College Basketball 2007-2008: March Madness!

[JohnBM01]

This is just some random blabber about my bracket.

When I did my brackets, I didn't so much pick teams because I felt 100% certain it would happen. Instead, I picked what probably WOULD hapen rather than who I picked to win. I would have been a big loser if I picked Oral Roberts aside from Pittsburgh in Round 1. The final part of my Final Four was that Georgetown somehow upsets Kansas. Thanks to Davidson, Georgetown was eliminated from my Final Four. I picked Saint Joseph's to beat Oklahoma, and I was embarassed. I have lots of respect for Phil Martelli as coach of Saint Joseph's University.

The upset I was most surprised I got right was Siena beating Vanderbilt. The religious New Jersey school knocked of Vandy in the First Round. The upset I wished happen was either George Mason beating Notre Dame or San Diego being Connecticut. That SURELY didn't happen. I had Kentucky going to the Sweet Sixteen to eventually lose to Texas (no state pride factored into my pick of Texas for that match). I had only one miss for my Midwest Bracket in the First Round, and that was me picking Kent State over UNLV. My worst bracket was (of course) the East. Only North Carolina, Louisville, and Tennessee all advanced.

My first Final Four pick was eliminted when Davidson beat Georgetown. Here was what I had planned for G'Town:

* Georgetown beats Maryland-Baltimore County.
* Georgetown beats Davidson.
* Georgetown beats Kansas State.
* Georgetown upsets Kansas.

I was most surprised at Western Kentucky's progress. I had the Hilltoppers lose to Connecticut in the Second Round. Westen Kentucky made the Sweet Sixteen and fell to UCLA. Wonder how WKU would do if E.A. Diddle coached them up...



That's all for me. I may chat more about all four Final Four teams in seperate posts. The Final Four is set. Continue chatting about who you think will win. I'll even answer any questions you want to ask me.

 

[Joey D]

My bracket really fell apart, the only final four team I got right was UCLA. There is always next year right?

 

[JohnBM01]

Don't worry about it. As long as you think UCLA will win the title (meaning they beat Memphis and the winner of North Carolina/Kansas), you're still in good shape.

I've cancelled my plans to cover each team in this year's Final Four in seperate posts. I'd like to talk about the Division 1 Women's Tournament sometime today or tonight. Other divisions of NCAA hoops have wrapped up. So here are your men's and women's National Champions so far:


NCAA Division III:
M: Washington University (St. Louis, MO)
W: Howard Payne

NCAA Division II:
M: Winona State
W: Northern Kentucky



Who will be the Division 1 winners? We'll find out soon enough.

 

[JohnBM01]

I have some sad news to pass along from Monday.

Bill Keightley, "Mr. Wildcat," Dies at 81 (3/31/2008)
(full article: http://www.ukathletics.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=37&url_article_id=21871&change_well_id=2 )

Bill Keighley died of internal bleeding from a once undiagnosed spine tumor while at the University of Cincinnati hospital. He's been a manager with the Kentucky Wildcats since 1962. Billy Gillispie hinted that at 81, Keightley was Billy G.'s best friend. Mr. Wildcat loved UK very much and continued to support UK athletics. In Memorial Coliseum, he has his own equipment room. Kentucky's fielded 105 teams, and Keightley played in 2,588. He was active for about 57% of those games. He had a retired jersey in 1997, joining Cawood Ledford as the only other non-coach or non-player to have a retired jersey. He was inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005. So I send my deepest regards to all who have known and loved him.

FoolKiller, you're a Kentucky alum. How does it feel seeing Keightley pass away?

 

[FoolKiller]

FoolKiller, you're a Kentucky alum. How does it feel seeing Keightley pass away?

It was a rough hit for all Kentucky fans. He was an icon at Kentucky. I remember being a kid and seeing him sitting there. For generations he has been the only face sitting on that bench that never changed.

He is quoted as having said that he wanted his tombstone to read, "You only get one pair of shorts."

He was not just a fan of the University of Kentucky basketball, but he was also a fan of Kentucky basketball. He attended the University of Louisville's Sweet 16 game against Tennessee where Rick Pitino, Bruce Pearl, and every official on the floor recognized him and waved at him at some point.

He will be greatly missed.

 

[High-Test]

[Crowd chant] O-o-O-oh!
O-o-O-oh!
O-o-O-oh!
O-o-OH![/crowd chant]

and: KAAAAUUUNNNN!

Holy crap, batman!

KU dominated the first half, with a 28 point lead at one point. But then UNC made a blazing charge and narrowed the gap to 6 points, I believe. Kansas had lost their game for much of the second half, and Wayne Ellington of UNC played a fantastic game.



John, what do you make of it?

EDIT: I have a test on Monday night at 7:30 pm central.

 

[JohnBM01]

Vanilla Ice decided to come up with a "Best Of" CD for Vanilla Ice. Name me one hit song of his that isn't "Ice Ice Baby." Only those who are devoted fans of Vanilla Ice (bless your souls!) will sell this out like crazy.

