Elite 8 Open Thread
FAU starting to pull away.
KAOS is a wonderful thing….
k-st. hanging in there. fun game.
Unrelated, kind of....what happened to Michigan high school basketball?
We used to produce top notch players from all over the state and now I'm watching Ferndale playing GR South Christian in a final they would never have made back in the day, it makes me sad.
March 25th, 2023 at 11:00 PM ^
Population migration to other states and top players going to the "basketball factories" like Montverde, IMG, Sunrise, La Lumiere, etc.
“Basketball factories” aka “diploma mills”
FAU… Final Four… Cinderella is still dancing…
That was not the ending K State planned. Not getting a shot off.
we were saying the exact same thing. you can't dish the ball like that when you come across half-court with 4 seconds left, you have to either get your best shot or hit an obviously open guy. dishing to a guy with FAU guys all around - wrong move.
hey, credit to FAU, big thrill for them. easy to root for the underdogs.
Yeah, I think if someone's not wide open you have to keep it in Nowell's hands for the last shot
A surprising lack of urgency on the last play. You get the ball you have to go with 7 seconds left. You can't jog it up the court.
exactly. was surprised by that, too.
that little dude has likely been the tournaments best player...dont give up the rock unless a teammates catch and shoot open. nice run, rough way to go out though
Florida Atlantic!
Wouldn't have pegged FAU and final four team but it's sorta that type of year.
They have a great chance to get in the final, IMO.
Absolutely. I think they get the winner of SDSU and Creighton, which are absolutely beatable teams. The other wide of the bracket feels much tougher with teams like Texas, UConn, and Gonzaga still in play.
Fun basketball game. FAU can play. K-State lost their 8th consecutive Elite 8 game, which has to hurt.
C-USA (FAU's conference) has 2 teams in the NIT Final 4 (UAB & North Texas), and Charlotte won the CBI. FAU may not have played a P5 conference, but they played a decent level of competition that helped them get ready for this run.
(all 4 of those teams are off to the American next year, so C-USA won't get any momentum from this)
Hey I think I’m in the right place now after I posted in the hockey one about FAU 🤦♂️
no, rooster, it's all good. the owls can skate.
This is going to haunt my dreams.
March 25th, 2023 at 11:02 PM ^
Yep. The eyes follow you no matter how you rotate your phone.
One of FAU, Creighton, or San Diego State will play for a national title in 9 days.
FAU in the Final Four. What a year! Truly, we live in an age of wonders.
Crazy year of basketball. MSU made a run with a pedantic roster and UM was so flawed but 2nd place in B1G with 1.5 weeks to go …
Good year for the “no” names like Florida Atlantic, SDSU, Creighton and even KSU. It would be fitting if a no name wins the whole thing.
If there was a tourney in 2020 - we would have likely had Dayton, Creighton and SDSU all as top 2 seeds.
Nobody knows if they would have held serve, but I feel that was the year or a “could have been a very no-name Final Four.”
If nothing else, this is an age of increased parity.
I’m going to be pedantic (someone who annoys others by correcting small errors, caring too much about minor details, or emphasizing their own expertise especially in some narrow or boring subject matter) and suggest that the word you meant to use is pedestrian (lacking inspiration or excitement; dull.)
But MSU is really annoying so maybe you did mean pedantic.
This is the first time since 1959 that none of UCLA, Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina, or Duke have made the Elite Eight.
Werner is the official ladder of the NCAA Tournament
Damn, now I have that image of Izzo dancing in my head. Thanks.
(It is a good ladder though)
UCONN (4) vs Gonzaga (3) tips off in about ten minutes.
Do you have a preference or prediction?
I'd like to see Timme bounced out on his ass.
Why? Just don't like the way he looks.
I am so with you on that! And I'm glad someone finally had the balls to say it.
I think it was Rick Perry who said "I'm not ashamed to admit I'm a basketball fan, but you don't have to sit in the bleachers every game to know there's something wrong in this country when people can't openly hate on the way Drew Timme looks."
UConn. I've had a soft spot for them since beating Duke in the 99 Final and the 04 semis. Also I respect what they accomplished over the last 30 years. They were mediocre until the early 90s.
Gonzaga's defensive metrics aren't great ... at all.
at least so far, it appears that i can shoot the basketball as well as gonzaga can. muy bad.
I bet you could at least hit the backboard.
March 25th, 2023 at 10:00 PM ^
I’m rooting against Gonzaga because I don’t want Timme to get close to Glen Rice’s tournament scoring record.
March 25th, 2023 at 10:02 PM ^
another good reason!
March 25th, 2023 at 10:19 PM ^
March 25th, 2023 at 10:07 PM ^
There will only be one team from a power five conference in the final four. This does not surprise me. While, today, the athleticism and individual skills of the players is admirable the basketball IQ continues to spiral downward.
I have seen very little play this year that is pleasingly sound relative to teams playing as a cohesive unit. Tonight, that FAU can win when turning the ball over 22 times but they outrebound KSU 44 to 22-something is going very wrong here.
March 25th, 2023 at 10:14 PM ^
Thank the NBA…
March 25th, 2023 at 10:53 PM ^
It also has something to do with COVID and 5th and 6th year seniors.
March 25th, 2023 at 11:22 PM ^
The Big East isn't considered a power 5 conference, mainly because they don't have football, but they should be considered one in basketball. They've won 6 national titles in the last 25 years.
March 26th, 2023 at 12:28 AM ^
Yeah. But the B1G has 1 in that same time span
March 25th, 2023 at 10:11 PM ^
Grandpa was a Gonzaga law grad. But Timme's stache has worn out its welcome.
March 25th, 2023 at 10:21 PM ^
Gaffney is an east coast homer ref
March 25th, 2023 at 10:39 PM ^
Jonathan loves it.
March 25th, 2023 at 10:41 PM ^
UConn up 25.. mid second half, under 12 minute tv timeout.
Go KAOS.. lower seeds .. keep it up..