2013 NCAA Tournament Discussion Thread

[CaliHoya]

I figured we might as well get the ball rolling on this and would love to get the "wisdom of crowds" from other Georgetown fans.

Who does everyone think are the sleepers and overrated teams? It seems to me that Pitt is a sleeper who could make the Final Four if they finally get some consistency. The wild card for me still is Florida. Besides seeing them in person on the Bataan, I admit that I haven't seen them much. But I really have a hard time believing that they are one of the top 2 teams in the nation given all the love they are getting from KenPom, Nate Silver, and others.

[jwp91]

Florida is a dangerous team. They apparently have an issue with a leader stepping up in crunch time of close games. Our region has 3 teams who were in the conversation for 1 seed until recently. It will be quite challenging.

I think Wisconsin is a tough out for a five seed. The way they dictate tempo allows them to compete with anyone.

I am really curious to see Gonzaga and New Mexico and how they measure themselves against everyone else.

I also very interested to see how our new conference mates perform like Butler, St. Louis and VCU (;-))

[GUJook97]

I agree, i think Pitt could be a sleeper. I think that's a bad matchup for Gonzaga.

[hoyarooter]

Florida lives in bizarro world. I would match Florida at the top of its game with any other team in the tournament. Their first game against Missouri was the single best game I saw a team play this season. They were awesome.

But they sucked on the road in a crummy SEC, and they can't seem to win close games. They don't figure to blow everyone out, so I don't see them getting to the final four. Hopefully they'll meet their demise in the round of 16.

[jgalt]

Some interesting I read from Luke Winn last night: Seth Curry has a fairly painful nagging leg injury that has prevented him from practicing most of the season. Winn's thoughts were that after playing on Friday he may have a tough time of it on Sunday and may be limited in walk throughs in the lead up to the game. That could make Duke more vulnerable in the second round. Just a thought.

Also it may be tough for a second round opponent to prepare for VCU's havoc on one day notice (paging Michigan).

[jwp91]

Given his hype, one would think that Burke should be able to handle HAVOC

[AvantGuardHoya]

Mar 19, 2013 6:35:09 GMT -5 jwp91 said:

Given his hype, one would think that Burke should be able to handle HAVOC

That may be true, but Michigan won't have the luxury of always having the ball in his hands.

[jwp91]

Mar 19, 2013 8:25:00 GMT -5 AvantGuardHoya said:

Mar 19, 2013 6:35:09 GMT -5 jwp91 said:

Given his hype, one would think that Burke should be able to handle HAVOC

That may be true, but Michigan won't have the luxury of always having the ball in his hands.

A NPOY should be able to handle it for his team. When is that announced anyway?

[petabdoubleg]

What are your first round Big East picks? I have Cincinnati and Pittsburgh losing but the 6 others advancing

[Boz]

Mar 19, 2013 9:09:11 GMT -5 petabdoubleg said:

What are your first round Big East picks? I have Cincinnati and Pittsburgh losing but the 6 others advancing

I have Syracuse losing by 50 to Montana and then the whole team, coaching staff and alumni in attendance getting arrested as the buzzer sounds.

Got me some pretty good odds in Vegas on that one.

But it is irrelevant. None of the teams mentioned here are Big East teams.

[hoyainspirit]

Five teams that won’t win it all

QUOTE:
No. 2 Georgetown (South): Otto Porter is a spectacular player, but I’m not sure he can put this team on his back for six straight games. Defensively, the Hoyas are pretty tough, so that could shade things a bit, but the thought of them running an ever narrower gauntlet past teams with diverse talents like Florida or Kansas seems dubious. There just aren’t enough offensive options.


Time to shut him up!

[AvantGuardHoya]

Mar 19, 2013 9:03:12 GMT -5 jwp91 said:

Mar 19, 2013 8:25:00 GMT -5 AvantGuardHoya said:

That may be true, but Michigan won't have the luxury of always having the ball in his hands.

A NPOY should be able to handle it for his team. When is that announced anyway?

Woulda, coulda, shouda. If VCU's defensive pressure can limit Burke's touches or force him to give up the ball enough, rather than shoot or facilitate his teammates, what can he do? NPOY candidate or not.

Last night MASN broadcast a replay of the 1985 national semi final game -- GU versus St. John's. The Hoyas spanked St. John's three times that season. Those three victories were fueled in no small part by our dedicated use of the box and one defense to limit Chris Mullin's effectiveness.

Mullin and Ewing were both in the class of '85, but Mullin was the one named BE POY three times. The game we lost to St. John's in '85 was the only one in which we didn't employ the box and one. Seems clear to me that you can nullify most any player by utilizing a defensive approach that negatively impacts his ability to get touches. The real question is whether VCU can do that.

