Friday, March 16, 2007

NCAA Tournament Round 1 Day 2 Live-Blog

EVENING UPDATE 2: Well, what do you know! More games, more lame-ass, better-seed-winning results! This entire first round goes down as the Lamest Ever, and I'm not sure it's close. Let's review: One decent upset (VCU). One upset everyone saw coming (Winthrop). And that's it. So few that three 9 over 8 upsets suddenly seem to sound good as "upsets." All I can say is: We better see some seriously crazy results this weekend.

EVENING UPDATE 1
: Why shouldn't we expect more of the same? Kansas? Texas? Southern Illinois? Florida? All expected winners. How sad that our hopes to salvage the day for an upset rests not with some fun mid-major but Illinois? A 12-seed is a 12-seed, I guess.


UPDATE 5
: Ho-hum! 7 over 10? Another game, another "seed" win. (Looks like Creighton was a bit of a mid-major inflation, versus Nevada, a little less cachet but a little more winning.) Wisconsin wins. Oregon seems to have its game in hand after a slow start.

All I can say is that the second round better be (a) full of upsets and (b) full of close games, because we are one uneventful night set away from being the Lamest Tournament First-Round Ever.

UPDATE 4
: Winthrop wins! And, yet, it figures in The Most Drama-Free Tournament First Round Ever that the one upset of the day would be the ONE upset that EVERYONE saw coming since, like, last March. And TAMU-CC looks like a one-half wonder. Damn.


UPDATE 3
: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is about to save this Tournament from itself (VCU, notwithstanding). Oh, and I guess Winthrop was for real. Very real.

UPDATE 2
: There's nothing quite as depressing as watching a long-shot team you picked for the Elite Eight start out a first-round game sucking, then battle back into it -- only to eff up the ending. (I suppose it could be worse: In the Sports Bog "Celebrity" Pool, Ken "KenPom" Pomeroy had GT going to his Final Four.)

UPDATE: As long as UVA loses on Sunday, picking Albany was worth what seemed like a decent risk at the time. Now, all I need is GA Tech to continue their mini-surge to avoid becoming GACK Tech. (Yes, I know they weren't the favorites. Uh, except in the National Bracket.)

ORIGINAL POST: I can't believe that I'm going to go from the lofty heights of a great Day 1 to bottoming-out on my bracket when Georgia Tech poops the bed vs. UNLV. (I have Tech to the Elite Eight. I can already feel the hindsight bubbling up, like a belch: WHAT WAS I THINKING?)

Picking Albany over UVA? Worth the risk, given that I have the winner of the game losing in Round 2 anyway. (But UVA looks damn good. Almost as much as Albany looks weak.)

Besides, right now I am focusing all my energy rooting for North Texas over Memphis. Might I have been one year (and one seed) off on my pick of Memphis being upset in the first-round?

-- D.S.

Not Tournament-related, but new: My season preview of the Nationals is up at Deadspin. Check it out!

It's notable because it represents the second team I have adopted -- in a major sport, no less -- because it was available to me to write as a Deadspin preview and because I previously didn't have a strong allegiance in the sport. Shallow? Yes. Awesome? Yes.

Oh, and here's the Nats preview from The Dugout. You shame me, gents.

65 comments:

Gary said...

I hope Memphis loses, then my pick of Nevada to the Final Four won't look as bad (yes it will)

Brian in Oxford said...

That's no good, gary, having North Texas do your bracket's dirty work of eliminating Memphis for you!

Kevin said...

Thanks a lot, Albany, for ruining my perfect bracket.

Natsfan74 said...

Louisville to the elite 8 looks better all the time...

UVa is on fire. But the Wahoos (unofficial nickname) did this against Wake Forest 2 weeks ago with the ACC Title on the line, then blew a 16 point lead in the 2nd half.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

It looks like alot more people took today off instead of yesterday. Not a bad idea I think I am going to leave in 45 minutes.

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

I live in Nashville and am not blacked out of the Memphis game. Good stuff now watch the N. Texas crap the bed in the next 5 minutes.

Natsfan74 said...

Dan, that Nats blog was crap. Chris Needham should have written it. Or you should have at least learned something about the Nats before writing it.

If you ever come to DC, I'll take you to a game. I have pretty good seats.

The Nats will win at least 70 games this year, and more next year (in the new stadium). Our starting pitching is Patterson and then.... um.... yeah. But we have one of the better bullpens in baseball (which we'll need, as they will pitch a ton of innings), a pretty solid defense, a respectable offense, and some of the best young talent in the game. Ryan Zimmerman really is awesome.

marcomarco said...

