Have you seen Charle's Barkley's bracket? Clearly the MonStar's still have all his talent.
Also, I missed this, but I guess the announcers in the Gonzaga-St. John's game said Denver is "practically a home game" for the Bulldogs. Now, take it from someone who lives a couple hours south of Spokane and has spent a lot of time in Denver: it's not anything like a home game. In fact, as this article points out, Spokane is just as close to Denver as Madison and Springfield. Geography is hard!
This tournament is still lacking in many epic finishes, but despite both of today's winners taking games by multiple scores, both games today were thrilling to watch. Florida and Kentucky are now the first members of the Sweet 16 in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
Six more will be added over the next few hours, and here's your quick guide to all those games. Stats courtesy of KenPom.com and odds courtesy of BetVega.com. Note that KenPom's stats are updated through the tournament, so what you see includes the games played through Friday.
4:15 |
(12) Richmond |
(13) Morehead State |
LINE |
-200 |
+165 |
PACE |
63.3 Pos/G |
64.8 Pos/G |
KENPOM RANK (OFF/DEF) |
43 (44/53) |
86 (101/72) |
MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS |
14 Kevin Anderson (1.7 Fouls/40) 32 Justin Harper (24.2 Asst Rate) 41 Dan Geriot (24.2 Asst Rate) |
22 Demonte Harper (28.6% Poss) (Nations Best Off and Def Reb%) |
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS |
|
|
KenPom Chance of Win |
72% |
28% |
KenPom Predicted Score |
65 |
60 |
FanMatch: Eighth best game of the day.
SB Nation Dallas-Ft. Worth PicksCode: Louisville
Fittz: Louisville
Griffin: Louisville
London: Louisville
Perryman: Louisville
Ponting: Vanderbilt
Starkey: Vanderbilt
5:10 |
(2) San Diego State |
(7) Temple |
LINE |
-240 |
+200 |
PACE |
63.9 Pos/G |
65.3 Pos/G |
KENPOM RANK (OFF/DEF) |
8 (26/4) |
38 (52/39) |
MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS |
(26.5 Def Reb%) |
23 Ramone Moore (2.1 Fouls/40) |
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS |
4 Malcolm Thomas (7.2 Block%) 32 Billy White (58.4 eFG%) 21 Jamaal Franklin (56.4 eFG%) |
24 Lavoy Allen (5.4 Block%) 4 Juan Fernandez (24.9 Asst Rate) 1 Khalif Wyatt (3.8 Steal%) 50 Micheal Eric (22.6 Def Reb%) |
KenPom Chance of Win |
75% |
25% |
KenPom Predicted Score |
65 |
60 |
FanMatch: Fifth best game of the day.
SB Nation Dallas-Ft. Worth Picks
Code: SDSU
Fittz: SDSU
Griffin: SDSU
London: SDSU
Perryman: SDSU
Starkey: SDSU
Ponting: Temple
6:10 |
(1) Pittsburgh |
(8) Butler |
LINE |
+300 |
-370 |
PACE |
63.2 Pos/G |
64.4 Pos/G |
KENPOM RANK (OFF/DEF) |
5 (6/17) |
49 (40/71) |
MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS |
(32.8 Asst Rate) 44 J.J. Moore (53.1 True Shoot%) |
1 Shelvin Mack (2.0 Fouls/40) 54 matt Howard (61.6 True Shoot%) |
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS |
4 Malcolm Thomas (7.2 Block%) 32 Billy White (58.4 eFG%) 21 Jamaal Franklin (56.4 eFG%) |
23 Khyle Marshall (52.0 eFG%) |
KenPom Chance of Win |
82% |
18% |
KenPom Predicted Score |
69 |
61 |
FanMatch: Seventh best game of the day.
SB Nation Dallas-Ft. Worth Picks
Pittsburgh
6:45 |
(3) BYU |
(11) Gonzaga |
LINE |
Off |
Off |
PACE |
71.3 Pos/G |
67.6 Pos/G |
KENPOM RANK (OFF/DEF) |
15 (10/36) |
24 (42/28) |
MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS |
32 Jimmer Fredette (36.1% Poss) |
0 Robert Sacre (71.1 FT Rate) |
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS |
(Not A Former Bengal) |
41 Steven Gray (3.1 Steal%) 20 Elias Harris (58.1 True Shoot%) 35 Sam Dower (61.8 True Shoot%) 13 Kelly Olynyk (62.6 True Shoot %) |
KenPom Chance of Win |
61% |
39% |
KenPom Predicted Score |
77 |
74 |
FanMatch: Best game of the day.
SB Nation Dallas-Ft. Worth Picks
Code: BYU
Griffin: BYU
Ponting: BYU
Fittz: Gonzaga
London: GonzagaPerryman: St. John's
Starkey: St. John's
7:40 |
(4) Wisconsin |
(5) Kansas State |
LINE |
-165 |
+145 |
PACE |
57.7 Pos/G |
68.1 Pos/G |
KENPOM RANK (OFF/DEF) |
7 (2/54) |
30 (51/29) |
MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS |
30 Jon Leuer (10.9 TO Rate) 11 Jordan Taylor (8.1 TO Rate) |
(6.8 Fouls Drawn/40) 24 Curtis Kelly (6.0 Block%) 33 Wally Judge (13.5 Off Reb%) |
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS |
5 Ryan Evans (20.6 Off Reb%) 40 Jared Berggren (54.1 eFG%) |
32 Jamar Samuels (10.7 Off Reb%) 12 Nick Russell (15.2 Def Reb%) 15 Freddy Asprilla (18.2 Off Reb%) |
KenPom Chance of Win |
74% |
26% |
KenPom Predicted Score |
7 |
30 |
FanMatch: Fourth best game of the day.
SB Nation Dallas-Ft. Worth Picks
Perryman: Kansas State
Ponting: Kansas State
Starkey: WisconsinCode: Utah State
Fittz: Utah State
Griffin: Utah State
London: Utah State
8:40 |
(3) Connecticut |
(6) Cinncinnati |
LINE |
+150 |
-170 |
PACE |
66.1 Pos/G |
64.0 Pos/G |
KENPOM RANK (OFF/DEF) |
14 (14/27) |
20 (50/14) |
MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS |
15 Kemba Walker (91.7% Min) |
(112.7 Offensive Rating) |
SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS |
13 Shabazz Napier (4.4 Steal%) |
3 Dion Dixon (2.0 Fouls/40) 34 Yancy Gates (21.0 Def Reb%) (30.8 Asst Rate) |
KenPom Chance of Win |
57% |
43% |
KenPom Predicted Score |
65 |
64 |
FanMatch: Second best game of the day.
SB Nation Dallas-Ft. Worth Picks
Code: UConn
Fittz: UConn
London: UConn
Perryman: UConn
Ponting: UConn
Starkey: UConn
Griffin: Cincy