Market Madness Forum

View the Forum Registry

XML Get RSS Feed for this thread


Self-edit this thread


0 Subject: March Madness 2007

Posted by: Bond, James Bond
- Donor [04352469] Sat, Mar 10, 2007, 22:18

Ok, it's time to get this party started...

Which teams should we watch out for? Looks as if Ohio State, Kansas, UNC, and Florida have the most talent and are playing the best right now but we can't ignore how Georgetown and Maryland have played lately either.

I've always wondered if a long run in the conference tournament takes some steam out of pre-NCAA tournament favorites or not. Seems to me that if a team has nothing to play for in the conference tournament then a few days off before the main tournament would be a good thing. Thoughts?

While everybody is looking for this year's George Mason, seriously just how good is Winthrop? Or SIU? Or Davidson?
1Razor
      ID: 191342413
      Sun, Mar 11, 2007, 12:12
6 of the past 9 national champions have won their conference tournament.
2Kyle
      Donor
      ID: 52753312
      Sun, Mar 11, 2007, 17:10
Just over an hour until Selection Show.
Some Observations from the games going on right now.

TEX V. KAN

Texas is unable to close in the 2 games I've watched (both vs. KU) This seems like a common thing for them. Either that or Kansas is really good at coming back from a deficient. Someone who's watched more Big 12 game could prolly tell more about this.

Wisc V. OSU

These 2 teams are scary similar in how they score. They will rely on one or 2 players (for UW only Tucker ever seems to really score) and they will go thru 4-5 minute droughts followed by 8-10 point outbursts. OSU really needs to get Oden alot more shots. He averages 9 shots a game and hits 60% of them. He's 5=9 today all of the shots coming in the second half. Since very few teams have a player that can match Oden's size and speed (Georgetown, Pitt), he would be a monster in the tourney. Wisconsin I don't really see making it past the sweet 16 unless their bracket is kind.

I am excited. I've been home on break and have been sick all week. I've prolly watched 20 games this week, including every minute of every Big 10 game. Midwest kid who had loved the Big 10 since birth (GO Indiana!) Too bad my school didn't make it (Valparaiso) but you'll see enough of us next week when they are talking about upsets and last second shots (See Bryce Drew). Next year when we have Jeffery Jordan we'll be back.
3 CTG Admin
      ID: 72581120
      Sun, Mar 11, 2007, 22:59
www.CappingtheGame.com

CappingtheGame is pleased to announce a free March Madness Pool, where you can win your share of $500 of cash and prizes.
1) To sign up for the March Madness Pool, you must first register in our forum by clicking this link http://www.cappingthegame.com/forum/register.php If you have already signed up to our forum, please feel free to go ahead and make your picks logging into the forum and clicking the link that takes you to the picks page http://www.cappingthegame.com/contests/mm07/index.php

2) Each person may only make one entry into the pool. CTG has the right to cancel selections of those who violate this rule. Failure to comply to this rule could result in permanent banishment from CTG.

3) All picks must be placed prior to the start of the first Thursday game, which is on 3/15/2007 at Noon EST.

4) Once your picks are made, you will not be able to change them. No exceptions.

5) You are picking the winner of each game straight up, no point spread is involved.

6) In case of a tie, the person who is closest to choosing the total combined points of the National Championship without going over the total points scored of both teams will be the winner.

7) Scoring will be as follows:

2nd Round = 1 point
Sweet 16 Round = 2 points
Elite 8 Round = 4 points
Final Four Round = 8 points
Championship Game Round = 16 points
National Champion = 32 points

8) The person with the most points at the conclusion of the National Championship game will be declared the winner.

9) Prize amounts will be as follows: 1st: $250, 2nd: $125, 3rd: $75 4th: CTG Hoodie 5th: CTG T-Shirt

www.CappingtheGame.com
4GoatLocker
      Sustainer
      ID: 060151121
      Mon, Mar 12, 2007, 00:08
Go Salukis.

Cliff
5Razor
      ID: 2107611
      Mon, Mar 12, 2007, 15:17
Texas has a problem closing out games because they are extremely young and because their coach is not an in-game mastermind. If they could have closed out games better, they'd probably be a #2 seed with a win over Kansas and another win over Oklahoma State.

Texas still has the best team in the country, so they are a dangerous matchup for anyone. I laughed when I saw UNC received them as a four seed in their bracket. So glad my team doesn't have to play Durant again any time soon.
6Seattle Zen
      ID: 49112418
      Mon, Mar 12, 2007, 17:21
Are you going to be this chatty after Kansas steps up its recent tournament performance and becomes the first number one seed to lose to the 16?

