South Region (Dallas) FIRST ROUND PICKS No. 1 Houston 81, No. 16 Longwood 52 No. 9 Texas A&M 73, No. 8 Nebraska 70 No. 12 James Madison 76, No. 5 Wisconsin 74 No. 4 Duke 75, No. 13 Vermont 65 No. 6 Texas Tech 77, No. 11 NC State 71 No. 3 Kentucky 90, No. 14 Oakland 70 No. 7 Florida 81, No. 10 Colorado 73 No. 2 Marquette 81, No. 15 Western Kentucky 70 SECOND ROUND PICKS No. 1 Houston 71, No. 9 Texas A&M 59 No. 4 Duke 79, No. 12 James Madison 69 No. 3 Kentucky 82, No. 6 Texas Tech 76 No. 7 Florida 77, No. 2 Marquette 75 SWEET 16 PICKS No. 1 Houston 69, No. 4 Duke 65 No. 3 Kentucky 87, No. 7 Florida 86 ELITE 8 PICK No. 1 Houston 75, No. 3 Kentucky 72 I think 3-seed Kentucky and 7-seed Florida are both good enough to win multiple games in this region, especially given how well the Gators were playing in the SEC tournament. Kentucky can score with anyone in the country, but can the Wildcats get enough stops to get to Phoenix? If Houston can regain its form on the defensive end, the Cougars should be able to slow down Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham and Antonio Reeves and advance to the Final Four.
As crazy as it sounds, I think if we can get out of the first round then we could go to the 8 if not the Final 4. This team is amazing when the pressure is off, and I could easily see Marquette and the next 2 teams taking us lightly. I guess this exact scenario happened in 2000, and I live in the past, so that's also talking here. (Got past the first round, then rolled.)
When it comes to March, I am fully in the “beat your seed” camp. If you are a 7, you should get to the second round. Anything beyond that is gravy.
I loved our chances until Micah got hurt. Not that Samuel, Condo, and Haugh can't handle his minutes, it's just that this throws a wrinkle into the rotation and affects how aggressively our guys can play in the interior. I say, play as hard as you can, guys, just avoid the silly reach-in fouls. And don't bite on fakes. We'll learn a lot on Friday.
Anything could happen but looking at the Colorado/Boise St. game the Gators better not freaking lose. UF is noticeably more athletic and taller.
It is all about hitting the 3s and free throws. Do those and this team will be tough to beat. The two potential problems are going to be a great scoring guard and a really tough front court getting our bigs in foul trouble. Kentucky in the tourney is as good of a test of those to play against.
WKU is a sneaky first round upset for a lot of folks it seems. I am like you though, I think Colorado is a really talented team, with good guard play. First round game is going to be a fight.
ESPN's Pete Thamel has us in the Final Four. Along with Tennessee, Arizona and UConn. Always liked that guy.
I don’t really like the Marquette matchup; as they will pressure and throw full court defense at us. That’s been an issue.