Sometimes the basketball Gods just don't like you

Well, what a ride the Boilers took us on this year but it came to end ironically enough at the stroke of Midnight losing to the Duke Blue Devils. While this game was disappointing to overcome everything we did this year and make it to the sweet 16 was quite an accomplishment. However, as the final seconds wound down I felt bittersweet about everything. When I saw the 4 teams that make up the Final 4 this year I was about sick to my stomach and here is why
1- West Virginia- flashback new year's day the Boilermakers CLOBBERED the Mountaineers, it was an embarrassing defeat for a West Virginia team that was in the top ten. The game was never close. Yet they are in the final four and we sit at home

2- Michigan State- Flashback we absolutely went to East Lansing on the road and beat another top ten team in convincing fashion. The return match up was our first game without Hummel and while we lost we could have EASILY won that game as well.

3- Butler- This one makes me SICK. While I am happy for the Dawgs, I am also pissed because it should have been us the local team returning home. I am not entirely convinced Butler could beat us now without Robbie. Look at their path they beat a UTEP team that I never thought would give them a game, Murray State outplayed them but like most teams that win you need some luck in the tournament and BU got it there. Syracuse was down a big man, and lets be honest the Big East flopped big time in this tournament, and K-State wow at one point I said to Kristen their coach should be fired. How do you keep jacking up three's when you have such a size advantage!? So, yes I am bitter about Butler

4- Duke- Here is the only stat you need to know, Duke's big three outscored our big 2 by 16 pts Robbie Hummel's average 16. Enough said.

As I watched this entire tournament unfold I got more sad because I truly believe we would be National Champs if that fateful night in Minnesota never happened. It's like the sports Gods hate Purdue or something. A funny stat going into the season we had 5 projected starters all returning we never once played that starting line up. Our starting point guard broke his foot in the fall, when he finally returned Hummel went down with his ACL tear. The bright side, we will be LOADED again next year, and yes we're going to miss Mr Boilermaker Chris Kramer, and KG's spotty shooting, but the incoming Frosh all are capable of playing. My guess is we'll get another shot at Duke in the Big Ten/ACC challenge at Cameron Indoor, hopefully their big guy doesn't get away with molestation and Singler doesn't get much camera time that dude is UGLY. I firmly believe the 2011 season will end exactly where this year's did, in Houston's Reliant Stadium at the site of the Final Four, provided those sports gods stay away!

As for the game itself we battled Duke, but just couldn't get enough scoring in the end. We led late in the first half, and were only down 2 with 9 to go in the 2nd but they went on a run and we couldn't counter it. I hate Duke, they get so much love from ESPN it makes me vomit, but I was glad to see Coach K's comments, as his quote about us was "That is the hardest playing team we have played ALL year" That's a high compliment coming from a hall of famer. The refs didn't help us much either, that's not why we lost but we certainly didn't get any calls, 2 that come to mind. The big thug that set the screen on Kramer even Kellogg said "Wow that's a cheap one and an offensive foul how'd the refs miss that" and of course the goal tending late in the game a duke player was touching the rim, yet the refs were like play on. Like I said that's not why we lost, we lost because we had no third scoring option. Next year looks bright our big JaJaun Johnson returns, Smooge our slashing guard, and of course a healthy Hummel we will be a trendy to pick that's for sure.

As for the bracket contest here are the final results and the four people moving onto to pick the final four.

MIDWEST
1- Cheryl 21 pts
2- Tiggysmum 16 pts
3- Design Goddess 11 pts
Phats- 11 pts
CONGRATS to Cheryl she will try to become the first repeat winner of the Phat Bracket Challenge. Here big move was picking Tennessee over Ohio State.

WEST
1- Mr Shife 29 pts
2- Travis 12 pts
3- Jenn 7 pts
Phats 16 pts
CONGRATS to Shife for advancing his big move was correctly predicting Butler over Syracuse that took some guts for sure.

EAST
1- Topolk 30 pts
2- Cara 25 pts
3- Bekah 20 pts
Phats- 21 pts
CONGRATS to Topolk for advancing and correctly picking West Virginia over Kentucky, and that is what it came down to in probably the most competitive bracket

South
1- Gary 20 pts
2- Jef 19 pts
2- Booya 19 pts
4- Duck 12 pts
Phats- 20 pts
CONGRATS to Gary for advancing and joining his wife Cherly in the final four talk about bragging rights! Gary won basically by picking Baylor to make it to the elite 8.

Thank you again to everyone who participated, and college football season is almost here and guest picking will start up all over again!! I promise as soon as I wrap the final four and contest I will do a non sports post.

