Stomp The Lunatic

Figure it is time to give out some ratings to the conferences.   That will likely change over the weekend’s games – but figure that it is worth calling out for the first two rounds.

Atlantic 10: A+.    It seemed odd that the A-10 had 5 teams in the tournament.  Heck, the tradition-rich ACC only had 4, so how could the committee select 5 from this mid-major.  All they have done since the games have started is go 6-0, including dominating performances by St. Louis, VCU and Butler.  And then there is La Salle – the team that I thought shouldn’t be in compared to another SEC / ACC team.  All they have done is won the play-in game and upset #4 seed Kansas State.

Atlantic Sun: A+.   Not going to mention the other single bid conferences – but Florida Gulf Coast is the story of the tournament so far.  And it bears to be mentioned that the team they beat in the conference tournament, Mercer – went on to win their first game in the NIT at Tennessee.

Big 10: A.     The top teams (Indiana, Ohio St, Michigan St, and Michigan) all won convincingly.   They lose a little credit because of Wisconsin’s unexpected loss – but then they get some credit back for the fact that both of their 8-10 teams in conference (Illinois and Minnesota) won their first round games.   Going 6-1 is pretty good.

Missouri Valley: A.  Wichita State unexpectedly destroyed Pitt – and Creighton managed to hold off Cincinnati to make the conference 2-0.  Not as impressive as the A-10 – but you still get an A if you go undefeated.

ACC: A-.   Miami and Duke dominated their games.  And UNC jumped all over Villanova early and then held on to win their game.  The only blemish was a 8-9 game loss by NC State.  Pretty good start for the ACC.

SEC: B+.    Florida didn’t show up for the first half and still was able to blow out Northwestern State.  And Ole Miss totally upset Wisconsin getting lots of credit for a 12 seed victory.   But then Missouri got blitzed by Colorado State.   Based on seed, Missouri wasn’t supposed to win the game – but they weren’t supposed to lose by double digits either.   That drops them from the top of the class.

Pac 12: B.   The conference totally got a bad break with seeding.  How Oregon went 22-4 while healthy, losing only neutral court / road games to RPI Top 100 teams, demonstrated they were back to full strength in the Pac 12 tourney, and only got a 12 seed is still one of the most puzzling parts of the selection process.   But they and Cal both knocked off #5 seeds to get to the Round of 32 – and Arizona looked good in their victory.  Not going to take credit away for Colorado losing a close game that they were supposed to lose – but UCLA getting crushed – even while down an important player, pushes them down.

West Coast Conference: B.  St. Mary’s looked great in the first four games – and then almost upset Memphis.  Gonzaga won – but #1 seeds are supposed to win their first games by double digits – not by 6.  They are where they are expected to be in wins – but it is strange that the team that lost is the one that performed better compared to expectations.

Mountain West: C.  New Mexico’s loss to Harvard is what crushes their grade.  You have to win your games when you are a top 3 seed.  Didn’t help that UNLV lost as a #5 seed to a team it beat earlier in the season.  However, San Diego State and Colorado State ran to easy victories.  Wanted to reward the 7 and 8 seeds for their victories – but when a protected seed loses as well as the conference’s second best team, it averages out to a mediocre grade.

Big East: D.  Louisville and Syracuse took care of business as expected – which is the only thing keep this from being an F.  Georgetown lost the biggest upset of the tournament to FGCU.  Marquette as a 3 seed needed last second heroics to make the next round.  Notre Dame and Pitt got blown out of the buildings.  And while Villanova and Cincinnati weren’t supposed to win – they didn’t do anything that would bump up the conferences status.  One of the Big East’s top 3 might still end up doing very well – maybe even winning the entire tournament.  But when you are supposed to have 4 protected seeds and 2 others expected to advance to the next round – and you finish the round with just 3 of 8 teams remaining in the tournament, that is an awful start.

