Sleeper teams to make Sweet 16, Elite 8, or Final 4.......

[Franky Wright]

Im going to start this thread in here, since some might use this info for bracket work. Tourney starts in less than three weeks, and this is as good as time as any to help your fellow Mad Jacker with good info. One thing I dont want in this thread is a "fan" pumping up "their" team. That belongs in a different forum :violin: Lets keep this in the handicapping mode .
My intial thoughts:

Final Four or Elite 8:
Tennessee, definetly a darkhorse for final four
Pittsburgh, tough all around, conference speaks for itself
North Carolina, the kids have grown up fast
Texas, seem to play down or up to the competition
LSU, holding there own in tough league
George Mason, scrappy, tough matchup
Illinois, too much experience to not be considered
UCLA: playing some great ball recently

Sweet 16:
Nevada, depends on the draw, like so many of these teams
Hofstra, Long shot........
Iona, Very long shot :scared

This is a start for me. Obviously the Dukes, Villanovas, UConns are not on this list for obvious reasons. I hope we can expand this thread as we get closer to tourney time, and to pull some great iinfo

Franky

 

[block044]

a lot of it comes down to game matchups and pairing, but at first glance i think you missed a couple of not so long shots in kansas, california, iowa, michigan state...and maybe i'm a big ten slappy but even ohio state could have a shot depending on matchups...west virginia can beat anyone and lose to anyone, justa couple off the top of my head

 

[Wise and Wiser]

I think Ohio State is going to make some noise in the tournament. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Buckeyes in the Final Four!

 

[Steve's plays]

Surpise Final 4 team - ohio st.
Elite 8- Kansas
Sweet 16 team- Bradley

 

[block044]

bradley is rolling but do they have the record to get in?

 

[nchiappetta]

Sweet 16:

Wichita State
George Mason
Utah State
(SW) Missouri State
California

Elite 8:

Pitt
LSU
Michigan State
North Carolina
Kansas
UCLA

Final 4 (tough one, could only think of one):

Ohio State

 

[pshaps]

heh.. i go to Bradley.. no way we make it to the sweet sixteen. As far as getting in the tournament... there is a good chance.. if Bradley beats drake at home and wins at least one MVC tournament game there is like an 80% we are in.

Bradley looks real good on paper, but in real life they would never have a chance against any big named schools, unless O'byrant scores like 30 pts and grabs 20 rebounds in the game.

Look for NOVA, Michigan St., Ohio St., and West Virigina in the final 4.

and definitly atleast one MVC team in the sweet sixteen/elite 8.

 

[gman2]

to even MAKE the tournament, bradley is going to have to win the mvc tournament. and navigating that minefield is a task in itself. their non-conference schedule was loaded with other midmajors so they have no resume whatsoever. theyre a talented team but they will be in the NIT barring the auto bid for the mvc tourney title.

 

[gjn23]

heh.. i go to Bradley.. no way we make it to the sweet sixteen. As far as getting in the tournament... there is a good chance.. if Bradley beats drake at home and wins at least one MVC tournament game there is like an 80% we are in.

Bradley looks real good on paper, but in real life they would never have a chance against any big named schools, unless O'byrant scores like 30 pts and grabs 20 rebounds in the game.

Look for NOVA, Michigan St., Ohio St., and West Virigina in the final 4.

and definitly atleast one MVC team in the sweet sixteen/elite 8.

that's a lot of three point shooting only type of teams to reach the final 4(nova, ohio st, wvu).....think nova has a real chance.

as far a darkhorses:

tenn, mich state for the final 4

with the right draw and likely low seed, arizona can make the sweet 16 (but they need to see a 3 seed in round 2....if they are an 8-9, little chance they can win that game and beat a 1 seeded duke-uconn)

with the right draw sdsu could also make some noise and win a game or possibly 2

 

[gman2]

with the right draw sdsu could also make some noise and win a game or possibly 2

with a BAD draw they could win a game or two. that team has big time talent. of course, with more losses like they one they siffered to byu the other night, the mountain west might be another one-bid conference so theyre gonna have to win that tourney just to get in. but sdsu is a very good basketball team

 

[Dr. Fade]

I'll donate a kidney if George Mason makes it to the Sweet Sixteen. Kansas is rolling right now and would not surprise me @ all to see them in Final Four. They are currently the 4th or 5th best team in the country right now in my opinion. Arizona has talent and should win out- their final 3 games are at home. I doubt anyone would be real excited about drawing Zona as a 10 seed.

