March Madness

[Vrede too]

I wondered if that no call on the foul by Auburn had anything to do with the three no call fouls by Charleston in the previous minute or so. Maybe a ref was compensating for his earlier mistakes, or maybe it was just one of many no calls in a basketball game. Completely different story if it had been going on all game

I thought that one of the two fouls against our team leader in the first minute was bogus. He sat on the beach the rest of the half.


About 30 years ago I read a book by a retired professional baseball umpire. He said that they do the best they can and try to make up for bad calls by making other bad calls.

More:

Auburn tricked unknowing refs to seal its NCAA tournament win over Charleston

[Vrede too]

Me either - it's been around since 1966, but apparently Balteemore-centric. Chesapeake Retriever mascot, Natty Bo the official beer. Don't know how long it's had a sports program, but they apparently got into the Dance about 10 years ago for about 40 minutes.

College known more for chess than hoops makes historic win in March Madness game

... Before Friday night, UMBC was better known for making runs at a different Final Four — in college chess.

Its powerhouse program gives scholarships to players from around the world and competed in the President's Cup, informally known as the Final Four of chess, for 15 straight years before the streak ended in 2016....

That's really rubbing it in.


I did not pick Kentucky or Buffalo to make the Sweet 16, but 31 others did pick Kentucky.

Wow! #11 Loyola Chicago over #3 Tennessee with a basket with 3 seconds left. Only 6 picked it. I had Tennessee in the Sweet 16 in 2 brackets, as did 26 others, and Elite 8 in 1 bracket, as did 6 others, but I don't care. Cinderellas rock. The only upset of the day.

Pretty much all of us picked Duke, Nova and KS.
Gonzaga was good for me, but also 74 others.
I picked 2 each for FL and TX Tech, but FL would have been better for my best bracket and since fewer picked it. FL came thaaat close.

Oh my. Michigan 3-point buzzer beater for the 1-point win. 81 of us picked it, though.

The leader has 39 points.
Barack Obama: Michigan State > VA, Villanova & UNC losing in the Final 4. 36 points, tied for 8th.
***** Picks by Seeds ***** has 35 points, tied for 18th.

Villanova > Gonzaga, Duke and VA losing in the Final 4 - 13/16 , lost 1 Sweet 16.
24/32, have lost 2 Sweet 16s, an Elite 8 and a Final 4.
Me and *****Barack Obama *****, tied for 8th.
I'm now at 34 points, tied for 34th.

VA > Duke, Michigan and Villanova losing in the Final 4 - 13/16 , lost 1 Sweet 16.
21/32 , have lost 2 Sweet 16s, an Elite 8, a Final 4, a Final 2 and the Champion.
Tied for 63rd.
31 points, tied for 74th.

Cincinnati > KS, Xavier and WV losing in the Final 4 - 12/16, same as Obama, lost 2 Sweet 16s.
22/32, have lost 3 Sweet 16s and an Elite 8.
Tied for 46th.
30 points, tied for 83rd.

Michigan > Purdue, Michigan State and VA losing in the Final 4 - 10/16 , lost 3 Sweet 16s and an Elite 8.
20/32 , have lost 5 Sweet 16s, 2 Elite 8s and a Final 4. Cincy beating NV is the only points I can still score in the entire South Region.
Tied for 76th.
28 points, tied for 91st.

I'll run scenarios after tomorrow's games to see if only Villanova > Gonzaga still has a shot.

WV and Auburn would each put me up on about 1/2 the folks.
Only 7 of us picked NV over Cincy as I did in my best Villanova > Gonzaga bracket. Could be my death knell.
Go Maryland BC vs. Kansas State, of course, though the pool is nearly unaffected either way.
Otherwise, we're all overwhelmingly going with the favorites.

[billy.pilgrim]

I wondered if that no call on the foul by Auburn had anything to do with the three no call fouls by Charleston in the previous minute or so. Maybe a ref was compensating for his earlier mistakes, or maybe it was just one of many no calls in a basketball game. Completely different story if it had been going on all game

I thought that one of the two fouls against our team leader in the first minute was bogus. He sat on the beach the rest of the half.


About 30 years ago I read a book by a retired professional baseball umpire. He said that they do the best they can and try to make up for bad calls by making other bad calls.