Wednesday - Boston, 70 degrees.
Today - Boston, 9-12 inches of snow.

Thank you, New England weather gods. I'm going home early to watch some madness.

Patriots64 said...

Memphis !!! Nice Alley Oop!!

pv845 said...

Is is possible that Billy Packer could be a little more biased against North Texas? That guy is worthless and really needs to be put down

futurelegendvinceyoung said...

Virginia up 60-30. Nats fan I don't think they are blowing that lead.

CMFost said...

wow, looks like it is already time for UVA to put in its subs for the rest of the game

CMFost said...

Who else would be laughing there asses off after tonight if Duke was the only upset of the first round?

CMFost said...

GT with a nice little run to start the 2nd half and tie the game up

Mega said...

What the hell is this, if GT loses, 3 of my sweet 16 teams are gone =(

CMFost said...

Dan it is not that bad as long as it is only sweet sixteen teams not teams going further then that

Patriots64 said...

UNLV wins!!! Great game!

CMFost said...

Wow, So if Memphis holds on to there lead and wins the higher seeded team will now be 18-1

Big D said...

Dang... Albany to the Sweet 16... or, they can lose by rought 8293 points.

That's gonna leave a mark. Not to mention a gaping hole in my bracket.

Natsfan74 said...

Maybe this is the year that all 4 number 1 seeds make it to the final 4... nah, never gonna happen. But the selection committee must be patting themselves on the back already -- feeling good about the seeding, and Syracuse losing in the NIT.

Patriots64 said...

I always take the favs round 1 so I am 18-1 on some sheets.

Dulton said...

I signed up for this account just to post on the georgia tech game. let me pose a question, have you EVER seen a team have a worse 2 minutes of college basketball in the NCAA tournament? or in all of college basketball? From UNLV's 3 offensive rebounds and 3 point play attempt/foul out of the center, to the 5 second call, to the OTHER offensive rebound, to the dumb turnovers. I have never witnessed such a prolonged unfocused and error ridden 2 minutes. very frustrating

CMFost said...

Since I did not see the game I can not really answer your question but It seemed that way once they took the lead they fell apart.

The Big Picture said...

what's with the weak 5s? there's always -- always! -- a 12/5 upset and with this year's 5s being weak, i thought there might be a bunch. with LBST alreadly down 14, looks like Arkansas might be the last chance.

CMFost said...

could we have the makings of the first upset today, Winthrop up 4 at Halftime over ND

CMFost said...

Wisconsin off to a great start, down 10-0

Jingoist said...

Gotta love a 10-0 run to start Texas A&M C.C. off right against Wisconsin- everyone with the Badgers in the Elite Eight just went *GASP*!

CMFost said...

Could this be upset afternoon???

Patriots64 said...

Wonder if the Wisc. fans are worried yet?

BpL - Beacon, NY said...

Did Wisconsin show up? It's 21-7 w/7:53 left in the 1st half! I have them going to the elite 8 in my only bracket that hasn't been blown to shit yet. Ugh

Andy said...

Ok, I missed 3 yesterday, but haven't missed any yet today. Although Long Beach really needs to do something big, and Wisconsin needs to wake up. Creighton is now tied with Nevada. YES!!!

Jen said...

Ok, my Midwest branch looks like it's going to tumble! Hello, is ND basketball as overrated as their football!?

Thanks for showing up, Wisco...WHOA!

jingo said...

d-shan,

vcu? winthrop? is 6-11, the new 5-12?

Danielle said...

Wow. Wisconsin certainly isn't doing much to end their year on a high note.

Kevin said...

I'm not actually watching (video is blocked at work) the Wisconsin game, but I imagine Bo Ryan is ready to have an aneurysm any second now.

Jen said...

No doubt, Danielle! I had them going to the Elite Eight. So much for my Big Ten allegiance...I knew I'd get burned.

BpL - Beacon, NY said...

Notre Dame and Wisconsin are both coming back to life. And so is my bracket

BpL - Beacon, NY said...

Notre Dame down 7. Wisconsin down 8. Here we go

Andy said...

Come on Winthrop!!!!!

chitown italian said...

I just heard ND walked off the court with time left on the clock.

As if my USC hatred for them didn't span past football now I can say with all honesty that I can not stand that entire sports program.

chitown italian said...

P.S. I had the Winthrop pick. With a name like Winthrop I had to go with them.

It's right up there with Randolph and Mortimer Duke.

Danielle said...

@ jen

I figured after the big ten screwed me last year I would have learned my lesson!!

chitown italian said...

