The Official March Madness 2007 Thread

[Leonidas]

The entire cast of ESPN Gameday were doing Gator chomps as they unanimously proclaimed Florida will win. Suddenly this Ohio State fan feels much better about his team's chances.

[adubroff]

Does that Roy Williams commercial bug anybody else? If you think about it, he's describing how advertising and peer pressure helped Coca Cola prevent his mother from saving money.....

[Easy Mac]

He's no Coach K

[adubroff]

He's no Coach K


Coach K's mom would have charged the Coke on her AMEX. I can live with that, at least she's not going broke.

[14ers]

How is the hometeam decided in the championship game when 2 #1s are playing?

[henry296]

How is the hometeam decided in the championship game when 2 #1s are playing?

The #1s are ranked. Florida was the #1 overall seed.

[Noop]

Well the refs are leaning in one direction.

[BrianD]

Well the refs are leaning in one direction.

Which?

[Leonidas]

I wish I knew what was up with OSU's guards. They can win this game if their guards get going. Oden is doing great and Florida's inside guys aren't doing crap. Florida is practically inviting OSU guards to dribble-penetrate down the left hand side and they aren't doing it. Maybe getting the second foul has taken Conley out of his game. If he can get his rhythm back they can do this. I also look for the regulator to be taken off Oden. Look for him to be uninhibited on defense in the second half.

[Noop]

Which?

To the Gators.

[BrianD]

To the Gators.

I honestly would have been surprised with either answer you could give to that question. With as touchy as the refs have been, I'm surprised they didn't call a foul on Oden with his two handed block that knocked over the shooter.

[adubroff]

I honestly would have been surprised with either answer you could give to that question. With as touchy as the refs have been, I'm surprised they didn't call a foul on Oden with his two handed block that knocked over the shooter.

I don't have a rooting interest one way or another but to me it's been pretty straight up. The fouls are 8-7, not that that always tells tale.....

[BrianD]

I don't have a rooting interest one way or another but to me it's been pretty straight up. The fouls are 8-7, not that that always tells tale.....

Yes, it says that both teams are playing with similar levels of aggressiveness. Equal foul numbers are only a good thing if teams are equally aggressive...which they do seem to be in this game.

[HerRealName]

I don't have a problem with the refs at all. Florida's received some calls but Oden received the benefit of the doubt an equal number of times.

Florida just needs to miss an f'n three point shot sometime tonight.

[Solecismic]

Strange timing, announcing a new coach while all eyes are focused on your biggest rival.

Anyway, Michigan has apparently hired away West Virginia coach John Beilein.

Beilein doesn't have ties to the Midwest, so I'm a little puzzled. A big part of this job is getting into the Detroit area schools and being able to recruit. That means knowing the high school coaches personally.

I am glad they didn't just go for the guy with the best record. I'm sure he'll take a few shots in the local media for being the coach of the latest NIT winner.

Florida is one hell of a team. OSU isn't playing a bad game, and this doesn't seem close so far.

[kingfc22]

OSU has no chance if they don't start hitting from 3.

[kingfc22]

This one is getting ugly for OSU.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Strange timing, announcing a new coach while all eyes are focused on your biggest rival. Anyway, Michigan has apparently hired away West Virginia coach John Beilein.

And while not the rivalry thing, Iowa has hired the coach from Butler.

[JonInMiddleGA]

OSU has no chance if they don't start hitting from 3.

Or defending the 3.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Heh. Talking about Oden's birth certificate being worn & wrinkled from having to be produced so many times, I kinda thought that described Oden's look too ;)

[Logan]

Heh. Talking about Oden's birth certificate being worn & wrinkled from having to be produced so many times, I kinda thought that described Oden's look too ;)

Ouch.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Ouch.

Sorry, but truth is truth. Oden looks like he played just after Bill Russell & just before Patrick Ewing, Sr.

[Logan]

Sorry, but truth is truth. Oden looks like he played just after Bill Russell & just before Patrick Ewing, Sr.

He really needs a razor.

[MizzouRah]

Green is money!

[Logan]

This game is D-U-N.

[MizzouRah]

Florida has the sweep...

