The Official 2009 NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament Thread!

Brad_Olson

Mosca


Sure, if they beat Louisville we can sit up and take notice. But I can't think of

I guess that question's been answered...
 
Brad

That was one of the worst showings/matchups for a 16 game ever. Remember, Pitt is just squeaking by, and they beat UConn not once, but twice, and soundly both times. Not meaning they'll do it again if the teams meet, but just using it as a yardstick for the relative talent in the field.

What a great finish to the Pitt/Nova game.  Now let's see the Cards do their stuff tomorrow !

Raise your hands high, if you picked Nova in your pool.  Congrats to all two of you!  No, seriously guys and gals.  Congrats to you!  GREAT GREAT PICK!! I hope you win lots of $$$ in your pools.  You deserve it!  

Great game...Best team won.  Their guards...Their foul shooting.... 

Anyone think Blair is going to go pro?  He had a good game, but the free throw misses really hurt.  And in the beginning of the game, Pitt had so much trouble finishing off those close in shots...Whatever

CONGRATS NOVA!!!

Woo, hoo! Great game! EITHER team had enough chances to win, and enough blown chances to lose.

I have a secret... I couldn't lose that one. I'm from Pittsburgh and went to Pitt, but my daughter got accepted to Villanova last week!

Hopefully we'll see more games like this one before the tournament's over.

Without a doubt free throws made the difference.  By my count Pitt missed 4 down the stretch and they turned out to be huge.

I'm dead in my pool and need Louisville and Oklahoma to win tomorrow to at least lessen the hurt, but now I'd like to see Villanova win it all.

Brad

That was a phenomenal game!

And being near Villanova, I guess I had to lean in their direction.

Nice show-stopper ending!

Braad..I'm down with you.  Why not a huge surprise.  It was a great game....

Can you imagine if Pitt would have won the whole thing after the Super Bowl..Combine that with all the positive comments about their foods on this site..It would have been too much in one year.....Just as well
Go Nova!

That game looked like something out of the UFC.I am glad that Nova won.I can't belive the Officals let them play like that,It was more like a NBA game and Prison Ball all in one.

jellybear


That game looked like something out of the UFC.I am glad that Nova won.I can't belive the Officals let them play like that,It was more like a NBA game and Prison Ball all in one.

Yep; waaaay too many fouls called. The refs should have let them play. 

If you've noticed, there's been a concerted effort by the officials to call these games pretty tight.  A ton of fouls called and quite a few technicals for "intent".

I'm glad all these other teams have their fans.  The quite team in this entire conversation is the TarHeels.  It'll be a good game this afternoon for sure.

GO HEELS

Ssssshhhhhh! Don't jinx them,Why do think I've been under the radar?

buffetbuster

I will go with Michigan State, Memphis, Villanova and North Carolina, with the Tarheels winning it all.

Looks like I got three of the Final Four correct. 

BB..Step right up to the buffet table..Congrats to you. 

I started out with the best record I have ever had.  The reason is most all the chalk won..It all caught up to me after the Sweet 16.  My only reach was Siena....You can rarely win this type of thing taking chalk.

I was on top of my pool and now I am near the bottom.  What seems so obvious rarely wins in these things.  Easy come..easy go...

Looking forward to these final games.  Go NOVA

 While I sat home scanning the crowd in Indianapolis to spot these guys, and crying in my beer during the Louisville Loss, 4 of my sons banded together to go to the game itself. Here they are during the pre-game activities.  The only  evaluative comment sent to me after the game was  "It Sucked, but we had a good time"!
 

Hey - Looks like they still had a good time.One guy looks a bit like John Daly...

How about Dem Tar Heels! Nobody here gave them a chance and look what they did to the Sooners !Never,Never count Carolina out.And how many new records did they set yesterday!100 NCAA Appearances !

Jelly Bear..You are absolutely correct!!  You called it..

Congrats...Good luck.

Go Green, go White!

Hey, why not.....

Michigan State beating Louisville didn't surprise me. I watched a much lesser Big 10 team, Minnesota, handily beat Louisville on a neutral court in January so I knew they were vulnerable.

I'm starting to like basketball again. The Big 10, maligned this year as a not so good conference has captured the NIT with Penn State winning and now Michigan State has knocked off its second number 1 seed handily in UConn and will be going to the final dance. Maybe the Big 10 is tougher than thought.

The Big East is not as good as they thought they were. GO HEELS!

GO  HEELS!!!

Jay and Jelly -  The Big East teams played a far more grueling and competitive football basketball schedule amongst themselves.  Witness the NCAA Selection Committee choosing so many of them for the tournament.   They understood what that league was all about.  Kudos to them.

Then Nova plays the best game of the entire tournament (IMHO) and they had nothing left.  The mental and physical strain on these ELITE Big East teams was just too great to overcome in the very late rounds IMHO.

So you guys are under a lot of pressure now..UNC better win Monday against a team that was never expected to get this far. 
So, I congratulate you for getting this far..Jellybear..You were firm in your conviction!  Props to you.  Now let's see if you can close the deal.  Personally, I think you will.  

Tyler looked excellent.  He did a terrific job under the boards..Just terrific! It's gonna be interesting to see how he fares in the pros.   He's very determined and works hard.  Reminds me of some of the old time Celtic forwards, but not as coordinated.  Maybe a Dave Cowens like player?

Good luck Monday guys..... 

Michigan State out-BigEasted U Conn; they played them the same way that Pitt played them in beating them twice this year. They were tough on Tabeet, they scrapped for offensive rebounds and they were efficient on offense. Nice job!

It would have been nice to see 'Nova put up a better fight, or even win, but NC has the breeding. The final game should be good!

Thanks Ben, I really want UNC to play any Big East Team so when they win no one could argue.Carolina is on a mission after losing to Kansas last year. I like your comparison about Dave Cowens He was one of my favorites growing up.

Good luck Jelly Bear..I hope it is a good game like Mosca said.

It will be interesting to see if the Spartans can reach back for one final emotional high.  I think, in order to do that, they must get off to a fast start.  Get the juices going and hope they have enough to close it out.  Personally, I think they will not have enough gas in the tank left.  I like NC to push it out in the second half.  Hope I am wrong.

Well damn, my alma mater (UCONN) is out, bracket is busted, and I hate that they play championship games in the week

Well ya'll still have the Womens Championship to cheer on!

jellybear


Well ya'll still have the Womens Championship to cheer on!

whoopy dee doo!