NCAA Tourney Day 1 - Big East !

[Goose85]

It was a day filled with nail biters, actually from a NCAA tourney standpoint it was a historic day for the number of close games.
Most games decided by 1 point in a day, 9 games decided by 5 or less points, etc. Awesome day of NCAA hoops.

And then there is the Big East.
Villanova wins by 41
Xavier by 19
Georgetown by 10
Butler by 8

Hey Van Pelt and Gottlieb, how 'bout that Big East?

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

I'll happily take two more of the same today! Hell, let's make it six in the Sweet 16!

[Goose85]

I think three teams have real good shots at the Sweet 16, and should be favored in their round of 32 games.

Villanova v. NC State
Xavier v. Georgia State
Georgetown v. Utah

Tough game for Butler v. Notre Dame.

Providence and St. John's have yet to play, but both could very well win today.

[milkbone]

ESPN did notice

.

ESPN College BBallVerified account
‏@ESPNCBB The Big East is 4-0 thus far in the NCAA Tournament.

Meanwhile, the Big 12 is 0-3.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

I actually think Butler has more of a shot against Notre Dame now than I did before the tourney. Northeastern almost knocked the Irish off with solid defense and pounding them on the glass. If not for their below-average three-point shooting the Irish would be headed back to South Bend.

Butler is a better rebounding team than Northeastern and has some guards that excel at hitting the glass. If Dunham and Barlow hit their shots, the Bulldogs have the defense and rebounding to beat Notre Dame. Add in Mike Brey's penchant for choking in the tournament and Butler knowing how well the slipper fits and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see them in the Sweet 16.

[milkbone]

Adam Zagoria @AdamZagoria
· 35m 35 minutes ago
State of Texas on Thursday: 0-5
Big 12: 0-3
State of Ohio: 3-0
Big East: 4-0

Per ESPN

[Goose85]

I actually think Butler has more of a shot against Notre Dame now than I did before the tourney. Northeastern almost knocked the Irish off with solid defense and pounding them on the glass. If not for their below-average three-point shooting the Irish would be headed back to South Bend.

Butler is a better rebounding team than Northeastern and has some guards that excel at hitting the glass. If Dunham and Barlow hit their shots, the Bulldogs have the defense and rebounding to beat Notre Dame. Add in Mike Brey's penchant for choking in the tournament and Butler knowing how well the slipper fits and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see them in the Sweet 16.

A couple teams from Indiana going at it. Would be nice for state bragging rights, and the Big East, if Butler could take care of the Irish (and an ACC win).

I was really surprised by Butler this year. Great for the league, especially with the coaching issue.

[MU/Panther]

Long way to go. We need and want more.

[Alan Bykowski, "brewcity77"]

A couple teams from Indiana going at it. Would be nice for state bragging rights, and the Big East, if Butler could take care of the Irish (and an ACC win).

I was really surprised by Butler this year. Great for the league, especially with the coaching issue.

Agreed completely. Holtmann did an amazing job. He took a team that struggled last year and, while adding Jones, took a largely similar roster to the top-3 of the second best league in the country. The question for Butler will be recruiting. As a fairly small school, selling top recruits will always be tough, but if he can get guys that fit his system and land a few top-100 guys that can maximize what they want to do, they could really have a lot of success. Be interesting to see how he does in the long run.