March Madness
 

Anyone interested in a Bracket challenge?

http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/frontpage

im just hoping GaTech goes far, and Illinois loses to the first ACC team they play.

I'm sure there will be some contests going on.. I always fill out the bracket.. I guess we could do it similar to the football pool.

Woo, i cant wait! Im sure the Illini will go the distance, but you never know.

There are some really interesting matchups with this years tournament. I think you'll see one big time team fall pretty quickly. Hopefully, it won't be Duke. Anyway, I guess we need someone to set this thing up here on the TFP. I don't have time to set it up so .. if there are any volunteer's.. step up :thumbsup:

yahoo! has a tournament game that we could participate in.

does it cost to play??

CBS Sportsline has a similar one... you can setup a group of just your people, and invite people to pick their teams... .it's good fun...
http://www.sportsline.com/fantasy


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I'm so keeping my fingers crossed that Fairly Ridicuous (ooops, I mean Fairleigh Dickinson) beats the stuffing out of Illinios.. It's kinda cool to see the little teams that come out of nowhere and do great things...

OK, I can dream... :D

nope, it's free. :thumbsup:

ok well let's set up a tfp one then :D

created a group
name tfp
pass tfp

Which site?

If that's a yahoo group we need the group ID #... Not the group name.

ESPN tournament challange
http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/frontpage

name tfp there is no password, sorry for being unclear earlier

ok I'm in there.. can't wait to see how it shakes down

Here's hoping the Tar Heels can win it all!

R

thanks to a few mild upsets my brackets are now completely fucked heh


So far there have been some good games though. The Nevada game was great. I thought Wake Forest was going to choke for a little while but the big guns showed up in the second half. I'm looking forward to the Charlotte vs NC State game today. Should be a good one.

Looks like the TFP pool is pretty even so far.. today should be a seperation day. We'll see though

cant believe LSU and Alabama lost

yeah, my bracket is already garbage. and now that nearly all the first-round scores are in, i feel stupid at some of the picks i made... but isn't that always the case? :)

i'd like to nominate UNC for the "most impressive team" award thus far. almost every other high-seeded team had trouble early on in their first-round game, but UNC utterly destroyed oakland. i'm glad i picked them to be in the final... but i still think illinois will heat up the next couple weeks and beat them for the NC.

Well, I guess Vermont can be known for three things:

1. Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream

2. Gay Marriage

3. A first round upset of #4 Syracuse

HA! I have Vermont in my Sweet 16. :)

Man, just watched Kansas lose by the hair on their overrated chinny-chin-chins to Bucknell.

The funny thing is, my friend is from Kansas and I've been razzing him about how the Jayhawks always underachieve. I told him that they'd lose for sure in the second round.

Heh.

yah, kansas sucks

but syracuse losing really fucked up my bracket, had them in the elite 8 and sweet 16 in two brackets, blah

I wish I could say I hate to say this but.....the SEC is not as good as Bill Raftery likes to make you think it is. :D March madness + UAB = another SEC team bites out early.

ooh, had this TT/Gonzaga game right, but i dont need OK bowing out early (typical big 12)...

awful brackets, and great games. I would rather see mad upsets then win, or thats what i tell myself to sleep at night

WOW. that WVU/WF game was awesome... you could tell neither team wanted to go home. i haven't seen such a hard-fought game in a long time.

Dear Syracuse and Gonzaga,

I had the confidence in your programs to put you guys all the way to Final Four. Thanks for playing like shit and bowing out early. You cost me $20.

Sincerely,
Someone who's bracket in shambles

P.S. I did pick Bucknell over Kansas and whatever consolation that gives me.

How about them upsets!! holy shit!! KU out in the first round to Bucknell? who?? That will help that Wisconsin team.....maybe!!!

My bracket is all but done. Two of my Final Four picks are already out. Crap.

My best bracket i got 8 out of 16. Its been real bad

It's been a wild ride so far. Duke looks really shaky at this point but knowing Coach K he'll have something in store for the next round. He better wake Reddick up or they'll be done. I couldn't believe WF lost to WV. I've known all year that WF was over-rated but come'on. They should have wiped the floor with WV. I think Carolina and Arizona are playin the best ball right now. Will Carolina do the patented choke? We'll see.

WV just got on a roll and was led by a skinny white kid -- this is what makes the tourney great. As soon as Chris Paul fouled out, WF looked depleted and done. I'm really hoping for a Illinois-Arizona match-up in Elite 8.

