Anyone notice how non-competitive the Pac12's opponents have been against the Pac12?

HoopDreams said:

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espn re-seeded sweet16 teams

1 Pac team a 3 seed
3 Pac teams a 4 seed

basically, they are saying only 1 Pac team to the Elite 8 (because SC and Oregon play each other), and then none to advance to Final Four

Actually I think the teams who have the best shot at reaching the Final Four is USC and ....

Oregon State

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I'll buy UCLA and Oregon St as 4 seeds in a reseeding of the Sweet 16, but Oregon should be a 3 and USC should be a 2. If we're just going to assume original seeding was correct and move everybody up based on who lost, SC and Oregon are both 3 seeds, but based on other items (performance, KenPom rankings, eye test), I'd definitely have SC a 2.

I think SC has as good a shot as anybody at knocking off Gonzaga, so SC to the Final Four isn't a huge stretch. I like Oregon a lot less to take Gonzaga if they get by SC. SC needs to beware that many teams who win blowouts in the tourney falter the next game (see, e.g., Colorado).

Oregon St. is capable of knocking off Loyola or the Houston-Syracuse winner, but Loyola is underseeded (which ended up screwing Illinois and NOT Loyola, Illinois shouldn't have had to play as good a team as Loyola in the second round), and I don't like the Beavers' chances of continuing their run of playing well and having the opponent not play so well for two more games. Not impossible, but it seems pretty unlikely.

UCLA-Alabama? If Stanford beat Alabama, so can UCLA! OK, I don't like the Bruins against Alabama, and if they can survive that, I really don't like their chances against the Florida St.-Michigan winner.

Yeah, in spite of needing to beat the #1 overall seed to get to the Final Four, I think SC probably has the shortest odds of making the Final Four among the Pac-12 teams.

Cal8285 said:

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If we're just going to assume original seeding was correct and move everybody up based on who lost, SC and Oregon are both 3 seeds, but based on other items (performance, KenPom rankings, eye test), I'd definitely have SC a 2.

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Yes. Their utter demolition of Kansas is more impressive than what we've seen from Houston or Syracuse thus far.

You have to ask yourself this question: When the Mobley brothers are rolling, how do you counter? Whatever the answer is, good luck with that.

KoreAmBear said:

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calumnus said:

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bearister said:

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philbert said:

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sycasey said:

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Pac-12 is now guaranteed a team in the Elite 8. USC and Oregon will play each other in the next round.

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Who should I root for in that game?

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SC. The Liege Lord of Oregon made his billions on the backs of underpaid labor, their teams are always full of dirty players and the fans are arrogant. The Mobley brothers seem like good guys. If I owned an NBA franchise, I would want both of them on my team. Andy Enfield is a nice guy...and then there is his wife.

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Just found out that USC PG Ethan Anderson's mom, Pam, was my wife's sorority sister at Cal.

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Pamela Anderson? I kid.

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I'm told she goes by her maiden name, probably for that reason.

calumnus said:

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KoreAmBear said:

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calumnus said:

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bearister said:

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philbert said:

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sycasey said:

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Pac-12 is now guaranteed a team in the Elite 8. USC and Oregon will play each other in the next round.

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Who should I root for in that game?

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SC. The Liege Lord of Oregon made his billions on the backs of underpaid labor, their teams are always full of dirty players and the fans are arrogant. The Mobley brothers seem like good guys. If I owned an NBA franchise, I would want both of them on my team. Andy Enfield is a nice guy...and then there is his wife.

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Just found out that USC PG Ethan Anderson's mom, Pam, was my wife's sorority sister at Cal.

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Pamela Anderson? I kid.

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I'm told she goes by her maiden name, probably for that reason.

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Ha. Is she married to Tommy Lee?

sycasey said:

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Cal8285 said:

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If we're just going to assume original seeding was correct and move everybody up based on who lost, SC and Oregon are both 3 seeds, but based on other items (performance, KenPom rankings, eye test), I'd definitely have SC a 2.

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Yes. Their utter demolition of Kansas is more impressive than what we've seen from Houston or Syracuse thus far.

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Okay, this guy also had Oral Roberts ahead of USC and Oregon.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/31116402/reseeding-men-march-madness-2021-field-sweet-16

No. They won a couple of games by the skin of their teeth. USC destroyed their opponents.

The blood rushes from Tommy Lee's body and he passes out when he sees Pam.

Cal8285 said:

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Yeah, in spite of needing to beat the #1 overall seed to get to the Final Four, I think SC probably has the shortest odds of making the Final Four among the Pac-12 teams.

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538 agrees.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2021-march-madness-predictions/

The Loyola Chicago games are really fun to watch with "point center" Cameron Kruitwig running the offense.

Porter Moser is an excellent coach.

It is the Pac8 which has four teams in the Sweet Sixteen.....

ncbears said:

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It is the Pac8 which has four teams in the Sweet Sixteen.....

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And two regions, SoCal and Oregon

sycasey said:

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HoopDreams said:

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espn re-seeded sweet16 teams

1 Pac team a 3 seed
3 Pac teams a 4 seed

basically, they are saying only 1 Pac team to the Elite 8 (because SC and Oregon play each other), and then none to advance to Final Four

Actually I think the teams who have the best shot at reaching the Final Four is USC and ....

Oregon State

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The issue for P12 teams reaching the Final Four is that USC and Oregon are probably the most talented, but they're stuck in the same region with Gonzaga.

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agree.

I said the teams with the best shot to reach the final four is USC because they are the most talented and have the star power to pull an upset, but as you said, the Zags are in their region so we'll have to see

I said Oregon State as the other team. I don't think they are more talented than the others, but they appear to have the easiest path

Can you imagine Oregon State going to the final four??? it's possible.

