Giant Slayer

[anon_x0d8d0dquuo4t]

Can anyone beat Kentucky? A team to beat Kentucky would have to be an upset on the order of NC State over Houston and/or Villanova over Georgetown. After the brackets are released, we'll see lots of speculation on who that spoiler could be. Thoughts?

 

[vicu1024]

Villanova can do it.

 

[JIMSOULS]

Villanova can't do it. They don't have the size. And while Nova's strength is it's guard play, they are way behind Kentucky in that area as well. All four Kentucky guards are outstanding. Heck, Kentucky has two of the top ten point guards in the nation. They also have a pair of lottery picks on the interior in Towns and Cauley-Stein, and another frontcourt player, Lyles, who is better than anyone on Villanova. How can Nova be expected to compete with that?

It will take a monumental effort by someone -- and a poor one by Kentucky -- for anyone to pull off the upset. It's really hard to see that happening.

 

[NittanyPirate]

Arizona. They have some trees down low and a smart senior point guard.

 

[SOBO1]

Originally posted by vicu1024:
Villanova can do it.

Lol. I like Villanova a lot but no they can't. If Michigan State or Ohio State gets an 8/9 seed in the east I'm not confident that Villanova makes it past the second round.

I hope Villanova proves everyone wrong but a lot of people don't see them going deep in this tournament.

This post was edited on 3/15 11:52 AM by SOBO1

 

[Woah Bundy]

If anyone could, outside of a miracle 8/9 team, I think it would be Wisconsin. They're big upfront, all their guys can shoot and spread the floor, and they slow the game down making it a possession battle.

 

[shu09]

Originally posted by JIMSOULS:

Villanova can't do it. They don't have the size. And while Nova's strength is it's guard play, they are way behind Kentucky in that area as well. All four Kentucky guards are outstanding. Heck, Kentucky has two of the top ten point guards in the nation. They also have a pair of lottery picks on the interior in Towns and Cauley-Stein, and another frontcourt player, Lyles, who is better than anyone on Villanova. How can Nova be expected to compete with that?

It will take a monumental effort by someone -- and a poor one by Kentucky -- for anyone to pull off the upset. It's really hard to see that happening.

Couldn't disagree more. Villanova can absolutely do it because of its three point shooting. Kentucky's greatest strength is its front line defense. Doesn't matter much if you're dropping threes on them all game.

That would be a good game to watch. If it happened, I'd give a slight edge to UK. 60%-40%.

 

[JIMSOULS]

But Kentucky has great defensive guards, and would be able to play the Nova three-point shooters straight up. Villanova's only hope is to slow the game down, but Kentucky is used to that because nearly everyone has (unsuccessfully) employed that strategy.

If Nova gets a one-seed, it will be interesting to see what they do in their 8/9 game depending on the matchup. They're not as battle-tested as some of those Big 10/Big 12 teams who might wind up there. Out of the probable top 16 seeds, they haven't played anyone. Having Georgetown, Butler, and Providence as your best wins/competition isn't all that impressive. No way they would be 32-2 in if they played in the ACC, Big 10, or Big 12.

 

[Bobbie Solo]

They can be beat by a smart, decently-sized team that goes off from deep on a given day. So sure, Nova could beat them if they shoot lights out. They can also be beat at their own game by a great team with size, as LSU almost did. So then you have Arizona, Wisconsin, Utah or maybe even Gonzaga come into the picture. It's one game on one day. They can go down. But it's unlikely. They are really, really good. They play unselfishly, listen to their coach, and play crazy defense all the time. It's amazing to see from so many freshmen. I hate Calipari as much as everyone else, as he epitomizes everything wrong with the sport, but man...can he focus on solely the on-court stuff & get guys to buy in. it's impressive.

 

[shu09]

Once again, JIMSOULS goes out of his way to denigrate the quality of the Big East. Why are you even a fan? You're insufferable.

Villanova would absolutely be 32-2 if it played in the Big 10. Maybe the ACC too. Not the Big 12, that's the best conference.

 

[Bobbie Solo]

Originally posted by shu09:

Once again, JIMSOULS goes out of his way to denigrate the quality of the Big East. Why are you even a fan? You're insufferable.

Villanova would absolutely be 32-2 if it played in the Big 10. Maybe the ACC too. Not the Big 12, that's the best conference.

Come on man, our conference was excellent this season, but Nova didn't have any teams to contend with like Duke or Virginia. They would have lost another 2 or 3 games if they had those teams in the league. I'm with you on the Big Ten though. Don't like any of those teams in the tourney except Wisconsin, Purdue as a shocker during the 1st weekend, and maaaaybe Maryland to win 2 games.

 

[JIMSOULS]

How is that denigrating the Big East? Anyone can see that the conference isn't nearly as good as it used to be. You'll fire back with the #2 RPI thing, but the MVC was the #1 RPI conference in 2005-06. Did anyone really think they were the best conference? Step outside the Big East. Outside of Nova's ranking, he nation isn't even paying attention.

 

[bd98]

Originally posted by JIMSOULS:

How is that denigrating the Big East? Anyone can see that the conference isn't nearly as good as it used to be. You'll fire back with the #2 RPI thing, but the MVC was the #1 RPI conference in 2005-06. Did anyone really think they were the best conference? Step outside the Big East. Outside of Nova's ranking, he nation isn't even paying attention.

Uh, no. MVC was 6th that year.

 

[shu09]

Originally posted by JIMSOULS:

How is that denigrating the Big East? Anyone can see that the conference isn't nearly as good as it used to be. You'll fire back with the #2 RPI thing, but the MVC was the #1 RPI conference in 2005-06. Did anyone really think they were the best conference? Step outside the Big East. Outside of Nova's ranking, he nation isn't even paying attention.

Nonsense. That's because the conference isn't on ESPN every night.

 

[SOBO1]

I think he mean the Mountain West Conference. Might not have been '05-'06, but not too long ago they had the #1 RPI.

 

[SHUPirate08]

Going out on a limb for the Big East...I have Nova over Kentucky in the final. Teams I think can beat Kentucky - Arizona, Wisconsin, Nova, Virginia, Duke.