🏀 KuBuckets Archive

Ha. ESPN has us marked erroneously? as an “aq”. Lol.

https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/bracketology/ncaa-bracketology-2025-march-madness-men-field-predictions ↗

We have a lifelong exemption no matter our record so it makes sense.

No one on the staff is old enough to remember us NOT being in the tournament so they assumed it must be automatic.

Guys, I am on the road but will set up a bracket challenge for us after selection.

Realistically if we win 18 games win the average year we will get in. Just UNC being on the bubble this season, you know they would get in for viewership. I believe UK got in one year under Gillespie when they were 18-13 and had zero ranked wins. At the end of the day it’s still a profitable business for the tournament so any big name on the bubble is gonna get in.

@approxinfinity it will be a challenge for sure. Usually it’s easy to pencil in KU to win it all…

How did UNC make it in

They got to explain this one

@AsadZ Blue blood automatic bid

Playing calipari lol

We already got dusted in an exhibition game against this team

Our two options are either:

A: Have Arkansas end our season again or

B: Watch Zuby dust Hunter and end our season

I would have appreciated a more merciful death blow

@Jhawk69 said in Bracketology:

Our two options are either:

A: Have Arkansas end our season again or

B: Watch Zuby dust Hunter and end our season

The latter would really suck but would at least ensure we won a game

ya not a good draw-- bet Zuby is frothing at the mouth if we should happen to get by

I don’t hate the draw. Poor shooting teams. Athleticism has bothered us too, but I like our odds better in a fist fight than a race to 80

There is no hypothetical draw or scenario in which this team makes it past the first weekend. My only hope heading into this Sunday was that a team we have no affiliation with could be the one to beat us.

Arkansas really scares me with how much more athletic they were when we played them in October. It looked like men playing boys tho we had much more experience. I’m hearing they could be without leading scorer and rebounder Theiro

Looks like Joe Lunardi got 4 first-round matchups right this year!

I don't mind our draw... Cal, Bill, and P~~a~~iti~~e~~~~r~~no... three hall-of-famer going head to head.

Arkansas is down to 7 decent players.

On paper, it looks like we should be able to beat Arkansas since they're down Thiero and Fland with Thiero unlikely to play Thursday, but Arkansas has played well since losing Thiero going 5-2 beating 3 other tournament teams.

They basically only have 7 players and we didn't have Hunter or Griffen in that exhibition game so it's hard to pull too much from that game at this point because we are both very different teams from that game.

Wow the line opened at KU minus 6 and it’s already down to KU minus 4.5

@DanR paterno? Lol

@kjayhawks said in Bracketology:

Arkansas really scares me with how much more athletic they weee when we played them in October. It looked like men playing boys tho we had much more experience. I’m hearing they could be without leading scorer and rebounder Theiro

We didn't have much more experience in that game. No Hunter and no Griffen in that game and we had 5 players playing in their first game in a KU uniform that night. KU was also running basically no offense that night as Dejuan carried KU in that game with 26 points on 17 shots. Passmore was the only other KU player in double figures that night with 11. This is auch different group than the one that went to Fayetteville

It's not like this team is any better then october

@BeddieKU23 said in Bracketology:

It's not like this team is any better then october

We were missing 2 starters that night and they're missing 2 starters now.

Btw, bracket group is here. /topic/13687

This is a great draw for KU. Time to make some noise.

🐦 View Tweet?s=61&t=8gxVJFoXYFc_4K5Nm7wEnw

Times

@approxinfinity said in Bracketology:

Btw, bracket group is here. /topic/13687

I will have at least 1 bracket with KU in the Elite 8 just because I want to see KU send those dirty slavers home in the Sweet 16.

I do want to say that everyone here should be cheering for a Border War in the Sweet 16.

@Texas-Hawk-10

Fland may play, he's available but we shall see.

@Texas-Hawk-10 Are you talking possibly about us missing two starters in our exhibition against Arkansas ?= = =Serious question sa I can't remember, who were they ? - -not trying to be a smart ass, I seriously don't remember that if that is what you were talking about.

@Texas-Hawk-10 Thanks you answered my question as I read further down. We was missing Griffen and Dickinson ?-- Of course missing Griffen really isn't that big of thing the way his Season has played out

@SlimShaddy54 said in Bracketology:

@Texas-Hawk-10 Are you talking possibly about us missing two starters in our exhibition against Arkansas ?= = =Serious question sa I can't remember, who were they ? - -not trying to be a smart ass, I seriously don't remember that if that is what you were talking about.

Hunter and Rylan did not play in that exhibition game in October.

