March Madness - Board Game Style

[ColtCrazy]

I haven't been very focused on my sports' replays lately for various reasons, so I decided to get back into it through a simple project. I recently picked up a copy of Avalon Hill's March Madness basketball. Released in 1989, it allows you to play either a quick tournament using dice and some simple modifiers, but the deeper game came when you used the team cards. Final Four teams up until 1989 (starting around 1964) were included in the game and a few select teams from the 50s and early 60s. I had played the hell out of my original copy and was thrilled to find a like new version. I was pleasantly surprised to see a small, but loyal following for the game that created teams all the way up to the 2013 Final Four.

From there, my idea came. Do a web search on greatest teams and you typically get a top 10 list including several UCLA teams and a smattering of teams from Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Duke. But what if there was a tournament where each school could only send one team? That's where this idea came from.

Using a combination of the card ratings, all-time stats, and teams that made magnificent runs in the tournament, I came up with a 64 team field. 64 different schools have sent there best teams to try to claim the title. If a team won the title, that team is usually included, but there are some exceptions (see UNLV). If a team hasn't won the title, I tried to look at the stats, their history, and find a team that had a spectacular season and made some sort of run in the tourney. I'm curious to see how this turns out. Some teams were moved from the geographic region for seeding or crowding purposes. Here are the regional seedings:

WEST REGION

1. UCLA 1968

2. San Francisco 1956

3. UNLV 1991

4. Houston 1983

5. Texas Western (UTEP) 1966

6. California 1959

7. Arizona 1997

8. Texas 2006

9. Utah 1998

10. Loyola Marymount 1990

11. New Mexico St. 1970

12. Stanford 1998

13. BYU 2011

14. Washington 2005

15. Gonzaga 2006

16. Oregon St. 1982

On the surface, it looks like the UCLA invitational. They are clearly the top overall seed, the best of the great Bruin teams. The region looks weak, it's the only region with 2 top four seeds that weren't champions. Still, it's not a cake walk for UCLA. UNLV is probably the best team not to win the tourney and their 1991 team was better than the 1990 team that won the title. Bill Russell's San Francisco Dons are a defensive force and the Miners 1966 championship team is well balanced. Still, it's the Bruins region to lose.

EAST REGION

1. Duke 2001

2. North Carolina 1993

3. Florida 2007

4. UConn 1999

5. LaSalle 1954

6. Syracuse 2003

7. Notre Dame 1978

8. Virginia 1981

9. Seton Hall 1989

10. St. Joseph's 2004

11. Princeton 1998

12. Villanova 1985

13. Navy 1986

14. St. John's 1985

15. Temple 1988

16. Penn 1979

The 2001 Duke team was a bit better than the other Duke champions. Picking a Tar Heel team to put across from them was harder. The 1982 team was star-studded, but had a surprisingly weak margin of victory. It ended up coming down to the 1993 and 2005 versions. Rated equally, I chose the 1993 team based off the better defense. A Tobacco Road showdown is not guaranteed though as this bracket is top heavy with tough teams. Both Florida and UConn bring teams that could easily represent the East in the final four. Some giant killers also lurk in this bracket as Princeton and Villanova could easily surprise.

MIDWEST REGION

1. Indiana 1976

2. Ohio St. 1960

3. Kansas 2008

4. Loyola-Chicago 1963

5. Cincinnati 1962

6. Michigan 1989

7. Michigan St. 1979

8. Marquette 1977

9. Oklahoma 1988

10. Indiana St. 1979

11. Dayton 1967
12. Illinois 1989

13. Purdue 1988

14. DePaul 1979

15. Iowa 1987

16. Wisconsin 2014

Indiana may have the last undefeated team in NCAA history and one of the best squads ever, but the Midwest bracket is the most competitive in terms of team ratings. It has the smallest range of the four regions (16). Any of the top 7 seeds have a legitimate chance of coming out of the Midwest. The Midwest also has the best 1st round matchup, as Magic and Bird square off in the 7-10 game.

SOUTHEAST REGION

1. Kentucky 1996

2. Louisville 2013

3. Arkansas 1994

4. Georgetown 1984

5. Memphis 2008

6. N. C. State 1974

7. Maryland 2002

8. Jacksonville 1970

9. Georgia Tech 1986

10. Butler 2010

11. Oklahoma St. 2004

12. Pitt 2009

13. Wichita St. 2014

14. LSU 1981

15. Missouri 2009

16. Xavier 1990

The Southeast region probably has the strongest set of top 6 seeds, though the talent level does drop from there. Kentucky's 1996 was the second highest rated team in the whole tournament, but Louisville's most recent champion is close behind. Calipari may square off against himself in the regionals as his 2008 Memphis squad was one of only three non-champions to make it in the top five seeds. Arkansas' 40 minutes of hell could make a surprise run here.

There you have it! First Round games will be coming up soon.

[sterlingice]

And... bookmarked

SI

[britrock88]

Love the concept. Only raised eyebrow is that many of the SE teams look like they'd fit in other geographic regions... though Florida was the only team seeded outside the SE that jumped out at me as a team that belonged there.

[ColtCrazy]

Florida got moved for balance purposes. They fit more as a 3 in the East than a 5 in the SE. Georgetown was moved to the SE to be the 4 there as a 3 in the East seemed high for their rating.

In the end, the SE had the fewest teams. There were a lot of marginal teams, but you really got a sense of how much the SE has been dominated by handful of teams.