Have a great one
Phats

Thanks Kansas for busting my bracket

UPDATE- and the season comes to an end. HELL of a performance by the Boilers tonight just not enough offense. I love this team, and it's going to be so hard to not see Keaton Grant and Chris Kramer who now leave Purdue as the all time winningest class with 101 wins in four years, not be on the court next year. We had such a great season starting out 14-0, went through the downs of a 3 game losing streak looking dead in the water, then winning 10th straight and in that 10th game it happened. Hummel tore his ACL. Everyone said we were done, we limped to the tournament, everyone picked Siena we won, everyone picked A&M we won, and it came to end to the hands of Duke. With E'Twaun "Smooge" Moore, JaJaun Johnson, and a Healthy Robbie Hummel all set to return for the Senior seaosn, I like our chances to end up right back in Houston in 2011 where the Final Four is played. So proud to be a Boiler, ever grateful, ever true. A few more months and it's football season. BOILER UP!

Ohhh How sweet it is baby.
Purdue beat Texas A&M tonight to earn a second straight trip to the Sweet 16, heading to Houston for the south regional semi-finals. Tonight's game had it all and sent me through every emotion, I thought I was going to faint, throw up, have a heart attack, cry, lost my voice, pulled a muscle jumping up and down and everything was worth it because we WON!!! To all those analysts at ESPN, to Seth Davis at CBS, to everyone who doubted us and lets face it, it was a lot of people including President Obama. My message to you is SUCK IT! Nobody believed in this team but the fans, players, coaching staff, and a few bloggers on here who might have just been being nice to me. On selection Sunday Seth Davis started the firestorm by saying Siena a 13 seed would be the favorite and when they won it wouldn't be an upset, the ESPN guys picked it up from there. I love proving people wrong, and to them I say keep on doubting us we have no room for you on this train that is going FULL speed ahead.

Lets get to the game, if you would have told me that our center would be held scoreless in the first half, and the heart and soul of our team Chris Kramer would sit most of the half with foul trouble and we'd only be down 7 I probably would have laughed at you, but that was the case. Our other big stud stepped it up, and a Freshman off the bench got us 10 big time points to keep us close. Things didn't start much better in half 2 as we quickly got down 11 but then like a light bulb went off it started to click. We went on a run and just like that a Keaton Grant steal and we're up 55-50 with 4 mins to go and Coach Painter is pumping his fist screaming COME ON! Unfortunately we didn't score again in regulation including 2 chances to win it. Thank God it was OT, and in the OT after trading baskets we finally go the stop needed, and then the red sea parted and Mr Kramer delivered the game winner. I can't explain how great it was for CK to hit the game winner, he has meant so much to our program. If you asked me to describe a Boilermaker i'd say him, so what a great memory for a Senior. Now it's on to the sweet 16 and Duke.

Other NCAA Ramblings
This has been an exciting tournament so far, the underdogs are proving there is a lot of parity this year. How about Kansas going down to Northern Iowa, NORTHERN IOWA?! My bracket is officially in the shitter as I had them cutting down the nets in most of my brackets

BIG LEAST anyone? I love seeing the Big East get bounced early and often, because they are OVERRATED! The only people talking up that conference are the idiots at ESPN, the same idiots who said we'd lose in rd 1.

How about the Big Ten three teams in the Sweet 16, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Purdue way to represent baby.

Onto the updated standings heading into the Sweet 16. Keep checking the previous post for updated scores though.

MIDWEST
1- Tiggysmum 16 pts
1- Cheryl 16 pts
3- Design Goddess 11 pts
Phats- 11 pts
*Cheryl picking Kansas to win this region, really needs to root against Tiggy's picks to have any chance. How about DG correctly picking the Ohio over Georgetown upset!

WEST
1- Mr. Shife 19 pts
2- Travis 12 pts
3- Jenn 7 pts
phats- 11pts
*Shife has put together a very impressive bracket with only 1 miss so far. Travis for saying he doesn't follow college basketball has done a nice job as well. Jenn went for upsets and almost got a few.

EAST
1- Bekah 15 pts
1- Cara 15 pts
3- Topolk 13 pts
Phats- 11 pts
*This region is still up for grabs since Topolk chose West Virginia to represent this region. It might come down to the elite 8 game

SOUTH
1- Gary 15 pts
2- Jef 14 pts
2- Booya 14 pts
4- Duck 12 pts
Phats- 15 pts
*This region all of you took Purdue not sure anyone can catch Gary, but Jef who didn't take the Boilers. I appreciate your confidence guys!! :)

Onto the Sweet 16 BRING ON DUKE

4th Annual Phat-Tastic Bracket Challenge is here.

EDIT BOILERS WIN THEIR 12th STRAIGHT FIRST RD GAME BEATING SIENA 72-64 BOILER UP! ALL YOU DOUBTERS CAN EAT SHIT AND SUCK IT

Welcome to the madness boys and girls! As the NCAA tournament tips off Thursday a little after 12, an annual tradition takes place here on my blog. This is the 4th year now I have run a bracket contest, and again a BIG thank you to all of you who participate and make it what it is. All of our returning champs are back to try to be the first repeat winner, as year 1 Jef(knot) took it, year 2 saw sports nut Cheryl take it, and defending champion Bekah had to be blackmailed to do it again this year. I will figure some prize for the winner. Going in everyone is writing off the Boilers as one of our top players Robbie Hummel tore his ACL, however this is a role we like quite a bit, and honestly after we played so bad this past Saturday in the Big Ten Tournament semi's I wouldn't want to play us right now, so lets get it started.

