2014 March Madness Thread

[irishfan]

Since its Selection Sunday, I figured I'd start this today. This tourney seems more open this year than in past years, and there's still strong debate over the final 1 seed after Florida, Wichita State, and Arizona. Other teams mentioned for the last 1 seed are Duke, Michigan, Louisville, UVA, and Wisconsin. Can't wait till Thursday, best day in sports IMO.

http://a.espncdn.com/i/ncaa/14mens_bracket.pdf

clashmore's pick em's are below:

http://www.irishenvy.com/forums/notre-dame-athletics/193005-2014-ncaa-tourney-pool.html
http://www.irishenvy.com/forums/notre-dame-athletics/193889-ie-yahoo-pick-em-free.html

 

[Irish Insanity]

Are you gonna be doing a bracket challenge for IE?

 

[military_irish]

I think the last 1 seed will be between UVA and Louisville. Considering the other 3 were beat in their respective tourney

 

[Irish Insanity]

Virginia looked good today. I'd throw them in as the last 1. What was odd is before the B1G game had concluded they had UM as the other #1 and didn't even have Virginia as a possible #2 seed.

 

[Kaneyoufeelit]

Mount what? MOUNT U! We will. MOUNT YOU!

 

[johnnycando]

Mount what? MOUNT U! We will. MOUNT YOU!

Stttteeeeeeeeeeeerike.
Strike 1.

 

[irishfan]

God, Louisville and MSU as 4s are jokes. I like both to make Final 4

 

[IrishSteelhead]

2014 March Madness Thread

SMU getting snubbed, and NC State getting in after Coach K's predictably whiny lobbying was the wrong call IMO.

 

[Kaneyoufeelit]

Stttteeeeeeeeeeeerike.
Strike 1.

^ Albany fan

 

[TheRealLynch51]

As a Xavier fan, I'm pretty pissed about being in the play-in 12 game. Thought we were better than 2nd last team in. NC State is a one trick pony though with TJ Warren. We faced Creighton 3 times this year, so we are used to playing a team with a guy who can absolutely go off.

Got to feel bad for SMU though. Still, they need to schedule a better OOC.

 

[IrishSteelhead]

Has anybody put together a Yahoo group for us yet?

 

[Irish Insanity]

Has anybody put together a Yahoo group for us yet?

Clashmore Mike did in a thread he started.

http://www.irishenvy.com/forums/notre-dame-athletics/193005-2014-ncaa-tourney-pool.html

 

[clashmore_mike]

Yes let's see if we can get more than three entries. I'll get one set up for those that would prefer not to pay $10.

 

[notredomer23]

Louisville got absolutely snubbed. They are the hottest team in the country. The committee didn't say but they definitely think the American is a weak conference.

 

[Irish8248]

Gooooooooo Day-ton Fly-ers

 

[TheRealLynch51]

Gooooooooo Day-ton Fly-ers

Gross.

Edit: Just some good natured ribbing. Nothing hostile here.

 

[Irish8248]

lol i know -- you being a xavier fan inspired my post lol

 

[TheRealLynch51]

lol i know -- you being a xavier fan inspired my post lol

Question: I was looking at tickets for the our play-in game, and the first tickets that were available are in the upper deck corners. Did Dayton fans have first crack at play-in tickets since they host the game in their own arena? Should we expect the bottom bowl to be filled with UD fans rooting against Xavier?

 

[Irish8248]

Question: I was looking at tickets for the our play-in game, and the first tickets that were available are in the upper deck corners. Did Dayton fans have first crack at play-in tickets since they host the game in their own arena? Should we expect the bottom bowl to be filled with UD fans rooting against Xavier?

they havejnt announced anything or sent us an email yet as far as I know... Im waiting to hear about securing tickets for Buffalo. Those tiickets are already jumping up because they are paired with cuse. Im from Buffalo and on spring break, so I feel like the stars have aligned enough for me to be at that game and not having to spend $150

 

[T Town Tommy]

Wait.... they play basketball in college? I did not know that.

Seriously, growing up in Big Blue land, I gotta cheer for my UK Cats. Maybe them young 'ens can make a run. Can't stand the one and done stuff... it has messed up college basketball. But all in all, March Madness is still fun to watch. Here's to the underdogs... the little man... the upset specials.

 

[irishfan]

Wait.... they play basketball in college? I did not know that.

Seriously, growing up in Big Blue land, I gotta cheer for my UK Cats. Maybe them young 'ens can make a run. Can't stand the one and done stuff... it has messed up college basketball. But all in all, March Madness is still fun to watch. Here's to the underdogs... the little man... the upset specials.

Uk-WSU would be an amazing 2nd round game.

*yes, i know the tourney now calls the play-in games the "opening round" and then the 1st and 2nd rounds are the "2nd and 3rd rounds," it just makes no sense to me.

 

[T Town Tommy]

Uk-WSU would be an amazing 2nd round game.

*yes, i know the tourney now calls the play-in games the "opening round" and then the 1st and 2nd rounds are the "2nd and 3rd rounds," it just makes no sense to me.

Agree. Should make for an entertaining game. If I were the Shockers I would be a little upset. Looks like the selection committee didn't do them any favors in their region.

 

[IrishLion]

Wait.... they play basketball in college? I did not know that.

