Countdown to Tipoff: LSU-UAB Round 1 Gameday Discussion

I'm ready to talk hoops, both LSU and today's games.

I love these "experts". You had guys calling UAB a team unworthy of being in the tourney on Sunday night, and now UAB is becoming an increasingly trendy upset pick for today's games.

LOL. Good. That makes LSU an even better value pick in national pools. I play in a contest with a bunch of northeasterners and they (a) have little respect for the SEC ('cept for Florida, likely b/c they know Billy Donovan), (b) no respect for LSU and (c) are all in love with Syracuse.

 

I feel really good about the UAB game.

Bass and Davis will cause killer matchup problems for them. Don't mind running some with them, as long as we control the tempo in the second half.

Here's the slate of games for today:
11:20 2 Kentucky/15 E. Kent.
11:25 5 Bama/12 UW-Milwaukee
11:40 8 Pacific/9 Pitt
11:45 3 Oklahoma/14 Niagara
1:50 7 Cincy/10 Iowa
1:55 4 B.C./13 Penn
2:10 1 Washington/16 Montana
2:15 6 Utah/11 UTEP
6:10 2 Wake/15 Chattanooga
6:10 8 Texas/9 Nevada
6:20 3 Arizona/14 Utah St
6:25 3 Gonzaga/14 Winthrop
8:40 1 Illinois/16 FDU
8:40 7 WVA/10 Creighton
8:40 6 LSU/11 UAB
8:55 6 TX Tech/11 UCLA

 

My biggest concern for LSU is the play of the guards. In the NCAA tourney good guard play is a MUST. Bass & Davis will be fine and get their fair share of points and rebounds, but it's the guards that will determine how far the Tigers go. This is a golden opportunity and THE stage for Tac Minor to elevate his game and make his name a household one. If he can play under control, which will be tough against UAB and its pressure, and knock down the open looks he often gets, then the Tigers could go far, but if he doesn't they could easily be one and done. And the latter part of that really that holds true for Mitchell and Hudson as well. They have got to make the "open look" 3-pointers and prevent teams from collapsing in on Bass & Davis. Must make teams pay for leaving them open.

 

Eastern Kentucky already giving Kentucky a game early on. 10-9 Kentucky leads, E. Ken. with ball after tv timeout.


As for LSU's game, agreed. I think Bass and Davis will wear that team out. Also, both Bass and Davis handle the ball extremely well for big men and this helps tremendously with going against a full court press. Just have to avoid foul trouble.

 

As usual, I didn't follow the regular season that much, watched some conference tourney action, then crammed like I was taking a final in college last night and this morning to finish my brackets (contest w/ about 100 entries).

My final four--Illinois, Gonzaga, UConn, Oklahoma.

National champ: Oklahoma

 

Bama is also down 14-9, five minutes into the game...

 

this sucks i pay 15 bucks to be able to watxh all the games on the computer and now it won't come up. It just better be up by the LSU game

 

Ncaa selection committee is a group of sports geniuses sometimes... There are so many fascinating matchups and possibilities for later matchups this year. For example with Travis Ford, former Kentucky star player, coaching Eastern Kentucky against his former team in the NCAA tourney.

 

Boy UWM is just shooting lights out.

That is going to be the 5-12 right there if they can keep that up, Alabama will fall so far behind they won't be able to shoot their way back into it.

 

They were reaching with that one. I heard that and i was like um kay and that means what?