Oklahoma and Villanova to the Final Four!

If anyone wishes to get in the game chat early for the first game, it's open now at the pinned link up top.

Let's go Nova!

What do people think of Louisville as a city? Seems like Churchill Downs has been a popular attraction. Think it will be a pro Kansas crowd tonight.

How I passed the time while I couldn't sleep this morning:

10. Villanova vs. Indiana - 1978 Sweet 16 (know nothing about this, but seems like it must have been a big one)
9. Villanova vs. Illinois - 1988 Round of 32 (Pat Enright)
8. Villanova vs. Michigan - 1985 Round of 32 (gotta love an 8-1 upset)
7. Villanova vs. Memphis St. - 1985 National Semifinals (gets lost in the shuffle, but MSU was darn good)
6. Villanova vs. Western Kentucky - 1971 National Semifinals (2OT)
5. Villanova vs. BC - 2006 Sweet 16 (so important for the program at that time; unbelievable game)
4. Villanova vs. Pitt - 2009 Elite 8
3. 90-47
2. Villanova vs. UNC - 1985 Elite 8 (Rollie finally gets over the hump)
1. C'mon now.

A few notes: I have some kind of bias toward end-of-weekend wins. I won't argue if anyone accuses me of bias toward those I remember. Apologies to the 1939 team.

Please feel free to tear this apart.

Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick...

Wisconsin had the game in the bag and threw it away in the last few seconds.

Who's pumped? These videos will help pass the time before tip-off:

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...are they jumping on the bandwagon?..

A bit of a ladies man...who woulda guessed.

Kansas -3...seems about right, but let's see if it moves

Now I am no fan of Duke/Coach K. But I agree with what he said to Brooks (assuming he said it). So many team players don't know how to play bball with class. The hot dogging and showmanship seems to rule the day. On the flip side, there is Nova.

At the end of the Nova game, I said to my kid that Nova will dribble out the shot clock and take the turnover in the box score rather than put up a shot. That's class. Nobody on Nova feels bigger than the game. Nor will anyone show up an opponent. That's part of the culture of the program.

Back to K and Brooks. I suppose there is some sort of unwritten rule that you don't comment any negative to another teams' player. Coach K denied but I am sure he said it. (like he wasn't running for the refs during the handshake earlier this year).

Way too pumped to do work right now...quick thoughts about Kansas...

1) Went 8 deep against Maryland and 9 deep against UConn...(Branden Greene didn't play against MD) Greene is a big shooter so having him not play against us would help

2) Kansas starts two quick guards, 6 ft 5 Selden, 6 ft 8 Ellis and 6 ft 10 Lucas. Ellis is obviously their scorer down low, but Lucas works his butt off on the boards. 1 senior, 3 juniors and a sophomore.

3) When they go to the bench, they bring in size. (Likely similar to us next year) but their two guards, Mason/Graham played 75 of a possible 80 minutes yesterday.

4) Kansas has 4 double digit scorers...and Lucas, their 5th best scorer, averages just under 6 points a game. Ellis, Selden, Mason and Graham average 55 a game.

5) As good as we were from 2, Kansas shot 42% from 3 this year.

6) They play at a much faster pace than we do, as denoted by how many shots they've taken this year. We must get back on D, as they often run an out of bounds break.

7) They're prone to turnovers, but that might have to do with the fast pace.

8) The main guys that blocked a lot of their shots didn't play against UConn or Maryland, so there isn't a ton to worry about there.

9) Arch and Brunson need to be strong with the ball as Mason/Graham can cause turnovers.

10) Still pumped and can't do any work...

The only blemish on our season is the blowout win by Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor. And that game has been thrown in our faces in the press, on TV and on message boards across the country. Now I look up and realize that if we win tonight and Oklahoma beats Oregon, we get another shot at them! The Sooners will not see the same team in March that they saw in November. This season is playing out like a fantasy. Bring 'em on!!

That's crazy. #22 for #15.

