The official tournament time thread

[Ksyrup]

Best thing they could do, if getting it done by Sunday evening is necessary, is have UK/UGA play at 10-11am tomorrow, then push back the other games a little later tomorrow night.

[Lathum]

It's interesting, how will they pull this off without a team having to play 2 times in one day

[Lathum]

I see it was mantioned. I don't see how they could play on Monday. This could actualy help UK. Assuming they beat Georgia and have to play twice tomorrow I don't see how that second loss could be used against them.

[MalcPow]

Hoyas definitely playing with a bit of a "So we're lucky huh?" chip on their shoulders. Nice to see, but save some of that for the big dance boys. Would've rather played Marquette tomorrow simply for the quasi-home game crowd dynamic, but it'll be cool to have the typical MSG "where amazing (douchebaggery) happens" from both sides against Pitt.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Best thing they could do, if getting it done by Sunday evening is necessary, is have UK/UGA play at 10-11am tomorrow, then push back the other games a little later tomorrow night.

This makes the most sense to me.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Best thing they could do, if getting it done by Sunday evening is necessary, is have UK/UGA play at 10-11am tomorrow, then push back the other games a little later tomorrow night.

Pushing them back much probably isn't going to be an option other than a last resort because of the impact on the tv affiliates.

As they said on Raycom, there's greater flexibility because the semis are on a regional instead of national network but with a 1p start scheduled, that makes the second game somewhere around 330, ending at 6ish. Going to be tough to get more than an extra hour, two at the most, I have to think because stations aren't going to want the game spilling into prime time.

[DaddyTorgo]

i don't have a horse in this race, but i think the only FAIR thing to do is make both teams play 2x in one day. otherwise you have a gassed team versus a fresher team and that's just crap

[JonInMiddleGA]

Incidentally, in case anyone wondered, no it hasn't been lost on anybody in my house that both wife & son were just there a few hours earlier & but for the way the brackets fell this year could have been there in the middle of that mess tonight.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

i don't have a horse in this race, but i think the only FAIR thing to do is make both teams play 2x in one day. otherwise you have a gassed team versus a fresher team and that's just crap

No way to make it work that way, since we're down to 5 teams (3 semifinalists & 2 quarterfinalists).

Once Tennessee & Arkansas play tomorrow, the only team left for their winner to play is someone from the Kentucky/Georgia/Miss.State trio. Meaning that there's a 2/3 chance that for UT/Ark winner to play twice in one day you'd get a team playing three times in one day.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

No way to make it work that way, since we're down to 5 teams (3 semifinalists & 2 quarterfinalists).

Once Tennessee & Arkansas play tomorrow, the only team left for their winner to play is someone from the Kentucky/Georgia/Miss.State trio. Meaning that there's a 2/3 chance that for UT/Ark winner to play twice in one day you'd get a team playing three times in one day.

oh i didn't know that

i foresee one very pissed off team if someone has to play twice and loses, and a bunch of kicking and screaming

[Radii]

Too bad its not the big 10, with a pace so slow that you could play 2, maybe even 3 games in one day and it'd be like one game in most other conferences.

Anyway IMO UGA/Kentucky at 10am, change the semifinals to ~4 and 7. Surely the local Raycom affiliates would jump at the chance to get Kentucky on prime time TV on a Saturday night?

[LloydLungs]

I suppose that there could always be an option to have the committee announce the brackets with caveats, i.e. say Georgia upsets their way to the finals. Then maybe they announce, for instance, VCU as the at-large 13th seed UNLESS Georgia springs an upset in the Monday makeup game in which case they claim that spot. I guess you could just announce it as, example, "#13 -- VCU/Georgia vs #4 whoever."

But otherwise, if Georgia loses, the other three teams are likely in the NCAA tournament anyway. They may just have to accept that the rest of the SEC tournament will not affect NCAA seeding and will basically have no meaning other than determining the SEC tournament title.

I think they ought to just make somebody play twice in a day -- these are kids, they can manage it. Granted it's a disadvantage, but what are you gonna do? Mother nature and all. It's a bad situation but it can't be helped.

