South Bracket Discussion

[crazybuckfan40]

tOSU - CC

tOSU(100%) - do I need a reason here.


BYU - Xavier

Xavier(65%) - They have an experienced PG, don't have very far at all to travel, while BYU goes across country, they don't have great size to match up with BYU, but they have adequate size that can also step out on the perimeter a little bit to give the BYU guys a test to guard the outside.

Tenn - Long Beach

Tenn(65%) - I think LBSU could give them a nice game and it should be a very high scoring game, but once again LBSU comes all the way to Columbus and will playing very early their time. After that Lofton should be able to score and the big guys down low should be able to get their points.

Va. - Albany

Albany(40%) - Here is my upset. I really do not like this UVA team, they are way to inconsistent for my liking and while Singeltary and Reynolds are very good Albany has some very solid guards, to match up with them.

Loius - Stanford

Louisville(75%) - They are playing 70 miles from home and will have the home crowd. They have size to match up with Stanford down low and they are very athletic which will give Stanford problems.

A & M - Penn

aTm(100%) - I have no idea about Penn, but don't see aTm losing to a team like this...

Nevada - Creighton

Creighton(70%) - Nevada has been rated high all season, but really due to not playing anyone. Fazekas is a great player, but Creighton's big man(name escaping me right now) has great size and stregth and I think will keep Fazekas in check. Then throw in that Creighton has Funk who is a great scorer.

memphis - N. Texas

Memphis(100%) - Once again do I need a reason

The percentage is how confident I am in the picks...

 

[Best Buckeye]

well , we are screwed Jemelle on 1st and ten just picked Louisville to win the bracket.

tOSU - CC

Loius - Stanford

Louisville(75%) - They are playing 70 miles from home and will have the home crowd. They have size to match up with Stanford down low and they are very athletic which will give Stanford problems.

...

hail says "Loius - Stanford (Stanford has been a giant killer. Only team to win in Charlottesville against UVA. Plus Louisville has some discipline issues.)"
can we expound on these disc. problems?

 

[HailToMichigan]

hail says "Loius - Stanford (Stanford has been a giant killer. Only team to win in Charlottesville against UVA. Plus Louisville has some discipline issues.)"
can we expound on these disc. problems?

Yeah. Derrick Caracter (who wins the prize for most ironic name in the tournament) sat half the season cause Pitino didn't like his attitude, and Caracter basically sulked and tried to win a battle of wills. Very young team that Pitino had a bit of trouble controlling earlier in the season. Also discipline as in their style of play. Their three-point shooting is, by tournament standards, atrocious (239th in the country) but they're 36th in the country at total attempts. Hoisting up bad threes has been a hallmark of Louisville teams for some time now and nothing's changed on that front.

 

[Best Buckeye]

I like Albany over Va. Va. has not impressed me all year. I think Albany has better guards.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Had a discussion at a golf tourney today about the NCAA tourney. My point was that if you look at the other 3 #1 seeds road to the Elite 8 and could pick one I'd take ours every time.

UF
#1 gimmie
#2 Purdue/Arizona
#3 Maryland
Oregon/Wisky loom

Kansas
#1 gimmie
#2 UK/Villanova
#3 VaTech/Southern Ill/Illinois
UCLA/Pitt loom

UNC
#1 Gimmie
#2 Marquette/MSU
#3 Texas/USC
Georgetown/WSU/BC loom

OSU
#1 gimmie
#2 BYU/Xavier
#3 UVA/UT
Memphis/ A&M loom

I know there will be upsets, I know every game takes your best effort but if you had to pick one would anyone prefer any of the others? Screw location, I want the best path to the FF.

 

[HailToMichigan]

I like Albany over Va. Va. has not impressed me all year. I think Albany has better guards.

You need to go watch some tape of UVA. Law is good, Conley is good, Lofton is good, but it's not a stretch to argue that Singletary and Reynolds together are the best backcourt in the South bracket. Anybody who thinks UVA is going down thinks so because of the frontcourt, not the backcourt.

Either that or you're just trying to piss me off.

Albany has better guards......sheesh, what games have you been watching all year?

