Who has MARCH MADNESS?
Me. I do. I want the tournament to start today. Actually, if you think about it the tournament HAS started, because, unless you’re in the Ivy League (which is weird), you now play until you lose. If you keep winning, you win the NCAA’s. Winning the conference tournament gets you an automatic bid to the dance… keep winning and you’re cutting the nets in Indianapolis!
I have set up a bracket at PickHoops.com. You can read the rules and the scoring here on VBD.
You are invited to join the PickHoops bracket group Victory Briefs Daily Pool
Participants choose the winners of this year’s NCAA college basketball tournament.
To join, click here: http://pickhoops.com/VBDaily
You’ll be asked for your name and email address and to create a new user password for yourself.
Then you’ll be asked for the group password.
This group’s password is: victorydebate
Bracket entry starts Monday, March 13th at 8:00am EST
Online bracket entry closes Thursday, March 16th at 11:30am EST
The web site may become unavoidably slow just before the deadline; be sure to get your brackets in early to avoid problems.
Victory Briefs Daily Pool Rules and Scoring
Group members can enter a bracket picking the winners of the 2006 Men’s national college basketball tournament. Members pick the winners of all 6 rounds of the tournament.
Brackets can be entered online starting Monday, March 13th at 8:00am EST.
Entries are accepted online until Thursday, March 16th at 11:30am EST.
Brackets are scored as follows, for each correct pick:
Points are awarded based on the round number:
Round 1: 1
Round 2: 2
Round 3: 4
Round 4: 8
Semifinals: 16
Championship: 32
Then multiply by Seed number
Then add Difference in seeds if result is upset
The first tiebreaker is Riskiest upset picks.
The second tiebreaker is Most games correct in first round.
The third tiebreaker is Point spread of championship game.
Any further ties are left as ties in the standings.
Popularity: 1% [?]
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Posted from: 71.160.56.34
March 9th, 2006 16:01
it looks like ANJAN’s school messed things up for other kids looking for at-larges by LOSING to TEMPLE. sheesh.
Posted from: 68.199.13.98
March 9th, 2006 16:27
lets go PENN! (thats penn quakers, from the weird ivy leauge)
Posted from: 24.211.171.197
March 9th, 2006 16:33
I don’t think anything could compare to last year’s tournament. But nonetheless, go Heels! Or, whoever is playing Duke.
Posted from: 71.70.246.134
March 9th, 2006 18:43
If JJ doesn’t get player of the year, I ‘m blaming RJ and his immense hating
Posted from: 68.175.99.147
March 9th, 2006 18:52
Bietz’s pool CONTINUES to disprove my belief that all debaters are total losers like me. “When is the NCAA pool being posted?” has been one of the most common questions I’ve received by e-mail over the last two weeks. Insanity.
I’ll go comfort myself by watching a first season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation before I go to bed. Engage!
Posted from: 71.70.233.13
March 9th, 2006 18:59
I agree…RJ…you know Duke is going to beat UNC in the finals…if they [UNC] get there.
Posted from: 70.241.121.65
March 9th, 2006 19:02
I cam calling my own victory.
Posted from: 71.70.233.13
March 9th, 2006 19:11
FINAL SCORES
WVU def. Pitt.
Marland def. Georgia Tech
Syracuse def. Conneticut
Temple def. George Washington
Miami def. Clemson
Penn. State def. Northwestern
Toledo def. Illinois
Texas Tech def. Kansas State
Georgetown def Marquette
Minnesota def. Michigan State
Colaorado def. Baylor
UNLV def. New Mexico
Michigan Stae def. Purdue
Xavier def. Charlotte
UVA def. VTech
OK State def Iowa State
Vanderbilt def Auburn
Posted from: 24.174.68.106
March 9th, 2006 19:45
Texas is going to win it all!
Posted from: 72.177.243.190
March 9th, 2006 19:50
stupid g.w.
Posted from: 71.70.233.13
March 9th, 2006 20:00
Texas Tech?
