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Utley
03-28-2015, 08:21 AM
When was the last time the Elite 8 was this special - you have an incredible percentage of the best teams all year long and most of the basketball royalty. CBS is set for a couple of fantastic weekends.

Some interesting trends and developments too - KY, Duke, AZ, Gonzaga, Wisconsin were dominant all year long and all #1 worthy

ND and Sparty are talented teams that caught fire the last month or so and playing as good as anybody (ND winning ACC tourney and Sparty having the Big 10 tourney in their hands but for a bad turnover in the last 15 seconds). ND was also just outside being one of the dominant teams all year.

Lousville (And Duke for that matter) - are both playing there best basketball after having a key player dismissed late in the year. Kudos to both coaches and teams for managing incredibly well a situation that could have destabilized them.

The only dominant teams that didn't make are UVA and Nova - with UVA decelerating after Anderson's injury and return in a situation we have a lot of empathy for. NOVA ran into the one team that's A game is as good as anyone in basketball but whose volatility made it unlikely they would play at that level in consecutive games.

Just can't wait to watch how it plays out - can ND play a U Connesque game against KY, The AZ Wiscy Elite 8 rematch, two scorching hot teams in Sparty and Louisvllle, and Duke quest for another title (and a marquee match up with UK) vs a Zags team that is worthy of the Final 4 and hungry to finally get there.

Feels like KY, Duke, AZ and Gonzaga have pretty much been in the lead all tourney.

sagegrouse
03-28-2015, 08:56 AM
When was the last time the Elite 8 was this special - you have an incredible percentage of the best teams all year long and most of the basketball royalty. CBS is set for a couple of fantastic weekends.

Some interesting trends and developments too - KY, Duke, AZ, Gonzaga, Wisconsin were dominant all year long and all #1 worthy

ND and Sparty are talented teams that caught fire the last month or so and playing as good as anybody (ND winning ACC tourney and Sparty having the Big 10 tourney in their hands but for a bad turnover in the last 15 seconds). ND was also just outside being one of the dominant teams all year.

Lousville (And Duke for that matter) - are both playing there best basketball after having a key player dismissed late in the year. Kudos to both coaches and teams for managing incredibly well a situation that could have destabilized them.

The only dominant teams that didn't make are UVA and Nova - with UVA decelerating after Anderson's injury and return in a situation we have a lot of empathy for. NOVA ran into the one team that's A game is as good as anyone in basketball but whose volatility made it unlikely they would play at that level in consecutive games.

Just can't wait to watch how it plays out - can ND play a U Connesque game against KY, The AZ Wiscy Elite 8 rematch, two scorching hot teams in Sparty and Louisvllle, and Duke quest for another title (and a marquee match up with UK) vs a Zags team that is worthy of the Final 4 and hungry to finally get there.

Feels like KY, Duke, AZ and Gonzaga have pretty much been in the lead all tourney.

Lessee.... Duke, Kentucky, Arizona, Wisconsin, Louisville, Michigan State, Gonzaga, Notre Dame.

And also.... Coach K, Calipari, Sean Miller, Bo Ryan, Pitino, Izzo, Mark Few, Mike Brey.

Yep. I've heard of these guys. Should be great TV viewership today and tomorrow.

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
03-28-2015, 09:07 AM
Lessee.... Duke, Kentucky, Arizona, Wisconsin, Louisville, Michigan State, Gonzaga, Notre Dame.

And also.... Coach K, Calipari, Sean Miller, Bo Ryan, Pitino, Izzo, Mark Few, Mike Brey.

Yep. I've heard of these guys. Should be great TV viewership today and tomorrow.

That really is a testament to the impact of coaching. Wow.

Tripping William
03-28-2015, 09:19 AM
That really is a testament to the impact of coaching. Wow.

When Sean Miller is considered the "upstart," you know the collection of coaches is as good as it gets.

Edouble
03-28-2015, 01:35 PM
When Sean Miller is considered the "upstart," you know the collection of coaches is as good as it gets.

I've had a great time watching the Miller brothers coach in the NCAAs over the last two years. I remember them fondly from their playing days, and I like watching them coach.

Proud to say I picked 7 of 8 Elite Eight teams correctly this year, erring only on selecting Iowa State instead of Gonzaga.

I'm still not convinced that UVA under Bennett's system is built for March, albeit they did win the ACC Tournament last year. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few seasons. It would have been cool to see them play Louisville today.

nmduke2001
03-28-2015, 05:39 PM
Sort of crazy that we have wins over 4 of the remaining eight (ND, Louisville, Wis, MSU).

Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15
03-28-2015, 05:46 PM
Sort of crazy that we have wins over 4 of the remaining eight (ND, Louisville, Wis, MSU).

I'd call it more than "sort of crazy." Pretty wildly crazy to me.

nmduke2001
03-28-2015, 05:48 PM
I'd call it more than "sort of crazy." Pretty wildly crazy to me.

Maybe impressive and encouraging...

juise
03-28-2015, 05:52 PM
Sort of crazy that we have wins over 4 of the remaining eight (ND, Louisville, Wis, MSU).

It's really 4 of 7... pretty awesome. Wouldn't it be crazy if there was a final four with Duke and three teams we had already beat? Surely that would be a first.

Bay Area Duke Fan
03-28-2015, 07:03 PM
It's really 4 of 7... pretty awesome. Wouldn't it be crazy if there was a final four with Duke and three teams we had already beat? Surely that would be a first.

It's only good if we win.

juise
03-28-2015, 07:09 PM
It's only good if we win.

I'm talking about a scenario where ND beats UK. Of course nothing is being taken for granted. :rolleyes:

Billy Dat
03-28-2015, 07:20 PM
I'm still not convinced that UVA under Bennett's system is built for March, albeit they did win the ACC Tournament last year. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few seasons. It would have been cool to see them play Louisville today.

I notice an absence of all those helpful Hoo fans who showed up on DBR this year to let us know how a successful program is run. They were all very polite.

Skitzle
03-28-2015, 07:21 PM
Duke also has history with three of 4 teams in the NIT final. They beat temple and Stanforford and lost to Miami (without a chance for revenge)

Dukes losses this year
NIT finalist
Sweet 16 team (who they later beat)
Elite 8 team (who they later beat)

I'll take that :)

NYBri
03-28-2015, 07:27 PM
Sort of crazy that we have wins over 4 of the remaining eight (ND, Louisville, Wis, MSU).

Actually we have wins over 5 because in a couple of games we beat ourselves. :cool:

jhmoss1812
03-28-2015, 10:24 PM
I notice an absence of all those helpful Hoo fans who showed up on DBR this year to let us know how a successful program is run. They were all very polite.

I'm still here but it's still kind of painful. Definitely tough but MSU is an elite 8 team so no real shame in losing to Izzo in March. Our only losses this year were to elite 8 (Louisville, Duke, MSU) teams and a sweet 16 team (UNC). I'm pulling for all remaining ACC teams and would love to see an ACC dominated final four. Good luck against the Zags.

Henderson
03-30-2015, 10:19 AM
... And now a really great Final Four. Three powerful #1 seeds + the Sparty/Izzo story line. Then there's that Kentucky thing. Next weekend will be a lot of fun for fans of college basketball.

uh_no
03-30-2015, 10:45 AM
While we're at it....if there was any question the ACC had the best performance:

of the 6 ACC teams:
1 is in the final 4
4 lost to a final four team (all in competitive games)
1 lost to another ACC team.

no other conference can say close to that about all their tourney teams.