I think all the Big East teams remaining can win in this round.

Syracuse lost Melo, but they are deeper than K State. I'm sticking with them. (OK, maybe a little homerism going on here)

Cincy can win against FSU. I still think FSU is a little overrated, regardless, the difference between a 3 and 6 seed is not much, both are top 25 teams and anything can happen. FSU has been hot and needs a cooling off. Cincy almost won the BET and can pull off this victory.

USF is technically favored in this game. They are hot (sort of) and they play in the Big East so I think they have the upper hand in conditioning. Just don't let the "higher ranking" go to your heads, Bulls.

Marquette should beat Murray State. Deeper, faster, stronger, play Big East ball.

Louisville takes down New Mexico State. Close seeding as it should be, but Louisville is the better team.

Georgetown over NCState. C'mon, JT3, spank the Wolfpack and get it over with.

For the remainder of the games, I will run with the higher seeds, except Lehigh over Xavier, in solidarity with my Cincy Conference Brothers.

(03-17-2012 12:02 AM)HtownOrange Wrote:  I think all the Big East teams remaining can win in this round.

Syracuse lost Melo, but they are deeper than K State. I'm sticking with them. (OK, maybe a little homerism going on here)

Cincy can win against FSU. I still think FSU is a little overrated, regardless, the difference between a 3 and 6 seed is not much, both are top 25 teams and anything can happen. FSU has been hot and needs a cooling off. Cincy almost won the BET and can pull off this victory.

USF is technically favored in this game. They are hot (sort of) and they play in the Big East so I think they have the upper hand in conditioning. Just don't let the "higher ranking" go to your heads, Bulls.

Marquette should beat Murray State. Deeper, faster, stronger, play Big East ball.

Louisville takes down New Mexico State. Close seeding as it should be, but Louisville is the better team.

Georgetown over NCState. C'mon, JT3, spank the Wolfpack and get it over with.

For the remainder of the games, I will run with the higher seeds, except Lehigh over Xavier, in solidarity with my Cincy Conference Brothers.

Match ups are pretty favorable across the board. Pissed that Xavier gets gifted to probably the Sweet 16, rooting hard for Lehigh. Honestly Cincinnati vs Florida State may be the best match up in this round.

(03-17-2012 12:02 AM)HtownOrange Wrote:  I think all the Big East teams remaining can win in this round.

Syracuse lost Melo, but they are deeper than K State. I'm sticking with them. (OK, maybe a little homerism going on here)

It's not being a homer. Bottom line is if Scoop and KJo step up we can make the final four. The problem is the past few games they've only stepped up in, short, sporadic bursts.

The Cincinnati - Florida State game is highly unpredictable.

On paper, Florida State is the better team & should win this game. However, the Seminoles are the most turnover prone team in the tournament, which is the very definition of a team that beats itself with mistakes. Their sloppy play will catch up with them in one of these games.

OTOH, the Bearcats are the worst foul shooting team in the tournament. A team has to make free throws to win close games in this tournament, which is nothing but close games once we get to the round of 32. Missed free throws almost cost them the game today.

I'll go with Cincinnati not only because of FSU's turnovers but because Cincinnati has one of the lowest TO rates in the tournament. The combination of the 2 should be favorable for the Bearcats.

In the interests of full disclosure, I picked both of these teams to lose their first round games. The Bonnies almost made a hero out of me.

(03-17-2012 12:02 AM)HtownOrange Wrote:  I think all the Big East teams remaining can win in this round.

Syracuse lost Melo, but they are deeper than K State. I'm sticking with them. (OK, maybe a little homerism going on here)

Cincy can win against FSU. I still think FSU is a little overrated, regardless, the difference between a 3 and 6 seed is not much, both are top 25 teams and anything can happen. FSU has been hot and needs a cooling off. Cincy almost won the BET and can pull off this victory.

USF is technically favored in this game. They are hot (sort of) and they play in the Big East so I think they have the upper hand in conditioning. Just don't let the "higher ranking" go to your heads, Bulls.

Marquette should beat Murray State. Deeper, faster, stronger, play Big East ball.

Louisville takes down New Mexico State. Close seeding as it should be, but Louisville is the better team.

Georgetown over NCState. C'mon, JT3, spank the Wolfpack and get it over with.

For the remainder of the games, I will run with the higher seeds, except Lehigh over Xavier, in solidarity with my Cincy Conference Brothers.