More:

Auburn tricked unknowing refs to seal its NCAA tournament win over Charleston

Damn, you made me go back and look.

Haters will always be haters. I've never understood why Auburn gets so much of it. Maybe it's simply because Auburn is smaller and easy to pick on.

In just the last two minutes there were four fouls called against Auburn - two were bullshit - maybe there should have been an article about the refs trying to put Charleston back in the game they were losing.

As for the no call on the 3 point shot gone wrong, the announcers showed a replay from an angle where you can't tell for certain, but the live action angle chearly shows space between Brice's hand/arm and the shooter's elbow throughout the shot. Curious why they wouldn't use the better angle - wait - I understand - there was no controversy with the better angle.

As for the bs in this article, this Bushnell person flat out lied.

Okeke got the rebound and immediately hands off to Harper as he is supposed to do. You can see Jared come in close to get the ball when he sees Okeke in place for the rebound. The ref is also in the shot. Okeke is definitely fouled as he gets the rebound, but it isn't called. The ref does call a foul during the exchange between Jared and Okeke, but the live camera angle is blocked by Okeke and you can't see who the Charleston player fouls when he reaches in during the exchange.

Jared had the ball as the foul is called. There was no conspiracy to get the ball to a better foul shooter. We were three point ahead with three seconds left on the clock. Okeke is a clutch player - there is no way he was going to miss both.

The ref can clearly be seen motionless during the rebound and can clearly be seen starting to make a call during the exchange to Harper.

Oh, and there was also the 2 bs fouls in the first minute that took Harper out of the game for the first half. That would have made a good article.


My takeaway - bball is a tough game to ref and refs make mistakes. Probably newsworthy to write about the mistakes, but I don't see a lot of need for a soccer sports writer to have to make lies up to write about.

[billy.pilgrim]

IS it too late to throw in a "ROLL TIDE!"?

Is it too soon to throw in a "ROLL HOME TIDE!"?

No. 1 Villanova makes 17 threes, routs No. 9 Alabama

I only saw the last 8 minutes, but it was fun watching sexton without coddling sec refs. Granted it was his teammate who flipped off the Auburn crowd, it has been bama's highest paid player sexton - who went through the regular season almost un-penalized for constant taunting, charges, traveling and reach in fouls - who made Auburn fans smile when he fouled out. The articles only indicate that he said "bitch", but "you my bitch" has been his signiture taunt. Good to see the foul finally called.

sure he's good, but the nba teams need to think long and hard about a ball hog showboat who taunts his opponent when he's down by 30.

[Vrede too]

... My takeaway ...

Thanks.

sure he's good, but the nba teams need to think long and hard about a ball hog showboat who taunts his opponent when he's down by 30.

That would be unheard of in the NBA.

I stumbled on this article literally seconds after posting the above:

How the NBA Finally Learned to Start Taking Mental Health Seriously

[billy.pilgrim]

... My takeaway ...

Thanks.

sure he's good, but the nba teams need to think long and hard about a ball hog showboat who taunts his opponent when he's down by 30.

That would be unheard of in the NBA.

I stumbled on this article literally seconds after posting the above:

How the NBA Finally Learned to Start Taking Mental Health Seriously

I went back and watched again. It isn't clear that Brown didn't touch the guy's elbow, but it appears that he does not in the video from the sidelines. It is clear to me that the replay shown from the end of the court is maybe the only angle that couldn't show anything.

basketball is a quick game. I haven't looked up the refs, but I can't imagine poor or biased refs in the playoff – more likely just didn’t see something or imagined they did.

At least the announcers did show replay of clearly bad call that sent Murray out of the game with 37 seconds left. We needed him. Good they missed one of the two foul shots they were awarded.


I’m still having a hard time with the article calling out Harper taking the last two foul shots.
The ref told him to shoot
No one on the other team objected, or it could have been reviewed
Or did the refs discuss the foul during the commercial
Was the foul for a slap to Jared hand while he was trying to get the ball
And then, he missed one of the shots

The one he made didn’t make a difference

[Vrede too]

Idk anything more than what the pundits say, and I'm not reviewing video. As I said, just one play that I thought was funny given your griping. For all I know the refs may have been anti-Auburn the entire rest of the game.

