Tech

By Sheila

March 12, 2007 4:19 PM | Link to this

I for one have seen some big surprises this season. It’s really refreshing to see so many new teams even reach ++March Madness++.

By Yurtle_the_Turtle

March 12, 2007 5:21 PM | Link to this

I’m glad Tech made the tourney since not making it would be intolerable. That being said, I’m not banking on them winning one game since they can’t win a game away from the Thriller Dome, even on a nutural court like Tampa. As good as Wake played, Tech was still the superior team and should have won. Until they prove to me that they can win consistenly on the road, my brackets all have Tech losing to UNLV this week. One-and-Done this team is…..no heart still.

By O. Verit

March 12, 2007 5:32 PM | Link to this

Matt pointed it out: Ra’Sean Dickey has only one game in double figures out of the last 10. He also makes more stupid turnovers per game (STPG) than anybody in college ball. He also lets himself get pushed around in the paint. I don’t know what happened to him, but my guess is he’ll be the main reason we get drummed out in the first round.

By GT

March 12, 2007 5:43 PM | Link to this

I have heard no one question that Duke is 6th seed while we are 10th. Coach K pulls the crying towel out and talks about how hard it is to play with at least one McDonald All American in each of his classes since 1993. To the world he is living in a desert of talent where even the healing powers of Oral Roberts could not win with this team that is certainly Duke in uniform only, while in some smoked filed back room he or one of his lackeys is painting a picture of the big dance without a well seeded Duke is a day without orange juice. The Yankees, the Cowboys and yes the Duke Blue Devils have positioned themselves as monarchs of sports thanks to the television revenue they bring in. A seventh seed in the ACC Tournament is a 6th seed in the regional even after they lost in the first round of the conference tournament. Sometimes it is not what you say but what you don’t say and I can’t remember hearing or seeing a word of question from CBS or our paper of this appreciation in seeding with no cause for the effect.

By Merlyn Brown

March 12, 2007 5:51 PM | Link to this

GT, ‘cause they are Duke, the effect is a #6 seed—the only thing I can figure.

By the hawks r cursed for trading Nique

March 12, 2007 6:08 PM | Link to this

Go Tech!! This is really a team capable of going on a roll if Young plays without bad shots and Crinttenton makes good passes! I would almost put $ on us beating UNLV. And wed have a good chance at wisconson after that….

By stings to lose

March 12, 2007 6:11 PM | Link to this

re playing away from AMC…surely this team understands that everyone is in the same boat…all away from home…and play accordingly. I normally do not believe in something called a curse…but…

By Burdell's Brother

March 12, 2007 6:50 PM | Link to this

I agree with the dickey comment. Turning point in the second overtime, up one fast break, 3 on one West passes to him under the basket, bobbles it and turns the ball over on what should have been an easy lay up (possibly 3 point play) in stead he turns it over and Hale hits a 3…5 on 4 wonder who didnt get back, and insted of up 3 or 4 we are down 2. The guy is lazy. Hope he enjoys playing this year..IF Crit and or Young stay with Lewis coming in, his lazt a$$ is on the pine. I caution to say it, but I think we make a run and who knows, UF gets upset and we end up in ATL???

Stranger things have happened…c George Mason

By Ralph

March 12, 2007 6:54 PM | Link to this

Correct me if I am wrong Yurtle, but Tech went Hawaii and beat Purdue and Memphis before losing to UCLA. I don’t call that “away from home.”

By 3 Rivers jacket

March 12, 2007 7:22 PM | Link to this

I really like our chances. Of course we will have to play well which we have for the last 3 weeks. even the loss to WF as diappointing as it was showed a team that nevr gave up. If we beat the rebs-we can beat Wis. Wold love to play the second week and then think about winning it all next year if Crit comes back. Even Young comes back -I do not think he will we could have something special. I still do nt understnd the numbers for next year. We do not have enough scholarships even if Young leaves. If you know the numbers let me know. I think that perhaps Diaw will be gone to make room or maybe we have someone in academic trouble. But forget all that- all that matters is that we are happy about 1430 on Friday.

