2023 NCAA Tournament Thread

[billikenbill]

15 minutes ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

AZTECS ️

Great game. FAU is a tough team and got the short end of the stick on some calls but SDSU played great D on the final possession and hit the buzzer beater.

[Bay Area Billiken]

5 minutes ago, billikenbill said:

Great game. FAU is a tough team and got the short end of the stick on some calls but SDSU played great D on the final possession and hit the buzzer beater.

SDSU overcame a 14 point deficit and its own 13-22 FT shooting. This is probably the biggest win in athletics in California State University System history. 

[thatskablamo]

1 hour ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

SDSU overcame a 14 point deficit and its own 13-22 FT shooting. This is probably the biggest win in athletics in California State University System history. 

What about the old Titans of Cal State Omaha, as the boys down in Fullerton like to refer themselves as?? Four nattys in baseball, right? 

[Bay Area Billiken]

1 hour ago, thatskablamo said:

What about the old Titans of Cal State Omaha, as the boys down in Fullerton like to refer themselves as?? Four nattys in baseball, right? 

I thought of both Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State in Baseball. But I think the Final 4 in Basketball is bigger. 

[thatskablamo]

7 hours ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

I thought of both Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State in Baseball. But I think the Final 4 in Basketball is bigger. 

Financially, for sure! Don’t forget UCSB won the college cup in 2006, played at the frozen tundra of Hermann Stadium…also, what is the difference between the Cal State prefix schools versus the UC prefix schools? I’ve always wondered that!

[Bay Area Billiken]

3 hours ago, thatskablamo said:

Financially, for sure! Don’t forget UCSB won the college cup in 2006, played at the frozen tundra of Hermann Stadium…also, what is the difference between the Cal State prefix schools versus the UC prefix schools? I’ve always wondered that!

UC’s are the University of California. Cal State’s are the California State University System. They are two different public university systems in the same State. 

[thatskablamo]

3 hours ago, Bay Area Billiken said:

UC’s are the University of California. Cal State’s are the California State University System. They are two different public university systems in the same State. 

Crazy. I guess the state the size & population of California needs both!

[cheeseman]

1 hour ago, thatskablamo said:

Crazy. I guess the state the size & population of California needs both!

Well that is not uncommon.  Missouri State, SEMO, Truman and few others are not part of the University of Missouri System. UMSL, UMKC, and MST - Rolla, along with UMC are one system.

[billikenbill]

UConn clearly the better team but SDSU is relentless. One more shooter and they’d be an even matchup with UConn. Have cut the lead to six at the 8 min. mark. Might steal it.

[billikenbill]

5 pt. game with 5 to go.

[RUBillsFan]

Has there ever been a more annoying set of coaches to win the men’s and women’s national championships than Dan Hurley and Kim Mulkey?

[Bay Area Billiken]

Watching the Aztecs, I really didn’t think they were that good, even though they reached the NCAA Championship Game. They played tough defense, which kept them in the games. But their shooting was so off, that my impression was they couldn’t shoot (an overall assessment). They cut the UConn lead to 5, but then ran out of juice (not gas, as they hail from California).

Matt Bradley was SDSU’s only player who averaged  double figures in scoring. He was a 3 year player at Cal, then played 2 seasons at SDSU. SDSU made the National Championship Game, finished 32-7, while Cal flatlined at 3-29. From a basketball perspective, Bradley made a good move. 

[Schasz]

Quite an accomplishment that a former HC in Danny Hurley from the A-10 now stands at the Apex of big time college with a NCAA Tourney Championship. Was UConn under-seeded or did the higher seeds just fold...many in early round games to boot.

[billiken_roy]

9 minutes ago, Schasz said:

Quite an accomplishment that a former HC in Danny Hurley from the A-10 now stands at the Apex of big time college with a NCAA Tourney Championship. Was UConn under-seeded or did the higher seeds just fold...many in early round games to boot.

i believe they were underseeded.   all i know all the games for uconn i watched they just kept bring in these 7'2" guys built like defensive pass rushers.   where do you get so many decent bigs?   we need to go to that store and buy a couple.  

[brianstl]

18 minutes ago, Schasz said:

Quite an accomplishment that a former HC in Danny Hurley from the A-10 now stands at the Apex of big time college with a NCAA Tourney Championship. Was UConn under-seeded or did the higher seeds just fold...many in early round games to boot.

The were under seeded. Outside of an awful January they were dominating.  

The Big East would have had a decent chance at two final four teams if Tyler Kolek wouldn’t have injured his hand in Marquette’s first round game against Vermont.  The Big East was really good this year.