I have to give it to them, Ohio St. is beat, and Florida looks un-phased.

[HerRealName]

Florida is clearly the best team in the nation and deserved this victory. This is a great team that can beat you with all 5 starters inside or outside. Experence and depth won out.

And one more thing, fuck these fucking refs. It's all a conspiracy. I can't think of anything to complain about specifically but it is all their fault anyway.

[BrianD]

If anything, I think the calls have slightly favored OSU. There were a number of times that Oden could have been called for a foul but wasn't.

I wonder if OSU knows how to play with Oden all game long.

[kingfc22]

Back-to-Back.

Congrats to Florida on a great accomplishment.

[MizzouRah]

Credit where credit is due. Donovan to Kentucky now? :P

[kingfc22]

Why not Humphrey for MOP? The kid has been deadly from behind the arc.

[Logan]

Would it kill Oden to stop hanging/pulling himself up on the rim when he dunks?

Especially when he's down by 12 with 10 seconds left?

[Lathum]

What a team of pro's

[Lathum]

Nice shot of Noah finding him mom in the stands

[kingfc22]

Would it kill Oden to stop hanging/pulling himself up on the rim when he dunks?

Especially when he's down by 12 with 10 seconds left?

Yea, I was thinking the same thing. Just dunk and get on with it.

[MrBug708]

Billy Donovan has more titles then Roy Williams, Lute Olson, Jim Boheim (spelling?), and Jim Calhoun.

Wow.

[Logan]

Yea, I was thinking the same thing. Just dunk and get on with it.

I don't think he's trying to be a dick when he does it...probably just habit, but I would think he would check his habits when his team is about to get knocked out.

[JeeberD]

Ho hum, just another national championship for UF...

[SFL Cat]

It's gotta hurt you OSU fans...0-2 against the Gators in national championships this year.

[Groundhog]

Humphrey should have been man of the match. He tore the heart out of Ohio State.

[Groundhog]

dola

much like last year's game, too.

[BrianD]

I think I could have done without hearing from Noah in the post-game interview. He may be a good ballplayer, but he really sounded like an idiot there.

[Groundhog]

As well as Oden played, he should've seen more ball in the 2nd half. Florida weren't doubling him, so Ohio State should've kept feeding him until Florida were forced to double him, and that would have opened things up for every other Ohio State player.

As far as the next level for these players, Oden showed he's got the goods, Hortford as welll. Brewer I'd consider a late lottery gamble. As for Joakim, I can't even imagine what position would this guy even play at the next level. Invisible game for him, but at least he made his FTs. Humphrey is every bit the shooter that Reddick is, but unlike Reddick he can't do anything else.

[HerRealName]

It's gotta hurt you OSU fans...0-2 against the Gators in national championships this year.

Nope, finishing number two in the two major sports feels more like a pretty impressive accomplishment. Florida just did it one better. Or is it two better? Ohio State will be back in both sports.

[Young Drachma]

Go Rutgers tomorrow!

[Butter]

I've not been more proud of Ohio State basketball in my lifetime. Oden and Conley represented the university with class and played hard. Oden was the best player on the floor without question, and really came to play. Too bad none of the guards really felt like they needed to hit any shots or defend. Hit even a couple more 3's, and that was a ballgame OSU could've won.

Making the final of both major college sports is quite an accomplishment despite the final outcome. It will look more impressive with time, as the sting of losing to the same team in both fades.

Florida just wasn't going to lose that game. That's how it felt to me, anyway. I hope Donovan leaves and the players all go pro. That might give OSU a shot next year anyway, especially if Conley stays.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I am like the Florida of my Office Pool: Back-to-back Champions.

I also won the other pool I was in.

Not bad for a fella who probably watched less than 1 minute of college basketball this year.

In the future, if any of you need any advice re: college basketball, you know where to find me.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Bear with me on this one. I don't follow the Big Ten at all (even though I'm surrounded by Penn State fans), so I didn't realize how impressive Oden is. I only watched Ohio State when they played Memphis, and Oden only played 24 minutes because of foul trouble. He was great on the glass, but with Memphis' Joey Dorsey having a horrible game, I wasn't surprised by Oden's dominance.