Big 12: D-.  While Oregon never should have been a 12 seed, Oklahoma State as a 5 seed should not have lost by double digits.  Kansas State as a protected seed should definitely not lost to La Salle.  Oklahoma wasn’t supposed to win – but losing by 15 isn’t an inspiring performance.  Then you have Kansas almost allowing Western Kentucky make history as the first ever 16 seed to win – the Jayhawks eventually pulled away for a 7 point victory.  The only thing keeping this from a failing grade is the fact that the Jayhawks are still alive, and Iowa State destroyed Notre Dame.  Actually maybe I should give them more credit for ISU eliminating Notre Dame’s hideous uniforms….

 

As the kids are going for their nap, I finally turned on today’s game.  Hoping VCU comes back – looks like they had a rough first half.   Go Rams!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Once again, this tournament demonstrates that while it might be easy to Stomp the Lunatic – his family will provide more difficult competition.  Elizabeth’s uncle – Bill Yost is one of the co-leaders as he was able to get 27 of 32 games correct.   He is tied with Stacy Dooms, who was able to maintain a share of the lead she shared last night.

Mark Horgan, our current leader in the Upset Pool, led a group of people just one game behind.  Also there is David Zimmerman – our other Thursday night co-leader – and Tanis Young.

And of course, my 6 year old son, Charlie Hodgson is tied for 6th in the group of 10 people who were able to get 25 of 32 games right.  Charlie is very devoted to the schools his grandparents are from, as well as bears, bulldogs, large cats, and his favorite color red.  These loyalties have served him well in the first round….

The Lunatic’s insane picks are lurking in a large tie for 88th place – getting 22 of the games right.  Really doesn’t feel like a bad showing in the opening round for our crazed resident blogger – and yet, no where close to be competitive against all of you.

Meanwhile, congratulations to Iowa State and Minnesota – our late game upsets.  Also, have to give credit to Western Kentucky, who gave #1 seed Kansas all it could handle.

Good luck to everyone in the second round.  Hope the upsets haven’t completely blown up your brackets.  And even if they have, remember – there is always the second chance pool!!!!!!!!!!

 

But at this very second.  All 4 double digit seeds (including #16 seed Western Kentucky) is winning.   Could be a wild evening!!!!!!!!!!!

I know I am biased being a Purdue fan.  However, I find myself at the moment rooting for Iowa State not being I want my rival to lose (although that would be nice).  I am also not doing it because I am closet Cyclones fan (although as a disclaimer, I have every reason to be with family who lives in Ames, Iowa).

I have every reason to be rooting against Notre Dame – but right now, it is simply one.  The thought of Notre Dame playing in those hideous florescent lime green uniforms on Sunday that they broke out for the Big East tournament is giving me shivers.  I already feel scarred that I am looking at these stupid home uniforms with the green socks and lettering.  I am afraid I will go blind if the Irish are allowed to advance.

Please Iowa State – do the entire world a favor and end the Irish’s fashion disaster.  Do not make us have to turn our eyes from watching this great tournament….

Cinderella has a name – that name is Florida Gulf Coast!!!!!!!!!!!   That’s right – the team who has been mentioned throughout the year as an asterisk – the strange blemish on the Miami FL Hurricanes record early in the year – has a new scalp.  Big East Regular Season champions – the Georgetown Hoyas were expected to be competitive as one of the favorites to win the South Region.  Now they return to DC as a footnote – one of only seven #2 seeds to lose to a #15 seed.   And Florida Gulf Coast has a very memorable story in their first ever NCAA Tournament.

One could argue how it is that a small conference school that won 24 games, their conference’s tournament, and of course a marquis victory against Miami FL ended up as a #15 seed.  But the reality is now everyone needs to take notice.  The Eagles have crashed this March party – and it looks like the newcomer wants to make some noise.

Of course, I would be negligent if I didn’t mention the fact that the day has been rough for favorites.  #9 Temple, #12 Ole Miss, and #13 La Salle also took down favorites earlier today to make this a wild day in the tournament.   Not sure if the late games are going to continue at this pace.  But if I were the favorites (Kansas, UCLA, Notre Dame and San Diego State), I would do my best to jump out to an early lead.  The longer these underdogs stick in the game, they appear to just start to pick up confidence.

