Go Big Blue

[thekahoona]

The depths to which I despise Kentucky forced me to submit multiple brackets with them losing.

Wisconsin wins and then loses to Duke - it is the only bracket I have that's still alive...

So, yeah.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Coach K was far, far from the "accomplished" coach he is today when they lost by 30.  He also lost to arguably the best team in the history of NCAA basketball.  Coach K learned from that and has since won 4 National Titles (becoming "accomplished").  Coach Crean road a top 3 player of this generation who couldn't be recruited by high major schools because he didn't have the grades and a kid who was kicked off his former team so he decided he wanted to move home to a Final Four and took the worst loss in the history of the FF to a team that didn't even win the Title.  And Crean's best season since is a Sweet 16.  Don't worry, I'm not saying a guy who wasn't sleeping with someone else's wife is sleeping with someone else's wife, you don't need to "correct" anything.  I'm stating facts.  It's a complete apples to oranges comparison, but to you it's all a crapshoot and K is just lucky while Crean is just unlucky.  I get it.  We all do.  You've stated as such a billion times over.

So much wrong with this.  Big Ten allowed prop 48's...you were shown you were wrong the last time you tried this line of argument.  Are Big Ten schools not high majors all of a sudden.

Go look at Coach K's accomplishments before that blowout...they were very good. Now he better since?  Yes.  But guess what, despite being better since he still lost as a 2 and 3 seed in their opening games.  Bob Knight, drilled by 20+ points to worse seeds in his last 6 years at IU...was he not accomplished?

Please...you are a smart guy and embarrassing yourself.  It's the tournament and anyone can lose anytime regardless of how accomplished they are.  Your examples to combat this are horribly weak.  You are using facts...really? 

[muwarrior69]

I say Bucky won't score 55 points. UK is on a mission and my gut says they take no prisoners.

So is Bucky....should be a good game.

[wadesworld]

So much wrong with this.  Big Ten allowed prop 48's...you were shown you were wrong the last time you tried this line of argument.  Are Big Ten schools not high majors all of a sudden.

Go look at Coach K's accomplishments before that blowout...they were very good. Now he better since?  Yes.  But guess what, despite being better since he still lost as a 2 and 3 seed in their opening games.  Bob Knight, drilled by 20+ points to worse seeds in his last 6 years at IU...was he not accomplished?

Please...you are a smart guy and embarrassing yourself.  It's the tournament and anyone can lose anytime regardless of how accomplished they are.  Your examples to combat this are horribly weak.  You are using facts...really? 

Nope, you're the one trying to compare Tom Crean to Coach K.  Therein lies the embarrassment.  Coach K lost by 30 to maybe the best college basketball team ever.  He since then has won 4 NCAA National Championships.  Tom Crean took the worst loss ever in a Final Four to a team that didn't even win the Tournament that year and has never been even close to another Final Four again.

[eg021]

Is Wisconsin going to shoot 50+% from 3?

I can't wait to see Towns post up Frank the not so tank flopper. If he gets in foul trouble its going to be all wildcats.

[MU82]

Is Wisconsin going to shoot 50+% from 3?

Probably not.

Notre Dame shot under 30% from 3 ... and it's a good thing for Kentucky because if one more goes in, it's ND in the FF.

And Wisconsin is better than ND. Quite a bit better, IMHO.

Is the line really 10? I thought I saw 5-6.

[wadesworld]

Probably not.

Notre Dame shot under 30% from 3 ... and it's a good thing for Kentucky because if one more goes in, it's ND in the FF.

And Wisconsin is better than ND. Quite a bit better, IMHO.

Is the line really 10? I thought I saw 5-6.

Disagreed.  ND's guard play kicks the crap out of Wisco's.  ND was legit this year.

[MU82]

Disagreed.  ND's guard play kicks the crap out of Wisco's.  ND was legit this year.

You are entitled to think ND was better. I disagree. The rankings disagree. Pomeroy disagrees. RPI disagrees. The NCAA committee disagreed.

ND was fortunate to win its first tourney game and very fortunate to get past Butler.

Sure, ND was legit, just as we were a legit Elite Eight team in 2013. But ND wasn't better than Wisconsin, a legit No. 1 seed and a legit Final Four team.

[wadesworld]

You are entitled to think ND was better. I disagree. The rankings disagree. Pomeroy disagrees. RPI disagrees. The NCAA committee disagreed.

ND was fortunate to win its first tourney game and very fortunate to get past Butler.

Sure, ND was legit, just as we were a legit Elite Eight team in 2013. But ND wasn't better than Wisconsin, a legit No. 1 seed and a legit Final Four team.

The numbers also thought Nova was the best team in the East, Virginia was the 2nd best team, etc. The numbers are not always right. The numbers say Wisconsin is better than Duke. Wisconsin lost by double digits at home to Duke.

I guess we'll see. If Wisconsin is better than ND and all we've heard about is that Wisconsin is also the one team that can provide matchup problems for UK then we should expect a Wisconsin win given that ND had Kentucky on the ropes.

Guard play wins in the NCAA. Grant, Jackson, Caughnoton or however you spell it is way, way better than Koenig, Gassar, and Jackson.

[MUfan12]

Guard play wins in the NCAA. Grant, Jackson, Caughnoton or however you spell it is way, way better than Koenig, Gassar, and Jackson.

And when Dekker shoots his normal percentage, the gap between him and Vasturia isn't huge.

Wisconsin is a hair better overall because of Kaminsky and Hayes. Will it be enough to beat UK? I doubt it, but we'll see.

