Nate Silver says....

[Markedman]

Nate Silver ‏@NateSilver538 13m13 minutes ago View translation
East advancement odds: Villanova 45%, Virginia 29%, Oklahoma 8%, Mich. State 4%, Louisville 4%, No. Iowa 3%. http://53eig.ht/madness15

Nate Silver ‏@NateSilver538 13m13 minutes ago
South advancement odds: Duke 32%, Gonzaga 24%, Iowa State 15%, Utah 14%, SMU 4%, G'town 3%. http://53eig.ht/madness15

Nate Silver ‏@NateSilver538 12m12 minutes ago
West advancement odds: Arizona 46%, Wisconsin 33%, UNC 8%, Baylor 5%, Ohio St. 3%. http://53eig.ht/madness15

Nate Silver @NateSilver538 · 16m 16 minutes ago
Midwest advancement odds: Kentucky 72%, Kansas 7%, Notre Dame 7%, Wichita St. 3%. http://53eig.ht/madness15

[MKE_GoldenEagleFan]

Hopefully he is right, I don't think I can tolerate another UW final four run...

[Halo]

going to be a long 3 weeks for Marquette fans I fear!

[MKE_GoldenEagleFan]

going to be a long 3 weeks for Marquette fans I fear!

I am rooting for all Big East teams so we can get more money into our league

[kneelb4zerg]

going to be a long 3 weeks for Marquette fans I fear!

Been a long year already. But keep torturing yourself if you are into that.

[Halo]

Been a long year already. But keep torturing yourself if you are into that.

:confused:

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

I'll be cheering for the Big East, but I'm not sure I like the matchups for most of them. I like Nova to get to the Final, but Providence (losing to Nova in Elite 8) is the only other team I have surviving the first weekend. Georgetown will likely have to win two road games, including a very good Utah team, to make the Sweet 16. Butler is an underdog in their first game and if they meet Notre Dame, the Irish are very good. I haven't been convinced of Xavier all year. St. John's, well, without Obekpa I think they could struggle. One positive is San Diego State plays slow, so it shouldn't hurt their lack of depth, but even if they win (doubt it) they face a Duke team that beat them on their home court. Have fun with that.

[TheSultan]

Nova's draw worries me because both LSU and NC State can look horrible...or they can just be fantastic.

Then a possible S16 match up with Louisville...

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Louisville without Chris Jones isn't quite the same team. I don't think they get out of the first weekend.

The thing with Nova that the national pundits aren't giving them credit for is how many ways they can beat you. They can go to their shooters, they can pound inside to Pinkston and Ochefu, they can turn you over and score in transition, and they get scoring from the bench. I see so much 'Nova hate because of their early exit last year and the ESPN anti-Big East bias and honestly, it's getting annoying. They've only lost twice this year for a reason. I keep hearing about the dangers of their second round matchups, but I just don't see it. Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but I think this is just talking heads like Gottlieb trying to trash the conference.

[MU Viking]

I'll be cheering for the Big East, but I'm not sure I like the matchups for most of them. I like Nova to get to the Final, but Providence (losing to Nova in Elite 8) is the only other team I have surviving the first weekend. Georgetown will likely have to win two road games, including a very good Utah team, to make the Sweet 16. Butler is an underdog in their first game and if they meet Notre Dame, the Irish are very good. I haven't been convinced of Xavier all year. St. John's, well, without Obekpa I think they could struggle. One positive is San Diego State plays slow, so it shouldn't hurt their lack of depth, but even if they win (doubt it) they face a Duke team that beat them on their home court. Have fun with that.

Maybe I'll be wrong, but Oklahoma seems like a better version of Providence. I like the Hield-Thomas combo better than Dunn-Henton, and OU has a better starting five and more depth. Of course, OU doesn't play nearly as well on the road.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

I may have went with OU, but have them losing in the first round to Albany.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

Though looking again, forgot that I had Michigan State upsetting Providence. Barely an upset, though.

[warriorfan4life]

I actually do not mind Georgetown's draw. EWU is still 300 miles away, and I will go out on a limb and say that just as many Georgetown fans travel out to Portland as EWU fans. EWU can knock in threes, but is tiny inside and will be at a both size and athleticism disadvantage at every position. Also, Georgetown has not lost a team outside of top 50 all year, and I do not believe that it starts on Thursday.

I am a numbers guy, but Utah's spot in the top 10 in the power systems is fraudulent. They have struggled to score against good teams, and Wichita and BYU are the only tournament level teams they have beaten. Georgetown can win a rock fight, and I believe will be the tougher team in a close game.