Have 3 games done so far. Want to finish the current grouping and I'll get some results up tomorrow.

[chesapeake]

Surprising that the 2001 Duke team is rated higher than the 1992 team. It would be interesting to see how long Battier would last guarding Laettner. Battier would get the charge called, but Laettner would deliberately land with an elbow or a knee discretely placed into Shane's liver, and that would be the end of that. Shane's a tough guy, but Laettner takes it to another level. I also don't see Dunleavy being able to guard Grant Hill.

[ColtCrazy]

Yeah, I was figuring the 1992 Duke team would have been the best one. It was close. The 2001 team has a slightly better overall team defense, a slightly better margin of victory, and a slightly better scoring offense. The 1992 team, ratings wise, would have ended up as a 2 seed.....but probably would have given the tournament the ultimate villain. Still, the 2001 was the better "team" in terms of what they brought to the game.

[ColtCrazy]

First 4 games are done. I'm doing two games per bracket to jump around for variety sake.

WEST REGION

#1 UCLA 1968 vs #16 Oregon St.

UCLA 76, Oregon St. 50

Oregon St. desperately wanted to slow the game down to keep it close and to some extent they did that, trailing just 34-28 at the half. But Lew Alcindor had already scored 15, so the Beavers tried to limit him in the second half. All that did was open things up for Lucious Allen who scored 13 after the break while Oregon State's efforts to slow down Alcindor didn't work. He ended up with 28.

#8 Texas 2006 vs. #9 Utah 1998

Texas 106, Utah 87

It was the uptempo game the Utes wanted to avoid. LaMarcus Alridge was simply unstoppable in the post, scoring 24 for the game while Daniel Gibson added 23. All five of the Longhorn starters scored at least 16 points. Andre Miller was Utah's lone bright spot, scoring 22.

Round 2: UCLA vs. Texas

EAST REGION

#6 Syracuse 2003 vs. #11 Princeton 1998

Syracuse 64, Princeton 62

Carmelo Anthony may have earned little hardware in the NBA, but he once led the Orangemen to the title. He's one step closer after single-handedly saving the Cuse from the upset minded Princeton team. Tied at 29 and playing into Princeton's slow tempo hands, Anthony broke out in the second half scoring 17 of his 24 points in the last 20 minutes. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Tigers as they had done so well in harassing Warrick and McNamara into scoring just 20 points between them.

#3 Florida 2007 vs. #14 St. John's 1985

St. John's 75, Florida 60

Our first big upset of the tourney saw Florida completely fall apart after taking a 42-35 halftime lead. St. John's will go about as far as their combo of Chris Mullin and Walter Berry will take them. The Gators failed to slow down the duo as they combined for 42 points. A strong start by the Gators fizzled as they managed a meager 18 second half points. Not a single Gator scored more than 5 after the break.

Round 2: Syracuse vs. St. John's

[Poli]

Awesome

[Wolfpack]

Neat! This is a game I've always been curious to have, but never had the good luck to come across a copy (stores had it when I was a kid, but I couldn't buy it then and it seems like it rarely if ever pops up on eBay).

I'll be following with interest and I'm rather surprised '74 NC State is only a six seed. David Thompson was a destroyer of worlds back then and the supporting cast with Burleson and Towe in particular was as good as any. They only lost one game between 1973 and 1974 and that was the game in St. Louis against UCLA in 1974. If they had been eligible in 1973, they had a good chance to stop UCLA's title run a year earlier.

[ColtCrazy]

4 more games in the books:

MIDWEST REGION

#5 Cincinnati 1962 vs. #12 Illinois 1989

Cincinnati 69, Illinois 66

Kenny Battle led all scorers with 18, but it wasn't enough to get Illinois past Cincinnati. Cincinnati recovered from a 6 point halftime deficit to win thanks to a strong bench performance and 10 second half points from George Wilson.

#4 Loyola-Chicago 1963 vs #13 Purdue 1988

Loyola 90, Purdue 89

Loyola is a pretty strong team on paper, but Purdue gave them every thing they wanted. Purdue's bench outscored the Ramblers' by more than 3 to 1, but Loyola was saved by 20 point efforts from Vic Rouse, Jerry Harkness, and Ron Miller. Their bench is a weakness, but Loyola's starting lineup is as loaded as any in the field.

SOUTHEAST REGION

#2 Louisville 2013 vs. #15 Missouri 2009

Louisville 81, Missouri 66

Missouri's game plan of limited Russ Smith worked well. Smith struggled to score just 8 points. But the Louisville bench came to the rescue, outscoring Missouri's 33-16. It was enough to see the Cardinals turn a halftime tie into a comfortable victory.

#7 Maryland 2002 vs. #10 Butler 2010

Butler 81, Maryland 80

The miracle Butler team renewed some Karma, getting 20 points from Sheldon Mack in a shocking upset of the 2002 National Champs. Juan Dixon limped to 12 points, 8 below his average, but looked to be saved when Byron Morton scored 11 in the second half. But Butler got balanced scoring from its starters and did just enough to squeak out the win.

[ColtCrazy]

Final 2 games tonight.

#7 Arizona 1997 vs. #10 Loyola Marymount 1990

Loyola Marymount 158, Arizona 156 (OT)

Loyola played very much like their style. Arizona simply tried to run with them and had a 4 point lead at halftime. But LMU scored 77 second half points, 26 from Bo Kimble. Kimble finished with 45 points. Miles Simon scored 34 to lead the Wildcats, but in overtime the Wildcats failed to get the bench production that had kept them in the game during regulation.

