Tag / Miami

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And I Would (Once Again) Walk 500 More

This past November, Matt Painter notched the 500th victory of his coaching career against Akron.  In yesterday’s victory over Miami in the NCAA Tournament, he scored his 500th victory at Purdue, where he replaced Gene Keady in 2005.  Painter becomes the fourth coach in Big Ten history to reach the 500-win plateau, joining Tom Izzo, Bobby Knight, and Keady.

Keady ended his time on the Boilermaker bench with 512 victories, meaning that Painter, barring any freak occurrences, should pass his mentor early next season.  Painter will look to add to his total on Thursday, when Purdue faces Texas in the Sweet Sixteen.

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Standing Alone Atop The Mountain

On November 8, 2022, about eight minutes into his first game as a freshman, Braden Smith passed the ball to Trey Kaufman-Renn, who scored and gave Smith his first career assist.  Last night, about eight minutes into the first game of the NCAA Tournament as a senior, Braden Smith passed the ball to Trey Kaufman-Renn, who scored and gave Smith his record-breaking 1,077th career assist.  The play moved Smith past Duke’s Bobby Hurley for the NCAA’s career assists record; one Hurley had held since 1993.  Smith finished the game with eight assists, giving him 1,083 for his career.  He will attempt to add on to that total tomorrow as Purdue takes on Miami in the round of 32.

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Put On Your Dancing Shoes

The nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks as the NCAA tournament kicks off later today.  I’m not in any pools this year, so most of these selections have no ultimate bearing on my life, aside from personal pride.  With the Final Four and the Championship taking place just down the road in Indianapolis, I may have to expend a not-insignificant amount of money should a certain school from West Lafayette manage to make it that far.  So, without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s selections.

Maybe it is personal bias, but I am expecting big things from the two Big Ten teams in this bracket, including one making their way to the Final Four.

Purdue followed up a disappointing end to the regular season with a spirited run through the Big Ten Tournament to capture the championship.  Are they fixed?  Well, I hope so since I have them coming out of this region and heading to Indy. Continue reading →

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The Finalest of Fours

Following a tournament filled with upsets, more history was made last weekend when the last two number one seeds fell, leaving the Elite Eight without a single number one seed for the first time ever.  My Final Four predictions are all completely toast, so there’s nothing left for me this weekend.  If anything, wrapping up the tournament will be a detriment to my fan experience, since it means Gene Honda will be in Houston Monday rather than at Guaranteed Rate Field for the home opener.

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How Sweet It Is

The Sweet Sixteen kicks off today following an opening weekend with upsets galore, completely wrecking my bracket.  Half of my Final Four was wiped out, including my champion.  Ugh.

This region is a wreck, with only one team remaining in the Sweet Sixteen, and that team I had losing in this round, so this one was a dud.

Things look much better on this side of the bracket, as the only Sweet Sixteen team I had that didn’t make it is IU and, honestly, I’m ok with that.

Continue reading →

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It’s Time To Go Dancing

The nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks as the NCAA tournament kicks off later today.  I’m not in any pools this year, so most of these selections have no ultimate bearing on my life, aside from personal pride.  I do happen to have a hotel room booked for Houston for Final Four weekend just in case, so fingers crossed.  So, without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s selections.

Alabama enters the tournament under a cloud of scandal, as their star player was recently involved in the murder of a young woman.  Because of that, I have second seed Arizona going to the Final Four.

Fun fact: the first college basketball game I ever attended was Purdue versus Houston at Market Square Arena back in 1993.  Both teams are top seeds in this tournament.  It pains me to have Indiana going as far as I do, but they were a formidable opponent this year, so I see them giving the field a run for their money.  In the end, though, I have Xavier going on to Houston.

Continue reading →

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Down To Sixteen And Still Dancing

The Sweet 16 kicks off today following an opening weekend with upsets galore, but, thankfully, with my champion pick still alive.  Unfortunately, half of my Final Four was wiped out, but, hey, that’s the fun part.

Only a couple of Xs in this region, though one of them I had going to the regional final.  Michigan State allowed Coach K’s last go-around to continue and helped contribute to the Big 10’s supposed flameout during the first weekend.

Well, this side of the bracket is where my Final Four picks have flamed out, so nothing here really matters.  Continue reading →

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It’s Dancing Time

The NCAA tournament returns in full force after a year break in 2020 and a bubble tournament centered in Indianapolis in 2021 due to the pandemic.  I’m not in any pools this year, so these selections have no ultimate bearing on my life, aside from personal pride.  So, without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s selections.

Gonzaga is the overall #1 and my pick to come out of this region and moving on to the Final Four.  I did throw the occasional upset in the earlier rounds, so we’ll see how those pay off.

A bit of an upset here, as I have #3 Tennessee advancing. Continue reading →

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Dancing Days Are Here Again

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m down to just two pools this year; one at my mom’s work, and one run by a friend, as the work pool died due to lack of interest.  If it weren’t for my upcoming trip to Las Vegas, I’d likely be heading to Detroit this weekend to cheer on the Boilermakers.

A couple of upsets make up my first bracket, with the #2 seed, the Bearcats of Cincinnati, being my pick to advance to the Final Four.

After some late season stumbles, Purdue winds up as the #2 seed.  Villanova is the early favorite to win the whole thing, and, using my head instead of my heart, I’m picking them to come out of the East.

Continue reading →

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Sweet Sixteen

As we head in to the Sweet Sixteen, I’m currently towards the bottom in my work pool, thanks to upsets galore that have wiped out many of my picks.  3 out of my 4 Final Four picks are still alive, but with plenty of people picking Kansas to win the whole thing, I’ll need to get as many early points as I can.

2016Souths16

Some tough breaks here in the South bracket, but the good news is that my champion is still alive.

2016Easts16

My best bracket to date, with only 3 losses. Continue reading →