The Confidential

The ACC Sports Blog

Archive for the category “Basketball”

29 Mar 2014

The Confidential Bracket Update: March 29, 2014

The ACC is done as we hit the Elite Eight.  Kudos to Dayton, Kentucky, UConn, and the 5 seeded teams that are still alive.  But who is winning the Confidential bracket contest?  See below:

Rank
Owner
Bracket
Correct Picks
Points
Bonus Pts
Total Pts
1
42
108
22
130
2
41
105
22
127
3
39
100
26
126
4
41
107
18
125
4
39
99
26
125
6
39
98
26
124
6
38
98
26
124
8
39
102
14
116
8
37
94
22
116
10
37
96
18
114
11
38
98
14
112
11
35
90
22
112
13
37
93
18
111
13
36
91
20
111
15
39
100
10
110
16
36
86
20
106
17
34
90
14
104
18
36
89
14
103
19
34
84
18
102
20
37
93
8
101

 

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Bracket Contest
28 Mar 2014

Syracuse’s Offensive Struggles–Sharing the Ball

The 2013-2014 version of the Syracuse Orange was not supposed to be a #1 team.  Nobody thought that.  To be sure, some Syracuse fans naively bemoan AP voters and bracketology projections.  But those are the same kids (either in age or maturity) that tempt karma by trolling other programs.  Anyone who has been around a while could sense that this team was “capable of winning a Final Four,” but only because the rest of college basketball was not that good.  This team was not ready, compared to prior iterations, and never was.  The offense never gelled.  Why?  A dearth of assists.

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball and tagged
27 Mar 2014
4 Comments

Mike Hopkins and South Florida–Why Not?

There has been some discussion of Mike Hopkins, long-time Syracuse assistant, being a candidate at Boston College.  The Confidential wonders why Hopkins would consider leaving Jim Boeheim’s side to take over a clear rebuilding project in Boston College.  While Boston College is an underrated athletic program in both basketball and football, mostly due to its recent woes, this job simply does not seem like a wise move for Hopkins.  Instead, the Confidential posits that Hopkins and South Florida would be a good match.  Here is why.

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball and tagged , , , ,
27 Mar 2014
2 Comments

A Sweet Sweet 16

Say what you will about the way the selection committee selected and seeded this years tournament, whether they seeded for TV match ups or not, but it was an incredible opening  weekend. It featured a record six over time games and ample upsets for the underdog lovers. Our beloved ACC is down to Virginia and Louisville and the SEC went 7-0, who would’ve guessed that? The new Big East has been eliminated while the rest of the power conferences has lost at least half of their teams. The Sweet 16 is dominated by the power conferences with the lone exceptions being Dayton and San Diego State.
Read more…

Posted by lenvillecards in Basketball, Louisville Correspondent, March Madness and tagged , , , , , ,
25 Mar 2014
1 Comment

Season End Recap- Why North Carolina Deserved a Chance in UNC-Iowa State

Another North Carolina Basketball season has come and gone. 24 wins. A Hall of Fame Tipoff Tournament Championship. And for the first time ever, a Roy Williams coached Carolina team is back at home after the Round of 32 for two years in a row. For many fans, it’s been an interesting, yet unsatisfying, season. Summer drama led to early season losses. Disappointing outcomes led to surprising upsets. Big victories led to an almost unprecedented poor start in conference play. A wake up call led to a huge win streak. And the season ended early, yet again, in the most bizarre of circumstances. As we reflect on the 2013-2014 North Carolina basketball team and look to the future, here are a few observations from this year’s season-

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Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in ACC only, Basketball, March Madness, Opinion, UNC Correspondent
24 Mar 2014

The Confidential Bracket Update: March 24, 2014

Duke… gone.  NC State… gone.   Pittsburgh… gone.   Syracuse… gone.   North Carolina… gone.   Louisville?  Not ours yet.   Virginia… still alive.  There is a reason why Virginia was #1 in the ACC regular season and a conference tourney champ.