This is how it works. Each blogger participating was given a designated region, it would be too much work to have everyone fill out a complete bracket. The goal was to have at least 3 competitors per region, but some might just have two as some haven't replied yet and might not because they don't really blog anymore. This year if you had a team playing I put you in their region, for the rest of you I put your names in a bag and drew out a name per region. Scoring goes as follows, 1 pt for first rd, 3 for 2nd, 5 for 3rd and 7 for 4th. The top scorer in each region will then advance and pick the final four with me, and the overall winner from that will be crowned champ. I will be updating the scoring, and scores on the games after each rd please check back frequently to see how you're doing. Good Luck, and we're off.

MIDWEST REGION
Competing- Tiggysmum, Design Goddess, & Cheryl
DG's PICKS
1. Kansas over 16. Lehigh *CORRECT KU 90 lehigh 74
9. Northern Iowa over 8. UNLV *CORRECT UNI 69 unlv 66
5. Michigan State over 12. NMSU *CORRECT MSU 70 NMSU 67
13. Houston over 4. Maryland *INCORRECT Mary 89 houston 77
11. San Diego State over 6. Tennessee *INCORRECT UT 62 sdsu 59
14 Ohio over 3. Georgetown *CORRECT OHIO 97 g'town 83
7. Oklahoma State over 10. Georgia Tech *INCORRECT GT 64 OKS 59
2. Ohio State over 15. UCSB *CORRECT OSU 68 ucsb 51
2nd ROUND
1. Kansas over 9. Northern Iowa *INCORRECT UNI 69 kansas 67
5. Michigan State over 13. Houston *CORRECT MSU 85 maryland 83
11. SDSU over 14. Ohio *INCORRECT SAN DIEGO STATE OUT
2. Ohio State over 7. Oklahoma State *CORRECT OSU 75 ga tech 66
3rd ROUND
1. Kansas over 5. Michigan State *INCORRECT KANSAS OUT
2. Ohio State over 11. San Diego State *INCORRECT UT 76 osu 73
DG'S MIDWEST REGION CHAMPION
2. OHIO STATE over 1. Kansas *INCORRECT OHIO STATE OUT

TIGGYSMUM'S PICKS
1. Kansas over 16. Lehigh *CORRECT KU 90 lehigh 74
9. Northern Iowa over 8. UNLV *CORRECT UNI 69 unlv 66
5. Michigan State over 12. NMSU *CORRECT MSU 70 NMSU 67
4. Maryland over 13. Houston *CORRECT Mary 89 houston 77
6. Tennessee over 11. San Diego State *CORRECT UT 62 sdsu 59
3. Georgetown over 14. Ohio *INCORRECT OHIO 97 g'town 83
10. Georgia Tech over 7. Oklahoma State *CORRECT GT 64 OKS 59
2. Ohio State over 15. UCSB *CORRECT OSU 68 ucsb 51
2nd ROUND
1. Kansas over 9. Northern Iowa *INCORRECT UNI 69 kansas 67
5. Michigan State over 4. Maryland *CORRECT MSU 85 maryland 83
6. Tennessee over 3. Georgetown *CORRECT UT 83 ohio 68
2. Ohio State over 10. Georgia Tech *CORRECT OSU 75 ga tech 66
3rd ROUND
1. Kansas over 5. Michigan State *INCORRECT KANSAS OUT
2. Ohio State over 6. Tennessee *INCORRECT UT 76 osu 73
TIGGYSMUM'S MIDWEST REGIONAL CHAMP
2. OHIO STATE over 1. Kansas *INCORRECT OHIO STATE OUT

CHERYL'S PICKS
1. Kansas over 16. Lehigh *CORRECT KU 90 lehigh 74
9, Northern Iowa over 8. UNLV *CORRECT UNI 69 unlv 66
5. Michigan State over 12. NMSU *CORRECT MSU 70 NMSU 67
4. Maryland over over 13. Houston *CORRECT Mary 89 houston 77
6. Tennessee over 11. San Diego State *CORRECT UT 62 sdsu 59
3. Georgetown over 14. Ohio *INCORRECT OHIO 97 g'town 83
10. Georgia Tech over 7. Oklahoma State *CORRECT GT 64 OKS 59
2. Ohio State over 15. UCSB *CORRECT OSU 68 ucsb 51
2nd ROUND
1. Kansas over 9. Northern Iowa *INCORRECT UNI 69 kansas 67
5. Michigan State over 4. Maryland *CORRECT MSU 85 maryland 83
6. Tennessee over 3. Georgetown *CORRECT UT 83 ohio 68
2. Ohio State over 10. Georgia Tech *CORRECT OSU 75 ga tech 66
3rd ROUND
1. Kansas over 5. Michigan State *INCORRECT KANSAS OUT
6. Tennessee over 2. Ohio State *CORRECT UT 76 OSU 73
CHERYL'S MIDWEST REGIONAL CHAMP
1. KANSAS over 6. Tennessee *INCORRECT KANSAS OUT
*CONGRATS TO CHERY WINNING THE MIDWEST REGION SHE MOVES ONTO THE FINAL 4 PICK EM CONTEST