Pretty funny video here of the guys trying to spell his last name. Chef and Brunson nailed it. Jay and Jenkins - not so much.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AN ALL-TIME GREAT

GO CATS

http://www.csnphilly.com/blog/700-level/villanova-ballers-surprisingly-good-spelling-arcidiacono

looking for some help.... Up here for Easter .... Just outside Providence....looking for a good spot to watch? Any help appreciated

Fri - Got the largest tax refund of my last 18 years.

Sat - Watching the classiest & winningest team in Villanova history advance to the Final Four by dismantling Kansas.

Sun - He Is Risen. Amazing brunch with Prime Rib.

Mon - Going down to The River at MSG.

That is what I see with this team. Supreme confidence in each other and themselves. They know now what playing 40 minutes if Villanova basketball means.

Psychologically this team is far beyond last year, and it started when they realized they could win games when shots aren't falling. The two years prior the team would really tense up and press, but not this year..not this team.

I expect like Thursday that Villanova sets the tone again with aggressive defense, crisp ball movement and good shot taking. Kansas will be a beast, but our boys are ready and confident.

See you in Houston Wildcats!!!

Nike has a million people in their marketing department right? What's the deal with every single Nike school wearing the exact same new shirt? This year everyone has the 'always reppin' shirt or one other phrase.

How hard is it to come up with some random phrase for each school. They could even come up with it themselves. It's not like this is some special shirt they are trying to sell to the public.

Just seems pretty pointless when two teams are playing each other and they are both so tough wearing their 'always reppin' shirts.

Vivid seats has upstairs tickets for $17? Isn't going to be a sellout tonight ?

of course, that'll be next year..........

http://www.philly.com/philly/column...unson_plays_with_an_old-school_mentality.html

Fran Fraschilla on College Game Day just picked Arch as the tournament MVP so far. One of the other commentators picked Perry Ellis.

Well that was awesome

Here is Villanova’s shot chart the past 3 games… it’s good.


The 1.56 points per possession against Miami was the best in college basketball this season.


KANSAS

Kenpom #1 (#7 Offense / #4 Defense)

Big Wins: #6 Oklahoma (2x), #26 Baylor (2x), #7 Kentucky, #10 West Virginia (2x), #14 Iowa State, #25 Connecticut, #24 Maryland.

Losses: #5 Michigan State, #10 West Virginia, #100 Oklahoma State, #14 Iowa State


OFFENSE

Shot Distribution: 40% Rim / 27% Mid-Range / 33% 3pt

• Kenpom #7
• Very efficient shot selection
• Play at a relatively fast pace (#66)
• Excellent shooting team (#9 eFG%)
• Shooting 62% at the rim / 40% mid-range / 42% 3pt
• #4 3pt shooting team in the land
• Decent at the line connecting on 71% (#117)
• Prone to turnovers (#144), especially steals (#240)
• Good offensive rebounding, they get 33% of misses (#78)
• Get to the foul line at an above average rate (#109)

DEFENSE

Shot Distribution: 34% Rim / 32% Mid-Range / 33% 3pt

• Kenpom #4
• #316 in defensive possession length, meaning long defensive possessions. An indication of limiting transition.
• #16 eFG% defense
• Don’t force a ton of turnovers (#144)
• Solid defensive rebounding (#100)
• Excellent 2pt defense (#18)

THE STARS


PERRY ELLIS (6-8) SENIOR

Shot Distribution: 49% Rim / 37% Mid-Range / 14% 3pt

• #5 player in the country according to Kenpom
• Takes the most shots on the team
• Excellent shooter 57% eFG%
• Good, but not great rebounder
• Does not turn it over
• Not a good shot blocker
• Never gets into foul trouble, only 2.2 fouls / 40 minutes
• But draws a ton of fouls, 5.2 / 40 minutes (#330)
• Shoots 80% from the line / 62% at the rim / 46% mid-range / 44% 3pt
• Scored 20+ points seven of the last 8 games. All of them highly efficiently.

