Upsets plentiful in the first round of the NCAA tournament

jqp · « **on:** 19 Mar 2010, 08:25 pm »

"best first [and second] day ever in an NCAA tournament?"

Wake defeats Texas (former #1), Cornell defeats Temple, Ohio U over Georgetown, Murray State over Vanderbilt....

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #1 on:** 19 Mar 2010, 08:55 pm »

Yeah, wacky, huh

The way everyone was talking on the TV....you'd have thought Purdue was the underdog to Siena, but they pulled it off.

Whodda' thought Temple would be trounced by Cornell?

Wild year...no one truly dominant in this field save Kentucky and Kansas.

John

macrojack · « **Reply #2 on:** 19 Mar 2010, 08:57 pm »

Unpredictable as usual. This is the biggest thing that sets March Madness apart from all other sports tournaments for me.

randytsuch · « **Reply #3 on:** 20 Mar 2010, 07:21 pm »

Just watched St Mary's beat Nova

So, at least one cinderella in the Sweet 16, cool

Randy

golfugh · « **Reply #4 on:** 21 Mar 2010, 12:09 am »

Northern Iowa takes down Kansas! Wow!

jqp · « **Reply #5 on:** 21 Mar 2010, 12:27 am »

Now that is unbelievable! I was out doing some chainsaw work in the yard and I thought at first when I read these posts that it was a joke! Kansas many thought would win it all, Villanova I thought Duke could take them this year, but now we will never know

Stu Pitt · « **Reply #6 on:** 21 Mar 2010, 01:47 am »

Northern Iowa is by far the most shocking to me. I had them playing Syracuse in the Final 4.

'Nova has been very suspect the last few games.

I used to work with Siena basketball a few years ago. They've done some great things recently. They'd have won a few games in the tourney if they didn't draw Purdue IMO. That could have been the worst matchup for them in that bracket.

I also worked with an Atlantic 10 team that's not in the tourney. None of those outcomes surprised me. I thought the Temple/Cornell game would be closer, but I still had Cornell. Both coaches are former collegues who will never schedule a game against each other. They could have been the most miserable coaches when their game was announced.

Disclaimer - Even though I'm no longer in Div I hoops, I still don't put money on it at all.

Disclaimer 2 - I'm still no better at picking this stuff than anyone else

March Madness has to be the best sports event on TV.

Stu Pitt · « **Reply #7 on:** 21 Mar 2010, 01:53 am »

This has to be the best March Madness since Valparaiso went on that run in the early/mid 90's.

Purdue is my sleeper team, if you can really call them a sleeper team. I guess picking a 4 seed to go to the final 4 is a sleeper team, right?

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #8 on:** 21 Mar 2010, 01:53 am »

Wow, yeah - I was out all day and just caught the news: Northern Iowa Panthers knock off No. 1 Kansas 69-67

Those dudes looked prone the few times I caught them this year...Aldrich didn't measure up as planned this year. It's Kentucky's title to lose now.

My 'Nova Wildcats, despite the loss, played what I thought the most inspired ball in weeks. They just couldn't handle what might be the best big man in the tourney (well, Mr. Cousins of KY might disagree) and it's near impossible to defend against 22' 3-pointers dropping in from the sky.

John

Stu Pitt · « **Reply #9 on:** 21 Mar 2010, 01:58 am »

Good call with the uninspired play by Villanova lately, until today. They didn't move their feet at all against Robert Morris. Very lazy and just expecting the win. Robert Morris was diving on the floor, playing team defense, and working their butts off.

Stu Pitt · « **Reply #10 on:** 21 Mar 2010, 02:01 am »

Quote from: TheChairGuy on 21 Mar 2010, 01:53 am

It's Kentucky's title to lose now.

I don't think they'll get past West Virginia.

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #11 on:** 21 Mar 2010, 02:10 am »

Quote from: Stu Pitt on 21 Mar 2010, 02:01 am

I don't think they'll get past West Virginia.

Villanova beat WVU by 7 at home only 6 weeks ago...and took WVU to overtime at home and lost by 2 just before the NCAA's.

They have BIG's, but they're not the most talented BIG's in the tourney.

I think KY can beat WVU in 5 game series....but, who knows with one one game between 'em

jqp · « **Reply #12 on:** 26 Mar 2010, 04:00 am »

Syracuse #1 goes down to Butler #5

So 2 #1 seeds are out...and #2 K State in overtime with #6 Xavier

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 Mar 2010, 05:02 am »

Quote from: TheChairGuy

I think KY over WVU....but who knows as any team can go cold and lose one

Well, they went cold and lost one

John

jqp · « **Reply #14 on:** 28 Mar 2010, 12:28 am »

And now Bulter downs K State, and WV is up by 10 points over Ky

jqp · « **Reply #15 on:** 28 Mar 2010, 11:59 pm »

Who thought Kansas would not be in the Final Four?

That was a classic battle between Duke and Baylor. It's a shame for them that Acy got the technical foul that way. But Nolan Smith was amazing!

So now there are 4,

The only number 1 seed

the Big East Tournament champs

mid-major on a 24-win streak

found a way to get back in the final four again.

arthurs · « **Reply #16 on:** 29 Mar 2010, 12:45 am »

Yep, these are gonna be some good final four games....

flintstone · « **Reply #17 on:** 29 Mar 2010, 01:42 am »

Both games today were very good

Even though I'm from Michigan....I almost hated to see the Orange get beat by Michigan State, they played a good game.

Oh well, now we gotta figure out how to woop those Bull Dogs from Butler.

satfrat · « **Reply #18 on:** 29 Mar 2010, 02:25 am »

Butler was the surprise team last year,,, this year they're the real deal.

They___ could___ go____ all____the ___way!

Cheers,
Robin

jackman · « **Reply #19 on:** 29 Mar 2010, 02:43 am »

This is truly March Madness! No brackets for me this year but my picks would have lost to a monkey throwing random darts at a list of teams. My company is from Indy so lots of people are excited about Butler. They are playing some really good ball and have a legitimate shot.

I've watched most of the games and can't recall one that wasn't exciting. Duke was fortunate to pull it out today. Next week will be fun to watch. I hope to see more upsets but I guess anyone who wins from this point forward will not be considered an upset.

Of all the teams still standing, Duke looks the most beat-able. They still have a ton of talent and a great coach. WV looks really tough it's hard to imagine anyone beating them, Baylor is red hot, has homecourt advantage (if such a thing exists in the tourney) and plays great team basketball, and MSU has overcome major adverisity and played with so much toughness and heart. The more I think about who I would pick, the more my choices change.

The only solution? No picks for me! Just going to watch and enjoy the games.