@Texas-Hawk-10 Thanks ya I just read that from another of your posts. Appreciate it , I just didn't remember dickinson & Griffen not playing

19-15 Texas and 1-12 in Quad 1 games North Carolina each made the tournament. Surely there will be rational conversations around those two teams. Think I would've put West Virginia and Boise St. in over those two.

Also, 17-15 Ohio St. was the third team out.

Might have already been posted but We play at 6:10- - -on CBS

I would almost think some Tar Heel fans are a little bit embarrassed to be included in this thing. I haven't read much on the tourney, but is WVU getting written about as the biggest snub?

@wissox There was quite a bit of talk about WV getting left out - especially with N Carolina only having ONE Quad ONE win

@wissox said in Bracketology:

I would almost think some Tar Heel fans are a little bit embarrassed to be included in this thing. I haven't read much on the tourney, but is WVU getting written about as the biggest snub?

WVU was the first team out, followed by Indiana, Ohio St., and Boise St. Personally, I would've had WVU and Boise in over UNC and Texas, but wouldn't have had an issue with Indiana getting in either.

@Texas-Hawk-10
Boogie and Thiero are probably their best players. Boogie with a thumb injury and Thiero with an hyper extended knee. Thiero is a very explosive player and would probably be limited. Boogie's injury is to his shooting hand and as a PG might not be as effective and he was just medically cleared Sunday to resume basketball activities. Calipari says if he can defend, rebound and flash up and down the Court it would be enough to get some minutes.

Hmmm… I saw KSU said they would decline a NIT bid… then I looked and evidently they weren’t offered to come!

@Texas-Hawk-10 WVU and Boise are better teams but UNC and Texas are bigger brands. I don't think there is much of a question which has more sway.

@Jhawk69 @Texas-Hawk-10 like I said earlier in the week about viewership on the bubble more so than anything else. I guess the NET ratings aren’t shit after all

@kjayhawks said in Bracketology:

@Jhawk69 @Texas-Hawk-10 like I said earlier in the week about viewership on the bubble more so than anything else. I guess the NET ratings aren’t shit after all

Viewership isn't the conspiracy theory with UNC, their AD was the head of the selection committee this year. Even if he wasn't in the room for discussion about UNC, a lot of people believe still believe that's why UNC got in.

@Texas-Hawk-10 I mean, it can be both. The head of the selection committee was never going to let them miss the tourney but even if not for him they probably still make it as a blue blood

@Jhawk69 said in Bracketology:

@Texas-Hawk-10 I mean, it can be both. The head of the selection committee was never going to let them miss the tourney but even if not for him they probably still make it as a blue blood

UNC was among the first four out two years ago so being a blue blood didn't save them then.

CBS planned ahead by having that scripted interview with AD and the other guy after so they could get in front of the headline during the show. Every year it's a hot topic of which P4 team gets in that really didn't deserve it. UNC beats Duke the other night and it's not much of a discussion.

West Virginia certainly should be pissed but losing to Colorado really hurt them in the conference tournament it appears. 3 strong non-con wins, two very strong conference wins including @ KU. Resume wise seems like a no-brainer so i'm not sure how they were able to justify UNC over them.

@BeddieKU23 Committee chair from UNC I think I read. I wonder if that had anything to do with it?

@wissox

It's certainly a factor no matter what they say or what procedures are in place to ensure partiality. It's still an invitational at the end of the day just like the College Football Playoff and the committee decided UNC was in

KU's bracket shows that media attention and to a lesser extent fan interest factors into KU's seeding more than just 7 seed matchups. Each game has an attention hook: Calipari v. Self; Pitino v. Self and much lesser, Zuby v. Ku; and back to the border war if KU plays well enough to get Mizzou. There is certainly media design here rather than seeding based on a each team's seasonal performance. The other 10 seeds New Mex, Vanderbilt and Utah St could have been in KU's bracket but just don't have the hook.

@stoptheflop right at the end of the day they want viewership. The NCAA may claim to be a non-profit but they profit hundreds of millions during the tournament.

Here’s what ESPN says about KU

Elsewhere in the bracket, St. John's coach Rick Pitino leads his unprecedented sixth program into the tournament, and what a road he would have to take to get to the Final Four.

First, he will travel to Providence, the same building where the coach led the Friars to a surprise Final Four trip back in 1987, to lead St. John's in a first-round game against Omaha. Pitino's second game could come against Arkansas and John Calipari in what would be a titanic matchup between two of the game's biggest coaching names.

-nothing.

