Who are you guys going to put in your bracket as your sleepers? Who will be your Cinderella team of this year? As of now, I have Wisc-Milwaukee as my sleeper(only double digit seeded team in the sweet 16). I'm still not sold on Bama and BC. I was just wondering if anyone had some tips on who to put as your sleeper.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting sportsrock37:</div><div class="quote_post">Who are you guys going to put in your bracket as your sleepers? Who will be your Cinderella team of this year? As of now, I have Wisc-Milwaukee as my sleeper(only double digit seeded team in the sweet 16). I'm still not sold on Bama and BC. I was just wondering if anyone had some tips on who to put as your sleeper.</div>I see the strong double digit seeds as Creighton, Northern Iowa, Old Dominion, Vermont, New Mexico, Ohio, Bucknell, Winthrop. A lot of them are matched up against great teams, however. Those are my "upset specials" although I am cheating by not saying which ones have a real chance of winning. My sleepers, teams that aren't top seeds that could go to the Elite 8 are LSU, Louisville (do they count as sleeper?) and Florida.
My upsets are: #10 Iowa over #7 Cincinnati; #10 NC State over #7 Charlotte; and #11 UCLA over #6 Texas Tech. I don't really have any sleepers unless you want to call Utah one or Gonzaga one, because I have Gonzaga in the elite 8 and Utah in the sweet 16...
i dunno <div class="quote_poster">Quoting UKOwnstheSEC:</div><div class="quote_post">My upsets are: #10 Iowa over #7 Cincinnati; #10 NC State over #7 Charlotte; and #11 UCLA over #6 Texas Tech. I don't really have any sleepers unless you want to call Utah one or Gonzaga one, because I have Gonzaga in the elite 8 and Utah in the sweet 16...</div> pickin a bobby knight team to be upset in the first round? i would never pick against a great coach in the first round.
Well, his teams haven't made it past the first or second round since like '94, so why not pick against them?
I picked against Bobby Knight last year, though, Charlotte didn't go through and win. Don't feel alone, UK, I as well pick UCLA over Tech. I also have St.Mary's(CA) over S.Illinois, and Iowa over Cincinnati. Too many people I know at my school are taking Cincy, I just think they won't do it.
I think people may be sleeping on Villanova but I have them going pretty far in my bracket. They did well in a tough conference and are a very talented team. Another team I'm looking for to surprise some people is St. Mary's. When their shooters are on they are deadly. Daniel Kickert has one of the best shots in the country and if he is hitting his threes he and the Gaels may obliterate someone's bracket.
Lets see, i have UCLA getting out of the first round over TTU, Iowa, NC State, and St. Mary's. Something about the 7-10 matchup, i dont like the 7's in these matchups. I just see nc state as a team that could come on real strong, St. Mary's has an amazing shooting line-up.
I think a big sleeper is going to be North Carolina State. They have really put it together the past couple weeks. Julius Hodge has been playing awesome. Even with their loss to Duke, I think they will have some steam heading to play Charlotte.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Pure:</div><div class="quote_post">I think a big sleeper is going to be North Carolina State. They have really put it together the past couple weeks. Julius Hodge has been playing awesome. Even with their loss to Duke, I think they will have some steam heading to play Charlotte.</div> Yeah, I think Charlotte is as good as dead versus NC State. They hit some rough patches but the win over Wake should definitely give them some confidence against a team that faultered in their conference tournament.
May I ask how Charlotte is as good as dead? If they play up to potential, Charlotte can go very far in this tournament. The last three games have been rough for the 49ers, but they have some great players. Eddie Basden vs. Julius Hodge, is one of the best matchups in this whole tournament. Eddie Basden was the conference player of the year and defensive player of the year. Both are two of the best players in the nation. Basden is more known for his defense, and Hodge for his offense. Charlotte also has Curtis Withers who has been red hot as of late. One of the better matchups in the tournament. *Another upset I forgot to mention is UTEP over Utah.
Kinda off topic, but how many of you believe that Louisville would beat GT in the 2nd round (potential matchup)? I'm not sure and i don't know what to decide. Ok, sorry, back to topic. Its hardly an upset or anything, but i think Pitt will beat pacific (8 vs 9). Pretty much i think all the real upsets have been said. I'm not quite sure what to think about syracuse yet. I think that they have a chance to get to the final 4 as a 4 seed, but i just don't see them beating duke. If they do though, i think they could beat anyone from the lower half of the bracket.