[hoyainspirit]

Bracket Prep: South Region Analysis

QUOTE:
Should They Falter: #2 Georgetown (29-5, 15-5 Big East). Recent history is not on Georgetown’s side as John Thompson III has made a habit of exiting the NCAA Tournament too early. In fact, in the six NCAA Tournaments that JT3 has led the Hoyas to, they haven’t made it past the first weekend four times. The Hoyas won’t win any style points, but that doesn’t much matter. What they lack in flash they have in tough defense and methodical but effective offense. Not to mention that the Hoyas are also fortunate to have Otto Porter, the Big East Player of the Year, on their side. The emergence of Markel Starks as a second dependable scorer adds another dimension to the offense beyond him, though. Their adjusted tempo ranks 313th in the country — in other words, a snail’s pace — and inability to score in stretches on the offensive end doesn’t make them a sexy team to watch, but Georgetown is very comfortable playing grind-it-out kind of games making them an apt postseason team.


RTC picks FL

[This Just In]

Mar 19, 2013 9:52:41 GMT -5 hoyainspirit said:

Five teams that won’t win it all

QUOTE:
No. 2 Georgetown (South): Otto Porter is a spectacular player, but I’m not sure he can put this team on his back for six straight games. Defensively, the Hoyas are pretty tough, so that could shade things a bit, but the thought of them running an ever narrower gauntlet past teams with diverse talents like Florida or Kansas seems dubious. There just aren’t enough offensive options.


Time to shut him up!

Thanks for info..what's the source, where did you get the analysis from?

[flyoverhoya]

hyperlinks are your friend.

[This Just In]

Mar 19, 2013 10:30:17 GMT -5 flyoverhoya said:

hyperlinks are your friend.

Thanks for the help

[blueeagle]

I just filled out my bracket and have our Hoyas winning it all against Louisville in the final. Delusional?

I haven't been this comfortable picking them going deep into the tournament since 2007. I have been hopeful in the previous years, but never truly confident. This year is different.

We have shown the ability to win tough games consecutively, and in some cases, come from behind at hostile environments to do so. Winning back-to back games against ND and Luvul. Beating Marquette then Cinci at Cinci. Of course, winning at 'Cuse and beating Uconn in OT.

In past years, our quality wins typically occurred out-of-conference or at home. And we struggled to play well after quality wins resulting in some stinkers against lower ranked foes. We could beat Duke and Missouri one night and then lose to USF or Setol Hall.

All I am saying is that I do not think this is a year when "we can lose to anybody on any given night." We have shown that we have an elite defense and an efficient offense. We are actually able to create more offense with our defense with our press and our ability to finally run the floor. Though we still value every possession, we are now able to get cheap baskets by fast breaking and by our in-bounds plays.

I think that we will struggle if key players get into foul trouble. That's the only way I think we lose to a lower seeded team. Unlike last year when we lost to a more "talented team" that was peaking, our best player this year is better than anyone else's.

Our road to the NC will be slow and painful. I anticipate very close games where we outplay our opponents in the last 5-8 minutes of every contest. We likely will need some luck ala Don Reid and Nat Burton to escape some close games. But as the Watch ESPN advert says, the Thompsons are clutch.

No monkeys or gorillas this year - just precious hardware.

[DudeSlade]

Thoughts on Louisville vs. Duke? I have to think those two teams make it to the Elite Eight. They both seem as hot as anyone right now and their coaches obviously have been there before. But struggling to decide who wins that one. I want to think Duke is overrated, because the ACC is not good this year so we haven't really seen them play quality competition in a while, but they do seem to have a solid team with Kelly out there.

[BubbleVisionBiff]

Not getting all the Kansas love. They have some weapons, sure, but they have been very inconsistent. If (spits three times into wind) we were to see them, we would rightly be afraid of Withey b/c of the matchup problem. But we would do an awfully good job denying him the ball. Will be less than surprised if Huckleberry Hound uses McAdoo to pull Withey away from the rim and then tries to draw contact on the blow by. McLemore is also a big concern, no doubt. Have tons of respect for Self, but they are not the strongest 1 seed I have seen.

[sleepy]

Mar 19, 2013 12:11:33 GMT -5 DudeSlade said:

Thoughts on Louisville vs. Duke? I have to think those two teams make it to the Elite Eight. They both seem as hot as anyone right now and their coaches obviously have been there before. But struggling to decide who wins that one. I want to think Duke is overrated, because the ACC is not good this year so we haven't really seen them play quality competition in a while, but they do seem to have a solid team with Kelly out there.

I have Creighton beating Duke. I think they are a bad match-up for the Dukies. They have the highest field-goal percentage in the country, pass the ball well, and can shoot it well from 3. I think Duke's overplay defense plays right into Creighton hands. They will have problems defending Duke too, so we will see.