***Official 2026 NCAA Tournament Thread***

[ClonerJams]

That 'defending champ' Florida was not the same roster as last season. Just because they won the title last year doesn't mean they were as good this year.

Clemson was also really just not that good.

Nebraska was pretty good but didn't look to defend very well last night and had no inside game. Definitely ooked like Hoiball.

Clayton carried them to a title last year. That was the difference between last year's team and this years.

 

[Kinch]

Houston was 364th (out of 365 teams) in the average distance of their two-point shot attempts, 8.3 feet. That's really long. For comparison, we are #101 at 5.5 feet which was #1 in the Big 12, Iowa is #66 with 5.2 feet, Saint Louis was #1 in NCAA D1 with 3.8 feet, and only one other team had an average over 8.0 feet.

Their offense lived a bit of a charmed life this year making long two's.

I wonder where Arizona ranked.

 

[CyberCy79]

Hey, btw…. were there any Iowa fans there last night besides that idiot in the Hawkeye helmet that his mommy knitted for him? The place was entirely red.

Even Iowa fans don’t believe in this team yet I guess? Still a women’s field hockey university I guess?

That helmet was ridiculous. What a goober!

 

[Kinch]

Hoiberg made a couple of boneheaded moves this year which cost him dearly. Forgetting to have the ball boy wiping off sweat off the court cost him the Purdue game. Then four players last night.

 

[Challenger06]

That 'defending champ' Florida was not the same roster as last season. Just because they won the title last year doesn't mean they were as good this year.

Clemson was also really just not that good.

Nebraska was pretty good but didn't look to defend very well last night and had no inside game. Definitely ooked like Hoiball.

??? Florida was plenty good this year, was #4 in the NET, earned their 1 seed.
That was a stunning upset by Iowa any way you look at it.

 

[NWICY]

Sean Miller lost on a colossal gamble by taking his big out on Purdues last possession. Said he wanted to avoid a ball screen he knew would happen. This is why you practice all summer for situations like that one. I think he is a good coach, but Texas will make a huge mistake by pulling a Kansas State and give him a huge contract based on three games.

God I hope they do, I love watching Texas burn money like James Harden in a strip club.

 

[nfrine]

Rumor has it that North Carolina is kicking the tires on Benny Mc....

 

[Clones2023]

??? Florida was plenty good this year, was #4 in the NET, earned their 1 seed.
That was a stunning upset by Iowa any way you look at it.

Definitely an upset, no doubt about it. But the way they got smoked against vandy in the sec tournament had me suspect a bit. Iowa lucked out with Clemson and Nebraska. It took one off night by Florida and that’s how upsets happen. Illinois scored 41 in the 2nd half vs a Houston D that got lit up at halftime. That’s impressive. We can only hope that Illinois offense shows up tomorrow.

 

[12191987]

There is still a chance for 1 big 10 team in Final 4. That would be ideal

My order of preference for NC game matchups for ISU:

Illinois
Michigan State
UConn
Iowa
Duke
St. John’s

Final Four:

Purdue
Arizona

Elite 8: Dunno

Really the more Big 10 after Michigan the better, excepting the absolute nightmare of facing an Iowa team they’ve already beaten at home in the NC.

I know the rivalry aspect should be dwarfed by the NC implications for the players and coaches, but as a fan my body couldn’t endure the stress.

 

[Challenger06]

Definitely an upset, no doubt about it. But the way they got smoked against vandy in the sec tournament had me suspect a bit. Iowa lucked out with Clemson and Nebraska. It took one off night by Florida and that’s how upsets happen. Illinois scored 41 in the 2nd half vs a Houston D that got lit up at halftime. That’s impressive. We can only hope that Illinois offense shows up tomorrow.

Conference tournaments don’t mean squat. Florida has been very good all year.
If you find it hard to give Iowa credit fine. They have been the story of the tournament so far, by any neutral observer.
Nebraska was a legit #4; they had more big wins this year than Iowa, so last night was impressive.

