Lunardi likes the Cougs

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12492879&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



ESPN's Joe Lunardi, in his bracket, picks BYU over Ole Miss and Xavier and believes we have a chance to make Sweet 16 (which would require beating Baylor). It's nice to hear, but I only hope it comes out as he believes.

and this guy has us going to the sweet 16!



http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/104768/medcalfs-10-bold-ncaa-tourney-predictions-2



Wouldn't that be something! I'd be ecstatic just to get the round a 32. Heck, even getting out of the "first four" would put a huge smile on my face.

tmoney35 wrote:
and this guy has us going to the sweet 16!



http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/104768/medcalfs-10-bold-ncaa-tourney-predictions-2



Wouldn't that be something! I'd be ecstatic just to get the round a 32. Heck, even getting out of the "first four" would put a huge smile on my face.

In total honesty, I agree. We have a team, if all the eternal tumblers align correctly on a given night, can blast anyone off the court--something like I win at Stanford last season where we were an offensive machine that simply could not be stopped. But if they don't, without a more defined inside game and even better defense (which has improved from when we began the season), we're not going far, so at least winning one game would make me content--this season.

The team this year is weird to me. Sort of a tale of two teams. The injuries and following ebb of any bigs stepping up after Austin went out caused angst for many of us and there are many games when you never quite know which team will show up. But the last 8-10 games or so, the team's play seems quite different to me compared to the early season team. Kaufusi has developed much more than it looked like would when Austin first went out and has been a positive asset for the team. I can't help but think WHAT IF (and I realize this is all speculation) the team that beat Gonzaga and SMC later in the season were around for those early season OT losses to SDSU and Purdue, not to mention the four point loss to Utah. Woulda have been nice to post those as Ws this year. Makes you think where it could have placed seeding.



But we are and that's what I am excited about. This team has legitimate potential to get some more Ws before the year is up.

Or, the team that shows up is the one that barely beat Santa Clara (14-18) with 2.5 seconds left on the clock just 10 days ago.



It's not just a tale of two teams that can be separated by a date on the calendar. It's the two teams where either one could realistically show up on any given night, including tomorrow, Thursday, or Saturday.



If Haws and Fischer are hitting shots and KC is doing his thing, we won't even need Kaufusi, Halford, or Winder to step up their games. But if Haws or Fischer is off, we absolutely will need Kaufusi to play some great defense and Halford or Winder to come off the bench for 15+ points.



The good news is that Ole Miss and Xavier are very beatable. The Rebels' last two games were losses to non-tourney teams South Carolina (17-16) and Vanderbilt (19-13). Xavier has losses to UTEP, Long Beach St. (who we beat), and Creighton.



However, Ole Miss also boasts solid wins over 8-seeds Oregon and Cincinnati and near losses AT #1 Kentucky (in OT) and to 5-seed Arkansas (by 1 point). In the Big East tournament, Xavier knocked off 6-seed Butler, and 4-seed Georgetown.



So, unless Ole Miss and Xavier have off nights, BYU will need to play well to win.



Which BYU team will show up on Tuesday night?

Point well taken about Santa Clara game (and others).

YNot wrote:

Which BYU team will show up on Tuesday night?

Hopefully, the one where KC locks in his 7th triple double, Kaufusi throws it down on multiple occasions, Bartley blocks some shots into the bleachers, Fischer hits his 3s, and so and so forth.

Fischer is due for some threes. So, we have a good chance of beating Ole Miss. If we make it to the round of 32, I will be absolutely thrilled.



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Gunk wrote:
Fischer is due for some threes. So, we have a good chance of beating Ole Miss. If we make it to the round of 32, I will be absolutely thrilled.



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Nah at that point we would all get greedy and want more.

Just hope Fischer doesn't pull a Maui......get all his 3's in one game again. But if he is going to pull another Chaminade/Portland it might as well be tonight vs Ole Miss



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Cougar Board individual recorded this response:



"Gotta love all of the "BYU on the Bubble" "BYU last 4 in" "BYU lucky X didn't 3 win" stories and now it is all about "BYU is underseeded" and "BYU is going to beat Ole Miss, Xavier and maybe even #3 Baylor"....



Is it just me or is BYU always in a weird place?"



This is exactly how I feel. Every time we get built up with high expectations, we seem to fall smack on our face.

NCAA.com has the BING predictions posted. They show BYU with a 70% probability of beating Xavier after beating Old Miss. If this is what all of the models are showing, why the low seed? Actually, who cares? As long as they're in, they've got a shot.

IowaCougar wrote:
NCAA.com has the BING predictions posted. They show BYU with a 70% probability of beating Xavier after beating Old Miss. If this is what all of the models are showing, why the low seed? Actually, who cares? As long as they're in, they've got a shot.

Simply, BYU generally won big and lost by a few. By the computerized metrics, that makes you a better team than your record indicates.



Seeding is general done how good your record is/looks.



To me if Winder is 80% of himself or the good Frank Bartley shows up we should be able to make a run.

beauso79 wrote:
Just hope Fischer doesn't pull a Maui......get all his 3's in one game again. But if he is going to pull another Chaminade/Portland it might as well be tonight vs Ole Miss



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I am okay with riding Fisher to the first win. Once Fischer misses his 3rd 3, pull him and play Halford for the rest of the 2nd game.