Anyway, my point is that I hadn't seen much of Oden until last night. So perhaps I'm the last guy in the country who's finally sold on him, but I was impressed. Billy Packer wouldn't shut up about how tired Oden and the Buckeyes were, but he was right. Those kids were gassed at times, yet Oden never stopped hustling. He's quite a talent, and if he and Conley return to OSU next year, they've got to be the favorites to win the title.

As for Florida, it's amazing that the same starting five won the championship two years in a row. It's even more amazing that all five could be gone next year. Humphrey's graduating, and the others are all juniors who will obviously get attention from NBA teams. I don't know if all four juniors will leave, but it could happen. How competitive will the Gators be next year if they lose the whole starting lineup?

[MrBug708]

I think I could have done without hearing from Noah in the post-game interview. He may be a good ballplayer, but he really sounded like an idiot there.

He reminded me of Malibu's Most Wanted

[Groundhog]

Anyway, my point is that I hadn't seen much of Oden until last night. So perhaps I'm the last guy in the country who's finally sold on him, but I was impressed. Billy Packer wouldn't shut up about how tired Oden and the Buckeyes were, but he was right. Those kids were gassed at times, yet Oden never stopped hustling. He's quite a talent, and if he and Conley return to OSU next year, they've got to be the favorites to win the title.

I've seen him play about 10 games or so, but that was the first game that I've seen him be the focal point of the offense, and I still don't think they used him enough. It was an almost young-Shaq-like performance from him I thought. I found it amusing that the commentators were saying that Hortford held his own against Oden... NOBODY for Florida held their own against him. He missed a few shots, but as soon as he got it anywhere near the basket it was as good as a FGM.

It's taken my opinion of him well beyond "sold". This isn't just a guy who is good because of his size, this is a guy with a great mix of skills and athletic ability.


As for Florida, it's amazing that the same starting five won the championship two years in a row. It's even more amazing that all five could be gone next year. Humphrey's graduating, and the others are all juniors who will obviously get attention from NBA teams. I don't know if all four juniors will leave, but it could happen. How competitive will the Gators be next year if they lose the whole starting lineup?

It will be very interesting to see what happens to both Donovan and Florida next season.

[miami_fan]

Bear with me on this one. I don't follow the Big Ten at all (even though I'm surrounded by Penn State fans), so I didn't realize how impressive Oden is. I only watched Ohio State when they played Memphis, and Oden only played 24 minutes because of foul trouble. He was great on the glass, but with Memphis' Joey Dorsey having a horrible game, I wasn't surprised by Oden's dominance.

Anyway, my point is that I hadn't seen much of Oden until last night. So perhaps I'm the last guy in the country who's finally sold on him, but I was impressed. Billy Packer wouldn't shut up about how tired Oden and the Buckeyes were, but he was right. Those kids were gassed at times, yet Oden never stopped hustling. He's quite a talent, and if he and Conley return to OSU next year, they've got to be the favorites to win the title.

As for Florida, it's amazing that the same starting five won the championship two years in a row. It's even more amazing that all five could be gone next year. Humphrey's graduating, and the others are all juniors who will obviously get attention from NBA teams. I don't know if all four juniors will leave, but it could happen. How competitive will the Gators be next year if they lose the whole starting lineup?

Oden sold me last night. I was not really sure from the earlier games in the tournement. Of course you saw flashes throughout the season, but last night was the first time I saw him be dominant on both ends of the court to carry the Buckeyes.

[st.cronin]

The most impressive guy in the tournament was Conley, I thought. Would love to see him on the Celtics.

[miami_fan]

Press conference in 25 minutes for Arkansas hiring Dana Altman from Creighton.

The search begins again.

Dana Altman, introduced as Arkansas' new basketball coach on Monday, changed his mind less than 24 hours later and announced on Tuesday night that he is returning to Creighton, where he has coached the Bluejays the past 13 seasons.

The coach apologized to Razorbacks fans "with deep regret" and said returning to Creighton was in his family's best interest.

University Chancellor John A. White announced Altman's departure at a hastily scheduled news conference outside Bud Walton Arena.

"I knew it was a very difficult decision for them and their family," White said.

