Chad and David appear as guests on Kyle Lamb’s Unscripted Ohio Podcast to discuss the upcoming NCAA Tournament. We discuss what teams to watch for, and how what we think of the committee’s selections and seedings….
https://soundcloud.com/unscriptedohio/e74-buckeyes-face-stiff-but-winnable-first-round-ncaa-test
Florida State set a school record this year with 27 wins and made it all the way to the ACC tourney title game on Saturday before losing to Duke. They will try to get win #28 on Thursday afternoon when they travel to Hartford to face America East tourney champ Vermont in the 1st round of the NCAA tourney. The Seminoles made the Elite 8 last March before losing to Michigan by 4 PTS and are back in the NCAA tourney for the 7th time in the past 11 years. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with FR SG/SF Devin Vassell about making a huge shot in the ACC tourney and playing in 1 of the best conferences in the country.
You grew up in Georgia: what made you choose the Seminoles? The coaching staff told me what I could do and how I could help the program.
You have a wingspan that is almost 7’: how much of an advantage is your length on the basketball court? It definitely helps, especially on the defensive end. It makes it easier for me to get a steal/contest a shot.
You play for Coach Leonard Hamilton: what makes him such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He is always encouraging and has confidence in all of his players. Just know that he has faith in us is great.
Last year your team made the Elite 8 before a 4-PT loss to Michigan: what is your favorite memory of their incredible postseason run? All of it: just watching them go out there and excel. Now that I am part of the team I cannot wait to contribute!
You played several fellow NCAA tourney teams this year in non-conference play (including Florida/LSU/Purdue/St. Louis/Villanova): which of them impressed you the most, and why? All of those teams were great, especially the defending champs in Villanova. I cannot pick just 1: they have all made us a better team.
Earlier this month SO PF Mfiondu Kabengele was named ACC 6th Man of the Year: what makes him such a great player coming off the bench? He just brings a lot of energy and does everything that we need. He is always in the gym and I am glad to see his hard work paying off.
In the ACC tourney quarterfinals you scored a team-high 14 PTS/4-7 3PM and made a 3-PT shot with 4 seconds left in regulation en route to a 2-PT OT win over Virginia Tech: did you think the shot was going in, and where does that rank among the highlights of your career so far? It was a great play drawn up by our coaches and my teammates set some great screens. I felt it was going in, and it is the best moment I have had here so far.
Your father Andrew played basketball at Stony Brook: who is the best athlete in the family? I would say that it is me now but back then he had some great highlights. He has taught me some tricks and passed on the torch.
The ACC received 3 #1 seeds in the NCAA tourney (Duke/North Carolina/Virginia): how do you explain the level of competition in your conference to people who have never seen an ACC game in person? It is a league like no other. Every night you face some of the best teams in the country, which has helped us grow closer and become a better team.
What do you think about getting a #4 seed, and what do you know about Vermont (besides the fact that your teammate David Nichols scored 14 PPG in 2 games vs. the Catamounts last year when he was at Albany)? We are just excited to be in the tourney: we do not know too much about Vermont right now but when we tip it off we will be ready to play.
Selection Sunday has arrived! We now make our final NCAA tourney predictions. Last March HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel correctly picked 66 of the 68 teams that made the tourney, 65 of which were within 1 spot of their actual seed, including 42 right on the money. See below for his list of who will make the cut when they pick the field today and if you agree or disagree then feel free to tweet us. To see how we stack up with other websites (ranked 9th out of 127 entries over the past 5 years), check out: www.bracketmatrix.com
SEED: TEAM (CONFERENCE)
1: Virginia (ACC)
1: Duke (ACC): AUTO-BID
1: Gonzaga (WCC)
1: North Carolina (ACC)
2: Kentucky (SEC)
2: Tennessee (SEC)
2: Michigan State (Big 10): AUTO-BID
2: Michigan (Big 10)
3: Houston (AAC)
3: LSU (SEC)
3: Texas Tech (Big 12)
3: Florida State (ACC)
4: Kansas (Big 12)
4: Purdue (Big 10)
4: Wisconsin (Big 10)
4: Kansas State (Big 12)
5: Virginia Tech (ACC)
5: Auburn (SEC): AUTO-BID
5: Villanova (Big East): AUTO-BID
5: Iowa State (Big 12): AUTO-BID
6: Marquette (Big East)
6: Mississippi State (SEC)
6: Buffalo (MAC): AUTO-BID
6: Cincinnati (AAC): AUTO-BID
7: Maryland (Big 10)
7: Nevada (MWC)
7: Wofford (SoCon): AUTO-BID
7: Louisville (ACC)
8: Iowa (Big 10)
8: UCF (AAC)
8: Seton Hall (Big East)
8: Minnesota (Big 10)
9: Mississippi (SEC)
9: Syracuse (ACC)
9: Utah State (MWC): AUTO-BID
9: Baylor (Big 12)
10: Washington (Pac-12)
10: VCU (A-10)
10: Oklahoma (Big 12)
10: Florida (SEC)
11: TCU (Big 12)
11: Arizona State (Pac-12)
11: Ohio State (Big 10)
11: St. John’s (Big East)
11: Temple (AAC)
11: St. Mary’s (WCC): AUTO-BID
12: Oregon (Pac-12): AUTO-BID
12: Murray State (OVC): AUTO-BID
12: New Mexico State (WAC): AUTO-BID
12: Liberty (Atlantic Sun): AUTO-BID
13: UC Irvine (Big West): AUTO-BID
13: Northeastern (CAA): AUTO-BID
13: Vermont (America East): AUTO-BID
13: Old Dominion (C-USA): AUTO-BID
14: Yale (Ivy): AUTO-BID
14: St. Louis (A-10): AUTO-BID
14: Georgia State (Sun Belt): AUTO-BID
14: Northern Kentucky (Horizon): AUTO-BID
15: Montana (Big Sky): AUTO-BID
15: Colgate (Patriot): AUTO-BID
15: Bradley (MVC): AUTO-BID
15: Abilene Christian (Southland): AUTO-BID
16: Gardner-Webb (Big South): AUTO-BID
16: Iona (MAAC): AUTO-BID
16: North Dakota State (Summit): AUTO-BID
16: Fairleigh Dickinson (NEC): AUTO-BID
16: Prairie View (SWAC): AUTO-BID
16: NC Central (MEAC): AUTO-BID
We will soon begin building our bracket! CLICK HERE to view it as we put it together.
