Stomp The Lunatic

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  • Texas A&M’s impressive victory

    The Aggies totally outran and outhustled the defending National Champions. Normally, it is UNC that creates havoc by speading up play. But today, it was Texas A&M who seemed to be the ones controlling the pace in an impressive 86-65 victory.

    And so the Lunatic Curse has taken out both his South and West regional champions before the weekend even ended. That probably bodes poorly for Duke, Villanova and Purdue in the second weekend. I might have to think about what other teams I would like to take out by selecting them in my second chance picks.

  • Syracuse is heading to the Sweet 16

    There is always that team in the NCAA Tournament that proves all the critics, including myself, wrong. Everyone said that Syracuse didn’t deserve to be in the tournament. There were 187 people who projected the bracket before Selection Sunday for the Bracket Matrix project – only 23 (12.2%) had the Orange in the tournament.

    So, the Orange head to Dayton – and they take out Arizona State. Then, they shock TCU to make it to the round of 32. But surely a team that is averaging 58.5 points in those two games isn’t going to beat #3 seed, Michigan State. After all, the Spartans were 29-4 and one of the top 5 teams in the polls.

    But this is March – and when the Spartans went up 48-43 on a Cassius Winston jumper with 5:43 in the game, it looked like the Spartans would stay ahead – after all points were hard to find in this ugly game.

    Then, Michigan State missed their last 13 shots from the field, Syracuse’s Tyus Battle hit a jumper on a nice drive with 49 seconds to give the Orange a 3 point lead, and then we watched as the Spartans got tons of tries to tie the game to no prevail.

    The last team invited to dance is still dancing. And should any of us be surprised – these are the kinds of things that happen in March.

  • Congratulations to our First Round Leaders!!!

    Our first day leader, Laura Carini went perfect on Thursday.  Friday was unkind, however.  Once her predicted upset of CSU Fullerton over Purdue went down to end her perfect bracket, she went 7-9 to fall to a tie for 75th place, 40 points out of the lead.

    The Standard Pool leader is now Michael Cheung, he went 27-5.  There is a group of 6 – Christy Lindvall, Peyton Hinton, Bob Degenhardt, Michelle Miller, and Craig Mize, who are just 10 points behind them.  But Christy and Craig might be the real leaders from Round 1 – that is because neither of them had Virginia winning the South.   Picking Cincinnati and Tennessee looks all of a sudden much better than it might have before the tournament began.

    Christy’s upset picks have also put her in the lead of the Upset Pool – with 145 points.  She is followed closely by Triona Weeks at 136, Michael Cheung at 133, Bob Degenhardt at 130, and Joe Chapman at 129.

    For all of us Virginia fans, including myself, thankfully there is the Second Chance Pool.   Normally, I am not thinking about that after the first round, but after last night’s historic upset, I think all of us might need a second chance.

  • Beware the 13 seed

    Because it wasn’t enough that UNC-Greensboro almost took down Gonzaga.

    Because it wasn’t enough for Buffalo to completely destroy Arizona.

    It wasn’t even enough that Marshall took down Wichita State this afternoon.

    Don’t look now – but Charleston, the Colonial Conference champion is tied with SEC co-champ Auburn.

  • Good luck to everyone

    The games have begun so it is time for the real fun to begin!!!!

    Looks like we have 334 entries this year so it should be lots of fun – and lots of people Stomping the Lunatic!!!!

    When I get home from work, I will check to verify number of entries and make sure there are not any emails in my mailbox about last second issues with getting in their picks.

    Enjoy the Madness!!!!!! Should be a great tournament!!!!

  • Congratulations to Radford and St. Bonaventure

    Congratulations to Tuesday’s First Four winners.   First, Radford won the first game of the tournament by beating LIU Brooklyn.  Then, St. Bonaventure won a huge game for the mid-majors as the Bonnies knocked off the UCLA Bruins by playing suffocating defense.  Not sure about Radford – but have heard multiple times at the end of the game – this was the first tournament win for the Bonnies in 48 years – that is awesome!

  • Handicapping is back

    Totally forgot to mention. The Lunatic’s handicapping is back for another pummeling. The First 4 games have begun and so the Lunatic has even picked them. Those teams made the tournament – they deserve to have their game picked incorrectly by the Lunatic.

    For those of you not familiar, the Lunatic picks every single one of the games against the spread as well as the over/under. Typically, I get very excited to do this at the start of the tournament, and then end up so far down in mythical money that I choose not to pick the last games to ensure that the Lunatic curse doesn’t impact the tournament any more than it already has.