Posted from: 67.180.72.222
March 9th, 2006 20:19
NC is the Dark Horse to win it all. I was thinking UConn up until they lost to… SYRACUSE?? Ever team is vulnerable and there’s no clear cut finalists like last year’s tar heels and illini. Although I had Wake in the final four last year last year was super predictable. With particularly strong 1 and 2 seeds and even lower seeds that are strong, coupled with vulnerable upper seeds, this year proves to be amazing
Posted from: 207.172.150.102
March 9th, 2006 21:02
Maryland needs to beat BC tomorrow and get in. I bet this girl $5 at 10:1 odds before the season began that the Terps would make the tourney. It was looking like I made 5 easy bucks until Chris McCray got himself ineligible. Now it looks like I may end up down $50.
Posted from: 71.213.142.223
March 9th, 2006 21:26
I love some of the comments on this page, but I’m even more excited for Dickie V’s during the tournament! I’m DETERMINED to marry J.J., I don’t care if he gets screwed and doesn’t get player of the year. I’m so excited for the tournament! I can’t wait to watch Duke massacre UNC in finals. I vote we should all be cameron crazies!
Posted from: 24.130.67.87
March 9th, 2006 22:06
dear neil conrad:
zags out in the first round.
love, bietz
Posted from: 129.81.127.19
March 9th, 2006 22:17
Dear Mike Bietz:
There are no Asians in the tournament.
Love, Neil
P.S. They are overrated in the polls, but this team is primed to make a run.
Posted from: 69.153.65.89
March 9th, 2006 22:21
i second neil… its all about the dirty mustache and adam morrison.
I put Gonzaga in elite 8 or even final 4.
JBEX
Posted from: 69.148.84.239
March 10th, 2006 01:16
Go Quakers. Penn is so hot right now. If not Penn, go Duke!
Posted from: 24.211.171.197
March 10th, 2006 04:51
David,
Here’s hoping Penn and Duke play in the first round. At which point, GO QUAKERS!
Posted from: 68.237.193.56
March 10th, 2006 08:06
(1) WVU didn’t beat Pitt; Pitt made a nice comeback.
(2) I think an appropriate punishment for GW losing would be to not put them in the tournament. That way the A-10 wouldn’t be able to steal 2 bids. I don’t care if you have 26 wins when NONE of them is against a team that will get an at-large into the NCAA. Only one win of theirs was against a bubble team — and a marginal bubble team at best — in Maryland. They’re RPI, which is slated to go down a bit during the rest of the week, is an unimpressive 32. Their strength of schedule is 236!! If their RPI drops to 40, that’s a number that frequently doesn’t get at-larges in, especially considering their horrible resume. Yet somehow, they’re going to be a 5 or 6 seed. No way they win their opening game against one of the underrated Missouri Valley teams, or a last-to-get-in Big East team.
(3) I’m sick of hearing every day that teams from big conferences have it easier than teams from “mid-majors.” The Big East won’t have enough teams in. Take Louisville, who I think should at least get bubble consideration. Fine, they were 6-10 in their conference, but they only had 2 losses all year to teams that are not going to tbe in the tournament, and both were on the road to teams with good Big East home records. When nearly every game you play during the season is a potential tournament game, you’re going to have a lot of losses. When you play Villanova and UConn twice each, it shouldn’t count against you; because the ranking system assumes you’ll be losing to the top seed and still retaining your relative rank to everyone else. Meanwhile, a team like Hofstra, which is squarely on the bubble, had 6 losses against non-at-large bid teams, and their schedule featured 0 teams that will make the tournament besides whoever wins their conference. Michigan have 5 losses to non-at large teams, and are supposed to be in. Their “impressive” wins, against Michigan State (who have been losing to everyone lately) and Illinois at home, aren’t much more impressive than Louisville’s victories against strong NCAA teams like Marquette and Cincinatti. The Big East should get at least 10 bids.
Posted from: 24.20.200.89
March 10th, 2006 08:13
+1 to that last post.
I’ve been saying UCLA is going to the final four for a while now. I just want to get that in writing. Illinois, too.
Posted from: 207.172.150.102
March 10th, 2006 08:29
1. +1 to Pete.
