Discuss the East region here. Syracuse is the 1 seed.
Discuss the East region here. Syracuse is the 1 seed.
Harvard got jobbed.
FSU as a 3 seed. Wow,
Florida State is not a team that Ohio State wants to see.
Windy City Devil
K-State is a team that Syracuse did not want to see in the second round. The Wildcats could lose to Southern Miss, but they are the exact type of team that can give Syracuse problems. If you are looking for a 1 seed losing in the second round, that's got to be it.
I like Ohio St. in this region. I think there is a lot to be said about them getting out of the Big 10 for a while.
Well, this ruins my bracket. I had Cuse going to the final game.
What you guys think will happen now? Upset by KSU? Wiscy (already rated high than Cuse on KenPom)? Vandy? Will OSU take the region, or will FSU take them? WVU should essentially have a home game against OSU in the second round, so OSU will have a TOUGH road to the elite eight. But I might have to put them through to the championship game now...
With Melo out, how likely now is Armageddon, aka, Calipari vs Ol' Roy in the final? I realize there are other teams that can take out the lesser blue, but I figured Cuse's zone with Melo would take care of UK. Now, are we facing famine, pestilence, etc.?
Yep, definitely seems like OSU as the 2 in the East has a more favorable draw than MSU as the 1 in the West - plus, they don't have to travel as far. The West is going to fun to watch with all those high tempo teams. Memphis/St. Louis is a tough first round matchup and the winner of that won't be easy for Sparty. Then NM in Phoenix or Lousiville and finish it off with Mizzou/Marquette? Tough. Sometimes that's just how it falls, though, I guess. Still have to take care of business and a potential second round matchup for OSU with WVU in Pittsburgh won't be easy (although WV could just as easily lose to the Zags). And sometimes the bracket that looks the toughest ends up having a ton of upsets so the matchups don't materialize anyways.
Dickey needs to go off in the second half for UNC-A to stay close, IMO. Syracuse is going to come out faster and more physical, create turnovers, get transition points get baskets around the rim. UNC-A basically has to upset a 1-seed all over again in another 20 minute game.
Totally agreed. I don't think Vanderbilt and Wisconsin are good match-ups for them. My Elite 8 game there was always Ohio State over Vandy. They've had a great year, but it's all about match-ups (on the flip side, I was completely ready to have Missouri get upset early before the brackets were announced, but I love the path they have).
K-State, assuming they get by Southern Miss, should probably beat Syracuse now. They are the one team Mizzou couldn't figure out this year, and Syracuse is basically a poorer shooting Mizzou now.
I went with Florida State. They're playing very solid basketball right now, both on offense and defense. Hopefully they'll carry their strong play from the ACC Tournament into the NCAA Tourney.
My head is saying Ohio St comes out of this region, but my heart and gut are saying FSU can win this bracket. Early season losses notwithstanding, FSU is a darn fine basketball team. Winning this past weekend was no fluke. They have the talent, defense goes along way, and they have figured out how to score the basketball. Snare is in a zone with his outside shooting, and he is almost unstoppable when he drives to the front of the rim and shoots that little floater. They have 3 guys that can score in the post, and 3 guys in addition to Snare that can shoot 3's consistently. They have quickness, and good length, and they are deep.
One other thing in the ACC Tourney caught my eye. With 3 minutes and change left and a 8 point lead against UNC, Loucks jacked up a 3 with over 25 seconds remaining on the shot clock. Terrible decision given time and score. Much to my surprise, Leonard Hamilton came out of his seat and went nuts. He yelled and got Loucks attention and pointed at his temple telling him to "think". Not sure I have seen that before. Hamilton has grown as a coach in my opinion.
Is it possible FSU has a bad game and gets upset early? Sure. But that happens to "name" schools every year. Ask Kansas, or Syracuse, Pitt, Duke, UNC, UCLA, Indiana, etc.
There are other good teams that can come out of this bracket for sure. I just think FSU has what it takes to get it done. I will be pulling for them to do just that.
On Sunday, after the brackets were released, I was quick to say "phew - we are not in the east." I thought Syracuse would be the toughest out. Now, it might well be an advantage to be in the east. Amazing how quickly things change, and we are not even to Thursday yet!