I can’t recall a KU team going 7-8 down the stretch before. My confidence is at an all time low for the tournament. Usually when KU doesn’t have a good team they hustle and give it their all. This squad has never come together and the effort is uneven. Last chance to figure it out. LFG

https://nypost.com/2025/03/17/sports/north-carolina-ad-bubba-cunninghams-contract-incentives-revealed-after-march-madness-pick/ ↗

Bubba gets bonus

@Crimsonorblue22 This is America. You're supposed to get a bonus for being inept.

@dylans said in Bracketology:

I can’t recall a KU team going 7-8 down the stretch before. My confidence is at an all time low for the tournament. Usually when KU doesn’t have a good team they hustle and give it their all. This squad has never come together and the effort is uneven. Last chance to figure it out. LFG

I'm encouraged there are no injury concerns to the rotation, so we have a full team for once. No excuses for this bunch on Thursday. We'll probably know early in the game if they play with a sense of urgency or the same will repeat.

Glad the start time on Thursday was ideal, 7pm EST. Can't even lie was expecting a 10pm start like we were getting lately

I've got 2 fabulous vocabulary words to describe the committee's view of the SEC: besotted and limerence.

@bskeet I refuse to google this, but I'm guessing Dumb and Dumber ?

@nuleafjhawk LOL

Besotted: strongly infatuated.
"he became besotted with his best friend's sister"

Limerence: the state of being infatuated or obsessed with another person, typically experienced involuntarily and characterized by a strong desire for reciprocation of one's feelings but not primarily for a sexual relationship

@nuleafjhawk said in Bracketology:

@Crimsonorblue22 This is America. You're supposed to get a bonus for being inept.

Or even get elected president

@stoptheflop You're forgetting the two former Kentucky coaches matchup that could happen with Cal and Pitino.

Cal trivia
Calipari is from Moon Township near Pittsburgh. My dad got stationed there after Korea as an Army draftee. He met my mom at a church there. She was from Mars, PA. So a Mars woman married a Moon man. (true story)

Calipari's daughter attended the segregation academy called Briarcrest 'christian' School in Memphis. This school was made famous by Michael Oher in the Blind Side.

Calipari of course was a part of the dynasty of coaches at KU in the mid 80's. College/NBA hall of famer Larry Brown had Cal as an assistant. Bill Self came along for 1 year with Brown, and Gregg Popovich then came in as a grad assistant. In this little activity I just learned Popovich is from East Chicago, IN, a town so close to home that I sometimes go on runs from my house into East Chicago. Never knew that part of this whole thing!

@bskeet

Could argue the previous besottment was with the Big-12 for several years. It was still really strong this year, just not the bees knees for the media to drive up and down

@BeddieKU23 True, but not to this extent... 14 teams in the tournament?

That is 87.5% of the conference! Unprecedented and a bit besotted methinks. Not a fan of schadenfreude, but if the SEC flames out in the first couple rounds, I may smirk a bit.

@BeddieKU23 What about Shaq my friend ?

@bskeet

Well we didn't have 14 teams to have in the field until this year but I get your point regarding the numbers.

Texas and Oklahoma in with 6-12 conference records is criminal.

At this point there is no doubt certain teams and conferences have the power to influence results when it comes to an Invitational.

@BeddieKU23 praise jesus they’re healed and can dance again!

@BeddieKU23 Honestly going over the bracket today because I didn’t bother even watching the selection show but man this year maybe the worst the committee has ever done between SEC crap and UNC it’s just not a good look. OU and Texas are laughable you could make a case for 17-16 northwestern over them.

@BeddieKU23 said in Bracketology:

@dylans said in Bracketology:

I can’t recall a KU team going 7-8 down the stretch before. My confidence is at an all time low for the tournament. Usually when KU doesn’t have a good team they hustle and give it their all. This squad has never come together and the effort is uneven. Last chance to figure it out. LFG

I'm encouraged there are no injury concerns to the rotation, so we have a full team for once. No excuses for this bunch on Thursday. We'll probably know early in the game if they play with a sense of urgency or the same will repeat.

Sounds like we could even have Shak Moore available for limited minutes. He also didn't play in the October meeting and could provide a big boost if he's able to play 10-12 minutes.

SEC is pissed they've lost the last two football championships BIG schools so they've got to get ships in hoops.

@Texas-Hawk-10

Didn't even factor him in tbh. Before he got re-injured he was impactful and looking back not having him most of the year really hurt them. If they could get 5-10 minutes out of him Thursday that would be great matching up with Arkansas guards.

@wissox said in Bracketology:

@stoptheflop You're forgetting the two former Kentucky coaches matchup that could happen with Cal and Pitino.