I have Illinois vs Arizona in the 8 in one of my brackets. That would be a good game to watch. I think 'Zona can take them. It won't be a blow out but Illinois has been over-rated all year. It's kinda funny when I go to the espn homepage. All the experts have at least one pick that's gone for the final four.. all mine are intact atm. Maybe they should hire me heh

Why should they have wiped the floor with WV?

Wipe the floor with a WV team that won 6 games against opponents who were ranked in the top 25. WV who beat number one seeded BC in the opening round of the big east tournament, and then won another game to make it to the finals of that tournament. If anything, March Madness should show the broad spectrum of talent throughout college basketball. You call Wake Forest overrated, yet are surprised they didn't wipe the floor with a good WV team. Boggles my mind.

I can call them over-rated in the big picture..but they have more pieces than WV does. They had the fire power and they definately had the inside power. The first half proved that. I'm not saying that WV is a suck-ass team at all. I'm just saying that WF is a better team <i>on paper</i> There are plenty of other things to boggle your mind than my statement. March Madness does show the broad spectrum of talent..but let's face it..an upset is an upset.

first, please tell me how a team can lose one game all year and be over-rated... everyone else has at least 3 times as many losses as illinois.

and all those experts who are missing a pick for the final four chose WF, which was NOT a bad choice. according to their latest poll, less than 19% of people still have their final four choices entact, while almost 45% have only 3 remaining and 31% have only 2 remaining... so it's not like those experts made ignorant choices.

wow, how bout that... 3 big ten teams in the elite 8. pretty impressive, no? :)

alrite...Duke just screwed me up.

Thought about starting a new thread with this but hey...this one was already titled March Madness :D

Kentucky fans, actress Ashley Judd, left, cheers with her friend, Los Angeles playwright Jenny McGrath during Kentucky's game against Utah.
(Photo by AP Photo/Eric Gay)

http://cmsimg.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs...xH=380Border=0

ok thats it can we nip this acc so much better then the big ten thing in the bud i have been saying all season and laughed at as a nut that the big ten is the better conferance ....but what do i know i am just a hoosier well now you can all bite my shiny metal ass....the big ten has 3 teams in the elite 8 thats the best of any conferance inculding the acc. and i stand by the statement that the big ten is the better conferance.

The conference with the national champion is the better conference. At least, for the year they are.

i dont know, the acc did not perform up to my expecations this year.... apart from nc-state & unc, i think everyone has underachieved. how did duke lose to MSU, a team they beat soundly at MSU earlier this year. how did wake, possibly the most talented team in america, lose to WVU? how did maryland not beat clemson ONCE this year and get to the ncaa (where it could have potentially done a lot of damage)? georgia tech just ran into a buzz-saw, and with jack injured early in the louisville game, well, there was no chance....

but always next year

and my bracket, ps, is still doing really well. apart from losing wake in one bracket in the final four and in the finals in another, i still have illinois, unc, and kentucky alive, with unc winning in both brackets....

excuses arcross the borad


how about this the acc is not the best conferance in the country and is majorly over rated like i have been saying all year



duke did not cursh msu at home early this year they won by five in a close game to the end and msu figured them out .....pluse duke is not very deep.


and how about the big ten is major underrated.

jesus christ... i can barely watch this wisconsin/unc game. i've never heard such biased announcing in my life. both announcers are fucking in love with sean may.

is anyone else hearing this??

i want to know where all the big ten bashers are


i mean the big ten only has hafl the final four teams


come on you bashers come out now and eat crow .

You cant say he didn't play an amazing game :p , but then again I might be a little biased, he is probably my favorite college player out there. I just think there is a team left on the tournament who has a true answer to May, but I may be wrong.

i'm not denying he played well... but there were many, many instances where they were blatently rooting for may and unc. for example, when may committed one of his fouls, one announcer said "oh come on, just let it go..." like they knew it was a foul but were pissed at the refs for doing anything against their precious love interest.

anyway, despite that poor display of professionalism... it was very fun watching the games today. i'm glad the finals aren't till next weekend... i need a break from these heart-pounding finishes. :)

go big ten!!

FUCK. UConn is out on both genders.

jeez! my brackets are now completely destroyed. UNC and Illinois are my only hope.. and I hate both of them. How the fuck did 'Zona choke that badly? As far as the ACC being over-rated.. bullshit. The ACC is the top conference in the nation. We just choked when it counted. Don't get me wrong I'm not bashing the Big Ten, but I think the ACC is better as a whole. Duke isn't deep.. obviously; wait till you see what's coming in next year though. Just you wait :D

Damn I was in third place, in the money in my office pool, before Arizona and Kentucky lost. Now I'm in 16th place out of 17 and I have no teams left.

