Offical NCAA Tournament thread

[NickelDimer]

Maybe the greatest college basketball game I've ever seen. Hate that one of those teams had to end their season right there. I think Gonzaga beats Baylor by 8 or so. If Baylor is cold at all they're in big trouble. They're not as well coached and not as disciplined as UCLA. Hope I'm wrong. Timme needs to lose

[brewcity77]

I was actually thinking the opposite. I think tonight's game scared Gonzaga enough that they come out locked and loaded on Monday.

I'm not sure Baylor's defense is well equipped to handle Gonzaga. They shut down the three but Gonzaga just does so much damage inside. Should be a good game, but I think Baylor needs to be hot from three to keep up, though if any team can do that, it's the Bears.

[brewcity77]

The arguments against Gonzaga's worth are old and tired.  What they've accomplished in the last 20 plus years is amazing.  Non-power conference team with a limited budget and limited local talent winning big like they are is simply amazing.

Yup. And the talent level is legit. Suggs is usually the best player on the floor, even without the raw numbers. Him and Kispert are potential lottery picks. Ayayi & Timme will play in the league. Nembhard was a two-year starter for Florida. They beat single digit seeds from the ACC, Big 10, Big East, & Pac-12 by double digits. They'd be good no matter where they played.

[Jockey]

The arguments against Gonzaga's worth are old and tired.  What they've accomplished in the last 20 plus years is amazing.  Non-power conference team with a limited budget and limited local talent winning big like they are is simply amazing.

It's funny. We all talk about the glory years with Al. Well, we were the 70's version of Gonzaga. Fairly easy schedule every year and always came up short until we finally won.

[MU82]

They played everyone they possibly could all season. Tried to play Baylor twice. Tried to schedule Villanova in the middle of conference play. This is only the second team that's stayed within single digits of them.

So if you look at the preseason rankings, they tried to play 2 & 3. They beat 4, 5, & 6 by double digits. Also scheduled & beat 15. What more are they supposed to do?

I hear ya. It's not their "fault." But it's still a fact that by far the best 2 teams they had played since Dec. 28 were Creighton and USC, and those were just last week.

Meanwhile, in 1984-85, Georgetown had to go through the crucible that was Big East basketball.

While the WCC was the WCC - Gonzaga and Who Cares - that Big East had 2 No. 1 seeds and a bunch of other real good teams. Georgetown waged war at least once a week. And they came out of it as the nation's dominant team, with a generational talent in Ewing.

Look, I like Gonzaga. Real good team. I want them to go unbeaten. I like Few and want him to win.

But the Zags have been on cruise control most of the season. I think it's a testament to them that they were able to respond tonight when challenged.

I look forward to Monday. Baylor's real good.

[The Sultan]

Old sportswriters gonna over romanticize. It's what they do.

[MuggsyB]

I was rooting for Gonzaga and will root for them Monday.  But now that I have watched the replay on the blocked dunk and the charge I believe they were incorrect calls.  On the Timme charge play his right shoulder and body was moving forward into Juzang.  Can that be looked at on video?

[Billy Hoyle]

Unbelievable game! An all-timer, reminiscent of the 1992 East Regional Final between Duke and Kentucky.

I can still remember watching Laettner hit the game winner, and I'll probably have similar memories of Suggs hitting his.  A historic sports moment.

I immediately thought of Laettner, but then realized we had a buzzer beater for the title just a few years ago: Jenkins beating UNC. That game gets forgotten.

This is #2 for an overall best tourney game behind UK/Duke that I have seen.

[Billy Hoyle]

I was rooting for Gonzaga and will root for them Monday.  But now that I have watched the replay on the blocked dunk and the charge I believe they were incorrect calls.  On the Timme charge play his right shoulder and body was moving forward into Juzang.  Can that be looked at on video?

I don't think so. Only to determine if the defender was outside of the arc.

[GooooMarquette]

But now that I have watched the replay on the blocked dunk and the charge I believe they were incorrect calls.  On the Timme charge play his right shoulder and body was moving forward into Juzang.  Can that be looked at on video?

Totally agree on the blocked dunk. Suggs got him across the arm.

