First weekend games you’re excited about
Personally, this is my favorite time of the year in the sports world. There’s nothing like 48 games in a four day span. That being said, which games are you excited for besides the Michigan games? I know I’m looking forward to Marquette/Murray St. and Minnesota/Louisville.
I'm going to echo Louisville / Minnesota. I'm also looking forward to:
- Baylor vs. Syracuse
- Wofford vs. Seton Hall
- Kansas State vs UC Irvine (they're my Cinderella team this year)
- Villanova vs. St. Mary's
Lots of exciting games in this 1st round but those are four in particular that I won't be missing. Go Blue!
I picked mine mostly off of what I thought would be close games or interesting storylines.
1st Round:
Florida State/Vermont
Iowa State/Ohio State
Florida/Nevada
Marquette/Murray State
Northern Kentucky/Texas Tech (upset maybe?)
2nd Round:
Duke/UCF
Michigan/Florida RIVALRY
FSU or Vermont / Marquette or Murray State (any of these would be good)
Houston/Iowa State
I picked NKU as an upset in my bracket, so I guess I should be excited about that game too!
March 21st, 2019 at 10:14 AM ^
Northern Kentucky/Texas Tech (upset maybe?)
Wouldn't that be awesome? Texas Tech scares me.
Every. Single. One.
Personally, I'm hoping Bradley can tap into their inner Middle Tennessee State and we get to hear sparty fans explain that the reason they lost is because they were put in Duke's region.
wow there would be nothing sweeter than MSU getting bounced by a 15 after complaining they should be a 1 seed..... AGAIN!
March 21st, 2019 at 10:10 AM ^
Bringing back some nice memories. Honestly as a Spartan I'm not even mad about that game anymore. It's not like we choked, we shot 55% from the field and 45% on threes, and still lost. They just couldn't miss. It was incredible. On that one day I think they would have beaten pretty much any other team in the field given how they were playing (and then of course they couldn't hit anything in the next game against Syracuse and lost by 30, which I knew was going to happen). Just have to tip your cap and move on when that happens. It's part of the beauty of March Madness. With that being said I would really prefer not to watch that movie again today.
March 21st, 2019 at 10:29 AM ^
Yeah I remember watching that game and MSU kept going on scoring runs, it seemed like only a matter of time until they took over but Middle Tennessee just never let up.
March 21st, 2019 at 11:30 AM ^
Yeah, it sucked live. But in hindsight I'm fine with that.
I'm still not over last years Syracuse loss.
March 21st, 2019 at 11:57 AM ^
I don't think Izzo was "there" for that MTSU game. A certain "like a son to him" had just been arrested and charged on the Monday of that week and he appeared vacant for the entire game and related press conferences, etc. MTSU played well but State did not look well prepared or that they had really done any prep/scouting at all for that specific opponent. MTSU also had no answer at all for Deyonta Davis who barely played at all after the first five minutes. Very strange personnel decision.
March 21st, 2019 at 12:42 PM ^
"It's not over...it'll never be over."
- Mark Dantoni
Yale / LSU
Louisville / MN
Nevada / Florida
Wiscy / Oregon
Wofford / Seton Hall
March 21st, 2019 at 10:46 AM ^
Wiscy Oregon are you a sadist or do you have a special spot in your heart for rock fights? Or just wanna see Wiscy lose?
Because I don't know shit about many teams outside the Big Ten, I will say all of them. I cannot name any players on almost every team.
March 21st, 2019 at 10:08 AM ^
Yale LSU
Kansas Northeastern
Florida Nevada
I will also tune in to watch Iowa State beat up on ohio
March 21st, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
It's gotta be LSU-Yale: the match-up of the school where coaches pay the parents to get their kid to come and play on a team while pretending to take classes versus the school where parents pay coaches to allow their kid to come and take classes while pretending to be on a team.
(Also, I'm in New Haven so it's the local kid (Trey Waters) vs. the local team.)
I have Allan Sherman on vinyl over here.
Best line in this one:
For the key to the powder room you see,
Is the key to the structure of the agency
March 21st, 2019 at 10:26 AM ^
Excited to watch Minnesota/UL? Any game involving the Gophers is going to contain a lot of ugly basketball. They are one of the worst coached teams in D1 ball.
March 21st, 2019 at 10:40 AM ^
More for the intrigue of Pitino facing his dad’s old team and to see who MSU is going to face.
March 21st, 2019 at 12:03 PM ^
Minnesota-Louisville tips off coverage of the Final 64 today at 12:15 PM on CBS. Without knowing how much influence (if any) CBS has on the selection committee, of all the first-round matchups, this game seems to be the one that CBS most wanted for the start of their coverage.
What's the over/under on (a) how many close-ups we'll get of Rick Pitino yelling either at his son or at the officials, (b) how often the announcers mention why Pitino left Louisville, (c) how often the announcers mention that Trey Burke's block of Peyton Siva's shot in the 2013 NCAA championship game was a clean block?
March 21st, 2019 at 10:45 AM ^
Hey everyone I am excited for Liberty vs Miss St
But if you need great Michigan Football/Basketball coverage then go check out TheMaizePage on Twitter!
March 21st, 2019 at 10:48 AM ^
Marquette Murray St is a no brainer on this one. But since it's so obvious maybe it doesn't end up being as awesome as it should be.
March 21st, 2019 at 11:06 AM ^
MSU Lousiville round 2 When (chris) Mack Daddy gives MSU a new version of getting Pitinoed
March 21st, 2019 at 11:19 AM ^
I'm not excited. Took tomorrow off (like I do pretty much every year at this point) and there isn't a compelling game to watch. I DO NOT WANT TO PLAY GOLF.
March 21st, 2019 at 11:27 AM ^
Hey man, just be happy that you even have the option to play golf!
March 21st, 2019 at 12:25 PM ^
Marquette/Murray State should be a doozie. Hope to get home in time to see the second half. Murray State could make some legitimate noise in this tournament and possibly make it to the second weekend.
LSU/Yale could be really interesting. Normally I think LSU would put a whoopin' on Yale, but who the hell knows if LSU's collective head is going to be screwed on straight after Wade got suspended. That game could end up being a total snoozer if LSU comes out ready and focused, but if the effects of the Wade suspension are evident, Yale could spring the upset.
Honestly, just can't wait for tomorrow. Taking a half day, racing my ass out of work at noon and heading straight home to do nothing but watch basketball for the rest of the day.
Michigan - Montana. I have an MFA from Michigan. Jon Horford was in a class I taught there! (Shane Morris was in another, a summer class during his first fall practices. Hoke made him shave his beard. He was bummed.)
The University of Vermont - FSU. Because I have a BA and MA from UVM. And watching FSU lose is always kind of fun. Old Bobby losing, Fishmouth Jimbo losing, the baseball coach with the most wins ever but no championship. EVEN MICHIGAN, A FREAKIN' NORTHERN SCHOOL, HAS WON AN NCAA BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP! The basketball team that goes from mediocre to good but not good enough then back again.
ZION.
Marquette - Murray should be off the hook.