Don't know why people are scared of Illinois. 4 or so players on Arizona are way better than the first meeting, including Ballo for Kofi matchup. They made 16 3s and lost at home.
Arizona as a whole are a better team than when they first met, while Illinois has stayed the same if not gotten worse with Curbelo coming back.
Playing Houston in San Antonio concerns me the most.
Last edited by RondaeShimmy on Mon Mar 14, 2022 10:36 am, edited 2 times in total.
RondaeShimmy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 8:03 am
Don't know why people are scared of Illinois. 4 or so players on Arizona are way better than the first meeting, including Ballo for Kofi matchup. They made 16 3s and lost at home.
Arizona as a whole are a better team than when they first met, while Illinois has stayed the same if not gotten worse with Curbelo coming back.
Playing Houston in San Antonio concerns me the most.
Agree about Arizona being better with the development of Ballo and Pelle, but Kerr’s status still lingers. We’ve had so many teams go off from 3-pt range lately that it worries me. So many upsets happen when teams have unreal shooting nights in the tourney. Plus, Kofi has been more dominating than when we first played Illinois. I’d be very happy if someone takes them out prior to week 2.
RondaeShimmy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 8:03 am
Don't know why people are scared of Illinois. 4 or so players on Arizona are way better than the first meeting, including Ballo for Kofi matchup. They made 16 3s and lost at home.
Arizona as a whole are a better team than when they first met, while Illinois has stayed the same if not gotten worse with Curbelo coming back.
Playing Houston in San Antonio concerns me the most.
Agree about Arizona being better with the development of Ballo and Pelle, but Kerr’s status still lingers. We’ve had so many teams go off from 3-pt range lately that it worries me. So many upsets happen when teams have unreal shooting nights in the tourney. Plus, Kofi has been more dominating than when we first played Illinois. I’d be very happy if someone takes them out prior to week 2.
Stanford and Colorado (pac 12 tournament record) just had unreal shooting nights individually and collectively on a back to back and Arizona won both of them
RondaeShimmy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 8:03 am
Don't know why people are scared of Illinois. 4 or so players on Arizona are way better than the first meeting, including Ballo for Kofi matchup. They made 16 3s and lost at home.
Arizona as a whole are a better team than when they first met, while Illinois has stayed the same if not gotten worse with Curbelo coming back.
Playing Houston in San Antonio concerns me the most.
Agree about Arizona being better with the development of Ballo and Pelle, but Kerr’s status still lingers. We’ve had so many teams go off from 3-pt range lately that it worries me. So many upsets happen when teams have unreal shooting nights in the tourney. Plus, Kofi has been more dominating than when we first played Illinois. I’d be very happy if someone takes them out prior to week 2.
I have to agree with Rondae on this one. Illinois is the least of my concerns in the tournament. When you think about these matchups you have to ask yourself the question: are they better than UCLA? I think Cronin's a better coach than Underwood and UCLA's roster from top to bottom is better than last years. Yet, we still beat them without our starting PG and handled them pretty well in McKale. Andre Curbelo is too immature of a pg to trust in the tourney. At the end of the day, our size, talent and maturity will likely overwhelm them. But hey, like Calipari said, what's the use of worrying about a team that might lose before you get a chance to play them?
But above everything, I hope Lloyd has all the breaks that Lute and CSM didn't have. We've had a lot of bad luck in the tourney, I hope that this year it turns around in our favor.
RondaeShimmy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 8:03 am
Don't know why people are scared of Illinois. 4 or so players on Arizona are way better than the first meeting, including Ballo for Kofi matchup. They made 16 3s and lost at home.
Arizona as a whole are a better team than when they first met, while Illinois has stayed the same if not gotten worse with Curbelo coming back.
Playing Houston in San Antonio concerns me the most.
Agree about Arizona being better with the development of Ballo and Pelle, but Kerr’s status still lingers. We’ve had so many teams go off from 3-pt range lately that it worries me. So many upsets happen when teams have unreal shooting nights in the tourney. Plus, Kofi has been more dominating than when we first played Illinois. I’d be very happy if someone takes them out prior to week 2.
Stanford and Colorado (pac 12 tournament record) just had unreal shooting nights individually and collectively on a back to back and Arizona won both of them
Illinois made 16 3s at home vs us and lost!!
Illinois pissed down their legs against Indiana on Friday, I think they went through a stretch in the second half where they didn't make a field goal for almost six minutes and shot 35.7% for the game.
