NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament Thread - 2013

[RyeHogFan]

Pitino is one of the all-time great coaches in college ball. I put him way above Boeheim and just below Coach K.

I don't agree with choices the man has made in his personal life but you gotta give the man credit for bringing Kentucky out of the cloud of sanctions and on to a national title and now for reviving the Louisville program and bringing them their first title in 27 years. Only coach to win it all at two different schools. Granted, had he never made that ill-fated decision to coach the Celtics, he probably would have never left UK. But the fact that he started all over at UL and is back at the top of the mountain really speaks to how great of a coach he really is.

[tomw]

big might have failed to win a title in basketball tonight but had they been in the sec michigan would have run the tables....michigan came in 2nd in the nation..where were the teams from the sec???  home watching...

pitino has the ability to call timeouts and adjust to the other team...we dont have that at arkansas

[Bebop]

I'm glad the Cards won! I live in Louisville and have adopted them as my second team behind the Hogs, so I was pulling for them to win.

[60 Minutes of Hell]

Hopefully Pitino will finally get some color back in his face.  Great game, except for the last couple minutes.

[LZH]

I heard someone on ESPN mention that Pitino will now be making $6M per year.  Whoa.  That makes an affair REALLY expensive at this point.

[hoglady]

Glad Louisville won.
But I ended up not hating Michigan as much as I wanted to.
Coach is a class act and that is a GREAT young team.

[jbcarol]

Jody Demling @jdemling 
Rick Pitino just said entire men's team wanted to go to the women's title game in New Orleans tomorrow night. NCAA says they can't per rules

[jbcarol]

ATLANTA — After the Louisville men beat Michigan 82-76 to win the national title on Monday night, Rick Pitino criticized the NCAA for not granting a request made by the university.

The school asked the men be allowed to travel as a team to New Orleans to support the U of L women in Tuesday night's national title game against Connecticut. The NCAA said that would constitute an "extra benefit" and denied the request.

http://johnclay.bloginky.com/2013/04/09/ncaa-wont-allow-u-of-l-men-to-attend-womens-title-game

[hoglady]

Jody Demling @jdemling 
Rick Pitino just said entire men's team wanted to go to the women's title game in New Orleans tomorrow night. NCAA says they can't per rules

And once again the NCAA strikes with some stupid, nonconsequential rules.

[grayhawg]

A great team finds a way to win, IMO the refs appeared somewhat biased and favored Mich but Louisville found a way to win.

[jbcarol]

BOZICH: Cards Dine Family Style At NCAA Title Table

You don't have to stuff the NBA Draft board to win a national championship. There are other ways to finish the difficult job. The University of Louisville has now proven that. They did it by defeating Michigan, 82-76, in the Georgia Dome Monday night.

They did it with seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen. They did it with McDonald's all-Americans, transfers and walk-ons. They did it with tiny guards, medium-sized forwards and assorted guys that even Rick Pitino wasn't certain could play. They did it with several others who know how it feels to be flattened in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament.

"I think we identify what college basketball is all about," said Peyton Siva, Louisville's senior point guard. "It just shows that college basketball is about more than one-and-dones. It's a family."

"We have different people from different backgrounds and everybody just really came together. For everybody to really bond like this how we are, we really have a family. It's truly a blessing to see everybody go out there and be successful."

You can do it with a Most Outstanding Player whose only playing opportunities after his senior year in high school were from Division III schools. His name is Luke Hancock. His name now belongs in the same sentence with Darrell Griffith (1980) and Pervis Ellison (1986) as a Louisville Legend who delivered a national title.

Hancock scored 22 points off the bench – and then hugged the national championship trophy the way he hugged his ailing 70-year-old father, Bill.

That's more points than any substitute has scored in the championship game in 49 years. Hancock took five three-point shots – and he made five three-point shots. Kemba Walker didn't do that. Derrick Rose didn't do that. Nobody had done that in the title game...

http://www.wdrb.com/story/21915121/bozich-cards-dine-family-staff-at-national-championship-table

[cmpledger]

A great team finds a way to win, IMO the refs appeared somewhat biased and favored Mich but Louisville found a way to win.

I don't get how you think the refs favored Michigan when Siva was slapping people all game and getting nothing called

[ChicoHog]

I thought the game was officiated very well.  Only a couple times underneath where mcGary and Behannon were mugged and no call.  Louisville's style will lead to a lot of fouls, mostly stupid ones on the perimeter.  It was a good game to watch.  I just enjoy watching basketball when teams make shots and last night both teams did, especially that streak that Albrecht and Hancock had. 

[kingofdequeen]

BOZICH: Cards Dine Family Style At NCAA Title Table

You don't have to stuff the NBA Draft board to win a national championship. There are other ways to finish the difficult job. The University of Louisville has now proven that. They did it by defeating Michigan, 82-76, in the Georgia Dome Monday night.

They did it with seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen. They did it with McDonald's all-Americans, transfers and walk-ons. They did it with tiny guards, medium-sized forwards and assorted guys that even Rick Pitino wasn't certain could play. They did it with several others who know how it feels to be flattened in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament.

"I think we identify what college basketball is all about," said Peyton Siva, Louisville's senior point guard. "It just shows that college basketball is about more than one-and-dones. It's a family."

"We have different people from different backgrounds and everybody just really came together. For everybody to really bond like this how we are, we really have a family. It's truly a blessing to see everybody go out there and be successful."

You can do it with a Most Outstanding Player whose only playing opportunities after his senior year in high school were from Division III schools. His name is Luke Hancock. His name now belongs in the same sentence with Darrell Griffith (1980) and Pervis Ellison (1986) as a Louisville Legend who delivered a national title.

Hancock scored 22 points off the bench – and then hugged the national championship trophy the way he hugged his ailing 70-year-old father, Bill.

That's more points than any substitute has scored in the championship game in 49 years. Hancock took five three-point shots – and he made five three-point shots. Kemba Walker didn't do that. Derrick Rose didn't do that. Nobody had done that in the title game...

http://www.wdrb.com/story/21915121/bozich-cards-dine-family-staff-at-national-championship-table

Cliff Notes Version = to the victors go the spoils...So Louisville's taking shots at Cal and Kentucky.

[jbcarol]

Jody Demling @jdemling 
Rick Pitino just said entire men's team wanted to go to the women's title game in New Orleans tomorrow night. NCAA says they can't per rules

NCAA feeling heat from public pressure reversed their decision but apparently too late for the UofL mens team to change flight plans and make the women's game. Coach Pitino was there.

Would have probably needed more to that to even their chance against UConn.

[jbcarol]

Nicole Auerbach ‏@NicoleAuerbach 8 Apr
Spike's mom, Tammy, told me at halftime: "I'm elated, but I want a bigger lead." Then asked me if I knew what "trending" on Twitter meant.

[jbcarol]

According to the Nielsen ratings, the 2013 tournament was the most-watched since 1994. Overall, this year's tourney drew an average of 10.7 million viewers, up 11 percent from last year's 9.6 million. The 1994 tourney drew an average of 11.2 million viewers. Arkansas beat Duke in the championship game that season.

http://johnclay.bloginky.com/2013/04/10/cbs-says-tournament-ratings-up-from-last-year

[kingofdequeen]

According to the Nielsen ratings, the 2013 tournament was the most-watched since 1994. Overall, this year’s tourney drew an average of 10.7 million viewers, up 11 percent from last year’s 9.6 million. The 1994 tourney drew an average of 11.2 million viewers. Arkansas beat Duke in the championship game that season.

http://johnclay.bloginky.com/2013/04/10/cbs-says-tournament-ratings-up-from-last-year

SUCK IT.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

According to the Nielsen ratings, the 2013 tournament was the most-watched since 1994. Overall, this year's tourney drew an average of 10.7 million viewers, up 11 percent from last year's 9.6 million. The 1994 tourney drew an average of 11.2 million viewers. Arkansas beat Duke in the championship game that season.

http://johnclay.bloginky.com/2013/04/10/cbs-says-tournament-ratings-up-from-last-year

The nation tuned in that night because it was mesmerized by Kamala the Ugandan Warri.....I mean Dwight Stewart.

[Baconator]

Final KenPom top 10:

1 Louisville 1 BE 35-5 
2 Florida 3 SEC 29-8 
3 Indiana 1 B10 29-7 
4 Gonzaga 1 WCC 32-3 
5 Michigan 4 B10 31-8 
6 Ohio St. 2 B10 29-8 
7 Duke 2 ACC 30-6 
8 Syracuse 4 BE 30-10
9 Kansas 1 B12 31-6
10 Michigan St. 3 B10 27-9

...
71 Arkansas  SEC 19-13

[jbcarol]

Jerry Tipton: Ratings were up for this year's NCAA Tournament. So was the fretting about the state of college basketball.

