I'm sure we just had a huge bracket buster with the Fighting Illini falling to the Fighting Irish. Prognosticators thought Notre Dame wouldn't make it past UWM.

That Illinois loss does hurt my bracket...but not as mush as losses by UConn and Mizzou would. I've got them both going to the Elite 8.

Oh well, at least the games are (so far) on CBS. Knock on wood.

What great finishes to the Tulsa-Wisconsin and Gonzaga-Arizona games.

Dare I say that if anyone had any doubts about how good this Zag team was, they should be totally erased by now. This team is capable of playing and beating anyone, anywhere, anytime, and I am mighty damn proud of this basketball team!!!!! Even if they did lose in two o.t.'s!!!!!!!

I'm so pissed that The Zags lost. I was jumping up and down yelling for them to win thru regulation, then the first and second OTs. God that was a good game. but better had Gonzaga won.

The other team is Wisconsin, easily one of the hunkiest teams in the tourney.

Go Louisville! Go Kats!

The Gonzaga-Arizona game was great. Also wish I could have seen Wisconsin-Tulsa. Both games in Indianapolis were exciting. Mizzou made a nice comeback but Marquette was shooting out of their minds during a stretch in the 2nd half and in overtime. Travis Diener was a 34% 3pt-shooter and hit something like 5 or 6 of 8. Another guy whose name escapes me hit all 3 of his attempts in OT. They looked pretty awesome there at the end although Missouri's defense maybe also made them look good. Illinois also kept closing on on Notre Dame but couldn't get over the hump. Not a bad game either.

I agree with the sentiments expressed by both ung and puckman....although I was mighty disappointed to see the Zags lose, that was one of the most exciting college hoops games that I have ever seen -- the final ten minutes of regulation and both OT's with the lead constantly changing hands and one miraculous three-point shot being made after another left me more emotionally drained than after any game I have seen in a LONG time.

Mark Few has done an absolutely incredible job at Gonzaga and I'm certain he could leave for a bigger program (like UCLA) and more money, if he so desired....but I selfishly hope he stays at Gonzaga to see the new "Kennel" open and so that we get to witness more incredible games and unexpected upsets as the Zags have somehow managed to duplicate for five consecutive years.

What a great first three days of the tournament this has been!....I hope tomorrow's potentially lopsided games somehow provide equally exciting finishes as we got to enjoy on Friday night and Saturday, but I'm not sure that is possible.

[ March 22, 2003, 08:15 PM: Message edited by: gamecock ]

great games today, the Arizona-Gonzaga game was a classic, they are defintly a MAJOR program, just one hell of a game. I think the coach is a damn nice looking guy too!!
should be some good games sunday too

March Madness is the best time of the year for sports

I think we saw the best game of the entire tournament yesterday. Dick Vitale and Billy Packer couldn't have scripted the 'Zona/Zag game any better. It's unfortunate both of them ended up in the same region and not on opposite sides of the bracket. The Zags could have run over some powerhouses like KY, OU, KU, and the like.

Heartbreak city that the valliant Zags lost the game.They actually had numerous chances to win,but just couldn't close it out. However I gotta respectively disagree with you Theo about wishing they hadn't been paired against Arizona-I think that's precisely why that was such a great game.The fact that they gave Arizona such a heroic effort on this particular day,doesn't in any way suggest that they wouldn't have faired better or worse against another team.It really is all about the match-ups,and to say that they would "roll over" other teams seems simplistic and overly optimistic to me.The fact is they didn't roll over a very-poor shooting Cincy team earlier,and they didn't destroy everybody in the comparatively weak West Coast Conference.I really wish they had won because I have ND over Ariz,but I think the Irish would've had an easier tme with the Zags.

Nice article about the scene on the floor after the game...
Gonzaga adds final touch of class after heartbreaking loss

Another fantastic effort by the Butler Bulldogs today in knocking off Louisville.I'm not really a Butler fan,although my dad actually played hoops there back in the 40's under Hinkle.However,like Gonzaga, you just have to admire the way these kids give their all and leave everything out on the floor.

Here is a prediction-the Bulldogs will give Oklahoma the fight of their lives on a neutral court in Albany.I picked Syracuse to emerge from this region, primarily because of their "home court" advantage.However,I would not be at all suprised to see Butler emerge- this is a senior dominated team that knows how to win.Miller and Archey are dead-eye shooters with ice water in their veins.And even though they currently play for a mid-major,they are used to a big time atmosphere. They are both from the same high school as Steve Alford,New Castle (In), which has the largest high school gym in the world-holding over 10,000 fans.

[quote]Joe in Philly:
[QB] Nice article about the scene on the floor after the game...
[URL=http//www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/special_packages/marchmania/5459565.htm]Gonzaga adds final touch of class after heartbreaking loss [QUOTE] [/quote]Thanks for sharing that column Joe -- it seems only right that such an incredible game should be culminated with a display of class by a group of players who recognized that the enthusiasm of the fans (for both teams) contributed to the electric atmosphere that was evident in that arena for every minute of the final hour.

Tim, kudos to your father for being a former Butler hoops player -- I'm sure he is ecstatic now....I echo your sentiments about the Bulldogs chances of defeating Oklahoma and would not be the least bit surprised if they knocked off the Sooners in Albany....I had yet to see Butler play until Friday evening but after watching them in action twice this weekend, I can't recall seeing a team function offensively with more impressive precision passing than the Bulldogs -- the continual display of rapid-fire passes to find an open teammate who invariably would sink a three (especially their sharp-shooting guard Archey) left me in absolute awe....Butler's coaching staff (along with the players themselves, obviously) clearly deserve huge accolades for the countless hours they have spent on the practice court perfecting such unselfish play -- it is not surprising that they only lost five games this season and if the Bulldogs continue to play like they did during the final thirty minutes of action on Sunday, I don't see their season ending very soon either.