If not a foul, it was a ridiculously poor shot from a good 3-point shooter, way short of the rim.

IF, if, the ball was deliberately passed to a better FT shooter, it's sleazy but not illegal. As you say, the refs or the opponents need to see it. Whatever, an Auburn win today will be good for me, whether it's legit or cheating .

[Vrede too]

... WV and Auburn would each put me up on about 1/2 the folks.
Only 7 of us picked NV over Cincy as I did in my best Villanova > Gonzaga bracket. Could be my death knell.
Go Maryland BC vs. Kansas State, of course, though the pool is nearly unaffected either way.
Otherwise, we're all overwhelmingly going with the favorites.

Purdue helped 3 brackets a little, 6 folks didn't pick it and I have it advancing further in my Villanova > Gonzaga bracket and another one.

#11 Syracuse is playing out of their heads! Thanks to the pundits saying that it didn't even deserve a play-in game, I didn't pick it to win any games in any brackets. Only 1 player picked it to make the Sweet 16. The Michigan State loss helps me - 48 folks picked it to win the next game while I only did so in my almost certainly failed Michigan > Purdue bracket. Plus, I'm thrilled that the school that abetted the sexual abuse of hundreds of gymnast girls lost.

Wow. #7 Texas A&M destroyed #2 North Carolina. Poor O Really and k9nanny. Doesn't hurt me, only 1 player picked Texas A&M and I only picked North Carolina to win 1 more game in 1 bracket. Go Michigan > Texas A&M!

Holy crap! #7 Nevada was down 22 with 10 minutes left, got the winning basket with 9 seconds leaf vs. #2 Cincinnati. Greatest comeback or 2nd greatest in MM history! Only 7 of us picked it. It's great for my Villanova > Gonzaga bracket, now 9th, will be bad for my worse off Cincinnati > KS bracket. Not sure about the others, everyone got hurt. I think I heard that this is the 1st time that all 4 top seeds have been knocked out of a regional Sweet 16. KY is a #5.

This already has to be a historic day.

Ut-oh, WTF is going on with Auburn? How did it only score 19 and get 24 down in the 1st half?
Edit: How humiliating, sorry billy.pilgrim. Knocks me back to 19th, but I'm only 4 points - one Sweet 16 game - out of the lead.

Too bad about UMBC, but they scrapped until the end. Just 2 picked Kansas State.

What a day, #9 Florida St. edges out #1 Xavier. Just the 3rd(?) time that 2 #1s miss the Sweet 16. Only one player picked Florida St. Only hurts my Cincinnati > KS bracket, but any day that Florida St. wins sucks.

WV kicked ass, cool.

The leader has 45 points.
Barack Obama: Michigan State > VA, Villanova & UNC losing in the Final 4. 36 points, tied for 8th.
40 points, tied for 11th.
***** Picks by Seeds ***** has 37 points, tied for 40th. Not a good year for seeds.
As with everyone else in the country except for diehard KY fans, The South Regional is shot for me.

Villanova > Gonzaga, Duke and VA losing in the Final 4 - 13/16 , lost 1 Sweet 16.
24/32, have lost 2 Sweet 16s, an Elite 8 and a Final 4.
Me and *****Barack Obama *****, tied for 8th.
I'm now at 34 points, tied for 34th.
40 points, tied for 11th with Barack Obama . 28 of us picked Villanova to win. My best shot to win it all, $166, with the craziest thing being Clemson beating KS.

VA > Duke, Michigan and Villanova losing in the Final 4 - 13/16 , lost 1 Sweet 16.
21/32 , have lost 2 Sweet 16s, an Elite 8, a Final 4, a Final 2 and the Champion.
Tied for 63rd.
31 points, tied for 74th.
35 points, tied for 69th. Best I can do is tie for 3rd, $71 or $57, would need some craziness like KS St winning it all to do that well.

Cincinnati > KS, Xavier and WV losing in the Final 4 - 12/16, same as Obama, lost 2 Sweet 16s.
22/32, have lost 3 Sweet 16s and an Elite 8.
Tied for 46th.
30 points, tied for 83rd.
34 points, tied for 80th.The West Regional is also shot for me, no more points there. Can still take 1st, would need some craziness like Florida State winning it all (horrors!) to do that well.

