Some of this may help you fill your bracket...it did mine!

• 30-win benchmarks matter for mid-majors. 12 teams with 30 or more wins have made the tourney the last 10 seasons and have a combined 10-2 record in the first round. Three of those teams – Stephen F. Austin (2014), Middle Tennessee State (2017) and UC-Irvine (2019) – won as double-digit seeds. HINT: Charleston/Oral Roberts this year.
• Every single Final Four but one since 2012 has had at least one team seeded No. 7 or worse
• At least one top-4 seed has lost in the first round in 13 of the past 14 tournaments (32 of 37 overall)
• Each of the past four No. 3 seeds to lose to a No. 14 seed came from the Big 12 Conference. (Baylor and Kansas State this year)
• Odd but true: At-large teams that finished four games under .500 in conference play are 5-0 in the first round. West Virginia is the only at-large team in this year's field to finish four games under .500 in conference play.
• At least one No. 11 seed has reached the Sweet 16 in 10 of the past 12 tournaments.
• Since 2002, when KenPom began tracking it, 19 of 20 national champions have finished top 25 in adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency.
• Mountain West teams seeded 10th or worse are 1-23 all time, with 20 straight losses since the only win in 2002

Enjoy!

Maybe next year Fred!? Time for Fusker fans to do what they do best this time of year; break out the Creighton blue and white! LOL

Five most overpaid men's college basketball coaches: Looking at you, Calipari and Hoiberg​

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Money can't buy you happiness, a national championship or, in some cases, even a winning season.

Story by Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY

Five most overpaid men's college basketball coaches: Looking at you, Calipari and Hoiberg (msn.com)

Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska​

Hoiberg's stint in Lincoln opened with enormous fanfare — all deserved after his terrific run at Iowa State — but has landed with a thud. Nebraska won just 24 games and went 9-50 in Big Ten play in his first three seasons, annually ranking among the very worst teams in the major conferences. The Cornhuskers have surged in the past month and are sitting at 16-15 overall and 9-11 in the Big Ten, raising hopes that the program has turned a corner.

... Hoiberg will have to continue Nebraska's climb up the conference standings to warrant his $3.25 million salary.

I have a pair of lowers available for both sessions of Thursday's Round 1 games. Tickets are in Section 124, Row U. Just looking to get back face value. $220 per pair for each session.

DM with inquiries. Can accept payment via Venmo and transfer tickets electronically.

Thanks,

Gary Parrish has zero Big 12 teams making it past the Sweet 16.

Who are your upset specials? I really like Charleston but that SDSU defense I think will level the playing field. I don't like Oral Roberts to beat Duke. Drake over Miami seems trendy because of Miami's hurt player but dunno...something about that just screams Miami still wins. Louisiana seems to be trendy over Tennessee...I'm not buying it.

I really want to pick Kent State over Indiana.

I really wanted to pick FAU but Memphis is playing really well.

I think Iona/UCONN will be closer than many think.

And honestly KS will stick with Xavier for a lot longer than many thing as well.

Please use your real emails and usernames. Thank you!

LINK

Since the men play on Friday at 2:10 PM and the women play on Saturday at a time TBD, I google mapped the drive.

Looks like it's about 4.5 hours for those interested.

Please use your username and real email address so you can be identified. More fun and easier to contact for prizes.

LINK HERE

2 Upper All Session tickets- Can no longer attend. Looking to sell at face value. PM if interested!

I have a pair of tix for Thursday both sessions - 4 games in Des Moines.

212 row C aisle seats 0 and 1.

$450 takes the pair

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Go State!!! ISU!

Full bracket with times.

Thread to call your upset specials.

I've got Colgate over Texas.

It's probably more wishful thinking than probable since I don't think Colgate matches up very well vs Texas, but Colgate also fits a profile for a mid-major to pull an upset.

Colgate returns a number of guys who played vs Wisconsin in the tourney last year (not the leading scorer though), have a ton of seniors, have some decent shooters, and beat Syracuse on the road earlier this year. So I'm saying there's a chance.

Plus, I love that they play in Des Moines where no one likes Texas and A&M plays in the same session. Doubt that KU fans will still be around.

Last year vs Wisky: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401408594
Current year roster: https://colgateathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Current year stats: https://www.cbssports.com/college-b...rStats-Scoring&sortcol=ppg&sortdir=descending

#HornsDown

We probably don't talk enough about hanging women's jerseys, but Ashley's should be in the Hilton rafters next year IMO.

My story from Kansas City today, hope you enjoy. Fun weekend.

Does anyone know what session the Clones will be playing on the 17th? We live in Richmond and are planning on going down. Trying to figure out tickets before prices get out of control.

Went to the women's game last year in Greensboro, and the Marriott downtown is a solid hotel choice. Just as a heads up, there is nothing at all around the stadium, so will be interesting to see where they have pre-game parties. You're definitely going to want to plan on Uber - not the best city.

If you have any news - please let us know!

Unsure of numbers 4 each game(s)

The rubber match for this year. An imposing team with a great pressure point guard. UT was down one guard but incredibly dangerous. For our ladies the usual need to be aggressive on defense and getting shots to fall is the magic equation. Time to find out.
Both teams started out looking a wee bit tight. Missing on their first possessions. Even bunnies. Joens got the scoring started with a three.

