Expectations were sky high for the 1980 Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles were coming off two consecutive playoff appearances that saw progressive improvement. They lost in the wild-card round in 1978, giving up a fourth-quarter lead in Atlanta. The following year, Philadelphia went one round further, beating Chicago in the first round before losing to Tampa Bay in the divisional playoff.
The West Regional goes through Anaheim, en route to the Final Four in Dallas. TheSportsNotebook has previewed all 16 teams in this quarter of the bracket with basic information on their personnel and schedule. Now let’s tie it all together with nine general thoughts on this region, followed by the game-by-game picks.
The road to the East Regional title goes through Madison Square Garden, as the great basketball arena hosts NCAA Tournament play for the first time in over 50 years. TheSportsNotebook has laid the groundwork for this regional with our “Tale of the Tape” report on all 16 teams in the bracket. In this post, we’ll run through nine general thoughts on the region, followed by game-by-game picks…
Madison Square Garden is arguably the most famous basketball venue in America, steeped in college basketball, both historical and contemporary. But it’s been over 50 years since this arena last hosted an NCAA Tournament. That comes to an end next weekend, when the East Regional is settled in New York City. What follows are the 16 teams that will spend Thursday thru Sunday fighting for the four spots at MSG, with a snapshot look at their personnel and schedule highlights.
The 2014 NCAA Tournament began last night in Dayton with two of the First Four play-in games. North Carolina State and Albany earned spots in the Round of 64 that begins on Thursday.
The road to the 2014 Final Four that comes from the West will go through Anaheim, as the 16 teams placed in the West Regional will play for the chance to get to SoCal next weekend. Here’s a concise look at all the teams in this quarter of the NCAA Tournament, their personnel and notable aspects of their regular season performance…
The NCAA Tournament is set to tip off at 6:40 PM ET on Tuesday night, with the first of four “First Four” games from Dayton over tonight and Wednesday that will get us down to 64 teams by the time the full field starts up on Thursday afternoon. TheSportsNotebook’s coverage has begun. Here’s a brief summation of what’s available here online, what will be available and how we’ll be approaching NCAA Tournament coverage here between now and when the national champion is crowned in Dallas on April 7…
The South Regional of this year’s NCAA Tournament is home to the field of 68’s #1 overall seed in the Florida Gators, and will be settled in Memphis next weekend. TheSportsNotebook has run the tale of the tape of all 17 teams in this region (the 16-seed line is in play tonight in the First Four at Dayton). Now here’s nine general thoughts about this quarter of the bracket, followed by game-by-game picks at the bottom
The South Regional of the NCAA Tournament is one of two brackets that have teams playing in the First Four on Tuesday and Wednesday in Dayton. It’s only the 16-seed line, as Mount St. Mary’s and Albany will tip off in about seven hours. Florida is the top seed in this region and the #1 overall seed in the 68-team field. Here’s a rundown on all 17 teams placed in the South Region, a brief summation of notable aspects in their body of work and key personnel…
The Midwest Regional was the talk of ESPN last night as the “blood regional”, with Wichita, Michigan, Duke and Louisville as the top four seeds. It’s also the biggest regional, with three seed lines being in play at Dayton during the First Four over Tuesday and Wednesday night. TheSportsNotebook has summarized the basic resumes of all 19 teams in a separate post. My own picks are below. Here are nine general thoughts on this region…
The Midwest Regional is the biggest of the four brackets in the NCAA Tournament, as three of the “First Four” games in Dayton will be in this region. Thus, the Midwest has two teams at the 11, 12 & 16 seed lines respectively, for a 19-team bracket overall. Wichita is the 1-seed and this regional will ultimately be settled in Indianapolis. Here’s a concise summation of all 19 teams, touching on their resume and personnel…
TheSportsNotebook will dig into the specifics of all four regional brackets over the next 30 or so hours prior to the beginning of “The First Four” in Dayton. For now, let’s start with nine general thoughts on the overall bracket itself…
