2009 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament
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Seriously. I thought even GM was willing to throw in the towel on Saturn.Speaking of which, I thought Saturn is shutting down their operation? Why are they still running commercials for new cars?!
Another commercial I found comical is that Hyundai one where they vouch to buy your car back from you if you ever lose your job. Plus there is a $3,500 cash back bonus when you purchase a new car from Hyundai. My God, how desperate is the car industry?!
Even though I was rooting for this Ohio team, I didn't have the guts to pick Akron in my bracket.
As for Cleveland State..... that's another story. I have them upsetting Wake tonight and then beating Utah to move onto the Sweet 16. Vivid images of 1986 are flashing in my head.
Let's go Vikings! Hooo Rahhh!
Cleveland State vs. Wake Forrest: Matchup Preview
Cleveland State:
This is a veteran group, led by seniors Cedric Jackson and J’Nathan Bullock. They play a very controlled style on offense. Coach Gary Waters likes to slow things down and get the best possible shot. Making the extra pass is key to the Vikings attack. The players all seem to know their roles and excel in them.
How CSU wins:
Keeping Bullock out of foul trouble is imperative. Don’t be surprised if Gary Waters employs a tightly packed in zone and forces Wake to beat them from the outside. Maryland did this in the ACC quarterfinals and the Deacons were a miserable 3-25 from deep in their 85-75 loss. The bottom line is CSU cannot get into a track meet with Wake Forest or they will be one and done.
Wake Forrest:
While the Demon Deacons are extremely talented, their one major flaw is their lack of quality outside shooting, which plays right into CSU’s hands. Other than PG Jeff Teague (19.1 ppg), an all-ACC performer, Wake doesn’t have any real consistent deep-shooting performers.
How Wake wins:
Where the Vikes are at a major dis-advantage is in the post. Al-Farouq Aminu and James Johnson are freakishly athletic, unlike an bigs CSU has seen all year. If CSU struggles, it'll be from keeping Wake’s bevy of big men, including Johnson (14.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg) and Aminu (12.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg), out of the paint.
My Pick:
The Vikings in a dramatic upset. On paper, it seems like a mismatch, but Cleveland State won’t be intimidated, and will be ready for the ACC giant. The one thing you can say about Gary Waters' club is they aren’t scared to play anyone. They went into Syracuse and shocked the Orange on the now famous Cedric Jackson 65-footer. That win was no fluke; CSU led for a large portion of the game before blowing a late lead. The Jackson prayer had the Vikings in the winners circle and avoiding overtime. They also hung with Pac-10 regular season champion Washington and won at #19 Butler with a conference title on the line.
Cleveland State:
This is a veteran group, led by seniors Cedric Jackson and J’Nathan Bullock. They play a very controlled style on offense. Coach Gary Waters likes to slow things down and get the best possible shot. Making the extra pass is key to the Vikings attack. The players all seem to know their roles and excel in them.
How CSU wins:
Keeping Bullock out of foul trouble is imperative. Don’t be surprised if Gary Waters employs a tightly packed in zone and forces Wake to beat them from the outside. Maryland did this in the ACC quarterfinals and the Deacons were a miserable 3-25 from deep in their 85-75 loss. The bottom line is CSU cannot get into a track meet with Wake Forest or they will be one and done.
Wake Forrest:
While the Demon Deacons are extremely talented, their one major flaw is their lack of quality outside shooting, which plays right into CSU’s hands. Other than PG Jeff Teague (19.1 ppg), an all-ACC performer, Wake doesn’t have any real consistent deep-shooting performers.
How Wake wins:
Where the Vikes are at a major dis-advantage is in the post. Al-Farouq Aminu and James Johnson are freakishly athletic, unlike an bigs CSU has seen all year. If CSU struggles, it'll be from keeping Wake’s bevy of big men, including Johnson (14.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg) and Aminu (12.8 ppg, 8.2 rpg), out of the paint.
My Pick:
The Vikings in a dramatic upset. On paper, it seems like a mismatch, but Cleveland State won’t be intimidated, and will be ready for the ACC giant. The one thing you can say about Gary Waters' club is they aren’t scared to play anyone. They went into Syracuse and shocked the Orange on the now famous Cedric Jackson 65-footer. That win was no fluke; CSU led for a large portion of the game before blowing a late lead. The Jackson prayer had the Vikings in the winners circle and avoiding overtime. They also hung with Pac-10 regular season champion Washington and won at #19 Butler with a conference title on the line.
What the hell are you talking about? Try not to post whatever just pops in to your mind all the time. If they did everything to lose, how did they win? Obviously they didn't do everything. I'm guessing you picked Clemson.
I went the same way. I felt pretty good about their chances. On of the "money" pools I'm in awards bonus points on seed differential, and this would have been a big one for me.
I know. But I have to put my biases aside. Besides Clemson ALWAYS underachieves. You should be happy though I've got Michigan St winning a few games.
I've got MICHIGAN "one and done", MSU falls to Louisville. MSU is the kind of team that scares me. They're an all or nothing team. If they get upset in the second round it won't surprise me, likewise if they get to the final four.
The Big 10 is .500 after last night.
-Michigan and Purdue both won.
-Illinois and Minnesota both lost. (No surprise there).
I expect a strong showing from the 2 of the 3 remaining Big-10 teams that play today (Michigan St, Ohio St and Wisconsin). Of the 3, the Badgers will be the ones to most likely fall.
-Michigan and Purdue both won.
-Illinois and Minnesota both lost. (No surprise there).
I expect a strong showing from the 2 of the 3 remaining Big-10 teams that play today (Michigan St, Ohio St and Wisconsin). Of the 3, the Badgers will be the ones to most likely fall.
That would be my take on those teams. Wisconsin really shouldn't have been in the tournament. Minnesota was a borderline pick also. While I'm on the subject, if Arizona got in because of their long term body of work, why was Florida left out? Their recent resume included back to back championships. Leaving St. Mary's out with their 13 road wins, bordered on the criminal. I would have liked to see another run out of Davidson and Curry also.
I'm starting to think Sabres has an agenda against Michigan teams.
How many times has he posted that the Pistons are done? That the the Red Wings have no shot in the playoffs (that one cracks me up)? And he's made more than one derogatory remark about the Wolverines.
How about it Sabres, what do you have against Michigan?
Arizona shouldn't be in. I think what they had going for them was in spite of their lousy record they beat Kansas back in Dec and non conference wins go a long way. But the thing is Texas Tech and Baylor recently beat Kansas too and they're not in the tournament. Hopefully Arizona's stay will be a short one.
Those are the pools that I like! :up
I think you should be rewarded for picking upsets.
I'm starting to think Sabres has an agenda against Michigan teams.
How many times has he posted that the Pistons are done? That the the Red Wings have no shot in the playoffs (that one cracks me up)? And he's made more than one derogatory remark about the Wolverines.
How about it Sabres, what do you have against Michigan?
Don't forget about the comments on Michigan State and being a number 2 seed.
I'm in first because of the "seed differential". It won't last. It never does. From here out I don't have anymore really large "upsets", except for WKU. My picks are the same in that pool as in the one here, if you're curious.
I'm starting to think Sabres has an agenda against Michigan teams.
How many times has he posted that the Pistons are done? That the the Red Wings have no shot in the playoffs (that one cracks me up)? And he's made more than one derogatory remark about the Wolverines.
How about it Sabres, what do you have against Michigan?
Don't expect any reply to that. I've noticed the same thing lately.
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