College Basketball: 2015-2016 Season (Men and Women) - Join the GTPlanet ESPN Bracket Group (OP)!

[Aesthetics]

That's a very drastic difference in bracket ranks.

 

[ERAUfan97]

It's time to think about the new season of college basketball. It is time for various schools to compete to rock March with tournament play. This season will be a much different sort of season with many new changes to the Men's game and the Women's game. Fewer timeouts. 30-second shot clock. Four 10-minute quarters (women). It will be a season with all sorts of new promise. College basketball is where small scools can stun the bigger schools. If you are used to college football schools, some non-football schools may be new to you. Such schools include (among others) Marquette, Creighton, Oakland, Beinghamton, Florida Gulf Coast, San Francisco, Gonzaga, all among many others. Which team(s) will have that One Shining Moment this season?

GTPlaneteers, if college basketball is what you love, this is your thread. Ready to hoop it up for a new season? Let's do this!


[UPDATE] The men's bracket has been set as of yesterday! If you want to take part in the ESPN GTPlanet bracket group, please visit: http://games.espn.go.com/tournament-challenge-bracket/2016/en/group?groupID=1116649 . Get your bracket together and show your skill!

Man I wish I would've seen this. Everything's going good except WVU

 

[AnthonyD1993]

Welp, I'm really glad that I always name my bracket My Bracket sucks (even though I always do-but that's beside the point). Two of my Final Four picks are already out. I do feel for @Jordan though since he's a Kentucky fan and had them winning. It always sucks seeing your favorite team lose no matter when it happens.

 

[Swagger897]

I wish I were a Kentucky fan right now, more so than WVU... That was a loss I could handle. Indy is generally for the most part, a very, very good team, regardless of rank.

 

[ERAUfan97]

I wish I were a Kentucky fan right now, more so than WVU... That was a loss I could handle. Indy is generally for the most part, a very, very good team, regardless of rank.

And a WVU fan more than a MSU fan. What a surprise

 

[Swagger897]

And a WVU fan more than a MSU fan. What a surprise

Honestly, MSU cracks a lot, especially in football. To me they are the mid-west version of Oregon, a team that doesn't exactly do well under high-pressure until a team cracks, or they get super lucky.

I didn't have them losing, but I didn't care for that bracket much either..

 

[N0t_L3fty]

I didn't have WVU going out till next weekend. I don't like that style of play, works good on your home floor, doesn't travel well. This goes against logic as defense travels well. MSU losing was a complete shock, expected them into the final four. I always count out the former SWC teams, they flame out every year. They always make the Big 12 look bad.
Expect Oklahoma, Iowa State, & Kansas to represent the old Big 8 well. Even with an onion I can't shed a tear for UK, though another game with them would have been fun. I want a UNC vs KU national championship game. Bill verses Roy round 3.

 

[ukfan758]

Hopefully next year we'll do better .

 

[N0t_L3fty]

Coaching tree, UK, UNC, & KU will always be bound to each other. All 3 play in buildings named after a KU alum. Allen & Rupp both played for Naismith. Dean Smith played for Phog Allen. They are the 3 programs with the most wins. We should expect better every year...

 

[Jordan]

Welp, I'm really glad that I always name my bracket My Bracket sucks (even though I always do-but that's beside the point). Two of my Final Four picks are already out. I do feel for @Jordan though since he's a Kentucky fan and had them winning. It always sucks seeing your favorite team lose no matter when it happens.

I appreciate the condolences. It's a terrible feeling, especially when you're a die-hard fan like me (and, well, pretty much everyone else in the state). We haven't lost in the second round of the tournament in 9 years.

 

[Jahgee]

 

[Brett]

Northern Iowa just won with a clutch half-court heave.

It was fun seeing that in person. It was also ridiculous watching Northern Iowa throw the game away against A&M.

 

[Wiz]

It was also ridiculous watching Northern Iowa throw the game away against A&M.

That was one of, possibly even the biggest collapses I've ever seen in any sporting event.

I mean look at this win probability chart, it's just insane.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

Ben Simmons is going to declare for the draft. That was something I and a lot of other people figured would happen.

 

[wvmgmidget]

I hate to say this but, I think he'll be a dud in the NBA.

 

[JohnBM01]

Well, I mentioned in the NBA thread that Ben Simmons was going into the NBA Draft. You know, to be honest, I feel sorry for Ben Simmons. Maybe he'll go into the NBA and just blow up.

So have you heard all the sports reporters and sports writers talking about March Madness so far? The majority of folks still can't imagine Michigan State getting 86'ed early by Middle Tennessee State. There are also those who feel Northern Iowa are the ultimate choke artists after having given up a 12-something point lead with about 40+ seconds left in the game to Texas A&M, who beat UNI in Double Overtime. Oregon is the only remaining Pac-12 team in the tourney considering how competitive the Pac-12 is.

Sixteen teams remain. After this coming weekend's games, four of those sixteen will play in my fine hometown of Houston, TX for a National Championship.


