Bracketology - Let's Do This

[lv20gt]

Coach Few's decision not to call a TO and set up a play was brilliant. Hated the outcome for the UCLA guys. They were ballers.

I want to point out that he made the same decision the UCLA coach made at the end of regulation which went far less well.

 

[Milwaukee]

That kid is SPECIAL

 

[orientalnc]

Think about this for a moment. Gonzaga might have three 1st round picks and a 2nd round pick on their team. This is a none trivial talent level.

 

[4shotB]

I want to point out that he made the same decision the UCLA coach made at the end of regulation which went far less well.

I thought that was the right call then as well. Timme just made an unbelievable defensive play that was probably the key play of the entire game. Kispert and Suggs might get more pub than Timme but I think he is the best player on their roster, maybe in college BB. Not saying he is the best pro prospect but he is killer in the college game. Granted, this is not based on much viewing of the Zags as I have only seen glimpses prior to lat night's game.

 

[Techster]

Gonzaga and Baylor were supposed to play each other in December but the game got cancelled. Now they meet in the Championship game. Should be an incredible game.

Sometimes fate makes sure the fans get what they want:

 

[Techster]

Think about this for a moment. Gonzaga might have three 1st round picks and a 2nd round pick on their team. This is a none trivial talent level.

If rumors are correct, Gonzaga is about to reload with even more talented players. The thing is, Mark Few is a such a good person and the Gonzaga program does things the right way that you kinda root for them. Of course, it helps that they're not in our conference and we don't have to face them unless it's a early season or NCAA tournament type situation.

 

[ESPNjacket]

 

[RamblinRed]

That

This was the game that immediately jumped to mind for me.

 

[RamblinRed]

Think about this for a moment. Gonzaga might have three 1st round picks and a 2nd round pick on their team. This is a none trivial talent level.

Absolutely, though they are certainly not getting Duke/KY/Kansas type talent as consistently.

if you look at their primary players.
Suggs was ranked #11 by both Scout and Rivals.
Nembard was a Top 25 recruit coming out of HS
Timme was a Top 40ish recruit.
Kispert was a Top 100ish recruit.
Anton Watson was Top 50ish.

Finally, Ayayi was from France so he wasn't rated but was seen as a 4* prospect. Interestingly with him. GT got his last official visit before he made his decision (he had visited Gonzaga the week before), and his final three were Gonzaga, GT and Baylor with it thought to be primarily Gonzaga and GT (he did not take an OV to Baylor). I remember hoping we would get him but not holding my breath as Gonzaga has long pulled players from overseas and had and has a better program.

 

[RamblinRed]

That Villanova game is often refered to as the Perfect Game.

The stats pretty much bear that out. 22-28 FG (78.6%), 22-27 FT ( 81.5%). 14 assists on 22 baskets.
It was hardly like G'town had a bad game either. They shot 29-53 (54.7%) and 6-8 FT (75%). 18 assists on 29 baskets.

To their credit Nova had played G'town tough in their 2 regular season meetings losing 50-52 at The Spectrum in Philly and 50-57 at the Capital Centre in DC.

 

[RamblinRed]

Some great stats on last night's game from David Warlock of the NCAA.

It was a 1 or 2 possession game for 43:51 out of 45 min.
The largest unanswered run was 6 points.
2nd Final Four game in history where both teams scored 90.
First Final Four game ever where both teams shot over 55% from the field.
UCLA was 62% from 2-pt range and 47% from 3-pt range. Gonzaga was 71.4% from 2 with 56 points in the paint
Gonzaga finished at 1.26 ppp, UCLA finished at 1.22 ppp


Also, this is a good article (and a good walk through history) of the top 10 Final Four games of all time as well as some great honorable mentions.

Where does Gonzaga-UCLA rank among greatest men's Final Four games of modern era?

Jalen Suggs's buzzer-beater vaulted Gonzaga-UCLA toward the top of the list. But not quite to the very top.

sports.yahoo.com

Two things we learned about Gonzaga last night.
First, they are beatable.
Second, they can win a close game.

IMO this has been one of the best NCAA Tournament's of all time. My reasoning is this.
It has the 2 things that make for a great tournament. They were alot of upsets in the first 2 rounds and the best teams make it to play each other at the end. You don't often get both of those.
The only thing it was missing was another couple of buzzer-beaters, but especially after the last year getting this March Madness has been awesome.

 

[AUFC]

This will never go down as one of the best NCAA Tournaments for lack of packed arenas alone. We missed out on a lot of chill inducing moments due to the small crowds. That guard from Ohio hitting back to back 3s with under 8 to play against UVa comes to mind.

5:13 for interested parties. 85% of the crowd putting all their energy behind the underdog would have melted the arena down when that second one hit.

 

[lv20gt]

This tournament has a lot of elements of a good tournament overall but I'm not sure if I'd call it one of the best all time. I'm sure part of it is the lack of crowds, but IMO just the level of play doesn't really feel that high across the board.It felt like there were a lot of games that just seemed one team take control for most of the game. Like the entire west bracket after the first week round was just drama free. Closest game was 14. Same thing with the East for the most part and even the game that was the closest, Michigan vs UCLA, wasn't a particularly good game. South was the best region with the bottom half being good overall. The midwest was probably awesome for fans who love upsets but to me it felt like it was just teams taking turns not showing up.

There have certainly been some great moments and some interesting storylines (although UCLA as your cinderella is meh to me despite me liking how they've played) and it coming a year after the tournment was canceled helps some.

 

[joehamiltonfan14]

For me this has been a blah tournament, but last night one of the greatest games ever. Overall been disappointing as a lot of the early upsets meant the sweet sixteen/elite eight matchups weren’t that great.

 

[RamblinRed]

Some of the more memorable March Madness Buzzer Beaters

Top 10 March Madness buzzer-beaters: Where Jalen Suggs' 3-pointer ranks among NCAA Tournament game-winners

Suggs' bucket vs. UCLA on Saturday in the Final Four was the latest memorable game-winning shot in the Big Dance

www.cbssports.com

 

[Milwaukee]

Baylor came out HOT

 

[AUFC]

This is just heartbreak for Gonzaga. Would have been just a generally neat story to see this tiny Jesuit school that nobody had heard of til 2 decades ago live the mid-major dream. I'm sure they will be right back here playing the same weekend with Chet though.

 

[awbuzz]

I know there's no guarantee how this game is going to end, but right now Baylor is putting a whooping on Gonzaga!

 

[YlJacket]

Gonzaga cannot score on their athleticism

 

[Techster]

Gonzaga needs to get it to single digits by the half. They've got the players to make it happen.