Final Four 2014
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Final Four 2014
Sharps are loading up BIG TIME on Wisconsin. That line has moved from +2 to pick 'em in a matter of hours. Saw a tweet that one house has Kentucky +1 now. Looks like they're hitting Florida pretty hard too. That line has moved from 6 to 7 this morning. Should be a good couple of games.
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Re: Final Four 2014
And just as I write this William Hill (my online sportsbook puts it back to Kentucky -1 (though the ML is -115/-105).
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Re: Final Four 2014
I don't understand why March Madness ends 7 days into April.
/my only NCAA basketball comment every year
/my only NCAA basketball comment every year
mister d wrote:Couldn't have pegged me better.
EnochRoot wrote:I mean, whatever. Johnnie's all hot cuz I ride him.
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Re: Final Four 2014
Florida destroyed. Bookies win again
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Re: Final Four 2014
We are all badgers tonight...
Re: Final Four 2014
We're rooting against the white guys, right?
Re: Final Four 2014
It's almost as if the SEC is a hilariously overrated conference or something.
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Re: Final Four 2014
That doesn't make any sense. The SEC got only 3 teams into the tournament -- fewer than any other major conference. And two of those teams, Tennessee (#11) and Kentucky (#8), were seeded below where they ranked in the efficiency rankings and vastly outperformed their seeding. (You could argue, based on the pre-tournament Pomeroy rankings, that Tennessee was the most underrated team in the country.) But yeah, if you want to call an 11-2 tournament record proof that the SEC is "hilariously overrated," you can go ahead.brian wrote:It's almost as if the SEC is a hilariously overrated conference or something.
Re: Final Four 2014
What is the point of the overbearing rebranding of "North Texas"? It's fucking Dallas.
Who knows? Maybe, you were kidnapped, tied up, taken away and held for ransom.
Those days are gone forever
Over a long time ago
Oh yeah…
Those days are gone forever
Over a long time ago
Oh yeah…
Re: Final Four 2014
I was wondering that, too.howard wrote:What is the point of the overbearing rebranding of "North Texas"? It's fucking Dallas.
"What a bunch of pedantic pricks." - sybian
Re: Final Four 2014
I guess the City of Arlington has a bug up its ass about it?
Imagine the NFL kowtowing to East Rutherford?
Imagine the NFL kowtowing to East Rutherford?
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Re: Final Four 2014
Great game. They say styles make fights right?
Kentucky inside against Wisconsin outside.
Kentucky inside against Wisconsin outside.
Kung Fu movies are like porn. There's 1 on 1, then 2 on 1, then a group scene..
Re: Final Four 2014
Kentucky is about to lose to the third best team in the Big Ten and Florida lost to the second best team in the AAC. (Which itself was a pretty horrible conference.)Joe K wrote:That doesn't make any sense. The SEC got only 3 teams into the tournament -- fewer than any other major conference. And two of those teams, Tennessee (#11) and Kentucky (#8), were seeded below where they ranked in the efficiency rankings and vastly outperformed their seeding. (You could argue, based on the pre-tournament Pomeroy rankings, that Tennessee was the most underrated team in the country.) But yeah, if you want to call an 11-2 tournament record proof that the SEC is "hilariously overrated," you can go ahead.brian wrote:It's almost as if the SEC is a hilariously overrated conference or something.
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Re: Final Four 2014
I'm with Brian. Going into the Final Four, if Kentucky and Florida didn't both win out its was going to rightly be considered a bad showing by the conference.
Re: Final Four 2014
Seriously. Based on Brian's logic, every conference other than whatever one Mercer belongs to is overrated. If Kentucky losing to Wisconsin (minus their best interior defender in Cauley-Stein) is a blemish on the SEC, then I would like to know what Michigan State losing to UConn, Michigan losing to Kentucky, and Ohio State losing to Dayton says about the Big 10.mister d wrote:I'm with Brian. Going into the Final Four, if Kentucky and Florida didn't both win out its was going to rightly be considered a bad showing by the conference.
Re: Final Four 2014
Kentucky is only in this game with the benefit of some seriously horseshit officiating. Kentucky is allowed to be physical while Wisconsin is not.
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Re: Final Four 2014
If you want a name conference that diarrhea'd themselves, how about the Big East who had a 2 and a 3, didn't get a team out of the first weekend and saw three of their four teams go down by double digits?
Re: Final Four 2014
Wisconsin refused to put the ball in Kaminsky's hands. Even when they double him in the post, he made nice passes out for wide-open shots. Badgers' star guard did not impress me.
Who knows? Maybe, you were kidnapped, tied up, taken away and held for ransom.