    I will add my disclosures – I only provide my picks for fun – they are not gambling advice. (Although I am starting to think a good strategy would be to pick against anyone I pick.). I also mention that my luck in Vegas Sportsbooks is as bad if not worse than how I have done the last few years.

    Enjoy the picks and rambling with them – just be smart – they are done by a delusional crazy person.

  • Championship Game Preview

    Here’s all the important information that you need to know to get you ready for the National Championship game.

    #1 South Regional – North Carolina (32-7, ACC Regular Season Champions) vs #1 West Regional – Gonzaga (37-1, WCC Regular Season / Tournament Champions)

    Vegas Line: UNC (-1)      Over/Under: 155.5

    Covers.com Experts favorites:   Gonzaga (+1 – 59%),   Over (155.5 – 78%)

    Lunatic Pool Biggest Fans for Gonzaga (unofficially, of course):

    Standard Pool: Martin Poteralski

    Upset Pool: Kyle Kelly

    Second Chance Pool: Michael Cheung and Patti Carini

    Lunatic Pool Biggest Fans for North Carolina (unofficially, of course):

    Standard Pool: Lauren Martin

    Upset Pool: Greg Williams

    Second Chance Pool: Tony Bisese

    Gonzaga Roster:

    Last Starting Lineup

    • G – Nigel Williams-Goss (6’3″ Jr) – 16.9 PPG, 4.7 APG, 5.9 RPG (49.3% FG, 88.4% FT, 36.8% TPG)
    • G – Josh Perkins (6’3″ Soph) – 8 PPG, 3.1 APG (42% FG, 72.3% FT, 39.5% TPG)
    • G – Jordan Matthews (6’4″ Sr) – 10.8 PPG, 3.3 RPG (40.8% FG, 74.2% FT, 39.2% TPG)
    • F – Johnathan Williams (6’9″ Jr) – 10.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG (59.2% FG, 56.3% FT, 40.5% TPG)
    • C – Przemek Karnowski (7’1″ Sr) – 12.3 PPG, 5.8 RPG (59.7% FG, 58.1% FT)

    Key Bench Players

    • C – Zach Collins (7’0″ Fr) – 10 PPG, 5.9 RPG (65.2% FG, 74.1% FT, 47.6% TPG)
    • G – Silas Melson (6’4″ Jr) – 7.3 PPG, 1.5 APG (44.9% FG, 84% FT, 38.9% TPG)

    North Carolina Roster:

    Last Starting Lineup

    • G – Joel Berry II (6’0″ Jr) – 14.5 PPG, 3.6 APG (42.9% FG, 79.1% FT, 38.7% TPG)
    • F – Theo Pinson (6’6″ Jr) – 6.1 PPG, 3.8 APG (39.4% FG, 68.9% FT)
    • F – Justin Jackson (6’8″ Jr) – 18.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG (44.7% FG, 74.6% FT, 38.2% TPG)
    • F – Isaiah Hicks (6’9″ Sr) – 11.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG (57.7% FG, 78.6% FT)
    • F – Kennedy Meeks (6’10” Sr) – 12.7 PPG, 9.4 RPG (55.5% FG, 63.3% FT)

    Key Bench Players

    • G – Nate Britt (6’1″ Sr) – 4.6 PPG, 2.4 APG (35.4% FG, 73.0% FT, 33.8% TPG)
    • F – Luke Maye (6’8″ Soph) – 5.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG (48.1% FG, 57.9% FT)
    • F – Tony Bradley (6’10” Fr) – 7.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG (58.8% FG, 62.1% FT)

    Keys to the Game:

