NCAA Hoops 2025-26 Season Thread: MARCH SADNESS FOR DUKE

SJU > Duke

if duke wins it all, sju will have given them their best battle

I took 3 units plus the points and 1 unit moneyline ... so we're cool. 😀

Can you imagine the amount of work that Rick Pitino has done over the decades coaching, since the '70s? If he had stayed longer than a minute he probably would have taken Hawaii and Boston U to the Final Four. What a brutal region he was trying to get out of this year, with Duke, UConn, St. Johns, Mich St. to a lesser degree Kansas and Louisville. That's 4 teams with absolute championship pedigree, and some kickers. Too bad The Little General's bid to take a fourth team to the F4 is getting shot down in brutal fashion last two years.

Siena gave them a better battle

It looks like Michigan and Arizona might have their best teams ever.

I want people to understand, this is like the Jets winning the Super Bowl. This season was a fever dream for Nebraska. I have watched 25 years of horrific Nebraska basketball, and I had the time of a lifetime starting 20-0 and making the Sweet 16.

It hurts like hell having a great chance to make the Elite Eight and losing to our rival. Awful. But I truly appreciate everything I got to watch for 4 months now.

Volleyball aside, my Nebraska bros and I were trying to think of the last real joy we've had. The last moment that compares to this in any men's sport is 2001 Oklahoma. 2008 Colorado is a distant honorable mention. But I'm just so happy that we got this man. These guys are Nebrasketball legends forever.

Meh. Duke routed them in the second half and crunch time. This game was all out even war of attrition.

Duke has three 10 game winning streaks this year, surely a rarity.

also duke didnt take sienna serious at all

they knew sju was a major threat

I think we understand.

okay uconn mich st was a pretty good game too. go basketball , that uconn kid drilling 2 free throws, CLUTCH

Duke -205 seems inexpensive to me

I thought it looked a little pricey, but wouldn't swear to it.

As advertised, Pitino builds toward a title threat very slowly, the hard way, full of heartbreak. He did the same at UK and UofL. It's in his makeup, somehow. He's also kind of the master of the penultimate vicious rally that makes a big move but doesn't get there, that gets trumped by a later, final winning rally by the 1-seed opponent. 92 Duke and 2012 UK monster teams come to mind ... he rallied and caught them both but ultimately went down in games where he seemingly had no win. Again with Duke last night, a terrific move I think a 13-0 run early in the 2nd half, but alas, heartbreak.

I feel for the guy. I don't think he will get his due in the annals of the game. With only one official title and over 100 wins stripped, and all those years in the pros, and having walked away from UK when they were on top of the world with a budding dynasty (3 straight final games run, 2 titles and an OT loss with a superstar injured). I think he and Coach K are the GOATs.

I can never pick against Duke in the tournament. Not because I love them or anything like that, but because with all the talent and all the zeal they bring, and some 100 tournament wins by Coach K and now deep runs by Scheyer, how do you ever pick them to lose? Still the most surprising championship result I've seen was Duke's loss to Louisville in 1986. Could not see them losing that. Did not compute. The expected turnover bonanza by the sloppy ball-handling Ville materialized in spades, but Louisville gutted them so bad underneath in points/rebounds/blocks, and shot a way higher percentage, to nip them in the end in spite of the worst ball-handling game in the history of the tournament.

Anyway, that's a bit of tourney redux re Pitino and Duke. I can't envision having an opinion on any matchup remaining. As is my want I'm tempted to take Duke moneyline to advance, but laying 2/1 against UConn is pretty outlandish. Arizona and Michigan are monsters, and no idea if they will cool off. Just for fun I'll pick a Michigan/Duke final with Michigan winning. There, I picked against Duke.

For the first time in my life I went to bed and missed half a game and more.

Looks like Michigan State would have won if that shot somewhat decent.

Everyone in my group thinks Arizona rolls Purdue. I'm skeptical.

-225 now so good for you

Illinois the first team to advance to the Final Four. Go Illini!!

"I've driven through Arizona" by Kenny Smith, beautiful. Barkley is a buffoon. He's a fake opinionated person. He doesn't have an active mind, just an active mouth.

It looks like Duke has 28 one or two seeds in the last 41 years. Nobody is touching that, are they? And if you go down to 3-seeds, they are 34 for the last 43 years.

Purdue can beat Michigan and Arizona in the course of a couple weeks?

Arizona is shook

huh? charles said he lives in arizona

Then Kenny mocked him and said he's picking the Wildcats because he's driven through Arizona. Good line.