Those days are gone forever
Over a long time ago
Oh yeah…
Those days are gone forever
Over a long time ago
Oh yeah…
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Re: Final Four 2014
One missed free throw
Kung Fu movies are like porn. There's 1 on 1, then 2 on 1, then a group scene..
Re: Final Four 2014
I blocked Trollaware the instant he crawled back after Scottie was banned. Anyone want to summarize what he said?
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Re: Final Four 2014
These last 4 Kentucky games have been unbelievable. I thought the Wichita State game was one of the best college games I had ever seen, and somehow they've only gotten more exciting since than. I'm a big Shabazz Napier fan, and think Kevin Ollie is a great coach, but at this point I like Kentucky's chances. But regardless of what happens, this Kentucky run has been incredibly enjoyable.
By the way, I'm not surprised that Ollie badly outcoached Donovan. Donovan is a good college coach, but I think the in-game strategy is much more advanced in the NBA than in college. Ollie spent many years in the pros and (supposedly) is a hot commodity among NBA teams looking for a coach. I'm not surprised that, given his background, he would be able to outcoach Donovan.
By the way, I'm not surprised that Ollie badly outcoached Donovan. Donovan is a good college coach, but I think the in-game strategy is much more advanced in the NBA than in college. Ollie spent many years in the pros and (supposedly) is a hot commodity among NBA teams looking for a coach. I'm not surprised that, given his background, he would be able to outcoach Donovan.
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Re: Final Four 2014
I remember being about to lose. But something happened after that.brian wrote:Kentucky is about to lose to the third best team in the Big Ten and Florida lost to the second best team in the AAC. (Which itself was a pretty horrible conference.)Joe K wrote:That doesn't make any sense. The SEC got only 3 teams into the tournament -- fewer than any other major conference. And two of those teams, Tennessee (#11) and Kentucky (#8), were seeded below where they ranked in the efficiency rankings and vastly outperformed their seeding. (You could argue, based on the pre-tournament Pomeroy rankings, that Tennessee was the most underrated team in the country.) But yeah, if you want to call an 11-2 tournament record proof that the SEC is "hilariously overrated," you can go ahead.brian wrote:It's almost as if the SEC is a hilariously overrated conference or something.
Hold on, I'm trying to see if Jack London ever gets this fire built or not.
Re: Final Four 2014
All I gotta say is Hellz Yeah
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Re: Final Four 2014
There's allegedly a contract stipulation that says the stadium itself is in "North Dallas" (I know) and not Arlington.Rex wrote:I guess the City of Arlington has a bug up its ass about it?
Imagine the NFL kowtowing to East Rutherford?
It was fun last night. Atmosphere felt more like an "event" rather than a basketball game because of the scope of the stadium and the number of people seemingly content to watch the game on the big screen on the concourses rather than actually watch the game itself. It seems like it'd be much more fun in an arena.
However, we were able to park less than a mile from the stadium and had little traffic, no problems getting in and out, and didn't pay much for our (really high up) seats. I'm guessing we'll be in the lower bowls pretty cheaply Monday night.
"We're not the smartest people in the world. We go down the straightaway and turn left. That's literally what we do." -- Clint Bowyer
Re: Final Four 2014
So, they've got an 8 seed and a 7 seed in the finals. When, (if ever), have we seen a final game where the seed numbers totaled over 15? Or, where the higher seeded team was as low as a 7 seed?
"What a bunch of pedantic pricks." - sybian
Re: Final Four 2014
To answer your questions that would be never and never.
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Re: Final Four 2014
Yeah, isn't cool to see these plucky little Cinderellas make it all the way to final? It's what this tournament is all about.
Totally Kafkaesque
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Re: Final Four 2014
It's just 7 of the last 19 titles combined for the two after tonight! That leaves 2/3rds of all the titles for all the other schools!Shirley wrote:Yeah, isn't cool to see these plucky little Cinderellas make it all the way to final? It's what this tournament is all about.
Hold on, I'm trying to see if Jack London ever gets this fire built or not.
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Re: Final Four 2014
Ticket prices need to start coming down
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Re: Final Four 2014
why? They're setting attendance records.Brontoburglar wrote:Ticket prices need to start coming down
Kung Fu movies are like porn. There's 1 on 1, then 2 on 1, then a group scene..
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Re: Final Four 2014
UK fans will pay whatever as well. Not a good market for a casual fan.degenerasian wrote:why? They're setting attendance records.Brontoburglar wrote:Ticket prices need to start coming down
Hold on, I'm trying to see if Jack London ever gets this fire built or not.
Re: Final Four 2014
Man, imagine what it would be like if people cared about hoops.
