Should we make a new thread for the final four? LSU beats UCLA / George Mason beats Florida George Mason beats LSU
LSU over Florida in the finals... ...although i'd love to see George Mason win it all. if they did, or even if they don't - how can a team that has beat michigan state, north carolina, and UConn not have any players drafted in the first round??? some of these kids will (hopefully) get to live a dream beyond this year and make some serious money because of one months work.
Justice is done! UConn should have lost to Washington and 'Nova should have lost to BC but the referees robbed those rightful teams. It was shameful. I'm glad both of them lost today. I'm proud of George Mason. After the heartbreak of blowing it late in regulation, those guys came out and took care of business in OT. They are a much stronger #11 seed than LSU was a few years ago. I give them a chance to win it all. On a side note, I went to my nephew's high school graduation on George Mason's campus in '04. The valedictorian was from Afghanistan and his speech was the most moving graduation speech I've ever heard.
For the first time since, like, ever, I didn't get a single Final Four team correct in my bracket. Just pathetic. On the flip side, this is also the first time in many years that I have no money invested in the tournament. So it's all good. Go George Mason! Screw everyone's brackets!!
I had UCLA and, um, er .... So, I guess the one thing the analysts were right about was: PARITY. So many close games in this tourney, and there about 10 other teams who played well enough to be in the Final Four. What a great March. I just hope Greg Oden doesn't dominate too much next year, so we'll have parity again!
They've already screwed everyone's brackets. Everyone and their mama picked Uconn to win it all (with them gone, very few people have the correct tournament winner, especially since the other #1 seeds fell also). Now it's down to whoever picked the correct title game challenger in UCLA vs LSU, to win all of these tournament pools.
Totally true. I'm in this one pool with just under 100 people. Not a single one will have picked the champ correctly. What's even crazier is that nobody has more than one team in the Final Four. I've never seen that before!
And the GMU alum who just picked themselves winning it all just for the fun of it. Those guys are cashing in!
In all of the years I have watched the tournament, I can honestly say that this is the most disappointed I have ever been in a final 4. Yea, I know, I know - I'm going to dump on cinderella and I'm a bandwagon fan of UConn - but I was really looking forward to seeiing the Huskies of UConn matching up for a 3rd time with Villanova. Now, I am going to have to endure a George Mason - Florida matchup - one that I could care less on who wins. I just will not root for George Mason after they had the game of their lives (if those 2 teams played each other 10 times - UConn and George Mason - UConn wins 9 times out of 10). But, hey they hit big shots and played like Villanova did when they beat Georgetown in '86 and like NC State did when they beat Houston in '84 (I think I have my years right - I may be off a little bit). Then you have the University of Florida, a school that I ABSOLUTELY despise. So, there you have one final 4 matchup. At least in the other matchup, I can root for a team that I somewhat like in LSU, but knowing my luck, they will probably lose to another one of my most hated schools in UCLA. If UCLA wins Saturday, I won't watch the final on Monday.
I don't think it's fair to say they had the game of their lives at this point. In the past 10 days or so, they've beaten MSU, UNC (a trendy final four pick), and UConn. Normally, an upset requires a great game on your part and a bad game by the opponent. UConn actually played a pretty good game, shooting 47% and having only 9 turnovers. What GMU has done ridiculously well in this tourney is neutralize strengths. UConn and MSU are supposed to be dominant on the inside, but GMU dominated them - both in rebounding and scoring. UNC is a fast paced, attacking team and GMU shut that down as well. They've played all styles of basketball and won. They've come back from double digit deficits in both of those, showing a lot of character. They withstood UConn's best shot when they had to go into OT. Sure, in a meaningless game, UConn would probably win every time. But in a one-and-done format, where these superstar teams just play like every other game, GMU (as well as the other FF teams, all of whom beat their region's #1 seed) has simply played harder and smarter than anyone else. I think if you were to repeat the game from yesterday many times - same conditions of once-in-a-lifetime game for the final four, etc - GMU would win more often than you think.
To add to that, in the UConn game, UConn had more assists, fewer turnovers, more blocked shots than GMU. GMU shot 68% from the free throw line. It's not like GMU played the perfect game to beat UConn. They played well, but they had their own share of weaknesses.
GMU has also exercised tremendous patience and ball movement of the offensive end. They really trust one another out there. I'd like to see the run continue but I think we are going to see a Noah-Thomas matchup in the final.
I think the one seeds this year were just not as dominant in previous years. just look to last year with UNC, which was a pretty damn good team, how many of those guys were drafted? and Illinois, which wasn't as talent laden but was one of those teams that had been playing so well together, that it was hard to disrupt their flow. this year, duke relied mainly on two players, one who really can't create. I thought uconn was a pretty good team, they were just out-played, but they showed you that problem all year. they have talent, they just didn't have killer instinct and it came back to bite them in the arse. memphis was okay, but they didn't play anyone. honestly, looking at it, I think LSU may just be the best team in this tournament. everyone talks about their guard play holding them back, but their guards do what their supposed to do, they get the ball to their frontline, their strength.
and as much as the number ones were probably overrated, these guys are underrated. you hit the nail on the head. I was thinking while watching, "I can't remember seeing a team so poised". they hit big shot after big shot, from a couple of different players.
And you can argue that without the help from the zebra men at the end of the game, UNC would have been eliminated by Nova in the third round last year.
Except free throws. I forget the name of the guy who completely bricked 3/4 FTs late. He had that deer in the highlights look that told me he wouldn't hit either FT. Some guys perform well in the flow of the game, but get them to the FT line and the jitters take over.
I hope we see a Lewis (the guy from GMU) vs. Big Baby matchup. Two very fat centers bouncing off of each other - that would be classic stuff!
its amazing to see what GMU has done,,,,,but every game i cant help but think they will get run out of the gym,,,, i dont know if anyone on that team can make the nba but im still going for them ultimately i want to the see the two big front courts collide lsu/florida...who would have ever thought
