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GO UCONN!!!!!
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I am leaving all the data for the tournament match ups and times and TV.
I will update with final scores and links when they happen.
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Join my Group!!
I have created a Tournament Challenge group for this blog.
It's called Doggy's Doghouse and the password is doggydaddy.
Just click on the link.
Two entries per person!!
Have at it! And good luck. I'll be reporting the results after each round.
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And to help you with your picks, here is Alexa's ESPN Preview.
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Time and TV
Bridgeport Region
Reynolds Coliseum
Raleigh, NC
No. 8 Washington State vs No. 9 Kansas State Saturday 11:30 AM ESPN2
No. 1 North Carolina State vs TBD Saturday 2:00 PM ESPN
Gampel Pavilion
Storrs, CT
No. 2 UConn vs No. 15 Mercer Saturday 1:00 PM ABC
No. 7 UCF vs No. 10 Florida Saturday 3:30 PM ESPNN
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
Bloomington, IN
No. 3 Indiana vs No. 14 Charlotte Saturday 1:30 PM ESPN2
No. 6 Kentucky vs No. 11 Princeton Saturday 4:00 PM ESPN
Lloyd Noble Center
Norman, OK
No. 5 Notre Dame vs No. 12 UMASS Saturday 7:30 PM ESPN2
No. 4 Oklahoma vs 13 IUPIU Saturday 10:00 PM ESPNU
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Spokane Region
Maples Pavilion
Stanford, CA
No. 8 Kansas vs No. 9 Georgia Tech Friday 7:30 PM ESPNU
No. 1 Stanford vs No. 16 Montana State Friday 10:00 PM ESPN2
Pete Maravich Assembly Center
Baton Rouge, LA
No. 6 Ohio State vs TBD Saturday 2:30 PM ESPNU
No. 3 LSU vs No. 14 Jackson State Saturday 5:00 PM ESPNU
Xfinity Center
College Park, MD
No. 5 Viriginia Tech vs No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast Friday 2:30 PM ESPNU
No. 4 Maryland vs No. 13 Delaware Friday 5:00 PM ESPNU
Frank Erwin Center
Austin, TX
No. 7 Utah vs No. 10 Arkansas Friday 5:30 PM ESPNN
No. 2 Texas vs No. 15 Fairfield Friday 8:00 PM ESPN2
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Greensboro Region
James H. Hilton Coliseum
Ames, IA
No. 6 Georgia vs TBD Friday 7:30 PM ESPNN
No. 3 Iowa State vs No. 14 UT Arlington Friday 10:00 PM ESPNU
McKale Center
Tucson, AZ
No. 5 North Carolina vs No. 12 Stephen F. Austin Saturday 7:30 PM ESPNN
No. 4 Arizona vs No. 13 UNLV Saturday10:00 PM ESPN2
Colonial Life Arena
Columbia, SC
No. 8 Miami vs No. 9 South Florida Friday 11:30 AM ESPN2
No. 1 South Carolina vs TBD Friday 2:00 PM ESPN
Carver Hawkeye Arena
Iowa City, IA
No. 7 Colorado vs No. 10 Creighton Friday 1:30 PM ESPNN
2 Iowa vs 15 Illinois State Friday 4:00 PM ESPN
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Wichita Region
Crisler Center
Ann Arbor, MI
No. 6 BYU vs No. 11 Villanova Saturday 1:00 PM ESPNN
No. 3 Michigan vs No. 14 American University Saturday 3:30 PM ESPN2
Thompson-Boling Arena
Knoxville, TN
No. 4 Tennessee vs 13 Bufalo Saturday 3:00 PM ABC
No. 5 Oregon vs 12 Belmont Saturday 5:30 PM ESPN2
Ferrell Center
Waco, TX
No. 7 Ole Miss vs 10 South Dakota Friday 1:30 PM ESPN2
No. 2 Baylor vs No. 15 Hawai'i Friday 4:00 PM ESPN2
KFC Yum Center
Louisville, KY
No. 8 Nebraska vs 9 Gonzaga Friday 3:30 PM ESPNN
No. 1 Louisville vs No. 16 Albany Friday 5:00 PM ESPNU
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Straight from the Dog
Great Geno Interview
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Well, this should be fun. I added my two entries into the Lady Vol Group. I'm sure those are the only ones that have UConn winning and Tennessee losing in the second round...lol.
GO OREGON!!!!!
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And another tournament preview. According to my friend Ken, the first 10-15 minutes are a waste but the rest if full of good info.
One more tournament preview
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Vopel wrote an article on the impact of centers in the NCAA Tournament. One coach said that centers could be the difference makers.
Of course she doesn't mention Olivia Nelson-Ododa.
I'll go with the coach (Geno) that says guards make the difference.