Anyhow, welcome to San Antonio! I've been to San Antonio twice... just never through the whole city. So I haven't been around the famous River Walk deal. People tell me it's a very romantic city. If that's true, then some hearts are surely going to be broken tonight and Monday. Who's going to win the National Championship? The blue team! Question is... which blue team? No green team's winning the title. No red team will win. No yellow/gold team will win. Memphis, UCLA, North Carolina, and Kansas wear blue. Two blue teams will win the Final Four matches, while another blue team will take home the NCAA Championship trophy and even that Siemens crystal basketball. What do you say? You ready to get this Final Four going? Then let's get it!




Chapter 5: "One Mile Left to Heaven"
LOG: "Can you believe it? We made it! We're in San Antonio. We can't enjoy this city too much because we have business to do. As with the previous four games, you go home when you lose. My team and I managed to survive and have a chance to win it all. I can only hope we can return home with championship gold. Father, in Heaven, keep all of us strong as we work to add our team to the history books in becoming the next National Champions. Keep faith... it's now or never."

The Best Memphis Team Since the Memphis State Days Meets the 11-Time National Champions
University of Memphis {Tigers}
vs.
University of California-Los Angeles {Bruins}​

Welcome to the first of two matches to decide a National Champion in central Texas. May even say the heart of Texas decides the National Champion. Remember the Alamo? Remember UCLA because Memphis went medival on UCLA to win this match.

FINAL SCORE:
California-Los Angeles - 63
Memphis - 78



College Basketball Powerhouses Prepare for a Heavyweight Fight

Kansas {Jayhawks}
vs.
North Carolina {Tar Heels}​

There must have been a High-Test influence to this match because KU rock, chalk, Jayhawked North Carolina into the Third Place game against UCLA.

FINAL SCORE:
Kansas - 84[/B]
North Carolina - 66





So there you have it! It's Memphis vs. Kansas for the National Championship. Speculate at will!

 

[JohnBM01]

The state of Tennessee is in the men's and women's National Championship games. The men's National Championship match is between Kansas and Memphis. Tomorrow night's women's match is Stanford vs. Tennessee.

My bracket is still alive because I picked Memphis to make it to the National Championship game. But can they top guys like Brandon Rush for Kansas? We'll see tonight!

 

[High-Test]

I don't really think that there are one or two key guys on KU's team. It's a team. I think that's the main reason they fared so well against dynamic players like Wayne Ellington and "Psycho T" Tyler Hansbrough. Mario Chalmers, Brandon Rush, Sherron Collins, and every other player make for a team of spectacular players.

But Memphis is incredible this year. I'm pulling for the Jayhawks. I can't imagine why..

 

[JohnBM01]

My National Championship game was North Carolina vs. Memphis. My Final Four was North Carolina vs. Georgetown (meaning Georgetown somehow upset Kansas in the Elite Eight) and Memphis vs. UCLA.

What I've seen of Kansas is that they've always been the flag bearers for Big XII basketball. Kansas is usually never the underdog in games. I don't want this to be looked on as "upstarts Memphis take on Bill Self's amazing Jayhawks." These are the two finest programs still in this tournament. I like Brandon Rush for the Jayhawks about as much as I like Chris Douglas-Roberts for Memphis. Both teams will be looking to light up San Antonio like a Christmas tree with this kind of matchup. It's Big XII vs. Conference USA. I'll be keeping an eye on this matchup. I may even switch through programming.


High-Test, are you SURE Kansas will put Memphis to sleep for the National Championship? What if Kansas DOESN'T beat Memphis? Would you be convinced that Memphis is the better team (granted Kansas loses to Memphis)?

I wonder how many here on GTP are pulling for Memphis to take down Kansas...

 

[Giancarlo]

Let's go Derrick Rose! Future Heat point guard.

 

[High-Test]

I'm not saying that Memphis isn't a fabulous team...

It isn't "underdog" vs "big man on campus", it's two fantastic teams playing a game of basketball. I honestly think that they are evenly matched.

But I'm still pulling for Kansas. But only once in a Championship game was Kansas ahead at halftime. There's no telling what will happen.

Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose are a fantastic pair. Should be one heck of a show.

 

[JohnBM01]

The men will be done with their season tonight. The women will hit the final buzzer tomorrow night. What do you say? We're going to decide a National Champion six hours west of my hometown of Houston. Let's get it! Sports Illustrated will be ready to come up with the latest memorabilia





Final Chapter: "A New Tomorrow, a New Dawn"
LOG: "Well... we made it to San Antonio. We won our game. All that remains is forty minutes of Hell to reach college basketball Heaven. We can do it. We can pull together. We can win. Question is... will fate deal us a bad hand of cards? Time will tell."


