Who is left to pull for?

[Son of Jarhead]

With all the ACC teams that are worth pulling for out of the NCAA Tourney, Who will you be pulling for?

I'll be pulling for ABC! ... Actually, I'd like to see somebody win it who has never won it before, like Vandy or Butler. Of course, I'd rather we won every year...

Go Duke! Ladies, bring home a championship banner for the rafters at Cameron!

[throatybeard]

Go Duke! Ladies, bring home a championship banner for the rafters at Cameron!

Precisely. I'll be pulling for Duke.

[BlueDevilBaby]

Anyone but Kerlina, FL (no repeat) or Kansas (can't stand their fans). So anyone else will do.

[Son of Jarhead]

I figured that was a given...

... but who are you pulling for in the men's ncaa tourney? (this year) ;-)

I suppose many will not even care about the men's tourney at this point, and I may agree with that, but I just wondered what everyone else thought.

[throatybeard]

For some reason, I find Texas A&M acceptable. Southern Illinois. Memphis is unobjectionable.

I'd pull for Oregon if I didn't hate their football uniforms so much.

[Sir Stealth]

The hardest thing about figuring out who to pull for or against is that sometimes you don't want a team you don't like (e.g. Georgetown) to lose, because even though it would make you happy in the short run you don't want the bracket to open up for a team you really don't like (e.g. UNC) in the long run.

I really don't like Florida and don't want them to repeat, and I also don't like the Big 10 or the Pac 10....or the Big East. I think that my ideal champ at this point is Memphis. I've always had a good time in Memphis. Texas A&M isn't too objectionable, but then you hate to see your school have great teams year after year only to win it all rarely, while one school has a good team one year out of a hundred and wins it all. As a diehard Atlanta Braves fan, I call this Florida Marlins syndrome.

[Duke15304]

A&M is the way to go, i have kind of liked them since i watched them play at kansas earlier this year, and were down 10 most of the game and they came back and won, Billy G is a good coach, seems like a good guy, they have struggled to win in the past, and the kids seem to conduct themselves well, and Acie law is the real deal

[Duvall]

S-o-u-t-h-e-r-n
C-a-l-i-f-o-r-n-i-a

[grossbus]

ABC

(anyone but carolina)

[ChrisP]

I have in-laws with strong ties to SC so I'm pulling for them. After that, I like Kansas. Someone else said that they disliked KU because of their fans. I don't really know any KU fans and it seems like a clean program with good kids. I will absolutely NOT be pulling for TX A&M after seeing the recent piece on HBO's 'Costas Now' about how their athletes pretty much get a pass on the student part of "student-athlete"

[rthomas]

I am pulling for WVU in the NIT.

WVU plays NCSt Tuesday at 9PM. WVU beat them in December but they are are different team now. At that time they were without Engin Atsur. Now they have a lot more confidence and are just playing better.

It should be a great game.

[dockfan]

As I pondered today (with some reservations), what about UNLV?

Oh, how times have changed. :)

[throatybeard]

And don't forget, the Mountaineer women have made round two of the NCAAT.

[throatybeard]

As I pondered today (with some reservations), what about UNLV?

Oh, how times have changed. :)

I noticed today that the state of Nevada had two teams in the 2nd round of the NCAAT.

That cannot be said for North Carolina, as Davidson and Duke fell in round one, and none of the other non-UNCCH teams made it in the first place.

[Son of Jarhead]

I was thinking:

Rule 1: ABC (Anybody But Carolina!)
Rule 2: No repeats by anybody other than us. (No dancing Gators!)

I'll pull for USC in the short term (see rule 1 above), but I don't want another football school to win it (see rule 2 above & think Florida). As I said earlier, I think I'd like want someone to win it that has never won it before, so maybe Butler. I can't quite pull for So. Ill., though my reason is 25 years old... they pounded my Western Carolina Univ. Catamounts 50-something to 7 in the 1982 I-AA Football Championship game my freshmen year in Cullowhee. We never made it back, & now the Boone Goons have won it twice. Grrrrr! ... Ok, so that's a long time to hold a grudge... I guess I can pull for them, too. If I can't have a cinderella, then I guess I'll go for Memphis over Kansas or Butler in the championship game, with G'town also making the final 4.

GTHC!

Jarhead, this ones for you: I don't give a damn about caro-lina-lina-U, caro-lina-lina-U, caro-lina-lina-U... I don't give a damn about caro-lina-lina-U, 'cause I'm from Duke Uni-vers-ity!

[dukemsu]

As the tournament is basically over for me now that Duke is gone, and MSU is gone, my attention now turns to hoping Carolina is eliminated.

I know, given the way they finished off the Spartans last night, that my hope may be wishful. What's of utmost concern is the way Hans is being officiated. In no way am I saying this cost MSU the game-the Heels are superior in all facets-but there were many times in the game when MSU's player had position or the principal of verticality, and Hans just rammed into him and was rewarded with two free throws. It reminds me a lot of how May was officiated in 2005 and Okafor in 2004. If that continues, UNC will be almost impossible to beat IF they remember to get Hans the ball, since Hans is a very good foul shooter. Not even Horford and Noah of Florida (who are just as good as Hans in my opinion, despite having different sorts of games) get this kind of respect from officials. I don't understand it. The guy's name isn't Alcindor or Jordan.

That said, Carolina still has a couple of weaknesses in my view. They still aren't very consistent in the halfcourt defensively. Seven or eight times in my count they were burned by MSU on a relatively pedestrian backdoor high post play. Georgetown runs these as well and unlike MSU, has multiple players who can finish at the rim. Second, they tend to forget from time to time how efficient a weapon they have in Hans. For about a six minute period in the second half, they fell in love with jump shots. They were rewarded because Terry and Lawson made them, but they might not be so lucky four more times. Hans' strength is the same as Jamison's was-he makes incredibly fast, decisive moves to the basket, and he almost never makes a mistake at the offensive end. USC will probably give them problems for at least a half due to their speed and the fact that Floyd will cook up some pretty interesting stuff this week. He's a very underrated coach who may build a monster at USC.

dukemsu

[crimsonandblue]

Clean? Maybe relatively clean. Our uniforms are generally spotless. We cleaned the outside of our building a couple years ago (build up of black gunk on limestone).

We're currently on probation for some booster-related stuff we should have monitored better, I guess. Oh and there were graduation gifts to players during Roy's tenure.

So, I think we're about as clean, relatively, as the average program and we've got tough and good kids who generally act like adults on the court. So, that's nice.

A&M's a nice story. I can understand liking Southern Illinois, other than the whole, trying to bring Big Televen basketball to the mid majors, only with even lesser athletes so it turns into a bloodbath. But whatever suits you...

[DevilAlumna]

... but I will still cheer for the remaining ACC team. That said, my bracket has G'town advancing through them, so maybe deeper down, I want them to lose?

I totally agree that the Ducks' football uni's eliminate them from contention for further support, and will add that their yellow bball uni's are just gawdawful ugly in hi-def.

What about UCLA? Their game against Indiana was painful (even watching the score ticker at the top of the screen), but they seem pretty tough and gritty.

[_Gary]

I'm falling right in line with many of the other thoughts in this thread. Above all else, my rooting pick has to be ABC. That's a given. Secondly, no repeats! So the blasted Gators have to go down. I don't care to see UCLA win another title, that's for sure. And I don't really care to see any Big East, Big Ten, or SEC team win it all. So my selections are getting thin at this point. On the positive side, I've thrown my support to A&M first and foremost. Seems to be the least egregious. But if they don't win it all, I wouldn't find KU winning to be that bad a thing.

Gary

[npdevil27]

I'm falling right in line with many of the other thoughts in this thread. Above all else, my rooting pick has to be ABC. That's a given. Secondly, no repeats! So the blasted Gators have to go down. I don't care to see UCLA win another title, that's for sure. And I don't really care to see any Big East, Big Ten, or SEC team win it all. So my selections are getting thin at this point. On the positive side, I've thrown my support to A&M first and foremost. Seems to be the least egregious. But if they don't win it all, I wouldn't find KU winning to be that bad a thing.

Gary

I'm actually pulling for the Gators to repeat. It's been long enough since Duke did it, and I think it could actually bring a little bit of positive attention to the Duke program for the first time in a while, in that maybe people would re recognize the accomplishment and just how difficult it was. Plus I just like that team... it's one of the best put together college bball teams I can remember in a long time.

I'd also love to see a Florida/UNC or Kansas/UNC title game, I think both of those would be fantastic.

[YmoBeThere]

Vandy - my other alma mater(Master's)
Kansas - I find them much less objectionable now that Roy isn't there
G'Town - years of non-dominance, I picked them in one of my three brackets

[wilson]

I am in agreeance with many others who, above all else, just don't want to see kuralonna win. There was a time when I was really worried about a gators-heels final, but now I don't think it would be such a problem...I would have NO reservations about rooting for the gators. I really don't want them to win, but I don't want them to win a lot less than I don't want kuralonna to win (sure, that made sense). I'm rooting for Georgetown because, the (abbreviated) Iverson era notwithstanding, they've been off the map for long enough. I also think the Thompson coaching connection and Patrick Ewing Jr. are a neat connection, plus I like to see top-25 academic schools acheive athletic success. Finally, Roy Hibbert is a beast. He plays remarkably efficiently, and it seems that he always finishes around the basket. For much of the second half against BC, he looked like he was doing ballet. I find myself wondering exactly how we beat these guys. Incidentally, there's another reason to root for the Hoyas. We could declare ourselves champions via the transitive property...kuralonna probably would.

On a related note, for all the talk about how dominant the heels looked on Saturday, I watched, and I saw about 8 minutes of dominant basketball from them. I've been saying it all year: They p*ss around for 30-35 minutes, staying ahead by a few or relatively tied before pouring it on. I would love to see a team come out and hit them in the mouth and disallow their late-game surge by forcing them to shoot their way back in (which they are capable of doing only on certain days).

More generally speaking, Saturday was perhaps the best full day of basketball I've ever seen. Here's hoping the Trojans can beat the heels and give me a chance to really enjoy the rest of the tourney.

[bird]

With Duke gone, I have found dispassion in watching the games, and it has been a lot of fun. More of an intellectual experience, able to watch off-the-ball better, and appreciate great plays either way. And counteracting ABC is NBA. Go Lawson, go Wright!

[wiscodevil]

quack quack quack!!

[feldspar]

I'm pulling for my bracket, ie, Georgetown, TAMU, UCLA and Oregon.

I don't particularly dislike any of those teams, which is an added bonus.

Oh, and out of disdain for the Heels but also for the sake of my brackets as well, I'll be rooting HARD for USC against UNC. Take it while you can get it, Trojans, cause when that punk OJ Mayo shows up on campus, I'll be rooting hard against you.

[Dar95]

Other than ABC and ABF, I'm rooting for Southern Illinois and Georgetown, mostly because I find them both extremely compelling to watch - SIU for their defense, and Georgetown for their offense. Plus, they both have young coaches who seem to be both extremely bright and likeable.

[Oh Canada]

Hate to admit it but I haven't watched much since Thursday night. Sure I've seen bits and pieces but haven't seen a full game.

One thing is for sure...............I sure as hell don't want to see Noah all over the screen for another two weeks!! He could be the most annoying player in the country.

I'm turning my attention to the NIT. Go STATE!!! I've grown to love the heart and work ethic of this team and hope they do well tomorrow night.

[RelativeWays]

I will be pulling for Kansas since they haven't won the title since Danny Manning in 88 and they've been to the final 4 a few times since then. There are a few KU fans that feel that ol Roy really owed his first NT to Kansas but he left and got it at UNC instead. I would love to see a Kansas/UNC title game but going through UCLA is going to be a much tougher order than Georgetown. I don't want Florida to win (for obvious reasons...we Duke fans need something to cling to this season) and I don't think I'll pull for UNC this go around, though I actually wanted them to win in 05.

[feldspar]

I don't think I'll pull for UNC this go around, though I actually wanted them to win in 05.

I just threw up in my mouth a little.

[RelativeWays]

I know it sounds wierd, and I had to look at myself in the mirror a long hard time to verify what I was actually doing. Yet, Illinios beating UNC was of no benefit to Duke, UNC winning the title spoke well for the ACC and Duke was 1-1 (should have been 2-0) against the champs. Blame my wife and in-laws as well since they're all UNC fans. Carolina winning meant I didn't have to deal with a sulky spouse.

Edit, besides, I could sympathize with Huckleberry Hound who had been turned away in his previous Final 4 appearances (like K in the 80's). That loss against 'cuse was like a sign from God for him to leave

[feldspar]

I know it sounds wierd, and I had to look at myself in the mirror a long hard time to verify what I was actually doing. Yet, Illinios beating UNC was of no benefit to Duke, UNC winning the title spoke well for the ACC and Duke was 1-1 (should have been 2-0) against the champs. Blame my wife and in-laws as well since they're all UNC fans. Carolina winning meant I didn't have to deal with a sulky spouse.

Edit, besides, I could sympathize with Huckleberry Hound who had been turned away in his previous Final 4 appearances (like K in the 80's). That loss against 'cuse was like a sign from God for him to leave

Okay, now I just fully threw up.

[RelativeWays]

Meh, sorry, I just didn't hate UNC that much that year. Back in high school when Dean Smith was still the coach, everyone I knew was united in their absolute hatred of the Tarheels, myself included. After the fiasco that was the Matt Doherty coaching tenure, I actually felt sorry them.....a little. Their first round loss to Penn State in 01, was an insult to our league (a football school!) This was also the time Duke was dominating the rivalry, I think I actually hated Maryland more. The 05 championship win helped revive the hatred, which I saw as a good thing.

Flash-forward to now, and UNC just irritates the s**t out of me, moreso their fans than the players (though Hansbrough grates on my nerves...looks like the lovechild of Beaker and Eminem) The whole Henderson-Hansbrough thing gave the Tarhole fans an excuse to throw the albatross around their necks and lament to the nation on how they have to cope with such a dirty team just down 15-501. Poor ol Carolina. They wear white hats, rescue cats from trees, and play basketball for Jesus. What a bunch of crap. So please don't misconstrue my comments as one of those schmucks who likes UNC and Duke, we know thats genetically impossible.

[mapei]

Hoya Saxa! Seriously, they are a very likeable team of soft-spoken guys with a soft-spoken coach, who play disciplined basketball. Besides, Jeff Green can be amazing to watch. AND they are in the bracket with UNC!

If the Hoyas get bounced, I'll root for Florida and A&M.

[GMR]

Two schools that I do not want to win the championship....

1. Kansas. Another national championship will put them into a two way tie with Duke with three national crowns. UCLA with 11, Kentucky with 7, Indiana has 5, UNC with four, and Duke with three in fifth place. There are 8 schools with two crowns, but only Kansas remains.

2 UNC, for two reasons. They're UNC, and they have four championships. Another would put them two ahead of Duke. Only UCLA of the schools ahead of Duke is still in, but with their 11 titles, who cares...no one will catch them in our lifetime, if ever.

GMR

[duke98]

For some reason, I find Texas A&M acceptable. Southern Illinois. Memphis is unobjectionable.

I'd pull for Oregon if I didn't hate their football uniforms so much.

Aw, c'mon. You can't ignore the football uniforms (which are heinous, I agree) to pull for the team of a fellow 98'er and current Duck?

I'm going for Oregon over UNC in the national final. The ACC gets its due, the Ducks win the National Championship, and I may have a snowball's chance in hell of winning the office pool....

[DevilYouthCoach]

As a Tennessee hillbilly, I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised to see teams from all three of Tennessee's regions in the sweet 16: Memphis, Vanderbilt, and UT. I also like the variety: city public, private liberal arts, and big old landgrant. I can't imagine any of the three actually winning the tournament, but so far, no other state is doing as well. So for this week, Tennessee is the new North Carolina or Kentucky.

[YmoBeThere]

As a Tennessee hillbilly, I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised to see teams from all three of Tennessee's regions in the sweet 16: Memphis, Vanderbilt, and UT. I also like the variety: city public, private liberal arts, and big old landgrant. I can't imagine any of the three actually winning the tournament, but so far, no other state is doing as well. So for this week, Tennessee is the new North Carolina or Kentucky.

Agreed a little surprising to see so much TN representation. But having spent time at the private school, I always find it tough to root for the big public State U's. But I never hold it against anyone from there, particularly of the gentler persusasion.

[Clipsfan]

Given that I received my masters from UCLA (not to mention I grew up just a few minutes away) I'm definitely pulling for UCLA. I even have them winning it all in my brackets, so there's that as well.

I'm surprised at all the people rooting for USC, which holds a similar place in my heart to UNC. This team USC is actually more likeable than I expected, as Nick Young isn't as annoyingly arrogant as he used to be and some of the other guys handle themselves decently on the court (off the court is another issue). I'm still not convinced that Floyd isn't finding ways to slip the players money under the table, and I know that academics/character isn't a priority (Mayo, anyone?), but I actually found myself rooting for USC against Texas on Sunday. It was largely because it helped my brackets, but I still was rooting for them. That said, go Bruins!

[Mal]

I lamented how much pleasure others get in seeing Duke go down in another thread, so should note I don't take this all that seriously, but you've gotta pull for someone, right?

Not for All The Tea in China:

1. Florida - leave us as the only repeater since UCLA. Get a haircut, Joachim.
2. UNC - duh.
3. Ohio State - The Fab 5 Factor; these guys haven't paid their dues. Also, like we need Ohio State getting more media coverage or its fans becoming more obnoxious and boorish. That's only partly tongue-in-cheek.
4. Memphis - two words: John Calipari.
5. Texas A&M - loathsome. Can I bring myself to root for a Johnny-come-lately basketball program from an overtly military school, in Texas, with bad uniform colors? No, I cannot. I don't care if Acie Law is the second coming, I'm not pulling for A&M.

