March Madness Thread

[BRme4eva]

Farleigh Dickinson owners are feeling great. Hopefully you sold your CSB shares.

[WestGOAT]

As a filthy Euro I won't ever get college hoops. That game just now with the 16th seed beating the 1st seed was nothing to write home about, how can a team like Purdue with a slow lumbering center be considered one of the best team in college? That dude legit doesn't stay on the floor for 2 mins max in the NBA, so I don't get why the other team just didn't spam high pick n roll. Then again both teamS lacked any outside shooting. I'm just not impressed watching such low level basketball.

It's not for everyone, but for those who enjoy it, there's nothing better.

Fair enough, I had just come back from St Patrick's day and was too buzzed to fall asleep still .

I can definitely understand the appeal if you are a (former) student rooting for your college, the atmosphere looks amazing

[IllMagic04]

This tournament sucks - definitely the worst one in recent memory. There have been upsets but overall there's been a ton of bad basketball as a whole through 2 full days of the 1st round.

Think you're going to be alone in that thought.

Around here? Perhaps. In general? I doubt it. Seen a lot of people commenting about the terrible ball and decisions from teams so far in this tourney. More than what you would usually see.

Also this is by far the weakest class of top teams in the last 10-15 years I'd say. Definitely feels like the seedings are a little more inaccurate this year as well in terms of teams being under and over-seeded.

In general as in what? The NCAA tourny is always does well ratings wise. Yes the skill level isn't perfect which is obvious cause they are not professionals. Thats part of what makes it so exciting. Theres no such thing as a bad tournament. It always delivers

Sent from my SM-G970U using RealGM mobile app

[UcanUwill]

As a filthy Euro I won't ever get college hoops. That game just now with the 16th seed beating the 1st seed was nothing to write home about, how can a team like Purdue with a slow lumbering center be considered one of the best team in college? That dude legit doesn't stay on the floor for 2 mins max in the NBA, so I don't get why the other team just didn't spam high pick n roll. Then again both teamS lacked any outside shooting. I'm just not impressed watching such low level basketball.

It's not for everyone, but for those who enjoy it, there's nothing better.

Tavares might be most dominant player in EUrope, and would he last 2 minutes in the NBA, guy cant stay on the floor against Anadolu Efes without getting murdered by Larkin and Bryant, and he emberassingly has 2 EL DPOYs, guy is basically Boban.

I personally can not watch low level Soccer, I am casual fan who only watches top level there. But basketball, I can find myself wathing Girls U16 tournaments, and I am still entertaitained, to me, the intrigue of which team wins, outweights star power or high scoring anti ugly game. I love ugly games, I kind off love seeing scrubs birthing points, NBA now is more boring then ever because everyone is trading baskets for 48 minutes and scores 120+ every night, there is no immensity in scored basket, every possession is a score or a foul were defense doesnt exist anymore.

As an Euro, NCAA to me could be even more interesting now from what I have saw, I just wish stoppage time wasnt that bad.

[aminiaturebuddha]

Painter is such a horrific coach come March, it is exactly quite impressive the horrible resume he is putting up.

That was a horrific display of coaching. Forget about the fact that he stubbornly sticks to man-to-man defence, and didn't bother teaching at least a basic zone when he went into the season knowing the team revolved around Edey.

I simply don't understand what he was asking his players to do against FDU's press tonight. Every time they would get across half and reset, giving FDU's defence time to recover and collapse in on the paint again, instead of taking advantage of having a man advantage or Edey sealed one-on-one once they got past the initial pressure. Just baffling.

Its easy to mention zone now but they dominanted all year not playing zone. They never needed it. Till right now. Trying to teach a team zone in a week aint gonna happen. I would have just started traping that guard on those pick and rolls.

I 1000% agree about attacking the press though. That made absolutely no sense. If this were a 7 game series that be the main adjustment.

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Yeah, I wasn't suggesting that he should have tried to teach them zone just starting this week. But last fall, if you're going into a season knowing that your team is going to be built around a huge, but not very mobile, center, he probably should have taught his team at least a basic zone and then practiced every once in a while throughout the season to have the flexibility to use it in exactly these types of situations.

Even if he wasn't going to play it much during the season, as a coach it's always good to have flexibility and options, particular for when you get to tournaments like this (which had to have been the overall goal of the season) where teams play dramatically different styles.

But yep, agree that trapping the guard on the pick and roll is another adjustment they could have tried.

[azcatz11]

SDSU -5.5 - not buying this Furman hype.

[Duke4life831]

SDSU -5.5 - not buying this Furman hype.