    • Experience – UNC has been on this stage before.  They know what to expect out of a National Championship game.   They have felt the pressure.   And while you never know what a team is going to do in this situation, you can not underestimate how big of a deal it is to have played in this game before.  These players came back to win this title – this is their chance.
    • Can anyone stop Gonzaga’s Nigel Williams-Goss?   The Tar Heels play with 4 forwards, which means it likely is up to Joel Berry II, and he is playing on two bad ankles.   It is a tough task to ask to guard Williams-Goss when you are healthy – I am not sure Berry can keep up with him when he is not.
    • Can anyone stop UNC’s Justin Jackson?  The same way that UNC might not have an answer for Williams-Goss, Gonzaga might not have an answer for Jackson.   Jackson is an amazing talent that has the ability to shoot outside or drive to the basket.   He will also likely have a size advantage unless Gonzaga decides to bring Williams out to guard him (which will obviously create a bigger mis-match elsewhere). 
    • Who wins the lane – this might be the best matchup and most important of the night.   Kennedy Meeks is a beast inside – he carried the Tar Heels against the Ducks by his play inside.   However, Gonzaga has a pair of 7 footers that simply have a lot more size than Meeks is used to going against.   And both Przemek Karnowski and Zach Collins are good enough to challenge Meeks for rebounds and post play.   That should be a great battle, because both teams like to go to their star big men.
    • Will UNC need to hit free throws to win the game – the Tar Heels are really good at all the intangibles except one – they are not a good free throw shooting team.  That flaw was more than evident in their stunning finish against the Ducks where they missed 4 straight free throws (2 from their best free throw shooter) and still kept the ball out of Oregon’s hands.   With Gonzaga’s big men, it is unlikely that they will be able to get away with missing end-of-game free throws and get the offensive rebound.

    It should be a great game tonight – it is such a great storyline.   UNC is trying to win the National Championship that eluded them last year.   Gonzaga have been on a Cinderella journey for the last 20 years, building a program that was a mid-major champion to one that is a National Championship contender.    Gonzaga is no longer a Cinderella – they are a dominant team that has only lost one game all season.   But North Carolina is not going to back down to anyone – they have focused all season to get to this moment.   Should be so much fun!!!!

     

  • Pretty exciting first half

    High tempo first half – what everyone would expect from UNC and Kentucky as the Tar Heels lead by 5.

    This game has had a different feel than the others because of the history – lets put that into perspective.

    This is Gonzaga’s and South Carolina’s first ever Final Four.  And it is Oregon’s second – the last time they were there was 1939 – when the Ducks won the first ever NCAA Tournament.

    North Carolina has played in 19 Final Fours – winning 5.   Kentucky has played in 17 Final Fours – and have won 8 (second only behind UCLA’s 11 – who ironically were also in the South Regional Sweet 16)

    North Carolina and Kentucky have played in the same Final Four 3 times assuming I counted right (1993, 1997 and 1998).  Ironically they didn’t play each other in those years.  But that still means there has only been 1 Final Four with any of the other three teams, and 3 where these two played at the same time.

    If North Carolina wins, they will be playing in back to back Final Fours – so everyone but their 4 freshmen will have made as many or more Final Fours than the other 3 schools have in their history

    But that is nothing.  If Kentucky wins, it will be their third in four years – so seniors Derek Willis and Dominique Hawkins will have gone to 2 more Final Fours than South Carolina and Gonzaga and one more than Oregon.

    South Carolina is 8-9 in tournament history (with their 4 wins this year).  So Kentucky has won as many National Championships as South Carolina has won tournament games

    Oregon is now 23-13 and Gonzaga is 28-19.   UNC is 120-45 and Kentucky is 126-50.   So either the Tar Heels or Wildcats will have won twice as many tournament games as the other three schools combined.

    So, in a year where teams are doing things that haven’t been done in history, the South Regional final will ensure that for any of these teams to cap their magical runs with a National Championship, they will have to beat one of the more storied programs in college basketball history.

    Enjoy the second half

  • South Carolina is heading to their first Final Four

    Florida started this game hot and took a 40-33 lead into halftime.  But the Gamecocks kept winning the battle inside and quickly chipped away at that lead.  

    For most of the second half, the teams traded baskets and leads until about 3 minutes in the game.   Then, Sindarius Thornwell took the game over.   Thornwell, who finished with 26 points, got a defensive rebound and drove hard down the court to draw a foul, hit two free throws and give the Gamecocks the lead.  Then, he stole the ball in the corner, drove hard down the court again, but this time stopped in the lane and passed to the trailer Maik Kotsar, who hiy the easier jumper in the lane and the lead was built to 4.

    In the Wisconsin game, Florida kept taking it quickly to the basket to close the gap – but this time, the South Carolina defense had the answer, would get the defensive rebound and hit a free throw or two to keep extending the lead.   The game winner was capped as PJ Dozier stole the ball from Friday night’s hero Chris Chiozza and passed the ball up to Duane Notice who threw down an emphatic dunk.   

    And so the South Carolina Gamecocks will be heading to their first Final Four in school history,  where they will face Gonzaga.   Congratulations to the 7th seed South Carolina!!!

    One last spot remains – will today be a true SEC party with their conference champion Kentucky taking the South, or will the ACC champion North Carolina stop the SEC and take the final spot.   Game starts in 15 minutes!!!!