[brewcity77]

I don't think Wisconsin and Notre Dame are a very good comparison. They don't really play alike at all. Yes, both have white guys and shoot threes, but Notre Dame is far more an attacking, transition team. Grant and Auguste are the focal points, but they have five guys that they rely on regularly to put up big points.

Wisconsin is a team that pounds you in the frontcourt. Yes, Kaminsky, Hayes, and Dekker can all step out and hit a shot, but they usually beat teams with their strength up front. There are other guys that can hit shots (Jackson, Koenig, Gasser) but it isn't like ND where they really expect those other players to score in order to win.

I don't know...I'm kind of sick of all the ND/Wisconsin comparisons. They simply don't seem very accurate. Yes, there have been years where ND and Wisconsin played similar slow-down styles. This isn't one of those years. Brey has changed how this team plays based on the abilities of Jerian Grant. Wisconsin doesn't have anyone remotely like Grant on their team.

I'm not saying Wisconsin will win or lose because of this, simply that what Notre Dame did to Kentucky has absolutely no bearing on what Wisconsin will do against Kentucky because they are vastly different teams.

[Marquette_g]

I think this photograph is about the perfect summation of Badger fans in the state of WI, and the reason I can't stand the their non-alum fans.

"Hey honey, at work they were talking about the Badgers being in the Final Four, time to gear up.  To Kohl's we go."

[brewcity77]

I think this photograph is about the perfect summation of Badger fans in the state of WI, and the reason I can't stand the their non-alum fans.

Wife came home yesterday complaining about that exact thing, saying "I didn't go to Wisconsin, why should I automatically be a Wisconsin fan?" Her co-workers said that anyone from the state not cheering for Wisconsin shouldn't live here and that their team does things right and graduates everyone.

I was very glad to hear that she pulled up the graduation rate numbers article on the internet 

[Marquette_g]

Wife came home yesterday complaining about that exact thing, saying "I didn't go to Wisconsin, why should I automatically be a Wisconsin fan?" Her co-workers said that anyone from the state not cheering for Wisconsin shouldn't live here and that their team does things right and graduates everyone.

I was very glad to hear that she pulled up the graduation rate numbers article on the internet 

This made me happy, please thank your wife from Marquette_g.

[Goose]

Biggest gripe I have with Badger fans is the large number that are not UW grads. If you went to Whitewater or La Crosse you are not a UW alum. At bar last week I asked at least ten people if they were UW grads and only two actually went there. My conclusion is if you did not attend college or went to other state school you are a Badger fan.

Really hoping Badgers get buried tomorrow night.

[MU Buff]

I'm one of those rare Marquette season ticket holders who never attended MU. Whenever someone asks me what year I graduated, they are very surprised to learn I never went there.

[BM1090]

I'm one of those rare Marquette season ticket holders who never attended MU. Whenever someone asks me what year I graduated, they are very surprised to learn I never went there.

Same here. Almost went to MU, decided to go to a cheaper state school. Being around all the extension school Badgers fans actually strengthened my Marquette fandom.

[statnik]

Biggest gripe I have with Badger fans is the large number that are not UW grads. If you went to Whitewater or La Crosse you are not a UW alum. At bar last week I asked at least ten people if they were UW grads and only two actually went there. My conclusion is if you did not attend college or went to other state school you are a Badger fan.

Really hoping Badgers get buried tomorrow night.

What the heck is wrong with that though?  At least they're honest.  Now I can tell by your comment that the Wisconsin hatred is based on jealousy that grads of neither school who are from the state choose Wisconsin to root for over MU.

[Goose]

Jealousy that UW Ripon grad might not be MU fans? You made my weekend

[Groin_pull]

I think this photograph is about the perfect summation of Badger fans in the state of WI, and the reason I can't stand the their non-alum fans.

"Hey honey, at work they were talking about the Badgers being in the Final Four, time to gear up.  To Kohl's we go."

Yah der hey.

[Class71]

Hope Wisconsin wins. Kentucky is simply a hired gun.

[statnik]

Jealousy that UW Ripon grad might not be MU fans? You made my weekend

What else would be the reason?  They're not being disingenuous.  It's common for property who go to neutral in state schools to root for the big state university over the smaller religious college.

[Sylvester78]

I never understand this way of thinking.  Where I grew up all of the people that went to catholic grade schools and high schools all cheered for Marquette over what was then non existent Wisconsin.  I can only think of a few people that actually went to MU.  There is a ton of non alum support for MU in Milwaukee because it is the local school.

Why wouldn't some guy from Baraboo or Fondy cheer for Wisconsin? It's the STATE school.  Same thing exists in every state in the country.  It's arrogant to think you need to be a graduate to cheer for the school.

WI is unique because there is only 1 D1 football team and 2 major Bball programs.  SO unlike Michigan or Florida the state isn't very divided
 

[Golden Avalanche]

Hope Wisconsin wins. Kentucky is simply a hired gun.

They're all hired guns. Some are just talented enough to only be hired for one season.

[Groin_pull]

I never understand this way of thinking.  Where I grew up all of the people that went to catholic grade schools and high schools all cheered for Marquette over what was then non existent Wisconsin.  I can only think of a few people that actually went to MU.  There is a ton of non alum support for MU in Milwaukee because it is the local school.

Why wouldn't some guy from Baraboo or Fondy cheer for Wisconsin? It's the STATE school.  Same thing exists in every state in the country.  It's arrogant to think you need to be a graduate to cheer for the school.

WI is unique because there is only 1 D1 football team and 2 major Bball programs.  SO unlike Michigan or Florida the state isn't very divided
 

People can cheer for whoever the hell they want...even UW. However, I have no interest in listening to them drone on about the Vadgers' supposed greatness.