By Navigator

March 12, 2007 8:02 PM | Link to this

Matt, you should know better. Almost every coach in Division one knows that all of the selections are backed by politics. Six seeds from the little 10 is an abomination, plus the Big East has no reprsentative on the committee. Syracuse had a chance to be the twelth team to join the ACC, but chose the lesser route in the Big East. Coach B finally said today that the reason his team didn’t get in, was because he was in the wrong conference. Their selfish desire to dominate the Big East came back to haunt.

By Matt Winkeljohn

March 12, 2007 8:45 PM | Link to this

Navigator,

Conference affilations aside, 3-6 vs. RPI top 50. No non-conference games outside of New York. End of story for Syracuse.

By yeller jacket

March 12, 2007 8:59 PM | Link to this

that’s the beauty of the tourney. slate is wiped clean and everyone has a shot. Tech is better positioned to win than most teams….bank on it…..Hey, we aren’t playing at 10pm this time either. Kids will be prepared to play an overrated UNLV team.

By yeller jacket

March 12, 2007 9:04 PM | Link to this

who have the rebs played outside of a weak conference? Why is their RPI so high? Didn’t they lose to Arizona pretty good?

By RDU_GT

March 12, 2007 9:11 PM | Link to this

UNLV has RPI of 11 but only has a 4-3 record against top 50. Tech is 8-7 against top 50. Tech has faced double the competition.

I like our chances too. We derserve the 10 seed but everyone knows we are alot better than our seeding. So its time to shut up and prove it.

By jacketnation

March 12, 2007 10:35 PM | Link to this

While the Jackets are going to The Big Dance, UGA basketball players are going to stay home and smoke crack and visit some of the 40 bars in down town Athens. Maybe they can watch Tech on TV while they are there; if they are not too stoned and drunk to see.

By jacketnation

March 12, 2007 10:43 PM | Link to this

Headline- Yellow Jackets selected to the NCAA tourney; UGA selected to play Foos Ball tourney at local Athens bar. Two for one drinks and all the weed you can smoke in the rear parking lot. Go Dawgs!

By mak

March 12, 2007 11:43 PM | Link to this

jacketnation: nah.. the pups are going to the Not Invited Tournament.

By KneeJerk

March 13, 2007 5:56 AM | Link to this

Does anyone else remember the UGA fans coming onto this blog in early February and saying THEY were going to the dance and WE might get into the NIT? I am excited about next year also. We’ll have Clinch, quality seniors, Bell to step into West’s shoes, and hopefully the all-ACC point guard. The future for this team is bright!

By REBELMANIA

March 13, 2007 7:25 AM | Link to this

UNLV has an RPI of 11 for a reason,They beat Nevada on Nevada’s home court, they beat Texas Tech on there home court and to a national audience. They have beaten 4 top 25 teams this year to include the University of Houston on there home court as well and Houston just played Memphis in the Conf USA title game. If i’m not mistaken, the ACC is actually 1-2 against the Mountain West Conference this year. Universtiy of Utah went down and beat Virginia on there home court and Utah is the worst team in our conference, and Air Force beat Wake Forrest by 35 points, 35 points!!!!! and yes this is the same Wake that beat GT twice, and UNLV has beaten Utah 3 times and split with Air Force. Biggest mistake GT can do is underestimate UNLV, they start 4 seniors and GT is a pretty young team.

By jacketnation

March 13, 2007 7:45 AM | Link to this

Things sure are quite over there in UGA nation. There not even on this blog running their mouths.

By ArkyTech

March 13, 2007 8:15 AM | Link to this

I knew UNLV was pretty good, but now that ‘Mania pointed out they beat Houston, my boots are shaking. Oh, yeah, and they beat the team that beat Wake Forest 3 months ago. And they SPLIT with Air Force - a #1 seed….in the NIT.

It’s hopeless. We may as well just go to Minneapolis and cheer on the Lady Jackets.

By scooter11

March 13, 2007 8:21 AM | Link to this

No - the only one running the mouth is jackettenation. And is it ‘quite’ or ‘quiet’? ‘There’ or ‘they’re’. Moron.