My Final Four:

Duke
UCONN
UCLA
Kansas

Duke to win it all (despite the fact I hate Dook)

 

[Franky Wright]

Fellas, remember it says SLEEPER teams to get there!
I think nchiappetta has it down correctly . I dont want/need to know the obvious teams. Any disscusion about each team is heavily encouraged however!

I'll donate a kidney if George Mason makes it to the Sweet Sixteen.
My Final Four:
Duke
UCONN
UCLA
Kansas
Duke to win it all (despite the fact I hate Dook)

I'll donate a kidney back if UCONN doesn't make the final four :violin:

Block044,
I agree about being Big 10 happy, as I get to watch almost all of them live at one time or another. Just dont see MSU or Iowa making it to the Elite8, but an "easy" pick for the 16. Ohio State however is certainly a dark horse/sleeper.

Franky

 

[gjn23]

with a BAD draw they could win a game or two. that team has big time talent. of course, with more losses like they one they siffered to byu the other night, the mountain west might be another one-bid conference so theyre gonna have to win that tourney just to get in. but sdsu is a very good basketball team

somewhat agree.....if the aztecs win their last 2 vs nm and wyo and finish the reg season in 1st with a 13 conf wins and 2 games clear of 2nd and make the tourney final.....they MAY get an at-large bid.......i wouldnt bank on that so winnig the conf tourney would be in their best interest but getting in as an 11-12 seed they could post problems for a 5-6 seed

 

[gjn23]

i guess bucknell qualifies as a sleeper and they might make a run to the sweet 16.....but if they get over-seeded (8-9) they they have littel chance vs a 1 seed like duke or uconn

think they are better served as a 10-11 seed

 

[payne034]

West Virginia is always a good pick for another elite 8 run or even final four. Their style of play is hard to match up with as they are never out of a game.

Alabama is my sleeper team in the sweet 16. They are short handed but can make noise come a tournament with their two big men and ronald steele. Jean Felix is one of the most underrated defensive players as he contained two of the best players in Ronnie Brewer and Chris Lofton in the last two games.

 

[MrSports]

take texas off of there, they dont impress me one bit!! Tenn, Ohio St and Pitt could make nice runs

 

[Franky Wright]

Im going to start this thread in here, since some might use this info for bracket work. Tourney starts in less than three weeks, and this is as good as time as any to help your fellow Mad Jacker with good info. One thing I dont want in this thread is a "fan" pumping up "their" team. That belongs in a different forum :violin: Lets keep this in the handicapping mode .
My intial thoughts:
Final Four or Elite 8:
Tennessee, definetly a darkhorse for final four
Pittsburgh, tough all around, conference speaks for itself
North Carolina, the kids have grown up fast
Texas, seem to play down or up to the competition
LSU, holding there own in tough league
George Mason, scrappy, tough matchup
Illinois, too much experience to not be considered
UCLA: playing some great ball recently
Sweet 16:
Nevada, depends on the draw, like so many of these teams
Hofstra, Long shot........
Iona, Very long shot :scared
This is a start for me. Obviously the Dukes, Villanovas, UConns are not on this list for obvious reasons. I hope we can expand this thread as we get closer to tourney time, and to pull some great iinfo Franky

:SIB :SIB :SIB

I still like my teams, although as some have pointed out, I definetly missed Ohio State :scared .
Anyways, the regular season is over, and thought we should resurrect this from the bowels to get some more insight. Selection Sunday=6 days and counting :com:
Franky

 

[Jayhawk_Thor]

A Big 12 team that nobody is talking about is Texas A&M. This team is flying very far below the radar and could easily make the Sweet 16.

They play tough, have talent, and are well coached...

 

[C-A-T-S]

I think Arkansas, Marquette, UAB, Cinci, and Florida State all have a good shot of atleast making the sweet 16. I think Ark. has won 5 or 6 straight, Marq. is tough when Novak is on, UAB can run somebody's ass off, Cinci has good size and toughness, and Florida St. is athletic as hell and can play pretty good D.

 

[C-A-T-S]

I also agree with Texas A&M. I would like to have that coach at UK. They've been tough lately.