Which conference will lay a turd in the NCAA tournament this year?

[spnited]

The Big Ten. Seven teams will win a total of three games.

Agreed. And none get past this weekend. It's becoming a rite of spring: grass grows, flowers bloom, and the Big 10 throws up all over themselves in the NCAA tourney.

On the opposite side of the coin, I would not be surprised to see an all Big East final four.

UConn without Dyson, Marquette without James, Pitt always chokes in the Sweet 16, Cuse burned out in Big East tourney, WVa just not that good.

That leaves Louisville and Nova (my dark horse)

 

[Big Buckin' agate_monkey]

I prefer my turds in punch bowls.

 

[PopeDirkBenedict]

Pac 10

 

[Cosmo]

Surprised I'm the only ACC vote ... with the exception of UNC, everyone is vulnerable.

Duke -- very good team but prone to bad shooting nights. They could easily get caught on the wrong end of one in round 2 and be done.

Florida State -- one man team. If Toney Douglas isn't hitting, the Noles could be one and done.

Boston College -- so up-and-down, a real enigma of a team. Could get blown out in round 1, could advance to the elite 8.

Clemson -- can't make a free throw when it needs to.

Wake Forest -- another very young team that's driven mostly by one player. James Johnson is capable of taking over, at least, if Teague isn't hitting. But Wake usually goes as Teague goes.

Maryland -- I honestly don't know how Gary even got 20 wins out of this team. With apologies to Headbutt, there isn't a whole lot of talent here, save for Vazquez. Milbourne, Mosley and Neal are inconsistent stiffs. Hayes is capable of scoring 25 or 0.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

The Big Ten. Seven teams will win a total of three games.

Agreed. And none get past this weekend. It's becoming a rite of spring: grass grows, flowers bloom, and the Big 10 throws up all over themselves in the NCAA tourney.

On the opposite side of the coin, I would not be surprised to see an all Big East final four.

UConn without Dyson, Marquette without James, Pitt always chokes in the Sweet 16, Cuse burned out in Big East tourney, WVa just not that good.

That leaves Louisville and Nova (my dark horse)

Yes on Louisville and Villanova.

UConn's regional just doesn't have that much to it, and Syracuse could just as easily play the hot hand card as the burned out one. Now, personally I don't have either in my final four, but I could certainly see it happening.

 

[zeke12]

Can't argue with those who say the Big Ten, because they did NOT deserve 7 bids.

But I think Cosmo's right on, too. ACC could struggle.

 

[mb]

SEC.

The SEC has an 8, a 9 and a 13. Best-case scenario is 2-3. Betting line would probably say 1-2. Not sure what would qualify as a "turd."

 

[spnited]

UConn will not beat Memphis ... in a great Calhoun-Calipari love match!

 

[alleyallen]

Big 12. With the exception of one team, I'm betting most of the others will exit quickly.

Who you got?

OU

 

[Second Thoughts]

Not a fan of the Big East, but my bracket has 6 of them in the Elite 8. When I went back to fix that, I couldn't figure where to change it. I think they're really loaded this year (and helped by favorable seedings) while overall the field is weak this year.

If I'm wrong, the rest of the sj tourney pool will be very happy. :-)

 

[Diabeetus]

Big 12. With the exception of one team, I'm betting most of the others will exit quickly.

Who you got?

OU

Eesh. Worst of the three bigguns.

 

[Del_B_Vista]

 

[mustangj17]

Not the Big 10. SEC. or Pac-10.

Big 10.
Nobody else will be close.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Surprised I'm the only ACC vote ... with the exception of UNC, everyone is vulnerable.

Duke -- very good team but prone to bad shooting nights. They could easily get caught on the wrong end of one in round 2 and be done.

Florida State -- one man team. If Toney Douglas isn't hitting, the Noles could be one and done.

Boston College -- so up-and-down, a real enigma of a team. Could get blown out in round 1, could advance to the elite 8.

Clemson -- can't make a free throw when it needs to.

Wake Forest -- another very young team that's driven mostly by one player. James Johnson is capable of taking over, at least, if Teague isn't hitting. But Wake usually goes as Teague goes.

Maryland -- I honestly don't know how Gary even got 20 wins out of this team. With apologies to Headbutt, there isn't a whole lot of talent here, save for Vazquez. Milbourne, Mosley and Neal are inconsistent stiffs. Hayes is capable of scoring 25 or 0.

Cosmo, even Chapel Hill is vulnerable. With Ty Lawson, and moreso without. But they're likely the best bet ... channeling Captain Obvious.

Duke is in much better shape than it was six weeks ago. Now they're actually running an offense and firing up more than 3s by the dozen. When that works, they're not getting beat. If they're smart enough to adjust and not consistently lean on that crutch, they'll be contenders. Putting Elliott Williams in the starting lineup was a sharp move. He sets the tone for face-guarding defense, something that was lacking for a while.

