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NCAA Tournament Thread

sportsnut said:
Hope Manning played careful attention to his ex head coach and team Kansas put on the floor and the way they didn't really play any defense against Nova (although Nova is VERY good). This is where he learned to coach and is why he tries to play the same system with less talent Self has. Self has superior far athletes/players than we do and still did not close out nor have any chance of guarding Nova in his simplified straight man or half-hearted type zone. It just highlights that coaches like Wright and Beilein can with with tough play and good, but not many elite type players. The Kentucky's, Duke's, and Kansas's have to overwhelm teams with talent to substitute for good hard basic defense and when they meet an experienced, tough, group of guys who play well together and are good enough athletes to not be overwhelmed. Last year's unc team was an experienced and well rounded team which had a few elite players but not an entire roster like those one and done's do. Simplified this post comes down to you got to have a good coach who is flexible with his style of play and that is a huge reason these two teams are playing for their title in this age of one and done
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Beilein talked about how challenging it was to "get ahead" of Loyola since they play such great team defense. For 33 minutes, Loyola had it.

Reminded me of Butler in 2010. That's elite level defense, that very few teams can commit to for an entire season (Porter Moser has referenced this a lot that they put Defense first - and won that way).
 
What was the last great defensive team to win it all? 2012 UK?

It's really hard to point to defense as the be-all end-all focus when the best defensive team in college basketball this year became the first #1 seed beaten by a #16 seed in the history of the tournament.
 
Deacfreak07 said:
What was the last great defensive team to win it all? 2012 UK?

It's really hard to point to defense as the be-all end-all focus when the best defensive team in college basketball this year became the first #1 seed beaten by a #16 seed in the history of the tournament.
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2013 Louisville was #1 in defensive efficiency before the tournament
 
thatguy2016 said:
2013 Louisville was #1 in defensive efficiency before the tournament
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So, 5 years ago. Probably 1-3 top defensive teams win it all per decade since the 80s. An all-defensive strategy doesn't account for the #hothand.
 
It's futile to try to find any one factor (offense v. defense) that dictates a single elimination tournament winner. The best teams have the best chance to win, but in any one and done format, there are going to be randomness to the results (makes the "hire Odom"; "hire Moser" posts based on NCAA results beyond stupid). Here are the last 8 champs, and their KP rankings entering the tournament and the O and D ratings after the tournament:

2011 - UCONN #16 entering the tournament; entered the NCAAs as 3 seed; final O and D ratings: 19/15
2012 - KY #1 entering the tournament (had been the #1 rated team since mid-February; also, the #1 team to start the season) entered the NCAAs as a #1 seed; final O and D ratings: 2/7
2013 - L'ville #2 entering the tournament; #1 seed; final O and D ratings 7/1
2014 - UCONN #25 entering the tournament; (#44 in the nation when conference play started); #7 seed; final O and D ratings: 39/10
2015 - Duke #6 entering the tournament: #1 seed (the last #1 seed); final O and D ratings: 3/11
2016 - Nova #5 entering the tournament: #2 seed final O and D ratings: 3/5
2017 - UNC #3 entering the tournament: #1 seed final O and D ratings: 9/11

The finalists tonight:

Michigan - #10 entering the tournament; during the season, bottomed out at #44 after a 17 point loss to UNC in late November; have made a steady climb during the year; #16 entering the Big 10 tournament; #10 entering the NCAAs (#3 seed); now up to #7; O and D ratings: 31/3

Nova - #2 entering the tournament (behind only UVA); has never been rated lower than #2 all year: current O and D ratings: 1/14

KP projects a 74-68 final and gives Nova a 69% chance to win. Vegas line is Nova -7 O/U is 144.5. FWIW, the #1 team entering the tournament has won the Natty only once over the last 8 years.
 
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Deacfreak07 said:
So, 5 years ago. Probably 1-3 top defensive teams win it all per decade since the 80s. An all-defensive strategy doesn't account for the #hothand.
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Of course you need a balance of the two. In the past 5 years the champions final KPom defensive rank is as follows:

2013: Ville #1
2014: UConn #10
2015: Duke #11
2016: Nova #5
2017: UNC #11

You aren't winning it all if you can't play D. In those same 5 years the #1 ranked offense won zero titles.
 