Agreed. For some reason I just love watching ACC ball, they are so competitive and downright amazing.

I will admit it though, the Big 10 definately suprized me, I thought they were somewhat of a joker conference to start out (with the obvious Illinios exception). I am definately eating crow on that one.

This is hysterical reading some of the first posts.


and for the record I have 3/4 in the final four and i'm in the Tournament Challenge but I doubt I'll win. I'm from michigan and I want MSU to burn in hell for fucking up my bracket. heh.

guys this is the old show time lakers v the old bird mand celtics....guess what a good work ethic and great d witch the big ten is as good as any one in the nation then you have a great team ......there my be a change in culture that is happening in basketball but its not all bout the dunk and the three like acc teams seem to belive



the big had 3 of the 8 elite 8 teams


msu the big tens 3rd best team beat duke the second best team in the acc so if the acc is so much better then teh big ten then what did msu get lucky i dont by that as they also beat ketucky and with there defense


i will grant this the bottom of the big ten was bad this year no quesiton but so was the bottom of the acc


no the acc is not the best conferance in the country how many elite 8 teams did the acc have 2 and they are teams loaded with at the end of the season nba players


give the big ten its props they clearly have been better then the acc this season


or at least at tourment time when it counts .



you know here is what you causual acc backers cause dickie vie told you to dont seem to understand



us hoosiers are not just fans this is life year round


we will see on duke for next year i dont buy any thing intill i have seen them in at least a pre regular season game.




all of this said how about we break this down shall we how did the "great acc teams" do this year in the tourny. and head to head againist my big ten at least when the acc managed to advoid upsets in the early rounds nothing the big ten can do about that


ok lets start with wisconsion v nc state ....gee um ah yes nc state lost go poor poor acc.


ah how about msu v duke .....o yes msu won that one in reguerlation.


wake forest did not manage to make it past 7 seed west by god virgina.
but piror to the tourny many of you acc backers had wake maiking it all the way.


and ga tech ah yes made it to the second round great work

and ok there was one one acc team that barely beat a big ten team and guess what ....that was the acc one againist the big ten 2 in a tight one to the finish where some inexperiance showed.


ok so in the head to head games the big ten lost one againist the acc and won 2 and has 3 or the eight elitie eitght teams and 2 of the final four and heck it was nearly fucking 3 if you watched the unc wisconson game. o look right there the great and powerful acc got upset twice i dont see any big ten upsets you know why cause the acc is major overrated

some one can delete this or not what every accendital double post.

Yes, because we all know that a one year sample generally tells the story. Give me a break. If UNC wins it all, they'll beat 1 or 2 more Big Ten teams, making the ACC the conference with the last man standing. But sure, if you want to talk about records, the Big Ten did do well this year.

But to claim it's the better conference? That's just absurd.

Let's hear it for the big ten! They had a great year and since they've only had one good year that automatically puts them as the best conference in the nation! :rolleyes:

Dragon2Fire: Why do you think that ACC fans are *only* fans during this time of the season? Obviously you don't understand that Duke Vs. Carolina is a <b>CONSTANT</b> state of mind and rivalry. It's also the best rivalry in the country. Who gives a fuck about Dickie V. I couldn't care less about what he says or tries to analyze.

I'll give credit where it's due. The Big Ten did out-perform the ACC when it counted. There's no doubt about that. Let's face it though. The tournament isn't always an accurate measuring device of top conference(s). If that were the case then you'd never see upsets and the tournament would be boring. It's just not like that.

As far as Duke is concerned. We were picked at pre-season to be #4 in the ACC. We were supposed to suck. We weren't supposed to get a #1 seed. I think Duke finished about where they should have considering they have no depth and have had a lot of injuries. They have a wicked recruiting class coming in next year though. We'll see how that goes.

Cheer for the conference you like, but don't be dillusional. The ACC <b>IS</b> the power conference in the Nation.

I can't wait till when a few years from now the ACC will be the power conference in Basketball and Football.

Well, god dammit, Kentucky lost. I wish we would have been beaten by 20 than the way we were beaten. I think the problem was that we had a freshman point guard.

