2018 Men's NCAA Tournament
- Thread starter ClarkC
- Start date
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Stanford breeze all the way to the semifinal. Too easy. and we will see what Wake Forest is made of in Outdoor courts.
And then UNC-UCLA in the quarters looks good.
chris-swede
Hall of Fame
Columbia could get Trouble vs UVA in 2nd round
OSU vs winner over Kentucky/Vtech is not an easy one
UGA can surprise Oklahoma!
the 7/10 and 8/9 sweet 16s could be the best ones°!
OSU vs winner over Kentucky/Vtech is not an easy one
UGA can surprise Oklahoma!
the 7/10 and 8/9 sweet 16s could be the best ones°!
That would be the round of 16 (when Stanford usually starts having trouble, if not earlier).
Although they will and should be heavily favored, USC shouldn't overlook their first round opponent, UCSB. In going 7-0 in the Big West this season , the Gauchos did not relinquish a point to any conference opponent, winning by a 43-0 margin. Yes, the Big West is a far cry from the Pac 12 but that level of domination is still impressive and suggests they've improved.
The two teams did face off early in the season with the Trojans handling the Gauchos in Los Angeles with relative ease, 6-1. The P12 handed the Gauchos four of their six losses, losing to Oregon, Utah and Arizona in addition to the Trojans. UCSB managed to defeat Washington.
Four of UCSB's losses came to teams playing in the tournament. By my count, USC went 9-8 against tournament teams.
jaggy
Talk Tennis Guru
Great post, I really don't know a great deal about the current west coast teams (other than what I read here about Stanford). I used to live in San Diego and watched both SDSU and USD a lot.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Florida poses no problem. Stanford almost never loses to lesser teams
Fabresque
Legend
I’m saving this when Florida win
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Stanford has NO weakness up and down the lineup. All star players from #1 to #6 spot. Also Fawcett is already top 100 pro and Axel Geller is ITA #1 player as freshman.
Card not exactly peaking. That said, sports are "What have you done for me lately?" For the most part 6-game doubles matches come down to big points. Stanford's teams are capable of winning those. Would like to see Fomba and Sameer flop. Both players have tremendous potential. Tom and Axel are capable of beating anybody. Wili has the heart of a lion, and Genesen and Mike both know how to play and win. As I've said all year Mr. Fomba is the key. At his peak hard to find a better three anywhere. Can still win Natty.
I think they would rather take an almost sure point at #4 (i.e. Fomba win) and like 40% of the point at #3 (Sameer) than switching them and possibly losing both positions. But that Florida team worries me a bit. They will almost certainly win doubles point, and they are strong at #1 and #2. So Stanford needs a solid performance on back courts. Maybe Tom or Axel can pull out a win at those top two courts - but it is going to be hard. They beat Wake team afetr all.
I mean assuming they win those two matches at home first....
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
I predict Fomba will win the clinching match in NCAA final.
Zacenroe86
Rookie
Whoa bro. The gauntlet is set..I'm not completely sold on Cards beating Gators. We will see..but three teams definitely better than Stanford.
Wake
UCLA
Ohio State
Up in the air,
Miss State
A&M
USC
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
OSU ??????????? lol
Saul Goode
Semi-Pro
Good luck with that.
Clemson_tennis
Legend
The Norman regional is the most interesting. Unlike many regionals where there will be only 1 good match (maybe even none in some of them) this one should have 3 good matches. Utah and Minnesota are capable 4 and 3 seeds and could pose a challenge if they are on their game. Plus there is the likelihood of a blockbuster Georgia vs Oklahoma match in round 2, two teams that have been in final fours in recent seasons.
Tar Heel Tennis
Professional
@ Wake Forest - 8 indoor courts
jcgatennismom
Hall of Fame
Much better than UGA last year with only 4 indoor courts!
Clemson_tennis
Legend
Athens is a great place to host but the last few times it has had some kind of rain disaster situation. It ruined the national championship between USC/Virginia and then last year as well. That could be a reason they aren't on the rotation to host again for the next few years.
jcgatennismom
Hall of Fame
Athens is a great and fun place to watch tennis outside. No players want to play uGA in the pit where 4-6 are usually strong (not so much this year). When NCAA matches were moved indoors last year after a long delay, UGA had to send out a message over social media for people not to come because they did not have enough room inside for all the spectators. UGA spends so much on football, and tennis in spite of its legacy there still does not have 6 indoor courts like most of the SEC/ACC outside of Florida. Now after last year's scandal, the AD has an easy excuse to delay adding courts for more years.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
yea but do they have Webcams Indoora ?? what good is indoors if they have no webcams ?
