2015 NCAA Tournament

[DrumNFeather]

It's time!

With just 5 games remaining in our regular season, and some of the smaller league tournaments just a week or so away, it's time to start looking at what the field of 68 might look like. As teams get auto-bids, we'll fill out the chart below (don't worry, it'll even itself out). Until then, we can speculate away.

Here's a complete list of conference tournament dates: http://www.bloggingthebracket.com/2014/8/11/5963473/2015-mens-college-basketball-conference-tournament-information





AAC
SMU 27-6 (#1 Seed)


ACC
Notre Dame 29-5 (#4 Seed)


America East
Albany 24-8 (#1 Seed)


Atlantic 10
VCU 26-9 (#5 Seed)


Atlantic Sun
North Florida 23-11 (#1 Seed)


Big 12
Iowa St. 25-8 (#2 Seed)


Big East
Villanova 32-2 (#1 Seed)


Big Sky
Eastern Washington 26-8 (#2 Seed)


Big South
Coastal Carolina 24-9 (#3 Seed)


Big Ten
Wisconsin 31-2 (#1 Seed)


Big West
UC Irvine 21-12 (#3 Seed)


CAA
Northeastern 23-11 (#3 Seed)


Conference USA
UAB 19-15 (#4 Seed)


Horizon League
Valparaiso 28-5 (#1 Seed)


MAAC
Manhattan 19-13 (#3 Seed)


MAC
Buffalo 23-9 (#2 Seed)


MEAC
Hampton 16-17 (#6 Seed)


Missouri Valley
Northern Iowa 30-3 (#2 Seed)


Mountain West
Wyoming 25-9 (#4 Seed)


NEC
Robert Morris 19-14 (#2 Seed)


Ohio Valley
Belmont 22-10 (#3 Seed)


Pac 12
Arizona 31-3 (#1 Seed)


Patriot
Lafayette 22-12 (#4 Seed)


SEC
Kentucky 34-0 (#1 Seed)


Southern
Wofford 28-6 (#1 Seed)


Southland
Stephen F. Austin 29-4 (#1 Seed)


Summit
North Dakota St. 23-9 (#2 Seed)


Sun Belt
Georgia St. (24-9) (#1 Seed)


SWAC
Texas Southern 22-12 (#1 Seed)


WAC
New Mexico St. 23-10 (#1 Seed)


WCC
Gonzaga 32-2 (#1 Seed)


IVY
Harvard 22-7

[DrumNFeather]

From ESPN’s Bubble Watch:

AAC


Locks – SMU
Work Left to do – Temple, Tulsa, Cincinnati

A10


Locks – VCU
Work Left to do – Dayton, UMASS, Davidson, Rhode Island

ACC


Locks – UVA, Duke, UNC, Louisville, Notre Dame
Work left to do – NC St, Pitt, Miami

B12


Locks – Kansas, ISU, Oklahoma
Work left to do – Baylor, WVU, OK. St, Texas

Big East


Locks – Villanova
Work Left to do – Georgetown, Providence, Butler, Xavier, St. John’s

Big 10


Locks – Wisconsin, Maryland
Work left to do – Indiana, MSU, Ohio St., Illinois, Iowa, Purdue

MWC


Locks – SDSU
Work left to do – CSU, Boise St.

Pac 12


Locks – Utah, Arizona
Work left to do – UCLA, Stanford, Oregon

SEC

Locks – Kentucky, Arkansas
Work left to do – Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Georgia, LSU

Other


Locks – Gonzaga, Northern Iowa, Wichita St.
Work left to do – BYU, Old Dominion

[Utah]

Here's how Utah probably wants it to end up:

Best case, most realistic scenario:
Gonzaga, Arizona as 2 seeds. Utah as a 3.
This would put Gonzaga in the west forcing Arizona back east, and allowing Utah to stay out West.

Best case, dreaming slightly:
Gonzaga a 1, Utah a 2, Arizona a 2 or 3.
This would put Gonzaga and Utah out west, Arizona back east.

Worst case:
Gonzaga a 1, Arizona a 2, Utah a 3.
This puts Arizona and Gonzaga out west, and most likely puts Utah in Cleveland with Kentucky.

We would want to stick with Gonzaga and stay out west. Arizona gets screwed, unless they can stay a 2 (very likely), and Gonzaga jumps one of Kentucky, Wisconsin, Virginia, Duke into a 1 seed. Then that would hurt Utah, forcing Utah out of the west.

[DrumNFeather]

Interesting read from Seth Davis on some myths related to the tournament selection process: http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/02/23/hoop-thoughts-selection-sunday-ncaa-tournament

[U-Ute]

Sporting News (http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2015-02-23/ncaa-tournament-2015-seeding-selection-sunday-no-1-bracket-kentucky-rankings-college-basketball) still has Utah with an outside chance at a 2 seed.



Utah
Record: 21-5
Record vs. RPI Top 25: 1-3
Record vs. RPI Top 50: 3-4
Record vs. RPI Top 100: 9-5
Bad losses: None
Best wins: Wichita State, UCLA, Stanford
Remaining schedule: Arizona State, Arizona, at Washington State, at Washington, Pac-12 Tournament
Next up: Thursday vs. Arizona State, 10:30 p.m, Fox Sports 1
Overview: The relative absence of high-quality victories – as well as that fifth loss that came Sunday against Oregon — will keep Utah out of the No. 1 seed conversation and make the Utes the most disposable of the 2-seed contenders. But they could solidify their contention for the 2 line with a home win over Arizona and a Pac-12 tourney title.

That record against top 25 RPI... :Ashamed:

[DrumNFeather]

As of last nights results, bracketology shows:

2 - Arizona
3 - Utah
11- Oregon
11- UCLA (last four in)

Stanford (last four out)

[DrumNFeather]

As of last nights results, bracketology shows:

2 - Arizona
3 - Utah
11- Oregon
11- UCLA (last four in)

Stanford (last four out)
At halftime of the Arizona/Colorado game, Lunardi said that Arizona doesn't move no matter what happens on Saturday. The Utes on the other hand could move up to the 2 line. The only problem would be Kansas being ahead of them and having the head to head.

[concerned]

At halftime of the Arizona/Colorado game, Lunardi said that Arizona doesn't move no matter what happens on Saturday. The Utes on the other hand could move up to the 2 line. The only problem would be Kansas being ahead of them and having the head to head.

Is we are a 2, we will be the 8 seed in uk's bracket. Better off as a 3 as tha 9 seed.

[U-Ute]

Win or lose tomorrow, the big thing is to stay off of that #4 line. Being a 2 or 3 seed really doesn't make much difference. I'd rather be a 3 seed and be close to home than a 2 seed in the east.

[DrumNFeather]

NC St, who had seemingly played its way into the tournament over the last few weeks (9 seed in the current projection) is getting thumped by Boston College (currently 1-14 in the ACC). This probably puts them back on the bubble.

[chrisrenrut]

Wichita St. with a convincing win over 11th ranked UNI. They are looking easily as our best win, unless we pull it off tonight.

[Utah]

Is we are a 2, we will be the 8 seed in uk's bracket. Better off as a 3 as tha 9 seed.

This. We want Gonzaga and Arizona as 2 seeds and us as a three seed. That will put us in the West with Gonzaga. If Arizona and Gonzaga end up with different seeds, then that will push us east.

[DrumNFeather]

The small school conference tourneys kick off tonight, so we'll start filling in the auto-bids.

Also, with Texas beating Baylor, and other bubble teams getting big wins, we're looking more and more like a 3-bid league. I think at this point either UCLA or Stanford is going to have to knock of Arizona in the P12 tourney to get in, and even if they do that they might be heading to Dayton for the first four.

[U-Ute]

Jon Wilner reminds us (http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2015/02/26/pac-12-basketball-reminders-as-selection-sunday-approaches/#more-39020) about what is and isn't important as the PAC-12 heads into Selection Sunday.



*** What does matter in the process? In a nutshell:


Quality wins
Lack of bad losses
Strength of schedule
Scheduling intent
Eye test

I think that the top item is the only category where Utah fails.

[SoCalPat]

Jon Wilner reminds us (http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2015/02/26/pac-12-basketball-reminders-as-selection-sunday-approaches/#more-39020) about what is and isn't important as the PAC-12 heads into Selection Sunday.



I think that the top item is the only category where Utah fails.

Ranked, as they pertain to Utah

1. Lack of bad losses (indisputable)

2. Scheduling intent (we backed away from no one -- Larry will be first to say he needed another top 100 home game, but wasn't going to hit the road for ANOTHER top 50 road game)

3. Eye test (analytics back up a lot about what makes Utah dominant)

4. SOS (We didn't get what we were looking for out of UNLV and the rest of the league. We had the easiest runner-up finish this league has probably ever seen)

5. Quality wins (Blame No. 4. Thank god for the Shox and BYU.)

[sancho]

Jon Wilner reminds us (http://blogs.mercurynews.com/collegesports/2015/02/26/pac-12-basketball-reminders-as-selection-sunday-approaches/#more-39020) about what is and isn't important as the PAC-12 heads into Selection Sunday.



SI.com did one of these last week. "Myths of selection" articles are so common in early March. The thing is, they are all written by people who have never been on the selection committee. They always want to tell us that RPI doesn't matter, except when it does. The selection committee never considers conference affiliation, which cannot possibly be true on the subconscious level and is almost certainly not even true at the discussion level.

[sancho]

Question:

Why do the last teams in get 11 seeds? Why does, say, Stanford get an 11 while, say, Murray State gets a 12. I think everyone knows that Murray State is a better team. Is this why there are so many 5-12 upsets? Do they do it to ensure 5-12 upsets? The 6 seed seems like a much better place for the first round. The 11 seeds are usually full of bad P5 teams, while the 12/13 seeds are often full of good mid majors.