Long Beach is going to burn me as I had them picked as my upset special.

Jen said...

My upset special is Miami over Oregon...HAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA

What the HECK was I thinking? My husband laughed out loud when I told him I took them.

@ danielle~
Yes, the Big Ten always burns me, but I get sucked right back in. I took the Buckeyes all the way because I was just not thinking clearly when I did my bracket. LOL

Danielle said...

I too have the buckeyes all the way. Though I have faith in that pick....

Jen said...

@ danielle- Yes, I have them wreaking havoc on Florida!

Andy said...

I think a lot of people had Long Beach St. Creighton is making a mistake. They put Tolliver in with 4 fouls and 7 minutes left.... My Creighton pick is now screwed.

Big D said...

Assuming Wisco comes back to win this thing, this game is going to do one of two things:

A) Provide a perfect blueprint of how to beat the Badgers, thus shattering my bracket after this weekend (have Wisco in the FInal 4)

B) Fire up the Badgers and give them extra motivation to prove that they deserve their 2-seed.


I'm rooting for B.

Andy said...

Wisconsin takes the lead!

Andy said...

I agree Big D. I also have Wisco in the Final Four so I am rooting for B too.

Anonymous said...

it appears that cc is fading, unfortunate.

Andy said...

I hate Creighton. Fazekas fouls out and they still don't win. That should not have happened...

Luke Bell said...

All of us here in dairyland can come off the ledge now. Phew!

TheStarterWife said...

Damn Creighton. I'm screwed now.

Jen said...

@ big d~
I sure hope it's B also...I need them to win at least 2 more games!

Kurt said...

Shanoff its only lamest first round ever to YOU because you decided to be a retard and pick Georgia Tech to the elite 8.

Unknown said...

My Midwest bracket, specifically the bottom, feels to me as one might feel after a prostate exam administered by Greg Oden.

Paul Hewitt did wonders for me in '04. Why not now? It should be similar. Oh wait... Calhoun's playing golf, not raising the hardware. Ha. That's sweet.

Mega said...

Creighton "over-inflated" midmajor? Shanoff, don't let Packer write your blog.

Unknown said...

OMFG! GO MIAMI GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! YOU CAN DO IT!

Lowlife said...

I'm sorry, but all these people complaining about lame-ass games and no upsets - I'm sorry but next round and the sweet 16 could shape up to be more exciting than ever - and seriously, most of the time the Final Four games are not even memorable & I can't even remember (although I'm young) a decent championship game. I think all these naysayers out there can shut up when we get to see Butler-Maryland, UNC-MSU, Winthrop-Oregon which seem to be interesting match-ups.

I guess this begs the question - would you rather have a bunch of upsets the first four days and occassionaly have a George Mason slip into the Final Four OR have a pretty ho-hum first two rounds with exciting top-tier team matchups later in the tournament? I'm just saying I think I'm more excited about the possible match-ups later on in the tournament than I would have if Old Dominion, Albany and A&M-CC would have advanced.

Alec said...

wow, i think IL was completely overlooked as the 12 to upset a 5 (we know it happens once a year). I never even thought it could happen, and I am from IL. Must have been the immediate name recognition caused the dismissing of IL

Whittle said...

VTech scores a ton to come back and win. That was awesome. That just means that Arkansas has to keep the 5/12 upset going this year! Juuuuuuust like I picked them!

Also, did anyone else's ESPN.com bracket disappear??

Dulton said...

more importantly, alot of these games are alot closer than people think. I can see all the complaining because people look at the box score and see wisconsin/maryland/texas/UNLV win big, for a good 35 minutes of the game this was not the case at all. These GAMES have been great, with most of the low seeds hanging in, or leading for most of the game, and just having the game get out of hand at the end. so the results may seem dull and uncompetitive, but for as long as i can remember, i don't think i've seen this many competitive games in the first round, upsets or not.

Lowlife said...

Yeah, you're right, dulton. I agree a lot of the games have been competitive. I imagine it's just the first round jitters for most of the top seeds. Even Florida was getting manhandled by Jackson St. for a while. We'll see how the rest of the game plays out - I'm just hoping Arkansas wins, that was the 12/5 upset I was predicting in my bracket, but I guess it's no big deal, Texas is beating whoever wins anyhow.

Kurt said...

71 points for Florida in the second half....jesus. Maybe it'll be different when they play real competition. Oh that's right, they have a cakewalk to the final four while Kansas, UCLA, OSU, Texas A&M, UNC, Georgetown and Texas are all beating up on each other.