Running 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament thread

Is that sort of like the sports equivalent of Al Gore losing Tennessee in 2000?

Is there any other school besides Duke that would lose their home state in a poll like this?

 

Duke 66, Butler 61. I think this will be a lot closer than many expect. Zoubek and rebounding will be the difference for a Blue Devils win.

 

The only way I could see it is if the Duke-esque school was taking on an instate rival. Like, Notre Dame would lose Indiana if it had to face the Hoosiers in a game like this.

 

No upset.

1) Most of Duke's fanbase isn't located in North Carolina. And what is there isn't enough to rock the boat.
2) Chapel Hill fans would rather throw darts at their Michael Jordan shrines, have dental work done without Novocaine or pull for N.C. State than pull for Duke.
3) The backlash has reached fever pitch.

 

A few notes from Indy, where I'm back to play tourist.

-- Took the kids to Bracket Town, the NCAA's fanatorium. Pretty nice, actually. All sorts of stuff, and not just basketball, to play for only $6 per kid. Avoided punching Duke fans, though I eliminated a 10yo in a Duke jersey during a game of knockout. I hope I made him cry.

-- As of 3:45 pm, when we went by campus on the way back from downtown, Hinkle's parking lot was already close to full, and police were already directing traffic for the watch-it-on-the-scoreboard TV crowd. 10,000 at Hinkle is a bigger bottleneck than 75,000 at the Luke because the campus is all little neighborhood streets.

-- Game will be played under a tornado watch. It's storming like crazy now. I think I hear tornado sirens.

 

I know that we a cynical bunch. But if Butler wins tonight, it is going to be a special moment in sports history, truly. Disagree?

 

Agree, Waylon.

And for my entertainment tonight, I'm going out to watch the game at a local pub where the bartender is a Carolina alum!

 

Sounds like my kind of place!

Oh, and Go Butler!

 

A great American melting pot moment: seeing a man in a Sikh headdress and a Butler "the road to the Final Four runs down Capitol Avenue" t-shirt.

 

TV Ted Valentine is one of the officials, meaning there will be at least two very questionable whistles so early in the game that it alters the course of the contest. Book it. When Ted's in the house, it's all about Ted.

And yes, if Butler wins it will be special, but not as special as '83 with NC State or '85 with Villanova. Butler hasn't lost since Dec. 22 and didn't sweat making the tournament. The Bulldogs also were picked 10th in preseason, so they were expected to be good.

If they play the perfect game like 'Nova, or have the ball at the end like NC State, they have a chance....If Duke shoots it like Saturday, the Blue Devils will massage a comfortable working lead where it lets Butler gets close, but never close enough.