With the ACC reeling, here are the Confidential bracket standings:

Rank
Owner
Bracket
Correct Picks
Points
Bonus Pts
Total Pts
1
38
88
20
108
2
36
83
24
107
3
37
85
20
105
4
35
80
24
104
5
35
79
24
103
6
34
78
24
102
7
34
79
20
99
8
36
82
16
98
9
34
76
20
96
9
33
76
20
96
11
35
82
12
94
11
34
78
16
94
13
33
76
16
92
14
34
78
12
90
14
31
70
20
90
16
34
77
12
89
17
32
72
16
88
17
35
80
8
88
19
34
78
8
86
19
33
74
12
86

 

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Bracket Contest
21 Mar 2014

Confidential Bracket Update: March 21, 2014

Here is the top 20 for the Confidential Bracket Contest.

Place…. bracket entry name… round points… projected champion… bonus points… total points

10
26
–
–
–
–
Florida
8
34
10
26
–
–
–
–
Virginia
8
34
13
24
–
–
–
–
Louisville
8
32
13
24
–
–
–
–
Florida
8
32
13
24
–
–
–
–
Louisville
8
32
13
24
–
–
–
–
Syracuse
8
32
13
24
–
–
–
–
Wisconsin
8
32
18
26
–
–
–
–
Duke
4
30
18
22
–
–
–
–
Villanova
8
30
18
22
–
–
–
–
Virginia
8
30
18
22
–
–
–
–
N. Carolina
8
30
18
22
–
–
–
–
Virginia
8
30
18
26
–
–
–
–
Florida
4
30
18
22
–
–
–
–
Louisville
8
30
18
26
–
–
–
–
Wichita St.
4
30

 

 

Based on the participation level, the prize for winning the bracket will be $25.00.

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Bracket Contest, Results and tagged ,
19 Mar 2014

The Confidential’s Bracket Contest: 2014 (only hours left to register)

In what is now an annual tradition, the Confidential will have another bracket contest in 2014.  We will give out a prize (at least one) to the winner!   The prize(s) will be announced later.  The more people that fill out brackets, the bigger the prize!

If you think you know basketball, and as a fan of the ACC you SHOULD know basketball, let’s see how well you can do against other fans of ACC schools.  Go here:

Oh, and good luck.  You’ll need it.

 

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Bracket Contest and tagged , , ,
19 Mar 2014

Are the Cards poised for a repeat?

Say what you will about the Louisville Cardinals 4 seed, rather deserved or not, but it is of no consequence now. Its time to dance. We all remember Louisvilles remarkable finish ending with the national championship to put an exclamation point on the “year of the Cardinals”. What are the Cardinals chances at a repeat performance?
Read more…

Posted by lenvillecards in Basketball, Louisville Correspondent, March Madness, Opinion, Predictions and tagged , , , , , ,
19 Mar 2014

What, No Kansas?- Analyzing the Tar Heels’ Path to the Final Four

Let’s go ahead and get the most obvious thing out of the way. No, North Carolina is not a favorite to make the Final Four. But could they get there? Absolutely. They have all the talent and tools to make a deep March run- defensive intensity, a wide rebounding margin, a star point guard, excellent bench play. Add a Hall of Fame coach to that list and you’ve got a pretty sure shot, right? The problem is, that the Tar Heels rarely exhibit all of these qualities at one time. This is the same team that lost to UAB (which finished with a losing record in lowly C-USA) and beat then #1 Michigan State (many media member’s pick to win it all) in the same WEEK. You never know what you’re going to get when they step on the court. A 12-game winning streak just became a 2-game losing streak courtesy of Duke and Pittsburgh, two teams which North Carolina had already beaten earlier in the season. So why do I think they still have a chance?

Because the Tar Heels always seem to show up when it matters most.

Read more…

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Basketball, March Madness, Predictions, Schedule, UNC Correspondent

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