Texas responded with two straight scoring trips against a zone that appears to have some holes in it. We will see.
Emily had her first careless turnover against minimal pressure. Ash stole the ball back and went coast to coast for two.
UT got multiple offensive boards on one possession and each time the d stepped up for a stop. Wow. Six min in and the sisters led a low scoring affair 7-4. Neither side was shooting well.
Officials were letting lots of contact go uncalled. Both sides continued to struggle on offense. UT was dominating the offensive boards and it is paying off. Diew got an O board of her own and sliced in for two. Kane took a dish from Joens for two and the sisters led 14-11 after one.
First was marked by lots of UT rebounds but a resilient sisters defense.

The second started with UT netting a three to tie it up. The sisters misfired underneath on the return. After another ISU miss UT ran the floor for the lead. Kane knotted things up after some nifty footwork. Ryan turned the ball over after deciding to pass mid jump shot. UT drives after the steal and retook the lead 18-16.
The offense was just wonky and having to force late shots that weren’t falling. Ryan finally nailed a three to retake the lead in this back and forth game.
Officiating was an inconsistent mess and as usual it was costing the sisters. UT scored back to back baskets and got a weird displacement call to push their lead to 23-19.
Ashley answered back with a three. After a turnover we turned it right back on an errant inbounds pass. Of course UT scored. 25-22 Texas. Our offense has reverted to the bad Ryan dribble dribble late shot.
Donarski drove for two and missed the and one. On the other end UT continues to dominate the offensive glass. Fortunately they also missed a lot. Wow…the officials are letting this game be a scrum. Joens scores to end the half with UT leading 27-26.
Story of the first half is three fold. Texas dominating the boards. ISU missing shots and horrendous officiating.

Kane opened the third quarter scoring with a pair of free throws. UT responded and then Fritz turned it over. After another UT bucket Joens nailed a three. All tied up at 31 early.
UT continued to get offensive boards and somehow kept missing. Joens looked pissed. She started going at UT with a vengeance. Scored a traditional three to retake the lead 36-33. Followed with 1-2 from the line. It was the Joens show on offense. Another feed inside and another UT foul. At the five minute media timeout ISU led 37-33.
Diew picked up her third foul. Joens drove again and picked up a pair at the line. ISU in the bonus the rest of the quarter. Kane made one of two.

ISU was called for back to back fouls on one possession. But they didn’t hurt us. The ladies kept going to the line and missing. Donarski made 1-2. Joens to the line again and again missed one. What’s up with all the misses? We should be up 8-19 and only lead by 5, 42-37.
Donarski got elbowed to the face and somehow gets called for the foul. UT closed to 3. Diew hit for three at the buzzer and ISU led 47-39 after three.

The fourth started with a UT bucket in close. Kane responded in kind. Donarski got a steal, raced full court and…missed the layup. Ryan followed with a travel. But Joens powered in and the lead was ten.
After a couple of back and forth misfires on both squads Donarski drove and collected the two free throws. Boom…Ryan for three and the lead was 56-41. UT was visibly frustrated. Five minutes to go
Both offenses started misfiring. Vic “assaulted” the ref on the court and no technical. Wow. ISU kept coming up empty and UT is slowly crawling back in. After two UT misses UT crashes the board and gets fouled. They keep missing at the line and from the field. Donarski drove for two and UT answers with a three. Lead is 58-48 with two minutes to go.
Joens was fouled again and made a pair. Joens hits one more and UT scores a meaningless three. Game over. ISU wins.

Observations

POG - who else but Joens. She took over this game in the third. You could say the team fit this as they played with grit and determination. Nothing seemed to sway their drive.
All tournament team - Donarski and Joens is MVP

I could talk about each individual player as normal, but this truly was a team win if there ever was one. Key shots, powerful rebounds, and a swarming defense that clearly frustrated Texas the entire second half. They were showing it from the last 4 minutes on.
Free Throws - these were the difference makers, but we missed way too many going 14-20.
Rebounds - stayed even throughout the second half. Fought like crazy for em.
Three pointers. Perfect numbers for an ISU team. Make 40%. Don’t shoot mass quantities (17) and make them at critical times.
Now we wait a few hours and see if two big wins over ranked teams are enough to warrant consideration to host. The ride has begun! Time for a new conference championship sweatshirt to join my ones from 20 years ago.

Any fans out there? What's your favorite?

I have a soft spot for

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Way to go!

going to the football game out there this season. I have never been there, anyone familiar with the town? Should my group stay downtown or more closer to the stadium area? Planning on staying Thursday through Sunday morning.

So I get home from lunch- where I watched our women’s team trying to bring home another conference title. We left the restaurant at halftime, I rush home and get on ESPN to get an update- here’s the pic ESPN has on its website: a stock pic of OKLAHOMA State, not Iowa State, playing Texas.

We make it all the way to the title game and they can’t manage one lousy picture of our team?! People wonder why our fans have a chip on our shoulder.

Sec 20. Row J, seats 2-4
$10 each

The Power of the Pops crew is back and the magic they bring has been timely and helpful this year! Both games this tournament the pops came out when the ladies needed the magical boost and respond they did! Fun stuff. They’ve been at it since year one of the Fennelly tour. Here’s the original story about them from 2008.

7:00 CDT | ESPN

Last Bracketology from Charlie Creme:

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS: