NCAA: Sweet 16/Elite 8

[OldPhiKap]

I'm pulling for UVa,m a defense-oriented team that plays the game the right way. Moreover, what's good for the ACC is probably good for Duke.

I don't see the actions of other ACC teams as hatred; to me, they are an indication of how much the fans want their team to beat Duke. In a way, it's a sign of respect. Even at Maryland, although their puerile couch-burning, profanity-laden, actions just prove they lack self-respect.

Put me in this camp as well.

UVa plays great team defense; has good kids (it seems); has a good young coach who seems to do things the right way; and it has won without any McD burger boys (AFAIK) on the roster. It is an excellent academic insitution. We beat them regularly in football. What's not to like about the Cavs?

And I will pull for any ACC team except UNC. Or Maryland, but for all intents and purposes they're already gone. I don't think any other teams out there "like" us any more or less than conference members do.

[SirBlueDevil]

I'm with OldphiKap;

I have nothing against the boys of UVA and seeing as that we know as blue devils fans what it felt like to win the regular season, tournament title and national championship all in the same year, who am i to begrudge another acc program that natural high other than UNC.

Good Luck Uva

[OldPhiKap]

I will agree that the way other people view Duke would indicate that they do in fact see Duke as the standard in the ACC, as our new friend Wahoo started the thread on. I just don't see it in as positive a light as you do, but I certainly respect your view and wish that I could treat it like that.

I'm not sure I agree on say, UVA winning the national title being as good for the ACC as you do. Not really sure why, I just see things much more in terms of individual teams rather than it being any indication on the conference they were in. Like ff Florida wins, that's because they're a really good team, it doesn't mean that the SEC wasn't one of the worst basketball conferences in the country this year.

In my neck of SEC Country, they're all crowing because the SEC got three teams to the Sweet Sixteen. Forget the fact that the rest of the league was not very good, the fact that they still have teams dancing is a big boost for its profile.

If it ends up an all-SEC final, that helps the SEC. By the same token, if an ACC team wins it all, that helps the conference.

(I think there may be some tie to money shared given how far each team goes as well, but will defer to those who know better)

[CameronDuke]

I would just like to take the opportunity to say that I disagree with many Duke fans that we should pull for UVA to win the title because they are in the ACC. Screw the ACC, every other school in the conference hates Duke and treat us like crap. Our players, coaches, and fans get treated worse than everyone else in the conference combined if you take out the way State and UNC fans treat each other. I do not want UVA to win, I want them to lose, graduate all their players, then fall back into the middle of the conference, to return to contention in 3-4 years, like they will continue to do for the foreseeable future.

I don't care if it will make the conference look good at the end of this year. That doesn't matter. Duke lost in the first round, so it doesn't help make us seem like a better team to say that a FF team came from the ACC. The ACC can only look better if teams actually show consistent improvement and if we can start beating teams from other conferences in-season and post-season.

Other teams I am rooting against, in no particular order.

Louisville- I love Russ Smith, Hancock, and Harrell, but I don't want Pitino to get his 3rd ring, that's too close to K.

Florida: Billy Donovan is a slimeball. Wilbekin should have been kicked off the team twice, but Billy knew he couldn't win without him. According to Donovan's team rules, he shouldn't be on the team. (Note: I'm really glad to see that Scotty has turned it around and has shown he is a great on court leader and has kept it together off the court, good for him). I also don't want Donovan to get his 3rd ring, also too close to K.

UVA: Reasons previously stated

Kentucky: I actually really like the kids on that team, but they're Kentucky, and they're coached by the slimiest of the slimy.

UCONN: Duh, they and their striped friends robbed us of 2 more national titles, rot in hell.

Big 10 Schools: No real aversion to MSU, Wiscy, or Mich winning other than I think it's hilarious that they claim to be the best conference year in and year out, but they haven't won a title since 2000 and have won 3 in the past 30 years (IU-87, UM- 89, MSU-00). I would like for that joke to continue.

That leaves me with AZ- whom I have no real problem with I guess, and Iowa State which really could have won this thing if Niang hadn't gotten hurt, that was just brutal.

Dayton and Tennessee I don't really think have any real shot at winning, but whatever go for it you flying volunteers.