Bill Self is due a NCAA tourney win, maybe next year will be the year.
7Perm Dude
      ID: 352381210
      Mon, Mar 12, 2007, 17:45
Well, I guess we now know two of Zen's shorts in March Madness 2007....
8Perm Dude
      ID: 352381210
      Mon, Mar 12, 2007, 17:51
Texas still has the best team in the country

Yikes! I'd certainly put Florida over Texas right now (although I think Florida is going against a very tough second round game against Arizona and is apt to get knocked off).

You don't get to be the best team in the country by losing to Kansas twice.
9barilko6
      ID: 290202915
      Mon, Mar 12, 2007, 18:42
I like Texas A&M as a semi sleeper to advance to the elite 8 and maybe even knocking off Ohio State.

I also think Niagara got a very raw deal being assigned to the play-in game. They have 4 great players and a good winning streak going...I mean even the oddsmakers see this as an insult, making them an 11 point favorite.
10Razor
      ID: 191342413
      Mon, Mar 12, 2007, 21:51
Sorry, I meant Texas still has the best PLAYER in the country.

I've never understood Zen's fascination with me. Very odd.
11C1-NRB
      ID: 17348117
      Mon, Mar 12, 2007, 23:00
I like Texas A&M as a semi sleeper to advance to the elite 8 and maybe even knocking off Ohio State.

Whoop! The Aggies appreciate your props, barilko6. I personally can't believe they received a few national mentions as a Final Four team. I'll be in San Antonio this weekend (one weekend early! D'oh!)

Next year's Final Four is in San Antonio. I'm already saving for tickets, just in case...
12leggestand
      Leader
      ID: 451036518
      Tue, Mar 13, 2007, 09:26
I think one of the best (potential) 2nd round games is the Louisville - A&M game. The winner of that has a decent shot of making the final four.
13barilko6
      ID: 290202915
      Tue, Mar 13, 2007, 10:54
Hey all...

I just set up a Yahoo Group, and I think it would be great to get all of us in there!

ID: 135076
Password: dukesucks

You can all compete for second place!
14barilko6
      ID: 290202915
      Tue, Mar 13, 2007, 11:07
And this is the easiest of all the pools! Just pick your team and watch it go. No updates necesary!
15barilko6
      ID: 290202915
      Tue, Mar 13, 2007, 14:25
We've got 3 teams. I thought there would be more interest.

Just saw a report on the Niagara team...apparently a bunch of their players had some troubles with the law earlier this season where a bunch of them kicked the crap out of another student. Some players were charged. The team says this incident "brought the team closer together and bonded us".

After reading this, I hope they lose now.
16Razor
      ID: 191342413
      Tue, Mar 13, 2007, 20:30
No worries. They are a #16 seed...if they win today.
17barilko6
      ID: 3512496
      Tue, Mar 13, 2007, 20:38
Yeah...I was just hoping they would lose to Florida A&M. Figured the Kansas game was a no-brainer.


Up to 7 teams in the pool....
18barilko6
      ID: 290202915
      Wed, Mar 14, 2007, 14:28
So Niagara looked good last night, but now have to face a very tough Kansas team. What is everyone's prediction for the lowest seeded winning team? I am going with #11 Winthrop beating Notre Dame.

Also, we are up to 8 entries in the Yahoo pool. Still one more day to get your team in:

ID: 135076
Password: dukesucks
19wolfer
      ID: 24148211
      Wed, Mar 14, 2007, 14:30
The winner - err me will enter tonight.
20leggestand
      Leader
      ID: 451036518
      Wed, Mar 14, 2007, 15:56
Spoiler Alert - I am going to post some of my picks, and if you'd rather wait until tourney time to see what will happen (with 99% certainty), then I suggest you don't read on...

St. Louis Bracket - My thought was this is the easiest bracket to pick, with only one "upset" in the first round (GT over UNLV). I don't think anyone can stop Florida in that bracket, except maybe Maryland. I also don't like Wisconsin as I think they have been struggling offensively since losing Butch. Florida goes to the Final Four after beating Oregon in the Elite Eight.