Altman has coached the Bluejays for 13 years and said he made the decision to return after talking to his wife and Creighton's athletic director Bruce Rasmussen, who agreed to take him back.

"This is something I'm doing for my family," Altman said. "I wish had would have come to that decision earlier."

Altman, who had a 260-141 record at Creighton, spent much of the day in his new office in Fayetteville, but talked with Arkansas athletics director Frank Broyles and met with White earlier in the day and expressed reservations about taking the job.

A plane owned by Creighton boosters was en route Tuesday to pick up Altman from Drake Field in Fayetteville on Tuesday night, ESPN.com has learned. Meantime, Broyles was expected to return from Augusta, Ga., where he was scheduled to attend the Masters (he is a member of Augusta National Golf Club). The Razorback Foundation's jet was scheduled to pick up Broyles later Tuesday night.

Altman was hired Sunday night by Broyles, who will have to renew an arduous search for a replacement for Stan Heath, who was fired last month after six seasons. Broyles, who has spent more than 50 years as the school's athletic director and football coach, will retire at the end of the year.

Altman was believed to be at least the Razorbacks' sixth target. Arkansas officials reportedly offered the job to Texas A&M's Billy Gillespie, Kansas' Bill Self, Southern California's Tim Floyd, Memphis' John Calipari and Marquette's Tom Crean, who each turned the job down.

At Monday's press conference, Altman hinted at the difficulty of his decision, saying, "You don't stay in a place 13 years, and in 72 hours change your feelings about a special place and a special group of players that I had. So today, although I'm very excited, has also been very tough."

[MJ4H]

Seriously, more of this kind of crap and I may be done with all sports forever. This just pisses me off.

[RedKingGold]

Seriously, more of this kind of crap and I may be done with all sports forever. This just pisses me off.

*points and laughs*

[MJ4H]

death is a dish best served now

[miami_fan]

Finally a coach realizes it is okay to be at a smaller school and be happy then to go to a bigger school and be unhappy.

[MJ4H]

My guess is this wasn't Altman's decision.

[cartman]

My guess is this wasn't Altman's decision.

You mean the Mustain crew ran off another coach?

:D

[Young Drachma]

It was all about Candace Parker tonight. Wouldn't have mattered who played them tonight. Though I'm tired of schools that wear Orange winning titles.

[miami_fan]

My guess is this wasn't Altman's decision.

Unless you are talking about the decision being his wife's and not his, I am not sure what you mean.

[Logan]

It was all about Candace Parker tonight. Wouldn't have mattered who played them tonight. Though I'm tired of schools that wear Orange winning titles.

That was a hard game to watch. Impossible to win when you can't get a defensive rebound.

[JonInMiddleGA]

It was all about Candace Parker tonight.

I suppose it would be too easy a pun if I said "Hold on, don't sell Shannon Bobbitt short" :D

Anosike was a monster with 16 boards, and Auguste's 10 points in the first half felt awfully important to me.

7 titles for Pat, just 3 more to to tie Wooden.

[JonInMiddleGA]

And most happily, Candace just told Trey Wingo that she will "definitely" be back next season.

[Groundhog]

Hang on a second... The WOMEN have their own NCAA tournament too?!

:D

[sabotai]

Hang on a second... The WOMEN have their own NCAA tournament too?!

It's a strange world we live in these days.

[Leonidas]

I'm an Ohio State guy who is not too disheartened by the loss. Hard to be upset to lose to a team as good as Florida. They clearly are the best team, no gripes or complaints. In fact, OSU fans should hold their heads high that such a young team could have gone so far and played as respectably in the title against a great team like that as they did.

And I'l throw this out to the peanut gallery. With or without Oden OSU should be the favorites to win next year. The recruiting class they have coming in may be every bit as good as the class they had last season. They have 7'2" Koufos coming in who shoots threes, a bruiser 6'9" center, and Ohio's all-time high school scoring leader who hasn't met the three point shot he can't hit. If Oden stays they might be talking about doing the '76 Indiana thing.

And for dessert, the 08 class already committed might be better than either class.

[hoopsguy]

Leonidas, do you feel the same way if Conley followed Oden out the door? I agree that the future looks very bright, but I can't see them being Top 5 next year without Oden and Conley.