2. I think Michigan State could make a run this year. Granted, MSU is one of those teams (like Arizona last year) that I pick to go really far when they’re getting little hype, but I think Davis and Ager are one of the 5 best duos in college basketball.
3. I’m wary of Gonzaga. I feel like they did well when no one expected them to do anything, but they struggle when they have high expectations.
4. Unless you live in Durham, go to Duke, or have parents who went to Duke, you have no excuse to be a Duke fan. Duke is the Notre Dame of college basketball- no one went there, people who live in the area like other teams, but they get a bunch of bandwagon fans who know next to nothing about college basketball. If you live in North Carolina, be a Carolina fan, a Wake fan, or even an NC State fan. If you want to jump on a successful program’s bandwagon, hop on UConn’s. I would wager that Duke basketball fans are also Yankees fans (despite living nowhere near NY) and Cowboys football fans (acquired when Dallas won Super Bowls).
Posted from: 69.226.178.110
March 10th, 2006 08:47
The Ivy League may be weird for not having a tournament, but that doens’t make it bad.
I think conference tournaments are weird. First, many of them are made just for TV. Second, and more importantly, they denigrate the regular season. Teams play 12+ games and play each other twice during the regular season. If that doesn’t suffice to determine a conference champion, then we should just get rid of the regular season entirely and have nothing but tournament play. Also, they’re competitively pointless: teams in the top 4 of their conference are going to get NCAA bids, and the teams at the bottom are going to lose anyway; they’re a waste of time for everyone but the 5 or 6 seeds.
Disclosure: I went to the Pac-10 tournament yesterday and thoroughly, but I still don’t think it was a competitively important event.
Posted from: 69.226.178.110
March 10th, 2006 08:48
That last line should read “thorougly enjoyed it…”
Posted from: 24.20.200.89
March 10th, 2006 11:42
Nervous the Ducks are gonna do it? That would be so tight.
Posted from: 169.232.95.176
March 10th, 2006 12:38
SrD,
Finally someone appreciates UCLA’s talent this year. Dick Vitale and the biased east coast media have ignored the pac 10 for too long. Arizona won the national championship being fifth in the pac 10! While im not saying that the pac 10 is a strong conference, i think ucla has a good shot to get to at least the sweet sixteen or the elite eight if not the final four. I would say UCLA is a good bet for a few reasons:
We have one of the deepest teams in the country because injuries have given backups more playing time r. Also, our center Ryan Hollins is stepping up when everyone said UCLA didnt have big men and lorenzo mata, aboya, ryan wright, and michael fey are all very capable of filling that position.Our guards are really stroking it from the outside and we are currently playing amazing defense. If you want scoreboard, we beat a very good michigan team at michigan and a ranked nevada team. moreover, our close losses to memphis and west virginia, both of whom are having great years(Save the uab game haha), are nothing to cry about.
Suffice to say, if you’re looking for a dark horse, pick ucla.
Posted from: 205.173.47.254
March 10th, 2006 13:20
praise to shyaam
Posted from: 207.172.150.102
March 10th, 2006 13:23
I dunno about UCLA… the only Pac-10 team that consistently scarse me is Arizona (I thought they’d win it all last year). I also think the teams Shyaam mentioned UCLA as beating are pretty overrated- Michigan isn’t necessarily a lock to make the tourney, WVU has a VERY mediocre record for a supposed “top” team (20-10). I think UCLA is solid, but I would be surprised if they made it past the Sweet 16 (although I don’t necessarily think they’ll lose before then). I also think Duke will bow out early- they’ve been exposed recently. I think they’ll lose in the Sweet 16.
Posted from: 207.172.150.102
March 10th, 2006 13:25
To add to Shyaam’s point about the east coast media- I think it’s mostly just Duke Vitale. I don’t know anyone who enjoys listening to him- he’s loud, he’s annoying, and he knows next to nothing about college basketball. Every time you listen to him, the ONLY thing he does is ride Duke’s jock, even if Duke isn’t playing in the game. He should retire.
Posted from: 65.29.33.228
March 10th, 2006 13:47
Dickie V has become a parody of himself. *Sigh*. Lauren, I’ll battle you for J.J’s heart. Shoots threes like a god. I would heart Adam Morrison, the man is talented, but good LORD he’s ugly.
