College Hoops 2021-2022

[SeaBreeze341]

Here are the teams & networks for this Weekend's Games (including the rather big Baylor/North Carolina game that's underway). 

In a nutshell, CBS has a quad header on Saturday & a triple header on Sunday (where TruTV will air one game Sunday evening while CBS moves into their typical Sunday schedule with 60 Minutes and various programming).  TNT & TBS resume action later on both days (both channels have double headers on both Saturday & Sunday)


Saturday, March 19:

UNC vs Baylor (CBS Early Afternoon)
Creighton vs Kansas (CBS Mid Afternoon)
Michigan vs Tennessee (CBS Late Afternoon)
Richmond vs Providence (TNT Evening)
Saint Mary's vs UCLA (TBS Evening)
Saint Peter's vs Murray State (CBS Evening)
New Mexico State vs Arkansas (TNT Primetime)
Memphis vs Gonzaga (TBS Primetime)


Sunday, March 20:

Houston vs Illinois (CBS Early Afternoon)
Ohio State vs Villanova (CBS Mid Afternoon)
Michigan State vs Duke (CBS Late Afternoon)
Iowa State vs Wisconsin (TNT Evening)
Notre Dame vs Texas Tech (TBS Evening)
Miami vs Auburn (TruTV Solo)
Texas vs Purdue (TNT Primetime)
TCU vs Arizona (TBS Primetime)


I disregarded the tip times, as several games are approximate.  It's really second ones from a particular site are factored into the conclusion of the first one

[SeaBreeze341]

Man, what a week of college basketball!  And that’s the truth, though I’m not going to lie; my performance in the brackets and picks helped make it exciting.  Even without it, it was a great weekend, from Kentucky’s fall & Auburn’s exit, to a near fall from teams like Duke, Gonzaga, and Arizona.  Of course, defending champion Baylor is done, courtesy of UNC.  North Carolina is looking like it would’ve been ranked 1 or 2 if they were like this throughout.  I sensed that they were peaking & getting hot at the right time.  They knocked off Duke in their finale, and even though they fell short in the ACC Tournament, that was definitely a team that you didn’t want to see in the dance.

Apparently, the refs didn’t want to see UNC either; that was the worst game I’ve seen in a long time in terms of officiating.  That team better not work another game again.  There was also an issue at TCU’s expense and in favor of Arizona, but despite TCU’s rally, that end sequence was not good.  Typical Jamie Dixon stuff, I guess.  This week will determine if Arizona winning will help or hurt me and others that might not have them winning.  Plus, unless it doesn’t happen, all of my teams, mainly Duke, Gonzaga, and Villanova will crash.   That is not a big deal since the competition will be fierce and very decent.

I don't have the ratings available right this minute.  I hope & plan to get those as soon as possible.  I imagine they'll be pretty huge, especially when you factor in Coach K vs Coach Izzo Sunday late afternoon into the early evening

[SeaBreeze341]

No concrete totals in terms of ratings & viewership, but in brief, Saint Peter/Kentucky with a 3.1 rating & over 5 million viewers.  On a related note, the numbers caused the Blacklist to fall to an all time low, and American Idol got beat with a 60 Minute overrun.


Well the Sweet 16 is just about set.  The start of the regionals will include Big 10 teams despite their struggles on the second day of the Round of 32 (first four games all had Big 10 teams losing).  The top stories from the end of the first week to the second include Duke surviving & Coach K’s farewell continuing, Baylor’s fall which will result in a new champion, and the Top seed Gonzaga surviving where coach Mark Few will try to finish the job and get that first championship.

What a weekend!  Anyway, three days to recover before they’re back at it next Thursday evening!

Here are the teams & networks for the Sweet Sixteen and Elite 8.  CBS and TBS have the games going forward.  The tip times for the Sweet Sixteen should be sometime after 7:00 PM EST on CBS & a bit later afterwards on TBS.  The second games will tip soon enough following the conclusion of the first games on each network.  I believe TBS will have exclusive coverage when down to 8, save for Sunday’s games.


Thursday, March 24:

Arkansas vs Gonzaga (CBS Evening)
Michigan vs Villanova (TBS Evening)
Texas Tech vs Duke (CBS Primetime)
Houston vs Arizona (TBS Primetime)


Friday, March 25:

Saint Pete vs Purdue (CBS Evening)
Providence vs Kansas (TBS Evening)
UNC vs UCLA  (CBS Primetime)
Iowa State vs Miami (TBS Primetime)


On Thursday, the team of Jim Nantz, Bill Raferty, Grant Hill, & Tracy Wolfson will be on the call for the CBS games, while the team of Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, & Allie Laforce will be on the call for the TBS games.  Then on Friday, the team of Ian Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, & Jamie Erdahl will be on the call for CBS, leaving the team of Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Reggie Miller, & Dana Jacobson calling the TBS games.  Rules Analyst Gene Steratore should be available for all the broadcasts on both nights and networks as he’s a part of all four teams, though he’ll be tapping into the broadcast from New York by request / when needed & necessary.

