West Region 2008

bedir than average · 03-16-2008, 06:27 PM

1 UCLA
16 Miss Valley St

8 BYU
9 Texas A&M

5 Drake
12 Western KY

4 U Conn
13 San Diego

6 Purdue
11 Baylor

3 Xavier
14 Georgia

7 West Virginia
10 Arizona

2 Duke
15 Belmont

djwhokid · 03-16-2008, 06:40 PM

UCLA has an easy road to the final 4.

In the sweet 16 they probably will play UConn (good team but not in UCLA's league).

Duke cannot handle Kevin Love.

UCLA is just too damn good. Kevin Love is a beast inside, Darren Collison is lightning quick. Russell Westbrook is a defensive wizard, Josh Shipp is solid... just a complete team.

dlb · 03-16-2008, 06:52 PM

Yeah, this is a gimme for the Bruins. Duke is a very weak 2-seed. They are not likely to make it to the Regional Final. UConn may be UCLA's toughest test.

CaptiveCoyote · 03-16-2008, 08:28 PM

It looks easy for the Bruins on paper. Sometimes the region that appears the easiest turns out to be anything but. But the pitfalls aren't many so I'll pick UCLA to go through.

bedir than average · 03-22-2008, 04:17 PM

Huggins over Coach K

I'm starting to believe dlb. Duke's coach might be through competing as a contender year in and year out. He'll still be good, but his coaching style hasn't adapted. He's consistently good, but likely no longer great.

dlb · 03-23-2008, 09:56 AM

During yesterday's game, I came to the conclusion that this year's Duke team's primary problem was conditioning. K's new offense requires a lot of activity, as does his traditional defense. To make up for the increased activity on offense, the idea was that they'd play more zone on defense. They were not, however, able to beat better teams with their zone. Thus, they ran into a situation where they had to go full out on both sides of the floor.

By mid February, they were starting to wear out. By the middle of the second half of yesterday's game, they were completely shot.

Krzyzewski, then, is still looking for an answer. It may be as simple as telling his guys to spend their summer running about 5 miles per day. It may require abandoning the Phoenix offense. It may require playing more zone (and getting better at it).

I don't know what the ultimate answer is, and I don't think K does, either. Don't be surprised to see him announce his retirement before next season starts.

On another front, last night's late game was my first good look at UCLA. This team can beat Carolina. Love appears capable of containing Hansbrough without any help. Plus, they are an excellent defensive team - good enough to decrease the effectiveness of all of our offensive options.

djwhokid · 03-23-2008, 01:11 PM

I don't know, maybe it has to do with talent?

North Carolina will be rebuilding next year with Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson leaving for the draft.

Duke meanwhile will return everyone but DeMarcus Nelson, but have top recruit Elliot Williams coming in.

Kyle Singler, Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer, Greg Paulus, Nolan Smith, all returning. If Brian Zoubek, Olek Czyz, or Lance Thomas can make a bigger impact, Duke can have an inside game they sorely needs.

dlb · 03-23-2008, 04:10 PM

Quote:

I don't know, maybe it has to do with talent?

This year's Duke team had more McDonald's All Americans than any other team in college basketball. There was no shortage of talent.

djwhokid · 03-23-2008, 04:56 PM

Quote:

This year's Duke team had more McDonald's All Americans than any other team in college basketball. There was no shortage of talent.

They have no quality big men. If Josh McRoberts didn't foolishly enter the draft, I'd say Duke would be still playing.

TylerDurden · 03-23-2008, 05:07 PM

How many people are going to call me a liar if I said I had both West Virginia and Western Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen?

dlb · 03-23-2008, 07:58 PM

Quote:

They have no quality big men.

Singler is better than McRoberts; plus, most of the dookies here in NC think Josh's departure was addition by subtraction. Word is he didn't fit in with the rest of the Devils.

djwhokid · 03-28-2008, 02:52 AM

UCLA not only will win the championship, but they probably will win multiple titles the next 10-20 years. I see no "real" competition in the Pac-10.

Kevin Love is amazing. This guy is going to have a Vlade Divac-like career in the NBA.

Russell Westbrook is a stud. Hopefully he returns next year because he is fun to watch.

03-16-2008, 06:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
bedir than average Administrator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Starbucks Posts: 8,256	West Region 2008 1 UCLA 16 Miss Valley St 8 BYU 9 Texas A&M 5 Drake 12 Western KY 4 U Conn 13 San Diego 6 Purdue 11 Baylor 3 Xavier 14 Georgia 7 West Virginia 10 Arizona 2 Duke 15 Belmont __________________ US Men's National Team World Cup Qualifying \| Democracy in Sports Meets My First Campaign "You're only so sure you're right because they're so sure you're wrong." Orson Scott Card in Xenocide

03-22-2008, 04:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
bedir than average Administrator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Starbucks Posts: 8,256	Huggins over Coach K I'm starting to believe dlb. Duke's coach might be through competing as a contender year in and year out. He'll still be good, but his coaching style hasn't adapted. He's consistently good, but likely no longer great. __________________ US Men's National Team World Cup Qualifying \| Democracy in Sports Meets My First Campaign "You're only so sure you're right because they're so sure you're wrong." Orson Scott Card in Xenocide

03-23-2008, 09:56 AM	#6 (permalink)
dlb Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 4,249	During yesterday's game, I came to the conclusion that this year's Duke team's primary problem was conditioning. K's new offense requires a lot of activity, as does his traditional defense. To make up for the increased activity on offense, the idea was that they'd play more zone on defense. They were not, however, able to beat better teams with their zone. Thus, they ran into a situation where they had to go full out on both sides of the floor. By mid February, they were starting to wear out. By the middle of the second half of yesterday's game, they were completely shot. Krzyzewski, then, is still looking for an answer. It may be as simple as telling his guys to spend their summer running about 5 miles per day. It may require abandoning the Phoenix offense. It may require playing more zone (and getting better at it). I don't know what the ultimate answer is, and I don't think K does, either. Don't be surprised to see him announce his retirement before next season starts. On another front, last night's late game was my first good look at UCLA. This team can beat Carolina. Love appears capable of containing Hansbrough without any help. Plus, they are an excellent defensive team - good enough to decrease the effectiveness of all of our offensive options. Last edited by dlb; 03-23-2008 at 09:59 AM.

03-16-2008, 06:52 PM	#3 (permalink)
dlb Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 4,249	Yeah, this is a gimme for the Bruins. Duke is a very weak 2-seed. They are not likely to make it to the Regional Final. UConn may be UCLA's toughest test.

03-16-2008, 08:28 PM	#4 (permalink)
CaptiveCoyote Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 150	It looks easy for the Bruins on paper. Sometimes the region that appears the easiest turns out to be anything but. But the pitfalls aren't many so I'll pick UCLA to go through.

03-23-2008, 05:07 PM	#10 (permalink)
TylerDurden Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 3,546	How many people are going to call me a liar if I said I had both West Virginia and Western Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen?