March Madness 2025

[pilight]

Originally Posted by LD84

Why was UConn not a #1 seed?

They had three losses and not that many good wins during the regular season.

[CONN CHRIS]

Originally Posted by pilight

They had three losses and not that many good wins during the regular season.

5-2 against ranked teams is 'not many' lol. In women's basketball, that may not be amazing!! but come on dude.

The two seed was fine though.

[CONN CHRIS]

Originally Posted by pilight

They had three losses

By the way, USC, SC and Texas also had 3 losses. Only UCLA had 2.

It's ok to just say "I don't like UCONN" :-)

[LD84]

Well it hardly matters now

[pilight]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

By the way, USC, SC and Texas also had 3 losses. Only UCLA had 2.

It's ok to just say "I don't like UCONN" :-)

They all had more quality wins than UConn. Connecticut had five quad one wins. All of the one seeds had at least 13. The other two seeds had at least eight. The three seeds all had six or seven. The Big East wasn't very good and it dragged UConn's schedule down to the point that a #1 seed wasn't justified.

[Déjà Bru]

We are overlooking something about UCONN.

As much as I disparage schools dumping coaches in a hasty and unfair manner, having not gotten a proper chance to prove themselves, UCONN coach Geno Auriemma exemplifies what a great coach can mean to a team over time. Especially in this situation, where the best players don't stick around long and are gone after four seasons at most.

40 years at the helm of the Huskies and 12 national championships. When I asked "How to account?" in a previous post, I neglected to consider this factor.

UConn's Geno Auriemma by the numbers: Huskies coach bolsters GOAT credentials with 12th national championship

[CONN CHRIS]

He is truly beloved around these parts. He lives in my town and has a restaurant where we have run into him more than a few times. You can just tell what a good guy he is by the way he treats staff.

His former players all love him and come back to Storres all the time to support him in milestone games and whatnot.

A treasure.

[Déjà Bru]

Now, this is a game! Five minutes left.

[Déjà Bru]

OMG, everything down to that last out-of bounds play. The Gator player got all ball on the reach-in — no foul — but the crucial call was, who touched it last? The refs got it right; the Cougar guy pushed it out with either his hand or knee. Only 26 seconds left.

[Déjà Bru]

OMG again. It was a long shot but #21 Emanuel Sharp had a chance for a 3-point game winner. He went up for the shot but saw a Gator coming at him, so he pulled the ball down. Then he realized that he couldn't land with it, so he dropped it and backed away. Game over. If I see a replay someplace, I will post it. I feel sorry for Sharp, really. He's going to remember that play for the rest of his life.

EDIT: Here is the final play: https://x.com/SportsCenter/status/19...Ttheme%3Dlight

Credit #1 Walter Clayton Jr. for coming from way back and flying in, forcing Sharp into that error.

[Déjà Bru]

It's the first time that I followed these tournaments this closely. I must say, it is evident to me now why people get so excited over this.

Congratulations to the winners, UCONN and Florida, and let's do this again next year!

[Jordan]

For some reason, this wasn't as good to me as the Final Four games. Houston made Florida play how they wanted to and still lost. Florida struck me as the best team throughout and prevailed as such. Ho hum

EDIT: don't get me wrong, the games as tourney went on got better. I understand why it was exciting and will continue to be.

[pilight]

UPSET = Any lower seed winning
BIG UPSET = Upset in which the teams are more than four seeds apart
CLOSE GAME = Any game decided by single digits or in OT
BLOWOUT = Any game decided by 20+ points

[Ragnar]

Houston blew this game like they did in '83. I had 5 bucks on NC State with a friend. That was a lot of money back then in high school. Houston led most of the way back then too. Only to spit the bit at the end.

[Déjà Bru]

Houston's Kelvin Sampson on failed final play in NCAA championship loss to Florida: 'At the end, you've gotta get a shot'

He had this to say, first:

"We have a set where it's a stack or gate... We thought if we get Emanuel to shot fake and get downhill... he probably should've shot faked that."

Um, right. I get that totally. Really. [I think he's saying, fake the three-point shot, then get closer for a two-point attempt.]

But it's this that I object to:

"At the end, you've gotta get a shot," Sampson said. "You've gotta do better than that."

This kid, a sophomore*, is probably around 19 years old.* I guarantee you that he feels like crap today and will for a long time. Sampson couldn't come up with a more gracious comment than that?

He was pi$$ed; check him out at 0:24 of the video that I linked to above.



Fine. It's partly shock. But he had enough time to regain his composure for the press conference.

Sharp helped him get this far, but when he's down, Sampson chose to dump on him. If I am Sharp, I am looking for the portal.


*EDIT, correction: I misread his bio. He's a redshirt junior who just turned 21 last month. Technically, he's a man then. To me, though, he's still a kid. Plus, this: Fine, collegiate sports are turning professional. But I'm old school, hence my reaction, I suppose. Most of these kids are going to college for an education and have no shot at the NBA. Basketball is a sport they play on the side. Yes, Kelvin Sampson's $4.75 million per year is on the line (his contract is up in 2027) but my contention is, he's being paid enough to have some class and compassion for the young men that he leads.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

...Sampson couldn't come up with a more gracious comment than that?

I dunno. That just seems to me to be the kind of person he is. After the remarkable comeback win against Duke his most notable comment was to disparage the opponent rather than heap praise on his team (which he probably did, but that was overshadowed by the cheap shot) and also throw some praise the way of the team he just beat. Classless. Which is why I was very happy to see Florida pull it out.

[Cobra Mgr]

The kid is getting paid. These kids have played 100's of games nationally, and sometimes internationally, in all types of scenarios.

Sampson only spoke the truth. There were a number of bad things that were preferable to what took place. Should have been a shot fake. Could have heaved it to the basket anyway. Could have bounced it off the defender. And finally, worse case, scenario, picked up the ball, got the violation, then try to defend or hope the Gatora miss at least one FT.

What he did took away any chance to win that game. It was the worst decision possible. These college players are now paid pros. Many are mercenaries. Gotta take all that comes with it. And that includes criticism.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

These college players are now paid pros. Many are mercenaries. Gotta take all that comes with it. And that includes criticism.

Which is the sad part. Not everyone is fully developed at that age to handle it.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

Which is the sad part. Not everyone is fully developed at that age to handle it.

Yep. And regardless of whether a kid/young man is equipped to handle it or not, Sampson had the choice between addressing that play with class & compassion, or without those. He chose the latter. It's who he is. And why I'm happy to root against him.

[pilight]

College players will get criticism regardless of whether they officially get paid. Chris Webber had to put up with a mountain of nonsense for calling an erroneous timeout when he was barely 20 years old.