#2 San Francisco 1956 vs. #15 Gonzaga 2006

San Francisco 90, Gonzaga 64

The Bill Russell-led Dons were known for a stifling defense, and that definitely was the case as they held Gonzaga to well below their season average. Adam Morrison did manage to score 29 points, but he got little help from his supporting cast as San Francisco concentrated on keeping his teammates in check. Outside of Morrison, the other four starters managed just 10 second half points. Meanwhile, Russell dominated the middle with 28 points while K.C. Jones added 16.

This leads to a very interesting second round matchup between the high powered LMU Lions and the defensive minded San Francisco Dons.

[britrock88]

Uhh... the LMU-Zona game... how many overtimes? Or do you have pace statistics?

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by britrock88

Uhh... the LMU-Zona game... how many overtimes? Or do you have pace statistics?

Every team has a pace, both offensively and defensively. Then the game is played with strategy cards that are drawn and played. To beat LMU you either have to outscore them (their horrible defense gives their opponent a massive boost) or have the defensive cards in play that can slow down their attack. Arizona didn't draw much defensive help, so they went heavy on offense. LMU did score 149 in reality during their tournament run, so the score isn't far off from what they were capable of, especially with the OT. The score was a bit high thanks to lots of offense cards being played (LMU drew an uptempo card which boosted their entire offense) as well as me rolling a ton of high numbers.

I can't see them scoring anywhere near that against San Francisco. Their defense is considerably better than Arizona's.

[ColtCrazy]

End of a long work week is over….got 4 more games in today.

EAST REGION - FIRST ROUND

#1 Duke 2001 vs. #16 Penn 1979

Duke 80, Penn 62

In a game that really was never close, Duke handled Penn in their first round matchup. Shane Battier scored 24 while Jason Williams added 23 for the Blue Devils. Penn trailed 14 at the half and could never make a serious run. They were led by James Salters' 19.

#8 Virginia 1981 vs. #9 Seton Hall 1989

Virginia 72, Seton Hall 58

Seton Hall had a horrible offensive first half, managing just 24 points. Despite holding the Cavaliers' Ralph Sampson to 3 points by the half, Seton Hall found themselves down 17 at the break. John Morton's 13 second half points weren't near enough to bring the Pirates back. Jeff Lamp of Virginia led all scorers with 21.

Second Round: Duke vs. Virginia
Virginia can't expect the their next opponent to be nearly as sluggish offensively.

MIDWEST REGION - FIRST ROUND

#6 Michigan 1989 vs. #11 Dayton 1967

Michigan 106, Dayton 91

Michigan played an uptempo game that Dayton simply couldn't slow down. Glen Rice's 29 paced the Wolverines who scored 15 above their season average. The Flyers got 38 combined points from Don May and Rudy Waterman, but they simply couldn't handle the Michigan starting 5 who each scored in double figures.

#3 Kansas 2008 vs. #14 Depaul 1979

Kansas 84, DePaul 75

Kansas may have had no answer for Mark Aguirre who torched the Jayhawks for 33 points. But only Gary Garland was able to score in double digits for Depaul and their bench was held scoreless. Kansas, though, was led by a balanced attack of Darnell Jackson, Brandon Rush, and Darrell Arthur, each of which scored at least 14 points. The key was the 15-0 difference in bench scoring for the Jayhawks.

Second Round - Michigan vs. Kansas. Another clash of styles. Michigan's high powered offense led by their great scorer Rice vs. a strong team defense and a balanced scoring attack with no real super star. Should be a good game.

[ColtCrazy]

Five more games down:

Southeast Region

#1 Kentucky 1996 vs. #16 Xavier 1990

Kentucky 87, Xavier 70

Simply too much of a strong team. Tony Delk led the Wildcats with 27, and the Kentucky bench held a 27-10 advantage during the game. Tyrone Hill led the Musketeers with 22. Kentucky is going to be a very tough out.

#8 Jacksonville 1970 vs. #9 Georgia Tech 1986

Jacksonville 97, Georgia Tech 85

Mark Price's 28 wasn't enough to help the Yellow Jackets keep up with a very high powered Jacksonville offense. Jacksonville may be the tournament's wild card. They are potent on offense and respectable on defense. Led by Artis Gilmore, Jacksonville boasts a lineup capable of putting a lot of points on the board. They'll give Kentucky a run for the money in round two.

West Region:

#5 Texas Western 1966 vs. #12 Stanford 1998

Stanford 63, Texas Western 58

A little surprised by this score. Texas Western's balanced offense should have given Stanford trouble, but no starter managed more than 12 points. Stanford, meanwhile, help Texas Western in check with a stellar defensive performance. Arthur Lee's 18 was a big difference in the game.


#4 Houston 1983 vs. #13 BYU 2011

Houston 85, BYU 76

Houston looked to be in trouble. Jimmer Fredette was running free, scoring 16 in the first half, while Clyde Drexler and Akeem Olajuwon were held to 12 points combined. However, the Cougars clamped down on Fredette in the second half. Houston managed to pull away as Olajuwon controlled the paint to finish with 18 points.

East Region

#2 North Carolina 1993 vs. #15 Temple 1998

Temple 65, North Carolina 62

The East has now lost their #2 and #3 seeds. Mark Macon led all scorers with 18 as Temple pulled off the biggest upset so far. This North Carolina team was selected due to its defense and balanced scoring, but the Tar Heels struggled to find any rhythm on offense. Foul trouble and good defense stymied North Carolina to nearly 20 points below their season average. George Lynch was the lone bright spot for Carolina, scoring 16.

