Tourney thoughts and picks

airportis

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First thought looking for upsets is that I see Wofford being the 'sexy' upset pick this year.

But I dont like it.

Sure Wofford is tough and can grind you down, but I look at their schedule and see them having lots of trouble with College Of Charleston, who has 1 star player, Andrew Goudelock. Goudelock is good, but hes no Fredette, and while I think BYU is 1 and done, I don't see them losing this game with the rest they will have. Sure the Cougars got smoked by San Diego State, but now they'll have time to rest their star and be more than ready for Wofford.

Wofford is suspect on defense and the only advantage they will have is in the paint with Dahlman.

BYU will be too much from outside for Wofford to get this upset.

I'm not buying Wofford over BYU.


:nono:
 

airportis

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Gonzaga over St Johns.

The 1st upset I REALLY like.

DJ Kennedy is out for Johnnies and that will hurt. He is an all around very good player. On offense, on the glass, and on defense. He is also the 2nd best free throw shooter on the team.

The Zags didn't look very impressive early in the year, but they got things rolling at the right time and this is a team I think a lot more people should be talking about.

The 7 footer Sacre will cause loads of matchup problems for the Johnnies. The tallest player the Johnnies really use is 6'8".

For the Johnnies to win, I would think they would need to get extremely hot from outside and need big games from Hardy and Horne.

The Johnnies might also be their own worst enemy, playing in Denver, and tire themselves out at that altitude with their pressure defense.

I like the Zags and think they get into the Sweet 16 by beating BYU after the Johnnies.
 

airportis

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Michigan over Tennessee

Even if Tennessee is able to force a bit of an uptempo style of play, Michigan should not have a huge problem running a bit. They have some talented shooters and will be able to knock down 3's in transition if the game gets flowing openly and the Vols slack back on D.

Who knows how motivated the Vols will be, with the future of Pearl uncertain. Michigan will be ready and focused. Watching the Vols over the last few years they seem to me like a team that gets extremely frustrated when everything isn't going their way.
 

airportis

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I like Wisconsin to go to the final 4 out of the Southeast bracket, beating Florida in the Elite 8.

I have Ohio State going down to Kentucky in the Sweet 16, then Syracuse knocking off Kentucky in the Elite 8.

My final 4 is Duke, Syracuse, Kansas, and Wisconsin.

Kansas over Duke in the final.
 

airportis

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Michigan State -1


I think the Pac 10 is a weak conference and Izzo should have his team ready for this game. Michigan State is the better team, and much better coached. Looks to easy only laying 1, but we all know how that usually goes....
 

airportis

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Vandy/Richmond 1H over 62

Both teams LOVE to shoot the 3 ball. Over 36% of shots from Richmond are 3'd, and over 38% for Vandy. If Vandy can force a bit of a tempo early, Richmond could find themselves with some open opportunities in transition for 3.

Going to need more than a snails pace and for the 3 to drop in the 1st half for this one to hit I think.

Worth a shot though.
 

airportis

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Cincinnati -1

Cincy should be able to control the tempo. Mizzou can force their style when theyre at home, but away from home they struggle.

Tough D should keep Mizzou from making a lot of easy shots and stop them from being able to set up their press.
 

airportis

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small plays for the rest of the tourney unless otherwise noted.

Gonzaga was the largest play I've made this season.

can not wait to see this Zags/BYU line. Jimmer will need to score 70 to prevent the Zags from winning by double digits.
 

Jord20

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Not sure if you want my stamp of approval after my day yesterday (although made a nice dent in my losses late), but I TOTALLY agree with Gonzaga.

Everyone is sleeping on them this year, but they are really playing good ball. BYU is terrible!!

Good luck!
 

airportis

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Not sure if you want my stamp of approval after my day yesterday (although made a nice dent in my losses late), but I TOTALLY agree with Gonzaga.

Everyone is sleeping on them this year, but they are really playing good ball. BYU is terrible!!

Good luck!

I wouldn't call BYU terrible. They can still fill up the bucket, but Jimmer does too much sometimes. He doesn't play much defense, and he will turn the ball over.

Last week I played big against him banking on him being tired after his big game the night before. I think he could get tired toward the end of this game, especially if its close throughout and the elevation gets to him.

I think Gonzaga is a nightmare match up for BYU.

Sacre should be able to do a lot of damage down low. Harris is also a nightmare to guard. He is much more athletic and a lot quicker than whoever BYU will put on him.

Emery or Collinsworth will probably be stuck guarding Gray, and that is going to be big problems for those two. I imagine they try and put Abuou on him at some point, but Abuou is more athletic and may need to stick Harris. And if that's the case, Harris has a good 3 inches on him.

On defense the Zags have a very quick guard in Goodson who can stick Jimmer from end to end and give up trouble.

When Goodson needs a rest, they can put Gray on Jimmer and try to frustrate him with a bigger guy guarding him.

Will they stop Jimmer? No. But I think they can slow him down and take over the game late.

The Zags will be respected this game. They got a lot of respect and attention by beating the piss out of St Johns, and rightfully so.

Davies being out, and the poor defense BYU has played as of late is going to be a big problem. I also think Gonzaga has one of, if not the best coach in the country. Very little recognition goes to Few, but he is one of the best out there, period.
 

airportis

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UNC/UW over 156

This number will do nothing but go up.

If you like offense, tune into this one tomorrow. It will be a track meet. The pace in this game will be ridiculous and both teams could score 100. Not even joking.
 

airportis

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looks like my nice little streak is coming to a hard stop.

might be a good time to go the other way...


scared of the big number, but going with Duke -12

Michigan is undersized and Duke has the shooters to light up the zone.


Who knows anymore.
 

rockyb

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UNC/UW over 156

This number will do nothing but go up.

If you like offense, tune into this one tomorrow. It will be a track meet. The pace in this game will be ridiculous and both teams could score 100. Not even joking.

:toast: so far looking like a great call. Every 10 seconds there's a shot going off....Nice game to watch.
 

airportis

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Duke playing not looking good at all. :facepalm:




Syracuse -4 (-120)

Last time these 2 played in Marquette, in January, Marquette won by 6 and got to the line 33 times. That was 20 more times than Syracuse.
 
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