I thought the charge call was good though.

[brewcity77]

But the Zags have been on cruise control most of the season. I think it's a testament to them that they were able to respond tonight when challenged.

Again, I disagree. While I acknowledge that BYU was the only other tourney worthy team there, teams on cruise control can slip up or have close calls. These are still D1 athletes. St Mary's & San Francisco & LMU & Pepperdine are still top-100 teams. And the Zags beat them all by double digits every time out regardless of venue.

Maybe that's cruise control, but if so, it's just one more reason that with a win Monday this will be the greatest team in NCAA history. Because even on cruise control, no one touched them.

[Billy Hoyle]

Totally agree on the blocked dunk. Suggs got him across the arm.

I thought the charge call was good though.

Agree on both.

[MuggsyB]

I don't think so. Only to determine if the defender was outside of the arc.

Okay.  The NBA allows a challenge to a foul call under 2 mins I believe.  Maybe college will look at that although that was a close one.

[Billy Hoyle]

Five different calls of the game here, including Russian and Spanish.

https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1378549676681662466

[GooooMarquette]

Five different calls of the game here, including Russian and Spanish.

https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1378549676681662466

On the Spanish language one, I was waiting for "gooooooooooooooooooooal!"

[MuggsyB]

Five different calls of the game here, including Russian and Spanish.

https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1378549676681662466

W-1 Spanish #1

W-1 English #2

ESPN 5th.

[brewcity77]

The Gonzaga radio call, with color man...Adam Morrison:

https://twitter.com/briannnnf/status/1378553798411628545?s=21

[Lennys Tap]

It's funny. We all talk about the glory years with Al. Well, we were the 70's version of Gonzaga. Fairly easy schedule every year and always came up short until we finally won.

Jockey

Definitely some legit parallels between the Zags under Few and MU from 1969-78. Think we were slightly more dominant - we finished Top 10 each of those 10 years and were the #2 program in the nation behind UCLA - but it's close.

[CountryRoads]

Totally agree on the blocked dunk. Suggs got him across the arm.

I thought the charge call was good though.

I think both were tough calls against UCLA, but I think it was good the charge was called since it would have been a shame if free throws decided such a good game. If there were 7 seconds left, I think the ref calls a block there.

[Norm]

I think both were tough calls against UCLA, but I think it was good the charge was called since it would have been a shame if free throws decided such a good game. If there were 7 seconds left, I think the ref calls a block there.

The Suggs non-call was a 4 point swing in the game. Not a single replay shows Suggs getting any part of the ball - he only gets the hand of the UCLA player.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Hope Baylor unnatural carnal knowledgeing smokes them

There's no program more wretched than Baylor. The absolute worst of college sports. I hope Gonzaga does to them what Kansas did to us in 2003.

[Billy Hoyle]

There's no program more wretched than Baylor. The absolute worst of college sports. I hope Gonzaga does to them what Kansas did to us in 2003.

Drew is known by other coaches as "The Dirty Preacher." Bible in one hand cash in the other.

[willie warrior]

Maybe the greatest college basketball game I've ever seen. Hate that one of those teams had to end their season right there. I think Gonzaga beats Baylor by 8 or so. If Baylor is cold at all they're in big trouble. They're not as well coached and not as disciplined as UCLA. Hope I'm wrong. Timme needs to lose

Tired of hearing about great shots and totally ignoring Lees pass to Whitehead and Jerome tossing it in the semi final in77. We always heat about Laetners shot and shots like this but no recognition of Whiteheads, except maybe on Scoop. Chalk it up to recency bias.

[The Sultan]

Suggs block was fine.  They aren't going to call that unless it is clear.  He hit the hand that was on the ball and not the arm.

The charge was fine too.  Defender doesn't have to be completely still.

My point about this is that basketball refereeing is hard.  Get the obvious calls right, hope you get the bang / bang ones right, and hope the ones you don't even out.  A basketball ref is not going to call that block unless the defender hits the arm or gets a significant amount of body.  And I would rather have the refs err on the side of letting them play rather than stop the action constantly.

I thought that was a well reffed game overall.

[shoothoops]

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