[britrock88]

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by britrock88

The news doesn't get much better for North Carolina. Their loss and Florida's means Duke now has a much easier path to the Final Four. Frankly, I would have preferred seeing Carolina in the Final Four and Duke is not a team a like (guess this shows I'm being unbiased in my replay!).

In the end, North Carolina had just about every break in the game go against them. Temple got the better cards, Temple had the better rolls. I could play that game 10 times and Temple would win once maybe twice. Bad breaks.

[britrock88]

That's the fun of single-elim. On we go!

[sterlingice]

Phi Slamma Jamma with the win

SI

[ColtCrazy]

3 more games down:

East Region:

Notre Dame 1978 vs. St. Joseph's 2004

Notre Dame 80, St. Joe's 62

St. Joe's did it's best to slow the game down and let it's stars take the lead. For a half, it worked as the Hawks lead 27-25. But their offense failed them in the second half as Jameer Nelson and Delonte West combined for just 19 points. Notre Dame dominated the paint. The Irish front court outscored St. Joe's 40-24. Bill Laimbeer and Dave Batton each had 14 to lead the Irish.

Second Round: Notre Dame vs. Temple -An unlikely second round matchup will mean the Sweet Sixteen will have at least one team that did not win the title.

Midwest Region:

#1 Indiana 1976 vs. #16 Wisconsin 2014

Indiana 88, Wisconsin 80

The Hoosiers got everything they could handle from their Big Ten rival. In the end, it was the heroics of Scott May that saved Indiana who scored 39, 21 of which came in the decisive second half. Wisconsin had held a one point lead at halftime thanks to Josh Gasser's 15 points. But Gasser was blanked in the second half. Frank Kaminsky led all Badgers with 19.

#8 Marquette 1977 vs. #9 Oklahoma 1988

Oklahoma 123, Marquette 106

When teams like Oklahoma or LMU are allowed to get their offense in gear with little to stop them (they get the offensive cards they need while their opponent doesn't get enough defensive cards), they are tough to stop. It's easy to forget how good this Oklahoma team was since they didn't win the title. Both Stacy King and Mookie Blaylock had 29 while Horace Grant added 18. Butch Lee had 26 for Marquette but they simply didn't have the offense to keep up with Oklahoma.

2nd Round: Indiana vs. Oklahoma

If Oklahoma gets dealt the cards it did against Marquette, Indiana may be in trouble. Indiana does have a good advantage defensively, and Scott Mays scoring could be the difference.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Phi Slamma Jamma with the win

SI

One of my favorite teams when I was young. I was a big Olajuwon fan. Curious to see how they'll do if they can make it to the Sweet Sixteen against UCLA

[ColtCrazy]

Got the 1st Round Games done!!!

East Region:

#5 LaSalle 1954 vs. #12 Villanova 1985

LaSalle 63, Villanova 62

The real Cinderella was Villanova. They were the only double-digit loss team in the field, but they came up just short against LaSalle. Villanova had held a 4 point halftime lead, but a paltry 27 point second half allowed the Explorers to come back. Lead by their star Tom Gola's 20 points, LaSalle barely avoided the upset.

#4 UConn 1999 vs. #13 Navy 1986

UConn 78, Navy 76

UConn also narrowly avoided being upset against the feisty Midshipmen. David Robinson torched the Huskies for 28, 18 in the first half, as Navy built an early five point lead. But Kahlid El-Amin's 16 first half points kept it close, and Richard Hamilton's 14 in the second half helped pave the comeback.

West Region:

#3 UNLV 1991 vs. #14 Washington 2005

UNLV 93, Washington 71

Washington managed to slow down UNLV's main weapon, Larry Johnson, holding him to 13. But UNLV got unexpected production from the only starter that didn't average double digits during their season. George Eckles scored 14 of his 19 in the first 20 minutes to help UNLV build a lead it would never relinquish. He was aided by UNLV's other weapons as Anderson Hunt and Stacey Augmon had 19 and 18 points respectively. Tre Simmons paced the Huskies with 26.

#6 California 1959 vs. #11 New Mexico St. 1970

New Mexico St. 68, California 66.

Lou Henson couldn't pull off the upset with his 1989 Illinoise squad, but his high powered Aggies managed to get just enough offense to upset the Golden Bears. NMSU built an 11 point lead at the half only to see it evaporate under a furious California comeback led by Denny Fitzpatrick's 16 second half points. But in the end, the Aggies held on thanks mostly to the 27 points they got from Jimmy Collins.

Midwest Region

#7 Michigan St. 1979 vs. #10 Indiana St. 1979

Michigan St. 98, Indiana St. 91

The expected matchup of Magic vs. Bird II was overshadowed by the Spartans "other" star player. Greg Kelser led all scorers with 37 as the Spartans proved to be too much for the Sycamores again. Larry Bird scored 17 early, but was held to 9 after the half as the Spartans stretched their 3 point halftime lead. The big difference was the Spartan front court dominance, outscoring Indiana St. 61-41 in the paint. Magic Johnson ended the game with 16.

