NCAA Team Tournament Predictions

[Satsuma Florida]

A lot of people had posted their predictions here and there but I thought I'd start a thread for people to post their predictions for the team tourney and come back to it to see how we did. Obama hasn't made his predictions yet has he? lol

1st Round winners:
Virginia
VCU
UNC
Illinois
Stanford
Washington
Texas A&M
Indiana
Ohio St.
Notre Dame
Texas
Oklahoma
Baylor
Texas Tech
UCLA
Ole Miss
Michigan
Duke
Wilmington
Georgia
Minnesota
California
Vanderbilt
Tennessee
Louisville
Kentucky
Miami
Florida
Mississippi St.
Georgia Tech
BYU
USC

2nd Round Winners
Virginia
UNC
Stanford
Texas A&M
Ohio St.
Texas
Baylor
UCLA
Duke
Georgia
Minnesota
Tennessee
Kentucky
Florida
Mississippi St.
USC

Elite Eight:
Virginia
Texas A&M
Ohio St.
Baylor
Georgia
Tennessee
Florida
USC

Final Four:
Virginia
Baylor
Tennessee
Florida (homer pick. they could just as easily go out to Kentucky)

Championship:
Virginia over Tennessee

 

[mikej]

predictions by quarter:

top quarter - UVA waltzes, Stanford/Wash vs A&M will be a good match but the loser gets promptly dismissed next round

second quarter - Baylor v Ohio St will be great, i don't really know who to pick but my gut says Baylor despite their slip up at the end of the season

third quarter - back around Indoors i asked for USC in the draw, got it, and the boys delivered...deja vu with UGA the victim this time...Tenn will be too tough after a grueling match w/ UGA

final quarter - UF gives USC a mighty test andddddd yes i'm calling the upset, USC is over-rated this year, should be a great match

SEMIS: UVA over Baylor comfortably, Tenn over UF in a dog-fight
FINALS: UVA over Tenn comfortably to get the gorilla off the back

or in non-narrative format (just the later rounds):
QUARTERS:
UVA v A&M
Ohio St v Baylor
Duke v UTenn
UF v USC

SEMIS:
UVA v Baylor
UTenn v UF

FINALS: UVA def. UTenn

 

[mikej]

interesting that our only disagreement is the Duke v UGA match (which i feel strongly about Duke being the favorite in, but i'm a liiiiiiiittle bit biased )

as they say, great minds think alike

i can't wait for feddie to chime in

 

[Fedace]

Above would be perfect prediction if this was held Indoors at Virginia. LMAO,,,,,,ROTFL

 

[Satsuma Florida]

Above would be perfect prediction if this was held Indoors at Virginia. LMAO,,,,,,ROTFL

True. Virginia has proven us wrong the last couple of seasons. We'll see if their indoor success will continue outdoors this time.

 

[ClarkC]

I think that Ohio State will beat Baylor. I have not been a believer in them in past years, but they have been very consistent this year and Baylor has not.

 

[JLyon]

I think that Ohio State will beat Baylor. I have not been a believer in them in past years, but they have been very consistent this year and Baylor has not.

Bigger question is: Will Ohio State show up if the wind is blowing a little to hard or the temperature is not a perfect 70 degrees.

 

[wanatabe mixer]

Virginia is going to choke again.

 

[Fedace]

Bigger question is: Will Ohio State show up if the wind is blowing a little to hard or the temperature is not a perfect 70 degrees.

It can get very windy in Palo Alto. Agree Ohio state will lose early. Teams to beat are Stanford, USC, UCLA, Texas and Tennessee.

 

[robow7]

Bigger question is: Will Ohio State show up if the wind is blowing a little to hard or the temperature is not a perfect 70 degrees.

That used to be the knock against the northern schools but not as much anymore. Illinois won the whole thing in 2003 and finished runner up a couple of years ago to unbeaten Georgia so it can be done.

 

[jhick]

That used to be the knock against the northern schools but not as much anymore. Illinois won the whole thing in 2003 and finished runner up a couple of years ago to unbeaten Georgia so it can be done.

FWIW...Ohio State just got some practice in windy conditions outdoors at the Big Ten tourney recently in Madison.