San Jose Bracket - A tough bracket to pick, as I don't really like any team in it. Kansas chokes all the time, and I think their toughest game through the Sweet Sixteen will be the Nova vs. Kentucky winner. They should be able to stomp Illinoi, Southern Illinois, or Va Tech in the Sweet Sixteen, so, I just don't see them not making it to the Elite 8. I also guess that Va Tech will lose to Illinois in the 1st round. On the bottom 1/2 of the bracket, UCLA has the clear advanatage as they don't even leave the state of Cali for the first four rounds. Pitt vs. Duke could be a good game, but I am not even sure Duke can get by VCU. UCLA makes the Final Four after beating Kansas.

East Rutherford Bracket - What a doozy of a bracket. UNC is the 1 seed, but I don't think they can make it. I have them losing to Texas in the Sweet Sixteen, which should be a great game with both teams scoring in the 80's. I am worried about Texas fatigue, though, but UNC could have that, too. G'town should get through the bottom half of the bracket, as I think Washington State is a weak 3 seed. BC could be a tough match up for G'town, though. Upsets in the bracket? GW over Vandy is a lock! I have Texas moving into the Final Four over G'town.

San Antonio Bracket - I am a homer and took OSU to cruise through. They should make it to the Elite 8 fairly easily, as they have the easiest 8/9 seeds and arguably the easiest 4/5 seeds in their bracket. OSU vs Virginia in the Sweet Sixteen...no contest. The bottom half of the bracket is tougher, as Memphis is a weak #2. They have very minimal good wins and have them losing to Nevada in Round 2 (this team was ranked in the top 10 for much of the year!). The winner of A&M and Louisville should make it to the Elite 8, though, and I give Louisville the edge as they will be playing in Lexington when they play A&M. I have OSU in the Final Four after beating Louisville.

So, I have a two 1's, a 2, and a 4 in the Final our...sounds reasonable. From there it's a crapshoot, but I want revenge, so, I have OSU beating Florida in the NCAA championship. And I will win my pool for the first time ever.

I'd like to hear other people's picks and rationales if anyone wants to share. This Thursday and Friday are always my two favorite days of the sporting year. I am actually leaving for a Bachelor Party at the crack of dawn tomorrow to go to Winston Salem and watch those games (best games there are BC vs TT and Marquette vs MSU - plus the 2nd round games). I can't wait!
21barilko6
      ID: 290202915
      Thu, Mar 15, 2007, 13:03
This Maryland/Davidson game is up and down and all over...Maryland up by 6, then Davidson up by 8, and now Maryland back up by 3

Great game so far, go Terps.
22Guru
      ID: 330592710
      Thu, Mar 15, 2007, 13:22
I've posted a sortable summary of the unit selections for the Market Madness Contest. Georgetown, Florida, UCLA, and Texas are the most popular longs, while Wisconsin, Memphis, Washington State, and North Carolina were the most heavily shorted.

23TB
      Sherpa
      ID: 031811922
      Thu, Mar 15, 2007, 13:38
Looking at the summary it looks like a lot of people have the same thoughts, Leggestand.
24Perm Dude
      ID: 3029158
      Thu, Mar 15, 2007, 13:41
Guru, was there one team or basket, then, that was neither shorted nor longed? I count 86 on your list, and 87 teams/baskets.
25TB
      Sherpa
      ID: 031811922
      Thu, Mar 15, 2007, 13:59
There are only 86 teams/baskets. 16 X 4 = 64 + 16 seeds = 80 + 6 conference choices.
26smallwhirled
      ID: 32371211
      Thu, Mar 15, 2007, 14:00
Really looks like Stanford deserved a bid. :(
27Perm Dude
      ID: 41240178
      Sat, Mar 17, 2007, 14:21
Sweet game, XU vs OSU. I longed both of these, but in Yahoo I picked this matchup with OSU to win.
28J
      ID: 3511511022
      Sat, Mar 17, 2007, 15:31
OSU sure turned it on at the right time!
29Perm Dude
      ID: 22171713
      Sat, Mar 17, 2007, 15:37
wow. Great game. I was rooting for XU to pull it out, but gotta hand it to OSU to really crank it up a notch. Great game from start to finish.
30C1-NRB
      ID: 17348117
      Sat, Mar 17, 2007, 22:53
Incredible point guard matchup in A&M vs. Louisville. Watch out for Sosa if he sticks around for another couple of years.

What a way to end. It wasn't time for youth to be served yet. All American senior point guard makes his two free throws with 2 seconds left after 15-15 from the line freshman point guard misses his two for the lead.
46leggestand
      Leader
      ID: 451036518
      Mon, Mar 19, 2007, 13:50
My Sheet of Integrity is in tatters. Not many upsets this year, which is an upset in itself.