Michigan > Purdue, Michigan State and VA losing in the Final 4 - 10/16 , lost 3 Sweet 16s and an Elite 8.
20/32 , have lost 5 Sweet 16s, 2 Elite 8s and a Final 4. Cincy beating NV is the only points I can still score in the entire South Region.
Tied for 76th.
28 points, tied for 91st.
32 points, tied for 87th. Can still take 1st, would need some craziness like Syracuse making the Final 4 to do that well.

[billy.pilgrim]

That was ugly.

[Vrede too]

March Madness: Epic Upsets Destroy All 17.3 Million ESPN Users’ Brackets

And that happened on Friday!

Villanova > Gonzaga, Duke and VA losing in the Final 4 ...
My best shot to win it all, $166, with the craziest thing being Clemson beating KS....

South

Go KS St in all brackets. None of us picked it, but 10 folks did pick KY.

1 player each picked Nevada and Loyola (IL). I don't care personally or bracket-wise.

West

None of us picked Florida State.
I want Gonzaga for my Villanova > Gonzaga and VA > Duke brackets.
I want Florida State for my Cincinnati > KS and Michigan > Purdue brackets.
Go Gonzaga, mostly!

None of us picked Texas A&M.
I want Michigan for all of my brackets except Cincinnati > KS.

East

Just 4 of us picked WV.
I want Nova for all of my brackets except Cincinnati > KS, which picked WV to make the Final 4.

74 of us picked Purdue, 16 Texas Tech.
I want Purdue for all of my brackets except VA > Duke. I did not pick Texas Tech in this bracket, but would lose ground to the Purdue bettors.
Go Purdue, mostly!

Midwest

85 of us picked Kansas, 6 Clemson. I did not pick Clemson in any bracket.
I want Clemson for my Villanova > Gonzaga and Michigan > Purdue brackets.
I want Kansas for my VA > Duke and Cincinnati > KS brackets.
Go Clemson (ugh), mostly!

None of us picked Syracuse.
I want Duke for my Villanova > Gonzaga and VA > Duke brackets.
I want Syracuse for my Cincinnati > KS and Michigan > Purdue brackets.
Go Duke, mostly!

[Vrede too]

Nevada came thaaaat close to a 3rd comeback, 69-68. #11 Loyola-Chicago and the tourney's most famous fan, 98 year old Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt, get another game. One of us actually picked it, but not to win on Saturday.

None of us picked Texas A&M. I want Michigan for all of my brackets except Cincinnati > KS.

Michigan kicked TAMU ass, cool. Just 40 of us picked it. I'm up to 5th.

[Vrede too]

South

Go KS St in all brackets. None of us picked it, but 10 folks did pick KY.
Cool, exciting finish. Bye-bye, SEC.
Go Loyola (IL), but everyone's South bracket is completely busted. 1st ever #9 vs. #11.

West

None of us picked Florida State.
I want Gonzaga for my Villanova > Gonzaga and VA > Duke brackets.
I want Florida State for my Cincinnati > KS and Michigan > Purdue brackets.
Go Gonzaga, mostly!
Oh well. Another #9 in the Elite 8!
I now want Michigan for my Michigan > Purdue and VA > Duke brackets.
I now want FSU for my Villanova > Gonzaga bracket.
Go FSU (yuck), mostly!

Villanova > Gonzaga best is now 2nd - $124, my most likely money winner.
Cincinnati > KS and Michigan > Purdue can still take 1st - $173. Cincinnati > KS can also tie for last - $5 back, which is more likely than winning 1st.
VA > Duke best is now 5th - $40.

[Vrede too]

East

Just 4 of us picked WV.
I want Nova for all of my brackets except Cincinnati > KS, which picked WV to make the Final 4.
Cool.
Cincinnati > KS is out of any winner's money, can still tie for last - $5 back.

Midwest

85 of us picked Kansas, 6 Clemson. I did not pick Clemson in any bracket.
I want Clemson for my Villanova > Gonzaga and Michigan > Purdue brackets.
I want Kansas for my VA > Duke and Cincinnati > KS brackets.
Go Clemson (ugh), mostly!
Clemson almooost came back from -20, needed another minute of game time, 76-80. Dropped Villanova > Gonzaga to 29th .