[U-Ute]

Question:

Why do the last teams in get 11 seeds? Why does, say, Stanford get an 11 while, say, Murray State gets a 12. I think everyone knows that Murray State is a better team. Is this why there are so many 5-12 upsets? Do they do it to ensure 5-12 upsets? The 6 seed seems like a much better place for the first round. The 11 seeds are usually full of bad P5 teams, while the 12/13 seeds are often full of good mid majors.

Typically the 12 seeds go to the champions of smaller conferences that have an automatic qualifier. Usually those teams aren't better and don't have the talent to compete. Sometimes they do surprise. Even still, I've seen them get higher seeds when they do have talent though, so it isn't a foregone conclusion (see the MVC before it was sexy to pick them).

[sancho]

Typically the 12 seeds go to the champions of smaller conferences that have an automatic qualifier. Usually those teams aren't better and don't have the talent to compete. Sometimes they do surprise. Even still, I've seen them get higher seeds when they do have talent though, so it isn't a foregone conclusion (see the MVC before it was sexy to pick them).

Murray State is #25 in the AP poll. They are clearly better than a 12 seed, but that is where ESPN has them right now because they are going to be the auto-bid in a small conference. Teams that would get an at-large but belong to one-bid leagues often get a worse seed than they should.

The committee is so accustomed to putting the auto-bids in at 12-16 that they often miss teams that should be higher. A team that won its conference and won its conference tournament will often be better than the "last four in," but the seeding rarely goes that way.

[DrumNFeather]

We're still a 4 seed in the South according to the latest Bracketology. Arkansas has been replaced by WVU as the 5 in that bracket. They could give us trouble (hypothetically).

[SoCalPat]

Typically the 12 seeds go to the champions of smaller conferences that have an automatic qualifier. Usually those teams aren't better and don't have the talent to compete. Sometimes they do surprise. Even still, I've seen them get higher seeds when they do have talent though, so it isn't a foregone conclusion (see the MVC before it was sexy to pick them).

There are three kinds of 12 seeds

1. Surprise tournament champions from multiple-bid leagues. I think these kinds of teams pose the least amount of threat in a 5-12 matchup.

2. Your last team in from a power league that has 3 or more berths that didn't win a conference tournament. These are the scary teams. They've had rest, they've been tested and they likely have multiple top 50 RPI wins (as well as multiple sub-150 RPI losses). Very unpredictable.

3. Your best teams (regular season and conference tournament winner) from one-bid leagues. Since the field expanded to 68, you're seeing this happen frequently. Last year, three of the five 12 seeds fit this bill (the other two 12 seeds were teams that fit No. 2 -- NC State and Xavier -- in a First Four game). THese teams are usually senior-laden and don't get rattled. They're not as talented, to be sure, but they can trump that with the intangibles.

[sancho]

There are three kinds of 12 seeds

1. Surprise tournament champions from multiple-bid leagues. I think these kinds of teams pose the least amount of threat in a 5-12 matchup.

2. Your last team in from a power league that has 3 or more berths that didn't win a conference tournament. These are the scary teams. They've had rest, they've been tested and they likely have multiple top 50 RPI wins (as well as multiple sub-150 RPI losses). Very unpredictable.

3. Your best teams (regular season and conference tournament winner) from one-bid leagues. Since the field expanded to 68, you're seeing this happen frequently. Last year, three of the five 12 seeds fit this bill (the other two 12 seeds were teams that fit No. 2 -- NC State and Xavier -- in a First Four game). THese teams are usually senior-laden and don't get rattled. They're not as talented, to be sure, but they can trump that with the intangibles.

Yes, and your list is also a power ranking. I'd prefer to see type 1, then type 2, and would like to avoid type 3.

[DrumNFeather]

Well, now we have a bad loss. A really bad loss.

[Mormon Red Death]

That loss sealed a 5 seed in the Midwest (KENTUCKY region)

[DrumNFeather]

Illinois St. beat Wichita St. If they can knock off No. Iowa, the bubble will shrink by one.

[DrumNFeather]

Dartmouth beats Yale to force a one game playoff game between Harvard and Yale for the Ivy League crown.

[sancho]

Dartmouth beats Yale to force a one game playoff game between Harvard and Yale for the Ivy League crown.

The ivy league has no business being in the tournament.

[DrumNFeather]

I also failed to mention that Belmont took out Murray St. in the Ohio Valley and punched the first official ticket to the big dance. Does Murray St. land an At-large? Ranked #25 in the AP, #68 in the RPI, no real quality wins, probably not.

[sancho]

I also failed to mention that Belmont took out Murray St. in the Ohio Valley and punched the first official ticket to the big dance. Does Murray St. land an At-large? Ranked #25 in the AP, #68 in the RPI, no real quality wins, probably not.

So dumb. We all agree that Murray is a top 40 team, but we've locked ourselves into a series of numbers. I'm all for numbers, but don't let them push you around.

[DrumNFeather]

So dumb. We all agree that Murray is a top 40 team, but we've locked ourselves into a series of numbers. I'm all for numbers, but don't let them push you around.

Yeah...wouldn't it be interesting if that first four was reserved for small conference teams like Murray St., who have a great season and get knocked off in their conf. tourney instead of the 8th team in the Big 12 or whatever.

[DrumNFeather]

North Florida, Northern Iowa, and Coastal Carolina all going dancing.

CAA bid goes out tomorrow night.

[SoCalPat]

North Florida, Northern Iowa, and Coastal Carolina all going dancing.

CAA bid goes out tomorrow night.

That UNI win was significant. A loss would've made the MVC an unexpected 3-bid league.

[DrumNFeather]

William & Mary is one of 5 schools to have never played in the NCAA tournament. After coming into the CAA tournament as the #1 seed, they remain on that list after losing to Northeastern.

[DrumNFeather]

Wofford wins the Southern Conference. They could be one of those low seed teams that could pull off the upset.

[SoCalPat]

William & Mary is one of 5 schools to have never played in the NCAA tournament. After coming into the CAA tournament as the #1 seed, they remain on that list after losing to Northeastern.

There's a caveat in that William & Mary factoid (I think the five schools' D-1 history in question stretches back to the 1950s or something like that), but I keep waiting for W&M to break through. My point is, there are 340 schools currently in D-1, and I'd be willing to guess only 275 have made the tournament.

Also, the only P5 school never to make it to the NCAA Tournament is Northwestern. Interesting, given who William and Mary lost to last night.

[DrumNFeather]

There's a caveat in that William & Mary factoid (I think the five schools' D-1 history in question stretches back to the 1950s or something like that), but I keep waiting for W&M to break through. My point is, there are 340 schools currently in D-1, and I'd be willing to guess only 275 have made the tournament.

Also, the only P5 school never to make it to the NCAA Tournament is Northwestern. Interesting, given who William and Mary lost to last night.

I think another school on that list, St. Francis (NY) has a chance to get off the list this week as well by winning its conference tourney (that might be tonight).

[sancho]

William & Mary is one of 5 schools to have never played in the NCAA tournament. After coming into the CAA tournament as the #1 seed, they remain on that list after losing to Northeastern.

Hilarious. I hope they never get in. The Cubs are more fun for never winning, and the Red Sox were way more fun before they started winning.

Related - anyone else find himself laughing at Yale this weekend? They beat Harvard in some kind of big ivy showdown for first place. They were going to the dance for the first time in 50+ years, and then they blew it by losing to Dartmouth. Yes, Dartmouth. I hate rooting for Harvard, but I'm going to pull for them over Yale in the tiebreaker just for the laughs.

I wonder how many intramural teams across the country could beat Dartmouth.

[SoCalPat]

Hilarious. I hope they never get in. The Cubs are more fun for never winning, and the Red Sox were way more fun before they started winning.

Related - anyone else find himself laughing at Yale this weekend? They beat Harvard in some kind of big ivy showdown for first place. They were going to the dance for the first time in 50+ years, and then they blew it by losing to Dartmouth. Yes, Dartmouth. I hate rooting for Harvard, but I'm going to pull for them over Yale in the tiebreaker just for the laughs.

I wonder how many intramural teams across the country could beat Dartmouth.

How many intramural teams have two wins vs. the RPI top 100?

Color scheme and Presidential products alone should determine I root for Harvard, but your schadenfreude has me singing a different tune. Go Elis!

[concerned]

Hilarious. I hope they never get in. The Cubs are more fun for never winning, and the Red Sox were way more fun before they started winning.

Related - anyone else find himself laughing at Yale this weekend? They beat Harvard in some kind of big ivy showdown for first place. They were going to the dance for the first time in 50+ years, and then they blew it by losing to Dartmouth. Yes, Dartmouth. I hate rooting for Harvard, but I'm going to pull for them over Yale in the tiebreaker just for the laughs.

I wonder how many intramural teams across the country could beat Dartmouth.

Only a really depraved human being would root for Harvard over Yale. Yale hasn't been to the NCAA's since 1962, but that is only one small reason. Humanity is the other. Bulldog bulldog bow wow wow.

[sancho]

Only a really depraved human being would root for Harvard over Yale. Yale hasn't been to the NCAA's since 1962, but that is only one small reason. Humanity is the other. Bulldog bulldog bow wow wow.

I know. It's lose-lose picking between those teams. We should all really just be rooting for the ivy league to close shop.

[concerned]

I know. It's lose-lose picking between those teams. We should all really just be rooting for the ivy league to close shop.


How can you say that? Brodhead is a Yalie. Truth and Light so far as your rooting interest.

[DrumNFeather]

I think another school on that list, St. Francis (NY) has a chance to get off the list this week as well by winning its conference tourney (that might be tonight).

Still on the list.

Robert Morris takes the NEC crown. I kind of hope they get a 16 seed and play Kentucky, whom they beat in the NIT two years ago.

Valpo takes the Horizon...they look pretty good.

