NCAA Tournament First Round Picks

[COACH DITKA]

Here's to a little luck!

Locking these in for now (1 unit each):
Illinois -5 - I love seeing everyone against the Illini.
Washington -6
Maryland +1.5

GL to all! Will add more later.
MARCH MADNESS is finally upon us!!!!!!!!


Moose

[BoilerBacker]

Originally Posted by COACH DITKA

Here's to a little luck!

Locking these in for now (1 unit each):
Illinois -5 - I love seeing everyone against the Illini.
Washington -6
Maryland +1.5

GL to all! Will add more later.
MARCH MADNESS is finally upon us!!!!!!!!


Moose

I like the Illini too.

GL

[COACH DITKA]

Thanks BB - GL to you as well! Like the Boilers too!

Add:
CS Northridge +20 (1 Unit)

[akatdrake]

GL today Coach!

[joepa66]

GL Coach.....and have a great tourney run!

[COACH DITKA]

Thanks Drake and JoePa ... GL to you fellas as well!

Add (1 unit each):
Villanova/American OVER 128
Texas -4.5

[COACH DITKA]

Perfectly fitting that a even a rare good day is somehow depressing. I go 5-1 and yet I lose the only game I really cared about. Props to Trent and Calvin - congrats on being the only two Illini to show up tonight.


Moose

[NIU Murph]

Moose,

Nice day today and forget about this year's Illini. They suck and they overachieved this year. Meachem played his ass off tonight, however. I hear in the next two years they have some big time talent coming on board. In the next few years, you could see some deep tourney runs.

If only my Huskies had such a future! LOL.

Good luck the rest of the tourney.

Murph

[FlyersFan]

Not sure what the consensus is but i think Weber is an awful coach. He looks like he's confused and jumps around on the sidelines like a moron most of the time. I think his teams are often ill prepared for what they face and look lost on the court. In the first half of that game, i really question whether or not Illinois even had a game plan. They kind of looked lost, especially defensively. I mean i actually wondered at one point if Weber had even bothered to mention that Vasquez-Menez-Valdez-Gomez was a good player because they left him wide open most of the first half to shoot or get others involved.

Really was disappointed somewhat in the Big10 today but maybe that was to be expected. Illinois and Minnesota pretty much got destroyed and Purdue didn't look good in the 2H. Michigan had a good game, though, and as much as i despise them it was nice to see them beat Clemson (there is another perennial underachieving program) and validate their bid......OSU, MSU, Wisky tomorrow........would love to see a sweep there.

Nice job...

[COACH DITKA]

Originally Posted by NIU Murph

Moose,

Nice day today and forget about this year's Illini. They suck and they overachieved this year. Meachem played his ass off tonight, however. I hear in the next two years they have some big time talent coming on board. In the next few years, you could see some deep tourney runs.

If only my Huskies had such a future! LOL.

Good luck the rest of the tourney.

Murph

Thanks Murph - GL to you the rest of the way as well! The Illini definitely overachieved as Bruce did a helluva job with these boys as he maximized the average talent he had to work with. Never good when a half-court team can't shoot jump shots.
You are right about the talent coming in the next few years. Brandon Paul (Warren HS) highlights next years class and led his team to a great year before Richmond's team knocked 'em outta the playoffs. DJ Richardson and Tyler Griffey will be valuable guys off the bench as well. In two years, we are looking at a Top-5 class. The aforementioned Jereme Richmond is an absolute stud (YouTube - Jereme Richmond Half Court Shot) and probably will be one-and-done. Crandall Head (Luther's lil bro) is a taller and more athletic version of his brother and Myles Leonard is a big who can run the floor. In three years, Tracey Abrams (Mt. Carmel) figures to bring in his AAU buddies to keep the talent level at an incredible level.

Anyways, enough of that - onto the picks for tomorrow (or today now I guess).

Plays (1 unit each):
Siena ML +140 - Siena is much more balanced. Still think OSU is a year away. If Turner gets into foul trouble and plays poorly, Buckeyes have no shot.
Florida St -2.5 - Banking on Douglas going off on a hot start. If Wisky falls behind early, it could turn ugly. They are a defensive-minded team built to play on the lead and not come from behind.
Utah St ML +165 - Marquette really will miss Dominic James.
Utah -1 - I expect the Wildcats to continue their recent habit of early exits. Arizona has more talent but Utah is more balanced and the better TEAM.
North Dakota St +10.5 - I found it interesting to read that the four senior starters including Whiteside and Winkelman decided to redshirt when they learned the Bison would become eligible for the Big Dance during their senior seasons and decided they would sit out then to gear up for one big run as their careers reached the final year of eligibility. They should be amped up and be ready to play. Plus, I expect about half the state of North Dakota to try and make the drive to Minneapolis.

GLTA! I'm sure I'll be adding a few more throughout the day.


Moose

[COACH DITKA]

Originally Posted by FlyersFan

Not sure what the consensus is but i think Weber is an awful coach. He looks like he's confused and jumps around on the sidelines like a moron most of the time. I think his teams are often ill prepared for what they face and look lost on the court. In the first half of that game, i really question whether or not Illinois even had a game plan. They kind of looked lost, especially defensively. I mean i actually wondered at one point if Weber had even bothered to mention that Vasquez-Menez-Valdez-Gomez was a good player because they left him wide open most of the first half to shoot or get others involved.

Really was disappointed somewhat in the Big10 today but maybe that was to be expected. Illinois and Minnesota pretty much got destroyed and Purdue didn't look good in the 2H. Michigan had a good game, though, and as much as i despise them it was nice to see them beat Clemson (there is another perennial underachieving program) and validate their bid......OSU, MSU, Wisky tomorrow........would love to see a sweep there.

Nice job...

Thanks FF - GL to you and your Buckeyes as well!

Personally, I think Weber is a good coach. It's not his fault that his players decide not to cover the perimeter and leave opposing players wide open at the trey ball line. It's not his fault Mike Tisdale is over seven feet tall and refuses to move his feet and position himself to get a rebound. I feel he did a great job this year since no one expected this from the Illini. I'd much rather have him than Self. The knock on Bruce was despite being a good coach, it was always not being able to recruit but now he is doing that. I don't know how it is at each school (a little variance I presume) but I had class with a lot of the guys on the team and they are all quite slow. This certainly translates to the court as most of them look lost a good majority of the time. Anyways, just my two cents.


Moose

[wsox08]

I think Weber is a great coach. It's not completely his fault that the majority of the guys didn't show up tonight. The strategy should have been to get it inside every time down because WKU wasn't play a lick of defense but that didn't happen until the end of the game. Illinois had a great chance of winning the game with their size and if they showed up on the defensive end. The theme for this year is "We can't finish games" or "Aww we were 'close'". I hope next year ends up better and Tisdale is more aggressive on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball and Legion is worked into the offense.

[COACH DITKA]

Add:

Louisville -21 (1 unit)
Oklahoma St ML +135 (1 unit)
North Dakota St ML +380 (1/2 unit)

GLTA! I'll be adding a few more still.


Moose

[BUNK MORELAND]

Weber is not as bad as oliver pernell sweetpea ...

that was a joke at the end of that game



good luck today coach !!!!

i just drove by mike ditka stadium about an hour ago !!!

that's where the aliquippa quips baseball team plays !!!

I"M WITH YA ON THAT MONEY LINE COACH !!! nd st

[COACH DITKA]

Thanks Willi/Bunk - GL to you as well!

Add(1 unit each):
USC -2
Wake Forest -7.5 (If Deacons are on their game tonight I could see this being a blowout. That being said, Wake will probably suck up the joint and Cleveland St will pull the upset).


Moose