Elite 8 day 1 open thread

Submitted by samdrussBLUE on
Rooting for Dayton and Wiscy

TheFrigz

March 29th, 2014 at 6:06 PM ^

Go Flyers!  I think I'd rather play Zona than Wisco if we beat Kentucky (something about Big Ten teams scares me), but I don't know for sure.

JSK23

March 29th, 2014 at 6:12 PM ^

As much as I'd love to see a Dayton upset I'd rather Florida get the chance to take out MSU.

 

I think Wisconsin Arizona game is a near coin flip.  We are much better off than when we first played AZ so I wouldn't mind a rematch and I think we match up better with them than Wisconsin. 

GhostOfPosBang

March 29th, 2014 at 6:14 PM ^

but I recently blew out my speakers listening to that goddamn "badger badger badger" song, and I angrily forsook all badgers from that point on.  So now I'm kinda, well, stuck.

samdrussBLUE

March 29th, 2014 at 6:25 PM ^

I'm rooting for Dayton, but just can't see how it happens. As far was my rooting for Wiscy- it just kind of came out. First thought as to who I think will win. And I can root for any B1G outside of OSU and MSU

LSAClassOf2000

March 29th, 2014 at 6:37 PM ^

Early returns have Dayton with an eFG% of 37.50% and Florida sitting comfortably at an eFG% of 53.57%. Ten minutes in or so, Florida finally got its first two offensive rebounds, so there are various explanations to the most recent scoring drought floating around here. Dayton is sending Florida to the line with a 25ish% FTR, so that might become an issue too. 

gwkrlghl

March 29th, 2014 at 6:46 PM ^

Go Florida and go Arizona.

I'd like MSU to have to go through Florida than Dayton (should they beat UConn) and I feel a lot better about playing Arizona than Wisconsin for some reason. Maybe because we nearly beat Arizona before we were good and Wisconsin beat us by 13 at home last time we played.

MGlobules

March 29th, 2014 at 6:46 PM ^

Florida is getting away with another foul. The more I watch the game the more I think that it's just a terrifyingly arbitrary business what gets called and what doesn't. 

NJblue2

March 29th, 2014 at 6:51 PM ^

I think Florida wins this, although it'd be awesome if Dayton pulled off the upset. Florida winning would be good though because they can definitely beat MSU, which I think has a REALLY good shot at the Final Four. Arizona-Wisconsin, I think Wisconsin pulls it out late.

samdrussBLUE

March 29th, 2014 at 6:57 PM ^

Why is everyone so scared of the possibility of us and Wiscy squaring off? I don't see why Zona would be a better game for us at all

jmblue

March 29th, 2014 at 7:06 PM ^

Nah, I think Florida runs away with this.  This game has been their big hurdle - they've lost in the Elight Eight three straight years - and now, after maybe a few early jitters, they're pouring it on.

 

Princetonwolverine

March 29th, 2014 at 7:15 PM ^

How does a team that is as consistently good as Florida get 4 starters to stay until their senior year?

 

ghost

March 29th, 2014 at 7:25 PM ^

None of the 4 look like NBA players.  Maybe Young, but he projects as maybe a 2nd round pick.  Needless to say Donovan will have to rebuild next year.... if he stays around.  Wouldn't be surprised to see him finally make the jump to the NBA.

Avon Barksdale

March 29th, 2014 at 7:16 PM ^

They seem like a great matchup for us - if we can get that far. Their defense is still lacking in transition and especially at the 3 point line - much like a year ago when Stauskas went off on them.

Franz Schubert

March 29th, 2014 at 7:38 PM ^

Just a few observations from yesterday:

-Michigan regularly lets teams climb back in games because they get overconfident with big leads. When the team goes on a run, they get too caught up and start feeling so good about themselves that they either force things or settle for shots they can get at anytime. The opposite is what is needed. With a nice lead, the team should actually slow down and work for a great shot and kill off time in the process. Yesterday Walton and Levert needed to show more composure.

-In regards to the inbounding issues, Stauskas should be inbounding. I know Nik is the best FT shooter but because of his lack of elite athleticism he rarely is able to get free for the inbound pass anyway. Stauskas is 6'6 and easily the teams best passer.

-Morgan is a great defensive player and strong as an ox. It is so impressive to me that no one can really move him.

-Hopefully Caris skips the crisco hand lotion for Kentucky.

NJblue2

March 29th, 2014 at 7:42 PM ^

it's weird that Patric Young still plays. I feel like he's been there forever, I remember all the hype he got as a freshman, I'm surprised he never left.

pinkfloyd2000

March 29th, 2014 at 8:20 PM ^

The boards. Plain and simple. Florida absolutely dominated the glass. They didn't shoot particularly well tonight, at all.

Alright...this next game should be a really, really good one...

kehnonymous

March 29th, 2014 at 8:22 PM ^

The enemy of my enemy is the closest thing we have to a friend right now.  My hate level for the Buzzcuts is near MSU/OSU level.  Sorry, conference loyalty.  For the sake of the aesthetics of the game of basketball, I'm going for Arizona in this one and then for UConn tomorrow in a laugher.