Does anybody else see Louisville as a strong possibility for the championship???

speaking of absurdity ACC THE power conference in football? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.

definately not right now..but I see it becoming very dominant in a few years. Miami, Florida St., BC (who is getting their program on the right track) Va. Tech ( their QB core is sick) NC State ( great coach) that is enough for an argument that it could become a great conference.

so i guess your subjective opinion provides a more accurate assessment? :rolleyes:

here are the final four teams since 1999:

1999 Connecticut, Duke, Michigan St., Ohio St.
2000 Michigan St., Florida, North Carolina, Wisconsin
2001 Duke, Arizona, Maryland, Michigan St.
2002 Maryland, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma
2003 Syracuse, Kansas, Marquette, Texas
2004 Connecticut, Georgia Tech, Duke, Oklahoma St.
2005 Illinois, Louisville, UNC, Michigan St.

ACC - 8
Big Ten - 8
Big XII - 5
Big East - 3 (but all three were NCs)

i'm not really seeing how your precious ACC conference has proved their alleged dominance, in this year or the previous 5 before it. and if you want to go back even further... lets look at NCs. UCLA alone has more NCs than all the ACC teams combined. does that make the Pac-ten the best conference in the nation?

my point is, you are the one who seems dillusional. you're claiming a dominance over the other conferences that simply doesn't exist... and on top of that, you PREDICT THE FUTURE. i don't know how someone could get any more dillusional than that.

So.. what you're saying is that we're overrated because we have just as many Final Four Teams as the Big Ten? I'm just sick of hearing how over-rated the ACC is. It's the toughest conference to play in. Yeah I predict the future.. who doesn't?

no, i never said that the ACC is over-rated... i brought up the final four teams to show that the ACC hasn't dominated like you would like to believe it has. therefore, it's ridiculous to claim that they are definitively the best conference in the nation.

it's fine if you think the ACC is the best conference, but you seem to believe everyone else needs to think it as well... and that is where i have a problem. we could look at stats and argue this all day long, but it still comes down to subjective opinions. i like to think that the big ten is the best conference, but i'm not going to demand everyone agree with that statement.

I'm not forcing anything on anyone.. maybe my words gave that impression but I'm not. I do think the ACC is the toughest but like you said, that's my opinion. My 'dillusional' statement was a little over the top. I'll take that one back.

thank yhou dirty rascal i was about to do a final four break down but you beat me to


guccilvr i dont see big ten people claiming to be not only the best conferance but the most dominat conferance in the past ten years unlike acc people and yet the records speak for its self


the acc is not the greatest conferance in basketball just admit it

could nto agree more.

why would I admit that?? that would be crazy

these posts are absurd and stupid. first, i never have said a word about the big ten.

second, duke was an overachiever, and overrated, for most of the season. we knew jj reddick wasnt going to take a team to the final four.

wake, simply put, fucked up. wvu ended up being a pretty good team in this tourny though, and were very, very close to being in the final four.

maryland, if had been in the tourny, maybe could have been an elite 8 team.

but, i think its going to come down to unc running over msu and illinois doing the same to louisville...... to get that big ten acc final we've all be waiting for and that can settle things once and for all

I'm a Duke fan..and you're completely right. I never expected them to get very far in the tourny.

I hope we do see UNC vs. Illinois.. but I'm betting that Louisville beats Illinois

maryland give me a break maybe mabye sweet sixteen no way a elite eight .....you say that about maryland i will say the same dam thing about indiana who beat msu at the end of the year and i seem to recall took unc down to the wire at asembly hall.

MSU is an amazing school and we've been given no love whatsoever in the past years. 4 Final Fours in the past 7 years? Come on now. We are a presence to be reckoned with in college basketball. 6th team ever to have both Men and Women's teams in the Final Four? It's an amazing time to be a Spartan.

/Go Green!

I give MSU credit, its not easy to get up and go to practice after your weekly tuesday night kegger and its especially hard for the basketball team to practice in the warm weather months because you have to chase all that cattle that roam your campus off of the outdoor courts. They really are something amazing.


/U of M may suck at basketball but they own you at everything else

lunchbox:
That was an impressive game your hockey team had against CC.

trust me on this anyone that really knows basketball....so not alot of people....and anyone that follows the big ten inculding this iu fan....knows just how great the msu program has been.....i just wish it was you guys rooting for us cause we were one of only a couple of big ten teams left and not the other way around.

well... crap.

i'm disappointed (as a viewer) that both games weren't even close, but i'm very disappointed (as a big ten fan) that msu stunk it up so much in the second half. they did great in the first half, but they should've known they had to step it up even more in the second half... or at the very least... make some damn baskets! no one is going to win making only 34% from the field. blah.

called this one, still in contention for ESPNs tournament challenge.

how many points do you have so far in your best bracket?

i have 1150 in my best, and i picked illinois to beat unc 79-74.

same, 1150 I picked illinois to beat unc but im not going to say the score because honestly, I just looked at who was good and who had a good history in the tourney. I never really watched college basketball prior to this year so I had no idea what a typical score would be. So I'll lose out on that. oh well nice run for a guy who's not an avid fan, eh?