[MrBug708]

Or actually make all games end on Saturday

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Radii

Anyway IMO UGA/Kentucky at 10am, change the semifinals to ~4 and 7. Surely the local Raycom affiliates would jump at the chance to get Kentucky on prime time TV on a Saturday night?

Very doubtful IMO, they have enough problems finding affiliates to clear the games at all in some markets.

Most affiliates connected to the any of the big four networks would be none too happy to have to bump primetime network programming (with higher ratings & ad rates) to clear basketball even if it was sold a premium for a Saturday afternoon. And that doesn't even get into the issue of how the networks feel about having their stuff bumped even if the local affiliate wanted to. And the FSN's have things so whacked that I doubt they'd managed to handle the sudden change on short notice even if Raycom were to agree to use them to cover the slack.

edit to add: Keep in mind, Raycom apparently couldn't even get the Atlanta affiliate (WUPA-69) to carry the tournament for the first two days, they opted to stick with their afternoon lineup of "judge shows" and syndicated sitcoms instead.

[LloydLungs]

I forgot about Arkansas in my little rant up there, but they're probably in too. Seems to me Georgia is the only complication -- otherwise you're just talking seeding.

[INDalltheway]

You guys all dog the Big 10, but your hatred made you miss two amazing games tonight. I'm glad I was there, and you all missed it!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by LloydLungs

otherwise you're just talking seeding.

Except that one of those seeds is a #1 if they win out.

[LloydLungs]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Except that one of those seeds is a #1 if they win out.

Yep, but what can you do? If they're not going to do the "two games in a day" plan, I'm thinking the committee can only seed with the knowledge they have through Sunday afternoon. Otherwise it just gets too complex.

The committee has already admitted that conference championship games played on mid Sunday afternoon do not affect seedings, due to their late start times. This would simply be an extension of that logic.

Will be interesting to see what they decide. I'm a bit surprised we haven't heard an announcement yet.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by LloydLungs

I'm a bit surprised we haven't heard an announcement yet.

I imagine it's because they (SEC officials/NCAA officials/network execs/AD's) don't know WTF to do any more than we do.

Not sure what's been shown around the country or on the net, but there was significant flooding inside the Dome tonight, as the sudden change in pressure apparently caused pipes to rupture. There's damage, still undetermined how much, at the Phillips Arena next door. Georgia Tech's roof had a leak problem from a much lighter rainfall just a couple of weeks ago & holds less than half the tickets sold already. The Gwinnett Arena up the road is booked already, as is Phillips on Sunday. And the logistics of moving the tournament to another city, even as close as Birmingham, don't work (and their building is booked too).

At this point, I'd say they're stuck waiting to figure out what building, if any, will be available for tomorrow. And if the answer is none, the only solution might just turn out to be to cancel the tournament & award the auto-bid to the regular season champion (yeah, I know that works in my favor, but what else could you do if there was no building that was ready, safe, and could get them finished by even Monday?)

edit to add: And here's the other thing that I have to figure has them scratching their heads & wringing their hands more than a little bit "Thunderstorms were expected to have passed out of the metro Atlanta area by 2 a.m., but even heavier weather was expected Saturday afternoon and evening.

The storms that hit Atlanta on Friday could be "nothing to compare with what's coming in tomorrow," Leary said."

[Radii]

Alexander Memorial? I'd think at this point you just give up all pretenses of TV and such and get the tournament completed.

[MrBug708]

Georgia Tech time

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Radii

Alexander Memorial? I'd think at this point you just give up all pretenses of TV and such and get the tournament completed.

As I mentioned though, there has to be concerns about both the roof there (fixed or not, y'never know) and the problem of having more than twice as many tickets sold as there are seats at Alexander. You start turning away 10,000 fans and turn them loose in the streets and it's probably going to be pretty contentious.

As for the TV, you're talking about a big chunk of change for everybody there, especially the conference & the networks. A lot easier for us to say "just give up" on it than it will be for any of them. In the modern era, conference tournaments exist largely for the dollars they generate, hard to just blow that off.

[Izulde]

As one of my grad school applications, I'm stoked about Arkansas upsetting Vandy to probably put the stamp on their Big Dance appearance.