Speaking of New York, the studio cast for the regionals include Greg Gumbel, Clark Kellogg, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley.  That’ll be the team throughout the Sweet 16 & Elite Eight.  Seth Davis, who’ll return briefly to New York on Saturday, will still be in Atlanta with Candace Parker and Ernie Johnson, who leaves New York to work as the host there on Thursday & Friday for the regional semis before taking the weekend off.  Mr. Johnson will return following the regional finals when studio coverage moves to New Orleans for the Final Four.

The full release of everything is at the NCAA webpage.  Anything is subject to change.  However, it should be status-quo; the broadcast teams working on Thursday will call action on Saturday, and the broadcast teams working on Friday will call action on Sunday

[Ccook]

The St. Peter's Peacocks becomes the lowest seeded team to advance to the Elite 8 after upsetting no. 4 Purdue 67-64. St. Peter's entered the tournament as the 15th seed in the East Regional. They had a 0.1% chance of getting to the Elite 8.

[SeaBreeze341]

Saint Peter’s is the first team seeded 13 or lower to get to the Regional Final.  While it’s unfortunate that the chance of a one seed playing a 15 seed didn’t happen, North Carolina, who has been a top seed several times over the years, is playing like one.  Of the top of my head, I believe this might be the highest number ever in terms of an Elite 8 matchup.  23 should be a record (8 seed vs a 15 seed).   I’m not looking at my past material to confirm; I didn’t see it mentioned on Twitter but I think I definitely will see it this weekend.  The lowest is obviously 3 (1 vs 2).  Wins from Arkansas and Saint Pete this weekend will produce a new record in terms of the total number between national semifinalists.

Sports Center anchor Randy Scott made a joke at Purdue’s expense, basically saying “If you’re going to be denied by Saint Peter, it’s best that it occurs in a basketball game.”

I didn’t expect to go 4 for 4 on Friday (straight up, definitely not 4/4 ATS), especially picking the Peacocks for the win.  No: I didn’t have them advancing in my bracket.  I picked Kentucky like most of the participants.  It’s just my daily picks for the games (with only Kansas being a pick that matched what I had in my bracket.)  I said I will never pick against St. Pete again.  On a sports level, it was risky, but Purdue wasn’t a super candidate to win the tournament.  Now it’ll be difficult to win against North Carolina, then whomever else, but to be fair, everyone left will have to earn the win to advance to New Orleans.  Not easy at all!

I was comfortable picking Kansas, and their win means that the streak of 1 seeds in the Elite Eight continues, or at least one top seed.  While I had UCLA advancing in my bracket, I did a rather rare flip to North Carolina (BTW, I had the Bruins beating Baylor, not UNC).  The Tarheels are one of those examples of a team peaking later in season & at the right time.  Plus, matchups are important in sports.  Not an easy move since UCLA is a very good team.  The toughest game was Iowa State vs Miami.  A slight lean toward the Hurricanes, I went with them since they had experience playing against teams like the Cyclones

[SeaBreeze341]

FYI & just a reminder: Tonight's games are on TBS, and not CBS!

Tomorrow is on CBS, which will be the final games played on the network for the 2021-2022 season (in terms of Division I).


I’m probably going to pass on picking today, though I might pick against the spread and O/U.  I also passed on picking games on Thursday, mainly since it lined up with my bracket.  For example, I would’ve picked Gonzaga, Duke, Villanova, and Arizona.  I would’ve gone 2-2, but might’ve gone 1-3 if I actually flipped on Duke.  I doubt I was flipping on Gonzaga or Arizona.  All four games were great games, so I did the best and sat those out.

After checking, I did go 3-1 ATS with my stuff yesterday & 2-2 O/U.  With several fans brackets done, the focus comes with a typical day in March Madness.  For instance, yesterday & Thursday's Sweet 16 action.  Yesterday's review:

Purdue was favored by 13 / Saint Peter’s won outright. 134 O/U [Correct Moneyline & O/U]
Kansas was favored by 7 / Providence covered. 141.5 O/U [Correct with Providence/Points, wrong O/U]
UCLA was favored by 2.5 / UNC won outright. 141.5 O/U [Correct pick, incorrect O/U]
Miami was favored by 3 / Iowa did not cover. 131.5 O/U [Incorrect pick ATS, but correct with the O/U]


The under hit in all of the above games


BTW, my picks are for entertainment purposes.  No actual gambling from me here.  I’m more of a participant that likes to be correct, and not so much for a payout.  A lot of pride comes from winning; money comes from hard, legitimate work.  At least that’s how I was raised.