PHAT'S PICKS
Kansas, UNLV, MSU, M'land, Tennessee, G'town, OK State, OSU
Kansas, Mich State, G'town, Ohio State
Kansas, G'town
KANSAS

STANDINGS AFTER RD 1
1- Tiggysmum 7pts
1- Cheryl 7pts
3- Design Goddess 5 pts
Phats- 5 pts

WEST REGION
Competing- Jenn, Mr Shife, & Travis
MR SHIFE'S PICKS
1. Syracuse over 16. Vermont *CORRECT CUSE 79 vermont 56
8. Gonzaga over 9. Florida State *CORRECT ZAGS 67 fsu 60
5. Butler over 12. UTEP *CORRECT BU 77 utep 59
4. Vanderbilt over 13. Murray State *INCORRECT MSU 66 vandy 65
6. Xavier over 11. Minnesota *CORRECT X 65 minny 54
3. Pittsburgh over 14. Oakland *CORRECT PITT 89 oakland 66
7. BYU over 10. Florida *CORRECT BYU 99 fla 92 2 OT's
2. Kansas State over 15. North Texas *CORRECT KSU 82 UNT 62
2nd ROUND
1. Syracuse over 8. Gonzaga *CORRECT CUSE 87 zags 65
5. Butler over 4. Vanderbilt *CORRECT BU 54 murray 52
6. Xavier over 3. Pittsburgh *CORRECT X 71 pitt 68
2. Kansas State over 7. BYU *CORRECT KSU 84 byu 72
3rd ROUND
5. Butler over 1. Syracuse *CORRECT BU 63 cuse 59
2. Kansas State over 6. Xavier *CORRECT KSU 101 X 96
MR SHIFE'S WEST REGIONAL CHAMP
2. KANSAS STATE over 5. Butler *INCORRECT BU 63 ksu 56

TRAVIS' PICKS
1. Syracuse over 16. Vermont *CORRECT CUSE 79 vermont 56
8. Gonzaga over 9. Florida State *CORRECT ZAGS 67 fsu 60
12. UTEP over 5. Butler *INCORRECT BU 77 utep 59
4. Vanderbilt over 13. Murray State *INCORRECT MSU 66 vandy 65
6. Xavier over 11. Minnesota *CORRECT X 65 minny 54
3. Pittsburgh over 14 Oakland *CORRECT PITT 89 oakland 66
7. BYU over 10. Florida *CORRECT BYU 99 fla 92 2 OT's
2. Kansas State over 15. North Texas *CORRECT K-STATE 82 UNT 62
2nd ROUND
1. Syracuse over 8. Gonzaga *CORRECT CUSE 87 zags 65
4. Vanderbilt over 12. UTEP *INCORRECT VANDERBILT OUT
3. Pittsburgh over 6. Xavier *INCORRECT X 71 pitt 68
2. Kansas State over 7. BYU *CORRECT KSU 84 byu 72
3rd ROUND
1. Syracuse over 4. Vanderbilt *INCORRECT BU 63 cuse 59
3. Pittsburgh over 2. Kansas State *INCORRECT PITT OUT
TRAVIS' WEST REGIONAL CHAMP
1. SYRACUSE over 3. Pittsburgh *INCORRECT SYRACUSE OUT

JENN'S PICKS(a good friend of mine!)
1. Syracuse over 16. Vermont *CORRECT CUSE 79 vermont 56
9. Florida State over 8. Gonzaga *INCORRECT ZAGS 67 fsu 60
12. UTEP over 5. Butler *INCORRECT BU 77 utep 59
13 Murray State over 4. Vanderbilt *CORRECT MSU 66 vandy 65
11. Minnesota over 6. Xavier *INCORRECT X 65 minny 54
14. Oakland over 3. Pittsburgh *INCORRECT PITT 89 oakland 66
7. BYU over 10. Florida *CORRECT BYU 99 fla 92 2 OT's
2. Kansas State over 15. North Texas *CORRECT K-STATE 82 UNT 62
2nd ROUND
1. Syracuse over 9. Florida State *CORRECT CUSE 87 zags 65
13. Murray State over 12. UTEP *INCORRECT BU 54 murray 52
11. Minnesota over 14. Oakland *INCORRECT MINNESOTA OUT
7. BYU over 2. Kansas State *INCORRECT KSU 84 byu 72
3rd ROUND
1. Syracuse over 13. Murray State *INCORRECT BU 63 cuse 59
7. BYU over 11. Minnesota *INCORRECT BYU OUT
JENN'S WEST REGIONAL CHAMP
1. SYRACUSE over 7. BYU *INCORRECT SYRACUSE OUT
*CONGRATS TO SHIFE WINNING THE WEST REGION HE MOVES ONTO THE FINAL 4 PICK EM CONTEST


PHAT'S PICKS
Syracuse, Gonzaga, UTEP, Vandy, Minnesota, Pitt, BYU, K-State
Syracuse, Vandy, Pitt, K-State
Syracuse, K-State
K-State

STANDINGS AFTER RD 1
1- Mr. Shife 7 pts
2- Travis 6 pts
3- Jenn 4 pts
Phats 5 pts

EAST REGION
Competitors- Topolk, Cara, & Bekah
CARA'S PICKS
1. Kentucky over 16. E. TN State *CORRECT UK 100 etsu 71
8. Texas over 9. Wake Forest *INCORRECT WF 81 texas 80 OT
5. Temple over 12. Cornell *INCORRECT CORNELL 78 temple 65
4. Wisconsin over 13. Wofford *CORRECT UW 53 wofford 49
11. Washington over 6. Marquette *CORRECT UW 80 marquette 78
3. New Mexico over 14. Montana *CORRECT NM 62 montana 57
10. Missouri over 7. Clemson *CORRECT MIZZOU 86 clem 78
2. West Virginia over 15. Morgan St *CORRECT WVU 77 morgan 50
2nd ROUND
1. Kentucky over 8. Texas *CORRECT UK 90 wake 60
5. Temple over 4. Wisconsin *INCORRECT TEMPLE OUT
11. Washington over 3. New Mexico *CORRECT UW 82 nm 64
2. West Virginia over 10. Missouri *CORRECT WVU 68 mizzou 59
3rd ROUND
1. Kentucky over 5. Temple *CORRECT UK 62 cornell 45
2. West Virginia over 11. Washington *CORRECT WVU 69 uw 56
CARA'S EAST REGIONAL CHAMP
1. KENTUCKY over 2. West Virginia *INCORRECT WVU 73 uk 66

TOPOLK'S PICKS
1. Kentucky over 16. E. TN State *CORRECT UK 100 etsu 71
9. Texas over 8. Wake Forest *INCORRECT WF 81 texas 80 OT
12. Cornell over 5. Temple *CORRECT CORNELL 78 temple 65
13. Wofford over 4. Wisconsin *INCORRECT UW 53 wofford 49
6. Marquette over 11. Washington *INCORRECT UW 80 marquette 78
3. New Mexico over 14. Montana *CORRECT NM 62 montana 57
7. Clemson over 10. Missouri *INCORRECT MIZZOU 86 clem 78
2. West Virginia over 15. Morgan St *CORRECT WVU 77 morgan 50
2nd ROUND
1. Kentucky over 9. Texas *CORRECT UK 90 wake 60
12. Cornell over 13. Wofford *CORRECT CORN 87 wisky 69
6. Marquette over 3. New Mexico *INCORRECT MARQUETTE OUT
2. West Virginia over 7. Clemson *CORRECT WVU 68 mizzou 59
3rd ROUND
1. Kentucky over 12. Cornell *CORRECT UK 62 cornell 45
2. West Virginia over 6. Marquette *CORRECT WVU 69 uw 56
TOPOLK'S EAST REGIONAL CHAMP
2. WEST VIRGINIA over 1. Kentucky *CORRECT WVU 73 uk 66

BEKAH'S PICKS
1. Kentucky over 16. E. TN State *CORRECT UK 100 etsu 71
9. Wake Forest over 8. Texas *CORRECT WF 81 texas 80 OT
5. Temple over 12. Cornell *INCORRECT CORNELL 78 temple 65
4. Wisconsin over 13. Wofford *CORRECT UW 53 wofford 49
11. Washington over 6. Marquette *CORRECT UW 80 marquette 78
3. New Mexico over 14. Montana *CORRECT NM 62 montana 57
7. Clemson over 10. Missouri *INCORRECT MIZZOU 86 clem 78
2. West Virginia over 15. Morgan St *CORRECT WVU 77 morgan 50
2nd ROUND
1. Kentucky over 9. Wake Forest *CORRECT UK 90 wake 60
5. Temple over 4. Wisconsin *INCORRECT TEMPLE OUT
11. Washington over 3. New Mexico *CORRECT UW 82 nm 64
2. West Virginia over 7. Clemson *CORRECT WVU 68 mizzou 59
3rd ROUND
1. Kentucky over 5. Temple *CORRECT UK 62 cornell 45
11. Washington over 2. West Virginia *INCORRECT WVU 69 uw 56
BEKAH'S EAST REGIONAL CHAMP
1. Kentucky over 11. Washington *INCORRECT WVU 73 uk 66

PHAT'S PICKS
Kentucky, Tx, Cornell, Wisky, Marq, New Mex, Clemson, WVU
Kentucky, Wisconsin, Marquette, West Virginia
Kentucky, West Virginia
KENTUCKY