#2 Ohio St. 1960 vs. #15 Iowa 1987

Ohio St. 85, Iowa 82

I always liked this Iowa team with Roy Marble and BJ Armstrong and they nearly pulled off a massive upset. The Hawkeyes managed to hold Jerry Lucas to 6 points below his season average, but the Buckeyes were saved by Larry Siegfried's 22. Foul trouble did Iowa in. Armstrong struggled most of the second half, scoring just 4 of his 15 after the break.

South Region:

#5 Memphis 2008, #12 Pitt 2009

Memphis 70, Pitt 52

Chris Douglas-Roberts 20 helped lead the Memphis Tigers to a comfortable win over Pitt. Pitt scored just 21 first half points, failing behind by as much as 20. Memphis then slowed the game down and prevented the Panthers from making any type of comeback. DeJuan Blair led Pitt with 17.

#4 Georgetown 1984 vs. #13 Wichita St. 2014

Wichita St. 63, Georgetown 53

Patrick Ewing was held to just 9 points as Georgetown flamed out in the first round of the tournament. Ewing was completely outplayed by the Shockers Cleanthony Early as Early scored 22 to lead all scorers. Not a single Hoya managed more than 11 points for the game and looked more like the #13 seed throughout.

#3 Arkansas 1994 vs. #14 LSU 1981

Arkansas 94, LSU 67

Simply too much Razorback talent for LSU to slowdown. Corey Beck had a career game scoring 24 while Corliss Williamson added 20. Arkansas scored 62 in the first half as they totally demoralized the Tigers. LSU was never a serious threat to make it a game.

#6 NC State 1974 vs. #11 Oklahoma St. 2004

NC State 91, Oklahoma St. 89

David Thompson lit up the Cowboys defense, scoring 33 as NC State slipped by Oklahoma St. Oklahoma St. did well to score with a strong offensive Wolfpack team, and even had a 10 point halftime lead. But when it mattered they simply had no answer for Thompson. Ivan McFarlin and Daniel Boblik both had 17 for the Cowboys.

A Quick Look at the 2nd round:

East Region:

Duke vs. Virginia
LaSalle vs. UConn
Syracuse vs. St. John's
Notre Dame vs. Temple

West Region:

UCLA vs. Texas
Stanford vs. Houston
New Mexico St. vs. UNLV
LMU vs. San Francisco

Midwest Region:

Indiana vs. Oklahoma
Cincinnati vs. Loyola
Michigan vs. Kansas
Michigan St. vs. Ohio St.

Southeast:

Kentucky vs. Jacksonville
Memphis vs. Wichita St.
NC State vs. Arkansas
Butler vs. Louisville

[Umbrella]

Awesome thread. One of my favorite games when I was younger.

Just a question. How are you doing the strategy cards? Are you playing each team, and trying to be as impartial as possible?

[ColtCrazy]

Thanks!

I play both teams and try to do what would be in the best interest for them. (Shutdown an opposing big scorer, increase the team's area of weakness (offense/defense), stall if there's lead, etc.
Each team gets the same number of cards then bonus cards based on the Coach's rating. I roll the dice to see if a position if automatically resolved. Cards are drawn one at a time and either played, traded, or kept. If a team ends up having an obvious advantage at a position, I'll elect to resolve the position immediately (For example, Team A draws and plays a +1 Letter Grade that does to +2 if Team B is in a zone. Team A would then want to resolve the position before Team B would remove the card). I've also resolved if a team has a sizable halftime lead and wants to end the game quickly to keep the other team from rallying. I try to be an impartial as possible (otherwise Duke and Kentucky wouldn't have made it past round 1) Though I do admit if I draw a +1 drm I might stick it on a player I like over another player of the same offensive rating but that doesn't change the outcome per say.

[Young Drachma]

This is too cool.

[ColtCrazy]

2nd round games are underway….

West Region:

#1 UCLA 1968 vs. #9 Texas 2006

UCLA 73, Texas 72 (OT)

UCLA got a major scare from the underrated Longhorns. Lew Alcindor was held to just 4 first half points as Texas built a 9 point lead going into the half. But Alcindor broke lose, scoring 13 of UCLA's 34 second half points to help force overtime. In overtime, UCLA had just enough to make it to the Sweet Sixteen. Hats of to Texas for a very game effort against the number one overall seed.

#4 Houston 1983 vs. #12 Stanford 1998

Houston 65, Stanford 60

Like UCLA, the Cougars found themselves in an early hole. Tim Young's 10 points help the Cardinal get out to a 32-25 halftime lead. But Tim Young was blanked in the second half while Michael Young's 11 in the second helped Houston outscore Stanford 40-28 after the break.

Regional Semifinals: UCLA vs. Houston. UCLA's one loss was to Houston. It may not be the same Houston team, but the 1983 version does have the talent to keep up with UCLA though the Bruins do have the edge.

Midwest Region:

#1 Indiana 1976 vs. #9 Oklahoma 1988

Indiana 91, Oklahoma 85

IU's Scott May is the man of the tournament so far. He followed up his 1st half heroics by scoring 35 in Indiana's narrow win over the Sooners. 21 of his points came in the last half as the Hoosiers erased a 7 point halftime deficit. Equally heroic for the Hooisers was the improved defense against Mookie Blaylock. Blaylock scored 19 first half points but was held to just 3 in the second half.

