Can I ask what our rooting guide is for today?
March 25th, 2018 at 10:56 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 11:13 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 11:54 AM ^
first I hate Coach K and Duke and think we could take them; with that step, it seems to me that we emerge as a full-blown basketball blueblood
second I fear Nova of the teams remaining, though--agree--the opportunity to see Simpson go at it with Brunson could be memorable
March 25th, 2018 at 12:53 PM ^
My rooting is guide today is to root for Michigan to beat BU and make it to the Frozen Four.
As for basketball, my rooting guide is: I don't give a fuck -- bring anyone on and we will toast their nuts over an open flame.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:13 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 11:27 AM ^
Barkley learned his golf swing at Loyola he's obligated to pick them.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^
best part of this is the girl who, wisely, moves even further out of the way
March 25th, 2018 at 12:28 PM ^
wisely ducks for cover.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:26 PM ^
Something like 13 of the last 14 national champs have had blue as oneof their team's colors. The one that didn't was Louisville, so some would argue that 14 of the last 14 were blue. So, just root for Texas Tech to make it to the championship game and everything else will take care of itself.
Go Blue!
March 25th, 2018 at 10:56 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 11:16 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 11:24 AM ^
The only real answer there that I could think of would be to play Mo and Teske at the same time at the 4 and 5. I don't think we've ever done this? and I'm not sure that it makes good basketball sense (because I am certainly no basketball expert). That would give you size on size with Bagley. That being said, it could also open us up to serious foul trouble with our two bigs on the court at the same time.
Otherwise, Bagley is having his way with us if we keep Livers and Duncan on him. Really hope it's Kansas.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:33 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 12:05 PM ^
The Moe Teske pairing would never be an option against any team really. If the other have two bigs like TAMU we want to bring them to the perimeter to neutralize that.
If it's Duke with a guy like Bagley, I think you stick with the same plan as now. Throw Livers at him, athletic enough that he might stand a chance. Throw DRob at him, maybe he surprises us with his D there, but in reality hope he just survives on D and can exploit/tire Bagley out on O by running him through screens and hitting his 3's.
Duke starts 3 guards who are 6'6, 6'5 and 6'3 so I think the curveball option is put Matthews on him at the 4 and go with Z, MAAR and Poole 1-3. Matthews would probably get bullied size wise by Bagley down low but he's the best wing defender so you hope he can use his quickness to neutralize him before he gets the ball down low. Trent and Allen, especially Allen, are basically 3 point shooters exclusively on O, granted Allen does get a good amount of assists, so try to hide Poole on one of them.
I don't think any of them are great options. It's why Bagley's so good.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 12:12 PM ^
Bagley is better than Jackson and K actually plays him unlike Izzo
March 25th, 2018 at 12:36 PM ^
This. I am no basketball guru...but I can tell you that Bagley is better than JJJ, and good players need to be on the court to hurt you.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:46 PM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 11:45 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 12:13 PM ^
Texas Tech over Villanova is a no-brainer.
As for Kansas-Duke, for me it comes down to facing Bill Self instead of Coach K.
Texas Tech and Kansas would be the slightly easier teams to beat.
We could beat Texas Tech in an ugly game like last nights even if we shoot poorly. We'd be favored over them by a point or two.
Kansas is good, but I'm not that scared of Bill Self. They'd be a challenge but certainly beatable. This is probably about a pick 'em game. Maybe KU favored by a point or two.
Duke is the most talented team. We'd almost certainly have to shoot well from three to beat them. The good thing is I think we'd get open threes against their zone. Even though Bagley would get his, I'm less scared of Duke than I am Nova. We'd probably be about 4 point dogs against Duke.
Nova is really good. We almost certainly have to make our threes at a decent clip (near 40) to beat them. I do like Z on Brunson, though. Would be a fun game. We'd probably be about 5 point dogs against Nova.
March 25th, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^
TTU and KU. Dream title game opponent (should we make it) is Texas Tech.
March 25th, 2018 at 10:59 AM ^
which means it will be Duke - Villanove lol
March 25th, 2018 at 11:14 AM ^
I predicted a Duke-Michigan final in my bracket. You don't want to know who I predicted to win, because I have correctly picked the championship game for multiple years in a row.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:18 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 11:20 AM ^
I did, and I certainly hope this is the year my streak ends.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:37 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 11:43 AM ^
I am and I am winning, but others have Michigan winning it all, so I won't hold on if that happens. Of course, I would be happy to lose if those were the circumstances.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:01 PM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 12:23 PM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 12:38 PM ^
Because I am a competitor above all else and want to win. I can't help that I have the gift and I can't help what it tells me, but 4 correct national championship games in a row is no mistake. If I got the matchup right and the outcome wrong that would be the sweetest L I ever took.
March 25th, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 11:13 AM ^
Loyola has scored more than 70 points once this month...
I think they're a good team, but we shouldn't be afraid of their offense. It's the defense we need to break down
March 25th, 2018 at 12:14 PM ^
Total score is deceptive. Loyola plays slow which keeps their total down but they are like the third best shooting team in the country, all of their guys can shoot. Probably the most balanced offense we have faced since purdue and can hit tough outside shots A&M and FSU couldn't.
They are a really good team.
March 25th, 2018 at 12:32 PM ^
we have faced in the tournament, so far.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:46 AM ^
Play fast? They're 315th in tempo. Unless you mean their players are quick etc, which relative to the quickness you can typically expect in a final four game isn't really the case.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:47 AM ^
Loyola is 60th in offensive efficiency on KenPom, so not at all terrible, but not quite elite either. I do believe a lot of their offensive advantages they've had over other teams, most of which play traditional lineups and don't have much experience guarding that 4-out style, disappear against Michigan. A single-elimination tournament is always susceptible to random events, but if Michigan loses, it's almost certainly going to be due to another poor shooting outing than being lit up by Loyola's offense.
March 25th, 2018 at 11:54 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 11:57 AM ^
March 25th, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^