Standings after rd 1
1- Cara 6 pts
1- Bekah 6 pts
3- Topolk 4 pts
Phats 5 pts
*CONGRATS TO TOPOLK WINNING THE EAST REGION HE MOVES ONTO THE FINAL 4 PICK EM CONTEST

SOUTH REGION
Competitors- Jef, Booya, Duck, and Gary
JEF'S PICKS
1. Duke over 16. Arkansas Pine Bluff *CORRECT DUKE 73 Ark PB 44
9. Louisville over 8. California *INCORRECT CAL 77 l'ville 62
5. Texas A&M over 12. Utah State *CORRECT A&M 69 usu 53
4. Purdue over 13. Siena *CORRECT PURDUE 72 siena 64
6. Notre Dame over 11. Old Dominion *INCORRECT ODU 51 nd 50
3. Baylor over 14. Sam Houston State *CORRECT BAYLOR 68 SHS 59
7. Richmond over 10. St Mary's *INCORRECT SMC 80 richmond 71
2. Villanova over 15. Robert Morris *CORRECT NOVA 73 rmu 70 ot
2nd ROUND
1. Duke over 9. Louisville *CORRECT DUKE 68 cal 53
4. Purdue over 5. Texas A&M *CORRECT PU 63 a&m 61 OT
3. Baylor over 6. Notre Dame *CORRECT Baylor 76 odu 68
2. Villanova over 7. Richmond *INCORRECT ST MARY'S 75 nova 68
3rd ROUND
1. Duke over 4. Purdue *CORRECT DUKE 70 purdue 57
2. Villanova over 3. Baylor *INCORRECT VILLANOVA OUT
JEF'S SOUTH REGIONAL CHAMP
2. VILLANOVA over 1. Duke *INCORRECT VILLANOVA OUT

DUCK'S PICKS
1. Duke over 16. Arkansas Pine Bluff *CORRECT DUKE 73 Ark PB 44
9. Louisville over 9. California *INCORRECT CAL 77 l'ville 62
5. Texas A&M over 12. Utah State *CORRECT A&M 69 usu 53
4. Purdue over 13. Siena *CORRECT PURDUE 72 siena 64
6. Notre Dame over 11. Old Dominion *INCORRECT ODU 51 nd 50
3. Baylor over 14. Sam Houston State *CORRECT BAYLOR 68 SHS 59
10. St Mary's over 7. Richmond *CORRECT SMC 80 richmond 71
2. Villanova over 15. Robert Morris *CORRECT NOVA 73 rmu 70 ot
2nd ROUND
1. Duke over 9. Louisville *CORRECT DUKE 68 cal 53
4. Purdue over 5. Texas A&M *CORRECT PU 63 a&m 61 OT
6. Notre Dame over 3. Baylor *INCORRECT NOTRE DAME OUT
2. Villanova over 10. St Mary's *INCORRECT ST MARY'S 75 nova 68
3rd ROUND
4. Purdue over 1. Duke *INCORRECT DUKE 70 purdue 57
2. Villanova over 6. Notre Dame *INCORRECT VILLANOVA OUT
DUCK'S SOUTH REGIONAL CHAMP
4. PURDUE over 2. Villanova *INCORRECT PURDUE OUT

BOOYA'S PICKS
1. Duke over 16. Arkansas Pine Blue *CORRECT DUKE 73 Ark PB 44
9. Louisville over 8. California *INCORRECT CAL 77 l'ville 62
12. Utah State over 5. Texas A&M *INCORRECT A&M 69 usu 53
4. Purdue over 13. Siena *CORRECT PURDUE 72 siena 64
11. Old Dominion over 6. Notre Dame *CORRECT ODU 51 nd 50
3. Baylor over 14. Sam Houston State *CORRECT BAYLOR 68 SHS 59
7. Richmond over 10. St Mary's *INCORRECT SMC 80 richmond 71
2. Villanova over 15. Robert Morris *CORRECT NOVA 73 rmu 70 ot
2nd ROUND
1. Duke over 9. Louisville *CORRECT DUKE 68 cal 53
4. Purdue over 12. Utah State *CORRECT PU 63 a&m 61 OT
3. Baylor over 11. Old Dominion *CORRECT Baylor 76 odu 68
2. Villanova over 7. Richmond *INCORRECT ST MARY'S 75 nova 68
3rd ROUND
4. Purdue over 1. Duke *INCORRECT DUKE 70 purdue 57
3. Baylor over 2. Villanova *CORRECT BAYLOR 72 smc 49
BOOYA'S SOUTH REGIONAL CHAMP
4. PURDUE over 3. Baylor *INCORRECT PURDUE OUT