I am so excited to see my Spartans playing the kind of ball they were expected to play all year. Of course, now there is that skittishness of wondering which MSU team will show up Friday night in San Antonio. The team that rocked Florida for 40 minutes, or the one that lost 11 games during the regular season. If the Spartans stay hot, they are very dangerous.

The rest of today's games were also pretty snoozy. Butler had a great upset of Louisville. Kudos to the Bulldogs who are making a statement about being dissed last year. Also, Auburn made some noise by knocking off Wake. Not to diss the ACC, but it is not their strongest year. Duke may get past Kansas this coming weekend, but none of the ACC teams are at the top of the list.

Other than the two upsets, there were more runaways today than the first three days of the tournament. IU went down pretty meekly, Utah got slapped around a bit, OK State fade down the stretch -- nothing too exciting.

Next weekend should be an interesting one. The East has two double digit seeds in the semis, but the other brackets are pretty evenly balanced overall. Should be some good ball.

Great effort by Mich St, Florida looked terrible just seems they have no heart at all. the arizona gonzaga game was a classic.

I think Pitt could give Kentucky trouble if they both make it to the region final.

Texas is winning but still not looking that good in my view.

I think the bust by LSU and Florida has been very telling in terms of how overrated the SEC was all year...especially when compared to the Big East. I know it's a long shot, but if the Final Four is an ALL-Big East affair, I am going to love listening to Billy Packer analyze those games...he'll be up all night trying to learn about these teams he has ignored all year.

Hey GC-appreciate the kind words about my dad,unfortunately he died back in '64,when I was 9 yrs. old He went to Butler after serving in the Marines in WWII,I used to have a team photo but it got misplaced over the years.

DnD-You are so right about the SEC being overrated-I said the same thing on the selection thread.I think there is no way UK goes undefeated in the Big 12,or Big 10. One of their losses was to Mich St in Lexington,and IU played them to the wire in Louisville.I even think they would've lost a game in the Big East- the pundits annointed the SEC as Kings with very little empirical evdence to back that claim up.The SEC was something like 2-7 vs the Big 10,which may have been the most underrated of the major conferences during the year. Also,I don't necessarily think that by beating St Joe and Wake,that Auburn vallidated their right to be in the tourney.I feel like BC,SH or TT could all have beaten St Joe and a totally misseeded Wake outfit.The question is did Auburn deserve the bid MORE than the squads that were left out,and I'd still say the answer is NO.

Hey is it just wishful thinking on my part,or are we starting to see the emergence of some teams that can keep UK from winning it all? :cool: I don't think the Badgers have a prayer of winning a championship,but I give them a fairly good shot of beating Kentucky.They protect the ball well and they don't foul,if they can make UK beat them from outside they can beat them.And if not,if they can just wear them out physically, then I think Pitt has a decent shot I think the only way UK "cake-walks" to the title,is if they play all SEC TEAMS!!

Hey Y'all! All I gotta say about all this Kats diss is..... "Don't hate!!!"

Hey Ung- Nothing personal,but it's in my blood.

Tim, how can you say Auburn didn't deserve the bid when they are in the Sweet 16 and, did so by beating the ACC regular season champion? I don't know where you come up with that logic. I guess if by some miracle we make it to the Elite 8, we still wouldn't deserve the bid? Enough with the Auburn bashing, they are in the Sweet 16 which is something the other 48 (49 if you count the stupid play-in game) teams can't say.

[ March 25, 2003, 10:50 AM: Message edited by: Aubie in Bham ]

Hey Aub-Don't take it so personal.I don't hate Auburn and I'm not bashing them-I just thought that the 3 teams they were chosen ahead of were more deserving.I think they got in because when Georgia withdrew,the committee was determined to add another SEC team.I'm not blaming the Tigers because that happned,but I think that all the pundits overrated the SEC all year and that carried over into the Committees' thinking as well.

I actually think the Tigers played better because they have a chip on their shoulder.It's an us vs them mentality that draws a team closer,and seems to happen every year to the team that people point to as undeserving.The fact that they won and got to the Sweet 16 doesn't necessarily validate the committee choosing them over anothe more deserving(imo) team.I never felt or said that Auburn wouldn't win a game-I actually picked them over St Joe and didn't even consider it an upset.Obviously a lot of teams that didn't even make the tournament are capable of winning games against teams that did.What I felt was that the other teams,and particularly imo TT were more deserving based on what they had done in the regular season.Not only was the SEC overrated,but correct me if I'm wrong,the Tigers "best" conference win was UT.On the other hand,TT played in a much harder conference and actually beat a team (Texas) that is a number 1 seed and got screwed on the road vs the other team (okla) that is also a number 1 seed.To me the issue was fairness-I just didn't see Auburn deserving of a bid.

As to beating St Joe and Wake, I'm just not that impressed.Wake was a "paper-tiger" (no pun intended) and by far the weakest 2 seed.Again I didn't really consider it a shocker.Just like Butler knocking off another media favorite Vastly overrated Miss St squad, Auburn beating Wake was a suprise,but hardly a shock.And let's be honest,a TT squad that beat Texas and carried Okla to the buzzer at Norman, is definitely capable of beating Wake Forest. :cool: And I believe that is exactly what would've happened if TT was playing instead of Auburn.

Hey I'm not interested in bashing the Tigers-they are in the sweet 16,and though I expect them to lose,I wish them well.I was only using them in my earlier post to illustrate my point about the SEC being overrated.Not only are 3 of 5 SEC teams gone,but those 3 teams lost games that they were heavily favored to win over lower seeded teams.Wouldn't consider Auburn overrated,but I think if you looked up the word "overrated" in the dictionary you'd see the names Miss St and LSU.