2023 March Madness Thread

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 8:24 am

Jim Boeheim out!

Been trying to watch some ball the past couple of days. Some close ones for the mid majors, but no real bubble bursters yet I don't think.

Who else is looking forward to that UK-UNC 6/11 game next week?

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 9:51 am

Great coach, and the most irritating sideline demeanor. My Hell has me watching my alma mater coached by George Blaney and Bobby Gonzalez playing only the Boeheim Cuse and the Steve Lappas Villanova for eternity.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 10:05 am

Interesting, my version of heaven has Villanova back in the Lappas era (but with clear memories of the Wright era).

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 11:15 am

A_B wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 8:24 am Jim Boeheim out!

Waiting for DSafetyGuy to chime in on that. Boeheim has always been an insufferable prick, and all this "he deserved to go out in his own way" crap that is going around today (Feinstein wrote that in today's WaPost) is nonsense. He never would have left on his own accord...to him, he was Syracuse Basketball.

Been trying to watch some ball the past couple of days. Some close ones for the mid majors, but no real bubble bursters yet I don't think.

My daughter had a blast at the WCC tourney in Vegas. She got a lot of TV airtime during the finals. And she's learned why you don't go to Vegas for 5 days.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 11:30 am

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 11:15 am
A_B wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 8:24 am Jim Boeheim out!
Waiting for DSafetyGuy to chime in on that. Boeheim has always been an insufferable prick, and all this "he deserved to go out in his own way" crap that is going around today (Feinstein wrote that in today's WaPost) is nonsense. He never would have left on his own accord...to him, he was Syracuse Basketball.

What's to say? I was told in confidence four weeks ago that he was done, then this past Saturday, I heard that the retirement and Autry taking over would happen Wednesday. I didn't think anyone else here really cared that much and I have Syracuse friends to chat with about it.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 12:20 pm

DSafetyGuy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 11:30 am I was told in confidence four weeks ago…

Hey, now! You’re not to keep secrets from your Swamp friends!

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 1:49 pm

Grant Hill needs Just For Men for his beard. He's only a couple years older than me, but he looks like Lovie ran his beard over with a #1 guard.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 2:58 pm

https://www.si.com/college/2023/03/05/o ... _6dKiTxsBQ

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 2:59 pm

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 1:49 pm Grant Hill needs Just For Men for his beard. He's only a couple years older than me, but he looks like Lovie ran his beard over with a #1 guard.

It happens. My beard went grey 15 years before the hair on top of my head did.

EnochRoot · Post by **EnochRoot** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 3:13 pm

My stubble looks white. My hair is 95% still brown hair but 5% white makes for a solid, distinguished look. But I’ve got to shave everyday or I look every bit my 52 years.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 3:19 pm

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 2:58 pm https://www.si.com/college/2023/03/05/o ... _6dKiTxsBQ

That conference needs to Straighten It Out.

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 3:20 pm

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 2:59 pm
L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 1:49 pm Grant Hill needs Just For Men for his beard. He's only a couple years older than me, but he looks like Lovie ran his beard over with a #1 guard.
It happens. My beard went grey 15 years before the hair on top of my head did.

For me it was just the opposite. I started finding grays on my head in my late 20s (law school), and I’ve only recently been getting a small smattering on my chin.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 5:18 pm

EnochRoot wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 3:13 pm My stubble looks white. My hair is 95% still brown hair but 5% white makes for a solid, distinguished look. But I’ve got to shave everyday or I look every bit my 52 years.

I grew a nice beard in the early days of the pandemic but my wife hated it because she she says it makes me look at least ten years older.

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 5:28 pm

Baylor is losing in the first round. Mark it down.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 5:32 pm

Giff wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 5:28 pm Baylor is losing in the first round. Mark it down.

The curse of Dave Bliss. Or, Art Briles. Or, Ken Starr…

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 6:06 pm

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 5:32 pm
Giff wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 5:28 pm Baylor is losing in the first round. Mark it down.
The curse of Dave Bliss. Or, Art Briles. Or, Ken Starr…

They have won a national championship in basketball since all three of those assholes left campus.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 6:24 pm

So, why are you down on their tournament chances, this year?