[HoosierPal]

First Championship Game that I can remember that I watched none of it.  I've had enough Bill Raftery to last the rest of my life, and Hurley isn't on my Christmas card list. I will be interested to see how the TV ratings compare with the women's LSU-Iowa game and with last year's NCAA championship game.

[thatskablamo]

4 minutes ago, HoosierPal said:

First Championship Game that I can remember that I watched none of it.  I've had enough Bill Raftery to last the rest of my life, and Hurley isn't on my Christmas card list. I will be interested to see how the TV ratings compare with the women's LSU-Iowa game and with last year's NCAA championship game.

The ratings for the women’s game were an all-time record high. I think the parity in the women’s game is a major draw; gone are the days where Geno and Pat (rest in peace) are mainstays in the Final Four, which is a good thing. On the inverse of that, a men’s final four with 3 relative no-names will probably hurt the ratings. Personally, that’s what March Madness is all about - I like a Final Four without all the Blue Bloods. Let’s buck the status quo! 
 

On the CBS front, I believe this is the last hurrah for our friend Jimmy Nantz, which is a shame, but good for him for having his last Final Four be in his old college town (UH). I concur on Raftery…I was expecting him to drop a “Nutmeg” rather than “onions” when Connecticut won… 

[Bizziken]

9 hours ago, RUBillsFan said:

Has there ever been a more annoying set of coaches to win the men’s and women’s national championships than Dan Hurley and Kim Mulkey?

My favorite Dan Hurley moment was at Chaifetz...he was literally jumping up and down complaining to the refs and he wiped out and fell hard on his azz. It was glorious.

[courtside]

34 minutes ago, brianstl said:

The were under seeded. Outside of an awful January they were dominating.  

The Big East would have had a decent chance at two final four teams if Tyler Kolek wouldn’t have injured his hand in Marquette’s first round game against Vermont.  The Big East was really good this year.

4th place Big East Team. All 8 of their losses came against Big East teams. 

It also shows there are different ways to build rosters and be successful. 

 

[willie]

1 hour ago, thatskablamo said:

The ratings for the women’s game were an all-time record high. I think the parity in the women’s game is a major draw; gone are the days where Geno and Pat (rest in peace) are mainstays in the Final Four, which is a good thing. On the inverse of that, a men’s final four with 3 relative no-names will probably hurt the ratings. Personally, that’s what March Madness is all about - I like a Final Four without all the Blue Bloods. Let’s buck the status quo! 
 

On the CBS front, I believe this is the last hurrah for our friend Jimmy Nantz, which is a shame, but good for him for having his last Final Four be in his old college town (UH). I concur on Raftery…I was expecting him to drop a “Nutmeg” rather than “onions” when Connecticut won… 

Clark was like Larry Bird in 1979. 

[willie]

1 hour ago, thatskablamo said:

The ratings for the women’s game were an all-time record high. I think the parity in the women’s game is a major draw; gone are the days where Geno and Pat (rest in peace) are mainstays in the Final Four, which is a good thing. On the inverse of that, a men’s final four with 3 relative no-names will probably hurt the ratings. Personally, that’s what March Madness is all about - I like a Final Four without all the Blue Bloods. Let’s buck the status quo! 
 

On the CBS front, I believe this is the last hurrah for our friend Jimmy Nantz, which is a shame, but good for him for having his last Final Four be in his old college town (UH). I concur on Raftery…I was expecting him to drop a “Nutmeg” rather than “onions” when Connecticut won… 

Nothing against Nantz but I would rather have Harlen or Gus Johnson. 

[billikenbill]

1 hour ago, willie said:

Nothing against Nantz but I would rather have Harlen or Gus Johnson. 

“Did we just see what we just saw! Wow!!” The video of that call is so epic I’d like to see Harlan get an ESPY for it.

[thatskablamo]

1 hour ago, willie said:

Nothing against Nantz but I would rather have Harlen or Gus Johnson. 

Kevin Harlan is so good. My fear is they will go with Brian Anderson or Ian Eagle. Brian does a good job with the Brewers and Eagle is a good NFL guy, but neither brings the flavor that KH does. And I’m not sure Fox will let Gus get subbed out to CBS for a month…. March isn’t the same without Gus. 

[Cowboy II]

5 hours ago, willie said:

Nothing against Nantz but I would rather have Harlen or Gus Johnson. 

-this and I don't get anything from Grant Hill

[thatskablamo]

1 hour ago, Cowboy II said:

-this and I don't get anything from Grant Hill

This as well. A poorman’s Clark Kellogg. He brought so much more to the telecast and saved us from the torment of Billy Packer.