(Sidebar: thank goodness Texas and Wisconsin were knocked out, or I'd be irrationally hating on almost half the field at this point) :^)

Can't Really Buy Their Stock, Wouldn't Be Terribly Upset If They Won:

6. Kansas - they don't need it, and I wouldn't trust Bill Self with a nickel. I kind of like watching Kansas fans suffer, for some reason. I guess I'm a jerk.
7. USC - football school. Also don't need it.
8. UCLA - as someone else noted, they'll have more titles than everyone else forever, so one more wouldn't kill anyone. I generally like my national champions to have more than one guy who can play offense, though.

Meh:

9. UNLV - Wait, Tarkanian's not still there? Alright.
10. Pitt - Would sort of be poetic justice to see them beat Howland. However, I don't dislike Howland at all, so it's not a storyline I'm actively wishing for. They still sort of play ugly basketball, so they're certainly not in the favorites category.
11. Tennessee - As long as I don't have to ever meet him, I kind of like Bruce Pearl and his enthusiasm. But, this is an SEC football school. Did I mention I don't like football schools winning the basketball tournament?

Not Gonna Go Crazy for Them, but Sort of Dig:

12. SIU - The little program that could, the Gonzaga of the 2000's. I remember seeing them in the Jermaine Deerman days when they knocked off Knight and Texas Tech at the United Center, so I've always had a soft spot. If only they didn't play such an ugly brand of basketball. Cover the childrens' eyes!
13. Georgetown - I like their resurgence after a long period in the wilderness. Haven't seen anything not to like in the kids themselves, and think Thompson Jr. seems like a good guy and good coach. I like the way they play.
14. Oregon - yes, football school, but not a powerhouse. They deserve the success. Bad uni's and all. They're called the Ducks, too, which, c'mon, you know is cool.

Actively Rooting for Despite Dim Prospects:

15. Butler - best team in Indiana. Another mid-major that's turned itself into an annual threat. Play in Hinkle Fieldhouse. What's not to like?
16. Vandy - perennially downtrodden Vandy, the one school in the SEC it's OK for Duke alums to cheer for. These poor guys can never catch a break. It would torture UNC fans to no end to lose to Duke's academic analogue from another conference.

[duke98]

Actively Rooting for Despite Dim Prospects:
16. Vandy - perennially downtrodden Vandy, the one school in the SEC it's OK for Duke alums to cheer for. These poor guys can never catch a break. It would torture UNC fans to no end to lose to Duke's academic analogue from another conference.

Great post...this line totally takes the cake. Lots of my friends that are Vandy alums were considering Duke, and vice versa. Can we adopt the Commodores for the rest of the tournament?

[Cameron]

The true Indiana cinderella story in the little Bulldogs from Butler winning the whole thing and shocking the world is a nice story to think about, but not likely. I will be rooting for the Fighting Hickory's, though. Perhaps, if they get there, Jimmy Chitwood (I mean AJ Graves) can make a last second shot at the buzzer to down Carolina and send the baby blue nation into utter despair for losing the biggest game of all to a mid-major, during a year when many ICers were predicting 40 wins lol. Is this too much to ask for? March can't get this good, can it?

[Salty Breezes]

As a Duke fan in Eastern NC, where Tarholes rule the roost (ECU fans hibernate in the winter, I think), I follow a simple formula for who to root for in all games, and that can easily be applied here.

1. Above all else, root against Carolina. This also means root for teams that can give UNC a tough game, so pulling for G'Town in the upcoming game is vital. Vandy seems great and all, but I don't want to place the responsibility of sending Roy's boys home in the hands of Derrick Byars and Coach Ball-grab.

2. In the NCAA Tourney, Preserve the Curse. If you have beaten Duke in the NCAA's in the K Era, you must go down in subsequent NCAA's. Let's not let Florida's win last year spoil an otherwise good curse. The only way around the curse is to actually beat Duke in the Tourney (see Indiana, UConn). Therefore, it's time to root against Florida, UNLV (although after 1991, I forgive them for 1990), and Kansas.

3. Root for teams that make Duke look good. This could be other ACC teams, or other teams that we've played this year. That's Georgetown in this year's tourney. Yes, it would be a shame for the ACC to go without a Final Four team for two straight years, but much worse for Roy to win 2 out of 3.

So...I'm pulling for: Georgetown in the East, anyone but Tennessee in the South (they can't beat UNC), Oregon in the Midwest (best chance of beating Florida), and UCLA in the West. From there, my logic would say G'Town all the way, but I think I'll actually root for UCLA if they make the title game, because I like JT III as a potential successor to K, and it's harder to lure a coach that already has a banner.

See? it's simple!