i dunno <div class="quote_poster">Quoting AFL Warriors:</div><div class="quote_post">Kinda off topic, but how many of you believe that Louisville would beat GT in the 2nd round (potential matchup)? I'm not sure and i don't know what to decide. Ok, sorry, back to topic. Its hardly an upset or anything, but i think Pitt will beat pacific (8 vs 9). Pretty much i think all the real upsets have been said. I'm not quite sure what to think about syracuse yet. I think that they have a chance to get to the final 4 as a 4 seed, but i just don't see them beating duke. If they do though, i think they could beat anyone from the lower half of the bracket.</div> GTech will beat louisville if they play which they probably will
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting JWohl:</div><div class="quote_post">GTech will beat louisville if they play which they probably will</div> I wouldn't be so confident. That game will be without a doubt the best second round match-up in the tourney. Both teams are really hot coming into this tournament so it should be a great game. I think I speak for most people when I say if my pick to win this game doesn't win, then my bracket in that region is pretty screwed. Personally I think Louisville will win it. They are going to be a team possessed.... Just some insight on my bracket, unless I change it, looking at seeds I have a #1, #2, #3, and #4 seed advancing to the final four. Odd isn't it...
I'm guessing you have Louisville, Wake, UNC, Kentucky? Beats me, i'd be interested to know what you have. I'm not completely set with my bracket, but right now i have the 3 1's and wake, but i doubt that'll happen, so might switch it up. I have a problem with going with the upper seed usually, soi'm just not sure.
I've got Georgia Tech upsetting both Louisville and Washington to reach the Regional Finals. So I guess they would be my upset team of the tourney. With BJ back they are the most dangerous sleeper team in that Albuquerque bracket.
Yeah i have that too, but then they lose to wake in my bracket. I think that they'll really pull it together and Paul Hewitt will get his team into tip-top shape. With the experience they have from last year, they know how to win in the tournament, and what its going to take. Elder and Jack will do their thing, the key to that team will be the play of Schenser, and last year he really picked it up come time for the tournament, and i see that happening again. They have the talent to go really deep, and i think they will elite 8 atleast imo.
Looking at one of my ESPN brackets, here are some upsets that I picked - 1st Round - 12 New Mexico > 5 Villanova - I loved the games against Utah, and I'm a huge fan of Granger. 12 George Washington > 5 Georgia Tech - MSU/Maryland upsets weren't flukes. 10 Iowa > 7 Cincinnati - Iowa should be a much higher seed but were just hurt by a bad conference stretch. 2nd Round - 7 West Virginia > 2 Wake Forest - WVU is hot as can be. This is more of one of those gut picks than anything and could come back to bite me. Wake Forest could very likely win it all, but I'd love to be the one guy who predicted this WVU game. It would help my bracket a lot while killing my opponents' brackets at the same time. 6 Utah > 3 Oklahoma - A three seed was way too high for the Sooners and a six seed was way too low for the Utes. I think that both should have been around a four seed. I'm picking Utah in this one though because of Andrew Bogut's presence downlow. 7 Charlotte > 2 Connecticut - Connecticut is overrated and bound to lose. People are talking about how well they've been playing as of late, but their only outstanding win was against Syracuse, and 'Cuse more than avenged that loss the other night in the Big East tournament. There's no doubt in my mind that they'll lose either here or in the Sweet Sixteen. 6 Wisconsin > 3 Kansas - I'm not sure when Langford will be back, but if he's gone for then I give the edge to Wisconsin. They're the team that I picked #1 preseason (prior to the declaration of Harris to the draft) and I still have that much confidence in them. Besides, Kansas is on a major skid. They're losing games they shouldn't lose. Sweet 16 - 6 Utah > 2 Kentucky - I've always felt Kentucky was overrated this season. They're really damn talented, but they're very young and inexperienced. Utah is just as inexperienced, but I give them the edge again thanks to Andrew Bogut downlow. 5 Michigan State > 1 Duke - My first #1 seed to fall. When they played earlier this season, it was a one point game with a minute or so left. It could have easily gone in Michigan State's favor. I don't think they'll lose twice in a row. 6 Wisconsin > 7 Charlotte - Technically not an upset, but I think that it'll surprise a hell of a lot of people if Wisconsin make the Elite Eight. However, given that I had Charlotte upsetting Connecticut, Wisconsin has a pretty easy road in my bracket. Elite Eight - 3 Gonzaga > 1 Washington - This could be Gonzaga's year. Had they been given a tougher bracket, I might have eliminated them in the Sweet Sixteen. However, the only teams they've had to beat in my bracket to get to this point are Winthrop, Texas Tech, and West Virginia. Washington could be more worn out after playing Pacific and Louisville. Besides, Gonzaga blew them out in their earlier matchup. 5 Michigan State > 6 Utah - Again, not an upset, but most people would be surprised that I have Michigan State in my Final Four. It's not a homer pick either. I told myself before Selection Sunday that I'd only pick Michigan State to make it past a #1 or 2 seed if that team was Duke, because Michigan State has played them twice in the last two years and came dangerously close this last time. It just so happened that they are facing a potential matchup with Duke.
To answer your question on when Langford will be back, he will be back in time for their first game. That is what Andy Katz reported on Selection Sunday.
