FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Secret Squirrel said 02/16, 02:37 PM
Kansas-A good, well balanced, overly good team out of the Big XII. It seems we get one in the Final Four every year...or am I just imagining that. Whatever the case may be, Kansas has proven this year that they can beat every team that isn't it's rival, and it's unlikely that they will face either Kansas State or Texas until the Elite 8 or Final 4, and neither of them are balanced enough to make it deep into March.

Stanford-The Cardinal get to the Final Four because they don't rely on the three to win games. their primary job is to work the ball in to Brook and Robin Lopez (Who is a 100% 3 pt. shooter), which can also set up those open treys if they need them. They also have not lost games due to the triple.

Michigan State-The Spartans are a young team, but they have a very good senior leader at probably the most important position in Neitzel. Suton provides the inside presence that the Spartans need to excel in March.

Memphis-The Tigers have pretty good depth, being able to go 3-4 deep into the bench, still being productive, and when the three isn't working, as it hasn't much of the second half of the season, they are quick enough to slash and dish effectively w/ Dorsey & Rose.

Secret Squirrel said 02/17, 02:07 PM
So it's Kansas, Stanford, and Michigan State against Butler, G-Town, and UNC...

Kansas is as good a team as North Carolina, and they have the kind of depth you need to go deep into March. To go deep into the tourney, you need to be able to overcome Hansborough and Ellington in foul trouble, which I don't think they have the team to do so. Kansas can deeper into their bench than UNC can.

The main problem that I see with Georgetown is that their team is so centered around Hibbert having no real backup plan--Patrick Ewing Jr.?--that when he is in foul trouble, see Syracuse, Memphis games, they have no shot at coming back. Ohio State exposed that last year, while the Hoyas still had Jeff Green to bank on. Unlike the Hoyas, the Cardinal has several options if one or both of the Lopezes get into foul trouble or ineffectiveness.

First off, I don't think winning by only 5 points at home can be considered vengeance, but Butler is a team that lives and dies with the three ball, and those teams are usually only good for upsets in the first two rounds. Look at the Final Four teams the last few years, Florida, Georgetown, OSU. All of them had strong inside guys, Butler has no one over 6'8"..

Secret Squirrel said 02/18, 11:32 AM
Have you ever heard of a guy named Drew Neitzel? I would consider him a star....Michigan State has struggled against weaker Big Ten teams, yes, but Butler has lost to Wright State, Cleveland State, and was brought to OT by UW-Milwaukee. Don't you think a team projected to be a 3-6 seed will have to face a team like those early? Michigan State has proven that they can bounce back from the losses to weaker teams, and destroy the next ones. After the loss @ Iowa, they won five straight, plus, I wouldn't consider Purdue as one of the "weaker" B10 teams anymore.

Kansas has won against Arizona, @USC, @BC (May not be great, but still, it's an ACC team on the road), a streaking Baylor, @ Georgia Tech, and Oklahoma. They haven't gone 24-2 against the weakest schedule in the country. UNC has done the exact same thing. They beat teams like OSU, Kentucky, Kansas State, and Clemson, but they haven't beaten Duke or Maryland, arguably their two biggest ACC rivals.

Georgetown does not have any major losses, but they still do not seem like a team that has the depth behind Hibbert to go deep into the Tourney, Stanford had beaten ASU at home, and they destroyed Oregon the second time, and has depth