Fisch
New User
Why do you think they don't have video? They have live streaming on all 8 indoor courts.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
GREAT.............. if it rains in the final , I can still see Stanford win the final indoors.
jaggy
Talk Tennis Guru
It is truly an exciting time
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
Another major conspiracy. All the powerhouse Pac-12 teams in one half of the draw.
https://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/tennis-men/d1
https://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/tennis-men/d1
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
This is it for all the marbles. Time to get it ON this weekend and til the championship is back at the Farm.
SouthernCourts
Semi-Pro
I'm seeing the selection for singles/doubles, but no bracket yet. Do they wait to make the bracket?
SouthernCourts
Semi-Pro
Absolutely brutal draw for Stanford to get a sleeping giant in Duke in 2nd round. Sucks they won't make it to W-S this year.
BlacknGold35
Rookie
Believe they usually wait to see if there are withdrawals while the team tournament is going on. Bracket usually comes out a couple of days before the individual tournaments start.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
LOL,,, Stanford has ITA #1 player Axel Geller and top 100 ATP tour pro at #1 spot, Tom Fawcett. Duke is having the worst year in 20 years and have NO confidence. At the Farm, they will be lucky to win few games off the Cardinal.
Clemson_tennis
Legend
Duke didn't play that great down the stretch. They will probably lose to Ole Miss
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
What's up with Nick Alvarez ?? this guy is supposed to be top talent that can make in the ATP tour in the future. and yet he lost 2 times to Florida state #1 guy in last 2 weeks..............
SouthernCourts
Semi-Pro
Crazy how Geller is the the ITA's #1 player yet couldn't even make the field of 64, or the 12 alternates, for the NCAA singles draw.
SouthernCourts
Semi-Pro
But I can already see how it'll go...you're feeling great before the match, and then, oops, you lost the doubles point in a close one. Suddenly you're a little worried, but it's still not a big deal. Then you realize Duke's depth is better than you thought, and courts 4-6 all look like going the wrong way. Oh no, you think, there are definitely four points out there for them. And then the slow nightmare begins.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
LOL,,,Axel had to play #2 spot where competition isn't as strong, so it isn't his fault that his ranking was where it was at.
SouthernCourts
Semi-Pro
In that case you must be referring to his stellar 6-6 season record against ranked opponents. Stanford is on the dive, baby, and the Devils are coming to seek & destroy.
Nostradamus
Bionic Poster
GET REAL. #4-6 spot will be Dominated by the Cardinal. Fomba is pretty much pro level player with ATP tour points. and Genender and Wilczynski are both top players who would be playing #2 and #3 spot on most other D1 teams. Fomba is Guarantee win at #4. Geller will win his match at #2. Tom Fawcett should win his at #1. Alvarez who is a good player won't do well on these Super FAST courts at Stanford. Tom plays well on these courts using his big serves. So Cardinal only need one more point somewhere, anywhere, Easy.
Saul Goode
Semi-Pro
Some of it delusional.
SouthernCourts
Semi-Pro
Who's up for a bracket competition? I'm envisioning a simple pick 'em, points doubling each round until the SFs, 12 for semifinalist, 20 for nat'l champ. If people are into it I'll start a new thread.
In the future please spell DOOK correctly.
Standford Cardinals, is how a Super Fan who happens to be a physician/nurse with homes in Dallas, Chicago and San Diego has spelled it here before.
jerryjones1960
Rookie
Not that paying attention to facts is important but Axel Geller had a horrible year and didn't even qualify for the NCAA singles. Tough to win the tournament if you aren't allowed to play in it. One could argue that Geller is a running advertisement for juniors that want to be good to not even think about going to Stanford. He was #1 in world juniors and in one year of college has gotten much worse, how is it possible that the #1 junior in the entire world is not good enough to play in the NCAA singles tournament. Has to be a tough sell for any future top juniors that have any interest in tennis and improvement.....perhaps more like an Ivy league and just focus on academics.
Geller was 18-6 on the year. Would not call that horrible. I think he just hit the freshman wall. And remember, you're talking Stanford here, an elite athletic and academic institution. Anyone who has attended a Stanford home match knows how fabulous the facility is. You're also easily discarding how many top ten wins the Card had this year. Remember, too, Stanford made the final 16 the last two years. Look for boys to regain their mojo. Gotta believe.
Geller did not play in the fall, combine that with no significant wins and it's fair to say he's as good as his ranking.
His six losses appear to all come against players not making the singles draw, and it looks like he didn't beat anyone that is in the top #32. http://www.itatennis.com/ResultsAndRankings/LatestResults.htm I don't see what the fuss is.
His six losses appear to all come against players not making the singles draw, and it looks like he didn't beat anyone that is in the top #32. http://www.itatennis.com/ResultsAndRankings/LatestResults.htm I don't see what the fuss is.