Other mid-major bids to be handed out tonight: Summit, WCC.

[DrumNFeather]

North Dakota St. edges out South Dakota St. to capture the Summit league title.

Gonzaga wins the WCC, forcing BYU to sweat out selection Sunday, and hope for lots of chalk in the P5 conference tourneys.

[SoCalPat]

North Dakota St. edges out South Dakota St. to capture the Summit league title.

Gonzaga wins the WCC, forcing BYU to sweat out selection Sunday, and hope for lots of chalk in the P5 conference tourneys.

I think BYU is in, barring a slew of upsets in multi-bid leagues, like you said. Right now, they're the top team in Lunardi's last four in.

[Scorcho]

http://bracketmatrix.com/

this website is interesting.

It averages 114 bracketoligists. Utah is in all 114 with a range of 3 seed to a 7 seed with an average of 4.8

[SoCalPat]

Lunardi at ESPN still has us as a 4 vs. UC Davis, but more interesting is a potential second-round rematch vs. Wichita State. It's bad enough that we've got a home-and-home with the Shox, but a third meeting inside of 13 months? Not interested ...

[DrumNFeather]

Lunardi at ESPN still has us as a 4 vs. UC Davis, but more interesting is a potential second-round rematch vs. Wichita State. It's bad enough that we've got a home-and-home with the Shox, but a third meeting inside of 13 months? Not interested ...

Today he moved the Utah/UC Davis contest to the MidWest region, with UNC as the 5 but playing the first two rounds in Seattle. You know who would be waiting if we got to the sweet 16.

[SoCalPat]

Today he moved the Utah/UC Davis contest to the MidWest region, with UNC as the 5 but playing the first two rounds in Seattle. You know who would be waiting if we got to the sweet 16.

If we get Kentucky in the round of 16, I quit as a college basketball fan. We should all quit being fans. Clearly, there's a pox on us for the team we chose so many years ago.

[SoCalPat]

If we get Kentucky in the round of 16, I quit as a college basketball fan. We should all quit being fans. Clearly, there's a pox on us for the team we chose so many years ago.

OK, I looked at the bracket. Lots of demons to be exorcised (or tormented) in that bracket. We could get Boise in the second round, Kentucky in the S16 and BYU in the E8. Imagine being the team denying BYU its first Final Four appearance AND beating undefeated Kentucky in the same weekend? We could call it a season right there.

[sancho]

If we get Kentucky in the round of 16, I quit as a college basketball fan. We should all quit being fans. Clearly, there's a pox on us for the team we chose so many years ago.

Yeah, lousy cats. Still, if we get to the sweet 16 as a five, that means we beat two good teams. I can call that season a success even if we have to go down to Kentucky again.

Everyone wants to be in Virginia's bracket.

[UtahsMrSports]

I know its just a prediction, but come on Lundardi..........this aint happening.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology/_/iteration/256

[SoCalPat]

I know its just a prediction, but come on Lundardi..........this aint happening.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology/_/iteration/256

Yep. It's a rematch of a regular season game, for starters. No earthly reason you couldn't switch BYU and Valpo. Let's win tonight and make this irrelevant, since there's no way BYU is a 13 seed and can't meet a 4 in the first round.

[sancho]

Some fun games this afternoon. Indiana scared Maryland. Providence sacred 'Nova. UNC beats UVa (booooo). Let's hope the evening games are just as exciting.

[sancho]

No one named Jamie Lucky should be allowed to referee Notre Dame games.

[DrumNFeather]

14 Auto bids go out today, starting at 11:00 AM Eastern and Ending after midnight Eastern.

As for our Utes, I've been hoping our recent play wouldn't catch up to us, but I think we might legitimately be looking more in the 5-6 seed range. I hope I'm wrong. I'd love to still be a 4 seed, but we'll likely be a 5-6, with our two best wins coming against the Shockers and BYU, and going a combined 0-4 against the top two teams (that hurts to even think) in our league.

[DrumNFeather]

Of the teams playing today, the major threats to "steal" bids are UCONN and Wyoming. Temple, Tulsa, and Purdue are the bubble teams that could help play their way in with wins...leaving teams like Boise St. potentially on the outside looking in.

I could see the committee putting a Murry St. in there over some of these teams.

How awesome would it be if Auburn beat Kentucky today?

Before last night, Lunardi's breakdown was:

Last four Byes:

LSU
OKlahoma St.
Purdue
BYU

Last four In:

Ole Miss
Temple
Texas
Indiana

First Four Out

Miami
UCLA
Tulsa
ODU

Next Four

Texas A&M
Murry St.
Iona
Richmond

[sancho]

14 Auto bids go out today, starting at 11:00 AM Eastern and Ending after midnight Eastern.

As for our Utes, I've been hoping our recent play wouldn't catch up to us, but I think we might legitimately be looking more in the 5-6 seed range. I hope I'm wrong. I'd love to still be a 4 seed, but we'll likely be a 5-6, with our two best wins coming against the Shockers and BYU, and going a combined 0-4 against the top two teams (that hurts to even think) in our league.

I'd be shocked with a 4. I think we're a 6, but a 5 wouldn't completely surprise me.

[sancho]

I'd be shocked with a 4. I think we're a 6, but a 5 wouldn't completely surprise me.

Palm has us down to a 7 now.

[USS Utah]

Yeah, lousy cats. Still, if we get to the sweet 16 as a five, that means we beat two good teams. I can call that season a success even if we have to go down to Kentucky again.

Everyone wants to be in Virginia's bracket.

The metric from the Majerus years, if I remember right, was that a good season was a trip to the Sweet 16, a pretty good season was a second round (now round of 32) appearance. Making the tourney was just expected and an NIT bid meant the season was a disappointment. That was then.

Utah then entered a dark period that it is just now coming out of. Last year we were all happy (mostly) just to get a post season NIT bid. This year the expectation was to make it to the Big Dance (mission accomplished!), but the Utes improved more than expected and a first round loss would be hugely disappointing. It might depend on the draw, but I don't see a first round loss happening. A week ago there were some fans predicting that Utah would not win a Pac-12 tournament game, but Utah took care of Stanford and, while they could have played better, only lost to Oregon on a last second, deep three. We'll have to see how Utah responds, but not playing tonight might end up being a blessing in disguise. I think a trip to the Sweet 16 is still very possible.

[sancho]

a first round loss would be hugely disappointing. It might depend on the draw, but I don't see a first round loss happening.

I don't know. We will be favored in the first round, but it will be a 60/40 thing, not a 90/10. If we are a 6 seed, we will play a good team in the first round. Certainly a team better than UW or UCLA, who beat us. Probably not a team as good as Oregon. ESPN has Texas, LSU, and Indiana as 11s.

[DrumNFeather]

I don't know. We will be favored in the first round, but it will be a 60/40 thing, not a 90/10. If we are a 6 seed, we will play a good team in the first round. Certainly a team better than UW or UCLA, who beat us. Probably not a team as good as Oregon. ESPN has Texas, LSU, and Indiana as 11s.

One of the projections has the 12 seed we play as Stephen F. Austin. They've been a dangerous mid-major in the past. I hope we avoid VCU, their pressure defense might send us packing early.

Something on twitter said that our average projection across all the projections is a #5 seed, so I suspect that's where we'll be. Maybe I'll work on a bracket projection in primary tomorrow. :)

[DrumNFeather]

I think we're finally far enough removed from the MWC that I'm pulling for the Pokes to steal a bid.

Tell me I'm crazy.

[NorthwestUteFan]

I think we're finally far enough removed from the MWC that I'm pulling for the Pokes to steal a bid.

Tell me I'm crazy.

The highlights of the night for me last night were 1) Brandon Taylor having a career night, 2) Duke and their tobacco money losing to Notre Dame, 3) Wyoming beating Boise State.

[DrumNFeather]

And the pokes steal a bid. Wyoming in the big dance as the MWC auto qualifier.

[DrumNFeather]

Iowa St. wins the Big 12. Is it enough to move up to the 2 line? Probably not, but they'll be a dangerous 3.

[sancho]

Iowa St. wins the Big 12. Is it enough to move up to the 2 line? Probably not, but they'll be a dangerous 3.

Every time I've seen them, they score like crazy. I have a hard time understanding how they have lost games.

All the 3 seeds look really dangerous. The road for a 6 seed looks pretty rough. I do like our chances against the 11's more than against the 12's. Is the 11-6 upset actually more rare than the 12-5? Is there a good site to look at the historical percentages?

[sancho]

And the pokes steal a bid. Wyoming in the big dance as the MWC auto qualifier.

If only a few more bubble teams had stepped up, they could have knocked BYU out. Bummer. Funny how one quality win is enough to seal the deal for a mid major, but for a P5 it generally takes more. Miami beat Duke, but they are on the outside. BYU beat Gonzaga, and it's enough.

[DrumNFeather]

Latest projection has us vs. Harvard and then the No. Iowa\Wyoming winner. I'd take that.

I'm going to get nerdy later and try to come up with a list of 6 or so opponents later.

[DrumNFeather]

Ok, so let's assume we're a 5. The latest Lunardi projections has the 12s as:

Wofford, Harvard, Buffalo, Stephen F. Austin

The 13s are: Valpo, Wyoming, Georgia St. and UC Irvine

and the 11s are: Boise St/LSU, Temple/Ole Miss, Colorado St, and Texas.

So there you go...our opponent will be among that group (Or someone else entirely :) )

[sancho]

Latest projection has us vs. Harvard and then the No. Iowa\Wyoming winner. I'd take that.


I couldn't imagine a better draw than that. Two teams void of athleticism. I would happily make a donation to the committee for that draw.

[DrumNFeather]

SMU saves a bubble team's life by taking out UCONN.

1 auto-bid remains and it appears to be heading to Wisconsin. Is it enough to move them up to the one line? It should.