#4 Loyola-Chicago 1963 vs. #5 Cincinnati 1962

Loyola 90, Cincinnati 65

Loyola looked like a completely different team. Days after barely beating Purdue, the Ramblers completely dominated the champions from the year before. Cincinnati may have had the stingiest defense among the round of 32 teams, but they couldn't muster enough offense to seriously scare Loyola. In the end, Loyola was paced by Leslie Hunter's 21 and Ron Miller's 23. Down just 10 at the half, Cincinnati scored just 23 second half points as Loyola pulled away.

Regional Semifinal: Indiana vs. Loyola - Loyola is a tough a team as Indiana may face in the tournament, but Indiana rose to the occasion to stop a similarly built team in Oklahoma. The Hoosiers have the slight edge here.

[ColtCrazy]

Had a lazy Saturday so I finished the second round games. A lot of fun games today! (Check above for the other 4 games from the 2nd round)

MIDWEST REGION:

#3 Kansas 2008 vs. #6 Michigan 1989

Michigan 92, Kansas 81

Glen rice scored 17 of his 20 in the first half to help the Wolverines build an 11 point lead. Kansas could do no better than keep the pace in the second half as Michigan advances to the Sweet Sixteen. Brandon Rush scored 20 for the Jayhawks.

#2 Ohio St. 1960 vs. #7 Michigan St. 1979

Michigan St. 92, Ohio St. 88

Magic Johnson was simply unstoppable, scoring 32 points as the Spartans will set up an all Michigan lower bracket in the Midwest semis. Jerry Lucas did he best to bring the Buckeyes back, scoring 16 of his 24 in the second half, but Johnson did him one better and Michigan St. was able to hold off the late Buckeye rally.

WEST REGION:

#3 UNLV 1991 vs. #10 New Mexico St. 1970

UNLV 129, New Mexico St. 98

In many ways, the Aggies were just a lesser form of the Runnin' Rebels. UNLV proved that by running an up tempo game New Mexico St. just couldn't handle. Three different UNLV players scored 25 points: Larry Johnson, Stacy Augmon, and Anderson Hunt. Jimmy Collins did have 32 for the Aggies, but they scored just 36 in the second half as the simply ran out of gas.

#2 San Francisco 1956 vs. #10 Loyola Marymount 1990

San Francisco 96, LMU 75

LMU scored less than half than they did in the first round as Bill Russell's Dons shut down the high powered LMU offense. Russell scored 16, but got plenty of help from his teammates who exceeded their season scoring average thanks to the worst defense in the tournament. By the time Bo Kimble blew up for 19 in the second half, the outcome was already decided.

EAST REGION:

#1 Duke 2001 vs. #8 Virginia 1981

Virginia 82, Duke 62

Jeff Lamp and Ralph Sampson combined for 28 points in the second half as Virginia outscored Duke 58-26 after halftime. It was a complete collapse from Duke. No Duke scorer managed to get above 14 points for the game. They especially had littler answer for Ralph Sampson who finished with 23.

#4 UConn 1999 vs. #5 LaSalle 1954

UConn 60, LaSalle 56

Defensive led the way in this one as both teams managed to completely stymie their opponent's offensive game plan. UConn did scrape out a 6 point halftime lead thanks to 13 from Rip Hamilton. That lead was enough as the teams combined for just 50 second half points. Tom Gola's 17 lead the Explorers.

#3 Syracuse 2003 vs. #14 St. John's 1985

St. John's 100, Syracuse 87

Walter Berry had 33 and Chris Mullin had 30 as the dynamic duo outmatched Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony. Anthony, who had been the hero in round one, struggled to score and finished the game with just 14 points. The Orangemen tried to up the pace in the second half to get Anthony free. It worked too well. Anthony scored 13, but the Berry-Mullin combo had 25 after intermission.

#7 Notre Dame 1978 vs. #15 Temple 1988

Temple 73, Notre Dame 62

Apparently Notre Dame missed the memo that stopping Temple comes down to stopping Macon. Days after leading Temple to a huge upset of North Carolina, Macon did it again scoring 31 as Temple set up the most unlikeliest of match ups in the regions. Temple's 41 second half points (18 alone from Macon) helped erase a 6 point Irish lead.

SOUTH REGION:

#3 Arkansas 1994 vs. #6 NC State 1974

Arkansas 101, NC State 96

It was a shame one of them had to lose. David Thompson was simply brilliant for the Wolfpack scoring 39 and single-handedly keeping NC state in the game. In the end though the balanced scoring of the Razorbacks overshadowed Thompson's highlight reel. All 5 Arkansas starters scored in double digits. The Razorbacks held a 24 point halftime lead before Thompson lead a furious rally that came up just short.

#2 Louisville 2013 vs. #10 Butler 2010

Butler 74, Louisville 69

Russ Smith scored 20. Sheldon Mack answered with 26 of his own. Coupled with Gordon Heyward's 25, Butler keep its remarkable run alive with a shocking upset of a dominating Louisville team. Mack was the difference, scoring 19 in the second to help break a 34-34 tie.

#1 Kentucky 1996 vs. #8 Jacksonville 1970

Kentucky 82, Jacksonville 77

Artis Gilmore was held to just 8 points as Kentucky's deep team rallied from a three point deficit to beat the Dolphins. Antoine Walker scored 23 while Tony Delk added 20, but it was the defense on Gilmore that helped the favored Wildcats advance.

#5 Memphis 2008 vs. #13 Wichita St. 2014

Memphis 99, Wichita St. 79

Just as in this year's tournament, the Shockers season ends in the second round. Memphis trailed early but focused on shutting down Cleanthony Early who scored just 5 after the break. Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts scored a combined 29 of the Tigers' 45 second half points to rally Memphis. Memphis coach John Calipari nearly cost his team early by picking up two technical fouls. He may still be pleading his case to the media.