 

[Best Buckeye]

You need to go watch some tape of UVA. Law is good, Conley is good, Lofton is good, but it's not a stretch to argue that Singletary and Reynolds together are the best backcourt in the South bracket. Anybody who thinks UVA is going down thinks so because of the frontcourt, not the backcourt.

Either that or you're just trying to piss me off.

Albany has better guards......sheesh, what games have you been watching all year?

Thats my upset special

 

[Best Buckeye]

Had a discussion at a golf tourney today about the NCAA tourney. My point was that if you look at the other 3 #1 seeds road to the Elite 8 and could pick one I'd take ours every time.


I know there will be upsets, I know every game takes your best effort but if you had to pick one would anyone prefer any of the others? Screw location, I want the best path to the FF.

Yes I agree that we have ,on paper, an easy appearing road. The biggest thing I wonder about is how we match up with some of the teams. If we were to play them. ie Stanford. Even though I don't see them winning their game.

 

[zincfinger]

Albany has better guards......sheesh, what games have you been watching all year?

I wouldn't go so far as to say that Albany has a better backcourt than UVa, but Jamar Wilson is outstanding. Anyone remember when the Greyhounds took UConn to the wire last year, and Wilson ripped up the Husky defense? That wasn't a fluke.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

You need to go watch some tape of UVA. Law is good, Conley is good, Lofton is good, but it's not a stretch to argue that Singletary and Reynolds together are the best backcourt in the South bracket. Anybody who thinks UVA is going down thinks so because of the frontcourt, not the backcourt.

Either that or you're just trying to piss me off.

Albany has better guards......sheesh, what games have you been watching all year?

Yeah Singeltary and Reynolds are very good, but Albany has a very good backcourt...This could be a very good game...The only reason I am holding off a bit from picking Albany is b/c of the insight you are giving about UVA, but what do you make of their bad losses and their inability to show up every night...

 

[Best Buckeye]

Yeah Singeltary and Reynolds are very good, but Albany has a very good backcourt...This could be a very good game...The only reason I am holding off a bit from picking Albany is b/c of the insight you are giving about UVA, but what do you make of their bad losses and their inability to show up every night...

I think that is mainly match ups. They didn't lose for not trying.

 

[Jaxbuck]

Yes I agree that we have ,on paper, an easy appearing road. The biggest thing I wonder about is how we match up with some of the teams. If we were to play them. ie Stanford. Even though I don't see them winning their game.

From what little I know of other teams in CBB I know our frontline gives UVA a problem. I also think we are a matchup problem for Memphis.Bottom line is other than the elite teams(UF, UNC, Kansas) we are a matchup problem for everyone.

I know #1's get knocked off all the time and we'll probably have at least one really close game we shouldn't be having. That said, we will have the more talented team on the court all the way untill the FF should we make it that far. The odds are as in our favor as you can get them to make a deep run.

 

[korchiki]

Well, first off, any OSU-Louisville game would take place in San Antonio, so you guys don't have anything to worry about there. Second, UK fans aren't gonna bother going to the Louisville game just to cheer on the opposition, they have their own team to worry about. Lexington will be a pretty friendly place for the Cardinals this time.

I wasn't saying it for the game against us...i was talking about the first and second rounds...

 

[HailToMichigan]

Yeah Singeltary and Reynolds are very good, but Albany has a very good backcourt...This could be a very good game...The only reason I am holding off a bit from picking Albany is b/c of the insight you are giving about UVA, but what do you make of their bad losses and their inability to show up every night...

Well, regarding our piss-poor showing in the San Juan Shootout (losing to Appy State and Utah and narrowly beating PR-Mayaguez), I suppose this will come off as mega-homeriffic excuse making, but honestly I think the team must have caught a nasty tropical bug or drank some bad water. It's so out-of-character. I usually ignore those games. I think the committee did too, because taking those games entirely out of the equation gives you a much better 4 seed profile.

Simply enough, UVA is still trying to shake the road blues. For as long as I've been a UVA fan they are giant-killers at home and inexplicably awful on the road....more so than the usual college team. Believe me, if this entire tournament was held at the JPJA, I'd fear nobody, not even mighty OSU or Kansas. Leitao's got this team on the right track, because they won at some very tough arenas this year - Maryland especially, the team hasn't won at Maryland in ages and they finally shook that bug. NC State is a tough gym to win at as well because it's so big. But we've still got issues with that, as evidenced by losing at Miami and at Wake.

