Biggest first-round upset?

[Lester Bangs]

Find it hilarious that so many of the prominent upset picks involve Pac-10 schools ... Wazzu, USC and Oregon ... or teams 2, 3 and 4 in the nation's third best conference, which has fewer OOC losses than any other in America. The conference's contract with FSN and that it is almost truly never on national TV has to be responsible.

I'll be surprised if all six teams don't advance past the first round, but admit that I am a bit of a Pac-10 homer right now. The biggest at-risk team, IMO, is Arizona, as they are incredibly inconsistent and Purdue can exploit that.

On the ORU over Wazzu thing, I know it's more respect for ORU than disrespect for the Cougs, but as a Wazzu fanboy I like the fact that one of the nation's best defensive teams drew an ORU team that coughs the ball up more than 15 times a game in the Mid-Con. </Cougar fanboy>

Lester, I couldn't agree more. The Pac-10 gets shat upon yearly. Unless you're UCLA or Arizona, you rarely get any respect in the Pac-10.
Washington State is legit. So is Oregon. Duke will lose to VCU before Washington State will fall to Oral Roberts. Also, is a 12 over a 5 really an upset anymore? Happens every year, at least 1 or 2 12s beat a 5....

Indeed ... when Arkansas is a 12 it's hard to call a win over a 5 an upset.

 

[Boobie Miles]

But there don't appear to be too many upsets this year.

Who knows if you're right or wrong, but I'd wager that if we revisit this thought on Friday night, and again on Sunday, there will be evidence to the contrary. I can't remember a tournament ever where there weren't a fair amount of early upsets, and it's never really ease to pick them, that's the beauty. I think it was last year that Thursday was one of the weakest opening rounds of the tourney I can remember -- few upsets and buzzer-beaters -- and then Friday things picked up and it ended up making up for Thursday and then some. Point is, there's always upsets.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

Here are your 11 seeds and above winning round 1:

Holy Cross over Southern Illinois
Winthrop over ND
GW over Vandy

And possibly, Arkansas.

I, too, don't see a lot of upsets happening and have bracketed a tourney that will play close to form in terms of seeding. Which is why I will likely be throwing said brackets in the trash by early evening on Thursday.

 

[WS]

anyone else think NMSU has a chance to beat Texas?

I like ORU over Washington State, but I don't see Washington STate getting past round 2 anyway
Also like ODU, Winthrop to win

 

[terrier]

Having seen the kind of mad defense the Great Danes play, the scare they gave top seed UConn last year, and their ability to win at the Catamount House, I like Albany as my upset pick.

 

[audreyld]

anyone else think NMSU has a chance to beat Texas?

No. [/Texas fangirl looser]

 

[writing irish]

Holy Cross.

Go, almost alma mater!

 

[Deskhack]

I think Oregon will beat Miami (Ohio) but the Redhawks will wear their ass out. The Ducks better bring the lunch pails because they haven't played anyone who plays harder than Miami. Talk about a bunch of grinders.

You're probably right about Miami being a bunch of grinders, but I would argue that Washington State plays a similar style in the Pac-10 and is more talented to boot, and the Ducks beat them twice...I wouldn't underestimate the Pac-10 teams this year. This is a better league than a lot of people think, and certainly a lot more than UCLA and Arizona.

 

[shotglass]

I'm glad to see some others are seeing the free-fall that Pitt is in. From what I've been reading around the country the last few days, it's as if Saturday night's Big East final never happened, or that it didn't mean anything.

Pitt is sooooooo vulnerable. It could very well lose to Wright State.

 

[proudpittsburgher]

I'm glad to see some others are seeing the free-fall that Pitt is in. From what I've been reading around the country the last few days, it's as if Saturday night's Big East final never happened, or that it didn't mean anything.

Pitt is sooooooo vulnerable. It could very well lose to Wright State.

The funny part about Pitt's seding is in recent years past, I thought Pitt kinda got shafted with their seeding. This year, they were WAY overseeded. They were a five-seed at best. I think they will beat wright state, but I have a hard tiem believeign they will beat Duke, even with Duke playing as they have.

 

[Oz]

I, too, don't see a lot of upsets happening and have bracketed a tourney that will play close to form in terms of seeding. Which is why I will likely be throwing said brackets in the trash by early evening on Thursday.

See, I don't think it will play close to the seeding because so many teams were overvalued or undervalued, meaning that the upsets will still be there. I just don't think the Cinderellas will make George Mason-like runs.

 

[Almost_Famous]

potential:

13 Holy Cross
13 Davidson
11 GW
12 Illinois
11 Winthrop

 

[Mystery_Meat]

16 vs. 1
Most likely: UNC-Eastern Kentucky
Least likely: Ohio State-Central Connecticut State

15 vs. 2
Most likely: Wisconsin-Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Least likely: Georgetown-Belmont

14 vs. 3
Most likely: Pitt-Wright State
Least likely: Texas A&M-Penn

13 vs. 4
Most likely: Virginia-Albany
Least likely: Texas-New Mexico State

12 vs. 5
Most likely: Butler-Old Dominion
Least likely: Tennessee-Long Beach State

11 vs. 6
Most likely: Notre Dame-Winthrop
Least likely: Louisville-Stanford

 

[Boobie Miles]

I, too, don't see a lot of upsets happening and have bracketed a tourney that will play close to form in terms of seeding. Which is why I will likely be throwing said brackets in the trash by early evening on Thursday.

See, I don't think it will play close to the seeding because so many teams were overvalued or undervalued, meaning that the upsets will still be there. I just don't think the Cinderellas will make George Mason-like runs.

I'm not singling you out because it's been one of the most common questions/issues talked about heading into the tournament, but what is with this "Who will be the next George Mason?" Umm, how about probably nobody, or at least the odds are against it, because (as far as I can remember) a run like that had never happened before. Seems unlikely that another one like it would happen again the next year. When you throw in that Mason beat two storied programs in the first two rounds and the most talented team/ consensus pick to win it all to get to the Final 4, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that no one will be this year's GM.

I absolutely belive there will be the normal share of upsets, but I don't think we can expect a double digit seed to get to Atlanta.

 

[EStreetJoe]

the big upsets (diff. of 3 or more seeds) for Zero & the Pythons (formerly Lute is in it again)...

All four 10 seeds knocking off the 7 seed plus..

Oral Roberts over Wash. St.
Long Beach State over Tenn. (for the annual 12-5 upset)
Va. Commonwealth over Duke
Winthrop over Notre Dame

 

[BYH]

The last time the Pukies were seeded this low, they lost in the first round to Eastern Michigan.

The CAA represents and sends the ****s home in the first round.

 

[Angola!]

I hope Washington State sticks it to Oral Roberts so everyone will quit claiming the Cougars are overrated.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

Oral Roberts has zero, zero, zero chance of beating Wazzu.

Dook will beat the **** out of VCU.

 

[BYH]

I hope Washington State sticks it to Oral Roberts so everyone will quit claiming the Cougars are overrated.

The Cougars are overrated and their fans suck.

 

[Oz]

I hope Washington State sticks it to Oral Roberts so everyone will quit claiming the Cougars are overrated.

Yeah, but what happens when GW beats Wazzu in the second round? :-X