By REBELMANIA

March 13, 2007 8:50 AM | Link to this

The last time I looked, Tech could’nt beat the County Rec League over 40 Champions if it had to play them on the road. Not exactly a very intimidating stat. UNLV is a very good team and has also beating some very good teams this year, and on the road as well. PLus a #18 in the A/P and #19 in the Coaches poll. Where is Tech in the polls?? oh I forgot they are not in it, but you did at least receive some votes right?? oooh my bad, they did’nt even get a single vote. Bottom line, an average team in a very good conference. If Tech were to play out in the MWC, I would pick them to finish 4th, 3rd if they could win a couple of road games.

By REBELMANIA IS AN IDIOT

March 13, 2007 9:09 AM | Link to this

I’m not saying Tech should underestimate UNLV, but come on. Just based on playing in the ACC, UNLV should take Tech seriously. Wow… UNLV has a ranking of #18/19, Tech can add that to the list with UNC and Memphis (2 Top-5’s). Keep dreaming Rebelmania.

By curtrob

March 13, 2007 9:18 AM | Link to this

hey Rebelmania i like how you keep pressing the fact that we had trouble on the road this year. well i would invite any team in the nation to the ACC and have to play NC, Duke, Va Tech, Maryland, Boston College or Ga Tech on their home floor on any given night. its hard to win on the road, let alone the ACC. Most of these schools went dam near undefeated at home. no one had an exceptional road record in the ACC this year. its hard to win on the road. that being said we have played well on neutral sites all year. we lost to a much better UCLA team (oh by the way they are a number 2 seed in their bracket, which means i think they are pretty good)at the Maui invitational championship game. we blew out Memphis who recently won like 22 games straight. and the ACC crushed the Big East, whom some may argue is one of the best conferences in the nation, in the Big East/ACC challenge it wasnt even close. we got seven teams in the tourney, and would have had eight if NC State would have won the ACC tourney. we so deep its not even funny. LOL the MWC wtf is that LOL, trust that conferencr dont want nothing to do with the big boys in the ACC trust me, its not just a game over here buddy… But we’ll see, i respect Coach Kruger, he’s a great coach, but he hasnt seems Crittenton and company and he wont forget when its over..

By reebok

March 13, 2007 9:28 AM | Link to this

I’m a Tech fan, and I’m glad they got into the dance, but UNLV is going to win easy after Tech gets off to one of their typical slow starts and gets called for 25 fouls in the first half. Next year, with another season’s experience, the Jackets will be contenders. This year, it’s one and done.

By ArkyTech

March 13, 2007 9:37 AM | Link to this

Let’s see, GT beat a #1 seed (UNC), and #2 seed (Memphis), #6 seed (Duke), #7 seed (BC), and a #9 seed (Purdue). But, you’re right, we can’t brag about beating Houston like our opponent. I hear Dan Rad’s on the phone with the NIT folks to try to get GT in as a late invitee since we were given an impossible draw in the NCAA’s.

By REBELMANIA

March 13, 2007 9:53 AM | Link to this

Curtrob, I stated this FACT earlier, but the MWC has actually played the ACC 3 times this year and are 2-1 against them. Utah went to Virginia and beat them, Wake Forrest went to Colorado Springs and played Air Force and got beat by 35 points. The lone loss was a 12 or 13 point loss by Air Force to Duke on a neutral court. The MWC actually has a winning record against the so called power conferences. ACC - 2-1 Big 10 - 2-1 Big 12 - 3- 1 Pac 10 -3-1 One of those Pac 10 wins was a 35 point win over Stanford at Stanford by Air Force. The MWC is not an easy place to win road games either, currently BYU has the nations longest home winning streak and Air Force was tied with BYU for the longest streak until BYU went into ColoradO Springs and beat them. UNLV is 16-1 this season at home and San Diego state only lost 1 home game this year as well, and a lot of the MWC wins were against power conference teams, This league is capable of playing against any conference and winning its share. The only reason you dont see or hear anything about them is the fact that the brainstormers at the MWC commision decided not to re-new there contract with ESPN nd signed a 6 year deal with CSTV. Worst decision ever, I personally think the ACC is the best conference in the country, but there is also life outside the ACC as well,UNLV is not underestimating GT, but they are confident that they can play with anybody in the country. Including the 7th best team in the ACC.

By REBELMANIA

March 13, 2007 10:24 AM | Link to this

Thats the problem with the ACC mentality, You think that just because you play in the ACC that everyone else is inferior. You feel that your worst team can beat everyone in the nation hands down, when the truth of the matter is that the ACC has lost it’s share of games this year to so called inferior non-conf opponents, and I do understand your mentality, I spent 2 years in Ft Benning and another 3 at Ft Bragg N.C. and the mere fact that you guys breath and eat ACC athletics is admirable, but it has clouded your mind to the fact that baskeball is being played elsewhere in the country. Just the fact that UNLV is not getting any respect from the rest of the country or it’s opponent this Friday is just fuel and they will have a lot to prove. Like I said before, the only reason you havent seen UNLV this season, with the exception of the lone game on ESPN when UNLV spoiled Bobby Knights party by running them off there own court was because they play on CSTV and not ESPN. There are going to be a lot of silent critics come Friday afternoon. UNLV is a victim of its own past and deservedly so, but with Kruger on board, they are on there way back to national prominence and a win over GT would be a good start.

By ArkyTech

March 13, 2007 10:30 AM | Link to this

No one is dissing UNLV. They’re a good team that has an excellent shot at winning a couple games in the tourney. Just don’t bring that “we beat Houston” talk to our board and expect us to be impressed. And don’t try to compare ACC road games to taking on San Diego State. The ACC tournament proved that talent wise the conference is incredibly deep and balanced. That’s why it’s so tough to win on the road in the ACC - even a little edge usually makes the difference. UNC is a #1 seed and they lost 5 ACC games. And don’t forget GT was 16-1 at home, too (and it wasn’t against a Mtn West schedule).

By ArkyTech

March 13, 2007 10:38 AM | Link to this

Reb, you got a lot of hate to get off your chest. And no one said anything about the ACC worst being better than everyeone else…except you. It’s gonna be OK, man. Your team gets its shot Friday.

By the way, just noticed that UNLV won their conference tournament playing at home. That’s weak.

By curtrob

March 13, 2007 10:49 AM | Link to this

good point Rebelmania, its hard to give credit to a conference you dont hear or see about.and i realize its not your fault, college basketball like every other college sports has its favorites. do i think UNLV can beat Tech, without a doubt. we have flaws that have plagued us all year. playing freshman, turnovers, senseless fouls, and failure to run the offense at times. these things have killed us and somehow we managed to win 7of 9 down the stretch. that is what gives me confidence. Even though the MWC seems to have a pretty good resume against the power conferences, i will say that you dont have to play those teams night in and night out. if im not mistaken Boston College had to play UNC and Duke on the road back to back earlier this season. and both were ranked in the top 15 at the time. most teams donthave a schedule where they are playing top 15 schools on the road consecutively. that goes back to my road win arguement. no one has played well on the road, ant that is part of the reason why i believe Tech got in the tourney. the committee knows what its like to play on the road. i guess i am turning into the average SEC football fan that moans every year about how tough it is to play in the SEC LOL.

i will say this, i do believe that no matter who wins the Tech/UNLV game has a great chance against a highly overratted Wisconsin team. They arent playing well right now and it looks like Tucker may have to do it alone, with them missing their second best player. Good luck Rebelmania, its going to be fun, i mean thats what march madness is all about…

By REBELMANIA

March 13, 2007 10:56 AM | Link to this

ARKYTEK, You keep bringing up Houston, but you make no mention of UNLV beating Texas Tech on the road or beatng #10th ranked Nevada on it’s home court. Secondly I am not saying that the MWC is as good as the ACC, everyne knows the ACC plays great ball,but the MWC does play good basketball and have beaten some good teams, just ask Virginia and Wake. As far as UNLV wining the tournament on it’s home court, during the championship game the crowd was about split right down the middle as far as UNLV & BYU fans go, so how does winning 3 straight make it weak?GT was booted after the first round by a pitiful Wake team, and Wake wasent on it’s home court either, now thats weak. You really need to get out from behind the tractor every once and a while.

By The Fan

March 13, 2007 10:58 AM | Link to this

Hey jacketnation: you represent everything that everyone else thinks about Tech people, and that is why Tech does not have many fans.

By ArkyTech

March 13, 2007 11:19 AM | Link to this

No matter how you try to spin it, winning a tournament on your home floor is weak - it doesn’t mean anything.

Reb, you’re the one that brought up Houston! And there’s nothing wrong with beating TX Tech, but I’m not sure I would brag about that being my team’s 2nd best win. GT beat 6 teams seeded higher than TxTech.

By JustMe

March 13, 2007 11:42 AM | Link to this

I am still angry about how the ACC gets robbed every year. Looking at the at-large teams, Clemson and FSU should have made it. They are tons better than ODU, Perdue, or most of the other at-large teams.

And, GA Tech gets robbed of the ranking. Duke gets seeded 6th? Tech is equal to Duke in every respect (RPI, win/loss, etc.), yet we get seeded 10th? What gives?

By REBELMANIA

March 13, 2007 11:56 AM | Link to this

ARKYTEK, Then what does that say about GT’S win against Memphis? Memphis won its conference tournament on it’s home court, and they do not play in one of the toughest conferences according to your standards. I bring up Memphis because you mentioned that win earlier as one of GT’S accomplished win’s. Would’nt that kind of lessen the importance of that win? Playing on your home court does not necessarily guarantee you a win, just ask UCLA and USC, the Pac 10 tournament was at the Staples Center in L.A. If that is not a home game, then what is. Ultimately you still have to play the game regardless if it is on your home court or in a neutral site.It’s not UNLV’S fault that the conference decided that playing in Vegas was better than playing in downtown Laramie or Provo,Utah, Where would you rather play if you had a choice. As a matter of fact, even when the tournament was on a neutral site, UNLV stillmanaged to get to the championship game more than anyone else in the conference.

By 308GT4+

March 13, 2007 12:18 PM | Link to this

The LRMC college basketball ranking system is much superior to the RPI et. al. and answers many of the questions posed here about rankings. Check it out at:

http://www2.isye.gatech.edu/~jsokol/lrmc/about_lrmc.html

• LRMC is right more often: When LRMC and other NCAA tournament ranking methods disagree, the team LRMC ranks higher wins significantly more often than the other method’s team.
• LRMC is particularly effective at sorting out the top teams, as measured by the last three rounds of the NCAA tournament, and it is more successful at identifying “surprise” Final Four teams.
  • LRMC is more effective at picking potential bubble teams; the teams it ranks in the “last-teams-in” bubble range tend to win more games than the teams that other methods rank in that area.

By GTVegas

March 13, 2007 12:30 PM | Link to this

Not much matters right now, everything stated as a basis for why either team might win is based on historicals. Nothing matters except how each team plays on Friday.

Living in Las Vegas and being a GT grad, I have watched my share of games for both teams. Either team can win and that is reflected in the point spread, 1.5 points in favor of GT.

Rebelmania - you should understand that better than most. Those guys setting the point spreads are not dummies. Tech is favored to win by those who watch these games for a living.

All of this back and forth gets us nowhere. The kids will settle it on the court.

I am taking my kids to the game on Friday and, ironically enough, I will be sitting in the UNLV section as the GT allocated tickets were not available. Thank God these UNLV fans don’t travel well.

Tech is deep with mostly underclassmen and freshmen while UNLV has to rely on it’s seniors. This is the year for them to make noise, if they can.

IF you just persist on beating the “look who we’ve beaten” drum or who other teams in the conference have beaten, you have to understand that it cuts both ways and it’s kind of pointless to compare any other conference to the ACC from top to bottom. Trying to say that A will beat C because B beat C and A beat B is a very naive approach, but if you would like to persist with that arguement, I invite you to go down to the Suncoast Casino and defy the professionals by laying it down on UNLV straight (no points).

Good luck - it’s anybody’s game.

By TORN

March 13, 2007 12:36 PM | Link to this

I grew up in the ATL, then later moved out West. I attended UNLV. But have always loved BOTH schools. So its hard for me to pick a winner. I wish both teams well. And I hope the one that wins, goes as far as they can. This is a nightmare match-up for me, that has come-true. I remember this matchup back in 1990. And I even though it was a great game, it was tuff watching one team lose and one team win.

By TORN

March 13, 2007 12:38 PM | Link to this

I grew up in the ATL, then later moved out West. I attended UNLV. But have always loved BOTH schools. So its hard for me to pick a winner. I wish both teams well. And I hope the one that wins, goes as far as they can. This is a nightmare match-up for me, that has come-true. I remember this matchup back in 1990. And I even though it was a great game, it was tuff watching one team lose and one team win.

By REBELMANIA

March 13, 2007 12:39 PM | Link to this

I have never heard of the LRMC, what does it state about some of our conversations?

By ArkyTech

March 13, 2007 12:55 PM | Link to this

Um, Memphis strength has nothing to do with them winning the ConfUSA tournament. That is not among their lists of accomplishments. GT’s win over Memphis says they beat a #2 seed on a neutral floor. Beating BYU at home says, well, that you beat a #8 seed at home. Nothing wrong with that - it’s what tourney teams do - but nothing special about it, either.

GT has shown plenty of reasons why they can win - or lose - on Friday. Should be a good game.

By REBELMANIA

March 13, 2007 1:05 PM | Link to this

As a resident of Vegas, than you should know as I do, that the posted spread really does not mean a whole lot when the ball is tipped, I have won many a bet betting against the books, and a 1.5 spread is basically a pick em, and I agree with you that just because team A has beaten team B and you beat team A that you are going to win the game and I am not saying that, but what I am stating is that UNLV does not get the respect it deserves, nor does the conference. I am not comparing the MWC to the ACC, like I have said, I beleive the ACC is the best conference, but that the MWC can compete with the power conferences.

By REBELMANIA

March 13, 2007 1:16 PM | Link to this

At leaast we can both agree on that point. I think it will be one of the better games of the opening round, neither team gets the respect it deserves and whomever does win, could go deep into the tourney. Nothing like March Madness to get the heart pumping. Just a side note, I have always been a closet GT fan, but that’s between us. Good Luck Friday.

By ArkyTech

March 13, 2007 1:23 PM | Link to this

I’ve noticed that a lot of the national “pundits” are kind of jumping on the GT bandwagon - probably because of Tech’s “potential” and Wisconsin seems like a vulnerable #2 seed. That might be why some Reb fans might feel disrespected. I don’t think that’s the same feeling among Tech fans.

By ben

March 13, 2007 1:23 PM | Link to this

I wish our fans would stop talking about “runs” and “George Mason”. We will be lucky to show up as Dr. Jeckyll and beat UNLV. We can take the next game after that happens. Aminu should get all of Dickey’s minutes. Dickey is unreliable and you can count on him to make errors down the stretch. I think Hewitts determination to look smart and substitute players wholesale has been his undoing this year. Young and Crit should have played 35 minutes all year. Mario should have racked up around 30. But instead, it’s this freshman for 2 minutes, then another. It destroys their rhythm and doesn’t allow the better players to develop properly. He should have had Mario on the Wake player who went crazy in overtime the entire time instead of substituting every time we went on offense. Bad year, Paul.

By ArkyTech

March 13, 2007 1:43 PM | Link to this

Um, Ben, GT won 7 out of 10 after Coach Hewitt expanded his rotation to include Bell and Aminu. It’s about defense. If Young and Crit both played 35+ minutes all year we would never stop anyone. My only criticism of Coach Hewitt is how he uses up timeouts too quickly and it usually hurts us at the end. And Mario would foul out twice if he played 30 minutes - that’s not his role. Bad post, Ben.

By GTVegas

March 13, 2007 1:43 PM | Link to this

I think respect is earned….and earned in various ways. I think that UNLV, and the WAC, still have to earn the respect it thinks it is due. I have been hearing a lot of whining about the seed it got. After looking at the rankings and their schedule and the schedule of some of the others, I think the 7 seed is not that all unreasonable, especially after taking a look at the LRMC. Who would you say should be replaced by UNLV that is seeded 6 or higher? The press around here tossed around a 4 seed and even a 3 seed, which I told my friends was ridiculus Sunday am. That was all based on the fact that it won its’ conference championship without taking anything else into consideration. I even heard an interview with Tarkanian in which he stated that he thought UNLV was placed correctly. I believe UNLV gets the respect it deserves, more than it deserves here locally, honestly. You have to take a step back and remember just where you are making these comments, in a blog on the Altanta paper (home of GT), in the south (home of most of the SEC) where very few western games are televised, just as we get very few eastern games.

As for the odds-makers, I was not saying that the book-makers are right all of the time or that you CAN’T make money betting against them, but statistics don’t lie and betting with them is better than betting against them. Their lines are based on a 50-50 outcome, so theoretically at 1.5 points (if that were possible) you would have a 50/50 chance betting with either team. What I said is bet UNLV straight up which is against the professionals. I am not saying you can’t win that bet either, just that the odds are against you according to those that do this professionally. There was an interesting article yesterday on www.espn.com (or maybe SI, can’t remember) that talked about the guys who do this for a living. Let’s just say, I would not consistently bet against them.

The LRMC is actually quite interesting and a great accumulation of data to compare teams with based on historical outcomes. I just finished putting together a bracket based on it and then looking at specific matchups that I questionned. In most cases, after looking at the specifics, I stuck with the LRMC (except in ND vs GT and one other).

I guess the best way to summarize this is that according to multiple sources, GT is favored to win. If that always happenned, March wouldn’t be as fun as it is. Either team can win and I hope both teams bring theri best games, a blowout from either side just isn’t as fun to watch. Why do you think that this game has been picked by many of the ESPN analysts as one of the most exciting to watch inthe first round? It should be a great game.

By REBELMANIA

March 13, 2007 1:57 PM | Link to this

According to the

By REBELMANIA

March 13, 2007 2:14 PM | Link to this

If we are basing the seeding by the supposed criteria that the commitee uses to determine seeding, then UNLV earned a higher seeding. They were in the RPI Top 10, 9-1 in there last 10 games, 4-3 against RPI Top 50, 10-4 against RPI Top 100, 8-5 on the road and at last look they had a strength of schedule of 36. As far as earning respect, it would be nice if teams in the MWC could get teams from back East to commit to a home and home, but they just wont do it. They will play you on there home court , but will not return the favor. So unfortunately most MWC teams have to beat up on each other, and when we cannibalize one another, critics say that it shows how weak the conference is, but when teams from the power conferences beat up on each other, it shows parity and balance. I do give Wake Forrest props for going out and playing at Colorado Springs and I wish more power conference teams would schedule home and aways.

By Bill

March 13, 2007 2:49 PM | Link to this

Rebelmania, don’t think anyone is belittling UNLV. But you have to look at the poor record the MT West has in the NCAA’s since its’ inception. This year, Utah, Colo St Wyoming were down. Air Force fell apart late and SD ST came on a bit too late. Good conf with 2 very good teams. But Tech can win this game. If they can push the tempo on UNLV, Tech’s depth will be a factor. Actually, either one of these teams are very capable of beating Wisconsin. Right now, that is the #2 seed that is most vulnerable. Actually, Tex AM-CC will give them fits, but fall short. Tech is playing with house money right now…big things will come next year.

By retired engineer

March 13, 2007 2:57 PM | Link to this

If any Tech player is considering a pro jump next year, they better play harder at the first of the game and not fall too far behind (normally getting an excessive {seemingly unnecessary} amount of fouls also)…a one and done team probably will not have players that excite a pro scout.

So, go far this year and????

By REBELMANIA

March 13, 2007 3:18 PM | Link to this

Bill, I will agree that historically the MTN West has not fared well in the tournament and hopefully this year both UNLV and BYU can change that, but going back to what I said in my earlier post. Air Force and SDST had great records prior to entering conference play, but the MWC is a balanced league and on any given night the worst teams could and have beaten the top teams. All of Air Forces losses except 1, were in conference play, and they played a very good non-conf schedule. This game between GT & UNLV will be a very good match, in some ways I think these 2 teams are a lot alike. They both like to press, they both like to run the ball and both are extremely fast. I give the athletic edge to GT, but i think the experience of UNLV’S 4 seniors give them the edge over GT’s youth. Still should be a great game though and I think it will probably be decided by 5 or less and come down to the final minutes.

By jacketnation

March 14, 2007 12:31 AM | Link to this

Athens-Herald UGA gets top seed in horse shoe tournament. Fans excited about womens lacrosse.