Unbelievable.

It's nights like tonight that make me happy that I love college basketball. That was one of the best games I've ever seen in any sport. Period. Just unreal.

Poor selections at the end of previous overtimes hurt both teams, but Syracuse ended up with the win.

I'm going to be exhausted at work tomorrow but it was worth it. Game ended at like 1:25 AM EST or something crazy. Just reeeeeee-diculous. If they ever re-air this on ESPN Classic and you missed it...check it out. Seriously.

How many will Syracuse lose by tomorrow? I'll set the over/under at 15 for WVU over Syracuse. If by some act of god Syracuse wins tomorrow, then they should be given a crazy-high seed. I think they'll get a #2 seed if they win the conference tourney. But I'll be amazed if they even show up at all tomorrow. I won't hold it against them because they won the one that mattered.

Congrats to both teams tonight for an amazing game.

Crazy game and you have to give the 'Cuse a ton of credit!

I knew something was up, somewhere in college basketball when I kept seeing this thread jump to the top (I was avoiding it and watching about an hour or two behind on TIVO). I had 5 1/2 hours set aside for it (the maximum 3+ hours over scheduled time) and I only had about an hour to spare.

I kind of feel like I did after the crazy '06 Big East tournament run when Gerry McNamara went insane, in that even if it cost them their 1st round game in the NCAA tournament, I was still content with the season......I hope Boeheim shows some restraint tomorrow (tonight) and rests some starters.

I felt like UConn was in control most of the way, they seemed to get every lose ball, a ton of offensive rebounds (including several off FT misses), but Syracuse was just always there, somehow.

This is the most entertaining Syracuse team I can remember in terms of individual personalities. They just all stand out.

I think human nature on the selection committee will give Syracuse a extra boost from this game beyond just the win. I think they were looking at about a #6 before the game, I think at least #4 now, with a shot at a #3.

LOL - that was tremendous.

It's a good thing the 6-OT game was the second game - otherwise West Virginia/Pittsburgh would probably still be going on.

I am glad I decided not to stick with the game halfway through the first overtime. I would be DEAD today.

It wouldn't be a great sports event if SI, kccheif, and I didn't work in some random Sports night quotes.

I am dragging today, but glad I stayed up to witness that.

Man, this is bull shit.

I turned off the tv right after Devendorf made that shot at the end of regulation. I figured he had the devil on his side and Syracuse had won. :D

I never gave thought to it being after the buzzer and there would be OT. I don't know if I would have lasted through 6 OTs, but damn I am sorry I missed it.

Looking at how the polls were all year and how the conference tournaments have been going for the big conferences, I don't see a team that anyone could say is the best team. Every time a team looks like they're going to be that team, they lose.

This years tournament is going to be fun to watch. I think we're going to see a lot of close, down to the wire games.

It really is a close field this year. I think anyone in the top 20 can win it this year. Good stuff.

was talking with my brother last night about how there are legitimately probably at least 8 teams right now that you could say without a stretch could win it. And that's before somebody goes on a hot-tournament run.

Just for fun...in no particular order.

1. UNC
2. Duke
3. Pitt
4. UConn
5. Louisville
6. Memphis
7. Oaklahoma
8. Michigan State
9. Wake Forest

who am I forgetting...

Kansas is the only other team that comes to mind, I guess.

Wake shouldn't be on that list.

Dola,

Funny thing about DT's list, I bet at least 4-6 of those teams aren't in the Elite 8.

I think MU will get a 3/4 seed if they win the tourney.

replace Wake with Kansas then if that suits you FoF. Either way, bottom line is that maybe moreso than in past years the field is very well balanced this year (as we saw all year with the #1 seed changing what seemed like it had to be a record number of times). And I agree that 4-6 of those teams won't be in the Elite 8. In fact if you asked me how many of them would make the Elite 8, my best guess would be 3.

They better win the tournament. They have a great matchup with OSU. Then they'll face a team playing its fourth game in four days. No excuses if you're Mizzou not to win this tournament.

Agreed..

I still say we have overachieved.. so I'm happy with this season already.

Mizzou already has a three seed at this point. A tourney win will likely land them a 2 in Kansas City given the good power rankings of their expected upcoming foes (OSU and UT).

