2010 NCAA Tournament (and NIT) Thread

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by whomario

That´s propably it now.
How about Mazzula doubling his season high in such an important game with 16 points ? Why isn´t he in right now puzzles me a bit.

Kentucky showing what will allways be an obstacle for you team like that, executing under pressure.

0-19 from 3 and 11-23 from the line, yikes ...

Id guess they have him out so they can get another bigger guy in to rebound. The pressure hasnt gotten to them as of yet without him in. That could soon change.

[WVUFAN]

If WVU wins this, the entire town of Morgantown will be couchless.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

I'm not sure that agree with you Jon.

Cinderella will always sell. The hype machine for Butler vs Kentucky would be able to sell this matchup.

Vs Kentucky or Duke, it's possible.
Vs Tennesse or Michigan State? Not damned likely.

[Swaggs]

Now that's some bullshit right there!!!

[Eaglesfan27]

How is that a back court violation?

[mauchow]

I could see it being called either way, it looked like the last one to touch it was WVU.

Also, WVU looking to blow it... but it's okay as Kentucky can't make 50% of their free throws.

[Swaggs]

Especially considering the one that they let Kentucky keep possession on earlier.

Oh well, Mazz is back. Hopefully, they settle down.

[jbergey22]

WTF refs????

[Swaggs]

Wow... I dunno know about that.

[WVUFAN]

Bullshit call.

[Atocep]

And here we go....

[Swaggs]

Time to pace.

[Atocep]

Reaching fouls. Please call one.

[sterlingice]

Kentucky just looks so uncontrolled. It's like a bunch of flying arms and pray the refs don't call because you're down 10.

SI

[Swaggs]

I think we're lucky Walls isn't just driving in and they are throwing up threes instead.

[Swaggs]

Heh... well, until now, I guess.

[Swaggs]

Thank you Lord!!!

What a dangerous player.

[Radii]

And thus ends John Wall's college career.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Radii

And thus ends John Wall's college career.

Let's hope so!!!

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

Heh... well, until now, I guess.

Yeah- in the last couple of minutes, they've decided to call everything.

SI

[sterlingice]

Nice acting try to get the call on the three there

SI

[Eaglesfan27]

Congrats to all of the WVU fans on the board.

[Abe Sargent]

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY

[Radii]

Congrats Swaggs!

(insert burning furniture joke here)

[sterlingice]

I just didn't know who I wanted to win this game

It was used car salesman John Calipari against his redneck wannabe cousin (who really does just fit in West Virginia).

SI

[Swaggs]

Haha... Just heard fireworks go off in Mo'town!!!

[WVUFAN]

WHOOOOHOOO!!!!!

[sterlingice]

Anyways, congrats to WVU fans. In the end, better you than them

SI

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Radii

Congrats Swaggs!

(insert burning furniture joke here)

Thanks!

Luckily, the kids are on Spring Break this week.

[Atocep]

I probably put 5 years of wear on my hallway carpet watching the last 10 minutes.

I have some Jack and Coke in my future.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by Atocep

I probably put 5 years of wear on my hallway carpet watching the last 10 minutes.

I have some Jack and Coke in my future.

No crap -- I've walked about 3 marathons between this and the BE tourney!

[sterlingice]

Oh, god. They go to Bill Self with "Well, Bill, you can't feel too bad since the #1's are falling all over the place". Cue Bill Self with pained and slightly annoyed look on his face.

Ah, live tv

SI

[ColtCrazy]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As an IU fan, this is a great day. An Indiana team makes the Final Four (I am definitely picking up a Butler T now and hanging around Indy next Saturday just for the atmosphere) and Kentucky gets beat.


On a side note, each of the last 3 rounds has had a #1 get beat, so Duke will win tomorrow and lose to WV in the semis. I can handle that.

I'll be rooting for Butler in the finals, and for MSU to win tomorrow.

[jbergey22]

Congrats West Virginia fans.

You will be playing Baylor for the National Championship next Saturday J/K

I better keep the J/K there or I will feel the hatred from MSU/Tenn/Butler fans.