Villanova > Gonzaga best is now a 3-way tie for 4th - $58.20, $38.80 or $24.25 back.
Michigan > Purdue best is now a tie for 1st.

[Vrede too]

East

74 of us picked Purdue, 16 Texas Tech.
I want Purdue for all of my brackets except VA > Duke. I did not pick Texas Tech in this bracket, but would lose ground to the Purdue bettors.
Go Purdue, mostly!
Texas Tech crushes it, Duke is the only #2 left.
Cincinnati > KS is out, can't win money or take last.

Midwest

None of us picked Syracuse.
I want Duke for my Villanova > Gonzaga and VA > Duke brackets.
I want Syracuse for my Cincinnati > KS and Michigan > Purdue brackets.
Go Duke, mostly!
Cool, Duke eked out the win.
Villanova > Gonzaga can still make a 3-way tie for 4th.
VA > Duke can still take 5th - $38.80.
Michigan > Purdue is out, can't win money.

Villanova > Gonzaga is currently in 21st.
VA > Duke is currently in 28th.
***** Picks by Seeds ***** is currently in 44th. It sucks.
*****Barack Obama ***** is currently in 51st. He sucks.

Saturday:

Go #11 Loyola-Chicago over #9 Kansas State, but the pool is unaffected.

Villanova > Gonzaga wants Florida State > Michigan. A Michigan win knocks it down to a 3-way tie for 6th - $24.25 (I've got $20 in), $5 back or nothing, depending on the tiebreakers.
VA > Duke wants Michigan > Florida State. A Florida State win knocks it out of the money. But, it will also need the Loyola-Chicago vs. Kansas State winner to win it all. So, go Florida State (gag) for 1 game.

Both brackets want Villanova > TX Tech and Duke > KS on Sunday.

[Vrede too]

Saturday:

Go #11 Loyola-Chicago over #9 Kansas State, but the pool is unaffected....

Yeah, but who do you root for?

Loyola Chicago, Sister Jean heading to Final Four after dominant win over K-State

Congrats. Obama wins again!

Only the 4th #11 seed to ever make the Final Four, a school that hadn’t even been to the NCAA tournament since 1985. They won their first 3 games by a combined 4 points, this one was a romp. Loyola Chicago won the National Championship in 1963, the only IL team to ever do so.

[Vrede too]

Oh well, still in it, barely. Florida State hung in there with Michigan. I wonder if Loyola-Chicago can?

[O Really]

So I'm not a Duke-hater, and was generally rooting for a Duke win - unless it could have been that Grayson Allen became a game-losing goat at the end. But still - that call where the Dook guy was just standing there, got run over, and got charged with a foul was certainly a foul call. If anybody understands how that happened other than the ref being a KU rock-chalk Jayhawk, or major money on KU, please explain.

[Vrede too]

So I'm not a Duke-hater, and was generally rooting for a Duke win - unless it could have been that Grayson Allen became a game-losing goat at the end. But still - that call where the Dook guy was just standing there, got run over, and got charged with a foul was certainly a foul call. If anybody understands how that happened other than the ref being a KU rock-chalk Jayhawk, or major money on KU, please explain.

I heard the announcers bitching about it while making dinner, didn't stop to watch the replay.

... Both brackets want Villanova > TX Tech and Duke > KS on Sunday.

Damn, Dook came soooo close to winning it in regulation.

I'm now completely out of the pool. I hate when that happens before the last weekend.

I want Nova > KS.
I slightly want Michigan to beat Loyola-Chicago, but would be fine with a Loyola-Chicago first ever #11 Cinderella win in the semis.
I want either Michigan or Loyola-Chicago to beat either Nova or KS.

However, if I was making a new bet it would be on Nova.

[Vrede too]

Sister Jean bobblehead sales break record as Loyola enters Final Four
The Loyola Chicago team chaplain has become a March Madness star in her own right.

[Vrede too]

... I slightly want Michigan to beat Loyola-Chicago ...

That's what I wanted to want - state u. vs. Catholics - but I found myself rooting for Loyola-Chicago, even before they were leading. So far, so good with 11 to go, a moral victory even if they lose.