I couldn't disagree more with you and your choice to pull against UVA. Tony Bennett is building his program the right way at UVA. He doesn't recruit 5 star recruits or players that are probably going to bolt for the nba after a year or two in Charlottesville. Instead, he recruits players with high character, players that will graduate, and players that fit his system. The players that fit his system are unselfish and buy into the pack line team defense concept. Wouldn't it have been nice if Duke's players bought into a team defense concept this year?

But back to UVA: I find Tony Bennett to be one of the more likable coaches in the ACC. He has taken a recent lower tier program with a rich history and led them back to prominence this season. Joe Harris has sacrificed his scoring average this season to benefit the team and make them more balanced offensively leading to more wins. Akil Mitchell has become an all conference defender. Wouldn't it be great if Duke had two senior starters this season that both took prominent leadership positions on the team while both contributing heavily to a championship season? There are several teams in the NCAA to hate on but UVA shouldn't be one of them because it appears to me they win with defense, win with class, and are going about building a program the right way.

[brevity]

I'm pulling for UVa,m a defense-oriented team that plays the game the right way...

UVa plays great team defense; has good kids (it seems); has a good young coach who seems to do things the right way; and it has won without any McD burger boys (AFAIK) on the roster...

Tony Bennett is building his program the right way at UVA...

Sorry, my eyes kind of glaze over when I hear the phrase "the right way" as it applies to college basketball. Blame Dick Vitale and his lame propaganda. A few years ago I pointed out that there are many right ways, and that it's easier to just point out the wrong ways instead. Sure, there's stuff like point shaving, academic fraud, and assaulting or verbally abusing players. There's the Baylor scandal, which is too disturbing to joke about. Then there's the fun stuff.

The Wrong Way (a partial list)
* Make sure your players get photographed in a hot tub with a known fixer.
* Have your assistant coach son draft a bogus final exam for your student-athletes.
* Mail cash to the parents of your recruits.
* Look in the mirror and see Bruce Pearl in the reflection.

So, congratulations to Tony Bennett and UVA for avoiding the above.

[CameronDuke]

Sorry, my eyes kind of glaze over when I hear the phrase "the right way" as it applies to college basketball. Blame Dick Vitale and his lame propaganda. A few years ago I pointed out that there are many right ways, and that it's easier to just point out the wrong ways instead. Sure, there's stuff like point shaving, academic fraud, and assaulting or verbally abusing players. There's the Baylor scandal, which is too disturbing to joke about. Then there's the fun stuff.

The Wrong Way (a partial list)
* Make sure your players get photographed in a hot tub with a known fixer.
* Have your assistant coach son draft a bogus final exam for your student-athletes.
* Mail cash to the parents of your recruits.
* Look in the mirror and see Bruce Pearl in the reflection.

So, congratulations to Tony Bennett and UVA for avoiding the above.

Building a program the right way to me includes recruiting kids who care about earning a degree at your university while also improving as basketball players. It means building your strategy to win games around teamwork, especially on the defensive end. It means recruiting not necessarily the 5 star recruits who will surely be in the NBA after a few years but kids that fit your system and can improve under your guidance. It means getting an entire team to collectively buy in to a system and it means winning championships doing it. And after all, in 2014, UVA is a champion.

[weezie]

Sorry, my eyes kind of glaze over when I hear the phrase "the right way" as it applies to college basketball.

Amen to the Brother brev. It's a thinly veiled slap at everybody who doesn't quite fit whatever that "right way" is.

The only way that really works is to win. Period. The talking heads can hug themselves all they want but they embrace ky, loooville and whatever this year's flavor is.

Whatevs.

[Dukehky]

Building a program the right way to me includes recruiting kids who care about earning a degree at your university while also improving as basketball players. It means building your strategy to win games around teamwork, especially on the defensive end. It means recruiting not necessarily the 5 star recruits who will surely be in the NBA after a few years but kids that fit your system and can improve under your guidance. It means getting an entire team to collectively buy in to a system and it means winning championships doing it. And after all, in 2014, UVA is a champion.

So Duke's program wasn't built the right way? Because we sure as shooting go after 5 star players?