SA and I were chatting last night trying to just do top 4 seeds. Try it, it's a fun exercise. Even in light of last night, here's how it looks to me:

1s) NCarolina, Michigan St (if they win B10), and 2 Big East Teams (of Pitt, UConn, Louisville- if Louisville wins, they steal it from Pitt, otherwise, it's the other two)

2s) Other Big East team, Memphis, Oklahoma, Duke/Wake (whichever gets further in ACC?)

3s) Duke/Wake, Mizzou- they might take either OU or the ACC spot at #2 if they win the Big XII, Washington (decent PAC10 showing), Villanova?

4s) Kansas, UCLA, Gonzaga... then the next one, I'm not sure about as I think there's a pretty substantial drop off here: Syracuse now? Xavier? Butler? Someone in the SEC or Big 10 with a deep run like LSU or Purdue/Illinois?

SI

You think so? Wow.. a 2 would be spectacular.

Both Lunardi and 101 have them as a four. I suppose they could move up to a 3 if they win, but that might put them ahead of Kansas, and I don't think they have much of an argument to be ahead of Kansas.

I am guessing they stay a 4 no matter what they do in this tourney, and have zero shot at a 2 seed.

So, UNC is losing to VT by 6 about halfway through the 2nd half.

What happens when all of the tourney's #1 seeds lose in their conference tournaments? :D

I don't think we have seen it like this before. If UNC loses, Louisville is the only big conference tourney #1 seed left going into the weekend. That's nuts.

Just to correct you, Bracketology 101 as of today has Mizzou as the third best 3 seed (i.e. they're basically rating them as the 11th best team at this point). If they beat OSU and UT, there's a very good chance that they'll be a 2 seed.

Lunardi isn't even worth mentioning. He's at ESPN, but that's usually where his credibility ends. Cumulatively, he's rated as the 15th best prediction site, which is right in the middle of the pack. Bracketology 101 is #1.

Link it!

Bracketology 101: Bracketology 101's Field of 65 - March 13

It appears that today he has Mizzou as the 4th #3 seed.

Don't count out the PAC 10 teams. UW has some nice guards, a great leader in Brockman and some veteran leadership that can score.

Arizona State has 2 dynamic players in Jeff Pendergraph and James Harden and UCLA is a team that could get hot as well.

Wow, it didn't take you long to develop a West Coast bias! :D

That's what I saw. I wanted to split hairs.

If you saw the top of my head, you'd realize what a daunting task that might be. :D

Thanks for the correction, Cartman. BTW.....I'm rooting for Texas in the early game. I want Mizzou to play (assuming a win tonight) a team that has Dexter Pittman playing in his 4th game in 4 days. :devil:

And the frenetic pace Mizzou runs will hold up for three games in three days?

Texas has the best strength and conditioning coach in college basketball, so I'm not too worried about the team in general having to play that many games in a row.

I am so glad Hansbrough is graduating after this year. He's not going to be a good pro, so we won't see much of him in the NBA, hopefully.

Damn you VT!

Oh, it will hold up for three days without question. Mizzou rested their starters for the last 8 minutes last night and played 11 players. Given that I saw Eaton and Anderson holding their shorts at every break in the last 10 minutes, I think they're going to really struggle in the 2nd half tonight. We'll also agree to disagree about which team is better conditioned between Mizzou and Texas.

We still don't have a B12 tourney champ who won 4 games in 4 days. We also have never had three upsets in the second round of the tourney like we did yesterday. Something's got to give. :D

I don't see how Lousville would be stealing from Pitt, more likely they would steal UConn's #1. It would be complete BS at this point if UConn was a #1 and Pitt wasn't seeing as they both lost in their first game of the Big East tourny, Pitt was 2-0 against UConn and Pitt still has the #1 RPI.

I think Pitt is a lock as a number 1 seed, now what happens with the other 2 big east teams UConn and Lousiville is gonna be interesting. Do they get 3 number 1 seeds or do they just get 2?

I also think Mizzou has the pace and the conditioning to do it for that amount of time. Anderson didnt get to where he is by playing 40 mins of walk ball up the court. I think with what he has done this year he needs to be considered for coach of the year in the big 12. My opinion of him has shot through the roof with what he is doing over there.

By the way, a couple of people has asked for this. Here is the site that rates the 'Bracketology' sites that attempt to guess the tourney seeds. As I mentioned, Bracketology 101 rates the highest.

