Sweet 16/Elite 8 discussion thread

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Originally Posted by dukelifer

Yes- losing to UNC in the Final Four would be tough to take in this part of the world- perhaps years to recover. Not sure the basketball gods will allow that to happen. If it does, it will be an epic matchup- perhaps one of the most watched games in NCAA history.

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I was actually discussing, with a patient of mine (a UNC fan) in clinic today, the fact that a Duke-UNC NCAA tournament matchup has never happened, which is pretty amazing given (1) how often both teams have been in the tournament since the field expanded to include at large bids, and (2) how many times both teams have advanced deep in the field.

We agreed that a certain amount of divine intervention must be involved - a higher power keeping this from happening for the preservation of North Carolina.

So there, proof that there is a God, derived through ACC basketball.

At the end of the visit we agreed that such a meeting would not be allowed to happen this year, either. He expressed his conviction that God would make sure Duke didn't reach the final four, and I expressed my equally deep belief that God would make sure the Tarheels lost in Newark.

I mean, if God isn't a Blue Devil, then why is the sky Duke Blue?

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Originally Posted by davekay1971

...if God isn't a Blue Devil, then why is the sky Duke Blue?

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Actually, I'd say that the sky is much more nearly carolina blue. In fact, tar heels are very fond of asking this very same question, from their own point of view.
My response is always that God put that stuff up in the sky so we wouldn't have to worry about stepping in it.

I have a very simple formula at this point for deciding who to root for/against. Other than rooting for Duke, I just don't want COACHES who might compete with K's record on Nat'l Championship, which means:

1. I really, really don't want Roy to get his 3rd NC (duh)
2. I really, really don't want Calhoun to get his 3rd NC (equally duh)
3. I don't want Bill Self to get a 2nd NC within just a few years
4. I don't want Florida's coach to get a 3rd NC.
5. I don't want Calipari to win anything, as all it does is validate "one and dones" and give the Kentucky fans a good excuse for forgetting his past sins.

I could put up with any of the others going through, if for some reason Duke could not.

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Originally Posted by MChambers

Guess I'm a big Marquette fan this week.

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I'd love to see Marquette put together a couple of great games. I took notice of them early in the year.

They are playing well and if the 'holes don't watch it, they will be heading home quickly.

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Originally Posted by 78Devil

I have a very simple formula at this point for deciding who to root for/against. Other than rooting for Duke, I just don't want COACHES who might compete with K's record on Nat'l Championship, which means:

1. I really, really don't want Roy to get his 3rd NC (duh)
2. I really, really don't want Calhoun to get his 3rd NC (equally duh)
3. I don't want Bill Self to get a 2nd NC within just a few years
4. I don't want Florida's coach to get a 3rd NC.
5. I don't want Calipari to win anything, as all it does is validate "one and dones" and give the Kentucky fans a good excuse for forgetting his past sins.

I could put up with any of the others going through, if for some reason Duke could not.

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We understand that you hate all the coaches that don't coach at duke, but please take the effort to look up that Billy Donovan is the coach at Florida before you hate on him...

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Originally Posted by davekay1971

Obviously I want UNC to lose, and lose badly, every time they take the court. But, as long as Duke is still alive in the tournament, I'm not going to get to worked up about the 'Heels. Living in NC, a Duke loss to UNC in the final four would be a fate worse than death...but I have confidence and faith in our team, enough to actually look forward to this possible matchup.

Because Duke beating UNC in the final four, Coach K breaking Knight's all-time win record in the process, and possibly en route to back-to-back titles...that, my friends is a dream worth dreaming!

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A Final Four matchup with the Tarheels was discussed in this article by Gregg Doyal:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...uicy-to-ignore

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Originally Posted by House G

A Final Four matchup with the Tarheels was discussed in this article by Gregg Doyal:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...uicy-to-ignore

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If Duke played Carolina in the Final Four, it would be bigger than the championship game. Period. It would be more important for each side, in the short term and the long term. And it would get better TV ratings. The next game would be an afterthought -- a big afterthought, but an afterthought nonetheless.

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Originally Posted by Jderf

If Duke played Carolina in the Final Four, it would be bigger than the championship game. Period. It would be more important for each side, in the short term and the long term. And it would get better TV ratings. The next game would be an afterthought -- a big afterthought, but an afterthought nonetheless.

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Only if the winning team went on to lose, I'd say. A Duke win to tie Carolina or a Carolina win to put separation back... that's pretty important, too.