 

[jaggy]

An ohio state are the biggest chokers out there, hopefully will be again.

 

[Clemson_tennis]

An ohio state are the biggest chokers out there, hopefully will be again.

They were runner up 2 years ago and beaten by a better USC team last year. I don't see the choking

 

[woodrow1029]

Fedace, have you decided if you will be at Stanford this weekend?

 

[Fedace]

Fedace, have you decided if you will be at Stanford this weekend?

Not this weekend but maybe weekend after when the boys play Virginia. They may need my help at that match.

 

[starbucks]

Final four: Tennessee, USC, Ohio St, Virginia

 

[Fedace]

Final four: Tennessee, USC, Ohio St, Virginia

final four : Tennessee, Stanford, USC, Ohio state. Virginia is more interested in where the next futures and challenger wildcards are than playing for the team. All individualistic ego maniancs.

 

[mikej]

It can get very windy in Palo Alto. Agree Ohio state will lose early. Teams to beat are Stanford, USC, UCLA, Texas and Tennessee.

final four : Tennessee, Stanford, USC, Ohio state. Virginia is more interested in where the next futures and challenger wildcards are than playing for the team. All individualistic ego maniancs.

wait, "Ohio state will lose early" but they're also going to get to the final four, getting past two "teams to beat" (Texas and UCLA) in the process?

feddie, my friend, what is it like to spew so much b#llsh!t you can't even keep track of what you're saying in a given day???

 

[starbucks]

wait, "Ohio state will lose early" but they're also going to get to the final four, getting past two "teams to beat" (Texas and UCLA) in the process?

feddie, my friend, what is it like to spew so much b#llsh!t you can't even keep track of what you're saying in a given day???

I foresee Stanford loosing earlier than Ohio State, if either of them loose "early". Whatever loosing early actually means.

 

[Fedace]

wait, "Ohio state will lose early" but they're also going to get to the final four, getting past two "teams to beat" (Texas and UCLA) in the process?

feddie, my friend, what is it like to spew so much b#llsh!t you can't even keep track of what you're saying in a given day???

Your reasoning is of level of a child. you think Virginia will go far just because they have overall better talent on the team. but you don't get it. Come NCAA tournament time, talent is NOT what wins. It is Home support of the fans and Heart and Desire of the players that gets them far into the tournament.:???:

 

[Automator]

Georgia is the only school to win the title on their home court in the dual match era. No other team has done it.

And talent definitely gets it done in the tournament. USC was the most talented team in the country last year at full strength, and they won the title because of it. No other team had a 1-2 combo like Farah and Johnson. Heck, no team this year has one like that.

 

[Fedace]

Georgia is the only school to win the title on their home court in the dual match era. No other team has done it.

And talent definitely gets it done in the tournament. USC was the most talented team in the country last year at full strength, and they won the title because of it. No other team had a 1-2 combo like Farah and Johnson. Heck, no team this year has one like that.

what about 1-2-3 punch like Klahn, Clayton, and thacher ?

 

[ClarkC]

I foresee Stanford loosing earlier than Ohio State, if either of them loose "early". Whatever loosing early actually means.

I don't know what "loosing early" means, either. Is it anything like "losing early" in the tournament?

 

[ClarkC]

Georgia is the only school to win the title on their home court in the dual match era. No other team has done it.

And talent definitely gets it done in the tournament. USC was the most talented team in the country last year at full strength, and they won the title because of it. No other team had a 1-2 combo like Farah and Johnson. Heck, no team this year has one like that.

what about 1-2-3 punch like Klahn, Clayton, and thacher ?

I think that Automator meant not just talent, but talent that is properly coached and developed.

 

[SoCal10s]

And talent definitely gets it done in the tournament. USC was the most talented team in the country last year at full strength, and they won the title because of it. No other team had a 1-2 combo like Farah and Johnson. Heck, no team this year has one like that.

maybe yes and maybe no.. who took home the MVP for the tournament? not Johnson nor Farah.. it's always a team effort.. Virginia has the #2 and #3 best players in the country,right now..

what about 1-2-3 punch like Klahn, Clayton, and thacher ?

maybe on paper .. they haven't lived up to their potential as most of Stanford's team in recent years, maybe this year they can get it together ,playing at home should give them a good advantage going in..