Everyone go and bet the house on Furman!!!

[azcatz11]

SDSU -5.5 - not buying this Furman hype.

Everyone go and bet the house on Furman!!!

I actually won the past 5 straight games after I posted I lost the first 7...you should listen to me today I'm on a heater

[Duke4life831]

SDSU -5.5 - not buying this Furman hype.

Everyone go and bet the house on Furman!!!

I actually won the past 5 straight games after I posted I lost the first 7...you should listen to me today I'm on a heater

You’re my sports Jim Cramer. Just do the opposite of what you say, and I’m feeling good with my money haha

Please tell you got money on Tennessee today haha.

[Ancalagon]

As a filthy Euro I won't ever get college hoops. That game just now with the 16th seed beating the 1st seed was nothing to write home about, how can a team like Purdue with a slow lumbering center be considered one of the best team in college? That dude legit doesn't stay on the floor for 2 mins max in the NBA, so I don't get why the other team just didn't spam high pick n roll. Then again both teamS lacked any outside shooting. I'm just not impressed watching such low level basketball.

It's not for everyone, but for those who enjoy it, there's nothing better.

Tavares might be most dominant player in EUrope, and would he last 2 minutes in the NBA, guy cant stay on the floor against Anadolu Efes without getting murdered by Larkin and Bryant, and he emberassingly has 2 EL DPOYs, guy is basically Boban.

I personally can not watch low level Soccer, I am casual fan who only watches top level there. But basketball, I can find myself wathing Girls U16 tournaments, and I am still entertaitained, to me, the intrigue of which team wins, outweights star power or high scoring anti ugly game. I love ugly games, I kind off love seeing scrubs birthing points, NBA now is more boring then ever because everyone is trading baskets for 48 minutes and scores 120+ every night, there is no immensity in scored basket, every possession is a score or a foul were defense doesnt exist anymore.

As an Euro, NCAA to me could be even more interesting now from what I have saw, I just wish stoppage time wasnt that bad.

Agreed. Love the contrasting styles and the gravity of every possession in the tournament. March Madness is built to be must-see TV. BUT …

The stoppage time and way tv timeouts are organized has become almost unbearable. As a defender of college basketball, I am almost embarrassed to watch a game with my friends who love the NBA.

I’ll call my wife into the room when she’s busy to see the last 30 seconds of an exciting game, and it might take 25 minutes to conclude. It’s embarrassing for the sport.

Edit: the way FIBA does this is the pipe dream. I wish we could somehow get there. There are hardly any stoppages in FIBA, and the flow is absolutely beautiful. Basketball could become the most popular sport in the world if the NBA and NCAA would sacrifice the fast dollar for long-term growth.

[azcatz11]

Everyone go and bet the house on Furman!!!

I actually won the past 5 straight games after I posted I lost the first 7...you should listen to me today I'm on a heater

You’re my sports Jim Cramer. Just do the opposite of what you say, and I’m feeling good with my money haha

Please tell you got money on Tennessee today haha.

SDSU is going to slow this down to a crawl. Furman is going to have to make a bunch of 3s to win

[ReddoverKobe]

I actually won the past 5 straight games after I posted I lost the first 7...you should listen to me today I'm on a heater

You’re my sports Jim Cramer. Just do the opposite of what you say, and I’m feeling good with my money haha

Please tell you got money on Tennessee today haha.

SDSU is going to slow this down to a crawl. Furman is going to have to make a bunch of 3s to win

Looks like you nailed this one. SDSU up 14 now and they have looked much better

[ejftw]

SDSU -5.5 - not buying this Furman hype.

Wait, that's all that line was? Man, DayGo St and my dude Lamont Butler get no respek

**** you Cali for not legalizing sports betting.

[ItsDanger]

If you have a 15 and 16 seed winning, you either have major parity or you got a serious ref problem.

[azcatz11]

I'm not betting on the Duke - UT game...especially with Ziegler out. I do really like KU -3.5 against Arkansas!

[hippesthippo]

Im now 0-7 in bets the past day and a half

You better not have put any money on FDU! You better not have jinxed my 16 seed to knock off the 1 seed in my Duke bracket.

If Purdue loses this game I’ll Venmo you $500

Purdue: Seriously, wtf Purdue.

I've come out ahead this weekend, but there have been some bad losses along the way. Putting an odds boost on Maryland made up for most of that. Those coupons came in handy. I've mainly been betting spreads, but have occasionally bet on O/U's that don't make sense.