Luckily, there are always those back up brackets that end up looking good. If OSU can't win it all, then go Texas A&M!
47leggestand
      Leader
      ID: 451036518
      Thu, Mar 22, 2007, 16:09
I am little surprised at how quiet this thread is. On the whole, I am not the biggest college basketball fan during the regular season, but I think March Madness is the greatest time of the year for all sports. I can't wait for the games tonight and I think all of them should be good (except maybe Kansas, who I expect to run rampant on the Salukis).

Anyone have brackets still alive? I have one left, but it needs a cinderella run from AC Law to get me in the winners circle. I am also still alive in a Survivor pool I joined, which puts a different spin on the tourney and I think I will try to run it on rotoguru next year for fun.

As I showed in the College football threads, I am a big OSU fan, but their bball team makes me nervous. I certainly think they can make it out of their region and into the Final Four, but after that, can they really beat Gtown or UNC and then Florida or Kansas or UCLA???
48Donkey Hunter
      Sustainer
      ID: 916288962
      Thu, Mar 22, 2007, 17:11
I have 14 of my sweet 16 still in the tourney. I think I am number 72 at tsn after finishing number 6 last year. I guess anytime the Gators do well I will do well in my brackets. Lets hope they can keep it up.

As for the Rotoguru contest I have so many basket picks that I think I need my remaining bracket to be almost perfect to do well. I have a feeling I will get a couple right and a couple wrong and end up middle of the pack.

I noticed ESPN put up their leader through the first two rounds. The guy got 47 out of 48 games correct. Unfortunately the one he missed really hurt him. I think he had like Texas or Wisconsin in the championship game so he missed a few future games already.
49Kyle
      Donor
      ID: 52753312
      Thu, Mar 22, 2007, 20:21
I'm 12 for 16 in my best bracket. To say it's pretty much hopeless in Market Madness is an understatement. Go Ohio St! Bring one home for the Big 10!
50Donkey Hunter
      Sustainer
      ID: 916288962
      Thu, Mar 22, 2007, 21:54
OK I wanna be the first to second guess everyone I have just seen on CBS. They are saying that A+M got robbed when the clock changed from 3.1 to 2.0 seconds. If I am correct the ball is not considered out of bounds until it bounces out of bounds correct? It bounced on the court and then went up in the air and came down at least a second later. As I was watching the replay I thought that the officials were not going to have the cajones to take that much time off the clock but I thought they did pretty good.
51Seattle Zen
      ID: 46315247
      Thu, Mar 22, 2007, 23:57
I'm with you, DHunter, they made the right call and it did take cajones. Good on them.
52Donkey Hunter
      Sustainer
      ID: 916288962
      Fri, Mar 23, 2007, 08:35
While I am complaining about stupid things tv people are saying. Why does everybody keep saying that the "committee got it right" because the high seeds are winning their games this year. I think the main problem that people have with the brackets is not the 1 and 2 seeds. Its the 11 and 12 seeds. If Stanford and Arkansas had put up more of a fight in the first round I would think the committee got it right. Were their pundits out there saying that Kansas and UCLA should have been 6 seeds but the committee placed them as 1 and 2s but now that they have made the elite eight the committee must have been right after all. Everyone knew the teams that are left were the best teams.
53leggestand
      Leader
      ID: 451036518
      Fri, Mar 23, 2007, 09:41
DH, I agree with post 50 and 52. I was telling my wife as we watched A&M that technically there should be about 2 seconds left (while the refs were watching the replay). The only thing I wasn't sure of was if the clock should based on the "out of bounds touch" or the whistle, as the ref clearly blew his whistle before the ball hit anything out of bounds. Either way, A&M blew that game in many ways. At halftime of the OSU-Tenn game, CBS finally admitted their error of not believing so much time was up, and my wife said, "how do you know this, and none of them do?"

As for your point on the Committee, I completely agree also. It's not hard to pick the #1 and #2 seeds. I think they picked the top 8 teams for those spots. The tough teams to pick are your last at larges, like Arkansas and Stanford, who you noted. They obviously missed the boat with those teams.

And what about OSU??? Wow, what a comeback and I am glad I didn't go to sleep early and angry. Tennessee was lights out from the arc but couldn't make anything from the foul line.