 

[AceServe]

I don't know what "loosing early" means, either. Is it anything like "losing early" in the tournament?

>>I don't know what "loosing early" means<<

Yes you do.

When TT becomes the 'English spelling and grammar forum' then this sort of pedantic complaint may be productive. Till then - give it a rest and address the 'message'.

 

[Automator]

what about 1-2-3 punch like Klahn, Clayton, and thacher ?

Klahn is 15-7 in the #1 spot
Thacher is 11-9 in the #2 spot
Clayton is 15-3 in the #3 spot

Considering that those three were all top three recruits out of high school, they should be one of the best top threes in the country, but their results don't bear that out. Thacher is struggling at the 2 spot.

I'd definitely rank the Cardinal behind the big three (UVA, USC, Tennessee) in terms of the overall strength of their top 3 players. I think you can make a case that Stanford has the fourth best 1-2-3 lineup in the country, although some other teams can also make that claim.

 

[ClarkC]

>>I don't know what "loosing early" means<<

Yes you do.

When TT becomes the 'English spelling and grammar forum' then this sort of pedantic complaint may be productive. Till then - give it a rest and address the 'message'.

Which forum permits such discussions?

The only way that people will realize what is correct and incorrect is to have it pointed out. If someone accidentally hits the wrong key on the keyboard, they have my sympathy. I am a poor typist. Buy typing is not the issue with loose instead of lose. We have a very large number of people in this country who actually think they are spelling the word correctly then they are not. Do you suppose they will all sign on to a spelling correction forum somewhere to learn?

L-o-s-e. Four whole letters, one whole syllable. People educated at taxpayer expense for 13 years or more cannot handle this word. Someone has to say something about it, as their lazy and incompetent school teachers did not.

 

[Automator]

maybe yes and maybe no.. who took home the MVP for the tournament? not Johnson nor Farah.. it's always a team effort.. Virginia has the #2 and #3 best players in the country,right now..

True on the first count. With regards to Johnson and Farah in 2010 versus Shabaz and Domijan in 2011, I'd give an edge to the USC duo.

Farah was the #1 player in singles in the final rankings, and Johnson spent a decent amount of time there.

So, 2010 Farah versus 2011 Shabaz - edge to Farah. Farah bombed Shabaz off the court in the semis last year.
2010 Johnson versus 2011 Domijan - call it a toss up. Johnson is ranked ahead of Domijan this year, mainly on the strength of his wins over Klahn.

 

[AceServe]

Which forum permits such discussions?

The only way that people will realize what is correct and incorrect is to have it pointed out. If someone accidentally hits the wrong key on the keyboard, they have my sympathy. I am a poor typist. Buy typing is not the issue with loose instead of lose. We have a very large number of people in this country who actually think they are spelling the word correctly then they are not. Do you suppose they will all sign on to a spelling correction forum somewhere to learn?

L-o-s-e. Four whole letters, one whole syllable. People educated at taxpayer expense for 13 years or more cannot handle this word. Someone has to say something about it, as their lazy and incompetent school teachers did not.

>>Someone has to say something about it<<

No, "someone" doesn't.

The fact is, spelling and grammar are inconsequential in a forum such as this so long as the meaning may be understood - and in this particular instance, the meaning was easily understood. In fact, your claim that you did not know what was meant was clearly a lie. You knew EXACTLY what was meant. That you would claim you did not is disingenuous. For my part, I would FAR rather be communicating with someone making an effort to be understood (even with poor grammar and/or spelling), than a pedant who is intentionally insincere and misleading.

 

[ClarkC]

>>Someone has to say something about it<<

No, "someone" doesn't.

The fact is, spelling and grammar are inconsequential in a forum such as this so long as the meaning may be understood - and in this particular instance, the meaning was easily understood. In fact, your claim that you did not know what was meant was clearly a lie. You knew EXACTLY what was meant. That you would claim you did not is disingenuous. For my part, I would FAR rather be communicating with someone making an effort to be understood (even with poor grammar and/or spelling), than a pedant who is intentionally insincere and misleading.

Apparently you don't know the difference between a sarcastic statement and a lie. In which case, you are not intelligent enough to conduct a productive conversation.

