March Madness

[Solo]

It's that time of year again. The big NCAA tournament is upon us. I assume that INTP's watch college basketball so I was wondering who are your favorites to win? Anyone with common sense knows UNC will take it but some of us don't have that *cough*Duke fans*cough*:whistle:

[Eileen]

I don't care who wins; I just want it to be OVER.

[Solo]

I don't care who wins; I just want it to be OVER.

Normally I would agree but for some reason college basketball is one of the few things I can stand to watch on tv. The most fun is when you fill out your bracket. I guess it isn't for everyone.

[crule81]

Where are the Christian Laetners, Grant Hills, and Chris Webers of today? They're in the NBA, many of them riding the pine when they could have been playing in college. The only great college player of late was Okafer, who was not nearly as great as some of the stars for Duke, Michigan, Kentucky, and North Carolina back in the early 90's. College Basketball simply doesn't do anything for me anymore. At least I know some of the players' names in the NBA.

[coffeezombie]

Roy Williams is a choker, Solo. I hate Duke though. I don't think Kansas is consistent enough to win it, either, unfortunately. Illinois plays too much crappy competition in the Big Ten. I'm going with Wake Forest.

[Solo]

Wake is having a good year. The #1 seeds are good but like you pointed out they have thier problems. The tournament should be a good one. I'm hoping to see some surprise victories. The Championship game better be better than last years.

[Eileen]

I guess it isn't for everyone.

Haha, no it isn't. Everybody else in my department has been chattering on and on about it. As I told the guy whose desk is across from mine in the office, this is the time of year when I never get to talk.

We seriously were worried after the big Duke-Carolina game that there would be a knock-down-drag-out fight over it at our school...

[Solo]

Haha, no it isn't. Everybody else in my department has been chattering on and on about it. As I told the guy whose desk is across from mine in the office, this is the time of year when I never get to talk.

We seriously were worried after the big Duke-Carolina game that there would be a knock-down-drag-out fight over it at our school...

That is one reason why I enjoy college sports. When a team plays against a rival they are at their best. If Duke and Carolina meet in the tournament it is gonna be one hell of a game.

[coffeezombie]

That is one reason why I enjoy college sports. When a team plays against a rival they are at their best. If Duke and Carolina meet in the tournament it is gonna be one hell of a game.

And just think if UNC meets Kansas before that. I can tell you for a fact that Roy Williams is not a well-liked person in Lawrence anymore.

[Solo]

And just think if UNC meets Kansas before that. I can tell you for a fact that Roy Williams is not a well-liked person in Lawrence anymore.

For the first time in years UNC has a good team and it seems everyone wants to beat them. Atleast in NC if you aren't a UNC fan then you either hate college basketball or hate UNC.

[Shai Gar]

ha ha ha ha ha

in australia our TV doesnt shut down for those shitty sports like gridiron, basketball, baseball or hockey.

ours just shuts down for the olympics, commonwealth, cricket and tennis... i'll shut up now

[MacGuffin]

I haven't decided who to pick yet.

I hate the NBA.

[crule81]

ha ha ha ha ha

in australia our TV doesnt shut down for those shitty sports like gridiron, basketball, baseball or hockey.

ours just shuts down for the olympics, commonwealth, cricket and tennis... i'll shut up now

If Australian TV is anything like Canadian TV, I would pray to have it "shut down" for any sports. Now that hockey is gone, curling is the most interesting thing on CBC.

[crule81]

I hate the NBA.

I felt the same way while the Bulls and the Lakers were dominating and no defense was played in the league. There is more parity now and better defense.

[sbw]

I felt the same way while the Bulls and the Lakers were dominating and no defense was played in the league. There is more parity now and better defense.

The NBA has just recently recovered from the "better defense" era; as a result, it's better now. I'm not anti-defense, as I'm from detroit and lived there during the "bad boys" era; but after those piston teams, pat riley, jeff van gundy and a few others decided that with only marginally talented squads, their best chance to win was to foul a lot and make every game 73-68 (any fans out there will remember the post-ewing knicks and hardaway-mourning miami teams in the post-MJ period). They were right about this strategy being their best chance to win games, but they rendered the NBA completely unwatchable in the process. And this trend was exacerbated by the first wave of not-ready-for-primetime high school kids entering the league. Since it took those guys (mcgrady, kobe, garnett, jermaine o'neal, rashard lewis) a few years--y'know, the years they would have spent playing in college--to learn how to play the game, the league as a whole was bereft of new stars to replace the rapidly aging ones (MJ, drexler, malone, stockton, et al). Now, that first group of high-school players are stars, so the league is better able to absorb all of their new draftees being useless for anywhere between one and four seasons. The main reasons for the recent increase in scoring (other than more fouls and thus free throws--who 'nother discussion) have been the maturation (in terms of shooting and ball skills) of the younger stars and the realization that there's only 1 shaq and so few other real centers (sorry, ziggy and yao); this second factor has led teams to just put out their best 5 guys, run a lot, and try to outscore bigger teams (like phoenix is doing) or shoot LOTS of threes and, um, try to outscore bigger teams (like seattle is doing). These trends make for a more aesthetically pleasing game, whilst the fact remains that the 2 best defensive teams in the league (spurs and pistons) remain the favorites to win the title. I know this has run on for a while, but there seem to be very few NBA fans left, so I try to tell people that the game has improved and encourage them to start watching again.

Oh, and I have a few bucks on UConn to repeat; they have experience (even without okafor and gordon), the best frontcourt depth, and their point guard is great.

Scott

[crule81]

I can see how some could be turned off by the defense, but I think basketball is different than hockey. If you notice the teams that are good at defense, San Antonio and Detroit, for example, there are not that many fouls committed although most shots are well contested. To the casual viewer, the Pistons-Nets and Pistons-Pacers series may have been tough to watch, but the defense that was played may have been the best ever. I think blocked shots and hard rebounds are much more exciting than uncontested long range jump shots.

I too am from (and still live) outside of Detroit, so I guess I also grew up with a defensive basketball mindset.

[coffeezombie]

Yeah, how can anybody think that Ben Wallace or Tayshaun Prince going up to swat a shot down isn't exciting basketball? Of course, basketball isn't really my sport, but I'll watch the Pistons when the playoffs come around.

[sbw]

Where up north, coffee? (I used to live in gaylord)

Scott

[sbw]

the spurs and pistons are definitely fun to watch; they execute on offense and play fabulous team defense...the problems came from every team in the league (who didn't have as much talent as the present spurs and pistons) playing the same style of slow-down and defense, only most of them didn't have shooters or playmakers (again, like 5 years ago, when the league sucked)...I think that a balance of teams playing different styles makes for a more interesting league (and playoff season); for instance, phoenix is like 45-18 and none of the "experts" think they can win the title. Should be interesting come playoff time...

Scott

[coffeezombie]

Where up north, coffee? (I used to live in gaylord)


I'm in Traverse City and grew up here too. Not a bad town except in the summer when it is flooded with tourists.

[MacGuffin]

Thanks a lot SEC! LSU and Alabama - two Sweet 16 picks down the tubes.

Damn rednecks.

[Solo]

Thanks a lot SEC! LSU and Alabama - two Sweet 16 picks down the tubes.

Damn rednecks.

:rofl: I don't think anyone ever has a perfect bracket.

[sbw]

So much for my uconn-to-repeat pick.

Scott

[MacGuffin]

In the Syracuse bracket, I had every team right except Bucknell after the first round. After the second, I only have UNC left.

Lost Wake, now down to three Final 4 picks.

[sbw]

I actually picked vermont to beat cuse, but then I lost wake and uconn. So I'm done.

Scott