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FGCU
Doggy edit - Opprobrium means harsh criticism or censure. Yes, I had to look it up.
One of the more common assertions is that FGCU got stiffed. On the one hand they were ranked number 23 in the AP poll and 20 in the coaches poll, which would suggest a six seed or even a five, and while Crème didn’t slot them that high, he had them as an 8 seed. They ended up getting a 12 seed.
P5 bias? Perhaps, though not sure why this bias would infect the selection committee but not the pollsters.
It pains me to say this as an avowed FGCU fan, but I think the answer is they don’t really deserve a five or six or even an eight seed. Massey ranks them at number 51 which suggests a 12 seed is slightly generous. I hope they are better than that, and I'm pulling for an upset, but I don’t see this as the outrageous slap in the face that some fans claim.
However, my larger point is that this is not as bad as it sounds. To explain my point, one has to inquire about the goals of the team for the postseason. You can’t simply ask, they will say they want to order national championship, of course. Even if you get them to back off on that goal they will say something like win as many games as possible.
What if you told them there were two options?
In option one there’s a moderate chance of winning a single game and almost no chance of learning a second game.
In option two is a slightly lower chance of winning a single game but a much better chance of winning a second game.
That’s exactly what we have here.
Assuming you could magically drop FGCU into the eight seed, they would face Georgia Tech with a 31% chance of winning a single game. That would likely match them up with Stanford where there is less than one chance in 10 of winning the game and they have a combined probability of 3% of winning two games.
In contrast, they now face Virginia Tech. A somewhat lower chance of winning the first game, 26% instead of 31% but not much lower. If they win the game, they probably get to face Maryland, where they have a 23% chance of winning. That means the chances of winning two games are 6% or double their chances of winning two games as an eight seed.
Sometimes a cloud has a little silver lining.
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By David in Naples
One possible opponent for UConn might be UCF, our old foe from the AAC. The Huskies have never lost to UCF (13-0) but the games were always chippy and physical. Dare I say, "thuggish"... 
The UCF style of defense has always been a bit too physical and their offense frustratingly slow. However, this year's stats for UCF support that only one of those patterns is true. Consider:
1. Fouls - UCF has committed 383 fouls this year in 28 games. By contrast, UConn has been whistled for 407 fouls in 30 games. So, the per game average for UCF is 13.6 and only 4 players have reached disqualification. UConn's per game average is 13.5, so UCF is not the fouling machine they used to be...
2. Offense - UCF scored 1,699 points in their 28 games for an average of 60.7 per game. UConn scores 74.8 points per game. UCF runs the shot clock down and so far this year, they have taken 242 fewer shots than the Huskies. The 2 extra games don't cover such a huge difference. Add in that UCF only makes 41.2% of their attempts and you have a low scoring team that counts on defense to win.
3. Defense - UCF gives up only 47.5 points per game vs 54.2 for the Huskies. Opponents make only 33.3% of their shots and 30% of the three point attempts. That is stingy and slightly better than UConn on the shooting % (35.2%).
Slowing down the game and playing tight & smothering defense has UCF in the Big Dance with a 25-3 record. They must defeat Florida, and UConn must beat Mercer, for a rematch of these old AAC foes.
Go Huskies..!!
The UCF style of defense has always been a bit too physical and their offense frustratingly slow. However, this year's stats for UCF support that only one of those patterns is true. Consider:
1. Fouls - UCF has committed 383 fouls this year in 28 games. By contrast, UConn has been whistled for 407 fouls in 30 games. So, the per game average for UCF is 13.6 and only 4 players have reached disqualification. UConn's per game average is 13.5, so UCF is not the fouling machine they used to be...
2. Offense - UCF scored 1,699 points in their 28 games for an average of 60.7 per game. UConn scores 74.8 points per game. UCF runs the shot clock down and so far this year, they have taken 242 fewer shots than the Huskies. The 2 extra games don't cover such a huge difference. Add in that UCF only makes 41.2% of their attempts and you have a low scoring team that counts on defense to win.
3. Defense - UCF gives up only 47.5 points per game vs 54.2 for the Huskies. Opponents make only 33.3% of their shots and 30% of the three point attempts. That is stingy and slightly better than UConn on the shooting % (35.2%).
Slowing down the game and playing tight & smothering defense has UCF in the Big Dance with a 25-3 record. They must defeat Florida, and UConn must beat Mercer, for a rematch of these old AAC foes.
Go Huskies..!!
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UCONN LINKS
Several links are pay sites. Sorry!
Staley and Geno share Philly roots and quest another title Play Pennsylvania
Mercer set to take on UConn in first round The Telegraph
How Bueckers feels ahead of the tournament CT Insider
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LOL LOL - as I read Phil's comment including "opprobrium" I started to laugh wondering how many folks would be scratching their heads over that one. Kudos to you DD!!
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