I have such confidence watching this team. We beat teams that shot 64% in a half. Teams that made 16 three balls. Teams that run out to double digit leads in the second half.
I know CU and UCLA are better than the two teams we will play this week and we win without Krissa. These teams also hasn’t played us before like our conference teams have (which is an advantage)
Good luck South region with our cats, you are going to need it!
Waiting at the Rose Bowl patiently for the cats to arrive
"I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more wildcat sports"
2019 BDW Survivor Pool Champion
These are the only teams I'm worried about in the South Region:
Bryant
Wright State
Colorado State
Michigan
Tennessee
Longwood
Ohio State
Loyola Chicago
Villanova
Delaware
Illinois
Chattanooga
Houston
UAB
Seton Hall
TCU
Beachcat97 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 8:57 am
Tennessee is the second best team in our region, and it isn't close. Look at who they've beaten this year.
Almost all at home. Not very good team away from home, sec team's as a whole aren't very good away from home which is why Tennessee won their tournament.
They're a very different team when they're not playing at home.
Lost by 18 to Villanova on a neutral floor early. Lost to Kentucky at Kentucky by 28
I am worried about absolutely 0 of the B1G teams, their entire conference took a huge shit the past month. Very funny that the committee put 9 of their teams in so that they could even have the smallest chance of making it anywhere
the best path AZ coulda ever hoped for and that scares the living shit out of me cause it never happens...but yet it happened, just as its happened all year. everything has broken perfectly for Lloyd and this draw is no different.
the committee is telling the entire field we want Arizona vs Gonzaga/Duke in the National Championship
97cats wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 9:46 am
the best path AZ coulda ever hoped for and that scares the living shit out of me cause it never happens...but yet it happened, just as its happened all year. everything has broken perfectly for Lloyd and this draw is no different.
the committee is telling the entire field we want Arizona vs Gonzaga/Duke in the National Championship
97cats wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 9:46 am
the best path AZ coulda ever hoped for and that scares the living shit out of me cause it never happens...but yet it happened, just as its happened all year. everything has broken perfectly for Lloyd and this draw is no different.
the committee is telling the entire field we want Arizona vs Gonzaga/Duke in the National Championship
Alieberman wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 8:59 am
These are the only teams I'm worried about in the South Region:
Bryant
Wright State
Colorado State
Michigan
Tennessee
Longwood
Ohio State
Loyola Chicago
Villanova
Delaware
Illinois
Chattanooga
Houston
UAB
Seton Hall
TCU
Good post.
When I look at the South, I see teams slotted about where they should be. Tenn is #7 on KenPom, with #3 D and #36 O. Nova is #8 O and #28 D. Illinois is #23 O and #30 D.
So, maybe you can make an argument for flipping UT and Nova, but Arizona is the best team, and then the teams below either are a little unbalanced or just not at that top level...which is all appropriate for their seed.
It's as good as you can ask for. No wildly underseeded teams and reasonable matchups.
These numbers are before the tournament so not exact.
I believe you have to be top 20 in both ENTERING (not final data) the tournament. Only Gonzaga, Arizona, Baylor and Houston meet the criteria of top 20 in both.
I think Tommy would hate an Arizona - Gonzaga final.
For the obvious reasons of his love / respect for Few and Gonzaga... but mostly because the media would make this all about the coaches and not the players and the attention put on himself instead of his team would make him want to vomit.
Alieberman wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 12:18 pm
I think Tommy would hate an Arizona - Gonzaga final.
For the obvious reasons of his love / respect for Few and Gonzaga... but mostly because the media would make this all about the coaches and not the players and the attention put on himself instead of his team would make him want to vomit.
But as a fan of both programs... I would love it.
Or he could love it. The attention paid to the coaches takes some of the pressure off the kids, and no matter the result people he knows and loves will have won a National Championship.
Of the 12 coaches, Rush picked the one whose fans have the deepest passion, the longest memories, the greatest lung capacity and … did I mention deep passion?
RondaeShimmy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 11:58 am
These numbers are before the tournament so not exact.
I believe you have to be top 20 in both ENTERING (not final data) the tournament. Only Gonzaga, Arizona, Baylor and Houston meet the criteria of top 20 in both.
Yeah, I mean, that's why I don't see any real reason to complain...except maybe for Houston. Houston's tough because this is such a weak AAC year.
Alieberman wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 12:18 pm
I think Tommy would hate an Arizona - Gonzaga final.