[DrumNFeather]

Midwest out, Kentucky's bracket, Kansas the 2, Witchita St. the 7, Notre Dame the 3, Maryland the 4.

Utes miss out on Kentucky's bracket.

[DrumNFeather]

Indiana and Texas, #10 and #11 in the Midwest, so a couple of bubble teams in the bracket early.

[DrumNFeather]

Next region up: East

Villanova the #1 Seed.

Northern Iowa the #5 Seed, they get Wyoming

Louisville the #4 Seed

Virginia the #2 Seed

Michigan St. #7

Oklahoma #3

Boise St. vs. Dayton in the 11 seed first four in.

[DrumNFeather]

Utes #5 in the South!

Taking on SF Austin.

[DrumNFeather]

South Region

#1 Duke

#4 Georgetown

#5 Utah (in Portland)

#2 Gonzaga

#3 Iowa St.

#11 UCLA (wow, in the field, no first four).

[DrumNFeather]

Utes #5 in the South!

Taking on SF Austin.

Seth Davis like the lumberjacks, Clark Kellog thinks we get through to the Sweet 16.

[sancho]

Utes #5 in the South!

Taking on SF Austin.

Interesting Georgetown matchup if we get past SFA. Georgetown plays like Oregon, from the 1.5 games I've seen.

I obviously haven't seen SFA play, but I know a lot of people were ready to pick them as this year's Cinderella before the selection was even made.

[Utah]

Seth Davis like the lumberjacks, Clark Kellog thinks we get through to the Sweet 16.

Was that Seth Davis or Doug Gottlieb?

[U-Ute]

UCLA in. Somewhat surprising.

I know nothing of Georgetown this year. SU?

[sancho]

Seth Davis like the lumberjacks, Clark Kellog thinks we get through to the Sweet 16.

That's good news. Clark understands bball about 1000 times better than Seth.

[sancho]

Was that Seth Davis or Doug Gottlieb?

It was Davis. He's been hyping SFA all year.

[DrumNFeather]

One more region to go, the West...

Wisconsin the #1 Seed.

That means Arizona will be the #2

#8 - Oregon

#5 - Arkansas

#4 - North Carolina

#3 - Baylor

BYU vs. Ole Miss in the #11 seed first four game.

[DrumNFeather]

Last four in: Ole Miss, BYU, Boise, Dayton

Close but NIT - CSU, Temple, ODU, Richmond

[sancho]

BYU vs. Ole Miss in the #11 seed first four game.

Pretty nice draw for them. Ole Miss and Xavier are both really uninspiring. I could see BYU advancing to lose to Baylor.

[DrumNFeather]

So the Pac 12 gets four teams in.

I was surprised that Oregon didn't get bumped up to the 7 or 6 seed line...so many folks have been slurping them lately.

[sancho]

Close but NIT - CSU, Temple, ODU, Richmond

CSU and Temple both with better resumes than BYU, but WCC has been a 2 bid league for years now.

[UtahsMrSports]

Very exciting! I know Tony Jones was saying he did not want his Hoyas to see Utah in the second round.

I just hope we get past the first round.

I'm glad that Stephen F. Austin has been picked by a few people to be this year's Cinderella. When was the last time the consensus Cinderella actually made a run?

[chrisrenrut]

Scott Barnes' answers seems to indicate that the committee really valued strength of schedule this year.

Looks ms like they ignored RPI, as Colorado St at 30 is left out when a few of the last 4 in were much higher.

[Mormon Red Death]

When do we know what time and channel?

[Old Standing ute]

Looks like Stevie F.'s tallest starter is 6'6"; tallest on roster is 6'9".

Press & zone?

Hack a Jakob?

[U-Ute]

Scott Barnes' answers seems to indicate that the committee really valued strength of schedule this year.

Looks ms like they ignored RPI, as Colorado St at 30 is left out when a few of the last 4 in were much higher.

True. If you look at the RPI of the last 4 in and the last 4 out, they are all over the map.

[tooblue]

As I predicted, Utah get's a five seed. Which is frustrating considering the Utes have two or three seed talent. It's in part coaching, but mostly, all of the blame belongs to NorthwestUteFan as I said it would ;-)

For the record, BYU always looked like a solid NIT team to me. I'm surprised they got in. Not as surprised as UCLA getting an 11 seed :blink:

[sancho]

True. If you look at the RPI of the last 4 in and the last 4 out, they are all over the map.

They've gone from using the RPI directly to using it indirectly. Now they use it to say crap like "they are 5-7 vs the top 50" and "they don't have a road win vs the top 40." So they are just as married as ever to a bad metric, but they now can pretend that they aren't.

The UCLA thing is encouraging. I don't like UCLA and would have preferred CSU, but at least they didn't just use the same stale metrics that every bracketologist consider gospel. i hope that's a trend instead of an anomaly. Do I care if a team has quality road wins? No. I only care about getting the best teams in. There should be no necessary conditions to check off a list.

[sancho]

If I were not a Utah fan, SFA over Utah would be the first upset I would circle on the bracket. From SoCalPat:


There are three kinds of 12 seeds

1. Surprise tournament champions from multiple-bid leagues. I think these kinds of teams pose the least amount of threat in a 5-12 matchup.

2. Your last team in from a power league that has 3 or more berths that didn't win a conference tournament. These are the scary teams. They've had rest, they've been tested and they likely have multiple top 50 RPI wins (as well as multiple sub-150 RPI losses). Very unpredictable.

3. Your best teams (regular season and conference tournament winner) from one-bid leagues. Since the field expanded to 68, you're seeing this happen frequently. Last year, three of the five 12 seeds fit this bill (the other two 12 seeds were teams that fit No. 2 -- NC State and Xavier -- in a First Four game). THese teams are usually senior-laden and don't get rattled. They're not as talented, to be sure, but they can trump that with the intangibles.

SFA is the most dangerous type of 12 seed. I wish we'd drawn Wyoming instead. This is the type that gets a 12 mainly because they didn't have enough chances to beat good teams.

That said, I think we lose to Duke in the sweet 16.

[redastheycome]

Ugh. My two schools seeded to play each other in round two. Ute first, Hoya second so I'll be wearing red Saturday if both advance, but either way I lose one team. Not cool.

[DrumNFeather]

When do we know what time and channel?
Thursday, 4:27 pm PT, I believe.

[NorthwestUteFan]

Thursday, 4:27 pm PT, I believe.

On TruTV (705 on Comcast in PNW).

[#1 Utefan]

Ugh. My two schools seeded to play each other in round two. Ute first, Hoya second so I'll be wearing red Saturday if both advance, but either way I lose one team. Not cool.

Anyone know what station Trutv is on cable in the San Diego area? I have to be at a sales meeting in San Diego this week. I know it won't be over until after 5:00 but I'm hoping I can at least catch the second half.

[sancho]

Anyone know what station Trutv is on cable in the San Diego area? I have to be at a sales meeting in San Diego this week. I know it won't be over until after 5:00 but I'm hoping I can at least catch the second half.

They used to stream all games on cbs. Are they not doing that? There's also the cbs app for viewing games.

[Old Standing ute]

Early line is Utah by 6.

[U-Ute]

https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/577251197553401857


Utah, Stephen F. Austin are similar in efficiency ranks BPI SOS: Utah 79, @SFA_MBB (https://twitter.com/SFA_MBB) 227 #BracketHelp (https://twitter.com/hashtag/BracketHelp?src=hash)

[U-Ute]

1427

[SoCalPat]

Early line is Utah by 6.

Lay the points. Utes by 15.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

1427

I have a feeling that record isn't going to be broken for some time.

[Scorcho]

I'm going to avoid listening or reading college basketball experts opinions on these games. All it does is cloud my bracket judgement and messes with my picks.

Right now you could easily find 5 experts that pick Utah to the sweet sixteen and 5 that think they wont make it past Stephan F. Austin.

[Old Standing ute]

Info from Phil Cullen
Stevie F. picks up full court, man & zone.
Princeton type offense with very good shooters from 3.

First team to 40 might win.

[concerned]

Here is a handicapper's analysis someone just sent to me:

(5) Utah versus (12) Stephen F. Austin




ORtg

Rank

DRtg

Rank

Tempo

Rank

nERD

Rank



UTAH

113.0

18

90.6

8

61.2

322

16.75

8



SFA

113.0

19

99.1

103

66.8

75

9.03

49




Both Utah and Stephen F. Austin boast good offenses, ranking in the top 20 in the nation. However, the difference between the two teams is on the defensive side of the ball. Utah is even better on that end -- eighth in the nation in defensive efficiency -- while Stephen F. Austin is outside of the top 100.

Our numbers are actually really high on Utah this year. We have them as our eighth-best team overall with a 16.75 nERD, which would put them right on par with the 2 seeds of the tournament. They were incredibly underrated this season (https://www.numberfire.com/ncaab/news/4715/the-5-most-underrated-teams-in-the-ncaa-tournament).

