NCAA Tournament Thread

[cardsfansince82]

First time there's never been a 1 or 2 seed in the Final Four and the highest seed total ever.

[greenback44]

This might be the worst Final Four in my lifetime.

[Radbird]

If Kentucky wins, I will have correctly predicted one of the Final Four teams. Booyah!

I got UConn winning the whole enchilada.

...versus Kansas, but what the hey.

Well, UConn is the highest seed remaining so your odds just took a giant leap forward.

[stlouie_lipp]

This might be the worst Final Four in my lifetime.

+++

doesn't mean it can't be exciting and fun to watch though

[cardsfansince82]

I've reached the point of acceptance that the college game is pretty watered down with all of the early entries to the NBA. You aren't going to have many truly great teams anymore. I thought Ohio State was a really complete team, but obviously they were still vulnerable.

What you have left is three very deserving, very hot teams that were seeded poorly. UConn and Kentucky could easily have been 2 and 2/3 seeds. Either team was more deserving than Florida. Butler had earned something better than an 8th seed after last year and the way they finished the season. UConn has won 9 straight games including the toughest conference tournament. Kentucky has won 10 straight games including their conference tournament, beating Florida twice and now Ohio State and North Carolina. Butler has won 13 straight games including their conference tournament and had a very tough draw in the tournament to get here.

Then you have VCU, who I can't even attempt to explain. Biggest cinderella story in tourney history. They backed in to the tournament and really didn't have a good case to be included in the first place. They played a freaking play in game and here they are. They had a pretty fortunate draw to get this far, but they still have 5 wins over solid competition and beat the second best team in Kansas. Vegas is a little nervous:

Given the lines set in each game, the odds were 1,371-1 against VCU reaching the Final Four, said gambling expert RJ Bell of Pregame.com.

Kornegay said VCU was included in a list of 19 teams given as a field bet before the tournament started -- with 200-1 odds if any of them won the title.

"Once they beat Georgetown pretty handily, then they started getting some interest," he said. "I've been doing this for 22 years, I can't remember a field team making it to the Final Four."

Colbert said his books made the Rams an 80-1 longshot when the final 16 teams were set -- the most improbable team to win a title -- and took some big-money bets at that price.

I think the Final Four is pretty exciting. You have two of the most successful programs historically looking to get back on top and two mid major longshots. I wish the semifinal matchups were different so we are not guaranteed one of each in the final, but I'll take what I can get. You also have no Duke or Kansas, which makes me happy.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

The other day when he drilled that ball into the Ohio State players chest...clean play but makes you look like an ass.

Really? I just figured the 'Best Basketball Player in the Tournament' would expect that after bumping a guy out of bounds. I loved it.

[InvincibleCakeEater]

80-1 when they were already in the Sweet 16? That's too good of a line for a lot of degens to pass up. Hell, I probably would have dropped a hundred on them.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

80-1 when they were already in the Sweet 16? That's too good of a line for a lot of degens to pass up. Hell, I probably would have dropped a hundred on them.

It's such a good line with so few games to be played that it almost sounds made up.

Yeah, if you had taken that bet you could have used the 8K (assuming it was a $100 bet) and hedged every game and been guaranteed not to lose any money.

These lines are made up, but likely not too far off. Say:

FSU was -130 so you lay $130 on FSU. Okay, you're down $130 + $100.
KS was -225 so you lay $550 on KS. Okay, so you're down $550 + $130 + $100.
Butler is - 145 so you lay $1,100 on Butler. VCU wins. Okay, so you're down 1100+550+130+100.
UCONN/KY is -200 so you lay $3760 on UConn/KY. At this point, VCU either wins and you get 8K and have lost $5640 (gain of $2,360) or you break even if UConn/KY wins.

It's a freeroll for 2K or so if you have the bank to do it.

[st.lewis11]

Tidbit about some of the Final 4 coaches: combine Brad Stevens (34 years old) and Shaka Smart (33 years old), and they still haven't lived as long as Jim Calhoun (68 years old).

[MrCrowesGarden]

Tidbit about some of the Final 4 coaches: combine Brad Stevens (34 years old) and Shaka Smart (33 years old), and they still haven't lived as long as Jim Calhoun (68 years old).

I heard that one on the morning today. They also said neither Stevens nor Smart has been alive as long as Calhoun has been a head coach (37 years).