2009 NCAA Basketball Tournament

[LitlBuck]

UCLA better be ready for VCU.

I will be pulling for UCLA just because Seth Davis thinks so much of VCU and I am not bashing VCU. If Davis would not have opened his mouth, I probably would have been rooting for them.

 

[MaxBuck]

I don't think the Pac 10 was weak this season. And I really don't have a big problem with Arizona getting in.

St. Mary's has an argument, but if you're a mid-major with the associated weak schedule you usually don't get in with 6 or more losses. I understand the frustration, and I'd love to see Patty Mills in the Dance also, but objectively I do not think AZ over St. Mary's is all that bad.

 

[Jake]

I will be pulling for UCLA just because Seth Davis thinks so much of VCU and I am not bashing VCU. If Davis would not have opened his mouth, I probably would have been rooting for them.

I hope the fans from LA hit Vegas and put their money on UCLA. Drive that line up just in time for me to get to Vegas, and take advantage of it.

Go VCU.

 

[reagdog]

I don't think the Pac 10 was weak this season. And I really don't have a big problem with Arizona getting in.

St. Mary's has an argument, but if you're a mid-major with the associated weak schedule you usually don't get in with 6 or more losses. I understand the frustration, and I'd love to see Patty Mills in the Dance also, but objectively I do not think AZ over St. Mary's is all that bad.

The Pac-10 was definitely down this season. Uofeh used to be a top 10 team nationally and so did UCLA. Washington is usually pretty good, which they were again this year, but Stanford is usually pretty good and they sucked. Whenever ASU is one of the better teams in the Pac-10, you know it is a down year. When ASU beats Uofeh 3 times in one season, you know Uofeh is sucking balls. Uofeh should suck even bigger balls next year, but they will probably have 15 losses and still make the tournament for some ridiculous reason.

 

[Jake]

I don't think the Pac 10 was weak this season. And I really don't have a big problem with Arizona getting in.

St. Mary's has an argument, but if you're a mid-major with the associated weak schedule you usually don't get in with 6 or more losses. I understand the frustration, and I'd love to see Patty Mills in the Dance also, but objectively I do not think AZ over St. Mary's is all that bad.

Six losses, 4 of which occurred without their best player. Even without him, they beat 30-4 Utah State and lost by 2 to Gonzaga.

Arizona won 2 road games all year, Oregon and Oregon State. Oregon finished last in the PAC 10.

 

[MaliBuckeye]

Is there a BP tournament pool set up?

Just looking for something else to finish last in.

 

[MaxBuck]

... Stanford is usually pretty good and they sucked. They lost an excellent coach in Trent Johnson, so it's not surprising they took a step back. Whenever ASU is one of the better teams in the Pac-10, you know it is a down year. Herb Sendek will have the Sun Devils dancing more often than not. Appreciate what you have - a fine coach with absolutely no personality whatsoever. When ASU beats Uofeh 3 times in one season, you know Uofeh is sucking balls. Uofeh should suck even bigger balls next year, but they will probably have 15 losses and still make the tournament for some ridiculous reason.

The further Lute Olsen recedes into the background, the less aura the Wildcats will have. It will be tough for them to hire anyone with the ability Lute brought to the job.

Sorry that age-related conditions made it necessary for Olsen to retire. Hope he can stave them off for a while; dementia is a difficult condition for family to cope with. :(

 

[OregonBuckeye]

I don't think the Pac 10 was weak this season. And I really don't have a big problem with Arizona getting in.

I feel the complete opposite. Arizona has no business being in this tournament. They have no argument.

And the Pac-10 was way down. UCLA was down, USC went back down, Oregon State was still terrible, Oregon has gone in the toilet, Stanford went down, Cal and Washington stayed about the same, Wazzu has gone back down after some nice years, and really only Arizona State improved and I think that has a lot to do with the rest of the conference. The Pac-10 is getting by on past success. They weren't much better than the SEC this year.

