Just wanted to go on record here:
I have US$20 on Florida State to win their division. Odds started at 7-1 but were down to 5-1 when I placed my bet this morning.
I also have $30 on Florida State to win the championship. Odds started at 28-1 but were down to 15-1 when I placed my bet this morning.
I have another $50 betting money I’m holding in reserve for the Final Four games and the final.
Here are my 5 potential Cinderellas this year:
New Mexico State
Xavier
South Florida
Saint Mary’s
Belmont
ETA: Florida State and New Mexico would have been on this list, except that they had such great tourny runs that they can no longer be considered Cinderellas.
I wouldn’t. Cal’s been playing poorly lately and hasn’t been the same since losing Richard Solomon. They have glaring depth issues, and having to play an extra game only hurts that.
I have $10 on Gonzaga at 100-1 and $10 on North Carolina 9-2
This is a really cool tool from the Wall Street Journal. It rates the teams and matchups based on these criteria:
They disguise the teams so you don’t aren’t biased by names. At the end they show your bracket. I got some very interesting results.
Great first game with W Kentucky making the best comeback in NCAA history. BYU is starting to make some baskets, but I’ll be surprised if they can pull it off.
:eek:O:eek:M:eek:F:eek:G:eek:!
Well, I’m not quite as shocked as the Iona Gaels, but DDAMN! That was some motherfucking basketball there, that was!
Down by 25, BYU comes back to win by 6! FANTASTIC!
I can’t believe this was just the 2 qualifying games; this tournament is gonna totally fuckin’ rock!
Unbelievable! And with the President in attendence for the first game. Could this be the year a 1 seed loses in the 1st round? It’s gotta happen eventually.
That WSJ tool is really cool. I got 6/8 of my Elite Eight (and none of my Final Four), although Baylor getting upset in the first round is rather disturbing because I have them going to the Elite Eight. Might have to change that. I had Vanderbilt going to the Elite Eight in my bracket, although in this one they go to the final four (beating FSU!).
The blindfold brackets were fun–especially since I managed to recognize the local team and get them all the way to the Final Four.
OK, so that wasn’t much of a challenge-- my local team has everything but experience going for them.
But it was fun to see a variety of animal names I never expect to see used as actual team names.
There’s a downside to that for Duke-- UNC-Chapel Hill is usually in the tournament too, and seeded high enough to play in the same arena (Charlotte or Greensboro), so Duke gets to play its opening rounds in an arena full of its arch-rival’s fans (UNC-CH has many more fans than Duke, being a state school with four or five times the enrollment). So they’re road games for Duke, even though they’re in North Carolina.
Perhaps this year that may be, but in a typical year UNC isn’t in the same arena. My complaint is that Duke gets to play its first two games in its home state every single year.
[Empahsis mine]
Cite please? Nah don’t bother, I did some research
But I can also assure you that in 2010, Duke did not play their any of the NCAA Tournament games in North Carolina on their way to winning the Championship. Jacksonville, Houston, Indianapolis
In 2008, they played in Washington DC in the first weekend, lost in round 2, and would have in Phoenix if they advanced to regionals.
In 2007, they played in Buffalo, lost in Round 1 and would have played in San Jose if they advanced got to regionals.
So 3 of the last 6 years Duke did or would not have played any of their game in North Carolina,
Looks like a case of confirmation bias to me.
Aren’t you one of the dopers that complains that the SEC gets to play Bowl games in their home regions?
Come on, Bulldogs!
Holy fuck! Syracuse is OUT!!!??? Did I see that right? First #1 seed to lose to a #16?
No. They’re in a close game with UNC-Asheville, and they’re actually up 8 with about two minutes left. I think they were losing a few minutes ago, but they’re in pretty decent shape.
Ok, thanks. I saw something on wiki showing #16 Asheville playing #8 Kansas State, but couldn’t find any confirmation anywhere. I have to resort to wiki and obscure blogs to follow along at work. Sorry for the unnecessary excitement.
Wow. Who did Syracuse pay off and how much did it cost for these calls?
UNCA got robbed. A missed goaltending call, the bad lane violation call, and then the OOB call at the end of the game were what crushed the Bulldogs. To be fair, had Dickey been hitting his shots, those shitty calls wouldn’t have changed things, but he wasn’t and they did.
I agree those were horrendous calls, but I think UNCA lost when they let their lead evaporate. Too bad, cause that would’ve been historic!