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Mar 09, 2023 10:42 pm

I went to Barclays tonight and can officially declare the 2023 NCAA basketball tournament does not matter.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Fri Mar 10, 2023 8:16 am

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 6:24 pm So, why are you down on their tournament chances, this year?

They remind me of Kentucky. They'll win most games, but look like dogshit in a few and never really put it all together so you know they don't really have the "it" factor. Now, I've only seen2 games of theirs and one was in like November.

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Fri Mar 10, 2023 10:05 am

sancarlos wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 6:24 pm So, why are you down on their tournament chances, this year?

Cause I've watched them play, ha! Once the 3s stop falling, they are completely lost.

EnochRoot · Post by **EnochRoot** » Sat Mar 11, 2023 7:55 pm

Shaka Smart has something good brewing with this Marquette squad.

Preseason picked to finish 9th in the Big East.

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Sat Mar 11, 2023 8:05 pm

EnochRoot wrote: ↑Sat Mar 11, 2023 7:55 pm Shaka Smart has something good brewing with this Marquette squad.

Preseason picked to finish 9th in the Big East.

His old employer didn’t do too bad either. Just dog-walked Kansas by 20.

Post by **brian** » Sat Mar 11, 2023 8:42 pm

Even being as big of the MAC as I am it’s mind-blowing Toledo hasn’t been to Big Dance since 1980.

EnochRoot · Post by **EnochRoot** » Sat Mar 11, 2023 9:06 pm

Marquette just stuck its flag into the heart of the east coast.

Hopefully they can rework his contract to keep sniffers like Syracuse away.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Sun Mar 12, 2023 11:38 am

This also could go in the "what is wrong with people" thread...

Alabama fans face ejection for ‘Killin’ our way through the SEC’ shirts

Spectators who wear Alabama logo-branded T-shirts referring to the January murder of Jamea Harris will be ejected if they make the same wardrobe choice Sunday, when the Crimson Tide plays Texas A&M in the SEC tournament championship game.

Two men sported the shirts, which bore the word “GOATS” with the school logo on the front and the phrase “Killin’ our way through the SEC in ’23” on the back, at the Crimson Tide’s semifinal win Saturday over Missouri in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

On Saturday, per AL.com, one of the fans when asked why he was wearing the shirt, replied repeatedly to “get the f — out of my face.” The fan, who did not identify himself, did say he was an Alabama fan and intended to attend Sunday’s title game.

The shirt in question:

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Sun Mar 12, 2023 12:14 pm

Not March Madness related...

word is that the UW athletic department doesn't have the money to pay his buyout clause.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Sun Mar 12, 2023 12:52 pm

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 12:14 pmword is that the UW athletic department doesn't have the money to pay his buyout clause.

His real problem was a complete lack of West Coast recruiting ties. Some of the players he brought in early were guys he was involved with recruiting when he was at Syracuse (Isaiah Stewart, Naz Carter, Hameir Wright, Quade Green, Nate Roberts), and when his early success dried up after Stewart and Jaden McDaniels jumped to the NBA after one season and they had to suspend Carter indefinitely after sexual assault allegations right before the start of the following season, it got real lean real fast. Great recruiter, great guy, but... just not working out.

The sad part is took the job to get closer to his family on Orange County, California because his father has been suffering from dementia for years. If not for Florida-Gulf Coast's tournament run several years ago, Hopkins might have gotten the USC job instead of Andy Enfield.

Post by **Shirley** » Sun Mar 12, 2023 1:05 pm

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 09, 2023 1:49 pm Grant Hill needs Just For Men for his beard. He's only a couple years older than me, but he looks like Lovie ran his beard over with a #1 guard.

Random, uninteresting fact - I went to Grant Hill's college graduation. He was easy to spot in the crowd of graduates.

Kinda sad how the Boeheim era ended with such a fizzle. Really, they were never nationally significant, other than a few miracle NCAA tourney runs, in the 10 years after they joined the ACC.