This brings up some interesting regional match ups:

MIDWEST:

Indiana 1976 vs. Loyola 1963 - Favored Hoosiers will need another good game from May to advance

Michigan 1989 vs. Michigan St. 1979 - The Battle of Michigan will be a fun one.

SOUTH:

Kentucky 1996 vs. Memphis 2008

Calipari takes on his future team. Both feature high scoring offenses.

Arkansas 1994 vs. Butler 2010

Giant killers Butler vs. one of the giants of the tournament, a high scoring Arkansas team loaded with talent.

EAST:

Virginia 1981 vs. UConn 1989

UConn is suddenly the favorite in the region of death. Of course, the favorites haven't done so well in this region.

St. John's 1985 vs. Temple 1988

A 14 vs. a 15 in the regionals? Shows how balanced this tournament is. These Cinderella's combined for only 6 losses in their respective seasons.

WEST:

UCLA 1968 vs. Houston 1983

Can Houston do what their 1968 counterpart couldn't? This is the only region where the top four seeds advanced.

UNLV 1991 vs. San Francisco 1956

The Dons will need another impressive defensive effort to slow down the stacked Rebels, but UNLV isn't the defensive slouch that LMU was.

[sterlingice]

That San Francisco-UNLV game should be a beast.

I think with Kansas out, I'm going for UNLV or Houston. Butler would be fun, too. I'm also happy that Kentucky, Memphis, and Arkansas are all in one region so only one of them can come out of it because I don't like all 3.

SI

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

That San Francisco-UNLV game should be a beast.

I think with Kansas out, I'm going for UNLV or Houston. Butler would be fun, too. I'm also happy that Kentucky, Memphis, and Arkansas are all in one region so only one of them can come out of it because I don't like all 3.

SI

That entire West Region is going to be fun. I have no idea who will come out of that region. San Francisco-UNLV is probably the best matchup in the sweet sixteen.

The East region is just a mess. Temple is the real surprise. Usually, a team with just one good scorer is fairly easy to beat assuming you get the defensive cards to slow them down. Neither North Carolina or Notre Dame managed to draw anything to slow down guards.

Sorry about your Jayhawks. After Rice torched them in the first half, Kansas focused on shutting him down. While they did, Rumeal Robinson went off. Kansas' guards didn't have the game they needed to have to make up for it.

I agree with you. Other than Butler, I'm not a fan of any of the teams left in the South. Kentucky is a tough team though. Of the teams left, I'd say it's UCLA, Kentucky, Indiana, and San Francisco in terms of strength. Of course, I thought Duke and North Carolina were the 4th and 5th best teams going in so what do I know?

[ColtCrazy]

After a Mother's Day weekend of honey-do lists, I finally got a few games in tonight…

East Regionals

#4 UConn 1999 vs. #8 Virginia 1981

UConn 89, Virginia 55

UConn simply dominated the Cavaliers from the outset, never allowing them to get into any type of rhythm. Richard Hamilton scored 25 and he got help from three other scorers that managed double digit points. Only Voskuhl didn't score, but he spent his time shutting down Ralph Sampson who scored just 14.

#14 St. John's vs. #15 Temple

St. John's 79, Temple 69

Chris Mullin's 30 helped lead the way for St. John's to continue their Cinderella run into the Elite Eight. Temple could do little to stop Mullin. While they did manage to slow Walter Berry down in the first half, Berry exploded for 15 of his 19 in the second half. Mark Macon had another valiant effort, scoring 22 in the loss.

Regional Final: UConn vs. St. John's. UConn looked about as dominant as you could be against Virginia. Like Virginia, St. John's is mostly a two man team, but they can light up the score board.

West Region:

#1 UCLA 1968 vs. #4 Houston 1983

UCLA 102, Houston 78

Just as they did in '68, UCLA blew out Houston in route to an Elite Eight birth. Lew Alcindor got the better of his matchup with Akeem Olajuwon scoring 25 points to Olajuwon's 14. Alcindor didn't have to do it alone. Every starter scored double digits with Mike Warren being the biggest contributor with 22. Clyde Drexler led the Cougars with 22.


#2 San Francisco 1956 vs. #3 UNLV 1991

San Francisco 55, UNLV 50

It was a classic game of teams with clashing styles. The Dons came out trying to slow the game down to a pace suitable to them. UNLV tried to up the tempo but had little luck in doing so. In the end, San Francisco's stifling defense held UNLV to half their season scoring average. Even with defense targeted to stopping him, Bill Russell still scored 27 to lead all scorers. Larry Johnson's 17 was the high for UNLV but still well below Johnson's average.


Regional Final: UCLA vs. San Francisco. Alcindor vs. Russell. This will be a classic, but the game will most likely come down to the role players.

[sterlingice]

I was hoping Houston and UNLV would go further

SI

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I was hoping Houston and UNLV would go further

SI

Start backing the teams you want to lose! I honestly thought UNLV would handle San Francisco, but SF drew the dreaded four corners card which reduces all scorers by -2 drm. It was too good of a card for SF not to play considering their slower pace. UNLV desperately needed an uptempo card they never got.

I'm with you, I loved that UNLV team and I'm a huge Olajuwon fan. It's a good final for UCLA and SF, but not the one I wanted.

Will get the other half of the bracket done tonight.