Re: Final Four 2014
Point taken. But these collections of players are still long-shot underdogs in 2014, regardless of how good their predecessors in the same uniforms were. Both teams have recovered from big problems during the season and have found themselves in the tournament. I like that better than if the finals were both #1 or #2 seeds who have been killing it straight through the past five months.AB_skin_test wrote:It's just 7 of the last 19 titles combined for the two after tonight! That leaves 2/3rds of all the titles for all the other schools!Shirley wrote:Yeah, isn't cool to see these plucky little Cinderellas make it all the way to final? It's what this tournament is all about.
Re: Final Four 2014
Alternate translation: Preseason #1 and Preseason #18 snoozed their way through an increasingly meaningless regular season, then survived a handful of crapshoot end-of-game scenarios to make everyone forget they were Preseason #1 and Preseason #18DC47 wrote:Point taken. But these collections of players are still long-shot underdogs in 2014, regardless of how good their predecessors in the same uniforms were. Both teams have recovered from big problems during the season and have found themselves in the tournament. I like that better than if the finals were both #1 or #2 seeds who have been killing it straight through the past five months.
he’s a fixbking cyborg or some shit. The
holy fuckbAllZ, what a ducking nightmare. Holy shot. Just, fuck. The
holy fuckbAllZ, what a ducking nightmare. Holy shot. Just, fuck. The
Re: Final Four 2014
Yeah, that's more the point. I don't necessarily agree with the "increasingly meaningless" part though. There has always been an element of chaos in the tournament, meaning teams with great regular seasons flop and vice versa.Ryan wrote:Alternate translation: Preseason #1 and Preseason #18 snoozed their way through an increasingly meaningless regular season, then survived a handful of crapshoot end-of-game scenarios to make everyone forget they were Preseason #1 and Preseason #18DC47 wrote:Point taken. But these collections of players are still long-shot underdogs in 2014, regardless of how good their predecessors in the same uniforms were. Both teams have recovered from big problems during the season and have found themselves in the tournament. I like that better than if the finals were both #1 or #2 seeds who have been killing it straight through the past five months.
With Kentucky this year, the key is that they are by FAR the most talented team in the country, but they are extremely young and college success is somewhat secondary to this group of pre-NBAers. That's a tough team to mold into a cohesive unit. I don't know if it's a case of it taking most of a season to learn the nuances of their offensive and defensive systems, that they needed to lose a bit to earn a little humility, or if it's just that they see the end is near and kicked it up a notch. Either way, it's (and I hate to admit this) kinda interesting.
At the same time, I HATE what Cal has been doing at Kentucky (and started at Memphis). I don't think it's good for the sport to have a program that serves only as a defacto minor league for the NBA. I doubt most of those kids give two shits about Kentucky or even college hoops as a whole. They are there because the rules say they have to go somewhere and Kentucky looks like the surest bet for one-and-done riches. Why not pool up and enjoy some brief Miami Heat-like success?
I'm pretty sure that if I were a Kentucky fan I'd feel pretty ambivalent about this recent success.
Totally Kafkaesque
Re: Final Four 2014
I take pre-season rankings as close to meaningless. There is so much turnover on college teams, and untested incoming freshman make more of a difference than they used to. So who really knows about a team until they've played at least a handful of competitive games? That could take until Christmas for many. Pre-season rankings are roughly equivalent to the standings in the American League at the end of April.Ryan wrote:Alternate translation: Preseason #1 and Preseason #18 snoozed their way through an increasingly meaningless regular season, then survived a handful of crapshoot end-of-game scenarios to make everyone forget they were Preseason #1 and Preseason #18DC47 wrote:Point taken. But these collections of players are still long-shot underdogs in 2014, regardless of how good their predecessors in the same uniforms were. Both teams have recovered from big problems during the season and have found themselves in the tournament. I like that better than if the finals were both #1 or #2 seeds who have been killing it straight through the past five months.
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Re: Final Four 2014
Should have jumped on the nosebleeds when we had the chance. Now they're 4x what they were.AB_skin_test wrote:UK fans will pay whatever as well. Not a good market for a casual fan.degenerasian wrote:why? They're setting attendance records.Brontoburglar wrote:Ticket prices need to start coming down
Going to go out there and see what we can get for under $100. We're trying not to be a row from the top tonight.
"We're not the smartest people in the world. We go down the straightaway and turn left. That's literally what we do." -- Clint Bowyer
Re: Final Four 2014
Team wearing blue rumbles and stumbles its way through the regular season, gets crazy hot/lucky in the playoffs, beats a team from New England in the final. Nope, never seen that happen before.