[Van Hagar]

Ok, who has everyone got? I’ve got Alabama,Purdue, Texas and Gonzaga, with Texas over Alabama in championship game. I’ve probably watched less college basketball in total this year than any of the last 50+ years, would have a hard time naming 10 players in the tournament that don’t play for UK.

[Old School Hound]

Can't remember a season in my adulthood in which there is such parity. No real dominant team whatsoever. Every #1 seed can be beaten and wouldn't shock me in the least. I

Kennesaw St vs Grand Canyon Charleston vs Montana St LOL

I'll go KY vs Alabama Texas vs Gonzaga(or Kansas)

KY vs Texas for all the marbles.

Okay... I'm a homer(and a dreamer).

[Old School Hound]

Lunardi picks every game in the tourney bracket.  He has UK going out the first game against Providence.


Check out his FF picks.  I strongly disagree with his national champion pick.

[jetpilot]

I'll go with Alabama, Purdue, Texas A&M and UCLA.

[jetpilot]

Houston is the trendy pick. They looked great all year but lost to Memphis by 10 in the conf. championship I believe.

[Jarons]

Alabama, Houston, UCLA, and Purdue.
I have Houston over Purdue in the final.

[Cactus Jack]

Houston is the trendy pick. They looked great all year but lost to Memphis by 10 in the conf. championship I believe.

Their best/most important player was out that game with injury.

---

Alabama, Purdue, Houston, and UCLA. Hate picking so many high seeds but don't know who else I'd take, especially in the East. Texas and Arizona are capable.

Past those, I see handfuls of teams may end up in the Final Four but may also lose in the first round.

Tennessee doesn't scare me-- they're still coached by Rick Barnes and are without Zeigler.

[Old School Hound]

Houston is the trendy pick. They looked great all year but lost to Memphis by 10 in the conf. championship I believe.

I'm not high on Houston.

[jetpilot]

Houston is the trendy pick. They looked great all year but lost to Memphis by 10 in the conf. championship I believe.

I'm not high on Houston.

I get that but they are capable.

[Cactus Jack]

I've seen Houston a handful of times and always came away impressed. As long as Sasser is healthy, they should be fine. They've been ranked #1 plenty this season for good reason and right now, Vegas is giving them the best odds of any team to win their respective region, and it's actually by a pretty wide margin.

I should have added Marquette, Gonzaga, and UConn to the list of teams that I don't see losing in the first round-- at the same time, I don't think that their resumes match Texas' and Arizona's (a group I don't really see winning it, but one that could easily make a run to the Final Four or even Finals). I still see a lot of really tough match-ups in UConn's path out West, otherwise I might have them a bit higher (one of Pitino's current assistants was Director of Player Development at UConn last season & if the Huskies beat Iona, they'll play the winner of VCU-St. Mary's).

Baylor shows flashes, but they are nowhere close to being the team that they were a couple of years ago. If you take away recent history, I do wonder how they'd be ranked and if they'd be receiving the same amount of attention. I watched most of their game against Texas and thought they had moments where they looked like they could beat anyone, but they weren't very consistent either.

The East Region is an interesting one. All of the teams in it seem flawed in a major way but someone has to come out of it. If you asked me to pick a region that I thought was least likely to produce the champion, it'd be them.

I don't think they go to the Final Four, but Creighton is a nice dark horse. Same goes for USC and Florida Atlantic as teams who could pull and upset or two in a run to the Sweet 16 or Elite Eight.

[Old School Hound]

How many had Princeton and Furman? I'm especially happy for Furman. There's a deep connection to Furman for a lot of Corbin folks.

[Cactus Jack]

How many had Princeton and Furman?  I'm especially happy for Furman. There's a deep connection to Furman for a lot of Corbin folks.

I took Furman in two of the three brackets I made, including my primary one. I don't like Virginia in a tournament setting-- too many high leverage possessions that tends to keep less talented teams in the game longer. Not time to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but I don't know that their system is going to produce sustainable success if we're talking about them establishing themselves as a traditional power.

Did not have Princeton and did not really see that one coming.

[Jarons]

Fairliegh Dickinson had defeated Purdue 63-58. My first Final 4 pick to be eliminated.

[Old School Hound]

Fairliegh Dickinson had defeated Purdue 63-58. My first Final 4 pick to be eliminated.

Are we  still liking Matt Painter as our next coach?  He's one of the names that Big Blue fans mention often as a replacement for the HOF'er.

[Jarons]

Fairliegh Dickinson had defeated Purdue 63-58. My first Final 4 pick to be eliminated.

Are we  still liking Matt Painter as our next coach?  He's one of the names that Big Blue fans mention often as a replacement for the HOF'er.

