefIllini

C
ChiefIllini
urbanite said:
That seems to be the narrative, but it's somewhat unfounded. Going by KenPom efficiency margins, while the conference median is the lowest since 2004, the conference average is the best since 2014, and the average of the top four teams is the best since 2013.
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Extremely top heavy year. Typically you have 2 or so really good teams, then about 4 more that were in and out of the top 25, then another 3 or 4 on the cusp. I think that first group has expanded to 4 9those teams that made it), but that second group doesn't exist. Neither PSU or Nebby deserve to be in the top 25 or really get votes. No other team is close either. Rutgers, Iowa, and Illinois having very bad years, even through Minny in there with their collapse.


Thats rare. The conference is floated by a few very good teams. Maybe this is what you were trying to get at. Still, I think as a conference, you would consider this a down year.
 
#95      

sacraig

sacraig
The desert
sacraig
BlindLoyalty said:
Simple. Who were you cheering for on March 26, 2005? Don't tell me you were at Dirtbag's on Speedway flashing the WC sign.
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Clearly Illinois. Grew up an Illinois fan, got my BS from Illinois, former Orange Krush member... This isn't even a question. I just also have a (less strong) affiliation with Arizona due to developments later in life.
 
#96      

KrushCow31

KrushCow31
Former Krush Cow
Chicago, IL
KrushCow31
FightingIllini09 said:
Those 2 games (if they occur) will be absolute barnburners.

I have Duke in the F4, and that's the game I'm most nervous about - much moreso than Kansas if Selfie even makes it that far.
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Agreed. I just don't trust a defensive oriented team like Virginia to actually win against a high powered offense. I mean they scrapped by Notre Dame at the end of the season as well as Clemson. I can't imagine them against Arizona but then they beat UNC... So who knows.
 
#97      

TCTORNADO

TCTORNADO
TCTORNADO
ChiefIllini said:
Extremely top heavy year. Typically you have 2 or so really good teams, then about 4 more that were in and out of the top 25, then another 3 or 4 on the cusp. I think that first group has expanded to 4 9those teams that made it), but that second group doesn't exist. Neither PSU or Nebby deserve to be in the top 25 or really get votes. No other team is close either. Rutgers, Iowa, and Illinois having very bad years, even through Minny in there with their collapse.


Thats rare. The conference is floated by a few very good teams. Maybe this is what you were trying to get at. Still, I think as a conference, you would consider this a down year.
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RPI ranking of B1G conference this year was 6th.
 
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