Baylor in a semi home game against a team that has had road struggles and had their leader struggling with his shot. Ill take the Bears tomorrow.

[Ragone]

don't worry wvu fans, in under 3 years from now this game will not have happened.. as kentucky will be stripped of this season.

so this was basically a bye..

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Ragone

don't worry wvu fans, in under 3 years from now this game will not have happened.. as kentucky will be stripped of this season.

so this was basically a bye..

Haha

[timmynausea]

Originally Posted by Ragone

don't worry wvu fans, in under 3 years from now this game will not have happened.. as kentucky will be stripped of this season.

so this was basically a bye..

So they will vacate Kentucky's loss? Interesting.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by timmynausea

So they will vacate Kentucky's loss? Interesting.

Yup, the 3 losses and the 35 wins.

[ColtCrazy]

Is Calipari overrated as a coach? I mean, he's great at buy...er recruiting players but he just doesn't seem to make the runs you think he should with the talent he's had.

[timmynausea]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Is Calipari overrated as a coach? I mean, he's great at buy...er recruiting players but he just doesn't seem to make the runs you think he should with the talent he's had.

He's now 1-8 all time against Bob Huggins.

[Poli]

Congrats wvu fans!

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Is Calipari overrated as a coach? I mean, he's great at buy...er recruiting players but he just doesn't seem to make the runs you think he should with the talent he's had.

Well he was 1 shot away from a Nat'l Championship 2 years ago but yes I would agree that he has struggled in the tourny.

[Ksyrup]

I was trying to explain to all the UK fans here that this team wasn't winning it all. They just couldn't believe it. But all year, this team was too relient on fastbreak points, never ran a consistent offense, settled for outside shots that they couldn't hit most of the year, were too interested in NBA All-Star game highlights than playing a fundamentally sound game, turned the ball over way too much, and couldn't hit free throws. Their athleticism got them only so far, but sooner or later they would run into a team who would shot lights out and their TOs, wasted possessions, and inability to hit 3s would lose them a game.

Will be interesting to see the reaction at work on Monday.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

I'm not sure that agree with you Jon.

Cinderella will always sell. The hype machine for Butler vs Kentucky would be able to sell this matchup. I actually think this would bring in more viewers than your typical North Carolina vs Kansas-like matchup that we see every year.

Between 1991-1999, when the audience for the finals peaked (ranging from 34.1m to 26.3m) the 18 possible slots included only 11 teams. Either Duke or Kentucky appeared in 7 of those 9 finals and 5 teams had multiple finals appearances.

In the next nine tournaments (2000-2008) the audiences ranged from 17.09m to 23.9m. 15 teams split up those slots, only Florida & Kansas made more than one finals appearance.

Through the 2009 tournament (because I haven't found a rolling list by year & I'm not patient enough to parse each & every team to back it out) those 11 teams.

First set of teams avg 98 tournament games played & 66 tournament wins
2nd set of teams avg 82 tournament games played & 52 tournament wins

First set avg by appearance (i.e. Duke counts 4x) - 100 gms / 69 wins
2nd set avg by appearance (i.e. Florida counts 3x) - 80 gms / 52 wins

And in that second set the only teams that appeared that had above avg win totals for the group were Duke, Kansas, UNC, and UCLA, 3 of which were also part of the first group.

Viewers prefer to watch dynasties, familiarity, consistency, whatever you want to call it a hell of a lot more than they like to watch upstarts. They may not like those teams but they definitely seem to produce greater interest regardless of whether they love them or hate them.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I was trying to explain to all the UK fans here that this team wasn't winning it all. They just couldn't believe it. But all year, this team was too relient on fastbreak points, never ran a consistent offense, settled for outside shots that they couldn't hit most of the year, were too interested in NBA All-Star game highlights than playing a fundamentally sound game, turned the ball over way too much, and couldn't hit free throws. Their athleticism got them only so far, but sooner or later they would run into a team who would shot lights out and their TOs, wasted possessions, and inability to hit 3s would lose them a game.

Will be interesting to see the reaction at work on Monday.