For Alex, no reason to hate on Duke.They don’t buy the game like the Yankees, and Coach K is a class act. Hard not to love ‘em.
Posted from: 207.172.150.102
March 10th, 2006 14:01
Eh, there are plenty of reasons to hate them (granted, not all are their fault, but-)
1. The media, especially Dukie V., rides their jock every time they play.
2. Referees give them preferential treatment, so much so that even the few smart media guys like Billy Packer realize it.
3. The Cameron Crazies are the most annoying fans of all time.
4. Coach K doesn’t prepare kids for the NBA- for a program that goes to the final four every other year, they have a ridiculous number of busts (Laettner, Hurley, Will Avery, Langdon, Jason Williams, Battier (he was #4 overall pick), Roshown McLeod, Shavlik Randolph, Chris Burgess, etc.) compared to successes (Elton Brand, Grant Hill?). Even kids like Corey Maggette only got good after they left Duke.
5. The media acts like they’re the gold standard of morality and good behavior- anyone remember Myron Piggie? And there are a bunch more.
Posted from: 24.151.69.225
March 10th, 2006 14:17
GO UCONN. Number 1 seed baby!
Posted from: 69.148.84.239
March 10th, 2006 14:58
Alex said, “Unless you live in Durham, go to Duke, or have parents who went to Duke, you have no excuse to be a Duke fan. Duke is the Notre Dame of college basketball- no one went there, people who live in the area like other teams, but they get a bunch of bandwagon fans who know next to nothing about college basketball. If you live in North Carolina, be a Carolina fan, a Wake fan, or even an NC State fan. If you want to jump on a successful program’s bandwagon, hop on UConn’s. I would wager that Duke basketball fans are also Yankees fans (despite living nowhere near NY) and Cowboys football fans (acquired when Dallas won Super Bowls).”
Duke prolly has bandwagon fans, but I seem to defy almost all your scenarios. My mom went to Duke Law. I don’t claim to know a ton about college basketball (except Penn and some Duke). I don’t care about baseball. Finally, I am from Dallas and don’t care about football (prolly spurred by fear of being attacked from Eagles fans in Philly). Go Blue Devils/Quakers!
If people want to hop on the bandwagon, we’ve got plenty of room on our way to another championship.
RJ, touche. However, I’ll let the tournament speak for my team this year.
Congrats to Ibrahim on Ivy League player of the year.
Posted from: 71.160.56.34
March 10th, 2006 15:04
i am a postmodern sports fan. constraints such as “where you are from” are ridiculous. i root for people i like for the moment and feel no obligation to root for bad teams. athletic jingoism is so twentieth century. in the modern-age it is just as easy to follow a team on the other side of the world as it is to follow the one that plays in the same town.
Posted from: 68.175.99.147
March 10th, 2006 16:09
The jockiness of this discussion is repulsive.
May the Force be with you,
~ Jon
Posted from: 128.12.119.224
March 10th, 2006 16:12
A girl from my high school (who goes to Duke) dated J.J. Redick.
Since Stanford’s out, I guess I’m going back to my roots and cheering for Illinois.
Posted from: 71.70.233.13
March 10th, 2006 16:31
I am a Duke fan from NC, Chapel Hill actually, and am not a Yankee fan…I like the Braves but i dont really follow baseball. I dont know awhat bandwagin you are talking about because mors people in Durham and at least a fourth or my school, maybe a fifth, are Duke fans and we live 5 miles from UNC.
Posted from: 65.29.33.228
March 10th, 2006 16:36
Don’t blame Duke for the love the media gives them. It’s not their fault that they’re popular. Also not their fault that the calls go their way…do people hate Indy and Peyton after the disastrous calls in the Steelers-Colts game?
Coach K’s job isn’t to get people ready for the NBA. College basketball isn’t just a stepping stone for the big leagues. He gets paid to win games, and he does that pretty darned well.