GARY'S PICKS
1. Duke over 16. Arkansas Pine Bluff *CORRECT DUKE 73 Ark PB 44
9. Louisville over 8. California *INCORRECT CAL 77 l'ville 62
5. Texas A&M over 12. Utah State *CORRECT A&M 69 usu 53
4. Purdue over 13. Siena *CORRECT PURDUE 72 siena 64
6. Notre Dame over 11. Old Dominion *INCORRECT ODU 51 nd 50
3. Baylor over 14. Sam Houston State *CORRECT BAYLOR 68 SHS 59
10. St Mary's over 7. Richmond *CORRECT SMC 80 richmond 71
2. Villanova over 15. Robert Morris *CORRECT NOVA 73 rmu 70 ot
2nd ROUND
1. Duke over 9. Louisville *CORRECT DUKE 68 cal 53
4. Purdue over 5. Texas A&M *CORRECT PU 63 a&m 61 OT
3. Baylor over 6. Notre Dame *CORRECT Baylor 76 odu 68
2. Villanova over 10. St Mary's *INCORRECT ST MARY'S 75 nova 68
3rd ROUND
4. Purdue over 1. Duke *INCORRECT DUKE 70 purdue 57
3. Baylor over 2. Villanova *CORRECT BAYLOR 72 smc 49
GARY'S SOUTH REGIONAL CHAMP
4. PURDUE over 3. Baylor *INCORRECT PURDUE OUT


PHAT'S PICKS
Duke, L'ville, Utah State, Purdue, ODU, Baylor, St Mary's, Nova
Duke, Purdue, Baylor, Nova
Purdue, Baylor
PURDUE(like i'd pick against my Boilers!)

Standings after rd 1
1- Duck 6 pts
1- Gary 6 pts
3- Jef 5 pts
3- Booya 5 pts
Phats 6 pts

Hail Hail to old Purdue all Hail to our old gold and black
Hail Hail to old Purdue our friendship may she never lack
Ever Grateful, ever true thus we raise our song a new FIRE UP!
Of the days we've spent with you, all Hail our own Purdue
GO BOILERS!

BTFU!!!

Let the madness begin

Sharing a picture from the rd 1 win over Northwestern the only game I went to of the big ten tournament, some of my friends doing their thing!

First off if you don't like sports sorry, but for awhile that's what is going to be posted here. The NCAA tournament kicked off Thursday at noon I for one am ready!! I have already taken 2 half days off Thursday and Friday to watch every second of it. The Boilermakers play Friday at 2:30 on CBS vs Siena out in Spokane Washington(even though we're in the South Region). So, lets talk about the bracket.

We got a 4 seed which I understand, but I am still a little pissed off about. Don't get me wrong though I actually really like our draw, and if we are fortunate to advance to the sweet 16 Duke doesn't scare me at all. Teams that bother us have a dominating center, and nobody in our path really has that. I don't care if we have Hummel or not I feel we deserved and earned no worse than a 3 no matter what happened. I see what they are saying that we aren't the same team yadda yadda yadda, but to punish a group of kids who put together a 27-5 season, had 4 wins over top ten teams, a high RPI, win streaks of 14 and 10, in my opinion is wrong. I feel like we should have gotten the three seed that was given to either New Mexico or Baylor but then again I wasn't part of the committee. If Purdue didn't play on ESPN so much I might boycott it, because their commentators are really pissing me off. It's like why even send our team to Washington to play we're just going to lose, and that douchebag Seth Davis saying wow a 13 will be favored over a 4. Look I know we laid a BIG egg against Minnesota, but when shots aren't falling what exactly are you suppose to do? Coach Painter did everything he could, he subbed, we played our normal defense, we just couldn't get GOOD open looks to fall that happens. How often is our best player going to go 1 for 15 in a game, not often? It's not like we were jacking up threes either, we were missing wide open lay ups that just rimmed out. Honestly this game might be a blessing in disguise now they are hell bent on showing that was a fluke, I wouldn't want to be Siena. Keep in mind the team with longest active first round winning streak of 11 is PURDUE.

Other bracket notes. Some puzzling things first off they seeded Duke a stronger 1 seed than Syracuse, uhh what? How does Wake Forest get in but Va Tech doesn't? I was shocked that both UTEP and Utah State got in exactly what have either of them done, yet teams like Mississippi State, Va Tech, and Illinois get left out? Talk about double shitter Illinois doesn't even get to host their first rd NIT game because they are booked for Cirque De Solie. The other head scratcher was Villanova a 2 seed?? Really??

Finally your brackets are due to me by WEDNESDAY no later I have received 2 so far. In order to post before the tournament starts I need them by Wednesday. If you have any ?'s feel free to ask, and best of luck to everyone! If you didn't have a team in the tournament this year I chose to draw names out of a bag to place you in your region.

Have a great week!! Weather is suppose to be gorgeous here this week can't wait especially since tennis season has started.

