Day Four and Down to 16 After Today

[Joneslab]

Right now for instance Louisville has in the game:

A walk-on. A guy who averages 1 point a game. Another guy who averages 2 points a game. A freshman who didn't contribute anything until late February. And Rozier.

And they're winning by nine.

He plays zone. He hides the hell out of guys. He creates massive confusion because he's a defensive wizard. And it helps that Rozier is going to be a star in the NBA.

But this team is built out of papier mache and Scotch tape.

[Spiritof96]

Does Louisville's band play My Old Kentucky Home after games? I could have sworn I heard that at the end of the game.

[KevinHall]

I liked Bob Huggins comment about how he was glad this was all about the student athlete playing until midnite or one in the morning thanks to scheduling for television.
Classic Huggins.

I agree to a point with im. IMO, its totally stupid to be playing weekend games in the middle of the night. Especially Sunday night when many people have to get up and go to work the next day.
Now UK will be playing at 9:45 Thursday night. I'll be firing up the DVR for that one.

[KevinHall]

He's godwawful as a commentator. (Shane Battier was about as bad this year. He seems like he would've been a natural fit but he struggled.)

Hill definitely didn't deserve the prime slot in the Final Four.

I agree he brings nothing to the broadcast. It should just be Nantz and Raferty doing the games. No harm in just a two man booth.

[KevinHall]

I like Barkley but it's obvious he watches 0 college basketball.

He's purely entertainment. No college basketball knowledge at all. I have said this in the past and say it again, I hate all these NBA guys that Turner brings in during the NCAA's. Its obvious they know nothing about the teams,players and coaches. I really don't like the NBAization of college basketball that is going on from all angles.

[KevinHall]

A very chalky tournament going into the Sweet 16. UCLA is the only double digit seed. A couple of 7's and 8 and then couple of six;s. This should make for a great Sweet Sixteen this weekend.

Wichita/Kansas game was a great game to watch. Wichita just took it to them. They were way underseeded at a 7. Should have been about a 4 seed. Wichita is talented and has a lot of experience. If UK wins I believe they will be playing the Shockers. The Wichita/ND game should be a really good one. Should be high scoring with a lot three balls.

The West Region is shaping up into that mega matchup of Arizona and Wisconsin. Aizona has looked really good and they seem to be peaking too. Xavier is too small to stay with them. Wisconsin should beat UNC in fairly high scoring game.

The South should be Duke's for the taking. Utah could give them a good game if they are hitting three's. Utah is 7th in the nation in three point shooting and will need a hot night to win. Gonzaga looked really good beating Iowa. If they are hot they could beat Duke. They have good size too. The Zags really shouldn't have much trouble in beating UCLA. Alford would have to hit 9 threes again for the Bruins to have a chance.

The East may be the most competitve region. Oklahoma looked very good to me. They just wore down a tiny Dayton team. Buddly Heild is the best player no one knows about. Her's really good. Izzomagic is in full effect at Michigan State. They are peaking at the right time and it really wouldn't surprise me a bit if UK gets to the finals that this bunch is waiting on them. They are having a run like they did in 2009 befor egetting blasted in the finals against UNC. I'm really glad UVA got beat too. I despise that style of play they use. They showed yesterday when they get behind too much to a good team they can't comeback with that style of play. I doubt Bennett ever wins a national championship unless he changes.
Pitino does hois best when he's an underdog. He relishes that role. He did greatat UK when he played the underdog rtole and he's doing the same at UL. Kicking Jones off that team was the best thing they could have done. They seem to have solidified and played overall better. NC State will give them a run. This should be a great game. NC State has really good talent. If they are on their game they are as dangerous as anyone. But if they aren't into it they can beat badly. I don't remember how these teams fared against each other during the season?

[surveyor]

Louisville has to do a lot of work, starting today. They'd be one of the weakest Final Four teams in recent history if they made it.

Virginia's loss surprises me not at all. That team hit its peak in January and has been middling ever since. The only reason their efficiency numbers have remained high is because they play at such a slow, grueling pace.

I thought Virginia would get further than this, but I agree it's not too surprising they lost to Michigan State. Virginia seemed to be playing tedious basketball that seemed to put an undo importance on most every possession. Against Michigan State that can and did spell upset.

My bracket got hosed when Villanova went out - living up to the opinion that they were the weakest 1 seed. That said, I don't know that Virginia would have deserved that seeding, either.

Duke always appears that they take breaks on offense - they can smother a team for brief periods, then relax and the opponent has gained the ground they lost.

Wichita State - I don't think they're as good a 7 seed as the 2013 tourney team was at No. 9. That Wichita State team played a lot higher than a 9 seed - akin to UK being an 8 seed last year.

[surveyor]

they had a cake walk in 2013 when they won it all

If one goes solely by seeding, then I suppose both had cakewalks. I'd argue that Wichita State in 2013 was underseeded by a bit. Played like a 5 or 6 seed instead of the 9 seed they were.
Same with UK - that had to be the most brutal 8 seed for Wichita State, Louisville and Michigan to face. Louisville was the overall No. 1 seed that year, thus, should have had an easier bracket.

[Joneslab]

Kentucky has had a much tougher time if you just go by seeds than UofL in its recent runs. (But nobody can touch Florida, the granddaddy of NCAA Tournament break-getters.)

But that's only by seeding. When you get past the first round of the tournament the seeds dissolve, and they get a lot more diluted the deeper you go. It may look like you got a break when you draw a 7-seed Wichita State if you're Kansas, but when you look at it up close that was a brutal game for a lot of reasons. Sometimes getting the higher seed is actually better simply because you match up with that team better.

Louisville was a tough match-up for that Northern Iowa team. Just much quicker and more athletic. But for one of the first times all year, they hit shots. You generally win in the sport of basketball when you knock down shots.

[surveyor]

Kentucky has had a much tougher time if you just go by seeds than UofL in its recent runs. (But nobody can touch Florida, the granddaddy of NCAA Tournament break-getters.)

That's because the better seeds did their job against the higher seeds in theoretically the weakest brackets - when UK has been the overall No. 1 seed. Last year being an 8th seed it was statistically likely that UK would face a higher seed by virtue of being seeded 8th. No surpise there..................

In 2012 it was a wash. Our worst seed was an 8 while Louisville's was a 7. We were the overall No. 1 seed, so it stands to reason there'd be (theoretically) the weakest of the respective seeds in our bracket, so the better seeds beating the weaker seeds isn't much of a surprise.