Day 1 = AWESOME!!

March 16, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 2 Comments

That..was..AWESOME!!

Thursday marked Day 1 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. It had everything you’d hope for; blowouts, buzzer-beaters, and major upsets. Where else can you get 12 hours of uninterrupted entertainment?! Wait, don’t answer that! If you hadn’t noticed, we’re a big fan of lists….

4.) 1st Overtime Game – The 1st game of the tournament, Oklahoma Vs. Rhode Island was a nail biter. After leading by as many as 7, Oklahoma found themselves down 6 with 4:12 left. That was about the same time Trae Young started to heat up. After scoring 10 early points, Young went scoreless for 22 minutes and 56 seconds. Finishing with 28 points was impressive, however, losing overshadows anything positive. Rhode Island will take on Duke in the 2nd round following an 83-78 F/OT victory.

3.) Career High – Rob Gray put on the performance of a lifetime. Gray, a senior guard for Houston University, scored a career high 39 points Thursday night. Gray willed his team to victory (67-65), carrying them into the 2nd round. The final 1:08 was epic. Devin Watson of San Diego State and Rob Gray traded 3 pointers not once, but twice. And with the game tied at 65, Gray drove the lane, making an acrobatic layup with 2 seconds left.

Check out the play here.

This was the 1st, official, ‘jump off the couch moment’ of the tournament. Or, the ‘I scared the crap out of my dog, Jordan, moment’.

2.) Arizona Stinks – That was pathetic. I don’t mean to disparage Buffalo’s accomplishment, but they have no business beating Arizona — by 21 (89-68)!! Maybe someone should have reminded Arizona what time their game was, because they still haven’t shown up. If you ever wondered what quitting looked like in physical form, just watch the last 10 minutes of this game….

1.) Can I Get A Buzzer-Beater?! – And last, but certainly not least, Loyola-Chicago Vs. Miami was the game of the day. A closely contested game throughout, saw drama reach its peak in the final second. Miami choking the game away didn’t hurt either. Their final 4 possessions consisted of 3 turnovers and 1 missed free throw.

Trailing by 1, with 9 seconds left, Loyola-Chicago’s Ben Richardson grabbed a defensive rebound. With no timeouts remaining, they were forced to push the ball up the floor. The ball wound up in Donte Ingram’s hands, who launched a 3-pointer from 25-feet. HE NAILED IT with 0.3 seconds left on the clock. 64-62. BOOM!!

What was your favorite part of Day 1?? Tell me all about it in the comment section below.

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The Best Day Of The Year!!!!

March 15, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

Whether you like it or not, today is going to be crazy. There will be buzzer-beaters, major upsets, and absolute blowouts. If only we had a crystal ball to predict the future, this would be a lot easier (and more lucrative). Whatever happens, don’t bet more than you can afford to lose, and have a good time.

Upset City

(12) South Dakota State over (5) Ohio State

(11) Loyola-Chicago over (6) Miami

(11) St. Bonaventure over (6) Florida

(11) Loyola-Chicago over (3) Tennessee (2nd round)

(8) Missouri over (1) Xavier (2nd round)

None of the top 4 seeds, in any region, will lose in the 1st round. You’ll see at least one 12 seed beat a 5 seed. It happens every year. This year, it’ll be South Dakota State taking down Ohio State.

Loyola-Chicago is under-seeded. Vegas agrees, as Miami is just a 1.5 point favorite in today’s game. Seemingly every year a double-digit seed makes it to the sweet 16. This year, it’s Loyola-Chicago.

Since the inception of the “first four” (in 2012), at least one team has advanced from the “round of 68” to the 2nd round. St. Bonaventure will carry the momentum from a win over UCLA to a win over Florida.

Our last major upset of the tournament actually falls into our next category….

First #1 Seed To Fall

Xavier. Xavier is the weakest #1 seed. They’ll run into a Missouri team in the 2nd round, who recently regained the services of one of the top prospects in the country; Michael Porter Jr. Expect Porter Jr. to hit his full stride come the 2nd round.

Final Four

South – ARIZONA

West – GONZAGA

East – VILLANOVA

Midwest – DUKE

**The winner of the Sweet 16 matchup between Michigan State and Duke will advance to the Final Four.

Champion

Villanova. Jay Wright is a phenomenal basketball coach. He consistently produces top-line NCAA teams every year. This season, his squad has returned to life as a #1 seed. Balanced scoring is the name of their game. Villanova has six, double-digit scorers on their roster, making their bench almost as dangerous as their starting five.

Villanova will be cutting down the nets for the 2nd time in three years.

Who’s going to win the Championship?? Post your prediction in the comment section below.

IT’S BRACKET TIME!!!!

March 12, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

It’s here. It’s finally here!!

No, not Christmas, March Madness!!

It’s like Christmas, minus the awkward, social obligation to buy people you barely know (or like) gifts.

Anyway, this is, ‘I collectively watched 12 minutes of college basketball this season, but I’m suddenly an expert’ week. Others fill out brackets based on their favorite mascots or jersey colors. Either way, filling my bracket(s) with check marks and x’s fills my soul with happiness. Before we get to my predictions, let’s analyze the field of “68”.

#1 Seeds

Virginia, Villanova, Kansas, and Xavier. They got these right this year. While watching the #1 overall seed, Virginia, play basketball is like watching paint dry, their defensive style is effective. They finished the year 31-2, their only losses coming to West Virginia and Virginia Tech. Villanova, the #2 overall seed, overshadowed by Virginia, will look to sneak their way through the weakest bracket in the tournament (East).

To see the entire bracket, click here.

Bubble Teams

No matter how many teams are in the tournament, 64, 68, there will always be an odd man out. This year, it’s Notre Dame. According to the NCAA Tournament Committee, Notre Dame was team 69, so Davidson upsetting Rhode Island Sunday afternoon was the final nail in the Notre Dame coffin.

The last team in, Syracuse. In year’s past, I would have thrown my arms in the air, stomped my feet like a child, and screamed about tournament snubs. Honestly, I don’t have the time or energy for that anymore. Every team straddling the “bubble” has an argument one way or the other. Syracuse, Louisville, UCLA, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC, St. Marys, and Oklahoma State all fall into the same category; mediocre basketball teams.

The crazy part is, one of the last teams in, usually makes a deep run in the tournament, “justifying” their entrance. Even though Oklahoma has only won two games since February 1st, Trae Young’s Oklahoma Sooners can beat anyone on any given day. Arizona State has also shown the ability to beat anyone, with wins against not one, but two #1 seeds; Kansas and Xavier.

Under Appreciated and Under Seeded

While I’m not going to throw my hands in the air, I do have an issue with some of the seeding in this tournament. Arizona and Auburn deserve better than #4 seeds. Arizona won the Pac-12 regular season title, the Pac-12 conference championship, and they have presumably the #1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft on their roster (DeAndre Ayton). They should have been swapped with Texas Tech (a #3 seed), losers of 5 of their last 7 games.

Auburn should also feel slighted. They finished with a better record then Tennessee, AND they beat Tennessee, IN TENNESSEE!! How are they a #4 seed, while Tennessee is inexplicably a #3 seed??

As for my predictions, they’re coming….

on Thursday.

Check back with DaveTalksSports.com on Thursday morning to find my upsets, locks, and most importantly, my National Champion.

What do you think of the bracket?? Who were the biggest snubs?? Who was under seeded or over seeded?? Answer my questions in the comment section below!!

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