FRANK MASON (5-11) JUNIOR

Shot Distribution: 46% Rim / 23% Mid-Range /31 % 3pt

• Likes to get to the rim
• Most efficient spots are wing threes
• Plays 83% of the game
• Excellent assist rate (#280)
• Excellent turnover rate
• Good steal rate (#489)
• Draws a ton of fouls, 4.9 / 40 minutes (#437)
• Gets to the line at a very high rate and knocks down 74% of foul shots
• Shoots 39% from 3pt

WAYNE SELDEN (6-5) JUNIOR

Shot Distribution: 30% Rim / 22% Mid-Range / 49% 3pt

• Efficient shot selection, and excellent shooter
• Not a great rebounder
• Not a great foul shooter (61%)
• Shoots 40% from 3pt
• Converts 67% at the rim.

DAVANTE’ GRAHAM (6-2) SOPH

Shot Distribution: 22% Rim / 24% Mid-Range / 53% 3pt

• Plays 81% of the game.
• Excellent shooter, 57% eFG% (#159)
• Excellent assist rate (#431)
• Good steal rate
• Shoots 74% from the foul line.
• But shoots 43% from 3pt on high volume.

LANDEN LUCAS (6-10) JUNIOR

Shot Distribution: 81% Rim / 18% Mid-Range / 1% 3pt

• The guy keeping Dialo and Bragg on the bench.
• Plays 42% of the game.
• Elite rebounder (#12 Offensive / #49 Defensive)
• Excellent block rate (#239)
• Draws fouls at 4.5 / 40 min
• Converts 78% at the stripe
• Shoots a super efficient 63% from 2pt range, with most shots coming at the bucket.

SVIATOSLAV MYKHAILIUK (6-8) SOPH

Shot Distribution: 21% Rim / 18% Mid-Range / 62% 3pt

• Makes Arcidiacono look easy to spell
• Tall shooter off the bench
• Shoots 39% from 3pt but has shot 59% over the last month.
• Hard to predict if he gets minutes, but you need to be aware of him if he gets into the game.

• Self has a very deep team that’s why Cheick Diallo basically hasn’t played in a month. Jamari Traylor and Carlton Bragg have been getting limited and inconsistent minutes. Brannen Greene is also a fantastic player (shooting 49% from 3pt) but has been injured and has barely played the last month. Self has been riding his starting back court as much as he can. Believe it or not they are #262 in bench minutes, despite what may be the deepest bench in the country.
• This team commits very few fouls, but is great at getting fouled themselves.
• This is the Kenpom #1 vs #2. The algorithm predicts a 1 pt Kansas win, but with each team having a 50% chance to win. This is incredibly close, with only a .0002 difference between each team’s Pythagorean. For context the difference between #1 and #2 last year was .01068 which is a 54x greater gap.

AROUND COLLEGE BB

• Josh Hart is back on the KPOY board, checking in at #6
• Again to the preseason poll. In order it was: UNC, Kentucky, Maryland, Kansas, Duke, Virginia, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Gonzaga, Wichita State, Villanova.
• Kind of late in the game, but if you aren’t listening to the cbs college basketball podcast, then you should be. Not beholden to pumping up any conference, they also enjoy criticizing other writers for lazy narratives (like Villanova can’t get out of the first weekend), they are a great listen. Today Gary Parish and Matt Norlander gushed about Villanova for ten minutes, said Nova and Kansas are playing the best basketball of the tournament right now. Norlander picked Nova, and Parish Kansas.
• I’m enjoying watching so many of the pundits picking Syracuse tonight. Apparently their zone is some derivation of string theory. Here are some stats for you. Cuse is #337 in defensive rebounding, while Gonzaga is #29 in defensive rebounding (and #99 Offensive). And by the way Sabonis shoots 50% from the high post area.

And this

Bans itself from the 2015 postseason when it had no chance to get in.

Gets their head coach suspended 9 games.

Yet they still get in the dance as a 10 seed when they really don't deserve it. The committee may even have looked at those games differently without Boeheim, making the suspension relatively toothless.

Then they get a really easy draw in the first few rounds and get into the Elite 8.

Disgusting.

Sad part is, I'll still probably root for them to beat Virginia to make our potential championship game easier.