Disagree on Florida State - sort of. Yes, Toney Douglas is the only serious offensive weapon but, short of raining 3s with shocking accuracy, how do you score on all that length that is locked in defensively? That's how the Seminoles made their mark. That's how Leonard Hamilton won ACC Coach of the Year. Big scorer and great all-around player in Douglas and the rest of the team gladly playing their defensive roles. Limited, yes, but dangerous if they continue to playing stifling defense.

Boston College - Agreed all the way around. This team defines inconsistent. Good enough to bust Chapel Hill in the Dean Dome and Duke at Chestnut Hill. Bad enough at times to cause everyone to scratch their heads.

Clemson is much better, but in a game down to the wire when some free throws need to be made, they're still vintage Clemson. Could cause lots of indigestion for Oliver Purnell.

Wake Forest - Almost as enigmatic as BC. If Jeff Teague gets going and this team cures the road woes, watch out. But the latter is why it lost to Georgia Tech (!), Miami and N.C. State on the road. Ouch.

Maryland - Maybe Gary Williams' best coaching job. The 2002 team had talent. This one has Greivis Vazquez and barely adequate role players. To get this team off the canvas and fighting again after an embarrassing outing in Durham is wondrous. That the Terps made it this far is a victory in itself.

Chapel Hill, Duke and Florida State can - and should - survive the weekend. Clemson has more than a decent chance. Good Wake Forest can join them, Bad Wake Forest could be gone in a hurry.

 

[KevinmH9]

Pac-10. Easy.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Pac 10

I agree with His Excellent Holiness.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Pac-10 not one team will win a first round game.

Temple isn't beating Arizona State.
Washington isn't too likely to get bumped by Mississippi State.

Pac-10 isn't likely to fare well as a whole, but that statement is ripe for ridicule.

 

[DanOregon]

I'll change my avatar for the duration of the tourney if the Big 10 places more teams in the Sweet 16 than the Pac 10. Even though Obama is down on the Pac 10 as well.

 

[Cosmo]

Surprised I'm the only ACC vote ... with the exception of UNC, everyone is vulnerable.

Duke -- very good team but prone to bad shooting nights. They could easily get caught on the wrong end of one in round 2 and be done.

Florida State -- one man team. If Toney Douglas isn't hitting, the Noles could be one and done.

Boston College -- so up-and-down, a real enigma of a team. Could get blown out in round 1, could advance to the elite 8.

Clemson -- can't make a free throw when it needs to.

Wake Forest -- another very young team that's driven mostly by one player. James Johnson is capable of taking over, at least, if Teague isn't hitting. But Wake usually goes as Teague goes.

Maryland -- I honestly don't know how Gary even got 20 wins out of this team. With apologies to Headbutt, there isn't a whole lot of talent here, save for Vazquez. Milbourne, Mosley and Neal are inconsistent stiffs. Hayes is capable of scoring 25 or 0.

Cosmo, even Chapel Hill is vulnerable. With Ty Lawson, and moreso without. But they're likely the best bet ... channeling Captain Obvious.

Duke is in much better shape than it was six weeks ago. Now they're actually running an offense and firing up more than 3s by the dozen. When that works, they're not getting beat. If they're smart enough to adjust and not consistently lean on that crutch, they'll be contenders. Putting Elliott Williams in the starting lineup was a sharp move. He sets the tone for face-guarding defense, something that was lacking for a while.

Disagree on Florida State - sort of. Yes, Toney Douglas is the only serious offensive weapon but, short of raining 3s with shocking accuracy, how do you score on all that length that is locked in defensively? That's how the Seminoles made their mark. That's how Leonard Hamilton won ACC Coach of the Year. Big scorer and great all-around player in Douglas and the rest of the team gladly playing their defensive roles. Limited, yes, but dangerous if they continue to playing stifling defense.

Boston College - Agreed all the way around. This team defines inconsistent. Good enough to bust Chapel Hill in the Dean Dome and Duke at Chestnut Hill. Bad enough at times to cause everyone to scratch their heads.

Clemson is much better, but in a game down to the wire when some free throws need to be made, they're still vintage Clemson. Could cause lots of indigestion for Oliver Purnell.

Wake Forest - Almost as enigmatic as BC. If Jeff Teague gets going and this team cures the road woes, watch out. But the latter is why it lost to Georgia Tech (!), Miami and N.C. State on the road. Ouch.

Maryland - Maybe Gary Williams' best coaching job. The 2002 team had talent. This one has Greivis Vazquez and barely adequate role players. To get this team off the canvas and fighting again after an embarrassing outing in Durham is wondrous. That the Terps made it this far is a victory in itself.

Chapel Hill, Duke and Florida State can - and should - survive the weekend. Clemson has more than a decent chance. Good Wake Forest can join them, Bad Wake Forest could be gone in a hurry.

I say all of this, and then I have FSU beating Pitt in my bracket and playing Duke in the regional final. :D

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Pac-10 not one team will win a first round game.

Temple isn't beating Arizona State.
Washington isn't too likely to get bumped by Mississippi State.

Pac-10 isn't likely to fare well as a whole, but that statement is ripe for ridicule.

If this doesn't happen I will leave this site for 6 months.

As if there was any lack of enthusiasm for Herb Sendek and his guys ...