And I love the Cameron Crazies. They’ve got soul. I know I couldn’t jump an entire game…
Posted from: 67.180.72.222
March 10th, 2006 17:44
Regardless of the love the Blue Devils get from the media, year after year they are the MOST hated team in the NCAA, simply because no one can stand the image of their team. I think they need to get more love this year, however, because of the scrapper and workhorse that is Shelden Williams. For the Zags, I see them dropping in the sweet sixteen, pending their seeding. If the manage to nab a number two they’re in the elite 8 but I don’t think they can beat any one of this year’s five elite teams, all vying for number one seeds.
Posted from: 207.172.150.102
March 10th, 2006 20:24
1. I already said some of the things aren’t their fault. And, while the AFC Championship Game calls were terrible, it happens on a game-by-game basis in college football, but seemingly in every single Duke game.
2. I think K does have a responsibility to his kids to get them ready for a professional career. Like it or not, college basketball is big business. Not a single one of Duke’s basketball players would be attending the school were it not for their ability to play basketball, and the same holds true for just about all major basketball programs accross the country. Because of that, the coaches have a responsibility to give them a basketball education in the same way that professors have a responsibility to give them an academic education. K’s failed to do that.
3. Another reason to hate Duke is that it seems like every single Blue Devil is unusually ugly. I mean, college basketball has its occasional ugly player, but it seems like a HUGELY disproportionate number go to Duke. Redick has backne, Sheldon Williams looks like a caveman, and Lee Melchionni is a disaster. And it’s not just this team- Chris Duhon had elephant ears, Carlos Boozer’s chest hair popped out of his jersey, and Shane Battier looked like his head got run over by a lawn mower. Oh, and Nick Horvath may be the ugliest man alive.
Posted from: 71.213.142.223
March 10th, 2006 23:12
Daniel, I’m jealous of your friend…
Alex, I think the only reason why people hate duke is because they are soo good
Liz, here here. I agree, I wish I could jump for that long too!!! + cameron crazies = hot.
Posted from: 68.221.207.167
March 11th, 2006 09:21
on the subject of ugly, good god kevin pittsnogle shave that…thing. please. regardless, since its a lot easier to demoralize an ugly opponent, expect a disappointing early loss for west virginia.
and on the subject of “pitts,” expect my panthers to make a solid run, especially if they dont fall below a 3-seed.
ps: why is it mike krzyzewski’s (yay polish) responsibility to prepare kids for the nba just because thats what they want if his job is to run a college program? its not like i could go into a class on western civ and demand to learn eastern civ instead because thats what i want to do with my life.
Posted from: 207.172.150.102
March 11th, 2006 09:40
Nah, I don’t dislike Duke because they’re good. Most of the reason is the referees and media hype. As for Kryzewski preparing kids for college, the two aren’t mutually exclusive. You can win games and develop NBA players (see Jim Calhoun, Jim Boeheim, etc). The western civ argument is a bad analogy- if you major in pre-law, your goal is to come out of college prepared to get a job in a legal field, not to do really well on the LSAT so that the school looks good. Similarly, Coach K’s kids are effectively majoring in basketball. Sean Dockery reportedly didn’t know how to read when he came to Duke. There’s zero chance he would have gone there were it not for his basketball skills. That means that Kryzewski’s job is to develop Dockery’s skills so that he can get into the NBA. Of course, given that he hasn’t gotten any better since his freshman year, the odds of that are minimal at this point, but I guess that’s OK because Duke will finish the regular season ranked in the top 5.
Posted from: 65.29.33.228
March 11th, 2006 09:44
Watch JJ’s performance against Texas this season and tell me he’s ugly. The man could have a large hump in his back and scars all over his face and he would still be beautiful.
Posted from: 24.195.0.108
March 12th, 2006 09:14
i signed up and im gonna win
Posted from: 207.172.150.102
March 12th, 2006 15:47
Someone needs to get rid of the selection committee. Right now. What idiots. No Cincinnati? No Michigan? The Missouri Valley Conference getting as many bids as the ACC? AIR FORCE? How many games do you think Wichita State would win in the ACC? They’d be lucky to EVER get out of the cellar. What a joke…
Posted from: 71.70.233.13
March 12th, 2006 17:17
On a better note, Duke is the ACC Champion