Red Dog

Schedule:

Tuesday, March 16

7:30 PM Play-in Game (at Dayton, OH): Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. Winthrop (ESPN)


Thursday, March 18

12:20 PM Oklahoma City I - Florida vs. BYU
12:25 PM New Orleans I - Notre Dame vs. Old Dominion
12:30 PM Providence I - Villanova vs. Robert Morris
Coverage Map I: http://www.hdsportsguide.com/news/ot...-for-march-18/

2:30 PM San Jose I - Vanderbilt vs. Murray State
2:50 PM Oklahoma City II - Kansas State vs. North Texas
2:55 PM New Orleans II - Baylor vs. Sam Houston
3:00 PM Providence II - Richmond vs. St. Mary’s
Coverage Map II: http://www.hdsportsguide.com/news/20...y-18-window-2/

5:00 PM San Jose II - Butler vs. UTEP (local markets only on CBS / national broadcast on CBSC)

7:10 PM Oklahoma City III - UNLV vs. Northern Iowa
7:15 PM New Orleans III - Kentucky vs. East Tennessee State
7:20 PM San Jose III - Marquette vs. Washington
7:25 PM Providence III - Georgetown vs. Ohio
Coverage Map III: http://www.hdsportsguide.com/news/20...y-18-window-3/

9:40 PM Oklahoma City IV - Kansas vs. Lehigh
9:45 PM New Orleans IV - Texas vs. Wake Forest
9:50 PM San Jose IV - New Mexico vs. Montana
9:55 PM Providence IV - Tennessee vs. San Diego State
Coverage Map IV: http://www.hdsportsguide.com/news/20...sday-window-4/


Friday, March 19

12:15 PM Buffalo I - West Virginia vs. Morgan State
12:25 PM Milwaukee I - Xavier vs. Minnesota
12:30 PM Jacksonville I - Temple vs. Cornell
Coverage Map I: http://www.hdsportsguide.com/news/20...y-19-window-1/

2:30 PM Spokane I - Purdue vs. Siena
2:45 PM Buffalo II - Clemson vs. Missouri
2:55 PM Milwaukee II - Pittsburgh vs. Oakland
3:00 PM Jacksonville II - Wisconsin vs. Wofford
Coverage Map II: http://www.hdsportsguide.com/news/20...h-19-window-2/

5:00 PM Spokane II - Texas A&M vs. Utah State (local markets only on CBS / national broadcast on CBSC)

7:10 PM Buffalo III - Gonzaga vs. Florida State
7:15 PM Milwaukee III - Oklahoma State vs. Georgia Tech
7:20 PM Spokane III - Michigan State vs. New Mexico State
7:25 PM Jacksonville III - Duke vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff
Coverage Map III: http://www.hdsportsguide.com/news/20...iday-window-3/

9:40 PM Buffalo IV - Syracuse vs. Vermont
9:45 PM Milwaukee IV - Ohio State vs. UC Santa Barbara
9:50 PM Spokane IV - Maryland vs. Houston
9:55 PM Jacksonville IV - California vs. Louisville
Coverage Map IV: http://www.hdsportsguide.com/news/20...iday-window-4/


Bracket:
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...ainer;column_3

Red Dog

If I find coverage maps, I'll add them later.

Here are the announcer assignments:

Nantz/Kellogg - Jacksonville
Enberg/Bilas - New Orleans
Lundquist/Raftery - Providence
Johnson/Elmore - Buffalo
Harlan/Bonner - Oklahoma City
Eagle/Spanarkel - Milwaukee
Brando/Gminski - Spokane
Dedes/Wenzel - San Jose

WallyOPD

I thought they usually just did the afternoon outlier game on Thursday, I wonder why they moved a Friday game this year as well.

Red Dog

Because this year there are 2 PT sites. Usually there is a MT site in the West and they have the same start times as the other sites.