MOCK COMMITTEE NOTES
CLICK HERE to view a screenshot of the board from last night, as well as a write up from last night’s meetings. We have done a little more scrubbing, and now have Creighton in the field as the last team over Temple, who we had originally put in.
3:30pm, est – We have considered the Big Ten and American championship games, and have determined that for all four teams a win or a loss won’t change the complexion of any of the profiles. Houston has beaten Cincinnati twice. Beating them a third time would only be repeating what they’ve already done, and if they don’t win then they shouldn’t be punished since they’ve already done it twice. Same with Michigan State and Michigan.
5:25pm, est – If we had it to do over again, we would probably move Cincinnati up to the #6 line. A win away from home against a top ten team does change the complexion of their resume. But, it’s too late for us to make the change, and even if it isn’t we aren’t too worried about it.
MOCK COMMITTEE BRACKET. It’s not what we think the committee WILL do (Jon Teitel does that), but it’s what we think they SHOULD do
CLICK HERE for Day 13 of our Championship Week Video Notebook
Selection Sunday has arrived! We continue to make our NCAA tourney predictions. Last March HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel correctly picked 66 of the 68 teams that made the tourney, 65 of which were within 1 spot of their actual seed, including 42 right on the money. He will spend the upcoming hours predicting which 68 teams will hear their names called tonight. See below for his list of who would make the cut if they picked the field today and if you agree or disagree then feel free to tweet us. To see how we stack up with other websites (ranked 9th out of 127 entries over the past 5 years), check out: www.bracketmatrix.com
SEED: TEAM (CONFERENCE)
1: Virginia (ACC)
1: Duke (ACC): AUTO-BID
1: Gonzaga (WCC)
1: North Carolina (ACC)
2: Kentucky (SEC)
2: Tennessee (SEC)
2: Michigan State (Big 10)
2: Michigan (Big 10)
3: Houston (AAC)
3: LSU (SEC)
3: Texas Tech (Big 12)
3: Florida State (ACC)
4: Kansas (Big 12)
4: Purdue (Big 10)
4: Wisconsin (Big 10)
4: Kansas State (Big 12)
5: Virginia Tech (ACC)
5: Auburn (SEC)
5: Villanova (Big East): AUTO-BID
5: Marquette (Big East)
6: Mississippi State (SEC)
6: Iowa State (Big 12): AUTO-BID
6: Buffalo (MAC): AUTO-BID
6: Maryland (Big 10)
7: Cincinnati (AAC)
7: Nevada (MWC)
7: Wofford (SoCon): AUTO-BID
7: Louisville (ACC)
8: Iowa (Big 10)
8: UCF (AAC)
8: Seton Hall (Big East)
8: Washington (Pac-12)
9: Minnesota (Big 10)
9: Mississippi (SEC)
9: Syracuse (ACC)
9: Utah State (MWC): AUTO-BID
10: Baylor (Big 12)
10: VCU (A-10)
10: Oklahoma (Big 12)
10: Florida (SEC)
11: TCU (Big 12)
11: Arizona State (Pac-12)
11: Ohio State (Big 10)
11: St. John’s (Big East)
11: Temple (AAC)
11: Oregon (Pac-12): AUTO-BID
12: St. Mary’s (WCC): AUTO-BID
12: Murray State (OVC): AUTO-BID
12: New Mexico State (WAC): AUTO-BID
12: Liberty (Atlantic Sun): AUTO-BID
13: UC Irvine (Big West): AUTO-BID
13: Northeastern (CAA): AUTO-BID
13: Vermont (America East): AUTO-BID
13: Old Dominion (C-USA): AUTO-BID
14: Yale (Ivy)
14: St. Bonaventure (A-10)
14: Georgia State (Sun Belt)
14: Northern Kentucky (Horizon): AUTO-BID
15: Montana (Big Sky): AUTO-BID
15: Colgate (Patriot): AUTO-BID
15: Bradley (MVC): AUTO-BID
15: Abilene Christian (Southland): AUTO-BID
16: Gardner-Webb (Big South): AUTO-BID
16: Iona (MAAC): AUTO-BID
16: North Dakota State (Summit): AUTO-BID
16: Fairleigh Dickinson (NEC): AUTO-BID
16: Prairie View (SWAC): AUTO-BID
16: Norfolk State (MEAC): AUTO-BID