BOILER UP!
Phats

Thank God we're not on the bubble

EDIT SENDING OUT YOUR BRACKETS VIA EMAIL TONIGHT I NEED THEM BACK BY WEDNESDAY


Sometimes it's just not your day, and today was one of those days for Purdue. We were outplayed in every way today by the Golden Gophers so congrats to them. What sucks is everyone is going to say see this is how they are without Hummel, however we had our normal shots but just wouldn't fall. Moore our leading scorer is 1 for 11 after scoring 28 last night. I really hate this, hopefully it only drops us to a 3, even though in my mind we still DESERVE a 2 when you look at our body of work. Last year we ran the table in the Big Ten Tournament, and everyone thought a 3 seed and we dropped to a 5, maybe the committee wasn't watching? haha. Good news is we're solidly in, and we get to play another game, bad news our point guard might have reinjured his foot can you say snake bitten?! We'll keep on trucking next stop somewhere in the NCAA tournament. Not sure who to root for tomorrow, Minnesota probably has to win to feel safe of being in, while OSU still thinks they are one seed to me that's delusional. I really hate both teams honestly. OSU has arguable the best player in college basketball, but he's also a real douchebag and one of the biggest cry babies in the country. OSU is also like that rich kid that has it all, so I want them to lose. On the other hand when Robbie Hummel went down with his ACL tear at Minnesota the ovation their fans gave was so classless, they actually cheered an injury! Then they cheers grew louder when he didn't get up, what kind of fanbase does that?! Also they have a dick on their team too, he likes to tweet about how bad we are, maybe he was right today, but we still won the series with them at 2-1. I guess I will root for neither? ha

Speaking of the NCAA tournament the Phat-Tastic Bracket Contest will back up and running again this year and I will be emailing those of you participating your region you are in. Again just a reminder you need to pick the bracket out completely til you only have 1 team left. If you are new to my blog and want to participate please either let me have your email in the comments or shoot me an email.
phats_blog_email@yahoo.com

Since tomorrow is selection Sunday, here's my field of 65 teams in all caps have won their automatic bid.
AEAST- VERMONT
Big Sky- MONTANA
CAA- OLD DOMINION
Horizon- BUTLER
MAAC- SIENA
MEAC- MORGAN STATE
OVC- MURRAY STATE
Patriot- LEHIGH
Southern- WOFFORD
Sun Belt- NORTH TEXAS
WAC- NEW MEXICO STATE
ASun- EAST TENNESSEE STATE
Big South- WINTHROP
Big West- UCSB
CUSA- HOUSTON
Ivy- CORNELL
MAC- OHIO
MVC- NORTHERN IOWA
NEC- ROBERT MORRIS
Southland- SAM HOUSTON STATE
Summit- OAKLAND
SWAC- ARKANSAS PINE BLUFF

MULTIPLE BID LEAGUES
ACC(6)- Duke, Maryland, Fla State, Va Tech, Ga Tech, Clemson
Big 12(7)- Kansas, K-State, A&M, Baylor, Missouri, Texas, OK State
Big Ten(6) - Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois
MWC(4)- New Mexico, BYU, San Diego State, UNLV
A10(4)- Temple, Xavier, Richmond, Rhode Island
Big East(8)- Syracuse, West Virginia, Pitt, Nova, Marquette, L'ville, G'town, Notre Dame
Pac 10(2) Cal, Washington
SEC(4)- Kentucky, Vandy, Tennessee, Florida
WCC(2)- Gonzaga, St Mary's
LAST FOUR IN- Minnesota, Illinois, Rhode Island, Florida
LAST FOUR OUT- Mississippi, Mississippi State, UTEP, Memphis(Miss State could play way in with win over UK tomorrow)

Agree, Disagree, Check back Sunday to see how I did :)

No news on the computer we found one just need to get it, looks like an HP. Might get it tomorrow before selection Sunday. Got to make sure I can email you all your regions and get the contest up and running! Spring is almost here been so awesome out lately. This week is first week of tennis practice I am stoked we are going to be outside and not in winter clothing. However, weathermen are saying cold front coming in for the week after BOO!!! Don't forget Daylight Saving Time starts today we spring forward.

Everyone have a great rest of the weekend.
Phats

Big things happening!

Hey guys!
In the process of getting a new computer figured after 9 years it was time. Just wanted to let you all know why the lack of posts and such. I will HOPEFULLY FINGERS CROSSED be back up and running in time for my annual bracket challenge that I know all of you want to participate in. I will get you pairings and the region you are in as soon as the brackets are announced in one week.

In the mean time how about the Boilermakers!!! 2010 Big Ten Champs!!! Yes as mr Topolk so meanly pointed co-champs and infact even he is wrong we are Tri-Champs with Michigan State, and Ohio State, we're still champs! We still get a banner, we still get a trophy, and I have never been more proud of my team!! I headed over to West Lafayette and celebrated with 2000 of my closest friends at the airport as the team returned it was amazing! Robbie Hummel goes down, we still win the Big Ten. Now lets wrap up a Big Ten Tournament Title boys!! Our first game is Friday at 6:30 vs the winner of Northwestern/IU.

Hope to be back up and running by this weekend, but wanted to explain my absence. Have a great week.
Phats