NCAA tourney thread - Regionals

[Jaker]

mother flucker

 

[ASweet3781]

I'll go on record now and say Syracuse has no chance of beating Virginia. To get here, Syracuse beat:

Dayton - 61st KenPom

Midd. Tenn - 114th

Gonzaga - 17th

Syracuse is a good team playing their best basketball at the right time. But Virginia is a whole other animal.

Hope you are correct but I really don't trust some of these programs in the clutch. I knew Gonzaga would find a way to choke because that's what they do every year. Virginia hasn't gotten to a Final 4 since Ralph Sampson was there. They will probably be tight and are prone to scoring droughts which gives the underdog a chance.

 

[4in16]

Well the B1G drought continues. They clearly need us.

 

[Gurleyman]

We beat a 10, a 2, a 3 and a 4 to get to the Florida game and had one of the best players in the country. Please don't ever compare that Cuse team in anyway, shape or form to the 2014 UConn team.
Virginia is clearly better and will roll up this fraud of a team and smoke the bejeezus out of them.
I feel bad saying Virginia will only beat them by 10. They will beat them by 13-18 and in 3 hours I'm convinced I will declare they beat them by 22

And that Florida team was much better than this Virginia team. The point I was making is that we had advanced further than we supposed to - some said because we caught a lucky break with two MSG games - and everyone not part of UConn Nation was expecting our fun little ride to come to end when we faced the top seed in the tournament on a 30-game win streak. I'm sure Cuse fans said things like "Florida is going to smoke the bejeezus out of them." Funny things happen when you get on a little run - teams develop confidence and become tougher outs.

You have too much faith in a pedestrian Virginia team that hasn't been there before.

 

[pnow15]

BLACK FRIDAY.

Four ACC teams advance to elite eight. No other way to describe it.

 

[upstater]

It's amazing to me that you can buy tickets to the East Regional Final for $100.

 

[bobbygt]

Cuse is definitely on a roll and while I don't think Gbinje is as good as Shabazz, he's close.

When you look at all the other top teams remaining, I think Cuse got a pretty favorable matchup with Virginia- definitely more favorable than UNC or Kansas.

I'm not going to poop on who they've had to play to get where they are- that sounds like something you'd read on their board and they have no control over that.

 

[Jaker]

Gbinje has kept Cuse on life support all season.

 

[The Viking]

You have too much faith in a pedestrian Virginia team that hasn't been there before.

Viriginia is not pedestrian, they are one of the best teams in the country.

Cuse has had a nice little run against opponents that are meh. Their zone is tough for team that aren't used to it. Virginia has played against it before and they will be well prepared. I don't know what the spread is but definitely give the points. Don't fall for this "magical ride" that Cuse is on - Isn't this Cuse team the lowest RPI to get an at large in NCAA history?

 

[David 76]

Whisky and the Zags showed me that we are not the only team that can disintegrate and have trouble inbounding the ball in the clutch.

 

[champs99and04]

And that Florida team was much better than this Virginia team.

I'd disagree. Florida played in a vastly inferior conference and had far better luck in close games. This Virginia team is good enough to win the whole thing.

 

[Gurleyman]

I'd disagree. Florida played in a vastly inferior conference and had far better luck in close games. This Virginia team is good enough to win the whole thing.

I will compromise and take the "much" out of my statement, which was overstating my case. They aren't much better - but only two teams since UNLV in 1991 have made the Final Four with a 30-game win streak and Florida was one of them. The other was Duke in 1999. Those two teams feel like they have something else in common, but I can't put my finger on it.

Virginia has lost to four teams that didn't even qualify for the NCAA Tournament (GW, VT, GT, FSU). Florida lost three games total, and all three were all to teams that were in the Final Four (Wisky and us twice). This Virginia team is good enough to win the whole thing, but Florida obviously was too.

 

[superjohn]

I'd disagree. Florida played in a vastly inferior conference and had far better luck in close games. This Virginia team is good enough to win the whole thing.

Florida was 36-2 before losing to us for the second time, Virginia is 26-7. You are right that the ACC is better than the SEC was that year but the far better luck in close games is laughable, you create your own luck and winning close games is the sign of a great team. I disagree that Virginia can win the whole thing, I think Carolina and Kansas would have little trouble with them.

 

[champs99and04]

I will compromise and take the "much" out of my statement, which was overstating my case. They aren't much better - but only two teams since UNLV in 1991 have made the Final Four with a 30-game win streak and Florida was one of them. The other was Duke in 1999. Those two teams feel like they have something else in common, but I can't put my finger on it.

Virginia has lost to four teams that didn't even qualify for the NCAA Tournament (GW, VT, GT, FSU). Florida lost three games total, and all three were all to teams that were in the Final Four (Wisky and us twice). This Virginia team is good enough to win the whole thing, but Florida obviously was too.

Virginia has certainly had their share of clunkers mixed in there. I will grant you that the 2014 Florida team gets the nod in consistency (in addition to the four losses you reference, they needed a miracle to pull one out against 154th ranked Wake Forest). Every team has a couple WTF games over the course of a full season, but after enough of them it's fair to question how great a team like that really is.

I would argue, though, that Virginia makes up for it with the quality of their wins. Without even counting the tournament, they went 8-3 against the top 25 and 6-2 against the top 12. And their three losses were by a combined eight points (one of which would have been a win w/o an uncalled travel on the last possession of the game).

Perhaps my memory of the 2014 team is tainted by how quickly they toppled over when we hit them in the mouth in Dallas. Maybe that's not a fair way to remember a team that was as good as they were. I'd be pretty shocked, though, if Virginia loses to Syracuse tomorrow, and while I think UNC is better, I think the gap is closer than most people think.

 

[Gurleyman]

Virginia has certainly had their share of clunkers mixed in there. I will grant you that the 2014 Florida team gets the nod in consistency (in addition to the four losses you reference, they needed a miracle to pull one out against 154th ranked Wake Forest). Every team has a couple what games over the course of a full season, but after enough of them it's fair to question how great a team like that really is.

I would argue, though, that Virginia makes up for it with the quality of their wins. Without even counting the tournament, they went 8-3 against the top 25 and 6-2 against the top 12. And their three losses were by a combined eight points (one of which would have been a win w/o an uncalled travel on the last possession of the game).

Perhaps my memory of the 2014 team is tainted by how quickly they toppled over when we hit them in the mouth in Dallas. Maybe that's not a fair way to remember a team that was as good as they were. I'd be pretty shocked, though, if Virginia loses to Syracuse tomorrow, and while I think UNC is better, I think the gap is closer than most people think.

I'm trying to find something to argue with in this post to keep the thread going, but I can't really find anything I disagree with.

Actually, never mind - you used the full name of every school you referenced until you abbreviated UNC. What gives? Be consistent!