DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Mar 31, 2019 18:42:20 GMT -5
I think we all enjoy the absence of Duke and North Carolina from the Final Four, but can you imagine the melt down if Bruce Pearl and Auburn win a National Championship? Will Mark Emmert even let them near the trophy? Show cause, baby! |
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Mar 31, 2019 18:53:10 GMT -5
They pay him for this!
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EasyEd
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Post by EasyEd on Mar 31, 2019 18:53:42 GMT -5
Hee Hee, Ho Ho
Duke not goin to da Final Fo
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Post by FrazierFanatic on Mar 31, 2019 19:11:30 GMT -5
Eat it Count Chocula. There is nothing better than watching Krzyzewski fail. Well - Magoo losing is right up there. |
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iowa80
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Post by iowa80 on Mar 31, 2019 19:11:57 GMT -5
Auburn should probably hustle getting that Final Four banner hung in their gymnasium with the FBI wire tap scandal starting in a few weeks. Is former Bruce Pearl assistant Chuck Person testifying? The Bruce Pearl hate is so stupid. All the players involved on Auburn's side have already sat out their suspensions (Wiley and Purifoy sat out all of last year and Purifoy sat out the first third of this year) for getting funds from an agent before they graduated, not to go to Auburn. Their best players today were undersized, underrecruited guards. And how does that make a dislike for Pearl himself "stupid"? I have no problem with their best players. I'm sure he was "wronged" somewhere along the way like his counterpart at Kentucky though . |
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blueeagle
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Win or lose, it's the school we choose.
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Post by blueeagle on Mar 31, 2019 19:24:48 GMT -5
Admittedly, I have not seen Duke play all year. I saw some of their games in the tournament where Zion and Barrett looked very imposing and impressive. But since the start of the season, they seemed to have been touted as the best assembled freshmen since the Michigan Fab Five. Perhaps eclipsing that team even.
Michigan State being a good team and Izzo being an HOF coach notwithstanding, how does Duke not get to the Final Four with such an abundance of talent on their roster and a wealth of experience on their bench?
I only ask because of the ubiquity and volume of the hype surrounding their freshman class heralded by the next great one, Zion Williamson.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Mar 31, 2019 19:33:15 GMT -5
This seems apropo.
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vv83
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Post by vv83 on Mar 31, 2019 19:46:16 GMT -5
The offense Duke ran for the closing stretch of the game was pretty painful to watch. Just Zion or (too often) Barrett going iso, with both locked in on looking for their shot. They were able to stay in the game, but it was really brutally ugly basketball. Coach K has been reduced to trying to win purely on the individual talents of his "one and done" guys, rather than actually trying to run a real offense. If Barrett had hit a foul shot at the end, they might have pulled it off. But it was good to see the team that was playing real basketball rewarded with the win today.
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Elvado
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Post by Elvado on Mar 31, 2019 19:48:41 GMT -5
The offense Duke ran for the closing stretch of the game was pretty painful to watch. Just Zion or (too often) Barrett going iso, with both locked in on looking for their shot. They were able to stay in the game, but it was really brutally ugly basketball. Coach K has been reduced to trying to win purely on the individual talents of his "one and done" guys, rather than actually trying to run a real offense. If Barrett had hit a foul shot at the end, they might have pulled it off. But it was good to see the team that was playing real basketball rewarded with the win today. I have said it many times. At this point Hypocritzki is Calipari with better press. |
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Post by professorhoya on Mar 31, 2019 19:49:40 GMT -5
Admittedly, I have not seen Duke play all year. I saw some of their games in the tournament where Zion and Barrett looked very imposing and impressive. But since the start of the season, they seemed to have been touted as the best assembled freshmen since the Michigan Fab Five. Perhaps eclipsing that team even. Michigan State being a good team and Izzo being an HOF coach notwithstanding, how does Duke not get to the Final Four with such an abundance of talent on their roster and a wealth of experience on their bench? I only ask because of the ubiquity and volume of the hype surrounding their freshman class heralded by the next great one, Zion Williamson. The end result was ESPN/ACC was way overrated. The competition was weak in the ACC but they were able to keep the ranking in conference which masked the true weakness of the teams. Duke did not look good against UCF, Virginia Tech and Michigan State and could have lost to any of the three. UVA was a free throw ricochet from losing to Big 10 Purdue. And UNC was destroyed by Auburn (SEC). |
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Post by professorhoya on Mar 31, 2019 19:52:40 GMT -5
Also three Pack Line teams in the Final 4 (Michigan State, Texas Tech and UVA)!
Pack Line,Baby!
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seaweed
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Post by seaweed on Mar 31, 2019 20:02:31 GMT -5
Eat it Count Chocula. There is nothing better than watching Krzyzewski fail. Well - Magoo losing is right up there. Too regular to register |
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hoyazeke
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Post by hoyazeke on Mar 31, 2019 20:10:02 GMT -5
So happy for this kid and Pearl but no way he is ready on Sunday....I think Auburn can beat UK without him..... I just want to pat myself on the back for calling the Auburn win.....lol |
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Nevada Hoya
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Post by Nevada Hoya on Mar 31, 2019 20:13:44 GMT -5
What a wonderful afternoon of bball. Almost makes up for the other Jesuit GU losing yesterday. Go Virginia.