The Bracket Project - Ranking the Bracketologists

Well, UNC wins a game without Lawson. Color me surprised. Larry Drew showed me something for the first time this season, when he was coming in behind Lawson he seemed to try to force the pace up to the same level that Lawson does and he is a turnover machine. Today with a slower pace he still committed a couple bad turnovers but he made a number of very nice passes and was a lot more in control than I've ever seen him.

I think Pitt and UNC are locked in as #1s. I think the ball is in Louisville's and Michigan State's court right now. If they both win their conference tourneys, I think they wrap up the other two #1s. Otherwise, I think UConn is in the conversation to replace one of them. I think Duke could also get back into the conversation if they run through the ACC tournament (their computer numbers remain very high).

I'm clearly no VPI fan, but I think they got a little screwed by that jump ball at the end. That had to be a foul or a travel, as Hansborough certainly did not have possession of the ball. Might not have mattered in the end, but I would have been pretty POed if I was a VPI fan.

Big 10 basketball is seriously unwatchable.

WVU -6.5 tonight

Some of it is. If you're watching Wisconsin, I agree with you. :)

I'm still exhusted. I watched the entire game last night, took a 3 hour nap then got up to be at work this morning. Basically everyone in the city of syracuse was a walking zombie today but oh so worth it :)

Interesting comments on local radio. Kevin Harlan has said that he spoke to someone 'in the know' regarding tourney selection that told him that the 'last 10' criteria that previous selection committees have used is all but gone for this year's tourney selection. The main focus will be on the entire body of work, regardless of when the wins/losses occurred.

If you'd like to hear more specifics, Kevin Harlan will be on the radio at 5:00 PM CDT to discuss it more.

Sports Radio 810 WHB - Powered by Fans

Good for OU.

agree completely. UNC still had a foul to give and keeping the guy from going up for a shot and forcing another inbounds play would have been fine for Carolina in that spot. It was a bad call.

Florida State is about to choke against Georgia Tech.

Florida State survives.

end of SU-UCONN is on ESPNU right now

Duke does not have a decent inside game and could definitely lose a game if their shots aren't falling or the refs aren't giving them calls. For me the list of teams that can make a serious run maybe is four deep... UNC, Pitt, Louisville and maybe Memphis....maybe.

Not the to say some other team won't get hot or that the other teams on your list won't make a run. I think those teams need favorable matches in order to make a serious run. While Pitt, UNC and Louisville can play with anyone... Memphis also to a certain degree.

Texas up by 6 over Baylor at the half, 39-33.

As a fan of a Big Ten team, I would like to point out that Louisville/Villanova is unwatchable.

Baylor 9.2 seconds away!

Baylor knocks off Texas with a strong second half.

Maryland gets a huge win over Wake Forest that might get them into the NCAA tournament. I'm not convinced that they're in for sure unless they win tomorrow, but they're right there now.

WVU-'Cuse time!

I hope we don't come out flat after beating Pitt. I don't want tourney week to end (for us) yet! :)

That makes the Big XII overtime a game for bubble watchers since if Baylor wins, that will open up another spot.

SI

Go CSUN!!!

speaking of Duke having issues - it's only halftime but they're having issues with B.C. so far tonight (they're down by 7)

Mizzou is down by 2 at halftime and they are shooting HORRIBLE!!!!!!

Good grief......

Come on. From all of the posts I have ever read by you I know you are a true fan. We are a second half team. Anderson's philosophy is depth and conditioning. Our two first half goals are to wear them down and get them into foul trouble. And then we dominate the second half. We will win by 10+.

:)

Ok.. I panic a little bit... they (ok st) do have two of their best players out, one with 3 fouls and the other one with a leg injury.. I hope he's ok though.

If we could just start playing better in the first half.. :D

Both teams are shooting horrible right now. That's the good news.

And, yeah, while being a good 2nd half team helps, every day that passes in March is one day where it's going to be that much harder to do that. There are no easy games from here on out.

True, but as long as we can minimize the time that Denmon, Paul, and Lawrence are on the floor at the same time we can out athlete almost every team. Our bench is deeper than even the power Big East and ACC schools. I don't claim we match up 5 on 5 starters but when they start to get tired we are so deep and athletic that we can keep running them.

Plus it doesn't look like Eaton is coming back. (Or as the play by play guy keeps saying eat-TAHN. :-) )

EDIT: Well that was a jinx. Eaton just keep running on the court 25 seconds after that post. Sorry for the jinx!

