My final 4 is:

 

OSU, Kansas, Pitt, and San Diego State.

 

I have OSU playing Kansas in the finals.

 

This might change and no, I don't fill out a dozen bracket. I do one bracket each year.

So once again, you can point at the stats, or I can go by what I have seen.

 

Slow pace helps defense, the slow pace Wisconsin plays is the equivalent of having a great run game in football. It does not count as a defensive statistic, but it changes how the other team plays. If they know that youll run 35 seconds off the clock or that if they give up a rebound its potentially a minute on defense, they play different on offense.

 

Their pace is tricking your eyes, not the stats.

 

Everyone has bad stretches, and it doesn't take a whole lot to go 4 minutes without scoring at Wisconsin's pace. They don't even get 6 possessions in 4 minutes, so all they have to do is miss a few jumpers.

 

The same goes for the opponents, that's why they can have a pretty good offensive night and still only end up with 60-something points. Take the NU game at Madison as an example. NU shot 47%, hit 11 3's and only turned it over 6 times, yet they finished with only 63 points (Wisconsin was even better in that game, shooting 57% and scoring 78).

 

They score 68 PPG and allow 58 per game on 57.6 possessions. 1 point per possession is a lot, hence the ratings.

 

Wisconsin's D is fairly average. They don't force turnovers (322nd in opponent's turnover rate) and they allow their opponents to shoot 37.5% from the arc (315th). They're also middle of the pack in 2-point percentage allowed (45, 68th).

 

They succeed because they don't beat themselves and they limit their opponent's possessions. Several stats point to that. Their pace, their low rate of offensive rebounds allowed (12th), their low turnover rate (1st) and high free throw percentage (1st). They also shoot a ton of 3's at a good clip (29th in 3's/FGA, 50th in percentage), which really boosts their efficiency. One 3 after two empty trips still leaves you with a serviceable offensive rating. On the downside, they're jumper-heavy so bad things can happen when the shots aren't falling (when you shoot as poorly as they did against Penn State, nothing is going to save you).

 

They can make bad teams look worse with their style of play, and there are a lot of those out there. They do a lot with their possessions and limit their opponent's chances. And that's why I still have them in the final four because that bracket is BAD.

Edited March 15, 201115 yr by ZoomSlowik

I wish they would go to at most a 30 second shot clock. 35 is just far too long. Teams like Wisconsin bore the heck out of me.

i predict gus johnson will orgasam on air

I wish they would go to at most a 30 second shot clock. 35 is just far too long. Teams like Wisconsin bore the heck out of me.

 

 

 

 

If the women's game can have a 30 second clock then the men's game should.

 

 

Also reset the clock at like 20 seconds on non shooting fouls. Kinda like what the NBA does when they reset it to 14. It's possible to have an entire minute of play without a shot occurring.

That's why I changed it. I originally had Kentucky, but in my over-analysis of other things I somehow glossed over that fact. Sullinger is going to draw fouls, and if Jones or Miller has to guard him it's going to get ugly.

 

Too bad the committee had to put OSU, UNC, Syracuse and Kentucky all in the same bracket. Put any of them in the southeast with Pitt and I'd have them in the Final Four.

Ya been there, I tend to analyze everything to death, makes me change some things that end up killing me at the end. So far I haven't changed a single thing this year though, pretty proud of myself.

Ya been there, I tend to analyze everything to death, makes me change some things that end up killing me at the end. So far I haven't changed a single thing this year though, pretty proud of myself.

Ya, well so much for that, major changes to my bracket, more so than I've ever made after my gut picks.

i predict gus johnson will orgasam on air

 

 

Way to go out on a limb there

The more I look at the bracket, the more I think all 4 #1 seeds are gonna make the Final Four. It happened a few years ago so why not?

 

Kansas beats OSU in the final (Hopefully that jinxes KU)

I'm going out on a limb with Princeton over Kentucky as my upset. If they can play an Ivy League tempo and frustrate the Cats, you could see the big win.

I'm going out on a limb with Princeton over Kentucky as my upset. If they can play an Ivy League tempo and frustrate the Cats, you could see the big win.

 

When I first saw the matchup, I started telling people around here that UK could be in trouble with that senior laden Princeton team. They dodged the bullet, but just barely.

Picking the wrong Big East teams is killing me.