2008 NCAA March Madness<<<<<<<<<<<<IT'S TOURNAMENT TIME!!

[Sushi Flavored Gatorade]

(I'm aware of the "Official" College Sports Thread, but come on there's still football talk over there. GET IN THE MARCH MODE PEOPLE!!!!!)



Here's a thread totally dedicated to the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball March Madness: Road to the Final Four. Here, is the best place to share your bracket predictions, discuss the games and lay down cold hard debate, supporting your bracket.

SUSHI'S predictions:

FINAL FOUR: UNC, KANSAS, PITT, UCLA
CHAMPIONSHIP: UNC, UCLA
CHAMPHIONS: UCLA

3 GOLDEN RULES OF MARCH MADNESS

1. The Cardinal Rule is [[TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS AND GUT]], yes it's all right to fill in from the analysts/bracketologists on TV, but the NCAA bracket is meant for one thing. It's for what YOU think.

2. Always pick some sort of upset in the first two rounds, and even the sweet sixteen. It's true, not all higher seeds will always beat the lower seeds, March Madness is magnetic to upsets and heartbreaks. I advise you to pick at least two.

3. Don't pick ALL #1 seeds for the Final Four. It hasn't happened it like a BILLION years. There's always that shaky #1 seed in their region and tough #2 and #3 seeds. It's hard, but you never know, that #1 seed drought could end this year. (Don't take any word from me, just listen to rule one like I said).

SUSHI'S BIG DECISIONS IN HIS BRACKET----

Why don't I have Memphis in the Final Four with all the other #1 seeds in my bracket?
Well, I'm one of those people who don't believe in all number one seeds, but the oddball seems to be Memphis. Even though they have the best record in the nation, along with players like Chris Douglas-Roberts and star freshman, Derrick Rose, as to a great coaching staff with John Calipari, they haven't proven anything to me this year. Being in the C-USA, really takes a big chunk of impression of your squad, along with a terrible free throw percentage, and losing at home to pretty much the only quality team on your schedule. I see Pittsburgh taking their spot, in a semi-suprise upset because of what they'eve accomplished RECENTLY. Getting past Louisville and Georgetown in the Big East, along with that sweet conference trophy. Plus their fabulous lineup including DeJuan Blair, who's one average rebound short of a double-double a game. Sam Young who averages an 18-6 every game. They have solid players like Fields and Cook. And their good 46% FG shooting. I love this squad and I see them going farther than Memphis.

Why do I have Duke going down in the second round?
Duke has been skeptical and very inconsistent, not just recently, but this has been a season habit. They rely their games on their perimeter shooting. They don't have enough inside game, on both offense and defense. If Duke wants to go anywhere in this tournament, they need to notch their game up about three gears and start playing like a real college basketball squad. I have West Virginia beating Duke in the second round and let me tell you something. Joe Alexander has been PHENOMENAL these past few games. He's always stuck out to me throughout the whole season and watch out. These Mountaineers are going to bring their A game.

Do I have a Cinderella Team this year round?
No. Simply put. I could put double digit seeded teams no past the sweet sixteen/second round games. This tournament schedule is just to tough for a non power conference team to come and show up ready. Maybe next year.

Am I bias because I'm a UCLA fan?
You could say that. It's not like I'm shooting blind because of my squad. I have confidence with Kevin Love and Darren Collison to lead the way this year.

[Titus_Andronocus]

Glad to see SOME thread devoted to the Tourney. There's the college sports thread like you said but it's REALLY slow and people are still talking about football.

Best games in the 1st round

#5 Clemson vs. #12 Villanova
- The Tigers are hot but Clemson just got a bad draw with Villanova as a 12 seed for the 1st round. I predict Clemson to win it but 'Nova could surprise some people.

# 6 USC vs. #11 Kansas State
- Maybe the best game of the entire 1st round. You have some of the 2 best freshman in the country playing each other on the same floor. I'm picking K-State but only because USC is unpredictable and I'm not sure if they can turn it on whenever they want.

#7 Gonzaga vs. #10 Davidson
- The 'Zags are one of the best Mid Majors in the country and have been for years. They've made the Tournament 11 years in a row and this year is no different than others. They're solid, skilled and tournament tested. They've got it right now. However, Davidson has won 22 straight games and swept through their conference tournament. The game could go either way and I still haven't made a prediction yet.

