2026 NCAA Tournament

[kreed5120]

On 3/19/2026 at 2:29 PM, kreed5120 said:

 

You generally don't want the 8/9 seed line if you hope to go on a run. Now TCU likely goes on to lose by 15 to Duke.

 

I guess I was being too generous to TCU.

[Let'sGoZips94]

Nate Oats joining in on ripping Miami OH. I love it. These coaches let Miami OH's carriage turn back into a pumpkin and now they're stomping on it. It's glorious. 

 

[MDZip]

As of this moment there are 24 teams left in the tournament. Only two are not P4 teams (and one is from the Big East). Yay college basketball. 🤮

Edited yesterday at 12:38 PM by MDZip

[exit322]

1 hour ago, MDZip said:

As of this moment there are 24 teams left in the tournament. Only two are not P4 teams (and one is from the Big East). Yay college basketball. 🤮

 

The dance is dead.  At least we have the memories.

[Sergeant Zip]

Don't have the stats for this year but Cinderella is dead

 

[Let'sGoZips94]

3 hours ago, Sergeant Zip said:

Don't have the stats for this year but Cinderella is dead

 

 

Assuming "upset" is referring to simply the seeds, then this isn't stating Cinderellas are dead - this is stating the gap between the elite programs and the field is growing. Kentucky just got beat by 19 today and Iowa State's best player (arguably) didn't even play. 

 

It's not a NIL problem - it's a Transfer Portal problem. That is the #1 issue that needs resolved in college athletics. Not only does there need to be some sort of limitation on movement, but commitments need to be minimum 2 years contractually. Also, teams need compensated for losing talent, especially mid majors. 

[Illini Zip]

42 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

Assuming "upset" is referring to simply the seeds, then this isn't stating Cinderellas are dead - this is stating the gap between the elite programs and the field is growing. Kentucky just got beat by 19 today and Iowa State's best player (arguably) didn't even play. 

 

It's not a NIL problem - it's a Transfer Portal problem. That is the #1 issue that needs resolved in college athletics. Not only does there need to be some sort of limitation on movement, but commitments need to be minimum 2 years contractually. Also, teams need compensated for losing talent, especially mid majors. 

NIL should be capped, but good luck enforcing it. 

[kreed5120]

Not really anything NCAA can do. The minute they tried to place a cap players will challenge it in court and would win.

[ZipForNow]

Don’t forget conference realignment. That contributes. 

[kreed5120]

It looks like Utah State's run is over. It might provide some more clarity to the coaches search as Calhoun was linked to Cincy job.

 

Interesting enough I saw an interview from Calhoun who said last year Utah State had $800k in NIL. This season they increased it to $2.3M. He said he was the 2nd largest contributor as apparently he put up $150K. His phrasing was if he's asking others for money it only felt right for him to lead by example.

[LZIp]

9 hours ago, kreed5120 said:

It looks like Utah State's run is over. It might provide some more clarity to the coaches search as Calhoun was linked to Cincy job.

 

Interesting enough I saw an interview from Calhoun who said last year Utah State had $800k in NIL. This season they increased it to $2.3M. He said he was the 2nd largest contributor as apparently he put up $150K. His phrasing was if he's asking others for money it only felt right for him to lead by example.

For some reason I thought coaches weren’t permitted to contribute. Then again, it’s not like rules are being enforced anymore 

[Illini Zip]

1 minute ago, LZIp said:

For some reason I thought coaches weren’t permitted to contribute. Then again, it’s not like rules are being enforced anymore 

It’s a really good question. 

[ZipForNow]

In this country, how to spend one’s own money has come to be seen as an inalienable right. I wonder how this would play out in court. It seems like a bad idea for coaches to be able to do this.

[Let'sGoZips94]

I think Akron was the only Over because of TTU's hot 3P shooting. 

 

[kreed5120]

25 minutes ago, LZIp said:

For some reason I thought coaches weren’t permitted to contribute. Then again, it’s not like rules are being enforced anymore 

 

It's probably a loophole since they aren't paying any specific player directly.

[Let'sGoZips94]

Groce is a member of the Summit Circle. It's completely legal, whether by design or not. 

[Illini Zip]

44 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

I think Akron was the only Over because of TTU's hot 3P shooting. 

 

But it could have affected Tavari especially with his layups. I can’t believe this is another thing we have to think about. Good grief!!

[zippy5]

9 minutes ago, Illini Zip said:

But it could have affected Tavari especially with his layups. I can’t believe this is another thing we have to think about. Good grief!!

both teams play with the same ball, this is nothing imo

[Let'sGoZips94]

45 minutes ago, Illini Zip said:

But it could have affected Tavari especially with his layups. I can’t believe this is another thing we have to think about. Good grief!!

 

I questioned this early in the game thread. Tavari had one layup bounce HARD off the backboard and he seemed to shy away from using the backboard the rest of the game. His floaters and reverse layups went straight for the cylinder which requires more precision, especially with over-inflated balls. Our bounce passes seemed to catch the recipient off guard as well.

 

36 minutes ago, zippy5 said:

both teams play with the same ball, this is nothing imo

 

One team made their 3s - the other didn't and tried doing their damage in the paint. To completely dismiss this is silly. 

 

 

Edited 5 hours ago by Let'sGoZips94

[Illini Zip]

I’m not saying the ball was the reason we lost, but it’s apparently an issue. And something that fundamental to the sport shouldn’t be. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

2 minutes ago, Illini Zip said:

I’m not saying the ball was the reason we lost, but it’s apparently an issue. And something that fundamental to the sport shouldn’t be. 

 

100%. It magnifies less-than-perfect shooting IMO. TTU was pure on Friday - nothing but nylon. The NCAA is so so so so so bad. I question more and more if the NCAA governing body isn't more of a money laundering operation than anything.

Edited 5 hours ago by Let'sGoZips94

[clarkwgriswold]

Inflate-gate.  LOL.

[zippy5]

24 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

100%. It magnifies less-than-perfect shooting IMO. TTU was pure on Friday - nothing but nylon. The NCAA is so so so so so bad. I question more and more if the NCAA governing body isn't more of a money laundering operation than anything.

Then we didn't adjust like they did. This is loser talk

[ZippyRulz]

https://apnews.com/article/ncaa-tournament-march-madness-ff2f65e021742bab56793df8b6ad9a45?user_email=30f3922da9f7b924f97955571239e2222396782643883dfceb6dd05aa98603a9&utm_medium=Sports_wire&utm_source=Sailthru_AP&utm_campaign=Sports Wire recurring beginning Mar 18 2026 2026-03-23&utm_term=Sports HQ

 

Cinderella has been kicked out of the dance early for the second straight season.

Following a madness-promising first day of upsets, the NCAA Tournament has turned into a high-major affair.

The Sweet 16 invite is for power-conference programs only.

Advocates for fewer automatic qualifiers and bracket expansion will have a field day with this one.

“I think parity is great for the game, but things change,” said Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, who spent 21 seasons as an assistant at Gonzaga.

The Big Ten is the big conference on the block, pushing through a league-record six teams into the Sweet 16 — three in the same region.

The SEC has four Sweet 16 teams, the Big 12 three, the Big East two, the ACC one.

Mid-majors: zero for the second straight season.

[Zippy87]

The basketballs obviously weren't why we lost.

 

With that said, it is crazy to me that the NCAA doesn't have a standard basketball brand/inflation level across the board.