Official NCAA Tournament thread

[angelsrockies4ever]

USC was convincing.

 

[aw00d05]

USC was convincing.

Got them in the Elite 8 .

 

[Brad]

Manny Fresh Saves the Maze and Blue from blowing a 15 point lead down the stretch.

Prunell should get fired, he can't win in the tourney and I don't even like Clemson, they should've beaten Michigan by atleast 10 and don't because he doesn't know how to coach...Wish I would've kept my Michigan pick too haha, that and Butler/LSU (which I also changed yesterday.....) and I'd be perfect.

You do not know what you are talking about. Purnell should not be fired. Clemson ahs been to the tourny twice with him and lost twice. He took us to the ACC Championship game last year. Clemson is still building. He took a program in shambles and made them a competitor in the ACC. The team is getting better every year and he landed Clemson's first McDonald's All American in 18 years. For whatever recruiting rankings are worth, the guys playing have been all 3 stars, not like UNC who has like 8 McDonald All Americans on their roster snd seem to get one or two every year.

Also, OP can only do so much. He is not the one who went 2/20 from 3 in the first 35 minutes of play.

Considering how good his teams have been compared to the teams they've lost to I'd say so...If he does it again next year bye bye.

You would be wrong. Villinova was a Sweet 16 team last year and though I think we may have had more talent than Michigan, the 1-3-1 gives us and nearly every team fits. We have been overachieving when you look at talent level (based on Rivals) and our projections in the ACC. Finishing two straight years in the top 25 is a good thing. The program is on the upswing and Purnell is here for the long run.

 

[aw00d05]

Manny Fresh Saves the Maze and Blue from blowing a 15 point lead down the stretch.

Prunell should get fired, he can't win in the tourney and I don't even like Clemson, they should've beaten Michigan by atleast 10 and don't because he doesn't know how to coach...Wish I would've kept my Michigan pick too haha, that and Butler/LSU (which I also changed yesterday.....) and I'd be perfect.

You do not know what you are talking about. Purnell should not be fired. Clemson ahs been to the tourny twice with him and lost twice. He took us to the ACC Championship game last year. Clemson is still building. He took a program in shambles and made them a competitor in the ACC. The team is getting better every year and he landed Clemson's first McDonald's All American in 18 years. For whatever recruiting rankings are worth, the guys playing have been all 3 stars, not like UNC who has like 8 McDonald All Americans on their roster snd seem to get one or two every year.

Also, OP can only do so much. He is not the one who went 2/20 from 3 in the first 35 minutes of play.

Considering how good his teams have been compared to the teams they've lost to I'd say so...If he does it again next year bye bye.

You would be wrong. Villinova was a Sweet 16 team last year and though I think we may have had more talent than Michigan, the 1-3-1 gives us and nearly every team fits. We have been overachieving when you look at talent level (based on Rivals) and our projections in the ACC. Finishing two straight years in the top 25 is a good thing. The program is on the upswing and Purnell is here for the long run.

They made a great comeback this year, just would like to see them win one for once with him with good talent, and they were a top 10 team this year and I believe last year at some point, which really doesn't mean much but they had talent. Michigan is a dangerous team though IMO.

 

[Brad]

We reached the top 10 for the first time in a long time this year. I think the highest we ever got last year was 17. I know we moved up in the polls after losing to number 1 UNC in OT but we never really climbed too high, even after a run in the ACC tourny and finishing third in the regular season.

 

[KandKCards]

Brad,
You can't look at Rivals rankings as an indicator of overachieving/underachieving. Those are projections and they are rarely accurate. Look at Nova's starting 5. Scottie Reynolds was the most highly touted according to Rivals, somewhere in the 60s. Shane Clark and Reggie Redding were low 100s. Dwayne Anderson was unranked in the Rivals 150, and Dante Cunningham, a future draft pick, was something like #244 according to the websites that rank the top 250.
Now, the class of Anderson/Cunningham/Clark is the winningest class in program history, winning their 100th game today, and Nova is on their way to another sweet 16.
Georgetown, on the other hand, starts 2 McDonald's All Americans (Wright and Monroe), and two other top 50 guys (Summers and Freeman), and they sucked royally this year.
Long story short, those rankings mean absolutely nothing.
And I know that you, as a Clemson fan, are happy that Purnell has brought the program out of the pathetic state that it was in. However, he will not be able to win big games. It's more than a coincidence that Clemson starts hot every single year and eventually collapses. 3 years ago, they started what, 13-0 and missed the tournament? Last year they not only lose to Nova in the first round, but do it by blowing an 18 point lead. And this year, they start strong again, get into the top 10, collapse in the ACC tournament and lose another tournament game they were favored in.
He's better than what Clemson had before, but he isn't going to take you anywhere. If you're happy with mediocrity and first round exits, then keep him. Otherwise, get rid of him.

 

[Brad]

K&K, I know Rivals cannot really be used, but none of the guys on the team were in the 150 except for Baciu who is a frosh that rarely played. Our talent is improving every year so I think he can get us a win next year. This year's class is the winningest ever in history at 91 and next year will top that number. The "hot start and stumble at the finish" is sort of there, ut not really. We were 17-0 then finished 7-9 in ACC (higher than projected) and was a clock malfunction away from winning at Duke (should coulda woulda, I know). That team should have been in the tourny though. That team went to the NIT finals losing to WVU (coached by Beiline).

Last year we were 10-6 in the ACC and did not lose consecutive games in conference. Then making it to the championship game after being third in the regular season. We were projected to be about 6 and probably not make the tourny.

This year, we were once again outside the top 25 and picked 5th in the ACC which is where we finished. Purnellhas at least met or beaten expectations every year. We were not supposed to be so good this year with losing 3 seniors who started. He is going to get his chance for that win. We are above mediocre right now and are still getting better.