*+x The 2008 Men's Final Four - San Antonio, Texas x+*

Kansas {Jayhawks}
~ vs. ~
Memphis {Tigers}​

Well, this is it. Memphis trailed - at the half. The second half saw the lead change hands between the two teams. Memphis once led by eight on a great run. Kansas pulled themselves close to try to win it all. Most of you probably needed to closely monitor your heart because the finish guaranteed some accelerated heart rate. Kansas' Chalmers hit a clutch three to force Overtime. Five more minutes of ball! It's 63-63. Regulation solves nothing! Bring on Overtime! And funny enough, a commercial for AIG was on with the tagline being, "who do you go to in the clutch?" Kentucky lost to Arizona the last time a Championship game went into Overtime back in 1997. A three reversed by the referrees proved huge because without that point, Memphis would be champs. Now the Tigers just need to hold on five more minutes. Kansas forced the overtime, so they are just looking to finish off Memphis. They both want to win, and neither wants to lose. It was 71-65 with one minute left in Overtime. That was, until Memphis hit a three with about 56.8 seconds left. Now 71-68. With 20 seconds left in OT, Kansas led 73-68. My bracket's on life support now. And it's dead. Kansas wins as my bracket died... as did my optimism.

FINAL SCORE (Overtime):
Kansas - 75 <<< 2008 Men's National Champions
Memphis - 68



John's Personal Comments:
I was right for five rounds with Memphis... until this game. Memphis just really went flat and almost shot threes out of desperation. They went flat and really tore apart my bracket. I've been cursing to myself in defeat. I was confident this is how it would end up. I knew Memphis had to win for my bracket to be safe. However, I'm now broke. I wanted 21, and I end up getting 22 (Blackjack reference).

Congratulations to Kansas out of sportsmanship (High-Test will be happy going to his new school). The bracket challenge on Facebook between me and Joey D is going to be 99-66 in favor of myself. (shaking Joey D's hand in sportsmanship) I thought Memphis was really the team of destiny. However, some dramatic plot changes really tore apart the brackets people filled out last month. I would have loved to have redone my East region because it was bloody terrible. Here was a Myspace bulletin I posted as I was waiting to see who the National Champs were:

"I picked Memphis to win it all because that's how I thought the whole thing would play out. My East region was terrible while my Midwest was okay (though I had Georgetown advancing). The game went into Overtime between Kansas and Memphis. Down the stretch, Memphis (more like a team of destiny) failed to put away Kansas in Overtime as they lost 75-68. I was cursing to myself in disbelief and defeat. My bracket's dead. But it was the first time I took part in a bracket challenge. I have to say it was enjoyable. My bracket was on life support as Memphis trailed in Overtime. And when Kansas won, the plug was pulled.

Congrautlations to both teams on respective jobs well done." -a Myspace bulletin I posted entitled "My Men's Tournament Bracket is Now Officially Dead"



So that's how it ends. The men's tournament is now over for 2007-2008.

 

[High-Test]

That's all I need to say.

But WOW. Derrick Rose is a dynamo!


EDIT: I got treed by John.

We're all undefeated tomorrow...

My Regards go to Coach John Calipari of Memphis. Watching his interview, I have even more for him now.

It was also nice to see Roy Williams with a Jayhawk sticker on. That hatchet better be buried by now..

 

[JohnBM01]

The women's game is tonight between Tennessee and Stanford. It's Candace(?) Wiggins of Stanford taking on Candace Parker of Tennessee. Candy vs. Candy. Who you got winning this candy-sweet National Championship battle?

 

[JohnBM01]

College basketball ends tonight. Washington University (St. Louis, MO) and Howard Payne are your respective men's and women's Division 3 champions. Winona State and Northern Kentucky are your respective men's and women's champions. Kansas won the Division 1 men's title last night. So who will join Kansas as Division 1 winners?



*+x The 2008 Women's National Championship Game - Tampa, Florida x+*

Is it Tampa? Or Tampa Bay? I get the two confused often times when talking about this city. I didn't get to see too much of this game because I saw a good college baseball game between Louisville and #9 Kentucky (Imagine that? Seeing one SEC team play for a National Championship while another SEC team has their rivalry series with an in-state rival). Read my College Baseball and Softball thread to find out who won. Anyhow, let's chat women's hoops one last time.

#2 Stanford {(Lady) Cardinal}
vs.
#1 Tennessee! {(Lady) Volunteers}​

One Tennessee team lost the National Championship. Will another? Not if Pat Summitt has her way. The Lady Volunteers are playing for their eight National Championship. Tennessee already has as many National Championships as (another SEC team) the Kentucky Wildcats' men's team. One more will give Tennessee eight national championships under the wing of the amazing Pat Summitt. But to do this, Candace Parker of Tennessee will meet Candice Wiggins of Stanford. The Lady Cardinal think it's a cardinal sin for Tennessee to contintually dominate the women's game. Tennessee wins even with Candace Parker not at 100%. She'll be heading to the WNBA Draft as perhaps the highest draft pick. Pat Summitt is simply amazing coaching Tennessee's women's team to this level of greatness. When you play in the women's game, beware of teams like North Carolina, Duke, LSU, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Stanford, and teams like that. Tennessee's right up there with them.
64-48

FINAL SCORE:
#2 Stanford - 48
#1 Tennessee - 64 <<< 2007-2008 National Champions (their 8th, all under Pat Summitt)



My next thread here will be an overview on this season. I hope you all can come along for that. I'll even share my plans for if I plan to do another season.