Congratulations to the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on their first ever NCAA tournament victory.

The #14 seeds really put on a show today.  Looked like Davidson was going to pull off the upset earlier in the day – crushed by a last second layup.  But Harvard would not be stopped.  The Crimson held off #3 New Mexico to win their first tournament game in school history.   Fantastic victory for Harvard.

The other big upsets were #12 seeds Oregon and California.   And not to take any credit away from the two Pac 12 schools, but I would also argue that Oregon never should have been a 12 seed – and probably neither should have California….

Congratulations to Dave Zimmerman and Stacy Dooms – our current leaders.  Both Dave and Stacy got 15 of the 16 games correct – only missing the Harvard game.  Also, congratulations to our early leader of the Upset Pool – Rick Flynn.  Rick got 13 games correct, but those included all three of the double digit upsets that happened today.

Good luck to everyone in Stomping the Lunatic!!!!!!

Can’t believe I saw that happen in two consecutive games.

St. Mary’s trying to come back against Memphis with just a few seconds in the game – and Memphis turns the ball over on the in-bounce.  The Gaels get the ball into their star player, but he can’t make the game-winning three pointer to finish the comeback.

Then, it looks like #14 Davidson was going to make an attempt at becoming Cinderella.  But with under 10 seconds and a 1 point lead, the Davidson player trying to extend the play instead of allowing himself to get fouled throws the ball out of bounds.  Marquette gets 6 seconds to win the game, they get the ball into their star player, but unfortunately for Cinderella, he drives to the basket for a lay-up and the clock struck midnight for Davidson.

One can only hope the evening games keep up this pace.  Right now, we have #16 seed Southern only down 3 at half against Gonzaga – and #12 seed Oregon is up 11 at half against Oklahoma State.  Could be more fireworks in store!!!!

Looks like we have 365 entries – should be a really fun tourney.

Good luck to everyone in Stomping the Lunatic!!!!!!!

In my sane picks, I have gone back to my roots and picked Big 10 heavy.  I have Michigan State upsetting Louisville in the Midwest, Ohio State taking down Wisconsin in the West, Kansas beating Georgetown in the South, and Indiana holding off Miami FL in the East.  This will lead to my nightmare as the Hoosiers take down Kansas and Ohio State to win the national championship.

 

In my insane picks, I have Duke upsetting Louisville in the Midwest, Ohio State taking down Kansas State in the West, Kansas beating Florida in the South and Indiana still holding off Miami FL in the East.  This time, the Big 10 teams lose in the semi-finals, as Duke will beat Kansas to win the national championship.

 

My sympathies in advance to Hoosier and Blue Devil fans.  OK – being from Purdue, my sympathy really goes out to Blue Devil fans – picking Indiana knowing my teams tend to get upset early was probably subconsciously intentional.   Don’t worry, I will likely take down a third school with my second chance picks….

 

We already have 248 entries in the contest – and I am sure that we will get our normal avalanche of last-second entries – so we should have a great contest once again this year.  Make sure you get your picks in – and good luck to everyone in Stomping the Lunatic!!!!!

 

Tom

Have to love the fact that the tournament starts off with a 73-72 game that ends with one final drive to try to win the game.  The Liberty player drove a little too far, the NC A&T player had great defensive position and contested the shot – and NC A&T hangs on for the victory.

The St. Mary’s – Middle Tennessee St game wasn’t as exciting.  Couldn’t decide if that was because the experts were right about MTSU potentially not belonging in the field – or if it was because St. Mary’s was just much better than anyone thought.

As for other fun things on the site, Bracketology finally got posted – along with how I did against the experts.  Middle of the pack – considering I literally spent 2 hours on it, I will be happy with it – demonstrates the point that the bracketology gig is just not that complicated.  Wonder how I would do if I really put some effort into it – just don’t have that type of time……

Also, have started the handicapping page…..   Started off ahead on Tuesday’s games – sure that won’t last long….

Remember, just about 35 hours left to get your brackets in – oh wait, I guess that means I should get started as well……