[Leonidas]

Leonidas, do you feel the same way if Conley followed Oden out the door? I agree that the future looks very bright, but I can't see them being Top 5 next year without Oden and Conley.Conley's gotta stay, no doubt. But he's said all along he's going nowhere. And like Florida's Green and Noah his dad was a world class athlete who made a good living at it. Conley doesn't need to come out like some guys do for their family, so I think he'll stay at least another year. Besides, to be a truly great PG he needs to work on the 3, and he knows that. Watch for Conley to really bloom with his outside shot next year.

[Groundhog]

Conley's gotta stay, no doubt. But he's said all along he's going nowhere. And like Florida's Green and Noah his dad was a world class athlete who made a good living at it. Conley doesn't need to come out like some guys do for their family, so I think he'll stay at least another year. Besides, to be a truly great PG he needs to work on the 3, and he knows that. Watch for Conley to really bloom with his outside shot next year.

Conley is being talked about as being a top 14 pick. That might change his mind about staying in school.

[Young Drachma]

I suppose it would be too easy a pun if I said "Hold on, don't sell Shannon Bobbitt short" :D

Anosike was a monster with 16 boards, and Auguste's 10 points in the first half felt awfully important to me.

7 titles for Pat, just 3 more to to tie Wooden.

No doubt, she absolutely killed them on the boards and Shannon Bobbitt was feisty. I just meant that just having a player like Parker means the other players have to step up and they did just that. I think Rutgers was obviously young and CVS said as much when she talked about their deer in the headlights looks. I think just getting the final is huge for that Rutgers squad and it should help recruiting.

I hope Stringer doesn't leave for LSU as I've heard rumoured. She's done such a great job with that program in Jersey and it seems to me that it would be a pretty big blow to a program that she ushered to national prominence, far before we were talking anything about football at RU, just to go and leave at this stage of her coaching career. Though I suppose she deserves a title before she's all done, so I can't say I blame her if she goes. It would just be really nice to see her get a title in Jersey.

[JonInMiddleGA]

I hope Stringer doesn't leave for LSU as I've heard rumoured.

Did you happen to see her post-game press conference? Toward the end, there was a comment that struck both me & my wife a little strange. It wasn't what she said so much as how she said it, both word choice & tone of voice. Something about how if she couldn't get back to the Final Four next season, she certainly wouldn't be around there another 24 years.

[Young Drachma]

Did you happen to see her post-game press conference? Toward the end, there was a comment that struck both me & my wife a little strange. It wasn't what she said so much as how she said it, both word choice & tone of voice. Something about how if she couldn't get back to the Final Four next season, she certainly wouldn't be around there another 24 years.

You know I was on a call when that was happening and I was annoyed, because I too heard that last part where she said "I can assure it won't take another 25 years." and I was trying to rush the person off the phone so I could actually listen to what she was saying.

So I dunno if she was saying "no way I'm coaching another 25 years or no way that it'll take whatever team I'm with that long."

I think she was pretty confident her players were good, but yeah...it's hard to say what she meant from the little bit I saw. My understanding is that entire press conference was marked with all sorts of curt comments throughout. I'm intrigued to see what will happen. Though if she does leave, it's not as if whoever takes over won't be taking over a team that's not battle tested and experienced now. And maybe she's been there too long and they need something else. I dunno.

[JonInMiddleGA]

You know I was on a call when that was happening and I was annoyed, because I too heard that last part where she said "I can assure it won't take another 25 years." and I was trying to rush the person off the phone so I could actually listen to what she was saying.


The Internet is a wonderful thing. Here's the transcript from the post-game press conference.
http://www.ncaasports.com/basketball/womens/quotes/rut_press_post/2007

And here's the quote:
And Pat did a great job. They played well. As Candace said, it was nice for them to return. And I'll never know why. We just seemed to be a little just a little off. And yes, we would like to come back next year, but it's not that simple. So we know what it took to get here this time and I appreciate the team and the support that we have gotten and if we end up here, that's good. If we don't, wow, I won't be 25 more years, I'm going to tell you that, doing it.