For the obvious reasons of his love / respect for Few and Gonzaga... but mostly because the media would make this all about the coaches and not the players and the attention put on himself instead of his team would make him want to vomit.
But as a fan of both programs... I would love it.
What's that old meme laughing at people who think they know (insert name)?
I think he'd like to see his old team go as far as they can. But I don't know him. I do strongly assume he'd like to see his new team go as far as it can.
They money line has the Zags and the Cats as the top 2 favorites. If you use that as a barometer, UCLA was the most underseeded team as they should have been a 3 (at#10) and Tennessee was a 2 seed.
Kansas got a literal gift. Wisconsin is mid teens and Providence is way down there. Iowa was the highest. Really don’t get what the committee saw in putting that region together
Waiting at the Rose Bowl patiently for the cats to arrive
"I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more wildcat sports"
2019 BDW Survivor Pool Champion
azcat49 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 12:51 pm
They money line has the Zags and the Cats as the top 2 favorites. If you use that as a barometer, UCLA was the most underseeded team as they should have been a 3 (at#10) and Tennessee was a 2 seed.
Kansas got a literal gift. Wisconsin is mid teens and Providence is way down there. Iowa was the highest. Really don’t get what the committee saw in putting that region together
Because they did the brackets before the conference tournaments and they didn't matter at all.
(This is why I said we should've just sandbagged it and lost)
The irrelevance of the conference tourneys is emphasized again and again, every year. I felt like this year the bracketologists did a lot of reacting to the conference tourney games in a way that didn't seem helpful for predicting the committee's work.
i might add, AZ receiving a good draw is great and all but can be a negative, AZ will be picked to win and will be the heavy favorite, so they must focus or it can end before it really starts.
where i see this bracket being different for AZ than in years past is the potential for many of the top seeds not to advance to prevent AZ from making the Final Four.
i would not be surprised if Illinois and Houston both lost in the first round and would not be shocked to see Tennessee and Villanova eliminated before the ELITE 8.
Tennessee is the most likely team to advance from the bottom half but its something to watch and worth noting.
TCU scares me more than any other team in the region - and as my son would say, "i aint even cappin"
(1) Arizona: For a team as dominant as Arizona has been this season, the Wildcats have flown somewhat under the radar due to the fact that they play in the Pac-12, which reverted to mediocrity in 2021. Make no mistake, though. Arizona is an elite college basketball team with all the ingredients of a national title winner. With an excellent duo of rim protectors in Christian Koloko and Oumar Ballo, the Wildcats check the defense box. Offense is where they thrive, however. First-year coach Tommy Lloyd has seamlessly implemented the Gonzaga philosophy after a long run on the Zags' staff, and he's got a deep rotation of quality guards and wings capable of carrying it out. The group is led by a potential lottery pick in Bennedict Mathurin, and his high-end talent is a key part of the formula.
The Wildcats have already played two of their top competitors in the region, beating Illinois on the road. They lost at Tennessee, but the Volunteers went undefeated on their home floor and a neutral-court rematch would likely produce a different result. The No. 2 seed in this region, Villanova, would be unable to match up with Arizona on the interior, and it's hard to imagine any of the other candidates having the talent to hold this offense down for 40 minutes.
TCU is interesting, Jamie Dixon was basically Lloyd at Pitt. He had an incredible first year with many people thinking he would be the next big thing. We can play a lot of different ways and the length we have will always present a problem for most teams. To be honest I don't know their team very well. However, we have eight starters so we're far from an easy out in the tourney.
It's like UCLA, they have more talent across the board than we do, but we have more quality depth (NBA caliber players), which was put on display in the tourney championship. Barring something unforeseen, TCU would have their hands full (if they make it).
To be concerned about a team, you have to think if they can matchup with our size, our size that can guard guards outside of the paint.
Arizona is elite in 2pt% offensively and defensively. That's how they're going to beat you. As we saw this conference tournament, it doesn't even matter if you hit record amount of 3s.
RondaeShimmy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 1:47 pm
To be concerned about a team, you have to think if they can matchup with our size, our size that can guard guards outside of the paint.
Arizona is elite in 2pt% offensively and defensively. That's how they're going to beat you. As we saw this conference tournament, it doesn't even matter if you hit record amount of 3s.
Yeah, after experiencing Stanford and Colorado, my fears about lesser teams shooting the lights out are more than little diffused.
