Running 2010 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament thread

What should we call them? Small big schools? Non-BCS entities? One of a dozen schools not in the Big East?

 

When was the last time no #1s made the Final Four? I don't know. Just asking.

 

Fixed.

 

2006 - #2 UCLA, #3 Florida, #6 LSU, #11 George Mason

 

Exactly. This is a team that's won 23 in a row now and beat Ohio State and Xavier back-to-back during the regular season.

 

Just getting in from the golf course.

Some quick observations.

Is there a worse possible location to play an Elite 8 game than the Carrier Dome? My God, there can't be 10,000 people in there. It's so quiet in there, you can almost hear Dick Enberg's breathing machine.

If Butler were to beat K-State, (which I don't think would happen); then Butler playing in Indy in the Final 4 would be unreal. Think back to KU in 1988, winning the whole enchilada in Kemper Arena in KC.

 

Being a mid-major is a fact of life. It's not about a label, it's about reality. Butler's men's basketball budget, according to the US Department of Education, is $1.8 million. Syracuse's is $6.8 million. Syracuse has an overall athletic budget of $44.7 million, Butler sits at $10.5.

Cornell MBB budget - 800k. Kentucky? $8.5 million. Cornell athletic budget is $17.7 million. Kentucky? $67.7 million.

This isn't about a label or how good a basketball team is. It's about money. It's about resources. It's about facilities and budgets and having the capital to be a national force in the sport.

 

West Virginia is winning with ease despite working on 25 turnovers. That's hard to do. Also, HD is not Bob Huggins' friend.

 

Thanks and shit.

I would have thought it would have been longer ago.

 

You don't have to go back 22 years. MSU played in Detroit last year.

 

I keep thinking West Virginia would trip up, but they keep proving me wrong. They really are phenomenal on defense. As much as I'll be rooting for Cornell, a Kentucky-West Virginia game could be a great, albeit low scoring, game.