[JonInMiddleGA]

And now some scattered looting is being reported around the city in areas that are blacked out.
Also, it really looks like a big time mess all around the Dome area for several blocks.

from ESPN.com
SEC spokesman Charles Bloom said league officials were still talking to athletics directors Damon Evans of Georgia and Mitch Barnhart of Kentucky to determine how to reschedule their game. Bloom said a decision wouldn't be made until early Saturday morning.

Television production crews began moving their equipment late Friday night from the stadium to the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta, where the game was presumed to be played Saturday at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

[JonInMiddleGA]

WSB-TV in Atlanta, per a conversation with Coach Felton, is reporting UGA-UK tips off at noon at Georgia Tech, other games to follow all at GT. Semis on Saturday, finals on Sunday.

Nothing official from the SEC yet (nor any word on what those tickets I paid for earlier today will actually be worth).

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by INDalltheway

You guys all dog the Big 10, but your hatred made you miss two amazing games tonight. I'm glad I was there, and you all missed it!

I was watching the Gopher v. Hoosier game at a bar on the Minnesota campus. It was packed and was great when it went from outrage over the call giving and 1 on the tip in to jubilation when the Gophers won it. My friend and I turned to each other and said, "Hoffarber" when they were getting ready to inbound, great to see he can still hit miracle shots. Also a great job by Damian Johnson D'ing up Gordon.

[INDalltheway]

Originally Posted by mckerney

I was watching the Gopher v. Hoosier game at a bar on the Minnesota campus. It was packed and was great when it went from outrage over the call giving and 1 on the tip in to jubilation when the Gophers won it. My friend and I turned to each other and said, "Hoffarber" when they were getting ready to inbound, great to see he can still hit miracle shots. Also a great job by Damian Johnson D'ing up Gordon.

It was great being there.. So many IU fans high fiving each other, then a moment later almost crying. It was fabulous. Almost made up for Purdue getting beat!

[Radii]

A Georgia athletics official told ESPN.com late Friday the remaining quarterfinal with Kentucky was tentatively set for noon on the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta, with the winner to play Mississippi State at 9 p.m. That game would follow a semifinal between Tennessee and Arkansas, set for 5 p.m-6 p.m.

Plus lots of other "SEC officials said" and "NCAA Officials said" info in here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3294382

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Radii

Plus lots of other "SEC officials said" and "NCAA Officials said" info in here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3294382

And still not a word about any of it on secsports.com (which is where local papers for the affected teams seem to have been told to route their readers for the latest info).

[Radii]

SEC Tournament money or not, they need this finished on time Sunday unless something happens tomorrow downtown that is reminiscant of Sherman burning the city down. 1 seeds at stake, travel plans to NCAA sites, Kentucky's fate in general, UGA's outside shot at an auto bid... someone is going to be unhappy no matter what but just getting the games in guarantees the least amount of bitching, and bitching from bubble teams and UGA instead of the only team in the conference with a real shot in the tournament, or, worst case, teams elsewhere being impacted b/c the SEC doesn't have their shit together.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And still not a word about any of it on secsports.com (which is where local papers for the affected teams seem to have been told to route their readers for the latest info).

Yea the reporting in that story is pretty funny. It basically says "UGA told us this ,but Kentucky doesn't seem to know shit. We have SEC people e-mailing us but don't really know what's up right now and NCAA reps are clearly putting pressure on the conference to find a way to play the games but promise to let Kentucky in as long as they beat Georgia no matter how tired/bad they are vs Miss State later"

[cartman]

Looks like the SEC tourney is going to get played out at Georgia Tech. Attendance is going to be limited to player's families, cheerleaders, bands, and credentialed individuals. There will be refunds for the rest, but haven't announced the details.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/champw...ory?id=3294679

[JonInMiddleGA]

Probably the only thing they could do once the decision was made to move to GT. This way there's 20k ticked off people, but about half of them won't come downtown today. If they had come up with a plan to admit half the ticket holders the ensuing disturbance would have made last night's storms look like a warm summer breeze.