(03-17-2012 12:07 AM)OrangeCrush22 Wrote:  

(03-17-2012 12:02 AM)HtownOrange Wrote:  I think all the Big East teams remaining can win in this round.

Syracuse lost Melo, but they are deeper than K State. I'm sticking with them. (OK, maybe a little homerism going on here)

It's not being a homer. Bottom line is if Scoop and KJo step up we can make the final four. The problem is the past few games they've only stepped up in, short, sporadic bursts.

Southerland is the X-Factor in the absence of Melo. If he can throw down 3 or 4 threes, SU wins. He plays excellent defense.

(03-17-2012 12:05 AM)Bearcat_Bounce Wrote:  

(03-17-2012 12:02 AM)HtownOrange Wrote:  I think all the Big East teams remaining can win in this round.

Syracuse lost Melo, but they are deeper than K State. I'm sticking with them. (OK, maybe a little homerism going on here)

Cincy can win against FSU. I still think FSU is a little overrated, regardless, the difference between a 3 and 6 seed is not much, both are top 25 teams and anything can happen. FSU has been hot and needs a cooling off. Cincy almost won the BET and can pull off this victory.

USF is technically favored in this game. They are hot (sort of) and they play in the Big East so I think they have the upper hand in conditioning. Just don't let the "higher ranking" go to your heads, Bulls.

Marquette should beat Murray State. Deeper, faster, stronger, play Big East ball.

Louisville takes down New Mexico State. Close seeding as it should be, but Louisville is the better team.

Georgetown over NCState. C'mon, JT3, spank the Wolfpack and get it over with.

For the remainder of the games, I will run with the higher seeds, except Lehigh over Xavier, in solidarity with my Cincy Conference Brothers.

Match ups are pretty favorable across the board. Pissed that Xavier gets gifted to probably the Sweet 16, rooting hard for Lehigh. Honestly Cincinnati vs Florida State may be the best match up in this round.

It very well may be. Cincy has proven that they can control tempo and they can shoot threes (I know firsthand as an Orange fan!). I also think that FSU has been on a great ride, but their bubble will burst as they are playing above themselves. I would not be surprised with a Cincy victory and I am pulling for the Bearcats.

(03-17-2012 12:07 AM)OrangeCrush22 Wrote:  

(03-17-2012 12:02 AM)HtownOrange Wrote:  I think all the Big East teams remaining can win in this round.

Syracuse lost Melo, but they are deeper than K State. I'm sticking with them. (OK, maybe a little homerism going on here)

It's not being a homer. Bottom line is if Scoop and KJo step up we can make the final four. The problem is the past few games they've only stepped up in, short, sporadic bursts.

Agreed, the talent is there to make the Final Four and possibly win it all, but the senior leadership needs to lead. Solid play by the Melo replacements would help, too.

IF Cincy can hit three's it's over.

If we struggle, like we did vs say, Gtown in the BET it's gonna be a war....

We are all still waiting for SK to come back...other than the Cuse game, he has not been shooting well and we need him. Would be a great time for him to go 5-9 from 3pt land.

(03-17-2012 08:16 AM)cuseroc Wrote:  

(03-17-2012 12:07 AM)OrangeCrush22 Wrote:  

(03-17-2012 12:02 AM)HtownOrange Wrote:  I think all the Big East teams remaining can win in this round.

Syracuse lost Melo, but they are deeper than K State. I'm sticking with them. (OK, maybe a little homerism going on here)

It's not being a homer. Bottom line is if Scoop and KJo step up we can make the final four. The problem is the past few games they've only stepped up in, short, sporadic bursts.

Southerland is the X-Factor in the absence of Melo. If he can throw down 3 or 4 threes, SU wins. He plays excellent defense.

That, too.

No reason Cuse can't make a run...with or without Melo you guys still go forever deep. I know he was your big post player but I think you still got enough under the hood to run...

(03-17-2012 12:02 AM)HtownOrange Wrote:  I think all the Big East teams remaining can win in this round.

Syracuse lost Melo, but they are deeper than K State. I'm sticking with them. (OK, maybe a little homerism going on here)

Cincy can win against FSU. I still think FSU is a little overrated, regardless, the difference between a 3 and 6 seed is not much, both are top 25 teams and anything can happen. FSU has been hot and needs a cooling off. Cincy almost won the BET and can pull off this victory.

USF is technically favored in this game. They are hot (sort of) and they play in the Big East so I think they have the upper hand in conditioning. Just don't let the "higher ranking" go to your heads, Bulls.

Marquette should beat Murray State. Deeper, faster, stronger, play Big East ball.

Louisville takes down New Mexico State. Close seeding as it should be, but Louisville is the better team.

Georgetown over NCState. C'mon, JT3, spank the Wolfpack and get it over with.

For the remainder of the games, I will run with the higher seeds, except Lehigh over Xavier, in solidarity with my Cincy Conference Brothers.

Murray State is way better than you think. That game is a toss up.

(03-17-2012 08:31 AM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  No reason Cuse can't make a run...with or without Melo you guys still go forever deep. I know he was your big post player but I think you still got enough under the hood to run...

"I know he was your big post player, BUT . . ."

That's a pretty big BUT.

I think that Syracuse was 3rd in the country in blocked shots . . . and Melo was responsible for half of them. How does a team have its defining characteristic effectively neutered & simply move on?

Melo was not just their "big post player", he was the conference's defensive player of the year. That's a pretty big presence to live without. We're not talking about rallying together for one last big game. We're talking about making a run of 4 straight wins just to get tot he Final four - and doing it against increasingly difficult competition.

No way do I see this not effecting them in a major way. The Cuse will go down in the Sweet 16 if not sooner IMO.

(03-17-2012 08:56 AM)Wilkie01 Wrote:  

(03-17-2012 12:02 AM)HtownOrange Wrote:  I think all the Big East teams remaining can win in this round.

Syracuse lost Melo, but they are deeper than K State. I'm sticking with them. (OK, maybe a little homerism going on here)

Cincy can win against FSU. I still think FSU is a little overrated, regardless, the difference between a 3 and 6 seed is not much, both are top 25 teams and anything can happen. FSU has been hot and needs a cooling off. Cincy almost won the BET and can pull off this victory.

USF is technically favored in this game. They are hot (sort of) and they play in the Big East so I think they have the upper hand in conditioning. Just don't let the "higher ranking" go to your heads, Bulls.

Marquette should beat Murray State. Deeper, faster, stronger, play Big East ball.

Louisville takes down New Mexico State. Close seeding as it should be, but Louisville is the better team.

Georgetown over NCState. C'mon, JT3, spank the Wolfpack and get it over with.

For the remainder of the games, I will run with the higher seeds, except Lehigh over Xavier, in solidarity with my Cincy Conference Brothers.

Murray State is way better than you think. That game is a toss up.

Yes, a toss up as are almost all games at this point in the tournament. But Marquette should still be the winner. It will be a mild surprise if they're not.

I'm kind of leaning toward Syracuse losing (although could see them advancing far if they pull out of the 1st game stupor) . I agree with the rest. I had Florida State over Cincinnati in my brackets, but think the Bearcats pull it off. I also think North Carolina State will make a game of it with Georgetown, but lose. For now, I give the Big East the edge in all but the Syracuse game.

For predictions though, given probabilities, I say the Big East has 2 losses this round with the 2nd one most likely either being Cincinnati or Georgetown.

For my own team, I'm kind of worried. We better play better than we did last game.

looks like the BE picked the wrong MAC program, Ohio has always been better than Temple in football and with 2 Tourney wins in 3 years appears to be as good or better now in bball.

good luck to the Bulls, should be a good game.

Syracuse starts of the Round of 32 with a win. 1 down, 1 to go (plus four more).

(03-17-2012 11:25 AM)ohio1317 Wrote:  I'm kind of leaning toward Syracuse losing (although could see them advancing far if they pull out of the 1st game stupor) . For now, I give the Big East the edge in all but the Syracuse game.

(03-17-2012 01:38 PM)OrangeCrush22 Wrote:  

(03-17-2012 11:25 AM)ohio1317 Wrote:  I'm kind of leaning toward Syracuse losing (although could see them advancing far if they pull out of the 1st game stupor) . For now, I give the Big East the edge in all but the Syracuse game.

Update: After careful consideration, I see Syracuse definitely advancing to the Sweet 16.

(03-17-2012 01:51 PM)ohio1317 Wrote:  

(03-17-2012 01:38 PM)OrangeCrush22 Wrote:  

(03-17-2012 11:25 AM)ohio1317 Wrote:  I'm kind of leaning toward Syracuse losing (although could see them advancing far if they pull out of the 1st game stupor) . For now, I give the Big East the edge in all but the Syracuse game.

Update: After careful consideration, I see Syracuse definitely advancing to the Sweet 16.

Lol, Nice comeback. What a way to go out on a limb