Didn't say anything about UVA the team. I agree, it's hard not to like Bennett and their team. I think Harris is a little overrated because he dropped 30+ against Duke over a year ago and has been the toast of the team since, but Malcolm Brogdon is the most underrated player maybe in the country.

I'm saying I am not actively pulling for Virginia, mostly out of spite to the fans in the rest of the conference. I'm not hoping they get blown out in any game, I would just be happier if Iowa State won it all. I really doubt anyone associated with the UVA basketball team could care less about my not pulling for them in the remainder of the tournament.

[Atlanta Duke]

Nice read on the NCAA tournament going back to Madison Square Garden tonight for the first time in 53 years.

NCAA tournament returns to NYC, where it was once the main event...

Early-round NCAA games continued to be played at the Garden through 1961 when yet another gambling scandal shook college basketball. Players from city schools St. John's, Columbia and NYU, along with North Carolina State and St. Joseph's, whose 1961 third-place NCAA finish was vacated, once again were tied to gamblers.

Byers and his allies at the NCAA office in Kansas City had seen enough, and the tournament began a half-century-plus absence from the Garden...

Was there another reason the NCAA wanted out of the Garden? George Bisacca, who would ultimately battle NCAA lawyers in court, believes the NIT was a bigger thorn in the NCAA's side than it liked to admit.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/-co...#ixzz2xIgl3237

[MaxAMillion]

Amen to the Brother brev. It's a thinly veiled slap at everybody who doesn't quite fit whatever that "right way" is.

The only way that really works is to win. Period. The talking heads can hug themselves all they want but they embrace ky, loooville and whatever this year's flavor is.

Whatevs.

Yep...Kyrie Irving is an example of the wrong way. God forbid a basketball player look to turn professional like baseball,tennis, or golfers do at the same age. You have to put the school first at all cost or its the wrong way.

[GGLC]

Go Cavs! And anyone but Kentucky/Louisville/Florida/Arizona!

[CameronDuke]

So Duke's program wasn't built the right way? Because we sure as shooting go after 5 star players?

Didn't say anything about UVA the team. I agree, it's hard not to like Bennett and their team. I think Harris is a little overrated because he dropped 30+ against Duke over a year ago and has been the toast of the team since, but Malcolm Brogdon is the most underrated player maybe in the country.

I'm saying I am not actively pulling for Virginia, mostly out of spite to the fans in the rest of the conference. I'm not hoping they get blown out in any game, I would just be happier if Iowa State won it all. I really doubt anyone associated with the UVA basketball team could care less about my not pulling for them in the remainder of the tournament.

I said recruiting 4 year players who graduate is one way I view building a program cleanly. There's nothing wrong with recruiting 5 star recruits.

I don't think it takes an Einstein to figure out who did a better coaching job this year and it wasn't the guy who had two NBA lottery picks on his squad. It was the guy who has no projected 2014 NBA draftees on his roster...

[GGLC]

Great posts, CameronDuke. Agree wholeheartedly, and would spork you if I could.

[Tripping William]

I feel for the ears of tonight's Indy crowd. I was in Charlotte in 2011 when Michigan/Tennessee last played Tourney ball, and the alternating of Hail to the Victors and Rocky Top was more than I could stand.

[CameronDuke]

So Duke's program wasn't built the right way? Because we sure as shooting go after 5 star players?

Didn't say anything about UVA the team. I agree, it's hard not to like Bennett and their team. I think Harris is a little overrated because he dropped 30+ against Duke over a year ago and has been the toast of the team since, but Malcolm Brogdon is the most underrated player maybe in the country.

I'm saying I am not actively pulling for Virginia, mostly out of spite to the fans in the rest of the conference. I'm not hoping they get blown out in any game, I would just be happier if Iowa State won it all. I really doubt anyone associated with the UVA basketball team could care less about my not pulling for them in the remainder of the tournament.

How has Harris been the toast of the team since? He surely hasn't had a game like he did against Duke in Charlottesville in 2013 but he hasn't been toast either. Did you see the 2014 ACC Championship game? He dropped 15 on Duke including the dagger 3 near the end of the game. Sure, it isn't 30+ but he's a hell of a player still.