Plus, guard-heavy teams are always going to be inconsistent. Some days the jumpers fall and sometimes they don't. When we're successful, Singletary is driving hard to the rim, drawing fouls, and setting up open jumpers for Reynolds, Diane, and Joseph. When Singletary has to settle for jumpers himself, we only win if they fall.

Thing is, Albany is the same way - good guards, not much on the interior, so they'll have the same problems, only their guards aren't as talented. I like our chances against Tennessee, because the guard matchup will get the hype, but our big bodies are a bit larger than theirs.

This is all assuming we can put together 40 good minutes of basketball in a gym that isn't in Charlottesville - the quintessential problem for any college hoops team, I guess. That's my take, anyway - little longer than I meant it to be. Like I said, if it's an OSU-UVA matchup in the Sweet 16 (crossing my fingers), you'll hear more UVA basketball than you ever wanted to, I'll probably be claiming that Jason Cain's 'stache could score AND draw the foul on Oden all by itself :tongue2:

 

[DaytonBuck]

The South Region is blessed with some players in addition to all our outstanding crew. Reynolds and Singletary are one of the 5 best 1-2's in the country. Acie Law is one of the the best players I've seen this year. Acie is easily in discussion for being national player of the year. Chris Lofton is on one the best shooters in the country. Chris Douglas Roberts, Antonio Anderson, Joey Dorsey, and Jeremy Hunt are big time basketball players. Jamar Wilson for Albany, Nate Funk and Anthony Toliver for Creighton, Keena Young for BYU, Drew Lavander and Stanley Burrell for Xavier and Ramon Sessions, Nick Fazekas, Marcellus Kemp for Nevada. This region is has some big talent it especially at the guard position.

Guard play drives the NCAA tourny. Virginia and the Vols have had up down years but if their back courts are going they're going to be very hard to beat. Lofton, Ramar and JaJuan Smith from UTK and Singletary and Reynolds from UVA drive those teams. Their success is tied to those guys. If either of those backcourts are playing well their team can make the sweet 16 and give OSU a game.

Albany gave UConn a scare last year and Jamar Wilson is a guy who can carry a team but I see us facing either the Cavs or the Vols in the sweet 16.

Memphis played a OOC schedule that turned out to be weak and played in a weak conference but the Tigers are a legit Final Four contender. John Calipari turned UMass into a national power in the 90's and got them to a final four later vacated by NCAA violations. He can get a team that plays in a weaker conference ready for the big dance. Memphis has great depth, athletes, and a plethora of big men. They're an inconsistent shooting team but they can play.


Random South Observations

-Nevada vs. Creighton will be on of the best games of the first round in the south. Nevada has been to 4 straight trips to the NCAAs including a sweet sixteen while Creighton has made the tourney two of the past three years and 7th appearance in the last 9 years. These are two of the best non-bcs teams over the years squaring off in the first round. Both teams could have been seeded higher but the winner will make a formidable opponent for Memphis in the Second round. Fazekas is a legit top ten player in the country and Sessions and Kemp are a top 20 backcourt. Funk has been injury prone and Tolliver have been inconsistent for Creighton. If they're on the Blue Jays can play with anyone in the country.

-North Texas Coach Johnny Jones was a former interim coach at Memphis during the 90's.

-Xavier as a 9th seed has an edge over BYU playing in Lexington while the Cougs travel across country. Louisville has a huge edge over Stanford and the Aggies in the second round playing in Lexington. That has to be one of the biggest gifts a sixth seed has ever gotten.

-Ibrahim Jaaber from Penn and Jamar Wilson from Albany are two of the best low major guards in the country.

-Guard play determines what happens in this region. The team that wins this region and the others that advance will have outstanding guard play.

-Nevada and Louisville are my lower seeds I can see advancing. Louisville has an advantage in Lexington, Louisville and Nevada field solid team that have resumes of higher seeds.

-Acie Law and Greg Oden are the two players in the region that can carry their respective teams to the Final Four

-Xavier-OSU, Louisville A&M, Memphis Creighton/Nevada, Tennessee Virginia could all potentially be outstanding second round games.