Well looks like we'll finally be able to settle things :D Can't wait to see the outcome it should be a good game.

Terrible terrible game on Illinois's part, sure I'll give 'em credit for doing a hell of a lot better in the second half than the first, but then they choked when it really counted. Ugh...what a shitty night.

Sean May is a beast!

That is all.

The National Championship game was outstanding. Both teams displayed a tremendous amount of skill and grit. I think the refs did a substandard job both ways, but that’s nothing new for college basketball. Any team would have a hard time beating UNC when Sean May in a groove, but to go 10/11 and put the Illinois big men in foul trouble, kudos to Illinois for battling back. Not only did May shoot great from the field, he passed very well out of the post to set up his teammates for three point opportunities (they cashed in shooting over 50% from downtown). Illinois seems to adapt well. They rarely shoot poorly, or trail big in a game, but they still came out and did everything in their power to win the game. Super effort from both teams, it was an enjoyable game to watch.

I'm going to say Illinois lost it North Carolina didn't really win it. Sean May may be a beast, but the most valuable player in the tournament was Daron Williams. He shut down everyone he guarded. Sorry North Carolina fans.

that was a great game, but i'm bitter about 2 things...

1. illinois should've played that final minute a lot smarter... they didn't need a 3 until the final 0:25, but they just couldn't help themselves.

2. the fucking cbs announcers need to get over their love-affair with sean may and unc. i'm glad the tourney is over b/c i don't think i could've sat through another game of that crap. i bet if it were up to them, they'd name an entire month after sean may.... oh wait. :)

other than that... all i have to say is congrats to unc.

Yeah, im a little bummed about the loss but hey, what are you gonna do. Good rally for Illinois but they just couldnt stop May. I thought they were gonna let Williams take some threes instead of passing it to Head all the time. Williams was draining them 5/5 during that second. Ehh, Good game i guess.

Sean May is a COMPLETE haus!! I can't get enough of his great play, I think he was deserving of leading his team to the title as well as winning MOP.

Alright deron played great, but you can't say he deserved it more than May who was the leading scorer and rebounder in the entire tournament.

/turn off Sean May praise

I thought both teams played great, giving us all that we expected from this game form the beginning of the year. Illinois could beat UNC on any given night, as UNC could beat Illinois...thats what I love about basketball. :D

well palamidian, I'd be willing to bet without sean may someone else on UNC would have stepped it up. Without Daron Williams, there's no way Illinois goes that far. He was the most valuable to his team. I'm not trying to short change May, Daron Williams just carried that team.

The game was ok. It definately wasn't the greatest I've seen. Besides the fact that I fuckin hate Carolina and I can't stand Roy Williams, they did play well and they deserved to win. Carolina will be hurting next year. I think you'll see 2 or 3 big players leave for the NBA. Carolina doesn't have the recruiting class coming in that they would like. All I have to say is Congrats Carolina but next year ol' Roy will be crying like a baby again.

GO HEELS!

May announced today that he's staying, but I suspect we'll have a couple leave.

But why the hatred for Carolina and Roy?

it was a good, but not great game...got kinda spoiled from the Elite 8 games, though...congrats to UNC...woulda preferred the Illini win, since I had them beating Carolina in my brackets

dude I'm a Duke fan :D

someone told me that Roy Williams was the best coach ever.. I couldn't help but laugh in his face..

OK, fair enough. I hate Duke :D

GO HEELS!

so... wait, what conference is UNC from?

i swore people were talking up the big 10 for a while, but, i could swear...

now i may not be sure... but...

i think unc is in the acc?

Yes UNC is in the ACC .. ;)

Meh. 1 acc team in the final four, 2 big ten. Oh but I forgot, the ACC is better because Dickey V says so.

Fuck Dickey V.

There was 1 ACC team in the Final Four.. and 2 Big Ten teams.. so the Big Ten had the better chance of winning..yet the ACC team won.

that automagically makes the ACC the better conference. hooray!

glad to see you've found the light lunchbox