Cal trivia
Calipari is from Moon Township near Pittsburgh. My dad got stationed there after Korea as an Army draftee. He met my mom at a church there. She was from Mars, PA. So a Mars woman married a Moon man. (true story)

Calipari's daughter attended the segregation academy called Briarcrest 'christian' School in Memphis. This school was made famous by Michael Oher in the Blind Side.

Calipari of course was a part of the dynasty of coaches at KU in the mid 80's. College/NBA hall of famer Larry Brown had Cal as an assistant. Bill Self came along for 1 year with Brown, and Gregg Popovich then came in as a grad assistant. In this little activity I just learned Popovich is from East Chicago, IN, a town so close to home that I sometimes go on runs from my house into East Chicago. Never knew that part of this whole thing!

Maybe Larry Brown should have a hand in picking KU’s next round of assistants! Wow

@dylans seriously.

:hundred_points:

People are so shocked to learn about the coaching connections to Kansas. From Rupp, Smith, Miller, Pop, Cal and Self

@kjayhawks which Miller?

@approxinfinity Ralph, played for KU pre WWII and coached Wichita St., Iowa, and Oregon St.

@Texas-Hawk-10 said in Bracketology:

@approxinfinity Ralph, played for KU pre WWII and coached Wichita St., Iowa, and Oregon St.

@approxinfinity he is correct, if I’m not mistaken at one point he had the most wins as a coach in all 3 of their program’s history. Reading some of the stuff I have on Phog Allen he was very upset they let Dick Harp takeover instead of Ralph.

Refs ain’t gonna let UNC go home early, already turned it off

I just read up a little on Ralph Miller. I guess Bob Gottlieb, Doug’s dad, was an assistant for Ralph Miller at one point.

Back when Ralph Miller was coach at WSU, did KU fans have a more favorable impression of WSU basketball?

@approxinfinity I had a favorable impression of WSU for years until Marshall, his mouth and drunk wife got to town.

@kjayhawks said in Bracketology:

Refs ain’t gonna let UNC go home early, already turned it off

Looks bad now but I quit watching when it was 18-11 after UNC kept getting cheap fouls called on SDSU all while one of their players had a guy in a choke hold with no call.

@approxinfinity KU fans thought very little of WSU basketball - about like emporia st or hays for that matter, just another instate charity case game. Then the a-hole with the drunkard wife took over and they got good; beat KU a couple times. And that was that. Back to a nothing burger.

@dylans people forget Roy had a home and home with them in the 90s before we started wanting to go 2 for 1 to avoid a roach infested Koch and they backed out.

The Mountaineers are in. Mt St Marys Mountaineers that is.

@approxinfinity said in Bracketology:

The Mountaineers are in. Mt St Marys Mountaineers that is.

They still got 20 minutes to go before they're in! :)

KU is the smart money to win it all. Need proof?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2025/03/19/march-madness-bracket-ai-picks-predictions/82520443007/ ↗

@Jayblaze Crap. I need to re-fill out my bracket real quickly.

@Jayblaze All the proof you need to know that AI technology is not ready for prime-time. It inherits human biases and spits it out uncertainty with certainty.

@bskeet That soulless AI created Coke commercial… shudder. It’s like auto tune. Makes me appreciate real artists all the more.

Y’all are just hAIters ;)

Is AI ready to stand alone? No. Its a companion tool. And yeah the uncertainty with certainty bit is true and silly.

And I totally get the feeling that for creative stuff it is soulless.

But so is Jon Scheyer.

Is Duke partnered with Microsoft? Maybe Jon Scheyer bot is running Copilot, or Autopilot Beta.

@approxinfinity said in Bracketology:

Y’all are just hAIters ;)

Is AI ready to stand alone? No. Its a companion tool. And yeah the uncertainty with certainty bit is true and silly.

And I totally get the feeling that for creative stuff it is soulless.

But so is Jon Scheyer.

Is Duke partnered with Microsoft? Maybe Jon Scheyer bot is running Copilot, or Autopilot Beta.

Good stuff.

I don't hate AI. I hate when people force any technology into a product for the sake of anything other than legitimately improving the user experience.

My only point is that AI is not ready for primetime for most use cases and it's resulting in many users misusing the AI features in products.

In some cases the misuse is because users are not saavy enough to understand the limitations and the tech interface is underdeveloped to help users know when the results are probably unreliable.

In other cases the misuse is because users are very savvy and know how to manipulate tech which is under-tested and underdeveloped to prevent deliberate misuse.