***Official 2025 NCAA Tournament Thread***

[CYedUp]

Really would like to see two more SEC teams drop here

 

[cal-cyclone]

Drake absolutely dictating how this game will be played.

That is the way they have to play to win this.

 

[CYedUp]

KU in danger zone

 

[AlaCyclone]

Good context. I think all of the wins were in MJ era.

(And I think that was HoopsTournament's unspoken element of the factoid.)

One of the wins was in the First Four a couple of years ago too. They beat Wichita State in 2021. So, it was a nice mix and a GREAT FACTOID by @HoopsTournament!

 

[FallOf81]

Its like a gigantic white teletubby "running" around on the court for Kansas.

 

[Pope]

Drake reminds me of the old Ben Jacobson UNI teams. They always dictated the pace which was very slow, and they were difficult to score on. Absolutely hated playing that team.

 

[Pope]

Mizzou getting very frustrated.

 

[cal-cyclone]

KU just feels like a 1st round loss team. We'll see if they can turn it around.

 

[Pope]

Every game Drake wins in the tournament, the less likely Iowa will get McCollum. He'll be too high on everyone's list for Iowa to beat the competition.

 

[Walden4Prez]

I see Grill still goes to a blind barber.

 

[rosshm16]

Drake Drake Drake

 

[awd4cy]

Tough night for the drake could never compete in the tournament crowd.

 

[Walden4Prez]

KU just feels like a 1st round loss team. We'll see if they can turn it around.

**** KU

 

[Die4Cy]

Every game Drake wins in the tournament, the less likely Iowa will get McCollum. He'll be too high on everyone's list for Iowa to beat the competition.

He will absolutely be WVU's #1 target. If McCasland ends up in Austin, Texas Tech will want him. Iowa's best shot was getting him locked down before the tournament. Who knows? Maybe they did.

 

[CyGuy5]

Mizzou playing the exact game Drake wants them to

 

[jdoggivjc]

KU just feels like a 1st round loss team. We'll see if they can turn it around.

Story of KU basketball the last quarter century: a natty or two surrounded by numerous first and second round upsets. Can usually count on KU to be the failure of the Big 12 come tourney time.

 

[HoopsTournament]

Drake has 28 points. Every one of them has either been by one of the following:

• 3-pointer
• In the paint
• At the free-throw line

 

[rosshm16]

Clinic by Drake so far.

 

[cyspy]

Similarly, while it is of course super-impressive what UCLA did (won seven straight tourneys, and won 10 in 12 years), they weren't beating 64-team fields back then.

Correct. In 1969 the tournament was only 25 teams. UCLA won two games at Pauley Pavilion over New Mexico St. and Santa Clara (long before Kurt Rambis and Steve Nash played there). Then beat Drake and Purdue at the Final Four. Drake won the Midwest region with wins over Texas A&M and Colorado St. in games played at the old Ahearn Fieldhouse at Kansas St. The other final four team that year was North Carolina who won the East region. They played two games before the final four winning over Duquesne and Davidson. Purdue also won two games in the Mideast region beating Miami of Ohio and Marquette to make the final four.

 

[alarson]

Similarly, while it is of course super-impressive what UCLA did (won seven straight tourneys, and won 10 in 12 years), they weren't beating 64-team fields back then.

Yeah, fields were ~25 for most of that run, and they always had a bye to the S16. And most of those years they played two games in Los Angeles, either the first two or the final 2 games.

Definitely takes a lot of the randomness out of the tournament that we get with the current format.