97cats wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 1:16 pm
i might add, AZ receiving a good draw is great and all but can be a negative, AZ will be picked to win and will be the heavy favorite, so they must focus or it can end before it really starts.
where i see this bracket being different for AZ than in years past is the potential for many of the top seeds not to advance to prevent AZ from making the Final Four.
i would not be surprised if Illinois and Houston both lost in the first round and would not be shocked to see Tennessee and Villanova eliminated before the ELITE 8.
Tennessee is the most likely team to advance from the bottom half but its something to watch and worth noting.
TCU scares me more than any other team in the region - and as my son would say, "i aint even cappin"
We had almost comically bad luck with our region under Miller. In 2011, we played 4 seed, 1 seed, 3 seed. In 2013, we lost to a 2 seed. In 2014, we lost to a 2 seed as a 1. In 2015, we faced a 1 seed as a 2. In 2017, if we beat Xavier, we play a 1 seed to go to the Final Four.
The one time a region actually opened up was when Buffalo spanked us in the first round. Just about every other time, we just about literally got the toughest opponent we could when we went deep.
This year, much harder to predict. No team screams lights out in the South to me...other than us. Maybe we finally get a good draw.
Yeah, after experiencing Stanford and Colorado, my fears about lesser teams shooting the lights out are more than little diffused.
TCU is defensive minded and has some size and certainly toughness. they are battle tested and like to grind it out and bully to a win not unlike Colorado but better and better coached.
they beat Texas Tech Kansas Oklahoma Iowa State Texas
RondaeShimmy wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 1:47 pm
To be concerned about a team, you have to think if they can matchup with our size, our size that can guard guards outside of the paint.
Arizona is elite in 2pt% offensively and defensively. That's how they're going to beat you. As we saw this conference tournament, it doesn't even matter if you hit record amount of 3s.
One of the good things about our team is we have a lot of ways to hurt you. Mathurin, Kerr and Larsson can shoot it. Tubelis and Koloko can produce inside. Mathurin and Tubelis can go off the dribble.
Defensively, Koloko and Ballo can protect the rim. Terry and Mathurin are problems on the wing. If Kerr heals his ankle, he's a solid pg defender.
We basically have to shoot poorly and/or commit unforced errors. That's how we've lost and struggled this year...which is entirely in our control. I like that part, controlling our destiny.
Spaceman Spiff wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 1:53 pm
We had almost comically bad luck with our region under Miller. In 2011, we played 4 seed, 1 seed, 3 seed. In 2013, we lost to a 2 seed. In 2014, we lost to a 2 seed as a 1. In 2015, we faced a 1 seed as a 2. In 2017, if we beat Xavier, we play a 1 seed to go to the Final Four.
The one time a region actually opened up was when Buffalo spanked us in the first round. Just about every other time, we just about literally got the toughest opponent we could when we went deep.
This year, much harder to predict. No team screams lights out in the South to me...other than us. Maybe we finally get a good draw.
I'd argue that Xavier year that lower half of the bracket opened up for us for a matchup with the zags for Sean's first f4 with the #3 FSU getting upset.
I certainly remember everyone feeling very confident after Xavier got their upset and the matchup with the Zags was looming. The final four was in Glendale, perfect. #1 Villanova had also lost in the rd of 32 and that bracket (#2 Duke and #3 Baylor also lost in rd of 32) would've been the final four matchup (#7 seed south Carolina eventually).
Everything seemed like it was breaking Arizona's way and just had to get past Gonzaga and they'd be in the title game.
As per 97 call to upsets. I see you Colorado St. Good team with a really good player who will showcase himself in the tourney
Waiting at the Rose Bowl patiently for the cats to arrive
"I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more wildcat sports"
2019 BDW Survivor Pool Champion
azcat49 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 14, 2022 2:21 pm
As per 97 call to upsets. I see you Colorado St. Good team with a really good player who will showcase himself in the tourney
and one of the main reasons this region breaks so well for Arizona its not cuse its the weakest (thats the Midwest) its because the bottom half of the region is stacked with conference winners and teams that can win one or two games against anybody but will have trouble winning six let alone four games in a row.
from AZ's perspective its all about who can potentially take out a higher seed early - a few teams with a real chance:
TCU
UAB
Chattanooga
Michigan
Colorado State
Loyola-Chicago
The sophomoric side of me (which is every side) wants Longwood alive as long as possible. I'll root for Arizona over the dick joke of course but otherwise that's my team.
Btw, is Moorhead State in Longwood's conference? That would be quite the rivalry.
