NCAA Basketball Tournament - Nailing Down The Final Four (Open Thread)

Submitted by LSAClassOf2000 on

Alright, folks, we've got half of the Final Four - we'll know the other half today. On CBS, we have:

2:20 PM - Michigan State vs. Louisville (line is MSU -2.5, I think)

5:05 PM - Duke vs. Gonzaga (line is Duke -2.0, last I saw)

My picks in the ESPN Bracket were Louisville and Duke, but I have MSU and Gonzaga in my yearly "chaos bracket" too. 

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FieldingBLUE

March 29th, 2015 at 6:28 PM ^

It's interesting to see state outplay their seed bc so often they've underplayed it as a 1, 2 or 3. They truly play better as an underdog. Give izzo credit, this is his least talented team in about 5-6 years. Those better ones hadn't been to a final four.



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MichiganExile

March 29th, 2015 at 6:47 PM ^

It always looks easy in retrospect. They still had to go through Virginia which according to Kenpom was the 4th best team in the nation. I hate State as much as the next guy but it's not their fault that the 1 got knocked out before the sweet 16. They can only play the teams that are put in front of them. 

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JOHNNAVARREISMYHERO

March 29th, 2015 at 7:25 PM ^

Anyone who knows basketball saw that Virginia flame out from a mile away.   Should have been playing Arizona.

The current status of a team is the only thing that mattered at that point.    Virginia was no longer close to being a top 4 team at that point.  

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Muttley

March 29th, 2015 at 8:35 PM ^

as an obvious undervalued seed in the easiest region by far.  Jeez, why did MSU become the plurality favorite (see FiveThirtyEight.com et al) to reach the Final Four as a #7 once #1 Villanova and #2 Virginia went down with #3 Oklahoma and #4 Louisville still remaining?

(Oh, and I'm tied for 4th in the 650+ entrant MGoBlog pool, so I'm not playing Captain Hindsight.)

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creelymonk10

March 29th, 2015 at 7:07 PM ^

Please stop showing Few's daughter crying on national TV. You went to her twice, with her seeing herself crying on the big screen the second time, getting even more upset, great job guys.

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Cold War

March 29th, 2015 at 7:10 PM ^

I'm glad Duke won because blocking Sparty from another title is paramount. Izzo would reach Coach K status in the media's eyes.

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HateSparty

March 29th, 2015 at 7:14 PM ^

I would love to see metrics on the average team State plays in the tourney. I swear they are always placed in the best bracket position. I know some of you say they play who they get, not their fault, etc. the issue is they seem to always have the easiest bracket, every year. Izzo coaches well in March but he has shit set for him every year. Really hate all the Sparties in WM. Annoying jackasses.



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Jake Blues

March 29th, 2015 at 8:04 PM ^

UM in 2013: 13, 5, 1, 3 = 22 to reach the Final Four

Semifinal game vs. # 4 Syracuse

Final game vs. #1 Louisville

 

MSU in  2015: 10, 2, 3, 4 = 19 to reach the Final Four

Semifinal vs. #1 Duke

Final (doubtful) vs. #1 Kentucky or #1 Wisconsin

 

But, but, but, MSU was in the worst region ever as set up by Mark Hollis. You, sir, are laughable.

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JOHNNAVARREISMYHERO

March 29th, 2015 at 8:28 PM ^

Oklahoma and Louisville were both underdogs.   It helps being matched up with teams that aren't even respcted enough to be favored as higher seeds.

But yeah, real tough road playing those powerhouse programs of Oklahoma and flame-outs Virginia!

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