The Madness Begins
Wake Forest is done. The Demon Deacons, who just a couple months ago stood atop the rankings of the best teams in land, suffered a 84-69 thumping that left their faithful disheartened and many 'bracketolists' scratching out a sweet 16 spot. Wake Forest fans were not alone however as the ACC took it on the chin in the opening stanza of the tournament. Also sent packing (by lower seeded teams) were Florida State, Clemson, and Boston College. Of those games, Cleveland State's upset was the most shocking development as they destroyed a Wake Forest team that finished 24-7 including victories over both North Carolina and Duke. Yes, the #13 Vikings of Cleveland State eased their foot into Cinderella's slipper yesterday and have no intentions of taking it off anytime soon. Often times, teams take on the personality of their coach and the Vikings are no different as they scratch and claw very much like their fiery coach, Gary Waters. They now move on to face a talented Arizona (#12) squad, which has faced its share of adversity this season yet remains in the tourney after pulling of an upset of their own over #5 Utah, 84-71. Be sure to tune in for that match-up. There were also other upsets including Dayton, W. Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Sienna. Clearly, the Madness has begun.
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I love March Madness & I love this new site!
I'm a North Carolina Tar Heel graduate. My conference (ACC) hasn't been good so far, but my Heels came through today.
It should be a great tourney the rest of the way with all the 1-seeds still in the hunt.
Ohio St - Siena -- a great game on Friday night.
I hope my Tar Heels can win it all just like 2005. GO HEELS!
Lots of work to do yet but glad to see you like what you see so far.
Good luck to your Tar Heel's on Friday vs. Gonzaga. I'm hoping Villanova beats Duke to set-up a showdown against SteelCityStorm's, Pitt squad. What a game that would be.
Meanwhile, Arizona ripped Cinderella's slipper off the foot of Cleveland State, coming together at the right time. Louisville held off Sienna today and will meet up with the Wildcats in the Sweet 16.
I do like the new site. I love the new look & the new features...especially talk about college basketball. Next to pro football, it's my second favorite sport by far.
Thanks for the well-wishes regarding my Tar Heels. The Gonzaga game will be a tough one. They really can shoot the 3-pointer...something the Heels sometimes struggle to defend. All the games from here on out should be good. All the 1-seeds, 2-seeds, and 3-seeds are still left.
I also hope Nova beats Duke. The Big East is looking good so far with 5 teams in the Sweet 16. UConn has especially looked good.
It should be fun to watch the rest of the way!
The Big East is certainly being represented well. I was able to catch some of the Pitt-Oklahoma State game (right after watching the Flyers-Penguins game) and what you mentioned about UNC struggling to defend the 3, I think may also apply to Pitt. They're dominant inside though for sure though. I think 'Nova (if they can beat Duke) would have a very good chance to upset Pitt. SteelCityStorm will surely have something to say about that, lol.
If the nova cats upset duke, pitt just might be in trouble. i think pitt actually matchs up better with a duke. nova is alot like the memphis tigers, they are becoming stronger as the big dance continues. Teams like pitt, who were considered stronger teams have had problems, but have come away with wins. The sweet 16 looks to be very entertaining for sure. LETS GO PENS!!! thats for southerneagle!!!
I agree that Pitt matches up well with Duke...as long as they guard the 3-point shot better than they did vs. Okla St. Pittsburgh should be too big & strong in the middle for the Blue Devils. If a Pitt-Duke matchup occurs, I think the Panthers advance.
I had Pitt winning it all in my brackets...especially since the Tar Heel point guard Ty Lawson had some injury issues/questions. I still say that Pitt can get it done, but they have to step it up starting on Thursday night.
Hopefully, it won't be a Duke-Pitt match-up but I agree with you guys that Pitt would be my favorite to take that game. I'm getting that feeling I got back in '85. 'Nova is very athletic has a nice inside, outside game going on right now and Jay Wright has these guys hustling and playing for each other. I know this, Duke better get ready for a physical game on Thursday night however i'm sure coach K will be crying to the officials before long.
To this day, the best college basketball game I've ever seen not involving North Carolina (I am admittedly biased..lol) was the 1985 Final between Villanova & Georgetown. Villanova had to play the perfect game to beat the mighty Hoyas...and they did just that. It was amazing. I'll never forget Ed Pickney, Dwayne McClain, Gary McClain, and Harold Jensen. I was rooting for the underdog that night, and they came through.
I think the key to Villanova's success will be Cunningham in the interior. Duke has trouble guarding guys with size that can score. If he can put up 15-20 pts, Nova will be tough to beat.
And...Scottie Reynolds needs to stay out of foul trouble. Duke has a way of getting other teams' star players in foul difficulty. I think it's because the refs don't want to hear Coach K cursing all game. :) :) :)
That was an unbelievable run back then. I'll never forget either. The announcers must've said Harold Pressley was a Bill Cosby look-a-like about a million times. He was one of the unsung heroes on that team but Pinckney and Dwayne McClain came up huge in that final. Guys stepped up then and they'll need to have that happen again to get to the final 4. That game was really unreal though.
Jets, both Villanova and Duke are fairly similar teams with strong guard play but you're right about Cunningham. Keep an eye on his match-up with Singler. Coach K, and yes I keep writing that because, well, I honestly can't spell his last name off the top of my head :), will be working the officials as always so a guy like Reynolds will need to be careful as you stated. 'Nova is very athletic and I think they're slightly deeper than Duke. Guys like Stokes and Fisher will need to play well too.
Oddly enough, these two teams haven't met in the tournament since '78. Right now Duke is a 2-point favorite but I think Jay Wright's team wins in a close game.
I don't mind you using "Coach K". I don't like to spell his name either. However, I usually refer to him as "Coach Ratface". :) :) :)
Reynolds needs to be careful not to get a couple of cheap charges on penetration moves. Duke loves to draw charges (a.k.a. -- Duke loves to flop!) & Reynolds needs to stay out of foul trouble.
I agree that Nova is deeper than Duke. I hope they can use that depth to wear the Devils down a bit. Duke relies heavily on the 3-point shot -- maybe the shots won't fall in the second-half if they are worn down.
I think this game is a complete toss-up. I truly hope that Nova gets it done like you say. I'll be a big Wildcat fan Thursday night!