Wisconsin a No. 3?

bnussdor don't worry about your score, you'll be at the Superstar level in no time.  I've followed your post "Georgetown fan reaction part x" for a while and they're always right on!  When I've missed the game, I caught you post and felt like I had an accurate breakdown of the game.

I to think the Badge got screwed with a 2.  I thought they were going to drop the Hoyas to a 3 since most people felt they were more lucky than good all year.  However, IMO, if Gtown did get dropped to a 3 I was hoping the 2 in our bracket was Wisconsin.

I'm sorry, I just don't feel they are an elite team.  I see people here talking about their defense and how they would be favored over Gtown in a slower paced game.  These are people who obivously have not seen enough of Gtown play.

The Hoyas will slow the place down but don't be fooled in thinking they're a slow pace team.  They have tremendous atheletes (Ewing & Summers come to mind) that can play at any pace if neccessary (see UNC/Gtown regional final last year Nova/Gtown BE tourney this year).

I like the Hoyas comfortably over the Badge if they get far.  Watch out for OJ Mayo...you have no answer for him Badger fan.  Flowers? LOL are you kidding me, OJ Mayo is a pro playing at the college level.

After the top 6, which is UNC, Memphis, UCLA, KU, Texas and Tennessee in some order (depending on your bias) it gets a little shaky.

Im not sure if Wisconsin and Georgetown shouldnt get their seeds changed. Georgetown was the beneficiary of some very bogus officiating more than once this season and they didnt win their conf tournament. Granted, Tennessee didnt either, but Tenns resume is so much stronger than G-town.

I think the Big East getting 8 teams in is a joke. After the top 4 teams in that conference, the rest would barely if even finish .500 in any of the Big 12, ACC, or Pac 10. Yet they send more teams than any of those conferences? I dont care if you have 16 teams in your league, if 12 of them are average, then 12 of them shouldnt go.

Duke was getting a 2 seed folks. It sucks that they get it based on name but Coach K is a great tournament coach and they did manage to screw Duke out West. I know people think the West is easy, but as long as the NCAA knuckleheads keep UCLA from having to play in another timezone, the West will remain difficult. Id like to see UCLA win some games outside of a 500 mile radius of LA. 

I won't worry when UW faces teams with lots of star power. Bucky has done well against that type of team all year. It's balanced teams with multiple perimeter threats that beat UW. That said I'm much more concerned about USC than K-state. K-state must get someone other than Beasley going or they're in huge trouble. I think that UW has an advantage over USC in terms of experience, toughness and frontcourt size, but USC has all those big guards that might cause trouble for UW. Nonetheless I see UW pulling even or pulling away late in the game against USC. It's what Bucky does; they are scary good at closing out games. USC will probably have foul trouble or an injury or two by then, anyway.

I'm intrigued by what I see in Cal state-fullerton. Of course I haven't seen their games, but the stats and the roster suggest that they are a bunch of speedsters: they score 82 points/game, get nine steals, and put up lots of shots. They are also TINY! As far as I can see, they play three 5'11" guards and no starter is taller than 6'5''. It should be a huge clash of styles, but if CSUF can't play perfect transition offense it's over. Only Duke has been successful in transition against the Badgers all year.

I dunno who to favor in a UW/Georgetown matchup, but I must respectfully disagree with Mr. Jansjay when he says the Hoyas will win comfortably. There will be nothing comfortable about this game. It's gonna be a mudder. UW has the bigs to contain Hibbert and the quickness to defend the perimeter. They also have the swing, which the Hoyas have never seen before. In a close game against evenly matched teams, I'll take my hometown favorite. Sue me.

Any of these teams will have big trouble against Kansas, except for one thing: I believe Bill Self is a poor tournament coach. WHOA. STOP. I didn't say he's a bad coach, he's a great coach; but he's successful because he gets great players and keeps them happy. Give him an unfamiliar opponent and three days to prepare, however, and he's in over his head. That's who he was at Illinois and that's what he is now at Kansas. The coaches at UW, Georgetown, and USC are gonna out-gameplan him six ways to Sunday. I'd have to favor Kansas in any matchup in their bracket, but it isn't a done deal for them.

So I'd say that Bucky makes the sweet sixteen, probably the elite eight, possibly the final four. If you don't agree, fine. Badger fans are really, really used to having their teams underestimated, and the players and coaches don't care what you or I think. I'd say disrespect just helps them win.

Good Luck in The NCAA's!

As a KU fan I respectfully disagree about Self as a tourney coach Buckball. While its true he has not gotten past the Elite 8 in his tenure at KU or anywhere else, he did manage to take Tulsa to the elite 8. Now, that in itself is a great acoomplishment, particularly considering that Tulsa he didnt have the luxury of recruiting talent like he does at KU or even Illinois even. How do you get players to go to Tulsa over such bigger name, better conference schools? Because you are good at recruiting and good at coaching.

Last year we should have made the FF but didn't. It didnt help that we had to play in the 2 seed's home state, but more importantly, Self didnt get outcoached in that game, Afflalo just didn't miss even toughly contested long range three point shots. Bucknell and Bradley aside, Self has done a remarkable job at getting his teams ready for the tourney. Granted, the two first round losses hurt, not only the program's image, but also the perception in the mass media's eyes that we are a choke team, but he was also working with players recruited by Roy Williams that did not buy into his system of play.

Im not making excuses per say, those first round losses hurt but Bradley was definately underseeded. They knocked off us then Iowa State who was a higher seed than us and made it to the sweet sixteen.

Last year, with only his recruits, Self managed to get to the EE again. This year, Its FF or bust. I like Wisconsin in that they are a tough out (though that style of basketball sucks balls), but I dont see them overtaking the depth of KU who can defeat you inside and out. Take away the interior with zone and KU beats you outside. Take away the perimiter with great man defense and KU kills you inside.

And defensively they are the second best team in the country behind Wisconsin and the best with adjusted defense.

Regardless, while this region may not be as tough as the East or (IMO) the South, itdoes hold some of the best potential games in the whole tourney.

Mr Buckyball you have the right to disagree and I respect your opinion.  I'm not sure what "the swing" is so hopefully a Badger fan can enlighten me.

One thing you should know Mr. Bucky is that Gtown is like 5-0 in games decided by 3 points or less.  If there are two things that I'm comfortable in saying it is that:

1. Gtown is good at winning close games (see stat above)
2. Gtown is the best defensive team in the country (36% opponent field goal percent, 1st in the nation)

When I say win comfortably, I didn't mean Gtwon was going to blow the Badge out I just think they're going to pull away towards the end.  If the Badge had played in the BE they probably would have finished 4th behind ND and ahead of UConn.  Two teams Gtown beat this year - one close one rather handly.  The Wisconsin/Gtown matchup will fall somewhere in between those two.

Just my opinion.