 

[reagdog]

The further Lute Olsen recedes into the background, the less aura the Wildcats will have. It will be tough for them to hire anyone with the ability Lute brought to the job.

Sorry that age-related conditions made it necessary for Olsen to retire. Hope he can stave them off for a while; dementia is a difficult condition for family to cope with. :(

Lute Olsen definitely has lost it. He married some psycho chick and got divorced and now is getting married again. I seriously feel sorry for the old bastard because I think the death of his wife has had a tremendously negative effect on his life (which is understandable). Uofeh will be looking for a new coach after this year and their recruiting has been non-existent for 2+ years since recruits have no idea who the coach is going to be. I think if they don't hire a big name coach, they will slip into mediocrity.

I'm sure Stanford will get back to respectability, but have taken a big step backwards.

I'm excited to have Herb Sendek at ASU, but rumors are that he doesn't like the fan support and might not stay long if the support doesn't increase fast. Now that the Phoenix Suns will probably suck for the foreseeable future, maybe more people will support ASU basketball instead of putting all their eggs in the Suns basket.

USC and UCLA have some really good players, but they just don't seem to put it all together. I expect both of them to be really good next year when they learn to play together a little better.

Washington State has some good young talent and they should be good next year. Same thing with Washington and Cal.

Oregon and Oregon State don't have much to work with.

 

[Jake]

I'm still trying to figure out how BYU got a bid, much less an 8th seed. Their biggest win was over Utah State. Saint Mary's beat Utah State without Patty Mills.

I couldn't figure out how BYU got in last year, either. They weren't there long.

 

[MaxBuck]

...The Pac-10 is getting by on past success. They weren't much better than the SEC this year.

Well, I also think the SEC wasn't nearly so weak as all the pundits have claimed. Every time I saw Florida play, I saw a team that I thought would bitch-slap the Buckeyes. Frankly, had Florida and Kentucky made the tourney I would have thought it appropriate.

OTOH, Big Ten football in the past couple years has been much better than the pundits have claimed, so maybe it all evens out.

 

[MaxBuck]

I'm still trying to figure out how BYU got a bid, much less an 8th seed. Their biggest win was over Utah State. Saint Mary's beat Utah State without Patty Mills.

I couldn't figure out how BYU got in last year, either. They weren't there long.

I agree with everything you say, Jake. All I can figure is there are a bunch of closet LDS on the Committee.

 

[stxbuck]

I don't think the Pac 10 was weak this season. And I really don't have a big problem with Arizona getting in.

St. Mary's has an argument, but if you're a mid-major with the associated weak schedule you usually don't get in with 6 or more losses. I understand the frustration, and I'd love to see Patty Mills in the Dance also, but objectively I do not think AZ over St. Mary's is all that bad.

Honestly, after looking at their resumes, Arizona has a better case than St. Mary's. St. Mary's has a higher RPI, but that is it. Arizona has a much tougher schedule, more wins over Top 100 schools-8, to SM-3, and more wins over NCAA teams-5, including Kansas and Gonzaga, to 1-Utah St. for SM, w/ 3 losses to Gonzaga.

As far as the rest of the tourney- my FF-L'ville,Memphis,Oklahoma,Duke, w/ L'vlle and Oklahoma in the final. I want to see Blake Griffin take "Psycho-T" to the woodshed.

 

[TGfan06]

the "Expert" Digger Phelps has:

1. Pitt vs. 4. Xavier in the Elite 8

Are you serious ESPN? That is the best you can do?

 

[MaxBuck]

OK, all you who are incensed about Zona making the field have a very knowledgable ally: Joe Sheehan at Basketball Prospectus.

I know I said I?d wait until tomorrow, but?.Arizona? Really? Last year, they got in when a third of their schedule was hand-waved away as a product of injuries. This year, they go 2-9 on the road, do absolutely nothing out of state, fall apart down the stretch, finish .500 in conference, get waxed in the conference quarterfinal?and get in?
They weren?t one of my first eight out. Their case is the eight top-100 wins. EVERYTHING else is a negative.

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