#6 Marquette vs. #11 Kentucky
- Marquette just got flat out UNLUCKY. I mean, you're looking strong going into the tournament and you have a #6 seed and then you find out your 1st round opponent is Kentucky? Cmon now. That hardly seems fair for the Golden Eagles but that's the way it happened. It's just a solid match up and I think the Wildcats can pull it out.

UPSET WATCH

#11 St. Joe's over #6 Oklahoma
- St. Joseph's is hot right now and I don't really know anything about Oklahoma. That's probably why I think there'll be an upset but St. Joe's is looking good enough to take it to the 2nd round of the Tournament.

#12 Villanova over #5 Clemson
- Mentioned above in best games section

#11 Kansas State over #6 USC
- Mentioned above in best games section

#10 Davidson over #7 Gonzaga
- Mentioned above in best games section

#11 Kentucky over #6 Marquette
- Mentioned above in best games section

#11 Baylor over #6 Purdue
- Baylor has been playing solid all season and I think they can just win this game if they can turn on the juice against the very young Boilermakers team. The game could go either way.

#10 Arizona over #7 West Virginia
- Arizona is just an AWESOME team on paper. The thing is though, they've been inconsistent and one of the most disappointing teams in all of college basketball this season. If they can turn it on though, they can turn some heads and go pretty far in the tournament. I pick the Wildcats in this one. Should be good.

My Final Four contains:

UCLA over Texas and UNC over Georgetown.

Then I have UCLA beating North Carolina in the National Championship.

I don't have any bias whatsoever to any of these Final Four teams. My favorite is actually Washington State but I don't think they're going anywhere farther than the Sweet 16.

[Ay Kay Ay]

As far as I am concerned, it is going to be Clemson v.s. Vandy in the second round. From there, it should most likely be Kansas v.s. Vanderbilt. That is, if Vandy can stay consistent with their inside game. I'm just not seeing enough from their centers. Do you think Vanderbilt could pull out the upset?

[Ay Kay Ay]

I'm extremely bias towards Duke, so i'm going to go with UCLA over Duke for the Western finals. Memphis over Kentucky in the South. UNC over Tenn. in the East. I don't think that Memphis was a fair match up for the #1 spot. Finally, Kansas over Georgetown for the North. UNC over UCLA in the end. North Carolina has had a more than strong year. Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansborough could definitely be the determining factors in the game.

[umop apisbn]

I finished my bracket today and it's completely messed up.
UNC FTW! :'D

[death_by_idiocy]

UNLV will kick Kent St's @$$.

[Ewe From the Storm]

my final four is:
UNC
Texas
Duke
Wisconsin

some big upsets in the first round:

Georgia over Xavier:well pretty much Georgia is on fire and is going to give Xavier a run for their money and suprise them in the opening round

George Mason over Notre Dame: frankly i am a notre dame hater! and i love the fact that GM made it to the Final Four in 2006, although i dont think they will go that far this year, they will beat ND in the first round

Winthrop over Wash St.: it seems that almost every year winthrop upsets someone in the first round and no one sees it coming. but this year i do see it comin. wash st. is struggling in the end of the season and will even struggle more during this round and let wintrop join the other upset, GM in the round of 32

7 vs. 10 seeds:

10 Davidson over 7 Gonzaga: everyone knows this is going to happen. first of all its like a home game for davidson. second of all, gonzaga doesnt really have what it takes to go into a "neutral" court and pull this off. and lastly, well thats pretty much all i have to say about this game

10 Arizona over WV: face it, WV hasnt really played on the big stage at all and AZ has way too much experience to lose to and unexperienced WV team, period

10 St. Mary's over Miami FL:why,why,why did they put miami in the tourny anyway, ok their nonconference schedule is ok but face it their not gonna even beat a weak st mary's team that hasnt seen the tourny even a fraction of what all these other schools have

7 Butler over 10 S. Alabama: the only 7 seed i have winning is Butler and its just because they are playing a mediocre team that barely made it in and i didnt even know existed until sunday night, period

well thats pretty much all i have to say, if you have any other questions about my bracket just post off of this

[bluto62]

My Final Four:
UCLA
UNC
Wisconsin
Texas


I see Memphis losing to either Pittsburgh or Texas - Pitt can play them tough, but Memphis could sneak by depending on who gets lucky in the last few minutes of the game. You just know it'll be close. If they see Texas, I don't give them a chance. D.J. Augustin is a floor general, and I don't think Memphis can stop Texas. It helps that the game will be in San Antonio, but I think even at a neutral site, this game is Texas'... the fact that it's basically a home game is just icing on the cake.