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Post by professorhoya on Mar 31, 2019 20:24:04 GMT -5
The offense Duke ran for the closing stretch of the game was pretty painful to watch. Just Zion or (too often) Barrett going iso, with both locked in on looking for their shot. They were able to stay in the game, but it was really brutally ugly basketball. Coach K has been reduced to trying to win purely on the individual talents of his "one and done" guys, rather than actually trying to run a real offense. If Barrett had hit a foul shot at the end, they might have pulled it off. But it was good to see the team that was playing real basketball rewarded with the win today. The problem with Duke was their two best guys are bad FT shooters (Zion 66% and Barrett 64%). That always ends up dooming you in a tournament where you have to win 6 or 7 games. And they are also a poor 3pt shooting team in this age of 40% 3pt shooters. Without alot of elite 3pt shooters it's very hard to beat the Pack Line which clogs up the paint. If you can't shoot 3s, you can't beat the pack line. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2019 20:41:19 GMT -5
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Thomas
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Post by Thomas on Mar 31, 2019 20:48:31 GMT -5
Mike Frances-ER has always come across as a Know-it-all, Loudmouthed Goof!! How was he able to be on CBS' college basketball coverage back in the early 90's?? I know it's fashionable to put Ignorant Loudmouths on sports(and non-sports) shows nowadays, but seeing him on CBS' desk team coverage of somewhat old-school college basketball games on youtube is just stunning. I've got to assume that Frances-ER was even more of an insufferable clown in his younger days. |
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daveg023
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Post by daveg023 on Mar 31, 2019 21:03:42 GMT -5
It's really amazing how this tournament hinges on a single play or two and the results that follow can change the entire narrative. Take this year, Auburn should have lost their first round game against New Mexico State. Instead they lived for another day, and now have gone an an epic run that will have us remembering their season for years to come and Bruce Pearl probably secures a fat extension and/or pay raise when all is said and done. Same thing with Virginia, as they were a fluke tip out away from losing yet again before the Final Four, and now it feels like Tony Bennett rightly or wrongly so has finally been vindicated for all his past tournament failures.
On the other end of the spectrum, Duke had one of the most hyped regular season's I can remember in a while, and at the end of the day, there's not even a Final Four banner to show for it. Even if Zion goes on to become a huge NBA star, I don't think any of us will be looking back at his 2019 season with Duke. In some ways thats the beauty and the flaw of this format. In hindsight, Duke had a much better season than Auburn, and probably deserves to be remembered more than say Auburn or Texas Tech (barring them wining it all) when we look back, but it certainly will not be the case.
I think it just goes to show you that there is so much luck involved in the tournament, and ultimately if you continue to put yourself in position year in and year out, eventually your team may get the break and have a special run. But I don't think it's the best format for determining who is the best team; rather its a combination of the luckiest and hottest team for 3 weeks in March. It's amazing how it seems both so hard to make a Final Four, but so easy at times too if you can get hot at the right time.
As for us, I think it's a probably stretch for us to think we are going to be getting #1 or #2 seeds anytime soon as we once did, but the flipside here is that if we can just put ourselves in position to be consistently in the tournament year in and year out, there is no reason why we can't have a Texas Tech or Auburn like run to a Final Four. From 2008-2013 we had our own poor-man's version of Virginia's recent track record of great regular seasons but early tourney flameouts. Unfortunately for us our regular season success ended, while they continued to keep up theirs, and ultimately this year finally the breaks and the bracket went their way.
So while I come away from this weekend thinking how cruel this tournament can be, I also think its a source of optimism that any Top 25 team can make a run in any given year, and while we still have some growing to do to even get back on that level, it does give me some reason for hope that we may actually be celebrating on this very weekend hopefully sometime in the not so distant future.
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DanMcQ
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Post by DanMcQ on Mar 31, 2019 23:27:10 GMT -5
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Post by hoyasaxa2003 on Mar 31, 2019 23:50:14 GMT -5
Of course luck plays a role in the tournament - this happens every year because there are close games and in any close game “luck” plays are going to make a difference. It’s not just plays at the end of the games - it happens throughout.
The NCAA tournament is a brilliant marketing device and a fun way to end the college basketball season. But, it’s imperfect at picking the best team, which is why there are upsets all the time.
It’s also why no professional sports have playoffs that resemble the tournament. That’s why I’ve always thought it’s silly when people want to make rash decisions based on tournament games - either positive or negative. Take Enfield. He got hired at USC in large part because he beat us and then got to the Sweet 16, yet he isn’t exactly lighting it up there.
The key is to keep getting to the tournament every year. Your odds of making a splash are zero if you’re not there.
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