I love March Madness. It's always worth taking the day off for. EDIT: Hence, myself treating it like the weekend

All winnings/losses include the stake:

Wins:
ASU +4.5 at TCU | +$40
Kentucky -7.5 at Providence | +$75
Iona at Connecticut Under 157.5 | +$10
FAU +1.5 at Memphis | +$150 [used an odds boost token]
MI State -1.5 at USC | +$60 [used an odds boost token]
NC Asheville +33.5 at UCLA | +$10
Louisiana at Tennessee Under 114.5 | +$10
Maryland to beat West Virginia | +$340 [used an odds boost token]

Losses:
Providence to beat Kentucky | -$5 [Last minute hedge against craziness]
Purdue -10.5 at F. Dickinson | -$20
Iona +13.5 at Connecticut | -$5
NC State +5.5 at Creighton | -$20
Louisiana to beat Tennessee | -$5
Illinois +1.5 at Arkansas | -$110
Two different parlays with Alabama winning and 2 other legs. Lost them both on the Under 154.5 | -$100 [Total: $50 each]

Puts me up $430.

There were a few winners I cashed out early and a few losers I cashed out early, but I didn't bother noting them as they just cancelled each other out. Not bad so far. March Madness and the Super Bowl are the only time I bet, but I always follow along.

I put the money back in the bank for a nice weekend out with fam. [Other than the 2 bets I have set for today]

Houston U -5.5 at Auburn | $18 stake, odds -105
Tennessee +3.5 at Duke | $50 stake, odds +138 [odds boost token]

How have you been faring? Anything set for today? I'm gonna scroll through the thread for 15minutes before watching these Dukie's lose.

All I can say is those odd boost tokens on BetMGM are like gold. They turn an underdog into a longshot.

[hippesthippo]

SDSU -5.5 - not buying this Furman hype.

Everyone go and bet the house on Furman!!!

I actually won the past 5 straight games after I posted I lost the first 7...you should listen to me today I'm on a heater

Good for you. I Wish I had SDSU at -5.5.

I wasn't buying the Furman hype either, but I woke up covered in empty's and Jimmy John's. By the time I got myself in order, it was too late. I stayed up late[r] to watch Maxi Kleber crush what's left of AD's ego.

[California Gold]

Think you're going to be alone in that thought.

Around here? Perhaps. In general? I doubt it. Seen a lot of people commenting about the terrible ball and decisions from teams so far in this tourney. More than what you would usually see.

Also this is by far the weakest class of top teams in the last 10-15 years I'd say. Definitely feels like the seedings are a little more inaccurate this year as well in terms of teams being under and over-seeded.

In general as in what? The NCAA tourny is always does well ratings wise. Yes the skill level isn't perfect which is obvious cause they are not professionals. Thats part of what makes it so exciting. Theres no such thing as a bad tournament. It always delivers

Sent from my SM-G970U using RealGM mobile app

In General as in the general viewership as a whole. I've seen it on Twitter and game chats that a large number of people share similar sentiments. I never said anything about ratings, I'm talking about the quality of play in relation to just basic basketball. A lot of terrible uncharacteristic shots, a lot of untimely unforced turnovers, and a lot of low IQ plays. This isn't the typical case for college basketball, but this whole season has been one of the weakest seasons in college basketball in recent memory. The teams at the top to me are much closer to the middle of the playing field as well.

I'm not comparing this to professionals, I'm comparing this season to other past NCAA seasons and tournaments.

[hippesthippo]

Day 2 Recap (March 17, 2023)
The big story is obviously Purdue falling to a team nobody has ever heard of. They had zero answers for Furman's Fairleigh Dickinson's speed. I'm lazy, so here's the best recap I could find if you need some catching up to do.



Saturday, March 18 (Round of 32. All times Eastern)

No. 5 San Diego State 75, No. 13 Furman 52
No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 5 Duke | 2:40 p.m. | CBS
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 8 Arkansas | 5:15 p.m. | CBS
No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 15 Princeton | 6:10 p.m. | TNT
No. 1 Houston vs. No. 9 Auburn | 7:10 p.m. | TBS
No. 2 Texas vs. No. 10 Penn State | 7:45 p.m. | CBS
No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 7 Northwestern | 8:40 p.m. | TNT
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 8 Maryland | 9:40 p.m. | TBS

EDIT: Purdue lost to Fairleigh Dickinson in a 1-16 matchup. Virginia lost to Furman in a 4-13 matchup the day prior. Sorry for any confusion.

[-Luke-]

Day 2 Recap
The big story is obviously Purdue falling to a team nobody has ever heard of. They had zero answers for Furman's speed.

I don't follow college basketball but read through this thread a bit. I seriously thought Furman was a player.