 

[mikej]

yeah, i'm fine with clarkc pointing that out...i couldn't care less whether people type quick messages on this forum with no grammar / no punctuation / occasional typos...i do the same

but when you spell a 1st grade word wrong three times in the same post....yeah...spend less time on tennis forums and follow Billy Madison's example by going back to elementary school

i know of someone who had a med school interview that lasted about 5 minutes, 1 question: interviewer handed her personal statement back to her (<500 words) and asked her to find the typo - she sat there for a few minutes and didn't - game over...turned out to be using the wrong form of their / there...girl thought it was ridiculous, but i do not...i don't want anyone watching over my health that got through college without learning to spell common words

 

[ClarkC]

>>Someone has to say something about it<<

No, "someone" doesn't.

In the same vein, you don't have to say anything about my post. Notice the inherent hypocrisy of objecting to someone trying to uphold some minimal standards of language while you try to uphold what you perceive to be the correct standards for posting on the board. Just as no one appointed me to be the spelling cop on the board, no one appointed you to be the upholder of your perceived acceptable standards for posting. But, it is a free country. You don't like my posts, ignore them.

 

[ClarkC]

yeah, i'm fine with clarkc pointing that out...i couldn't care less whether people type quick messages on this forum with no grammar / no punctuation / occasional typos...i do the same

but when you spell a 1st grade word wrong three times in the same post....yeah...spend less time on tennis forums and follow Billy Madison's example by going back to elementary school

i know of someone who had a med school interview that lasted about 5 minutes, 1 question: interviewer handed her personal statement back to her (<500 words) and asked her to find the typo - she sat there for a few minutes and didn't - game over...turned out to be using the wrong form of their / there...girl thought it was ridiculous, but i do not...i don't want anyone watching over my health that got through college without learning to spell common words

Of course, college is not where the basics of spelling get taught. Talk to college professors about what they see in freshman English class from our nation's high school graduates.

I see simple misspellings such as there/their/they're all the time and do not post corrections. On a public forum, I would be posting all day if I did that. But the "loose" spelling of "lose" is so rampant and so much less tricky than there/their confusion that I eventually speak up. If we can misspell lose then what is the limit? Is there any word that high school graduates can be expected to spell correctly? Perhaps cat and dog are the new minimum standard?

 

[AceServe]

In the same vein, you don't have to say anything about my post. Notice the inherent hypocrisy of objecting to someone trying to uphold some minimal standards of language while you try to uphold what you perceive to be the correct standards for posting on the board. Just as no one appointed me to be the spelling cop on the board, no one appointed you to be the upholder of your perceived acceptable standards for posting. But, it is a free country. You don't like my posts, ignore them.

The hypocrite is YOU sir - with your feigned difficulty in understanding the meaning of a post that was easily understood even by the addled. No doubt you are chagrined at being called-out on your hypocrisy, but the bigger man would simply fess up and move on.

My point is made. Feel free to rail on.

 

[mikej]

Klahn is 15-7 in the #1 spot
Thacher is 11-9 in the #2 spot
Clayton is 15-3 in the #3 spot

Considering that those three were all top three recruits out of high school, they should be one of the best top threes in the country, but their results don't bear that out. Thacher is struggling at the 2 spot.

I'd definitely rank the Cardinal behind the big three (UVA, USC, Tennessee) in terms of the overall strength of their top 3 players. I think you can make a case that Stanford has the fourth best 1-2-3 lineup in the country, although some other teams can also make that claim.

I'm not sure I even have their top three in my top 10. In dual matches, they've proven to be worse than USC's top three, worse than UF's, about even with UGA (1-1 with Clayton still playing), worse than Baylor (1-2 despite stacking), and slightly better than Washington (2-1).

There are a number of teams such as OSU, Tenn., and Duke that I think are also better at those spots. With regard to Duke: Carleton is leagues better than Thacher as he showed at ITA AA this year, I'd rather have Cunha based on overall results these two years (as would the computer rankings) despite their match in NCAA semis last year, and I like Mengel as the favorite against Clayton in a hard-fought match (Mengel's ranking, or lack thereof, is not reflective of how good he has been the second half of this year: 10-1 in the ACC at #3 - Singh for UVA was just way too good - and just named ITA Regional Rookie of the Year).

