Bracket Challenge

majorQ9

majorQ9

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kg01 said:
RRed is human? Who knew?

Agree the Cavs fans had no idea how to react. It's like they didn't think it was real.



In addition to what you mention, I think a major factor is the talent-drain at the NCAA level which has become drastic in the last few years. Good freshmen are sure to leave. Improving sophomores are sure to leave. The sport is bleeding out and the only thing covering the wound is a used 'Hello Kitty' band-aid.

My UVA hatred aside, let's be honest, UVA wasn't a real 1-seed. Can you imagine the *gag* Laettner-led Duke teams losing to a team like UMBC? Think about that the Augmon-led UNLV teams would've done to that UMBC squad. It would've been criminal. Shiiiii, what would Lethal Weapon 3 have done to the Retrievers and they were a 4-seed?

People talk about parity but it's out of control and it's just plain awful for cbb which is the first sport I ever grew to love :)(). I gotta log off ... it's a little dusty in here.
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Not a real 1 seed? They went 30-3, 17-1 in the ACC, won the regular season and tournament, and was one of the best defensive teams in the last 20 years. They were clearly a one seed
 
kg01

kg01

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majorQ9 said:
Not a real 1 seed? They went 30-3, 17-1 in the ACC, won the regular season and tournament, and was one of the best defensive teams in the last 20 years. They were clearly a one seed
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The comment was an overall statement regarding the level of talent in teams in this era as compared to prior eras.
 

lauraee

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Talent from the 90s before the one & dones compared to today's talent level. The UNLVs, Duke with Laettner, Hill & Hurley, Fab 5 Michigan, Lethal Weapon 3. Players stayed longer & didn't transfer so much. BB seemed more fundamentally sound and way better offensively then.
 
ESPNjacket

ESPNjacket

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lauraee said:
Talent from the 90s before the one & dones compared to today's talent level. The UNLVs, Duke with Laettner, Hill & Hurley, Fab 5 Michigan, Lethal Weapon 3. Players stayed longer & didn't transfer so much. BB seemed more fundamentally sound and way better offensively then.
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Bilas has been challenging the narrative that one and dones have led to more parity in the tournament all day:

 

lauraee

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I just know it was way more fun to watch games back then. Lot of the blame could probably be shared with the aau scene.
 

lauraee

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Yeah UK is still playing, a lot of that is due to easy matchups they had. How about all the teams with one & does who are absolute crap. Miz, bama, lsu,nc st, Washington, etc?
 

Deleted member 2897

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ESPNjacket said:
Bilas has been challenging the narrative that one and dones have led to more parity in the tournament all day:

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Well one of those I assume he is referring to his Kentucky. The 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 are all gone from the Kentucky bracket. Kentucky themselves has had to play a 12 and a 13. Now I picked Kentucky to win it all, so I think they are a hot team right now...but making the conclusion they are a great team that is dispelling widely held 'myths' because they beat a 12 and a 13 doesn't make sense. They next play a 9, and if they win that either a 7 or an 11. I mean come on. We won't really know if they're a great team until the Final Four at the earliest. Its not Kentucky's fault, and they have a long way to go, but its not like they are out beating high seeds.
 
dtm1997

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kg01 said:
You have to view my statements in the prism of the fact that I don't believe UVA has that much talent.
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Oh. The old difference between ignorance & the ignore button.

Well, you don't seem to have me on ignore, so...
 
CuseJacket

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Two years ago I reached the end of a 5 year bet that a 16 would beat a 1. I lost, but the premise of my thought is that the middle and back end of college b-ball is better now than it was years ago. 16’s aren’t as afraid of 1’s due to the proliferation of AAU ball. The players on those 16-seed teams are more familiar with some of the top cats from their HS days. Also think it’s partly due to all teams being on TV now. The moment is not as much of a leap as it once was for the lower teams.

Not sure if there are any stats that confirm my general feeling. I know Kansas was a remarkably low favorite as a 1 seed against Penn. Something like 13.5 points. And I’m not sure the UMBC win was the biggest upset ever. Missouri lost as a 2 seed to a 15 six years ago or so as something like a 23 pt favorite.
 
GTRX7

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lauraee said:
Yeah UK is still playing, a lot of that is due to easy matchups they had. How about all the teams with one & does who are absolute crap. Miz, bama, lsu,nc st, Washington, etc?
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I guess it depends on how you define "one and done" teams. Personally, I don't consider teams that play with a mix of freshman to seniors, with maybe a single one-and-done player to be a "one and done" team. I believe that was generally the makeup of Mizzouri, Bama, LSU, and NC St. For example, yes, Arizona started and relied heavily on Deandre Ayton, but they also started two seniors, a junior, and a sophomore. Are they considered a "one and done" team? If so, I bet we would find that something like 12 of the lat 15 NCAA champions were "one and done" teams.

Now, of the teams that usually start multiple one-and-dones, the main three over the last few years have been Duke, Kansas, and UK. All are still in it this year and have had more than their fair share of success over the last decade. UNC and Arizona might be next on the list in terms of percentage of one and dones. Both are out this year, but it has certainly worked out well for UNC the last few years.

Bottom line is that there is certainly no single way to win the title, but getting multiple one and dones has been a strategy that has seemed to lead to a disproportionate amount of success.

Personally, I would love Tech to get old and stay old, with a rotating string of one/two and done type players. After all, the last time we actually won a tourney game was the single year with Favors.
 

YlJacket

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GTRX7 said:
I guess it depends on how you define "one and done" teams. Personally, I don't consider teams that play with a mix of freshman to seniors, with maybe a single one-and-done player to be a "one and done" team. I believe that was generally the makeup of Mizzouri, Bama, LSU, and NC St. For example, yes, Arizona started and relied heavily on Deandre Ayton, but they also started two seniors, a junior, and a sophomore. Are they considered a "one and done" team? If so, I bet we would find that something like 12 of the lat 15 NCAA champions were "one and done" teams.

Now, of the teams that usually start multiple one-and-dones, the main three over the last few years have been Duke, Kansas, and UK. All are still in it this year and have had more than their fair share of success over the last decade. UNC and Arizona might be next on the list in terms of percentage of one and dones. Both are out this year, but it has certainly worked out well for UNC the last few years.

Bottom line is that there is certainly no single way to win the title, but getting multiple one and dones has been a strategy that has seemed to lead to a disproportionate amount of success.

Personally, I would love Tech to get old and stay old, with a rotating string of one/two and done type players. After all, the last time we actually won a tourney game was the single year with Favors.
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I don't argue with your point overall but will quibble with a couple of details? Who is the one and done on NCSU this year - Beverly? Or are you referring to Smith from last year? Also, UNC has only had one 1 and done player in 5 years or more - Tony Bradley who surprised almost everyone by getting a late first round selection. He was supposed to be a 3 year type of player and would have made a big difference for UNC in games like yesterday.
 
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