Running 2018 college rings postseason thread

Michigan actually plays more like a vintage Izzo team.
The Wolverines have the toughness and defense the Spartans lack.
Bridges settles for jumpers too much and doesn't demand the ball down the stretch.
In both games against UM, Simpson shut down Winston.
Unlike most Izzo teams, this one really hasn't improved.

 

All I heard down the stretch is how Michigan State didn't really have many good wins this year. Now all I hear is that Michigan State is going to run to the title.

(Different bracket ...) Same with Arizona. That's a deeply flawed team that has nothing of note on its non-conference resume, save for being bent over and fucked by Purdue. Kentucky is capable of throwing up a turd in Boise and getting run out of the gym in Round 1. Honestly, I wouldn't be stunned if Davidson made a run out of that half of the draw.

 

Those shooting shirts really are the vanity license plates of sports.

 

Another thing ... writing an obit on Virginia is extremely premature. Tony Bennett is a fantastic coach. Hunter is a big loss, for sure, but there are probably 16 teams that can win this tournament, and losing a sixth man isn't enough to write UVa completely out of the picture.

 

No, but he brings an element the other guys don’t. Hall, Jerome and Guy can get to the rim, but none of them as well as Hunter. And he’s the most versatile defender on the team. It lowers the margin for error significantly. With Hunter, they were OK if two of the three mentioned above weren’t shooting well. Now they probably aren’t.

I imagine his minutes are going to be split between Hall going ironman and Diakite, depending on matchups. Hunter’s offensive load will be split between those two (fine) and Nigel Johnson (terrifying).

 

This Holliday kid for UCLA had one of the most spectacularly bad last minutes of a game I can ever remember. Three turnovers including two offensive fouls, in the last minute.

 

I fucking hate the "First Four" play-in games.

If you make the Tournament, you should get to go get your ass kicked by Villanova or Purdue or whoever, not play another mid-major in Dayton, Ohio, two days before anybody is paying attention. You should get your name on its own line on a bracket, framed on your wall in perpetuity.

I know Coach K. strong-armed the NCAA into this b.s. But fuck him. Get rid of it.

 

I covered a low major league for 10 years, and for the most part, they love it. Radford now has an NCAA tournament win. It doesn't get an asterisk in the NCAA record book. It counts just like any other win.

I get your point, totally. And I don't disagree. But the coaches at that level love having a chance to get a tourney win.

 

No, it doesn't. They can say it does, but it doesn't. No real competitor would think it does.

 

You're still facing the champion of another conference in the NCAA tournament. That's real competition. Sorry, not going to agree with that. But I'm not trying to argue for the existence of the First Four. It sucks. This tournament didn't need UCLA, Syracuse, Arizona State and Alabama this year.

 

A few predictions ...

1. This will be the last year any games are broadcast on CBS. They've already pulled the Final Four/Championship from the freebie network. This year they pulled the selection show. Next year the first and second round games will be on TBS, TNT, truTV and CBSSN.

2. A No. 16 seed has to win one of these years. Why not 2018? Sorry, Kansas fans.

3. Kentucky could absolutely lay a turd in their opener tomorrow, as Cosmo says. Or they could run the table. I'm predicting the latter, with Villanova, Duke and Gonzaga joining the 'Cats in the Final Four.

 

I've got Cincy, Michigan, Villanova and Kansas. Pretty chalky, I suppose. Just don't see who knocks Kansas out in their bracket? N.C. State? Maybe. Don't think Clemson or Auburn gets it done. I've done already shit on Michigan State so I'm not taking it back now. Had Virginia in the FF (and winning it all) until the Hunter injury. Now I have them out to Cincy in the Elite Eight.

I'm with Coco. Kentucky could be great, they could stink. They're hard to predict.