Official 2008 NCAA March Madness College Basketball Thread

[WestCoastJoe]

Official 2008 NCAA March Madness U.S. College Basketball Thread

Here are the brackets ...

http://sportsline.com/collegebasketball ... ewable_men

Someone always runs a pool at work for this tournament. It almost seems like a lottery to me. The top seeds are tough to beat, but just picking them won't win your pool. Been there, done that.

In most pools, you have to pick winners for each game. You get points along the road to the Final Four with your survivors.

I'm just going to pick who I think might make the Final Four.

[WestCoastJoe]

Tournament runs from March 18th to April 7th. The Final Four is in San Antonio this year.

* Tennessee to defeat North Carolina in the East bracket at Charlotte.

NC is loaded, the top ranked team in the country. But I like Tennessee's toughness, defense and versatility. I also think Roy Williams of NC has had many teams (at Kansas) that underachieved in this tournament.

* Kansas to defeat Georgetown in the Midwest at Detroit. No idea here. Just a guess.

* Memphis to defeat Stanford in the South bracket at Houston. I like the "dribble-drive" offense Memphis uses. Teams don't like to challenge it with man-to-man defense and usually play zone against it. I hope some team tries to man defense it. Tennessee defeated Memphis in a hugely hyped game earlier this year using a zone defense.

* Duke to upset UCLA in the West bracket at Phoenix. I've always rooted for Duke. Just try spelling or pronouncing the name of Duke's coach, Mike Krzyzewski (cut and paste on that one).

Final Four: Tennessee, Kansas, Memphis, and Duke

[Robbie]

Final Four: Tennessee, Kansas, Memphis, and Duke

Okay, time for my usual Devil's Advocate question again.

Would you care to make a prediction as well for the NCAA Women's Division I tournament?

[WestCoastJoe]

Final Four: Tennessee, Kansas, Memphis, and Duke

Okay, time for my usual Devil's Advocate question again.

Would you care to make a prediction as well for the NCAA Women's Division I tournament?

I will leave that one to you, Robbie.

I coached girl's basketball in high school for many years (boys also). I follow local UBC and SFU ladies basketball a little bit. But, at this time, I do not follow NCAA ladies basketball.

As you frequently advocate for coverage of ladies sports, you might wish to make some picks and give some coverage to the ladies NCAA tournament yourself.

I don't feel obliged to cover all aspects of the sports that draw my attention. Those sports fans that have a particular interest at a particular time may do so. This is the second time you have asked me to expand the coverage of a tournament to include the ladies.

If you have the interest for more coverage, as your post indicates, you might wish to expand this coverage yourself to include the ladies. You are certainly welcome to do it here in this thread if you wish.

[Robbie]

Okay, I won't make as detailed of a prediction as you, WCJ. All I'll say is that I believe the University of Tennessee Lady Vols, led by 2007 MVP Candace Parker, have a good chance of defending their title.

[WestCoastJoe]

There are 3 young men from B.C. participating in the NCAA boys basketball tournament.

* Scott Morrison, 7'

Led Argyle to the 2004 B.C. Triple A championship as MVP. He has now led Portland State into the big NCAA tournament. He was league (Big Sky) defensive player of the year.

* Tyrell Mara, 6'6"

Led White Rock Christian Academy to the 2005 B.C. Triple A championship as MVP. He is a reserve with Portland State.

* Robert Sacre, 7'

Played locally at Handsworth, in North Vancouver. He was the MVP of the 2006 B.C. championship, while a Grade 11.

Information from an article by Howard Tsumura who covers high school sports for the Vancouver Province.

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/ ... 420be36a96

[WestCoastJoe]

Jayhawks leave opponents in awe

There's a little shock factor, says Argyle grad Scott Morrison

News Services Friday, March 21, 2008


OMAHA, Neb. -- The top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks rolled past the No. 16 Portland State Vikings 85-61 in first-round play in the NCAA men's basketball tournament's Midwest Region.

Portland State, the Big Sky Conference champion, played another No. 1 seed, UCLA, during the regular season. The Vikings also played to within 12 points of Washington State, a No. 4 seed.

But Thursday was a whole different challenge.

"There's a little shock factor," said Portland State senior centre Scott Morrison, a product of North Vancouver's Argyle Secondary.

"The first time they get a couple of alley-oop dunks, you're just like, 'God, really? It's that easy for them?' And we're working for every bucket, just kind of grinding it out."

Morrison said that, from his perspective, the Jayhawks were "a little more athletic than UCLA and definitely Washington State."

Vikings coach Ken Bone said the biggest difference between Kansas and UCLA, which defeated Portland State by 21 points in November, is the Jayhawks' offence.