WallyOPD

Half of the reason I want to see a 16 seed knock off a 1 seed is so that I can see a second round matchup where both teams are wearing their road uniforms.

starman9000

Lame, but does anybody happen to have a historical breakdown of which numbers tend to win in a 'Squares' pool?

Red Dog

Never heard of a squares pool for basketball. For basketball, I assume it's completely random - no advantage for any number.

starman9000

We do it every year and I thought I had seen some breakdowns before and there were some trends, but I can't seem to find any evidence of that. I think it was basically just that closer scores were better though.

Nefarious

Hey Red Dog, if KU wins the tourney will you change your signature?

Red Dog

Why would I do that? They already won a tourney since then anyhow.

Nefarious

It's just salt in a wound every time I see your signature.

bootsy

Does anyone think they should change the play-in game to 2 real bubble teams instead of having teams like Ark-PB and Winthrop play. Let those teams enjoy the tournament and have them play on Thursday and Friday and have the last two st large teams play the play-in game. It would gave the game some heavy fan interest than what it already has. The winner of that game would be a 12 seed or something to take on a 5 seed. I think that would give true meaning to playing in to the tournament.

WallyOPD

I think they should just drop one at-large bid and go back to 64 teams, but if they insist on having 65 then it should definitely be the last 2 bubble teams into the field.

smashthesymbols

Absolutely. If you win a conference championship, you go straight to the tourney, not a play-in game. Leave the play-in game to the bubble teams.

Red Dog

Oh brother. KU has won how many games and how many championships (including one 2 years ago) and that is salt in a wound?

Red Dog

Thursday coverage maps added....YMMV on these....best way to know which games you'll get is to check your local affiliate's website. I'll add Friday when I see them in the hdsportsguide.

Red Dog

Looking at the stats, this game tonight might set new standards for ugliness.

Red Dog

Enjoy the 65 while we have it this year. It might be the last one. The WP's college basketball lead writer, did this mock 96-team bracket based on this year:
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the65...team.html#more

Sheer ugliness. The Big East would get 13 bids.

Red Dog

Well, here's what I got....some scientific, some gut.

KU over OSU
Cuse over KSU
Baylor over Dook
WVU over Wisconsin

KU over Cuse
WVU over Baylor

KU cuts down the nets.

I'm definitely leery of that Cuse pick. Their defense is superb, but their offense worries me and I think FSU is a major threat to them on the weekend if Onuaku is unavailable.

Has anybody filled in on one of the dvdtalk brackets on cbssports.com? I still have those links. I can import my money one into that.

Red Dog

Oh yeah - I remember one of these. The goofy one where the points got lower as the rounds progressed.

WallyOPD

Yeah, the one where correctly picking a 3 seed to win the first round game would give you 18 points, but correctly picking that same team to win the national championship would only give you 3 points.

There's a thread here on the front page with a link to a new one for this year.

Nefarious

I filled out one for the new one.

Quack

Prepare for Gus.....

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WallyOPD

I know he's not the most popular around here, but I'll take Gus' enthusiasm over a bland stiff like Joe Buck any day.

wildcatlh

Not like the rankings mean a thing, but take a look at Siena coach Fran McCaffrey's final top 25 (actual rankings in parenthesis). I don't think he likes the high majors much...

1. Kansas (1)
2. Kentucky (2)
3. Duke (3)
4. Butler (8)
5. Temple (13)
6. Ohio State (6)
7. West Virginia (5)
8. Northern Iowa (24)
9. Syracuse (4)
10. New Mexico (10)
11. BYU (T-16)
12. Maryland (20)
13. UTEP (25)
14. Purdue (11)
15. Georgetown (15)
16. Kansas State (7)
17. Wisconsin (19)
18. Michigan State (12)
19. Pittsburgh (T-16)
20. Villanova (9)
21. Vanderbilt (22)
22. Richmond (NR)
23. Texas A&M (23)
24. Siena (NR)
25. Cornell (NR)

(full coaches poll ballots for the year: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/colle...l-database.htm)