 

[cmhawks99]

Otzelberger is from Milwaukee, WI

I appreciate the correction, sincerely… And I clearly must’ve made an assumption. But if memory serves his wife, not only played at Iowa State, but coached somewhere in Iowa at some point in time, he’s spent plenty of time @ Iowa State as an assistant, and he loves the Midwest and he loves Iowa State and he isn’t going anywhere…

I’m making the assumption you genuinely were trying to give me better information so I appreciate that

 

[12191987]

To be fair, TJ's first two sweet 16 appearances we ran into a couple of the hottest teams in the country. It will always be about matchups and Iowa got a couple that really favored how they want to play.

To my ignorant eyes that Miami team was also just way too physically gifted for that group of overachievers to overcome.

If they’d played a familiar team, like Texas, their chances might have been better.

 

[cytor]

Credit to Iowa for winning the last 2 games.... the 2 coaches absolutely failed their teams and handed the victory over. TJ would never make those kind of mistakes.

 

[houjix]

Incredibly poor coaching by Nebraska at times last night. Letting Mast taking 7 3-point shots and continually allow Sam Hoiberg to dribble drive head down into the lane was inexcusable. The early defensive game plan was poor too. Up by 10 multiple times and continued to keep the pace of play high and it let Iowa back into it. Also didn't help that the refs swallowed the whistle despite Mast leaving the lane every time with red marks from all the times he got smacked.

 

[1SEIACLONE]

Conference tournaments don’t mean squat. Florida has been very good all year.
If you find it hard to give Iowa credit fine. They have been the story of the tournament so far, by any neutral observer.
Nebraska was a legit #4; they had more big wins this year than Iowa, so last night was impressive.

Conference tournaments get you ready for the dance, more than anything. Kansas did not look good in the B12 tournament and did not get through the first weekend of the dance.
Nebraska was greatly overrated the entire season, they started the year on fire, winning what their first 18 to 20 games, but from that point on they struggled to beat the better teams. EIU only lead the game last night less than 3 minutes, they got hot at the end, out scoring Nebraska something like 15 to 6, that was the game. Not taking away anything from the squawks, they got the win and deserved it, but Nebraska was not that great of a team.

 

[Clones2023]

Conference tournaments don’t mean squat. Florida has been very good all year.
If you find it hard to give Iowa credit fine. They have been the story of the tournament so far, by any neutral observer.
Nebraska was a legit #4; they had more big wins this year than Iowa, so last night was impressive.

alright Hawk fan, chill…. Nebraska lost 6 of their last 11 games to finish the season. Had some bad losses in there as well like getting spanked against ucla by 20. They lost to Purdue in the conference tourney by 20. They fell flat after their spectacular start and couldn’t rebound. Iowa matches up phenomenal with Nebraska. It was a pretty easy to Pick Iowa to win last night. Plus you factor in the coach who’s coaching Nebraska. It was pretty clear why the 4 seed was ONLY a 1.5 point favorite. You guys caught Florida at a perfect time, they thought they could sleepwalk Iowa and they couldn’t. That’s how upsets happen!

 

[CyDude16]

Rumor has it that North Carolina is kicking the tires on Benny Mc....

Not sure if it’d actually happen, but if it did. The schadenfreude would be delicious.

 

[Cyballzz]

Conference tournaments don’t mean squat. Florida has been very good all year.
If you find it hard to give Iowa credit fine. They have been the story of the tournament so far, by any neutral observer.
Nebraska was a legit #4; they had more big wins this year than Iowa, so last night was impressive.

Houston should have been the 1 in the South. Florida's schedule from mid January on was really soft. Best 3 teams they played were 3 home games vs Kentucky, Alabama and Arkansas. They didn't go to Arkansas or Alabama and lost a ******* Missouri!

Houston doesn't get a 1 because of a 3 game stretch playing @ us, home vs Arizona and @ Kansas. Florida isn't running that gauntlet any better than Houston did.

 

[HoopsTournament]

 

[Challenger06]

Conference tournaments get you ready for the dance, more than anything. Kansas did not look good in the B12 tournament and did not get through the first weekend of the dance.

And Iowa lost to Ohio St, not even making the final eight teams; Illinois lost to Wisconsin in the quarters…