In fact, I found that over 85% of teams to make the Final Four have finished the season with a top-10 Pythagorean Rating (https://www.numberfire.com/ncaab/news/4570/march-madness-dirty-little-secret-there-s-actually-no-madness) (Pythagorean Rating courtesy ofkenpom.com (http://kenpom.com/)). Utah, despite being a 5 seed, is one of those teams. They do get one of the tougher 12 seeds in Stephen F. Austin -- their nERD of 9.03 is way higher than Wofford or Wyoming's -- but Utah is in another class this year. If they can get past first-round jitters and avoid losing to the Lumberjacks, they could make a long run in the tournament.

https://www.numberfire.com/ncaab/news/4722/march-madness-ranking-the-most-likely-12-5-upsets?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=numberfirecom&utm_campaign=3%2F16%20Mon (https://www.numberfire.com/ncaab/news/4722/march-madness-ranking-the-most-likely-12-5-upsets?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=numberfirecom&utm_campaign=3%2F16%20Mon)

[tooblue]

I agree with all of this, even point #3 under the heading Underseeded. I'm calling for an upset of the Utes by SF. Austin:


Shelby Mast, who provides bracketology analysis for USA TODAY Sports (http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/bracket-hub/bracket/shelby-mast-ncaa-tournament-expert-picks), identifies some of the odd decisions the NCAA men’s basketball selection committee made Sunday:
Overseeded


UCLA (South No. 11) — No way this team should be included in the field. Too many other teams with more deserving résumés.
Georgetown (South No. 4) — Nice team, but is closer to a 6 seed than a 4 seed. The Hoyas only four top 50 RPI wins, watch for a second-round upset here.
Xavier (West No. 6) — A 6 seed is awfully generous for a team with four losses outside the top 100 RPI.
LSU (East No. 9) — I felt this team was closer to the bubble than the committee did. Not a bad team, but very inconsistent.
Louisville (East No. 4) — This team is so different without Chris Jones, very unpredictable. It finished the season going 5-5, which isn’t necessarily criteria for the committee anymore, but I felt West Virginia, which has seven top 50 RPI wins compared to Louisville’s three, was more deserving.

NCAA TOURNAMENT: Bracket Hub (http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/bracket-hub) | Printable bracket (http://i.usatoday.net/sports/college/mensbasketball/2015-mens-ncaa-tournament-printable-bracket.pdf)
Underseeded


Wichita State (Midwest No. 7) — I cannot understand why a team that passes the eye test with flying colors, has four total losses, none of them bad, and comes from a conference that had a better year than it did last year, falls so far.
Northern Iowa (East No. 5) — See above.
Stephen F. Austin (South No. 12) — If you watch this team play, it is 10 seed worthy, at least. I’m picking a Sweet 16 run here.
Dayton (East play-in) — This team is better than a play-in game, maybe not 2-3 seed lines, but it could cause problems for Providence if it gets past Boise State.
Oregon (West No. 8) — The Ducks tied with 5 seed Utah in the Pac-12 standings and beat the Utes twice in the past few weeks. With that in mind, I would think that would deserve being seeded closer to the Utes, instead of three lines below.



http://sportswire.usatoday.com/2015/03/15/ncaa-tournaments-most-overseeded-underseeded-teams/

[sancho]

I agree with all of this, even point #3 under the heading Underseeded. I'm calling for an upset of the Utes by SF. Austin:



http://sportswire.usatoday.com/2015/03/15/ncaa-tournaments-most-overseeded-underseeded-teams/

The only one I disagree with there is UNI. I think a 5 is good for them.

Georgetown, Xavier, and UCLA all turned their conference tournament performances into better than deserved seeds. That's one thing you can count on every year from the committee.

[LA Ute]

PAC-12 Hoops today: (http://pachoops.com/2015/03/ncaa-tournament-preview-5-utah-utes/)


So they’re not the hottest team in the country and have slumped to the point that my March 2014 prediction of the Utes being a four-seed was narrowly missed. I’ve been further off on other predictions – I see you 2015 Buffs – so I won’t soon lose any sleep over this. What I might lose some sleep over is how tough these Utes really are. There’s a je ne sias quoi that I’m going to try to sais quoi: They don’t have it. Whatever that gene is that allows you to flush goldfish down the toilet or take the last piece of cake at not your birthday party or win a close basketball game, that seems to be missing for the Utes. They’re just 4-11 the last two years in games decided by 6 points or fewer. Sometimes in a tournament you’ve got to be able to do that. Can the Utes? My hope is that the imminent finality of these fantastic two years instills some of that DGAF in Delon Wright. He’s too good to play just one more time for us.

Read the whole thing.

[SoCalPat]

PAC-12 Hoops today: (http://pachoops.com/2015/03/ncaa-tournament-preview-5-utah-utes/)



Read the whole thing.

The close games statistic is what worries me most about whomever we face in the round of 32. I think we grind one out against SFA -- we see a double digit lead for the first time at the under 8 media timeout of the second half and slowly build on the lead from there. But we haven't won consecutive games in over a month. Our inconsistency worries me and can be exploited. We should feel a little at home in Portland, but our second-round opponent either has P5 talent (Georgetown) or a potential home-court advantage (Eastern Washington). Feeling a little nervous about some who are saying we're underseeded -- we didn't back luck our way into a 5 seed. We flat out earned it by being a .500 team over our last 8 games.

[Senioritis]

I freaking love the tournament. I'm pretty sure Utah can take Duke, but I have no idea if they can take Stephen Eff Austin.

[Senioritis]

The close games statistic is what worries me most about whomever we face in the round of 32. I think we grind one out against SFA -- we see a double digit lead for the first time at the under 8 media timeout of the second half and slowly build on the lead from there. But we haven't won consecutive games in over a month. Our inconsistency worries me and can be exploited. We should feel a little at home in Portland, but our second-round opponent either has P5 talent (Georgetown) or a potential home-court advantage (Eastern Washington). Feeling a little nervous about some who are saying we're underseeded -- we didn't back luck our way into a 5 seed. We flat out earned it by being a .500 team over our last 8 games.

I'm thinking either out in Round 1 or Elite 8.

I love the mystery. None of these dudes have any experience whatsoever in the tournament. I don't even know if that matters, but the Eff Austin people have it coming out the wassenschnichter.

How is Delon going to play? His entire legacy as a Ute will be determined in the next 48 or 96 game minutes.

Will Jordan Loveridge be able to hit a fat man in the ass with a handful of sand? His parents' names are Bill and Latrill. Will that rhyming be an advantage?

Will JakPot hit consecutive free throws for the third time all year?

Will Brandon Taylor do Brandon Taylor type stuff?

Will Thyroid end some plucky 6'4" forward's career with an "unintentional" elbow?

The game can't get here fast enough!

[Old Standing ute]

I'm thinking either out in Round 1 or Elite 8.

I love the mystery. None of these dudes have any experience whatsoever in the tournament. I don't even know if that matters, but the Eff Austin people have it coming out the wassenschnichter.

How is Delon going to play? His entire legacy as a Ute will be determined in the next 48 or 96 game minutes.

Will Jordan Loveridge be able to hit a fat man in the ass with a handful of sand? His parents' names are Bill and Latrill. Will that rhyming be an advantage?

Will JakPot hit consecutive free throws for the third time all year?

Will Brandon Taylor do Brandon Taylor type stuff?

Will Thyroid end some plucky 6'4" forward's career with an "unintentional" elbow?

The game can't get here fast enough!

Post made me laugh out loud---very nice.

[LA Ute]

The close games statistic is what worries me most about whomever we face in the round of 32. I think we grind one out against SFA -- we see a double digit lead for the first time at the under 8 media timeout of the second half and slowly build on the lead from there. But we haven't won consecutive games in over a month. Our inconsistency worries me and can be exploited. We should feel a little at home in Portland, but our second-round opponent either has P5 talent (Georgetown) or a potential home-court advantage (Eastern Washington). Feeling a little nervous about some who are saying we're underseeded -- we didn't back luck our way into a 5 seed. We flat out earned it by being a .500 team over our last 8 games.

Agree on all points. One ray of hope: We were terrible in close games last season (I think we were oh-fer) but we have improved somewhat this season, to 2-4 by my count. So there is an upward trend, sort of. But at least the guys know they can win a close game. Last season that monkey was still on their backs.

[LA Ute]

Interesting statistical drill-down by Light the U blog:

http://lighttheu.com/2015/03/quick-look-utah-sfa/

[DrumNFeather]

Hampton advances...look out Kentucky.

[justaute]

IMO...BYU does a pretty good job blocking-out for boards. Only if Utah players would do as much.

[sancho]

IMO...BYU does a pretty good job blocking-out for boards. Only if Utah players would do as much.

I haven't seen BYU this year, but I imagine they would have a harder time boxing out against Arizona than they do against Loyola Marymount.

[justaute]

Ole Miss is a good example of good athleticism without sufficient IQ/experience.

[justaute]

Perhaps. My comment is based on the game against Ole Miss right now. Fundamentals are fundamentals -- against teams with superior athletes and decent IQ, fundamentals alone aren't enough. It's a constant battle.


I haven't seen BYU this year, but I imagine they would have a harder time boxing out against Arizona than they do against Loyola Marymount.

[justaute]

Hence, I mentioned Ole Miss players just aren't solid fundamentally. Instead of trying to tip everything, grab the board hard and then go up hard. At 6'1" with only a 35" vertical, even I knew how to board and block-out...guess I had to do so.


It's funny. I went to see for myself, and as soon as I did, Ole Miss grabbed offensive rebounds on back to back possessions (they then missed the put back each time).

[NorthwestUteFan]

How in the world did this team almost knock off Kentucky? Did the Wildcats only suit up options 7-12? Did the non-scholly walkons play?

Cougies are showing the power of good fundamentals and sharp shooting.

[chrisrenrut]

Tale of two half's (halves?) BYU gives up 62 second half points.

[justaute]

Exactly. Lol.



Epic collapse. Love it.

[NorthwestUteFan]

They still scored 41 points in the second half. Unfortunately for them, Ole Miss remembered how to play and pumped in 53 points in the last 14 minutes. That was blistering.

[justaute]

If you weren't a Utah alum/fan....how would you rate Utah? Just curious.

[LA Ute]

If you weren't a Utah alum/fan....how would you rate Utah? Just curious.

Dangerous team that can kill you if they are hot from outside and you give them open looks. Will do some damage in the Dance if they play hard and are focused and consistent. Will struggle against big athletic guards and physical post play. Delon Wright is the real deal.

[Utah]

Dangerous team that can kill you if they are hot from outside and you give them open looks. Will do some damage in the Dance if they play hard and are focused and consistent. Will struggle against big athletic guards and physical post play. Delon Wright is the real deal.

The tournament is HUGE for Delon. There have been a lot of kids that play themselves into a top 10 pick by having a fantastic tournament. If there were every a month to give it your all (other than the last couple of months before your NBA contract expires), now is the time. IF Delon could play Utah into a final four (which isn't completely insane given their region), he could earn himself millions of dollars.

Go get that cash Delon. A 20 pick gets roughly 5 million on his rookie deal. A 10 pick gets roughly 7 million on his rookie deal. Two million dollars...thats a lot of money.

[U-Ute]

I had a perfect bracket for one game.
I had all my final four teams for one game.

1428

[U-Ute]

Arizona doing their thing.

[chrisrenrut]

It looks like the 14-3 seed upsets are the new 12-5 seed upsets.

[chrisrenrut]

The Big 12 is not looking like the 2nd best conference at this point of the tournament.

[NorthwestUteFan]

GA State beats Baylor! BYU had a cakewalk to the sweet 16 and blew it!

Xavier is pasting Ole Miss right now. I suspect the same thing would happen to the byu-P.

[concerned]

Stewart Mandel ‏@slmandel (https://twitter.com/slmandel) 2m2 minutes ago (https://twitter.com/slmandel/status/578665315636244481)
I'm told just 2.1 percent of entrants on the @FOXSports (https://twitter.com/FOXSports) bracket game still have a perfect bracket. Five games in.

[chrisrenrut]

Conference Standings so far:

Big 12: 0-3
Pac 12: 2-0
ACC: 1-0
Big E: 1-0
Big 10: 0-0
SEC: 0-0

[Sullyute]

Not sure if this has been posted yet (I didn't see anything in a quick search), but here is a rather long video by SI on Delon Wright and the Utes: http://www.si.com/college-basketball/video/2015/03/18/rising-stars-delon-wright-utah

[DrumNFeather]

G Town player hits a EW player in the chest and bumps him to knock him down. No call. Unreal.

[DrumNFeather]

Every Gtown offensive rebound is going to give me nightmares tonight.
They're pretty physical. They won't get in our faces like SFA, so I hope we shoot well on Saturday.

[NorthwestUteFan]

G Town player hits a EW player in the chest and bumps him to knock him down. No call. Unreal.

It is offensive. Allowing that to go without a call is to disrespect the game of basketball.

[DrumNFeather]

Looks like it is going to be the Hoyas barring a miracle from EWU. We just have to hope that they don't shoot as well as they are tonight. Delon Wright vs. Devonte Smith Rivera is going to be an interesting match up.

[chrisrenrut]

Conference records after day 1 (of the conferences I give a hoot about)-

Big East 4-0
ACC: 3-0
Pac-12: 3-0
SEC: 3-2
Big Ten: 1-1
Mountain West: 0-1
Big 12: 0-3

[NorthwestUteFan]

I LOVE seeing the 'Best conference in college basketball' go 0-3 yesterday. I hope to see Oregon knock off Oklahoma State today. Maybe a miracle will happen and Oklahoma will get knocked off too. :D

[chrisrenrut]

I LOVE seeing the 'Best conference in college basketball' go 0-3 yesterday. I hope to see Oregon knock off Oklahoma State today. Maybe a miracle will happen and Oklahoma will get knocked off too. :D

Ok St may have been the team least deserving to get in the tournament. They finished with an 18-12 record, and 8-10 in conference play, in a conference that is looking to have been overrated during the season. They are 178th in points scored, and 68th in points against. I think Oregon has the firepower to take them down.

[Utebiquitous]

There has to be a rule put in place that a team with a losing record in conference play doesn't get in the NCAA Tourney. Maybe exceptions could be made - a significant injury for example, but an 8-10 team in conference play? That is simply ridiculous. Oregon better boat race them.

[DrumNFeather]

There has to be a rule put in place that a team with a losing record in conference play doesn't get in the NCAA Tourney. Maybe exceptions could be made - a significant injury for example, but an 8-10 team in conference play? That is simply ridiculous. Oregon better boat race them.

Totally agree. Now the P5 conferences will say that it is easier for someone in the A-10 or WCC to have a winning record in their league, but come on, even P5 conferences have bottom feeders. .500 should be the minimum requirement for at-large consideration.

[Utebiquitous]

Damn straight. Even .500 in conference would need an explanation that anyone listening would agree with. Something like, "Our Delon Wright was injured for half the conference season. We went 2-6 in those games and when he returned we went 7-1."

[NorthwestUteFan]

But-but-but the Big XII is the best conference in basketball, so they deserve to get 27 team into the NCAA tournament! All those losses were against top 20 teams...!

[chrisrenrut]

Pat has to be sweating. Both Buffalo and Wichita St at the end of close games at the same time.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Just saw Keith Van Horn post a pic of his bracket on Twitter. Go Utes!
http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/03/20/9adc32e115d2d2f964d0210e6017ca8c.jpg

[SoCalPat]

Pat has to be sweating. Both Buffalo and Wichita St at the end of close games at the same time.

UB winning would've been a second helping of dessert. But WSU was coolant in the radiator. The Shox absolutely had to win that game and they did. Now we get Kansas, a matchup that hasn't happened in 22 years. Go Shox!

[SoCalPat]

Ok St may have been the team least deserving to get in the tournament. They finished with an 18-12 record, and 8-10 in conference play, in a conference that is looking to have been overrated during the season. They are 178th in points scored, and 68th in points against. I think Oregon has the firepower to take them down.

My semi-influential OSU booster friend is not liking the Pokes' chances.

[justaute]

I am quite impressed by both UVA and Belmont. Two very well-coached team and the players just play with a lot of poise.

[DrumNFeather]

I'm amazed at how many of these mid major types are quick and are able to play tough, in your face defense. UC Irvine is really bothering Louisville.

[chrisrenrut]

This OSU/Oregon game; the uniforms, wow! My retinas are burning.

[DrumNFeather]

If Valparaiso could stop settling for bad 3s, they could win this game.

[justaute]

Joseph Young is just ridiculous.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

This OSU/Oregon game; the uniforms, wow! My retinas are burning.

Yep. I actually tried to find it in Standard Definition.

[chrisrenrut]

Lots of empty seats at the UCLA/UAB game. Guess ticket holders aren't interested in a match up of two double digit seeds.

It it would be great to see at least 3 PAC 12 teams in the sweet 16
:pac12:

[chrisrenrut]

2015 Tournament records by conference:
ACC: 6-0
Pac-12: 4-0
MVC: 2-0
Big Ten: 5-2
Big East 4-2
SEC: 3-3
Atlantic 10: 2-2
Big 12: 3-4
Mountain West: 1-2

Also fun to note that the state of Texas went 0-5.

[LA Ute]

Looks like UCLA is headed to the Sweet Sixteen. Who'd have thought?


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[LA Ute]

You posted this with 10 minutes left. You trying to jinx the Bruins? If so, I approve.

If it has that effect I will be happy and will take credit.

[Old Standing ute]

Maybe Pac-12 was better than everyone thought.?
UCLA did get a break with playing a higher seed in 2/3rd round, but they played well

[LA Ute]

Cincinnati hanging with Kentucky. I haven't watched Kentucky much this season but this game is making me dislike them. They seem to feel pretty entitled and exude lots of arrogance. I'd love to seem them knocked off prior to the Final Four. Not that I have any bias against Kentucky, of course....

[LA Ute]

I don't think Cincy can pull this off. They're fighting hard but would have to play a nearly perfect game to beat Kentucky, who's just so overwhelming. The KY lead is inching up higher and higher. 9 points now.

[LA Ute]

My PTSD is kicking in now and I am remembering how ungracious the KY fans were in San Antonio after beating us the final in 1998. May they be upset in this tournament in an embarrassing fashion.

[chrisrenrut]

I could not figure out who the 4th guy in the AT&T commercial was with Shaq, Dr. J, and Laettner. Turns out it is Clyde Drexler, in case you too were wondering.

[chrisrenrut]

Villanova about to be the first #1 seed to exit the tournament.

[UBlender]

I could not figure out who the 4th guy in the AT&T commercial was with Shaq, Dr. J, and Laettner. Turns out it is Clyde Drexler, in case you too were wondering.

Honestly, I've been wondering that very thing all weekend.

[justaute]

Not sure if this SI article has been posted. Also, there is a video at the bottom of the page about Delon -- it's pretty good.

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/2015/03/21/utah-utes-georgetown-hoyas-ncaa-tournament

[LA Ute]

I'm enjoying the Wichita State - KU game. WSU is putting on a clinic, is ahead by 12 with 4:39 to go. SoCalPat will have to be scraped off the cieling before too long.

Kansas has been pressing and the Shockers just made them pay, big-time, getting a fast break and a 2-and-1. I'd like to see us do that.

[LA Ute]

Sports Illustrated tweets:

"The Sweet Sixteen: Kentucky, WVU, ND, Wich St, Wisc, UNC, Xavier, Zona, NC St, Lou, Okla, Mich St, Duke, Utah, UCLA and Gonzaga."

twitter://status?status_id=579852915776598016


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[SeattleUte]

I figured out that Utah is 20-2 all-time in NCAA first round games. That's amazing, especially when you consider that half of those wins came when the tournament was comprised of 32 or 48 teams.

EDIT: It's 22-2 including Vadal Peterson.

[Jarid in Cedar]

I figured out that Utah is 20-2 all-time in NCAA first round games. That's amazing, especially when you consider that half of those wins came when the tournament was comprised of 32 or 48 teams.

EDIT: It's 22-2 including Vadal Peterson.

I count 3 first round losses in the last 25 years:

2002 against Indiana
2004 against Boston College
2009 against Arizona

[NorthwestUteFan]

Also lost to UNC in the first round in 1986, and Pepperdine in 1979.