Pilchard said:
It's futile to try to find any one factor (offense v. defense) that dictates a single elimination tournament winner. The best teams have the best chance to win, but in any one and done format, there are going to be randomness to the results (makes the "hire Odom"; "hire Moser" posts based on NCAA results beyond stupid). Here are the last 8 champs, and their KP rankings entering the tournament and the O and D ratings after the tournament:

2011 - UCONN #16 entering the tournament; entered the NCAAs as 3 seed; final O and D ratings: 19/15
2012 - KY #1 entering the tournament (had been the #1 rated team since mid-February; also, the #1 team to start the season) entered the NCAAs as a #1 seed; final O and D ratings: 2/7
2013 - L'ville #2 entering the tournament; #1 seed; final O and D ratings 7/1
2014 - UCONN #25 entering the tournament; (#44 in the nation when conference play started); #7 seed; final O and D ratings: 39/10
2015 - Duke #6 entering the tournament: #1 seed (the last #1 seed); final O and D ratings: 3/11
2016 - Nova #5 entering the tournament: #2 seed final O and D ratings: 3/5
2017 - UNC #3 entering the tournament: #1 seed final O and D ratings: 9/11

The finalists tonight:

Michigan - #10 entering the tournament; during the season, bottomed out at #44 after a 17 point loss to UNC in late November; have made a steady climb during the year; #16 entering the Big 10 tournament; #10 entering the NCAAs (#3 seed); now up to #7; O and D ratings: 31/3

Nova - #2 entering the tournament (behind only UVA); has never been rated lower than #2 all year: current O and D ratings: 1/14

KP projects a 74-68 final and gives Nova a 69% chance to win. Vegas line is Nova -7 O/U is 144.5. FWIW, the #1 team entering the tournament has one the NCAAs only once over the last 8 years.
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pretty sure every single one of those teams used #DoveMensCare, so we're on a collision course with greatness
 
daaberry said:
Of course you need a balance of the two. In the past 5 years the champions final KPom defensive rank is as follows:

2013: Ville #1
2014: UConn #10
2015: Duke #11
2016: Nova #5
2017: UNC #11

You aren't winning it all if you can't play D. In those same 5 years the #1 ranked offense won zero titles.
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Pretty interesting stat there.
Yeah, you gotta score some points, but defense is more important. Similar to football.
 
Michigan is playing for the NC without having played a team seeded better than #5. The highest rated team Michigan has played was Houston who was #21 entering the tournament (and who Michigan should've lost to).
 
Nova led the nation in scoring this year.

UNC ranked # 12 in scoring. Duke ranked #4 in scoring.

Scoring is more important than defense these days.
 
RJKarl said:
Nova led the nation in scoring this year.

UNC ranked # 12 in scoring. Duke ranked #4 in scoring.

Scoring is more important than defense these days.
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Here is the top five for scoring:

1. Nova
2. Savannah State
3. Portland State
4. William & Mary
5. Oklahoma

Pretty much your Final Four plus Oklahoma, right there.
 
Scoring D:

1 Virginia 54.0
2 Cincinnati 57.5
3 UCF 61.7
4 UNI 62.2
5 UNCG 62.5

Cherry picked just like you...

OR FG% Offense:

1 Saint Mary's (CA)
2 William & Mary
3 Loyola Chicago
4 Arizona
5 Villanova

FG% Defense:

Top Final Four Team is Loyola at 44th.

3pt FG% shooting
KU 11th, Nova 12th, Loyola 20th

3pt% defense:

Nova is the highest ranked at #33, MI is 50th

Seems like offense is more important than D these days
 
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cherry picked? you chose that stat, fam.

Michigan scoring O: 167th
Michigan FG%: 53rd
 
Anyone down in San Antonio with some tickets? I made the trip down with a friend for tonight. Planning on scalping close to game time but figured I’d ask.
 
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