Here are what should be the final lines for Saturday's game & possibly Sunday's games:

Houston is favored by 3 vs Villanova. The Over/Under is 127
Duke is favored by 4 vs Arkansas.  The Over/Under is 147.5
Kansas is favored by 6 over Miami.  The Over/Under is 147.5
North Carolina is favored by 8.5 over Saint Peter’s.  The Over/Under is 137.5


The totals ATS (against the spread) and over/under (O/U) come to you courtesy of Fan Duel.  However, they're pretty much close enough everywhere else (Fox, CBS, Yahoo, USA Today, etc).


In a rematch of the 1994 Tournament Final, Arkansas is attempting to return to the Final Four for the 7th time, and first in over a quarter century.   Duke, who'll try to reach the Final Four for 17th time, is playing in its 23rd Regional Final & 17th in the Mike Krzyzewski Era.  Meanwhile, North Carolina is in their 29th Regional Final & 18th in the Modern Tourney Era, Kansas is in their 23rd Regional Final & 16th in the Modern Tourney Era.  Villanova is three wins away from its 3rd title in 6 years.  The chance of a torch pass is there but it's not free either.  Miami and Saint Peter's are new to this part of the NCAA Tournament; they, along with Houston are the 3 programs that haven't won the title

[SeaBreeze341]

It took from the beginning of time until now, but Duke and UNC will finally face off in the NCAA Tournament.  The winner will face the winner of Saturday's First Game (Kansas vs NOVA).


Here are the opening lines:

Kansas is favored by 4 over Villanova.  Over/Under is 133
Duke is favored by 4.5 over North Carolina.  Over/Under is 150

[PatrickRox80]

Saint Peter, don’t you call Cinderella. The Tar Heels are moving on.

[SeaBreeze341]

Man, I think tonight's a night for a historic prediction-hedge!


Several people on the boards & in Discord are aware of my tournament predictions, and I usually don't swap my picks.  For those of you who may or may not know, I do have Duke beating Villanova on Monday.  However I have based on a certain team getting hot (or cold) and/or a key injury.  It may sound petty to hedge my predictions, but I can't change my bracket, and there really isn't a super great reason to move against what's set in stone (picks, not what happens).   That Moore injury is a big deal, and UNC probably would rather not be the victim of the penultimate episode of its biggest rival.  Game time is about an hour from this post.

Nothing changed significantly from the lines/odds/etc.  These teams combine for 61 Final Four appearances, including 1971 as a program.  Finally, 22 trips to End City for the current head coaches, including a record 13 from Coach K

[Ccook]

Title game is set. North Carolina and Kansas. 9:20 ET tipoff tomorrow night on TBS.

[SeaBreeze341]

Kansas is favored by 4 over North Carolina.  The over/under is 153.  That is subject to change as that was the line & O/U upon the conclusion of the National Semi-Finals.

The ratings & viewership are likely to fall under the 2019 totals; this is the first TBS Tournament Final since the end the last decade.  It probably might trail last year to be honest.  It'll be interesting to see what the totals are following Monday's game; while a lot of people might link that to a Coach K and Duke free National Championship Game, several will come up with that conclusion before looking or remembering what the 2016 & 2018 totals were

[88JRFAN]

Kansas has done it, beating UNC in a 2nd half comeback! That was a crazy 2nd half, no doubt. Congratulations to the participants in the Yahoo GR.net bracket challenge and those who picked Kansas to win. I personally am happy to take a top 3 finish

[SeaBreeze341]

Largest comeback in championship history, no less!


I took 4th (would've been 3rd with a North Carolina win).  Despite having the lead to start the final four, both team I needed to win to clinch on Saturday didn't win, so it was nice to watch a great game just for that reason knowing that I was out of the running to win the contest.


I felt bad for Bacot as he went down late.  No surprise, but at least he went for it.  Looks like surgery/rehab going forward, but chances are he'll get well and continue with what's next

[88JRFAN]

I personally am happy to take a top 3 finish

Correction on my post. Standings updated ; I've ended up 4th, therefore I'm happy for a top 4

[SeaBreeze341]

Correction on my post. Standings updated ; I've ended up 4th, therefore I'm happy for a top 4

That means 5th place for me.  I forgot about Kevin.  Otherwise I was wondering how I could've finished 3rd since it was impossible to move up after Duke and Villanova both went down.  Still, top 5 is alright & good enough for me