It’s my first time doing march madness and my friends are all shocked. I know that I am winning in my league. I don’t really understand HOW good I’m doing tho.

hello, I’m selling two tickets to the championship game in San Antonio for Monday night. Here is the link to ticketmaster where I am selling them.

https://my.ticketmaster.com/ds/vQGAAgrbUe/event/3A006123969D21D5

Source: https://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/2025/04/jackson-shelstad-returning-to-oregon-mens-basketball-in-2025-26-per-espn.html?outputType=amp

Watching Houston take down Duke last night had me thinking what if Jared McCain had committed to Houston instead of Duke coming out of high school?

We all remember that Sweet 16 matchup last year where Duke knocked Houston out. Enter McCain: a smooth shot-creator, elite shooter (nearly 40% from three), If Jared was on that 2024 Houston team, I honestly think they beat Duke in that Sweet 16. And once you get them to the Elite 8 that team might’ve gone all the way.

And you have to think McCain would’ve flourished under Sampson’s coaching — he’d be a more complete two-way player and an even better player today.

Thoughts on this take???

Is tomorrow the last day players that are in the portal can transfer to New schools?

*If we superscore like the SAT

Houston vs. Duke may have given us one of the best Final four games in as along as I can remember (let me know if I’m missing any games). Here are some of my takeaways:

• Kelvin Sampson once again demonstrated what it’s like to be the best coach in the country. Outclassed Scheyer in the second half, full stop. The upcoming game vs. Florida is going to be a war with heavy bombs, but will be won with the composure and mental toughness needed on a chess board. -Shoutout to Sampson for not intentionally fouling at any point, and fully entrusting his guys. This is what real coaching looks like.

• Houston hung in the game thanks to their rebounding and their guard play. L.J. Cryer and Emmanuel Sharpe willed this team on the offensive end—considerably so from beyond the arc. The punches that Duke landed in that first half never created enough separation at the half, as Houston was only down 2 possessions despite having an underwhelming first half.

• The movement of Duke’s offense became very stale due to the suffocating Cougars’ D. The physicality down low that Houston brought was the difference in the margins. Too many times were there black jerseys in the paint with an ineffective, or lack thereof, box out. Malauch was completely neutralized, and Knuepple was not able to get the clean shots that he was seeing in the first half. Houston’s range of defenders that can be at anywhere on the court at any given time caught up to Duke.

• The fact that Duke was never battle tested in this tournament gave Houston an edge. Houston survived their close games by sticking to their identity. Duke did not even get a chance to do so, and Houston is not a team that you want to see as your first test, because it’ll probably be your last test.

• To add on to this, late game execution was the ultimate cherry on top. Kelvin Sampson took a time out when the lead was cut to 3 to set up his press. This press really flustered Duke, so they parlayed their mistakes on top of one another. Turnover off the in bound leads to Houston getting a clean look from 3 which leads to Tuggler getting an easy put back for 2.

• Duke never put the final nail in the coffin, although that Flagg 3 then block on the other really made it seem like it. Duke, who hadn’t played in a close game in nearly a month, thought they could coast through the final 2 minutes of the game. Anytime they took their foot off the gas was a time for Houston to take advantage of that mistake.

• The will power and discipline on display in this game was awe-inspiring. When Houston did make mistakes, they did not reinforce those mistakes mentally, like Duke seemed to have done down the stretch. After Tuggler caused the violation, nearly everyone in the country thought the game was over. To still fight through the end and show resilience and mental strength like that is nothing short of commendable.

Cannot wait for tomorrow night!

What do you think the score is going to be?

Who do you think is going to win?

What are the keys for each team?

Let’s talk basketball !

Box Score

^{Index Thread for April 06, 2025}

Geno Auriemma is 12-1 (lost to South Carolina in 2022)

Jim Calhoun is 3-0

Kevin Ollie is 1-0

Dan Hurley is 2-0