[Dukehky]

How has Harris been the toast of the team since? He surely hasn't had a game like he did against Duke in Charlottesville in 2013 but he hasn't been toast either. Did you see the 2014 ACC Championship game? He dropped 15 on Duke including the dagger 3 near the end of the game. Sure, it isn't 30+ but he's a hell of a player still.

This will be my last post on this topic at all, so bear with me, all of you are perfectly reasonable to disagree with my sentiments about pulling or, more specifically, not pulling for Virginia, so I won't battle it or anything. However...

IRT Joe Harris. I'm not sure you understood the "toast" element of my post. The media slurps them up some Joe Harris when they talk about Virginia. He is a very good player and I like him, but he is overrated. He was preseason first team All-ACC. Probably well deserved because he averaged 16 and 5 last year, but he has not been nearly as good this year. Whenever any talking heads speak about UVA, the first and maybe only person they mention is Joe Harris, and the only reason they know HIS name is because he dropped 36 on Duke last year. This year he averaged 11.8 points per-game and a whopping 2.9 rebounds per game. He is not Virginia's best player. 15 is a very good number, and good for him for hitting the dagger against Duke, but again, you only referenced a Duke game in your analysis of Joe Harris. Very good player, would love to have him on my team, but he is not UVA's best nor most important player on this year's team, and he is oftentimes treated as such, hence my belief that he is overrated.

I hope UVA plays hard and plays well, if they win or lose, no skin off my hide, and I hope everybody riding the ACC ship pulls for them hard.

[jacone21]

Duke should be playing right this very minute. Instead, fans are arguing about Virginia and Joe Harris. That's so damn sad. I sure hope for better next year.

[Dukehky]

Duke should be playing right this very minute. Instead, fans are arguing about Virginia and Joe Harris. That's so damn sad. I sure hope for better next year.

So I know I said I was done, but one more thing. This above, is exactly correct. No more arguments from me because it really isn't worth it at this point. I'm watching Harry Potter on ABC Family over the 2 SS games tonight because it still hurts a little bit to watch.

The late games tonight should be a lot of fun though. I am actually looking forward to them, as I imagine most fans are.

[CameronDuke]

This will be my last post on this topic at all, so bear with me, all of you are perfectly reasonable to disagree with my sentiments about pulling or, more specifically, not pulling for Virginia, so I won't battle it or anything. However...

IRT Joe Harris. I'm not sure you understood the "toast" element of my post. The media slurps them up some Joe Harris when they talk about Virginia. He is a very good player and I like him, but he is overrated. He was preseason first team All-ACC. Probably well deserved because he averaged 16 and 5 last year, but he has not been nearly as good this year. Whenever any talking heads speak about UVA, the first and maybe only person they mention is Joe Harris, and the only reason they know HIS name is because he dropped 36 on Duke last year. This year he averaged 11.8 points per-game and a whopping 2.9 rebounds per game. He is not Virginia's best player. 15 is a very good number, and good for him for hitting the dagger against Duke, but again, you only referenced a Duke game in your analysis of Joe Harris. Very good player, would love to have him on my team, but he is not UVA's best nor most important player on this year's team, and he is oftentimes treated as such, hence my belief that he is overrated.

I hope UVA plays hard and plays well, if they win or lose, no skin off my hide, and I hope everybody riding the ACC ship pulls for them hard.

I am not trying to get into a pissing contest about uva either and I respect your opinion but just feel you're very wrong about Harris and here's why:

Tony Bennett has said publicly to the media that Harris isn't the focal point of this year's offense and has agreed to shoulder less of the scoring load due to two great guards playing significant minutes in the backcourt with him in Brogdon and Perrantes. Both can create their shots at will as well as drive to the rim essentially whenever they want, a skill they possess which is superior to Joe's driving ability. He has been fine with sacrificing a few PPG in his scoring average to allow the offense to be more balanced and this has translated to a championship season. If you would like other stats that he put up in clutch performances look no further than this month in Greensboro: he scored 20 against FSU and 12 against Pitt during their championship run.

As far as being overrated, that is your opinion and media created anyway. I think to my point, originally, Bennett is winning championships with players you yourself have called "overrated." Hell of a coaching job in my eyes and shows he is overachieving with players you yourself said the media thinks are better than they actually are...

[pfrduke]

Dustin Hogue's haircut is THE BEST