I'm listening to the OSU feed because the Mizzou feed on Yahoo is premium. OSU talking heads said they're taping the ankle and gonna see how that works out for him.

Question: If there is a 4th "stand by" official at a game why not just ref the game with all 4 guys? Seems like they could just post a ref under each basket and only have two refs running back and forth.

Great comeback so far by UW but I think it may have taken to much out of them for the finish

We are starting to get stronger.. but damn are we shooting bad.

Apparently the Cowboys are playing aggressive and not making any fouls, huh?

We are taking many outside shots.. OKST is going inside.

ACC and Big East games both set up for awesome endings, if WVU makes this last free throw Syracuse might be playing mroe overtime.

I want to see WVU/Syracuse go into OT, just so I can hear the announcers go into apoplexy about it being the last thing the 'Cuse needed.

Alright! Let's go to 7 this time.

BC down 1 vs Duke with the ball and 10.6 left in the game.

USC/UCLA about to face-off in the PAC-10 semis. Bug and Chief should make a sig bet or something.

thats just cruel

I see Duke has some festive watermark designs on their unis. I think I saw another team with them recently. Must be this years "tight unis"

bah - that ending was monkeyshit.

from the point where our backup PG (who is only playing cuz the stud freshman got hurt in the game) threw it into the 2 dukies with 17 seconds left i pretty much thought we were done, but that was a pretty horrible last shot...would have rather they let them play out the last 5.5 after getting the ball cross halfcourt rather than call time and go for a set play.

they had it right there to win and just barfed it up.

Ping: Mizzou/Okie State watchers- what's with all the threes taken (missed) in that game? 3 for 20 and 6 for 30?

SI

Dude, you jinxed it by calling me. By the time I got to my room, they were back down by 9.

Both teams played good defense and well, both teams shot bad from the arc.

but....

MIZZOU - BAYLOR for the BIG 12 Championship!!!

Woo Hoo, GO TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ugh, it happened so fast

Baylor will win. Every year a big conference has an unexpected winner. Syracuse a few years back, Georgia last year, et...

Mizzou, I could have easily seen... Baylor, not so much. They have talent but really haven't put it together all the Big XII season. I mean, they were ranked at one point this season but just collapsed in conference.

SI

Demar DeRozan is going to be an amazing player. He said he's going to stay at USC for his sophomore season, but if he has a big coming out party in the PAC-10 and NCAA tourneys, then I could easily see him getting swept up in the hype.

Damn... hated to lose, but I am impressed with Syracuse (minus Devendorf).

What sucks is that his 55-footer really ended up being the difference in the game.

Unreal that 'cuse won, I wouldn't want to face them in the tourny

Al Thornton's the FSU guy you were thinking of, not Horford. It was bugging me so I had to look it up. Can't believe I couldn't remember his name.

Thats it!

You also must be a 'Nova fan.........:p (seriously, Louisville played pretty bad in the first half, but turned it up a couple notches in the 2nd half).

Cougar, I was just having some fun throwing around a phrase I've been hearing over and over again. At the time I posted that both teams were playing good defense and bad offense. Lots of bad turnovers, only points were garbage points, both teams were missing threes, etc.

Louisville's defense was really, really disruptive last night all game long.

You're wrong.. Mizzou comes out hot and beats Baylor by 10 or more. :D

Cuckoo and I will be at the Big XII Championship game today. It should be a good time. Go Bears! Fuck Mizzou! :D

Maybe the North should break off and form their own league like you guys always talk about in football. ;) Who did Mizzou and KU lose to from the weaker division this year? Somehow OU still will get the higher seed though.

KU: 5-2 vs the South including 2-0 against powerhouses OU and Tex
Mizzou: 7-1 vs the South including 2-0 against powerhouses OU and Tex


We will demolish Baylor. It's their 4th game in a row against a team built on stamina. The dream ends today.

To be fair, we beat OU without Blake Griffin (tho it was in Norman)

SI

Okay, but what other team could enter the tournament losers of 4 of its last 6 with 2 1/2 of those losses at full strength and be considered the best team from their conference? If Mizzou limped in like that we would be an 8 seed. I don't think there is any doubt OU will be seeded higher than KU or Mizzou and I never thought I would be defending you guys but its complete horse shit!

I think they looked like ass and cant for the life of me figure out why they did that. It doesnt match at all IMO.