And one other thing, like many others, I am going miss Gus Johnson for the rest of the tourney. I couldn't imagine him calling 3 of the 4 games last night. He may have spontaneously combusted.
54C1-NRB
      ID: 24954318
      Fri, Mar 23, 2007, 09:53
/Alumnus rant on
The official that made the call immediately blew his whistle and raised his hand when the ball hit the ground; not when it hit the scorer's table. From all the angles I saw, there was not conclusive evidence that the ball did NOT hit the LINE.
The line is out of bounds, so the instant it hit the line the unstarted clock should've stopped. One tenth of a second should've been taken off the clock.

Then Calipari gets all defensive in the post-game press conference saying, "I was right there. It hit in bounds. If it had bounced six rows deep all the time would've run off the clock." What else is he going to say? The officials blew it? He was overly indignent that the question was even asked.
/Alumnus rant off

All that being said, A&M didn't win the game because they couldn't make break-away layups. I hate that Acie's college career ends that way after all the GW shots he's hit. I actually beleive A&M will be in San Antonio again next year. I'm saving for tickets now.
55Seattle Zen
      ID: 49112418
      Fri, Mar 23, 2007, 15:55
Memphis needs to bring their wooden stakes with them tomorrow to finish off the Buckeyes and keep them "finished off".
56Seattle Zen
      ID: 46315247
      Sun, Mar 25, 2007, 12:21
Woo Hoo! Up to 20th after last night. If Oregon beats Florida, I think I would pass the Guru himself, who is currently in first.
57Donkey Hunter
      Sustainer
      ID: 916288962
      Sun, Mar 25, 2007, 15:25
So in other words. You won't be passing the Guru. Go Gators!
58J
      Leader
      ID: 049346417
      Sun, Mar 25, 2007, 15:29
Can someone please send James Brown back to fox? i van't take much more of his play by play!!!
59Donkey Hunter
      Sustainer
      ID: 916288962
      Sun, Mar 25, 2007, 15:34
Speaking of dumb things said on CBS today. One of the studio guys said that Oregon might have an advantage because the two guys from the same high school worked together to win a high school championship so they know what it takes to win. Uhm what? The Gators top 7 know what it takes to win a championship because they did it last year in college. I think that might actually trump the Michigan high school championship won by two players.
60smallwhirled
      ID: 212162015
      Sun, Mar 25, 2007, 19:32
Yeah, that was a pretty moronic statement right there.

G-Town - UNC was the best game of the tournament so far. What an intense game. These are all high quality games, really fun to watch.
61Donkey Hunter
      Sustainer
      ID: 916288962
      Sun, Mar 25, 2007, 23:27
OK I don't guarantee these numbers to be correct but I almost have this thing wrapped up. I think if anyone other than Ohio State wins the championship then I win the market madness. If OSU beats Florida in the championship then KevinL wins. If OSU beats UCLA then cviox wins.

In the basketless standings it looks like it all comes down to the Ohio State vs Georgetown game. If OSU wins then Pistol takes first prize and if Georgetown wins then Smith32 is in first.
62Smith32
      ID: 2103514
      Mon, Mar 26, 2007, 08:31
Donkey - I agree with your basketless analysis. Go Hoyas!
63wolfer
      ID: 182501218
      Mon, Mar 26, 2007, 22:18
I also, albeit unfortunately, agree. Curse you Acie Law!
64Chuck
      ID: 152261223
      Thu, Mar 29, 2007, 15:31
Anybody want to do an analysis on the race for last place? It seems I might have a chance if it ends up being Ohio State/Florida in the finals, even though I'm about 85 points down... errr... up at this point.
65KevinL
      ID: 222212214
      Tue, Apr 03, 2007, 10:32
Congratulations Donkey, nice work!
66Smith32
      ID: 2103514
      Tue, Apr 03, 2007, 12:42
I believe you could swap out Kansas for the #13 seed basket in the Best Possible and get the perfect score up to 751. But I don't see any better alternatives after that though.
67 Sandra
      ID: 3622193
      Thu, Jul 19, 2007, 04:22
Wish you luck!google team.
Market Madness Forum

View the Forum Registry

XML Get RSS Feed for this thread


Self-edit this thread




Post a reply to this message: (But first, how about checking out this sponsor?)

Name:
Email:
Message:
Click here to create and insert a link
Ignore line feeds? no (typical)   yes (for HTML table input)


Viewing statistics for this thread
Period# Views# Users
Last hour11
Last 24 hours11
Last 7 days11
Last 30 days1716
Since Mar 1, 2007125762196