 

[KandKCards]

K&K, I know Rivals cannot really be used, but none of the guys on the team were in the 150 except for Baciu who is a frosh that rarely played. Our talent is improving every year so I think he can get us a win next year. This year's class is the winningest ever in history at 91 and next year will top that number. The "hot start and stumble at the finish" is sort of there, ut not really. We were 17-0 then finished 7-9 in ACC (higher than projected) and was a clock malfunction away from winning at Duke (should coulda woulda, I know). That team should have been in the tourny though. That team went to the NIT finals losing to WVU (coached by Beiline).

Last year we were 10-6 in the ACC and did not lose consecutive games in conference. Then making it to the championship game after being third in the regular season. We were projected to be about 6 and probably not make the tourny.

This year, we were once again outside the top 25 and picked 5th in the ACC which is where we finished. Purnellhas at least met or beaten expectations every year. We were not supposed to be so good this year with losing 3 seniors who started. He is going to get his chance for that win. We are above mediocre right now and are still getting better.

Projections don't matter. The fact is, Booker is a matchup nightmare for anyone they play, Rivers is an excellent and experienced player, Oglesby is a threat from outside and Stitt is a more than servicable off-guard, not to mention Sykes has great athleticism for his size.
No matter how you twist it, that team should not be losing in the first round of the tournament, it's that simple. They are also good enough to be doing better than .500 in the ACC. Teams that are well coached rarely lose to teams that they are better than....Clemson lost to Georgia Tech, Michigan, home vs. VaTech, at Virginia, etc. Well coached teams just don't have letdowns like that, especially as consistently as Clemson does.

 

[ffgameman]

WKU couldn't play defense, or worse - shoot free throws. They had a good season though..

 

[aw00d05]

WKU couldn't play defense, or worse - shoot free throws. They had a good season though..

They definately gave Gonzaga all the wanted that's for sure, and Cuse moves on rather easily they're in my final 4...

 

[KandKCards]

WKU couldn't play defense, or worse - shoot free throws. They had a good season though..

They definately gave Gonzaga all the wanted that's for sure, and Cuse moves on rather easily they're in my final 4...

Arizona State looked completely unprepared. To be that incompetent against the zone and to leave Rautins and Devendorf open for 3s that many times is just inexplicable.

 

[aw00d05]

WKU couldn't play defense, or worse - shoot free throws. They had a good season though..

They definately gave Gonzaga all the wanted that's for sure, and Cuse moves on rather easily they're in my final 4...

Arizona State looked completely unprepared. To be that incompetent against the zone and to leave Rautins and Devendorf open for 3s that many times is just inexplicable.

They still had to knock them down, but I agree there D was pretty bad and Flynn carved them up.

 

[KandKCards]

WKU couldn't play defense, or worse - shoot free throws. They had a good season though..

They definately gave Gonzaga all the wanted that's for sure, and Cuse moves on rather easily they're in my final 4...

Arizona State looked completely unprepared. To be that incompetent against the zone and to leave Rautins and Devendorf open for 3s that many times is just inexplicable.

They still had to knock them down, but I agree there D was pretty bad and Flynn carved them up.

As a Big East guy, I've watched Cuse a lot...those two almost always knock them down. I don't think there is a deadlier 3 point combo in the country.

 

[aw00d05]

WKU couldn't play defense, or worse - shoot free throws. They had a good season though..

They definately gave Gonzaga all the wanted that's for sure, and Cuse moves on rather easily they're in my final 4...

Arizona State looked completely unprepared. To be that incompetent against the zone and to leave Rautins and Devendorf open for 3s that many times is just inexplicable.

They still had to knock them down, but I agree there D was pretty bad and Flynn carved them up.

As a Big East guy, I've watched Cuse a lot...those two almost always knock them down. I don't think there is a deadlier 3 point combo in the country.

No doubt, I got Cuse in final 4 with the Ville, Pitt and Memphis . Cuse has the best PG IMO and great shooters and big men.

 

[KandKCards]

[quote="ffgameman":2ux3c08a]WKU couldn't play defense, or worse - shoot free throws. They had a good season though..

They definately gave Gonzaga all the wanted that's for sure, and Cuse moves on rather easily they're in my final 4...

Arizona State looked completely unprepared. To be that incompetent against the zone and to leave Rautins and Devendorf open for 3s that many times is just inexplicable.

They still had to knock them down, but I agree there D was pretty bad and Flynn carved them up.

As a Big East guy, I've watched Cuse a lot...those two almost always knock them down. I don't think there is a deadlier 3 point combo in the country.

No doubt, I got Cuse in final 4 with the Ville, Pitt and Memphis . Cuse has the best PG IMO and great shooters and big men.[/quote:2ux3c08a]
They are tough to stop. Not many times have two starters that can matchup with Onuaku and Jackson. The way to beat them is to push, push, push. It might seem counter-intuitive since they can put up big scoring numbers, but you need to get into your offense before they can set up their zone. They SUCK at getting back in transition; Devendorf usually just walks back after a missed shot. That's what Nova did to them, and they scored a combined 191 points in two games against Cuse this year that resulted in 2 wins. Should be interesting if Oklahoma does that, they certainly have the athleticism to push the ball all day.

 

[cowboysrule48]

Mizzou is rockin!

 

[sffanmike25]

Must be killing Seth Davis, Dick Vitale, and all their network buddies to see the "A" still hanging around this weekend. Go Cats!!

 

[aw00d05]

Anyone watching USC vs. MSU? Refs are handing it to MSU...It's terrible...

 

[Kutzy]

Was hoping Siena would pull it out. Too bad.

 

[KandKCards]

3 great games....and they all turn out how I didn't want them to!