UCLA got a cakewalk to the Final Four, which was unnecessary in my mind because they play the top teams better than anyone in the nation. The easy way to the Final Four should give Kevin Love and Richard Mbah a Moute time to recover for when they're really needed. Duke is playing really poorly. Xavier is doing the same. Both are primed for early exits... it's just too bad they play each other in the Sweet Sixteen provided they both make it that far which is NOT guaranteed. I don't see anyone getting in their way until they see Texas, and they played Texas down to the wire earlier this year - one possession changed the game to a UCLA victory.

I saw Kansas light it up in the Big 12 championship game. They have a lot of talent, perhaps more depth than anyone in this tournament. This is the best chance they've had at winning it all since they won it last in '88. Their problem, though, is that a big part of them beating Texas was the 3-ball. That will dry up eventually, not to mention, as any Missouri fan will tell you, Kansas can always find a way to choke in the big dance. Rock, choke Jayhawk! =) Wisconsin and Georgetown have played good basketball all year. Wisconsin only got the #3 because they had the unfortunate pleasure of playing in the weakest Big 10 in recent memory, but they won it all the same.

UNC... well, they play their games in North Carolina. They have no real challenges until they see Tennessee, and no offense to Bruce Pearl, as he's done an excellent job, I just don't see Tennessee having the defensive depth to shut UNC down. I can't see anyone else making a splash in this bracket. Butler is good, and they have the right to be pissed that they got a 7 seed. They easily have Elite 8 potential if it weren't for Tennessee. They still might surprise me.

UNC will manhandle Wisconsin... it will stay close for about 30 minutes, but Wisconsin will be completely worn down by then. UNC wins by at least 10.

UCLA and Texas will have a game that none of us will soon forget. I'm really looking forward to this matchup - I really hope that I get to see it happen. It'll be back and forth all game, and ultimately, I think UCLA takes it.

UCLA and UNC #1 in the country (UNC) against the best 'team' in the country (UCLA). UCLA just has all the intangibles to go along with all of that talent. If that wasn't enough, Ben Howland is the brains behind the whole operation. I think they pull it out, and win their 12th championship.

[Sushi Flavored Gatorade]

@Chuck Vinete: Vandy? Eh... I'm a little worried about Vandy's chances, but I'm not saying that they don't have a chance at all. Kansas is a great defensive squad as everyone knows, but Shan Foster keeps that chance more alive as I see it. His amazing ability to shoot well from the perimeter really impress me and you know. I think Vandy really does have a shot. ot a big one, but more than other teams definitely.

UPDATES:Xavier comes from losing by 11 points to beat Georgia 73-61.

Purdue has about a 20 point edge on Baylor. Ah already two mistakes on my bracket. Dangit I thought Georgia could've pulled it out.

[Ay Kay Ay]

I just made a March Madness bracket group on Yahoo, exclusively for people on this forum. The link is right here: My group.
I would really appreciate it if yall joined. Correct predictions give you certain amounts of points in each round. The password is: gaia. As of right now, you should make your bracket, but you won't be able to fill it out until the third round starts.

[DiruAngel76]

There's a group on Facebook dedicated to brackets and bragging in all forms. I have UCLA taking the whole enchilada. I have them taking Kansas to the cleaners. So far I am 7/7. First bracket I have ever done so well on.

[bluto62]

Kentucky really let me down. =( Oh well, I had whomever won losing to Stanford anyway, so it's not that bad.... yet.

[Cerise Chinoise]

I picked UCLA over UNC, too. And it's great because I'm a Bruin heart

[ikisshobos]

Kansas and UCLA in final....UCLA takes it!!

[Serpent_Master]

I love March Madness. Best time of the year. I'm going with UNC and UCLA in the championship game and then UNC wins.