2014 OFFICIAL NCAA Tournament Thread: Connecticut wins the title

[MizzouRah]

I came in 2nd place.. shocked to say the least.

[Logan]

Not sure how reliable Rex Chapman is, of all people, but he's claiming Calipari to the Lakers is a done deal no matter what happens tonight.

[hoopsguy]

Where can I get Willie Cauley-Stein's shirt?

[bob]

Ugh.... I won't be able to take my inlaws if UConn wins another double title.

[JonInMiddleGA]

WTH kind of coaching was that?

[Marmel]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

WTH kind of coaching was that?

That was "I'm on my way to LA" coaching.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Damnit. I had my

Somebody
Else's
Championship

sign ready to go

(picks it up, dusts it off and starts waving it)

Nothing against the SEC, I just hate the fact they win everything (Kinda like everyone hates Boston fans now that I think about it)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Marmel

That was "I'm on my way to LA" coaching.

More like "what time does my plane leave" coaching.

[tarcone]

Wow.

[Kodos]

Yes, the lesser of two evils won!

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Yes, the lesser of two evils won!

Yes, definitely!

So, Calipari and FTs again.

[Marmel]

Worst college basketball season ever.
Even OSM sucked this year.

[britrock88]

Actually disappointed there weren't any UConn FTs in the montage. But the Tokotwirl...

[Buccaneer]

Marm, the season was ok - got to admit it got pretty exciting for a little while with SU. I still can't get over that with 32 teams left after the first round, it had to come down to those two.

[Butter]

That was some pretty terrible coaching down the stretch by Calipari.

[sterlingice]

Pretty impressive to see how little was talked about last night's game compared to a lot of the previous ones. Ugh

SI

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Pretty impressive to see how little was talked about last night's game compared to a lot of the previous ones. Ugh

We watched Raw and then maybe the last 4 minutes of the game. Just really didn't give a gigantic crap about it, not a Kentucky fan & even less of a UConn fan.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

We watched Raw and then maybe the last 4 minutes of the game. Just really didn't give a gigantic crap about it, not a Kentucky fan & even less of a UConn fan.

I guess we're not alone in this:
TV Ratings Monday: ‘The Following’ & ‘The Voice’ Match Lows & ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Hits New Low Against NCAA Basketball Final - Ratings | TVbytheNumbers

Originally Posted by article

On CBS, coverage of the NCAA Tournament Final earned a 6.0 adults 18-49 rating from 9-11PM, down sharply from the 7.5 adults 18-49 preliminary rating that last year's final earned.

SI

[Matthean]

Theory: People care less about one and done players and UK comes across more as a villain these days. UConn was at least a good "Cinderella" type of story.

[sterlingice]

I think if it had been a Cinderella, people would have watched to see them try and beat the "villain". However, UConn, one of the top 10 storied programs of all time, doesn't really come across as a true cinderella

SI

[Matthean]

[nol]

Originally Posted by Matthean

Theory: People care less about one and done players and UK comes across more as a villain these days. UConn was at least a good "Cinderella" type of story.

Also the fact that it was two lower-seeded teams meant that most office pools were already decided. That cuts down on the casual viewers.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I think if it had been a Cinderella, people would have watched to see them try and beat the "villain". However, UConn, one of the top 10 storied programs of all time, doesn't really come across as a true cinderella

Plus, my bracket had been busted for quite a while. I had zero final four teams, only 3 alive in the elite eight. And that was good for pretty much dead-on average at ESPN (50.6 percentile).

[CU Tiger]

you know...seemed like this year if I wanted to watch it I would have had to go seek it out.

I honestly didnt even know the game was last night until someone mentioned it casually in conversation yesterday.

[SirFozzie]

Considering the Final Four round games weren't even on free TV, you did have to go seek it out

[digamma]

I'm in the minority, I guess, as this year's tournament was one of my favorite in recent memory. Last night may have been a bit of a let down, but overall, I had a ton of fun the last few weeks.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by digamma

I'm in the minority, I guess, as this year's tournament was one of my favorite in recent memory. Last night may have been a bit of a let down, but overall, I had a ton of fun the last few weeks.

I think the tourney was pretty good, on the whole. Unfortunately, the ending was kindof a dud. And the Final Four not on network? WTF?

SI

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

I think the tourney was pretty good, on the whole. Unfortunately, the ending was kindof a dud. And the Final Four not on network? WTF?

Heard some discussion of this late last week/during the weekend, sharing games is simply the price of having the Turner networks as a partner but the conclusion seemed to be that bringing in a financial partner was the only way CBS could afford the rights fees in the last round of negotiations. Remember, 10 years for 10.8 BILLION dollars, sooner or later that adds up to real money.

This year was a transitional year I guess you could call it "In 2016, the regional finals, Final Four and national championship game will begin to alternate between CBS and TBS.TBS will get the final two rounds in even numbered years, with CBS getting the games in odd numbered years."

[Matthean]

While I know few care, UConn's women's team beats ND by 21. I don't know where this team ranks as the best ever but that seems like a hell of a case with everything else they did.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Matthean

While I know few care, UConn's women's team beats ND by 21. I don't know where this team ranks as the best ever but that seems like a hell of a case with everything else they did.

And so much for my top 1,000 ranking on the ESPN women's bracket contest
I really thought that not losing to UConn in conference play would give ND a mental edge. Boy was I ever wrong

[nol]

Amazing. Their only hope for some competition is to singlehandedly raise the level of play in women's basketball to the point that there are more good players than they can fit in one recruiting class.

[JonInMiddleGA]

This is the 8th time (since 1986) a women's champ has finished the year undefeated, the second time in 3 years that they've been 40-0 (Baylor 2012).

UConn's 4th title in 6 years, now 9-0 in title games.

There have been 33 women's champions under the auspices of the NCAA, UConn and Tennessee have combined to win 17 (9+8) of those. No other team has more than 2.