I never wanted Matt Painter.  I have never heard his name mentioned. The only coach I want is Brad Stevens.

[Old School Hound]

Fairliegh Dickinson had defeated Purdue 63-58. My first Final 4 pick to be eliminated.

Are we  still liking Matt Painter as our next coach?  He's one of the names that Big Blue fans mention often as a replacement for the HOF'er.

I never wanted Matt Painter.  I have never heard his name mentioned. The only coach I want is Brad Stevens.

That's me. He's the only guy I've ever really wanted.  Doubt if he would come here, though.

[14th region fanman]

Pretty easy to see tonight why Toppin played over Hopkins last season.

[Old School Hound]

Pretty easy to see tonight why Toppin played over Hopkins last season.

Yep.  Toppin WAYYYY better.

[14th region fanman]

He has had a good year at providence, but if he had stayed here. He wouldn’t have played much this season either I don’t think.
Probably 8-10 mins a game.
All about kids in certain situations.
I always said if Chris Lofton had played at Kentucky instead of Tennessee no way he puts up the same numbers at Kentucky. Tubby would have never let him shoot it that much or play that much as a freshman. And I loved watching lofton play. He went where it was best for him.

[Old School Hound]

Is there a bigger choker than Purdue? Seriously. The last three NCAA tournaments they have lost to a #13, #15 , and #16. That's Choke City, folks.

---

The whiteboard in Purdue's locker room.   I've always longed to do that to a whiteboard.



[Image: https://bluegrasspreps.com/uploads/attac...36b1c0.jpg]

[Cactus Jack]

Are we  still liking Matt Painter as our next coach?  He's one of the names that Big Blue fans mention often as a replacement for the HOF'er.

You say still as if we ever wanted him in the first place.

[Old School Hound]

Are we  still liking Matt Painter as our next coach?  He's one of the names that Big Blue fans mention often as a replacement for the HOF'er.

You say still as if we ever wanted him in the first place.

I'm not saying you or Jarons. You guys are too smart for that.  But I've seen him mentioned by quite a few UK fans on message boards.

[Old School Hound]

Here's how the BPI forecasts the second round games:

Xavier(68.8%) over Pitt(31.2%)

FAU(95.7) over FDU(4.3)

SD ST. (75.9) over Furman (24.1)

UConn(70.2) over St. Mary's(29.8)

Gonzaga(66.7) ovr TCU(33.3)

UCLA(84.1) over Northwestern(15.9)

Missouri(75.6) over Princeton(24.4)

Baylor(52.2) over Creighton (47.8)

Indiana(63.5) over Miami(36.5)

Marquette(63.9) over Michigan St.(36.1)

Kentucky(60.1) over Kansas St.(39.9)

Houston(83.9) over Auburn(16.1)

Alabama(79.9) over Maryland(20.1)

Texas(79.2) over Penn St.(20.8)

Tennessee(74.4) over Duke(25.6)

Kansas(59.3) over Arkansas(40.7)

[Old School Hound]

BPI's brackets getting busted.  #1 Kansas done. #1 Houston down 10 at halftime.  #15 Princeton dominates.


Not surprised, but Princeton is a very smart basketball team.  They have a good shot in Louisville.

[Granny Bear]

Well it has been a very eventful weekend so far; especially for #1 seeds!!

[Old School Hound]

Eric Musselman going hog wild and showing his boobies to the crowd  after yesterday's upset win over Kansas:


[Image: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/image...g&usqp=CAU]



I really, really want Kentucky to win, but not at the expense of the severe emotional damage that would be inflicted upon my fragile psyche by seeing John Calipari naked. PLease, Cal, if we win keep your damn clothes on !!!!

[Old School Hound]

Ware, Collins, and Thiero in for the last two possessions of the half. We give up five points and the lead. Weird...

[Granny Bear]

Well we did better than I expected. At least we didn't go out first round, like we did in the SEC tournament.

[Old School Hound]

Well  we did better than I expected.  At least we didn't go out first round, like we did in the SEC tournament.

I honestly felt like they had a decent shot to go to the FF.  Make just three more shots and they would still be playing. The shooting was horrific.

[Cactus Jack]

Florida Atlantic and Creighton were two of my sleepers.

Let's forget I said anything about USC, who lost to a good Michigan State team in the first round.

In a redraft, I'll still stick with Alabama, Houston, and UCLA as three of my Final Four. I'll replace Purdue with Michigan State.

Any of the teams in the West are capable of winning it, IMO. Same in the East, though maybe it isn't quite as balanced-- I see a lot of very solid but flawed teams there.