Speaking of champions, I'd like to salute the Tommies of the University of St. Thomas (of Minnesota) defeating Benedictine for the NCAA Division 3 Men's basketball tournament. Had Benedictine won instead, they would have finished this season undefeated. The Tommies had other ideas against the Benedictine Eagles. So St. Thomas will be one of many different schools I will make mention to when I put together my Salute to Champions post. St. Thomas of Minnesota is based in St. Paul, Minnesota.

 

[JohnBM01]

Louisville. Philadelphia. Chicago. Anaheim. Remember these cities because these are the four cities hosting the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight matches. Here, 16 will become 8, and 8 will become four. Twelve teams will fall; four will come here to Houston to play for a National Championship. So who will comprise this season's [NCAA Division 1 Men's] Final Four? We'll find out after this weekend's games.


Good luck to all remaining teams.

 

[N0t_L3fty]

Well, KU, & OU remain on the dance floor. Too bad they aren't on different sides of the bracket.

 

[JohnBM01]

Did you have Oklahoma in your Final Four? If so, that part of your bracket is true because Oklahoma overrated Oregon 80-68. So Oklahoma University will come on down to H-Town for the Final Four. More Final Four positions to follow...

 

[Blitz24]

UConn Women win again. They have played 3 games and outscored the opponents by about 160.

 

[Aesthetics]

Welp, there goes my other title pick, Kansas. Thanks, Villanova.

 

[Swagger897]

OU is a pretty damn good school to go against...

 

[JohnBM01]

Ladies and gentlemen... we have our [NCAA Division 1 Men's] Final Four! Four teams will come to my hometown of Houston to play for the National Championship. And they are:

* Oklahoma
* Villanova
* Syracuse
* North Carolina

The matchups are as follows:

* Oklahoma vs. Villanova
* Syracuse vs. North Carolina

So there you have it. Those are the four teams that will come on down to H-Town. Who's winning a National Championship? We will find out next weekend!


On the Women's side, your NCAA Divsion 1 Women's Final Four in Indianapolis includes Syracuse (first ever Final Four for the 'Cuse women) and Washington. The Final Four on the Women's side will be filled out between the winners of these Elite Eight games to be played on Monday:

* #1 Connecticut vs. #2 Texas
* #1 Baylor vs. #Oregon State

Congratulations to Syracuse and Washington.


Elsewhere, I thought of Blitz24 when I saw that the New Jersey Institute of Technology was playing in the CIT semifinals at Columbia. The Columbia Lions, unfortunately, defeated NJIT. The finals of the CIT will start this Tuesday, and it will be a match of UC-Irvine at Columbia. Good job by NJIT to get this far. One season, the Highlanders finished winless on the Division 1 level. So good job by NJIT to have this fine season they've had.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

Syracuse is also the first 10 seed to ever make it to the Final Four in NCAA Tournament history.

 

[Jordan]

I'll be pulling for Oklahoma. The school has never won a national championship, and I can't help but like Buddy Hield.

My second choice would be Villanova, because they're the "Wildcats", but I've always had an indifference towards that team. As a Kentucky fan, North Carolina certainly doesn't need to hang any more banners, and I've never liked Syracuse.

 

[Swagger897]

The only time I've like 'Cuse is when they go up against Duke... not because of the players they generally had, but the two coaches. Those are generally fun games to watch down to the end.

Aside from that, having to pull for conference teams suck, but OU has been pulling the strings the entire season and are more than able to face an opponent for the championship.

 

[JohnBM01]

Speaking of Duke, on this day in 1992, Christian Laettner was the hero for Duke defeating Kentucky in the tournament match. Many U. Of Kentucky fans are probably still unimpressed even 24 years later.

So anyone want to call the Championship Game and maybe a National Champ right about now? The dazzling pick would be Oklahoma vs. North Carolina. If the Championship Game is OU and UNC, I would slightly favor Oklahoma, but that match (if it happens) could be a deadlock.

 

[Omnis]

I'm rooting for Villanova. I like their coach and that they're one of the only traditional 4-1 offenses. OU has great movement too. Gonna root for whoever wins that game.

 

[JohnBM01]

If you're talking coaches, you can't go wrong with whoever wins on the Syracuse/UNC match. I am a fan of the incredibly dashing Jay Wright of Villanova. If Villanova advances, they'll be going up against college hoops royalty whether it's Syracuse or North Carolina.

What if the title game came down to Villanova and Syracuse? If that happens, that would be a match of the old school Big East. I still remember when Villanova AND Syracuse were in the Big East. Would it be an upset if Syracuse beat Villanova? It would be an upset if you value seeding to determine a team's talent considering Syracuse as a 10-seed. Not many people trust Villanova to be a National Championship contender. So that could go either way if Villanova/Syracuse is the title game.

 

[Jordan]

Speaking of Duke, on this day in 1992, Christian Laettner was the hero for Duke defeating Kentucky in the tournament match. Many U. Of Kentucky fans are probably still unimpressed even 24 years later.

Yeah, you can say that again.

Lest we give Laettner too much credit, it's also important to remember "The Stomp", which happened in the same game. 🤬