"In general, the college game is down," said Steve Kerr, analyst for Turner Sports and a rising star in telecast commentary. "The games are lower scoring. They're more physical. You can have games it seems the ball just won't go in the basket."

Yet, the 2013 NCAA Tournament drew plenty of interest. The television ratings reportedly were the highest in 19 years, and 11 percent better than the year before. Live video streams increased by 168 percent from 2012.

Kerr and Bilas agreed that the Louisville-Michigan championship game providing an appealing finish to this college basketball season.

"We were very fortunate," Kerr said. " ... But it doesn't cover up the fact that the game itself is not played at a really high level right now."

Added Bilas: "After a year that could be difficult to watch, the high quality of play in the final game saved the season, perception wise. If we delivered another UConn-Butler rock fight (the 2011 title game), there would be far less enthusiasm for the game from the average fan. Hopefully, those in charge will still take the necessary steps to improve the game, because it is in need of fixing."

When asked about possible changes, Kerr chuckled.

"Oh boy," he said. "There's a long list of rule changes."

Kerr mentioned:

■ Calling more fouls to reduce the physical nature of play.

■ A re-interpretation of the block/charge call to give the benefit of the doubt to the offense rather than the defense. In other words, the referees should first ask themselves if there was a block.

■ Reduce the shot clock from 35 to 30 seconds.

■ Reduce the number of timeouts in hopes of creating more flow to games.

[RockChalkJayhawk]

■ Calling more fouls to reduce the physical nature of play.
■ A re-interpretation of the block/charge call to give the benefit of the doubt to the offense rather than the defense. In other words, the referees should first ask themselves if there was a block.
■ Reduce the shot clock from 35 to 30 seconds.
■ Reduce the number of timeouts in hopes of creating more flow to games.
_______________________________________________________________________

These are excellent points and I agree with Kerr.

•Simply calling fouls would do away with a lot of the rugby action.  It would take awhile for kids to adjust, but no kid wants to be in foul trouble or foul out.  I get sick and tired of games being called so inconsistently from game to game from official to official, from home to road.  Just call the game according to the rule book.  What, fans don't want to see free throw contests and games decided by bench players?  Oh well, then stop fouling.

•I'm in total agreement with the block/charge observation.  Officials get caught up in the momentum and crowd vibe and have gotten this call wrong this year more often than not.  The charge-arc has made it more difficult.  This is a simple solution: remove the arc, and give the benefit of the doubt to the offense as Kerr suggested.  This will stop the bogus undercutting and flopping.

•If you move the shot-clock to 30, then do away with the 10-second backcourt violation just like the women's game.  This forces the defense to speed up the offense and will lead to more full-court play.  With a shot-clock already in place, the archaic 10-second backcourt violation is one of the dumbest rules in men's basketball.

•Time outs are ridiculous, particularly in NCAA Tournament play, which is apparently the only time the majority of the country cares to watch college basketball.  In games where there are already numerous media timeouts, reducing the number of time outs per coach would be of great benefit.  Of course the flip-side is you won't get to see you favorite commercial a thousand times.  The time out situation, from a game-flow standpoint does need to be examined and improved.

[Dr. Starcs]

Physical play is killing offense right now.

[jbcarol]

Joe Lunardi's much too early 2014 bracket projection

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology/_/iteration/148

In addition to Kentucky, he has Vols, Bama, and Gators all as five seeds and Mizzou as a ten.

[jbcarol]

The NCAA Board of Directors officially recognized and ratified the new Big East Conference and the name change of the old Big East to the American Athletic Conference.

That means the NCAA tournament will officially have 32 automatic berths in 2014 and 36 at-large berths...

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/84211/3-point-shot-izzo-takes-on-draft-issues

[jbcarol]

Pivotal moment in this year's tournament was the injury and reaction of Kevin Ware. Dana O'Neill updates what he's done and how he's doing on his long road back:

The Louisville player who redefined resilience and optimism during the NCAA tournament is taking the same glass-half-full approach to his rehab.

"I look at it all as motivation," he said. "You can't finish until you get started.''

And so Ware is taking baby steps, literally and figuratively, on his right leg... Just five weeks removed from surgery, he is riding a stationary bike and slowly increasing the amount of pressure and weight he can add to his right side.

Strange as it sounds, Ware is lucky. As gruesome as his injury was, he didn't tear any ligaments...