It'll be interesting to see how the ACC does in this tournament. Four of the top teams - UNC, Pitt, Clemson, and NC State - are on the bubble or probably already out. The others - Miami, Duke, UVA will do no better than 4 seeds. I really think the conference is better than that, but it'll be an uphill battle to prove that with those low seeds. Did it last year though.

I think in some ways the ranking system - even the computers - is broken with the way schedules work now. So many conferences are huge and have so many games that there are virtually no non-conference games after mid-December. It's essentially a zero-sum game for a conference after that point, so if your teams have a slow start and get better, it's very hard to recognize. On the other hand, the B10 and B12 look like every game is a Q1 game, so they'll all be inflated regardless of how good they really are.

The tournament will sort that out a bit, but it too is a small sample size to make sweeping judgments about a conference's strength. I suspect you'll see a few conferences start to lower the number of conference games so they can mix in more later-season non-conference games.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Sun Mar 12, 2023 2:37 pm

Shirley wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 1:05 pm. Really, they were never nationally significant, other than a few miracle NCAA tourney runs, in the 10 years after they joined the ACC.

Maybe true, but as I young man, I was really impressed during Boeheim's years of Pearl Washington, Rony Seikaly, Billy Owens, Derrick Coleman...

Post by **Shirley** » Sun Mar 12, 2023 2:53 pm

sancarlos wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 2:37 pm
Shirley wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 1:05 pm. Really, they were never nationally significant, other than a few miracle NCAA tourney runs, in the 10 years after they joined the ACC.
Maybe true, but as I young man, I was really impressed during Boeheim's years of Pearl Washington, Rony Seikaly, Billy Owens, Derrick Coleman...

Oh, no doubt. I wish the ACC had gotten the program still at that level. I would say the same about Louisville - they've had some good years in the ACC but then also the worst year in the history of the program.

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Sun Mar 12, 2023 5:40 pm

News that is focusing on a small handful of us: no Philly Big 5 teams in the dance, first time since 1978.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Sun Mar 12, 2023 5:45 pm

Two of the five I actively root against and a third I’m apathetic about so this is a fine result.

EnochRoot · Post by **EnochRoot** » Sun Mar 12, 2023 8:16 pm

Jay Bilas picked UConn to win it all. Half the panel on ESPN seemed to have them in the FF also.

I don't see it. Not with their PG play anyway.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 4:05 am

Shirley wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 2:53 pm
sancarlos wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 2:37 pm
Shirley wrote: ↑Sun Mar 12, 2023 1:05 pm. Really, they were never nationally significant, other than a few miracle NCAA tourney runs, in the 10 years after they joined the ACC.
Maybe true, but as I young man, I was really impressed during Boeheim's years of Pearl Washington, Rony Seikaly, Billy Owens, Derrick Coleman...
Oh, no doubt. I wish the ACC had gotten the program still at that level. I would say the same about Louisville - they've had some good years in the ACC but then also the worst year in the history of the program.

They've never been able to fully come back from the NCAA punishment they received two years after joining the conference. Timing of the transfer portal and NIL will not help them, either.

They will need to dump the zone defense because players need time to learn the way they play it, but patience when not playing is developing into a rarely-seen trait from college players.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 10:14 am

To get everyone hyped...

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 10:26 am

Goosebumps here. Man, that Nova-Carolina game was epic.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 12:08 pm

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 13, 2023 10:26 am Goosebumps here. Man, that Nova-Carolina game was epic.

The Suggs half court shot did it for me...

L-Jam3 · Post by **L-Jam3** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 12:14 pm

For my money, the Chalmers’ 3-pointer vs. Memphis was the Onionest I ever saw in a Final Four. They needed the three just to get into OT, and he just drilled it. Ice cold like Richard Kuklinski.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 12:33 pm

I enjoyed that the long Luke Ridnour three was apparently in a January regular season game, based on Oregon being the only school to have a seed/ranking number and both teams' records had them having played about 18 games on the lower third graphic.

Nonlinear FC · Post by **Nonlinear FC** » Mon Mar 13, 2023 12:54 pm