Honestly, I see Thacher as one of the worst #2s among the top 20 or so ranked teams.

edit: also UVA is obviously better at the top three, forgot them, two and three wouldn't even be competitive

i'm sure Feddie will have an entertaining response to this - we'll just have to wait and see how the top three do against UW, A&M, and - if they're lucky enough to get there - UVA

 

[ClarkC]

The hypocrite is YOU sir - with your feigned difficulty in understanding the meaning of a post that was easily understood even by the addled. No doubt you are chagrined at being called-out on your hypocrisy, but the bigger man would simply fess up and move on.

My point is made. Feel free to rail on.

Your point is that you don't understand the difference between feigning a lack of understanding, in order to make a point with sarcasm, and telling a lie. The conclusion is that you are a dolt.

 

[AceServe]

Your point is that you don't understand the difference between feigning a lack of understanding, in order to make a point with sarcasm, and telling a lie. The conclusion is that you are a dolt.

Clearly you lack the capacity to understand my point. Your resorting to childish name-calling is further indication of your lack of capacity. I'll leave it to the readers to draw their own conclusions as to which of us is the "dolt."

 

[mikej]

Clearly you lack the capacity to understand my point. Your resorting to childish name-calling is further indication of your lack of capacity. I'll leave it to the readers to draw their own conclusions as to which of us is the "dolt."

ooooh, oooh, i'll draw a conclusion:

dolt points:

mikej - 0.5*
clarkc - 0.5
starbucks - 1.0
aceserve - 1.5

* an automatic half a dolt point is given to any human who at any time in their life takes time out of their day to participate in an endless-loop internet argument...other point assignments are subjective based on such criteria as likely being the first person out in an elementary school spelling bee or lack of logical arguing skills

[i hope to god my middling attempt at comedy can end this tangential, non-tennis argument]

edit: i really should include a unit of standardization in my dolt scale, apologies for the oversight...fedace is a perfect 10.0

 

[AceServe]

ooooh, oooh, i'll draw a conclusion:

dolt points:

mikej - 0.5*
clarkc - 0.5
starbucks - 1.0
aceserve - 1.5

* an automatic half a dolt point is given to any human who at any time in their life takes time out of their day to participate in an endless-loop internet argument...other point assignments are subjective based on such criteria as likely being the first person out in an elementary school spelling bee or lack of logical arguing skills

[i hope to god my middling attempt at comedy can end this tangential, non-tennis argument]

You missed the point penalty for behaving as a disingenuous pedant. :twisted:

 

[Satsuma Florida]

Can we return to the subject of this thread? I'm interested in everyone's predictions.

I kan sturt ah speeling threaad if yo want,

 

[mikej]

Can we return to the subject of this thread? I'm interested in everyone's predictions.

That seems reasonable enough.

Red Wings will complete the comeback, 3-1 win tonight.

 

[Satsuma Florida]

That seems reasonable enough.

Red Wings will complete the comeback, 3-1 win tonight.

Lightning and Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Finals!

 

[ClarkC]

Do any Georgia Tech fans know if Juan Spir will be 100% healthy? A lot of people are picking Mississippi State to beat Georgia Tech in Atlanta, based on their upset over Tennessee. Of course, Georgia Tech upset Georgia earlier, and gave UVa a pretty good match without Spir. I think that regional might depend on Spir's condition.

 

[woodrow1029]

That seems reasonable enough.

Red Wings will complete the comeback, 3-1 win tonight.

Good start for the Sharks!

 

[jaggy]

Indiana-LSU doubles is a dogfight, looks like a tiebreaker in court 3 will decide it, at #1 Indiana's 44th ranked team beat the number 8's.

 

[jaggy]

Indiana takes the doubles point winning the TB 11-9!

 

[Satsuma Florida]

Michigan looks like they may be able to pull it out. The Hoosiers look they are in trouble.

 

[Satsuma Florida]

Michigan looks like they may be able to pull it out. The Hoosiers look they are in trouble.

Nope! The Terps escape. Not doing so hot on some of my predictions today. Gotta love tennis.

 

[Clemson_tennis]

Michigan this year was King/Jung and the 4 stooges