Ware has been the toast of the town since his injury, appearing on countless national TV programs, feted by fans and even scoring an invite to the prestigious White House Correspondents' Dinner.

But soon enough, it will be just him and Hina in a room working to get better...

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/84252/one-on-one-kevin-ware-on-his-road-back

[jbcarol]

TBS and CBS to switch up Final Four coverage

In 2014 and 2015, TBS will televise the NCAA Final Four national semifinals and CBS will broadcast the NCAA National Championship game.

2014 through 2024, coverage of the Regional Semifinals and Regional Finals games will be split by TBS and CBS. Earlier round coverage of the tournament will continue to be televised across four national television networks – CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV with the First Four® airing exclusively on truTV [Lizzard Lick Towing, Operacion Repo]

[jbcarol]

Decourcy: Putting Final Four games on cable saved college hoops from 96-team mess

The folks at Turner Sports saved all of college basketball in the spring of 2010. They kept the entire sport from plunging toward a regular season of irrelevance leading to a dull, overexpanded championship tournament.

That's where all this was headed, you know: to 96 teams in the NCAAs and to no one really giving a darn about a regular season that preceded such a sham. The NCAA felt it needed to make a certain amount of money from the tournament each year to keep its membership happy—that figure was somewhere north of $700 million annually—and it was suggested to the organization's leadership that the only way to such a figure was more teams and more games.

Then Turner rode to the rescue, partnering with CBS on a deal that assured such a payment was feasible and with a field comprising only 68 teams. Turner's reward for that was an option to present the Final Four on its airwaves, which it exercised Tuesday. The national semifinals will be broadcast on TBS in each of the next two years, and the entire Final Four will be on TBS in 2016 and every other year thereafter until 2024.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/story/2013-05-07/final-four-games-on-cable-ncaa-tournament-tbs-saved-college-basketball-68-games

The other key part is having all or most tournament participants play the same number of games (keep the participant in a power of 2).

When there were 32 teams half the teams had a bye (1-4 seeds). After the 5-seed whipped an 8-seed, they had had a game to work out the jitters.  While the 8-seed was not like a 16-seed today, of course, they were still last teams in, often representing mid-majors.  Then 5s often beat 4s and on down the line.

[jbcarol]

The feel-good story of college basketball continues with the most recent news that:

A) Kevin Ware is out of a cast and able to stand on his own two feet.

B) He's actually already casually shooting hoops. Jump shots, in fact.

UofL's inspiration in the NCAA tournament is grinding to try to contribute in '13-14.

[jbcarol]

Connecticut's men's basketball team, which was barred from the 2013 postseason because of past problems with its Academic Progress Rate, has qualified academically for next year's NCAA tournament.

Kevin Ollie can start to make his own way.

[jbcarol]

Earlier this spring it was announced by the NCAA that Alabama State was one of six men's basketball programs to be banned from postseason play in 2013-14 due to low Academic Progress Rate (APR) numbers.

On Friday, Alabama State announced that after the NCAA's evaluation of additional data submitted by the athletic department the Hornets are no longer subject to that ban. Alabama State also received the good news regarding its football, baseball and volleyball programs.

10-22 last season, 8-10 in SWAC.

[jbcarol]

Katz: Five NCAA Tournament Tweaks are up for Debate

1) Protect the true seed

The committee spends the majority of championship week working on selecting and seeding the tournament. Then when it comes to bracketing the field on Selection Sunday, the committee can sometimes get caught up in the principles. Schools aren't supposed to be playing in a rematch game or against a team from their own conference in the First Four or in the round of 64, and it should not occur in the round of 32, either.

But it has been unavoidable at times...

The view is that the true seeds shouldn't be compromised at the expense of bracketing principles. The only issue that is untouchable is BYU not playing in a Friday-Sunday regional...

2) Family consideration

The NCAA has been criticized many times for not helping families see their sons play on the grandest stage.

3) Arenas for regionals

This selection committee leans toward arenas for regionals...

The new philosophy is that unless it is a new dome (e.g. the future home of the Atlanta Falcons that will replace the Georgia Dome) and the site needs a dry run through, then there won't be a need to have the future Final Four site host the year before.

4) Fan experience

The selection committee is still massaging the configuration of the fans around the court at the Final Four.

5) Tournament leadership

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/9491997/five-ncaa-tournament-tweaks-review-college-basketball

Desire that the selection process is as transparent as possible.