Although it came up in some places a little bit last night, I like what one of UGA's young guards pointed out about the two-games-in-one-day situation, that it isn't unheard of for those that came through the AAU system.

[MrBug708]

The NCAA should just ban tournament games on Selection Sunday anyways and make all finals play on Saturday. Then when something really screwy happens, you can play it early Sunday morning

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by Izulde

As one of my grad school applications, I'm stoked about Arkansas upsetting Vandy to probably put the stamp on their Big Dance appearance.

atta boy

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Radii

Yea the reporting in that story is pretty funny. It basically says "UGA told us this ,but Kentucky doesn't seem to know shit. We have SEC people e-mailing us but don't really know what's up right now and NCAA reps are clearly putting pressure on the conference to find a way to play the games but promise to let Kentucky in as long as they beat Georgia no matter how tired/bad they are vs Miss State later"

this is exactly what I said earlier. I think this actualy helps UK.

[CU Tiger]

Damn, hate I misssed all this last night.
Was in Charlotte at the ACC tourney. Clemson won big but better play much better to have any shot this afternoon against Duke....

Either way i think its forgone that we'll be in the NCAA for the 1st time in 10 years.

[MrBug708]

Todd Bozeman might actually be int he tournament

[JonInMiddleGA]

Georgia leads Kentucky by 5 with 7 minutes to play.

Meanwhile ...
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/15600856/detail.html
New tornado warnings and watches were issued for most of north Georgia Saturday at almost the same time weather officials were confirming it was a twister that hit downtown Atlanta and other neighborhoods Friday night.

The tornado that left behind extensive damage packed winds up to 130 mph and was rated an EF-2 storm, said Lance Rothfusz, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service office in Peachtree City.

"This was clearly a tornado," he said. "The path was about six miles long and about 200 yards wide."

The funnel cloud first touched down at the intersection of "Simpson and Burbank and went right across the Georgia World Congress Center, right over CNN Center, (the) Omni, right over the Equitable Tower and from that point on went over I-85 and I-75 right at Edgewood and then to the Cotton Mill. The Cotton Mill sustained the F-2 damage, by far the strongest, but there was some near F-2 damage in the downtown Atlanta area," explained Rothfusz.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Overtime at the Thrillerdome, tied at 50.

[VPI97]

VT leads UNC 29-21 with seven minutes to go in the first half. We're killing them on the boards so far...my only concern is whether we can keep up this pace for the remainder of the game.

Malcolm Delaney (our true freshman point guard) is really making a name for himself in these tourney games...great start to this one.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Georgia up 54-52 with 1:37 left in OT, UK ball.

edit: Kentucky 56-54 with 8.8 seconds left, Georgia ball.

edit again: Freshman Zach Swansey hits a three with 1.2 left, Georgia leads 57-56, UK ball.

Georgia gets away with flattening the screener on the inbounds attempt, no call. Timeout Kentucky to try again and they throw away the long inbounds pass.

[VPI97]

VT and UNC tied 38-38 at the half. We were able to withstand a small Tarheel run at the end of the first. Confidence has got to be through the roof for the Hokies...

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Todd Bozeman might actually be int he tournament

Yeah, barring an upset by a team under .500 Coppin State team...he will be. Good for him.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Georgia wins it, heads to tonight vs Mississippi State.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by VPI97

VT and UNC tied 38-38 at the half. We were able to withstand a small Tarheel run at the end of the first. Confidence has got to be through the roof for the Hokies...

Va Tech is working their asses off in this game, very impressive so far.

[cartman]

Texas up by 7 at the half over Oklahoma, 36-29.

[VPI97]

VT leads 55-50 with just over 9:00 to play. A slower pace in the second half has been good for us.

[Radii]

As Va Tech continues to lead by more than one possession with less than 10 minutes to go I am getting very, very nervous. Ginyard is trying/having to do waaaay too much on the offensive end. They need to get Green and ellington some open looks, badly.

[Radii]

59-56 Va Tech with 3:45 to go. Carolina has wasted a number of chances to cut it to 1 or tie as Va Tech has gone a bit cold. The one positive is that UNC has pretty much taken over on the boards.