"I don't think we played a team that shot like that this year," senior guard Dupree Lucas said. "It's like they score every time down because if they don't hit the three, they're getting the rebound and they're getting another chance at it."

Vikings point guard Jeremiah Dominguez noted how there was always a Kansas guard freshly rested to defend him.

Morrison, who had four points and four rebounds in 23 minutes, talked about how the Vikings couldn't keep Kansas off the glass, even when they had good position.

Tyrell Mara, a sophomore from White Rock Christian Academy, played 16 minutes for Portland State and had five points, including a three-point shot.

Two Lower Mainland boys, Scott Morrison and Tyrell Mara, play for Portland State. Morrison played for Argyle in North Vancouver, and Mara played for White Rock Christian Academy.

I wish I had seen the Kansas game. Kansas sounds like an amazingly athletic team.

[WestCoastJoe]

Round 1

The four No. 1 seeds obliterated the No. 16 seeds:

UNC beat Mount St. Mary's 113-74;

Memphis took out Texas-Arlington 87-63;

Kansas beat Portland State 85-61;

UCLA dispatched Mississippi Valley State 70-29.
.....................

All No. 2 and No. 3 seeds win.
.....................

One No. 4 seed, U. Conn. gets knocked out.
.....................

Here is the yahoo webpage with all the scores.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/bracket

[WestCoastJoe]

Top seeds, some surprises in Sweet 16

Reuters Published: Monday, March 24, 2008

No. 1 seeds Memphis Tigers and North Carolina Tar Heels recorded contrasting wins on Sunday to join top-ranked Kansas and UCLA in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

The Tar Heels, led by 20 points from Wayne Ellington, completed a weekend stroll through the East Region with a 108-77 win over the ninth-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks. But in the South Region, Memphis was forced to fight off eighth-seeded Mississippi State, beating the Bulldogs 77-74.

No. 2 seeds Texas and Tennessee also strained their supporters' nerves with cliff-hangers. Texas took a narrow 75-72 victory over No. 7 Miami, and Tennessee needed overtime to win 76-71 over No. 7 Butler.

Two 12th-seeded teams, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Villanova Wildcats, made unlikely marches into the Sweet 16. In a Midwest Region matchup, Villanova brushed past the 13th-seeded Siena Saints 84-72. In the West, Western Kentucky beat San Diego 72-63 behind Courtney Lee's 29 points.

All day TV coverage (local and U.S.) of the opening 32 games and follow-up 16 games on the weekend. No wonder they call it March Madness.

[smphantom]

All day TV coverage (local and U.S.) of the opening 32 games and follow-up 16 games on the weekend. No wonder they call it March Madness.

I LOVE it!! So much so that I haven't watched any other sport besides the "Madness", and the occasional channel change to watch local news.

On my bracket I have for my Final Four - UNC/Kansas and Texas/UCLA, with UCLA winning it all by beating Kansas.

[Lions_Fan_4_Life]

Well phantom, you're right on who'd get to the final four, minus the Texas prediction (stupid Augustin), and I think UCLA just might come up with the win.

[WestCoastJoe]

The Final Four

All 4 number 1 seeds advance, the first time this has happened
..................

Kansas survives a tough match against the Cinderella team from Davidson

59 - 57, as Davidson misses a 3 at the buzzer which could have won

NC defeats Louisville 83 - 73, Tyler Hansbrough has another monster game
...................

Memphis defeats Texas 85 - 67, Derrick Rose has another great game

UCLA defeats Xavier 76 - 57, Kevin Love has another monster game
...................

Kansas vs North Carolina

Memphis vs UCLA

Tyler Hansbrough and Kevin Love play like men vs boys. They never stop working, have great moves on offense, and rebound like demons. I would not mind seeing them matched up, NC vs UCLA in the final.

[Robbie]

While understandably the NCAA Men's Division I tournament gets the most amount of attention, did any of you take a look at the other 2008 NCAA Division Championship series that have already been decided?

NCAA Men's Division III Basketball Championship
Winona State Warriors 87-76 over Augusta State Jaguars


NCAA Men's Division III Basketball Championship
Washington University in St. Louis Bears 90-68 over Amherst College Jeffs


NCAA Women's Division II Basketball Championship
Northern Kentucky University Norse 63-58 over South Dakota Coyotes


NCAA Women's Division III Basketball Championship
Howard Payne Yellowjackets 68-54 over Messiah College Falcons

[mightybuck]

Great game tonight in mens basketball. What a comeback by Kansas -

[Robbie]

Okay, I won't make as detailed of a prediction as you, WCJ. All I'll say is that I believe the University of Tennessee Lady Vols have a good chance of defending their title.

And I was correct!

Let's see if it will be a three-peat!