In 1945 we lost to Oklahoma in the first round, but the first round was only 8 teams.

But still, that is a very impressive record. This is our 28th trip to the tournament.

[SeattleUte]

I count 3 first round losses in the last 25 years:

2002 against Indiana
2004 against Boston College
2009 against Arizona

My source (Wikipedia) didn't list the first two on Majerus's site.

[LA Ute]

1431

[Rocker Ute]

I put the chances of Utah beating Duke at very very low. As I see it it will take more than a perfect game from us and a poor showing by them. For the record I felt the same way about 'Bama in 08, so file that for what it is worth. I don't think we'll have the advantage of surprising anyone, and obviously I put the fake Coach K's tournament coaching experience above anyone else's. They'll be prepared.

One thing that has been a bit concerning for me thus far in the tournament is Delon Wright. I can't say he has played poorly at all, but I thought I was starting to see him take control of his own destiny in the PAC12 tournament and a couple of games before. This has been the chance for him to make his NBA stock rise and he hasn't (and some of that is because of selfless play). Not only do we need to limit perimeter play for Duke and get Okafur on the line as much as possible, but we need Delon to break out Andre Miller style and show why he is considered one of the best point guards in the league.

I think our only real shot is to somehow get them reeling to start out the game. If we can come out and explode with 10 - 12 unanswered points we might put some fear in them that we can exploit the rest of the game. I don't put a lot of stock in our bigs ability to compete underneath, although strangely enough I can see Bachynski going nuts for 25 minutes. He's done it before. I think we'll see a similar perimeter defense as to what we say against SFA, you'll notice that every perimeter pass SFA made was accompanied by a Ute lunging at them. It really took them out of their game.

Like some, I feel like there is a big drop-off from Duke to Gonzaga, so if we can beat Duke, we should be able to handle Gonzaga - if we aren't too tired in the legs from Duke... a real possibility. In a strange way I fear UCLA more than I do the Zags, but that is just because I have strong faith in Mark Few's ability to shat the bed, I also have the strong faith that someone is going to bail out Bryce Alford again. I'd rather not be competing against the gods of basketball.

While I believe that Arizona is the better team over Duke, this team right now, in this game is far more dangerous than any AZ game we played this year. The goal is in sight for them and this is Krzywekskieskfiekdkesdkkds's playground - so this will be the best team we face all year if that makes sense.

There is nothing I want to see more than the Utes get to the Final Four. That would be as special as a season as I could expect for a team comprised of 'the good guys'. I am a homer, but I believe that Utah basketball right now represents all that is good about college sports. You've got a team that plays unselfishly, I think they are good guys on and off the court, and a story of accomplishment over the past three years that is really unrivaled. Dan Patrick was talking about 'Cinderella stories...' this AM and the Utes didn't come up. We aren't really a Cinderella as we've been ranked all season, but we are a Cinderella in where we came from.

Great time to be an avid Utah Utes fan, as our old friend Darren Lucy would put it.

[U-Ute]

This game will be won/lost at the 3 point line.

I think we match up better against Duke than Gonzaga. We struggle with big, physical teams. Gonzaga went toe to toe with Arizona. Their bigs are good.

[LA Ute]

Xavier-Arizona is a great game. I am struggling with deciding which team to root for. I like Xavier's quirkiness -- their big, Stainbrook, is the most unlikely-looking Sweet Sixteen big I'vre seen. I also can't stand Sean Miller. But part of me wants the team we could't beat this year to do well.

Regardless of which team I root for, Arizona is starting to pull away.

[chrisrenrut]

I cannot think of a less masculine article of clothing than white tights in Capri length. Yet half of the players in college basketball wear them. :moron:

[LA Ute]

Watching the Wiscy-AZ game. I think Sean Miller is going to pop a vein in his forehead.

[DrumNFeather]

For whatever reason, I was pulling for Arizona...all for king and conference or something like that (I also picked them in my fledgling bracket). However, and this may just be cold hearted, but I kind of enjoy seeing them cry.

[DrumNFeather]

ND\Kentucky is unreal

[DrumNFeather]

Same crew that officiated Utah \ Arizona. They're terrible.

[LA Ute]

Why just give him a warning? Tech him up if you want him to stop cussing you out.

That reminds me --I haven't seen a lot of T's on coaches this year. I can't think of one. Have they decreased? Or am I just not noticing them?

[SoCalPat]

That reminds me --I haven't seen a lot of T's on coaches this year. I can't think of one. Have they decreased? Or am I just not noticing them?

Coaches run the college game like superstars run the pro game. Noticing that no T's called on college coaches is no different than noticing that no traveling is called on NBA superstars.

[Old Standing ute]

Hard to watch this and not wonder how Utah would have done against the Zags.

Also, I wonder why Sabonis is not getting more minutes. He looks like the best player on the team.

He was playing the 4 & taking people off the dribble.
Pound the ball inside.

Plus how can they not hack Okafor --when they are down 5 & he touches the ball.

Not sure why a kid would want to play for Mark Few over Larry K; now that we are back on track & the new BB facility is done this summer there will be even fewer reasons.

[LA Ute]

Nice end-of-season video:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153198327385960&set=vb.18995940959&type=2&theater

[U-Ute]

ESPN had a preview of the Final Four over the weekend, and they mentioned that the 4 coaches in this year's Final Four have a combined 25 appearances in the Final Four - the most ever for any Final Four.

This should prove to be entertaining.

[Old Standing ute]

Game Day. Kentucky and Duke both win by double digits, setting up the final that people have been wanting all season.

Mich St can not play with Duke. Have red-colored glasses, but Utah looking better & better as they at least gave Duke a game.

[LA Ute]

Looks like KY lost composure in the final seconds. 😛


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[Utebiquitous]

Michigan State snuck into this final four but didn't belong. Plus, Duke is an up and down team, and when they are up, they will destroy anyone. We caught them in a down game.

We caught them in a down game? Are you kidding me Sancho. We caused their down game. I'm not saying we're better than Duke but give the Utes some credit. The defense was outstanding. If you want to play that game I suppose I could say they caught us on a down game since we shot so poorly. Duke's terrific and deserves to be in the title game but I agree with Old Standing Ute. We are looking good with every passing Duke win. We played them very well.

[Old Standing ute]

They had two big calls go against them, and then they panicked. They had everyone except their best player Townes taking shots. Wisconsin, on the other hand, made sure they had their best player (Dekkar) take the big shot.

I hate KY--but still compare who are the freshmen at Duke vs. KY. Okafor, Jones, Wisdom are all now known names & appear to be lottery picks. Townes & ??, have to read a mock draft to see who else. Or maybe they were not as good as the hype.
they appear to be well-coached, but not sure you can really tell.

but I assume based on social media alone they re-load.
And Hopefully just like the Utes end their season with a Loss.

[LA Ute]

Titus on Grantland has been preaching how exceptional offense always beats exceptional defense, and he was right last night. What made KY so scary is their defense. But the best defensive teams in the tournament will all be watching Monday night as two great offenses play for the title.

Still, as a Duke fan I would rather play WI than KY. They are both obviously very very good. With KY, Okafor has to guard Townes, which I don't like at all. On the other hand, Townes doesn't have to guard Okafor since Cauley-Stein can do that. Plus, KY's length makes it hard for Duke to get 3's. Tough matchup for Duke. I watched the Duke/WI game back in the Fall, and it was a great game. Kaminsky was really tough for Duke to handle (that was the game that Frank the Tank took a hard knee to the groin), but Duke has an edge in the backcourt.

The downside of playing WI is that everyone will be rooting for WI. That usually has an effect on the floor. With KY, Duke would have been - maybe for the first time ever - the team America was pulling for.

You're probably too young to remember 1991. Duke beat an undefeated UNLV in the Final Four semifinal game. That time, I recall that Duke was seen as the good guys (true student-athletes, clean program) against the bad guys (questionable students in Tark's program, which always had sort of a cloud hanging over it).

[SigmaUte]

Oh man, the emotion and sentiment for Wisconsin is overwhelming. I know people will mock this from a Duke fan, but I can't imagine Duke gets the calls tonight. This has been such a fun Duke team to follow. I imagine Wisconsin fans feel the same about their team.

I actually agree. Odds are stacked against Duke right now.

Early calls going Wisconsin's way.

[DrumNFeather]

Well...Duke wins it. We gave them the next closet game behind Wisconsin, so the DNF final ballot reads:

1. Duke
2. Wisconsin
3. Kentucky
4. Notre Dame
5. Utah

:cool:

[concerned]

So how many times has utah lost to the eventual champ? Must be a record. Socalpat must know.

[LA Ute]

This is as exciting as seeing the Yankees win the World Series. 😐

[UTEopia]

Oh man, the emotion and sentiment for Wisconsin is overwhelming. I know people will mock this from a Duke fan, but I can't imagine Duke gets the calls tonight. This has been such a fun Duke team to follow. I imagine Wisconsin fans feel the same about their team.

Well I would say that at least down the stretch the calls went in Duke's favor. The non-charge call on Justice that would have given him his 4th foul right after Okafor picked up his. Obvious charge. Instead, 2 free throws for Duke. The baseline out-of-bounds where Justice passed the ball to Okafor for a basket and a free throw. Finally, the out-of-bounds ball that TV replays showed went off Justice finger tip.

Duke's freshmen guards were tremendous and the difference in the game. However, if those calls had gone in favor of Duke when they played Utah, we would all be bashing the officials and the calls and questioning the integrity of the game.

