Close, if only home slice had kicked the ball out past the arc, they could have potentially put it into ot. On a separate note, Go Norfolk State! They have the heart to take down Mizzou...but do they have the talent?
Lehigh was awesome, but that Norfolk State game was just awesome. My obnoxious Mizzou alumni coworkers both looked like they ate bad seafood. And neither had ANYTHING responses, just awesome. I hope Austin Rivers is crying somewhere. As much as I like his dad, he's just a douche of the highest order. Like Mark Titus once said, Rivers has such a punchable face
Both 15-2 game were awesome. I'm ecstatic Mizzou got taken down, it means the Spartans have an easier road to the final four/Championship...you're damn right. Also with Duke losing, I just laughed. And Michigan getting taken down, all is well in the world. And Green got another triple double...goddamn. On an even better note, my bracket isn't all lost. I still have my final 4, 6 of the elite 8, and 13 of the sweet 16 as of right now. S'all good. What a damn good tournament. Go Green, Go White! All the way to the Championship!
Stay classy Dook: Rivers: "I prepare to win. That's what Duke's about. This doesn't happen. We fucking lost to a 15 seed." Of course I have to comment on Ohio. The win over Georgetown two years ago was a bit fluky. During the course of that season, we had one player quit the team, another booted from the team, another ended his season with a hand injury after ten games, and two more who served multiple-game suspensions mid-season. Somehow they rallied together, played their best ball starting in late February, and had a hot shooting night. This year, I've seen a big shift in team attitude. We lost by five to Louisville earlier this year and the team was pissed they couldn't pull it out. DJ Cooper, in a post-game interview, said the team doesn't look at tonight as an upset, and that they truly believed they are a better team than Michigan. The scariest part is that everyone returns next year...there are no seniors (we did just have a freshman forward leave the team for academic reasons. He was our 10th guy off the bench, but did show a lot of promise in his opportunities) and we add Mizzou transfer, Kadeem Green. I hope John Groce stays for one more year, but there will be interested ADs looking to hire a new coach. There are rumblings on the Ohio board that Nebraska will pursue him. Eww, coaching graveyard. However, if Illinois doesn't land Shaka Smart, Groce could be next in line, and I can't see him turning it down.
Marquette makes back to back Sweet 16s, I'm a happy camper. And make no mistake, that was a road game, they showed plenty of shots of UK fans cheering wildly with Murray St fans and that place got loud at critical times. Just happy they pulled it out, Crowder is playing like a man possessed. The officiating in this year's tourney has been so god awful. That UW-Vandy came was just terribly inconsistent with crap calls everywhere. And thats far from an exception.
I'm calling it - Indiana over Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen. This has been a team of destiny all year. Although that VCU ending didn't inspire much confidence. I just think the story for Indiana this year is that they simply find a way to win. EDIT: And how awesome is this first weekend? Dook and Michigan both out in the first round. Two giant killers in Norfolk State and Lehigh University, two schools I can guarantee you no one on this board heard of before the tournament.
Not to be contrarian, only because I was mentioning this to people last night. I was well aware of Norfolk St, because in an interesting scheduling twist with preseason tourneys, Marquette played Norfolk St twice this year. And then Lehigh, I had only seen it in college rankings and then in the span of 6 months I hooked up with two different Lehigh alums between NYC and Chicago. So it was all kind of ironic for me.
Hoya Sad-xa I was at a bar so I wasn't watchign as closely as if I were home...but am I wrong in the thinking the refs weren't calling shit in the Murray State Marquette game, for either team? If I counted the uncalled fouls on my hands, I would have run out of fingers in two minutes. I'd consider this more likely if they hadn't lost a key player two weeks ago.
1/4 of the sweet 16 is representing the buckeye state. First time in NCAA history that 4 teams from one state make it to the sweet 16. Unfortunately we can't have an all Ohio final four as the buckeyes are going to have to put the bearcat's out of their misery on their way to a final four. O-H-I-O
Is it wrong that I'm hoping for Cinci and Xavier to meet again? You know the tournament heads would be crapping their pants.
Not to mention 4 Big Ten teams are in the Sweet 16 as well, and it was almost 5 until Purdue fell short of offing Kansas. Also, had Florida State as my dark horse final four pick, until tonight. So much for that. THANKS FOR NOTHING, SEMINOLES.