[ColtCrazy]

I'm actually a bit farther along, but here are the rest of the Sweet Sixteen games for now:

Midwest Region:

#1 Indiana 1976 vs #4 Loyola 1963

Indiana 87, Loyola 82

The Hoosiers have yet to win a game by double digits in this tournament, but the favored Hoosiers advance again in large part to Scott May. May's 28 led all scorers as the Hoosiers erased a 4 point halftime deficit to earn a narrow victory over Loyola. 19 of May's points came in the second half as Indiana kept the Loyola scorers at bay.

#6 Michigan 1989 vs. #7 Michigan Sy. 1979

Michigan 109, Michigan St. 85

It was an old fashioned shootout with Glen Rice's 33 leading the way for the Wolverines. The Spartans kept things close early as Magic Johnson and Greg Kelser combined for 31 of Michigan State's 45 first half points, but the pair scored just 16 after the break as Michigan pulled away.

South Region:

#1 Kentucky 1996 vs. #5 Memphis 2008

Memphis 76, Kentucky 69

Memphis vowed not to let the high scoring Wildcats run out of control. They built a 6 point halftime lead and won by holding Kentucky to just 22 second half points. Both teams came in with some of the strongest benches in the game, but it was the Tigers' bench coming through. They outscored the Wildcats subs 33-24 providing the difference in the game.

#3 Arkansas 1994 vs. #10 Butler 2010

Butler 76, Arkansas 74

Shelvin Mack's jumper at the buzzer proved to be the difference as Butler continued to play Cinderella in a top heavy South bracket. Their victims this time were the Razorbacks, another team boasting a strong bench. Butler expertly managed to use their defense to slow down the Arkansas subs, holding them to half their season average. Corliss Williamson led the Razorbacks with 22.

Off to the regional finals:

UConn 1999 vs. St. John's 1985
UCLA 1968 vs. San Francisco 1956
Indiana 1976 vs. Michigan 1989
Memphis 2008 vs. Butler 2010

[sterlingice]

Go Butler!

SI

[ColtCrazy]

And now for the regional finals:


West:

#1 UCLA 1968 vs. #2 San Francisco 1956

UCLA 102, San Francisco 77

Bill Russell got the better of his matchup with Lew Alcindor, but it was the entire UCLA team that pushed the Bruins into the Final Four. Every Bruin starter scored at least 15 points, led by Lucius Allen's 25. Russell's 21 paced the Dons.

East:

#4 UConn 1999 vs. #14 St. John's 1985

St. John's 64, UConn 63

Chris Mullin's 28 was the difference as St. John's continued their amazing run in the tournament. Like all the other teams before them, UConn wasn't able to slow down the dynamic duo of Mullin and Walter Berry. If they concentrated on slowing one down, the other would break free. UConn didn't help themselves by stumbling out to a pitiful 29 point first half. Their second half rally came up just short.

Midwest:

#1 Indiana 1976 vs. #6 Michigan 1989

Indiana 88, Michigan 81

Just as the West final was a battle between great centers, the Midwest final was a battle between high scoring small forwards. In the first half, they did not disappoint as Scott May and Glenn Rice scored 16 and 17 respectively. But they both struggled against the other in the second half, managing just 9 points between them. Indiana's other players then took over. Kent Benson and Quinn Buckner combined to score 26 second half points as Indiana broke a 42 all halftime tie in route to a 7 point win.

South Region:

#5 Memphis 2008 vs #10 Butler 2010

Butler 56, Memphis 46

If you go by team ratings, this would have been the 3rd straight game that Butler was a double digit underdog. That didn't seem to phased the Bulldogs as they completely stymied the Memphis offense, holding them to just 46 points. As they did against the Razorbacks, Butler used their defense to slow down a strong Memphis bench. Memphis bench managed just 8 points. Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts were unable to make up the slack as they struggled to 18 points between them. Shelvin Mack, hot off his winner against Arkansas, led all scorers with 24.

So, the Final Four is set:

Indiana 1976 vs. Butler 2010
UCLA 1968 vs. St. John's 1985

[ColtCrazy]

Got the tourney done some time ago but wanted to wait and give it some time after posting the other games….then I forgot!

Final Four:

Indiana 1976 vs. Butler 2010

Indiana 81, Butler 67:

Butler had managed to make a deep run by smothering opposing teams' best players, but they had little answer for Scott May as he torched them for 30. Only Tom Abernathy failed to score double figures for the Hoosier starters. Gordon Heyward led the Bulldogs with 16.

UCLA 1968 vs. St. John's 1985

St. John's 98, UCLA 95

St. John's amazing run continues. Walter Berry and Chris Mullin combined for 49 points as St. John's upset the tournament favorite. Lew Alcindor had his way in the middle scoring 23, but it was Mullin's 19 second half points that enabled St. John's to erase a 7 point halftime deficit and earn the surprise victory.


So the final……





















Indiana 91, St. John's 87

Indiana built an 8 point halftime lead thanks to 18 points from Scott May, but Walter Berry and Chris Mullin lead a furious comeback…scoring 33 combined second half points. It came down to the last player, the centers, and Kent Benson's 15 was enough to give Indiana the win.

It was definitely a fun tournament to play. 2 of the 3 best teams made the Final Four and I have a new respect for the 1985 St. John's team (3 of their 4 losses on the season came against Georgetown though they did beat the Hoyas once at Georgetown).

[sterlingice]

Huzzah.

SI