Regional Semis and Finals

[Tarheel]

Well are y'all ready for the next round?  Or do your brackets look as disastrous as my own (at least for the MidWest and West anyway).

I thought this article was interesting:

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/7958910/Breaking-down-the-Sweet-16

[ssgaufan]

My bracket sucks.  If Louisville beats Tenn that will help, other than that, I'm still looking for the boys in Carolina blue to win it all.

[Tarheel]

...
I'm still looking for the boys in Carolina blue to win it all.

I'm obviously just a bit biased but I'm hoping for the same thing.

[Aubie16]

West Virginia needs to keep up this comeback. I was the only person in my bracket who had them beating Duke so that gave me some points...but I also had them going Elite 8 which would give me some much needed breathing room.

[Buzz Killington]

My Final Four on one bracket is still intact, and Georgetown is the only thing that spoiled my other bracket.
I am counting on North Carolina making the final game and losing to UCLA...sorry Tarheel.

[War Eagle!!!]

North Carolina looks VERY good. They are playing good ball right now. To beat a good defensive team like WSU without a lot of help from Hansbrough is huge. They look like the team to beat right now. I am looking forward to watching UNC and Kansas Final Four match up. Hopefully Kansas will get there because I think Wisconsin is playing good ball right now too...should be fun!

[Tarheel]

...
I am counting on North Carolina making the final game and losing to UCLA...sorry Tarheel.

No worries...I don't take nothing for granted in these tournaments anymore and UCLA is a tough team...Louisville looked strong last night too.  I actually had Tennessee beating them in my bracket.  We'll see how it goes...

[Tarheel]

This article is just a bit dated by a couple of weeks but it is worth it just to read what the authors say about Duke and Georgia; it's titled "Teams We Hate":

Here's the link:  http://www.slate.com/id/2186858

Here's the excerpts that I appreciated (apologies to any Dook and Georgia fans out there)(any emphasis was added):

Dook first:

Duke University, Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 2 in West Region
If history is our guide, 64 teams in the 2008 NCAA Tournament believe the fans, critics, and concessionaires aren't giving them enough respect. There's one team, though, that thinks the exact opposite. In recent years, coach Mike Krzyzewski, guard-poet J.J. Redick, and forward-faux businessman Christian Laettner have confessed to reporters the terrible burden that the Blue Devils must bear: Duke always gets the other team's best shot. Complaining that you get too much respect, that the NCAA's junior associates have the gall to try to beat you, is the quintessence of Duke basketball. I believe psychologists refer to this as narcissistic personality disorder.

Sure, every team and every hoops fan wants to see Coach Leadership and Ethics bite it. But that's not because Duke is on top of the basketball world—George Mason has reached as many Final Fours over the last six years. No, America's hatred of Duke grows ever-stronger because the program derives so much of its ample self-regard from being hated. It's a vicious cycle of annoyance: J.J. Redick says then-pre-frosh Greg Paulus will be "hated as much as me," an arrogant prediction that makes both Redick and Paulus instantly more loathsome. The most frustrating thing about hating Duke, then, is knowing the program would wither and die if you could just stop paying attention. After all, Duke doesn't play on national television 800 times a year because people want to see Greg Paulus win.—Josh Levin

Now, Georgia...

University of Georgia, Southeastern Conference, No. 14 in West Region
It's tough enough to deal with UGA's obnoxious, thin-skinned fans during football season. Now, thanks to a miracle run to the SEC Tournament title, the Athens contingent has something else to crow endlessly about. Because a tornado rendered downtown Atlanta unfit for frivolity, the Dawgs did the deed in the home gym of its arch-enemy, Georgia Tech. Suffice it to say, Hotlanta will never hear the end of it.

Georgia fans are so self-righteous, they probably believe the twister (which I heard but didn't see, if you're curious) was sent by the Lord hisself to facilitate the unlikely championship. I prefer to blame Tennessee and Vanderbilt, the conference's two best teams, for gazing toward the bigger tournament that starts this week, thus helping a team that won four conference games all season win four in three days and the SEC's automatic tourney bid.

I'd have liked the Bulldogs' chances if the NCAAs had started Monday. Georgia is like the kid who gets on an ungodly hot streak and makes 30 straight free throws before mom makes him come home. When he heads back out after dinner, the magic is gone, and it's brick after brick after brick. By Thursday afternoon, when the Bulldogs take on Xavier, reality will have set in. That'll shut up those Georgia fans—at least until next month's spring football game.—Robert Weintraub

[Saniflush]

I'm not sure which one is funnier!

[Tarheel]

I'm not sure which one is funnier!

I'm thinking about circulating that commentary on Georgia around the front office at work just to hack-off all the Georgia fans that I work with here.

Even in hindsight I thought that these comments were rich:

"It's tough enough to deal with UGA's obnoxious, thin-skinned fans during football season....By Thursday afternoon, when the Bulldogs take on Xavier, reality will have set in. That'll shut up those Georgia fans—at least until next month's spring football game."

[Tarheel]

Well, I haven't seen much in the way of activity on this thread so I thought that I'd make another post to comment on the Regional Semis and Finals.

I was obviously very pleased to see the Tarheels advance past Washington State and then Louisville to get to the Final Four this year.  After the loss to Georgetown last year it is very satisfying not only to see Georgetown loose early on (to Davidson no less) but to see the Tarheels advance farther than they made it last year.  Even if they don't make it to the final game I think they've done great (and they'll probably but up another banner or two or three in the Dean Dome).

Davidson was a real surprise and although they screwed up my brackets they had become a favorite of mine (two of my good friends even graduated from there).  I thought for certain that Wisconsin would crush them but it was the other way around...they were just barely defeated by Kansas after a phenomenal struggle. 

Kansas played very well but they showed some serious weakness which I think that the Tarheels can exploit in the next game...I am a little nervous but I think that they can be worn down by the Tarheels

Memphis was a slight surprise; I had anticipated Texas (and Kentucky for that matter) to play much, much better; they have looked really good the times that I have watched them play in regular season games.

UCLA is not a surprise to me at all; they are a very strong team and as a Tarheel fan...I must confess that I really fear them the most at this point...but we'll see how things go this weekend.