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Originally Posted by davekay1971

I was actually discussing, with a patient of mine (a UNC fan) in clinic today, the fact that a Duke-UNC NCAA tournament matchup has never happened, which is pretty amazing given (1) how often both teams have been in the tournament since the field expanded to include at large bids, and (2) how many times both teams have advanced deep in the field.

We agreed that a certain amount of divine intervention must be involved - a higher power keeping this from happening for the preservation of North Carolina.

So there, proof that there is a God, derived through ACC basketball.

At the end of the visit we agreed that such a meeting would not be allowed to happen this year, either. He expressed his conviction that God would make sure Duke didn't reach the final four, and I expressed my equally deep belief that God would make sure the Tarheels lost in Newark.

I mean, if God isn't a Blue Devil, then why is the sky Duke Blue?

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Originally Posted by wilson

Actually, I'd say that the sky is much more nearly carolina blue. In fact, tar heels are very fond of asking this very same question, from their own point of view.
My response is always that God put that stuff up in the sky so we wouldn't have to worry about stepping in it.

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And why else would the Divinity School be at Duke instead of DuncE? God made the correct choice:D.

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Originally Posted by shoutingncu

Only if the winning team went on to lose, I'd say. A Duke win to tie Carolina or a Carolina win to put separation back... that's pretty important, too.

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Capitalizing on what is probably the only chance of the next fifty years for an intra-rivalry final-four victory? I mean, compared to that, championships come and go... :cool:. That would mean 1-0. For an indefinitely long period of time. Though I guess to back it up for real, you would have to pull off the next win, too.

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Originally Posted by JasonEvans

Sorry to be a bit late to get this started, but this should be your destination for conversation about the upcoming Sweet 16 games. We are likely going to put the individual regional bracket threads to bed at this point as they have gotten a bit long and cumbersome.

I'll get things started. Feel free to comment and elaborate on the numbered comments below with anything from "Jason preaches the truth!" to "Dude, you are insane."

• 1) If we were to rank the quality of the 16 remaining teams, the SE-SW side of the bracket would only have one team (Kansas) among the top 8, IMO.
  
• 2) Anyone who thinks Ohio St is going to roll over Kentucky by hitting 50%+ of their threes again is wrong, IMO. The key to that game will be whether Kentucky can stop Sullinger inside. The Terrence Jones vs. Sullinger matchup is gonna be epic!
  
• 3) San Diego St's D versus Kemba Walker should be a fabulous matchup. It will likely be a low-scoring back and forth battle. This is the game Vegas rates the closest, calling it a pick'em.
  
• 4) UNC is a 6 point favorite over Marquette but Duke is a 10 point pick over Arizona? I think Vegas is expect Kyrie to be a major force this coming week. Either that or there are serious concerns about how good UNC is.
  
• 5) A whole heck of a lot of teams on the SE-SW side can see a very realistic path to reaching the national title game. If Florida State can just muster a little bit of offense over the weekend, they could be a real contender in all this mess.
  
• 6) I've got a feeling that Jimmer is going to go for 40 or 50 against Florida. I am not sure Florida is going to be able to keep up with that offensive pace.

-Jason "well, that should get you all started... enjoy" Evans

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Great ones Jason. I'm most intrigued by #2. If Kentucky can guard Sullinger with one player, that will greatly reduce the effectiveness of their kick-out three-point shooting game, which has been central to their success this year. But it's not just Jones who has the body to man up against Sullinger. I think one of the emerging late-season stories this year has been center Josh Harrellson. He's 6'9" and 265 pounds, probably about the same as Sullinger, and super strong. He has been very effective at both ends of the floor. Sullinger plays below the rim. If Harrellson can body Sullinger without fouling, make him work to get anything done offensively, and then also keep him honest at the other end, thereby limiting Sullinger's ability to help against Kentucky's driving, the Wildcats will have a chance.

It makes me wince to write this, but I have to say Harrellson is reminding me of Brian Zoubek. Zoub had the huge, strong body, but (due in no small part to injuries) had a nondescript career until catching fire late in his senior year, and then of course was a key component in our big run to the title. Not saying UK will go all the way -- and I certainly hope they don't -- but Harrellson, like Zoubek, has been a difference maker.

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Originally Posted by nmduke2001

Does anyone know the records for each remaining team against the other sweet 16 teams? I don’t have time right now to go through the schedules, if someone has it handy that would be great.