[SoCalPat]

What sour grapes from Bo Ryan afterward. Blaming the offiicals -- never mind that Kaminsky is the greatest traveler since Hakeem Olajuwon, or that Duke's top two players were riddled with fouls in the second half. Duke's comeback was sparked by a player who averaged 4.4 PPG. Wisconsin led by 9 with 13 minutes to play. Either Wisconsin choked or Duke played great. Ryan was given an out because Duke truly played great. Instead, he went all fanboy afterward and blamed the refs. What a loser. (Second biggest loser: Greg Gumbel, for what he said when it was thrown back to him after the Ryan interview. What a clueless TV talking head. It sounded like he was trying to be sincere; if he wasn't, he's a front-runner for title of World's Greatest Troll.)

Then Ryan goes on about "rent-a-players" and one-and-dones. More fanboy bullshit. Bo Ryan offered Diamond Stone -- local kid who's perceived as an early-entry type of player. He's going to Maryland. Ryan's daughter even threw a jab in Stone's direction after he made his decision. Bo would take one-and-dones -- he just can't win them over.

To hell with Wisconsin. I'm glad Duke won, and I wish Kentucky would have won. Also, remember this: Wisconsin settled on Bo Ryan when they couldn't lure Rick Majerus away from Utah. Never mind that the U. had just given Rick a year's sabbatical and that only a dirtbag would've jumped ship after that kind of support. It was the one job I would've bet the house on Rick not taking, because Rick, while eager to listen, could not have taken the Wisconsin job under the existing conditions in a million years.

Ryan's blasting of one-and-dones seems especially poignant when you contrast it to the mentality amongst coaches who have no hesitation on bailing on kids they recruited. He's also been a dick to at least one kid who tried leaving his program. Wisconsin deserves having Brett Bielema and Gary Anderson jump ship. They probably tired over being around such delusional windbags, which of course is why Bo Ryan fits right in.

[SoCalPat]

He tweeted out that it has happened 11 times.

2015 Duke, 2000 Michigan State, 1996-98 Kentucky, 1983 NC State, 1966 Texas-Western, 1961 Cincinnati, 1959 Cal, 1955-56 San Francisco, 1945 Oklahoma A&M.

Not a record, either. Duke has lost to the eventual national champion 13 times.

[UtahsMrSports]

What sour grapes from Bo Ryan afterward. Blaming the offiicals -- never mind that Kaminsky is the greatest traveler since Hakeem Olajuwon, or that Duke's top two players were riddled with fouls in the second half. Duke's comeback was sparked by a player who averaged 4.4 PPG. Wisconsin led by 9 with 13 minutes to play. Either Wisconsin choked or Duke played great. Ryan was given an out because Duke truly played great. Instead, he went all fanboy afterward and blamed the refs. What a loser. (Second biggest loser: Greg Gumbel, for what he said when it was thrown back to him after the Ryan interview. What a clueless TV talking head. It sounded like he was trying to be sincere; if he wasn't, he's a front-runner for title of World's Greatest Troll.)

Then Ryan goes on about "rent-a-players" and one-and-dones. More fanboy bullshit. Bo Ryan offered Diamond Stone -- local kid who's perceived as an early-entry type of player. He's going to Maryland. Ryan's daughter even threw a jab in Stone's direction after he made his decision. Bo would take one-and-dones -- he just can't win them over.

To hell with Wisconsin. I'm glad Duke won, and I wish Kentucky would have won. Also, remember this: Wisconsin settled on Bo Ryan when they couldn't lure Rick Majerus away from Utah. Never mind that the U. had just given Rick a year's sabbatical and that only a dirtbag would've jumped ship after that kind of support. It was the one job I would've bet the house on Rick not taking, because Rick, while eager to listen, could not have taken the Wisconsin job under the existing conditions in a million years.

Ryan's blasting of one-and-dones seems especially poignant when you contrast it to the mentality amongst coaches who have no hesitation on bailing on kids they recruited. He's also been a dick to at least one kid who tried leaving his program. Wisconsin deserves having Brett Bielema and Gary Anderson jump ship. They probably tired over being around such delusional windbags, which of course is why Bo Ryan fits right in.

Awesome post. I missed Gumbles (or "Grumbles") comments...........whatd he say?

[SigmaUte]

2015 Duke, 2000 Michigan State, 1996-98 Kentucky, 1983 NC State, 1966 Texas-Western, 1961 Cincinnati, 1959 Cal, 1955-56 San Francisco, 1945 Oklahoma A&M.

Not a record, either. Duke has lost to the eventual national champion 13 times.

Meh, It shouldn't count if it is in the Championship game.

[SoCalPat]

Awesome post. I missed Gumbles (or "Grumbles") comments...........whatd he say?

"Bo Ryan, classy and gracious in defeat, as usual ..."

[SoCalPat]

Couple more things from the end. Why on God's green earth is Wisconsin, down 3, fouling 40 feet from the basket with the shot clock at 20 and 35 seconds to go? You play defense, get the ball back and shoot a 3 for the tie. The last thing you do is make it a two-possession game, especially with as methodical as Wisconsin is on offense. And while I like Bill Raferty, we need serious analysts who aren't afraid to second-guess coaches in tough moments. Raferty blew off Clark Kellogg's puzzlement of such strategy, saying Wisconsin was trying to extend the game. Huh? Maybe you do that with Okafor, but he's out of the game at this point. Tyus Jones is a 90 percent FT shooter. Just dumb, dumb, dumb.

[concerned]

apropo of nothing: a friend of mine attended the games in Houston, and sat near the Duke bench. He said that about six or seven minutes into the game, Coach K (Duke) told his players not to take any more outside shots but go to the hoop becasue the depth perception was so bad. I read somewhere that every team that has ever played in that stadium has shot well below its season average, the venue is so bad.

[SoCalPat]

Yes, Tyus Jones gave WI a gift by missing a layup without taking any time off the clock. WI give it right back by fouling him in that situation.

Even the best teams in the country make bad mistakes at the end of close games. I guess that is reassuring.

Given the absolute power coaches have in the college game, plus the time constraints allowed for practice, I would feel pretty good about saying teams don't work enough on end-game situations (This was NEVER a problem under Majerus -- draw your own conclusions). The players don't know any better and very few have the stones or status to question their coach. Meanwhile, how many coaches look at their own decision making and say, "I could've done that better."? My guess is, not many. We know Bo Ryan doesn't, if last night is any indicator.

It's not much different than what I've said about football, especially Kyle. You might think your primary job is to coach ______ (insert sport here), but your real mission is to win games. Yet we see these questionable moves at the end of close games so often, you wonder if coaches think it's somehow beneath them to put aside their coaching hat and put on a game-theorist or strategic one.

NBA coaches are the best at end-game strategy. NFL coaches are better than their collegiate counterparts, but you still see some really stupid stuff in the pro game.

[SeattleUte]

Wisconsin's national championship game season was a lot like ours, but less extreme in the ways that they resembled one another. Utah beat the two most highly rated teams (by far) back to back. At that point football would have declared it national champion. Then in the national championship game it led double digits in the second half, against a team substantially inferior to the last two teams it had beaten, and just ran out of gas.

[SeattleUte]

Ryan's blasting of one-and-dones seems especially poignant when you contrast it to the mentality amongst coaches who have no hesitation on bailing on kids they recruited. He's also been a dick to at least one kid who tried leaving his program. Wisconsin deserves having Brett Bielema and Gary Anderson jump ship. They probably tired over being around such delusional windbags, which of course is why Bo Ryan fits right in.

Teams like Utah and Wisconsin have no business being in a game with the likes of Duke and Kentucky. Last night Duke had two freshmen that were ranked the number 1 and number 4 recruits in the nation. And Duke and Kentucky recruit essentially only five star kids. Football is the same. What's really wrong with college sports is that there is no mechanism for leveling the playing field like the salary cap and the draft do. A few elite programs play only prodigies, and the rest of them have to develop mortals into young gods.

[Rocker Ute]

Couple more things from the end. Why on God's green earth is Wisconsin, down 3, fouling 40 feet from the basket with the shot clock at 20 and 35 seconds to go? You play defense, get the ball back and shoot a 3 for the tie. The last thing you do is make it a two-possession game, especially with as methodical as Wisconsin is on offense. And while I like Bill Raferty, we need serious analysts who aren't afraid to second-guess coaches in tough moments. Raferty blew off Clark Kellogg's puzzlement of such strategy, saying Wisconsin was trying to extend the game. Huh? Maybe you do that with Okafor, but he's out of the game at this point. Tyus Jones is a 90 percent FT shooter. Just dumb, dumb, dumb.

I was yelling at my TV about this. Couldn't believe it. Play the percentages. Even if they get a clean shot, it is about 50/50 that it goes in (less if it is a 3) if they just play straight up defense and get the rebound. If you foul, particularly with who they did foul, there is almost 100% chance it becomes a two possession game (assuming a 90% free throw shooter hits at least 1 of the two shots). At the end of the day he could have at least said he played the percentages.

[SoCalPat]

I was yelling at my TV about this. Couldn't believe it. Play the percentages. Even if they get a clean shot, it is about 50/50 that it goes in (less if it is a 3) if they just play straight up defense and get the rebound. If you foul, particularly with who they did foul, there is almost 100% chance it becomes a two possession game (assuming a 90% free throw shooter hits at least 1 of the two shots). At the end of the day he could have at least said he played the percentages.

And everyone would have believed him.

You could tell that Ryan subscribes to Pomeroy, or his program is really dialed into analytics, what with all his talking about offensive efficiency last night. I think he's a more progressive coach than he showed with his beefs about officiating and one-and-dones. But I've yet to see anyone ask the question that challenged that thinking at the end.

[LA Ute]

Only Duke was not substantially inferior to the teams WI had previously beaten (except maybe KY), and WI did not beat the two most highly rated teams back to back. I also didn't see WI run out of gas in the same way Utah did in '98.

Kaminsky looked pretty pooped by the 5:00 mark, but he was the only one. It did affect his game, though.