Seriously, growing up in Big Blue land, I gotta cheer for my UK Cats. Maybe them young 'ens can make a run. Can't stand the one and done stuff... it has messed up college basketball. But all in all, March Madness is still fun to watch. Here's to the underdogs... the little man... the upset specials.

Currently living in UK land and being an ardent Calipari hater, I struggle to deal with "Big Blue Nation" at times.

A friend of mine is the worst type of UK fan imaginable... every recruiting class is "the greatest class in the history of college basketball," and he can only name Randall Cobb when asked about recent UK football players. So last night, while doing a tournament auction, I decided to make a run at UK for two reasons: 1) because they've got an awesome bracket and have a mental edge over Louisville if they make it there, and 2) to at least drive up their auction price over the UK homers I was with.

Getting late in the auction, we were running out of big-name teams and I was still sitting on most of my auction money. One guy had already gone full-homer and way overpaid for Louisville, so once UK rolled around I needed to either spend some cash on them or make someone else do it. I ended up bidding "the biggest UK basketball fan of all time" way up and got him to overpay by at least $15. After that, I was able to snag Arizona and North Carolina for less money combined than my friend had spent on UK.

Bidding against the homers worked far too well lol

 

[T Town Tommy]

Currently living in UK land and being an ardent Calipari hater, I struggle to deal with "Big Blue Nation" at times.

A friend of mine is the worst type of UK fan imaginable... every recruiting class is "the greatest class in the history of college basketball," and he can only name Randall Cobb when asked about recent UK football players. So last night, while doing a tournament auction, I decided to make a run at UK for two reasons: 1) because they've got an awesome bracket and have a mental edge over Louisville if they make it there, and 2) to at least drive up their auction price over the UK homers I was with.

Getting late in the auction, we were running out of big-name teams and I was still sitting on most of my auction money. One guy had already gone full-homer and way overpaid for Louisville, so once UK rolled around I needed to either spend some cash on them or make someone else do it. I ended up bidding "the biggest UK basketball fan of all time" way up and got him to overpay by at least $15. After that, I was able to snag Arizona and North Carolina for less money combined than my friend had spent on UK.

Bidding against the homers worked far too well lol

You did well my friend. As far as Calipari... really good recruiter but not a good coach. Time for him to go to the Knicks. I do think the fact that all those freshmen still play AAU type ball, they could make a run since the tourney plays more like the summer AAU circuit. The Shockers will be a difficult test as they are long and very athletic - if the Cats can even beat K State at this point. I have watched very little basketball over the last five or so years and feel that the current system of one and done has killed the game. But outside of the obvious Bama homer mentality I live with now, the Big Blue Nation and all their homer fans are hard to deal with and will wear on you. Here's to hoping they get to the Cards and then the state will shut down once again. Glad I won't be there to have to hear all the jaw jacking.

 

[tussin]

I have no idea what to expect this year. I feel like every 1 seed could go down early...

Florida / Pitt
WSU / Kentucky
Arizona / OK St.
UVA / is UVA even good?

 

[Ironman8]

Let's go Friars!!!!

 

[IrishLion]

You did well my friend. As far as Calipari... really good recruiter but not a good coach. Time for him to go to the Knicks. I do think the fact that all those freshmen still play AAU type ball, they could make a run since the tourney plays more like the summer AAU circuit. The Shockers will be a difficult test as they are long and very athletic - if the Cats can even beat K State at this point. I have watched very little basketball over the last five or so years and feel that the current system of one and done has killed the game. But outside of the obvious Bama homer mentality I live with now, the Big Blue Nation and all their homer fans are hard to deal with and will wear on you. Here's to hoping they get to the Cards and then the state will shut down once again. Glad I won't be there to have to hear all the jaw jacking.

To be honest, the only good that comes from UK/Louisville fans is when they are set to play each other. It's like a special treat when I get to watch all of my closest friends have meltdowns on each other for an entire week.

And about Calipari, you're exactly right. It's amazing that he hasn't progressed somewhat in coaching up the talent he's always reeling in. The best part has been that most UK fans were ready to can him after their loss to South Carolina, and they all started to turn on him as "good recruiter, crappy coach," and definitely (for the first time) started to speak out against his one-and-done culture.

I tried telling my friend three years ago that it wouldn't just take talented freshmen to win a title, but he scoffed and asked if I knew how good Cal's classes would be. He started to see the light when I made him realize what kind of veteran leadership their title squad had in '12, and the last two season have really begun to bring out the venom. They realize now that it's not just about getting the next big phenom... it's about having veterans and a great in-game coach to keep the stud young guys from self-destructing.

 

[irishfan]

Agree. Should make for an entertaining game. If I were the Shockers I would be a little upset. Looks like the selection committee didn't do them any favors in their region.

Agreed. Their bracket is absolutely brutal. Arizona's looks like a joke by comparison.

 

[#1rish]

It's absolutely hilarious how my GF's alma mater, Manhattan, drew Louisville. She was so excited that they made it to the tourney.

 

[NDPhilly]

So I followed Doug McDermott on Twitter today and what I found almost made me cry. Doug has retweeted Coach Brian Kelly, a picture of the golden dome, and even a picture of himself in a Tommy Rees jersey. Guys Doug McDermott is a ND fan....damn