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Records against the other S16:
Team wins Losses Pct Teams Beat; Teams lost to
RICH 1 0 100% VCU
KS 1 0 100% AZ
OSU 3 1 75% FLST, FL, WISC; WISC
BYU 3 1 75% SDSU, SDSU, AZ; SDSU
DUKE 4 2 67% UNC, UNC, MARQ, BUTL; UNC, FLST
UNC 4 2 67% DUKE, FLST, FLST, KY; DUKE DUKE
WISC 2 1 67% OSU, MARQ; OSU
CT 2 1 67% MARQ, KY; MARQ
BUTL 1 1 50% FLST; DUKE
KY 2 3 40% FLA, FLA; FLA, UNC, CT
FLA 2 3 40% FLST, KY; KY, KY, OSU
SDSU 1 2 33% BYU; BYU' BYU
MARQ 1 3 25% CT; CT, WISC, DUKE
FLST 1 5 17% DUKE; UNC, UNC, OSU, FLA, BUTL
VCU 0 1 0% ; RICH
AZ 0 2 0% ; BYU, KS

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Originally Posted by uh_no

We understand that you hate all the coaches that don't coach at duke, but please take the effort to look up that Billy Donovan is the coach at Florida before you hate on him...

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Eddie Munster has been off the air for a while. He may have forgot the name.

I didn't see the following link on the DBR front page. The article is from today's Washington Post and is about the top players in the West Regional.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...aDB_story.html

gw67

An article in this morning's Post says the West Regional boasts the most star power, listing Derrick Williams, Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker, Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Kyrie Irving--I'd say three out of six ain't bad!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...aDB_story.html

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Originally Posted by Neals384

Records against the other S16:
Team wins Losses Pct Teams Beat; Teams lost to
RICH 1 0 100% VCU
KS 1 0 100% AZ
OSU 3 1 75% FLST, FL, WISC; WISC
BYU 3 1 75% SDSU, SDSU, AZ; SDSU
DUKE 4 2 67% UNC, UNC, MARQ, BUTL; UNC, FLST
UNC 4 2 67% DUKE, FLST, FLST, KY; DUKE DUKE
WISC 2 1 67% OSU, MARQ; OSU
CT 2 1 67% MARQ, KY; MARQ
BUTL 1 1 50% FLST; DUKE
KY 2 3 40% FLA, FLA; FLA, UNC, CT
FLA 2 3 40% FLST, KY; KY, KY, OSU
SDSU 1 2 33% BYU; BYU' BYU
MARQ 1 3 25% CT; CT, WISC, DUKE
FLST 1 5 17% DUKE; UNC, UNC, OSU, FLA, BUTL
VCU 0 1 0% ; RICH
AZ 0 2 0% ; BYU, KS

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Thanks for this. It's interesting that KS only faced one team remaining. Also, AZ is 0-2. Hopefully that becomes 0-3 tomorrow.

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Originally Posted by MCFinARL

An article in this morning's Post says the West Regional boasts the most star power, listing Derrick Williams, Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker, Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler and Kyrie Irving--I'd say three out of six ain't bad!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...aDB_story.html

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Apparently I can't edit this post any more; wanted to apologize for double posting--I tried to open a new thread on this because I hadn't seen the earlier post in this thread.

The following link was on the front page of the Post this morning and is a nice discussion of the the two Richmond schools still in the NCAAT and their students and alums. I have long-time neighbors from both schools and they are very different folks (artsy craftsy vs old money). As often happens, the coaches from both schools are hot commodities. Mooney (Richmond) has been around for a while and is well thought of in the Mid-Atlantic region. He is articulate and personable and I suspect that he eventually winds up in the ACC. Smart (VCU) is one of the youngest Division I coaches at 33 years old. According to articles that I have read, he communicates well with the youngsters who play for him. He was a point guard for a small Ohio school, Kenyon, and his last name is appropriate (Magna Cum Laude graduate).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports...9EB_story.html

gw67

Chitowndevil wrote:

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Of course, arguably the best thing about this is now we won't have to hear about their first round upset of Duke every time somebody mentions VCU. Oh, and if anybody knows anyone related to the VCU band, congratulate them. They are flat out awesome. I would pay good money to be that band director for a game.

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I work at VCU, yes, this is bigger than the Duke game 4 years ago. Kenny Mayne is walking around campus today doing person-on-the-street interviews, that never happened in '07. In the future, when VCU is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind for most people will be the name Shaka Smart(even if he gets a better job in 2 weeks).

I don't know the band director, but yeah, the band here is fantastic.

The graph below if from Luke Winn's sweet sixteen power ratings (where he has UNC 7th and Duke 3rd). I knew UNC was considerably less experienced than most other remaining teams, but I was surprised that Duke is too. I guess I could have figured it out, but I would not have thought Duke would rank lower than UK. Good news for you guys is that everyone in the West is on the low end in terms of junior/senior minutes.
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