<p>I think we should collaborate all talk about the upcoming tournament into one thread. I have a feeling basketball might dominate the posts for the next couple of weeks, especially since Duke is favored to go very far as the #1 overall seed. Let the madness begin!</p>
<p>Round 1: #1 Duke vs. #16 Southern</p>
<p>Shouldn't be a problem.</p>
<p>Heh, basketball dominating the posts is one thing... just imagine how it will be down at Duke! I'm so excited for the next couple of weeks. I think for me, a Duke v. UConn or Duke v. UNC championship would be amazing (with Duke winning, of course :)). But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. I agree that Southern shouldn't be a problem.</p>
<p>My sentiments bounce back and forth between "Go Duke!!!!" and "Please don't **** this up." Sometimes I think both at the same time. :p</p>
<p>Okay, I'm trying to educate myself here. What is Southern, exactly?</p>
<p>Southern is just some little college who got in because they won their conference. I'm not degrading Southern, but Duke should destroy them. I don't think that UNC Duke will happen. I've actually got UNC marked to lose first round to Murray State. UNC is too young and MSU is too fast for UNC to handle. Duke better watch out for UNC-Wilm as well; they are a dangerous team.</p>
<p>More people on Yahoo picked Penn to advance to the Sweet 16 than picked UNC-Wilmington. If Pops is back, GW in a romp over UNCW, then Duke should really worry about Pops and Co. LSU and Cuse both aren't very impressive, I'd be more worried about GW than either of those two.</p>
<p>I think even with pops back, UNC-W has the advantage. UNC-W is playing in Greensboro. GW has not impressed me or the committee. It has a very weak SOS being out of the A10. I don't know what to make of Cuse at this point. They do have quite a bit of momentum, but I don't know how much longer they can be lucky. TAMU has also been playin very well near the end of the season.<br>
I have Boston College in the Final Four. I've seen a few of their games this year and been very impressed. There are many stars on that team: Smith, Dudley, Marshall, Williams. But BC has never been a great tourney team under Al Skinner. What do you all think?</p>
<p>I also have BC in my Final Four. I also think North Carolina will go pretty far. They are young, but they're not inexperienced anymore; they know how to win.</p>
<p>I think that even if UNC beats Murray, they must face a very tough MSU team. MSU is hard to defend because all five players are very good: Ager, Trannon, Brown, Neitzel, and Davis.<br>
Also, what do you think of LSU. That whole LSU/Cuse/TAMU is really bothering me. No team stands out.</p>
<p>I love the Murray State Racers</p>
<p>I think Paul Davis deserves more credit for being the best player ever. Actually, second best player ever. The honor of best player ever goes to Boston College's Sean Williams, offensive superstar. He can beat you on offense in a variety of ways, such as dunking and making 70% of his layups.</p>
<p>I have Duke vs Pitt and UNC vs BC as my final four. Then I have Duke vs UNC for the championship. I think its gonna happen, cuz if it did that would be crazy!!! I have Duke winning by a last second reddick three to make it 84-81.</p>
<p>and if that happened north carolina would rip in 2</p>
<p>duke v uconn in the finals... DUKE is gonna win by 1 with an at the buzzer shot JJ REDICK!</p>
<p>Duke, Indiana (still deciding), BC, and Mich St (might change also) are my final four teams. Duke for obvious reasons, Indiana because Mike Davis has got them to play the last couple of weeks, and I see a couple upsets for the Hoosiers to not have to play a really difficult team, and Killingsworth is a stud. BC for the same reasons as Indiana, weak teams and I see Nova getting upset by Wisconsin, a better team than Indiana, has a greater chance of making it to the final four, and smith is a go-to kind of guy. Mich St because they have 3 guys avgs at least 18 points a game, a triple threat.</p>
<p>UNCW will beat GW in the first round
first- the game is in greensboro.
also, UNCW plays in a better conference and has many more quality opponents (Hofstra, GMU, Old Dominion, VCU, and even Drexel which took Duke to the final minutes in the preseason NIT)
Out of conference they won at Butler, at Wyoming, and at Northwestern and lost by 3 at Wisconsin. GW played one meaningful out of conference game and lost to NC State by 18. Also, the health of Pops Mensah Bonsu is very questionable, and GW showed they really arent capable of playing up to the same level without him.</p>
<p>That said, Duke will not have trouble with UNCW in the 2nd round, and they should advance to the elite eight following a close win over syracuse, where they would meet texas again, since I really dont like Iowa matching up with texas and I think WVU will lose to Southern Illinois in the first round due to them not being able to get open shots against the SIU defense, which is one of the best</p>
<p>I also dont like Indiana at all. Marcus Slaughter of SDSU can match up with Killingsworth and then all the Hoosiers are is an outside shooting team while SDSU has Brandon Heath, MWC player of the year, and Richie Williams, who can both penetrate. SDSU is one of the more underrated teams nationally and will beat Indiana</p>
<p>Marcus Slaughter is a man and a half. And you have to root for anyone with eyebrows like Brandon Heath. I have SDSU over Indiana.</p>
<p>My Final Four goes
West Virginia (They FIRE. Plus Kevin Pittsnogle grew up dreaming of becoming a Mountaineer, he will not let them lose!!!)
Gonzaga (Memphis and UCLA are the weakest 1 and 2 respectively. Adam Morrison is a force)
UConn (This team is enormous. The top 6 average over 6'7, and Brookline High product Jeff Adrien is coming on strong)
Boston College (This team poses obvious matchup problems against Villanova, and Ohio State is not that good)</p>
<p>Final Four: Duke, Gonzaga, UConn, BC. Duke over UConn in the final...despite how blatantly cliche that seems. Duke brings it in March (Duh) and despite UConn's recent loss they'll bring it too.</p>
<p>I don't think UNC's a mature enough team to beat MSU, so I'm calling them out inthe 2nd round. </p>
<p>No one picking Nova?</p>
<p>Nova has never impressed me in the tourney. I know they almost won last year, but still. However, I do hear that Ray will play. I just think that BC is the more complete team in that bracket.</p>