Southern Indiana has a huge population of Kentucky fans. The local news is already talking about how this team expected to win the championship. Kentucky fans have unrealistic expectations for their program, which is why I am sure it's just a matter of time before Calipari breaks some rules trying to deliver.

Kentucky struggled often against lesser talent when they were playing sloppy. I honestly think if Butler and them had met in the final, Butler would have had a great chance of making them play out of rhythm. Calipari did make a good point on the post game when he said that they've gotten away shooting poorly against bad teams but couldn't do it against a team like WV. Of course, that's on Calipari to put some discipline into their offense.

[miami_fan]

Your team can't shoot free throws AGAIN, Calipari? After what happened in the title game against Kansas? Really?

[JonInMiddleGA]

My bracket is still a shambled mess of a wreck, but at least I nailed this one (only Elite 8 matchup I had right too).

[timmynausea]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Your team can't shoot free throws AGAIN, Calipari? After what happened in the title game against Kansas? Really?

They didn't shoot very well period. 12% from 3 and 33% from the field.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Between 1991-1999, when the audience for the finals peaked (ranging from 34.1m to 26.3m) the 18 possible slots included only 11 teams. Either Duke or Kentucky appeared in 7 of those 9 finals and 5 teams had multiple finals appearances.

In the next nine tournaments (2000-2008) the audiences ranged from 17.09m to 23.9m. 15 teams split up those slots, only Florida & Kansas made more than one finals appearance.

Through the 2009 tournament (because I haven't found a rolling list by year & I'm not patient enough to parse each & every team to back it out) those 11 teams.

First set of teams avg 98 tournament games played & 66 tournament wins
2nd set of teams avg 82 tournament games played & 52 tournament wins

First set avg by appearance (i.e. Duke counts 4x) - 100 gms / 69 wins
2nd set avg by appearance (i.e. Florida counts 3x) - 80 gms / 52 wins

And in that second set the only teams that appeared that had above avg win totals for the group were Duke, Kansas, UNC, and UCLA, 3 of which were also part of the first group.

Viewers prefer to watch dynasties, familiarity, consistency, whatever you want to call it a hell of a lot more than they like to watch upstarts. They may not like those teams but they definitely seem to produce greater interest regardless of whether they love them or hate them.

You more than anyone else would know the answer to this question. How much has broadcast network viewership gone down over that same period due to splintering with cable?

SI

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Between 1991-1999, when the audience for the finals peaked (ranging from 34.1m to 26.3m) the 18 possible slots included only 11 teams. Either Duke or Kentucky appeared in 7 of those 9 finals and 5 teams had multiple finals appearances.

In the next nine tournaments (2000-2008) the audiences ranged from 17.09m to 23.9m. 15 teams split up those slots, only Florida & Kansas made more than one finals appearance.

Through the 2009 tournament (because I haven't found a rolling list by year & I'm not patient enough to parse each & every team to back it out) those 11 teams.

First set of teams avg 98 tournament games played & 66 tournament wins
2nd set of teams avg 82 tournament games played & 52 tournament wins

First set avg by appearance (i.e. Duke counts 4x) - 100 gms / 69 wins
2nd set avg by appearance (i.e. Florida counts 3x) - 80 gms / 52 wins

And in that second set the only teams that appeared that had above avg win totals for the group were Duke, Kansas, UNC, and UCLA, 3 of which were also part of the first group.

Viewers prefer to watch dynasties, familiarity, consistency, whatever you want to call it a hell of a lot more than they like to watch upstarts. They may not like those teams but they definitely seem to produce greater interest regardless of whether they love them or hate them.

Part of that also has to be the impact of players going pro early. Think of the great teams of the 90s. How many of the 00 champions were as good? There were some great teams in the 90s (UNLV, the Duke teams, Kentucky in 96) there were even great teams that never won it (Michigan's Fab Five). But I can't think of a lot of great teams in this past decade.

I won't deny that name recognition sells. Without UNC, UK, IU, Kansas, and the other historically big schools around it won't be as big a draw. Still there'll be some good angles for this year's final four (Butler's first trip, Huggins redemption, etc)