HoopDreams said:

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sycasey said:

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HoopDreams said:

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espn re-seeded sweet16 teams

1 Pac team a 3 seed
3 Pac teams a 4 seed

basically, they are saying only 1 Pac team to the Elite 8 (because SC and Oregon play each other), and then none to advance to Final Four

Actually I think the teams who have the best shot at reaching the Final Four is USC and ....

Oregon State

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The issue for P12 teams reaching the Final Four is that USC and Oregon are probably the most talented, but they're stuck in the same region with Gonzaga.

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agree.

I said the teams with the best shot to reach the final four is USC because they are the most talented and have the star power to pull an upset, but as you said, the Zags are in their region so we'll have to see

I said Oregon State as the other team. I don't think they are more talented than the others, but they appear to have the easiest path

Can you imagine Oregon State going to the final four??? it's possible.

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OSU would seem to have the easier path. The 1 and 3 seeds in their region are already out, and Houston has not been super impressive as the remaining 2.

sycasey said:

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HoopDreams said:

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sycasey said:

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HoopDreams said:

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espn re-seeded sweet16 teams

1 Pac team a 3 seed
3 Pac teams a 4 seed

basically, they are saying only 1 Pac team to the Elite 8 (because SC and Oregon play each other), and then none to advance to Final Four

Actually I think the teams who have the best shot at reaching the Final Four is USC and ....

Oregon State

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The issue for P12 teams reaching the Final Four is that USC and Oregon are probably the most talented, but they're stuck in the same region with Gonzaga.

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agree.

I said the teams with the best shot to reach the final four is USC because they are the most talented and have the star power to pull an upset, but as you said, the Zags are in their region so we'll have to see

I said Oregon State as the other team. I don't think they are more talented than the others, but they appear to have the easiest path

Can you imagine Oregon State going to the final four??? it's possible.

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OSU would seem to have the easier path. The 1 and 3 seeds in their region are already out, and Houston has not been super impressive as the remaining 2.

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The 538 chart you posted says UCLA has the second best chance at 15%, with SC at 18%, and both Oregon schools at 9%.

I agree that Houston hasn't been that impressive as a 2.-- they really should have lost to Rutgers, which would have left Loyola as the highest seed left in the region. But Loyola really is underseeded, and I might put the OSU chances of getting to the Elite 8 at a little less than 31%. The 538 projection probably doesn't give OSU as good a chance at beating the Houston-Syracuse winner as it should, but I'd give Syracuse a better than 30% chance of beating Houston and I worry about Syracuse giving OSU a harder time than Houston, I'm not sure how well OSU will handle that Syracuse zone. Balance out overstating the chances of getting to the Elite 8 and perhaps understating the chances of winning the Elite 8 game, and the 9% chance of OSU to the Final Four might be about right.

I think UCLA's chances might be overstated. The 36% chance of beating Alabama might be right, but I think they overstate the chances of UCLA beating the Michigan-Florida St. winner.

At this point, I just want as much money going to Cal as possible, so I'll keep rooting for the Pac-12.

Cal8285 said:

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sycasey said:

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HoopDreams said:

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sycasey said:

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HoopDreams said:

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espn re-seeded sweet16 teams

1 Pac team a 3 seed
3 Pac teams a 4 seed

basically, they are saying only 1 Pac team to the Elite 8 (because SC and Oregon play each other), and then none to advance to Final Four

Actually I think the teams who have the best shot at reaching the Final Four is USC and ....

Oregon State

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The issue for P12 teams reaching the Final Four is that USC and Oregon are probably the most talented, but they're stuck in the same region with Gonzaga.

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agree.

I said the teams with the best shot to reach the final four is USC because they are the most talented and have the star power to pull an upset, but as you said, the Zags are in their region so we'll have to see

I said Oregon State as the other team. I don't think they are more talented than the others, but they appear to have the easiest path

Can you imagine Oregon State going to the final four??? it's possible.

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OSU would seem to have the easier path. The 1 and 3 seeds in their region are already out, and Houston has not been super impressive as the remaining 2.

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The 538 chart you posted says UCLA has the second best chance at 15%, with SC at 18%, and both Oregon schools at 9%.

I agree that Houston hasn't been that impressive as a 2.-- they really should have lost to Rutgers, which would have left Loyola as the highest seed left in the region. But Loyola really is underseeded, and I might put the OSU chances of getting to the Elite 8 at a little less than 31%. The 538 projection probably doesn't give OSU as good a chance at beating the Houston-Syracuse winner as it should, but I'd give Syracuse a better than 30% chance of beating Houston and I worry about Syracuse giving OSU a harder time than Houston, I'm not sure how well OSU will handle that Syracuse zone. Balance out overstating the chances of getting to the Elite 8 and perhaps understating the chances of winning the Elite 8 game, and the 9% chance of OSU to the Final Four might be about right.

I think UCLA's chances might be overstated. The 36% chance of beating Alabama might be right, but I think they overstate the chances of UCLA beating the Michigan-Florida St. winner.

At this point, I just want as much money going to Cal as possible, so I'll keep rooting for the Pac-12.

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Yeah, my personal eye test has Houston looking weaker than Michigan/Alabama, but the 538 algorithm seems to think they are stronger. If that's true then sure, I'd say OSU has a worse chance than UCLA. But my subjective take is that UCLA getting through that gauntlet is less likely.

Not much mention of Syracuse who is really hot and will probably blast its way past Houston and would be a tough one for Oregon State to get past after Loyola.

Alabama has a good record but did get blasted by Furd back in November, doesn't matter in March but UCLA could handle them. After that though, Michigan is probably overrated like the whole Big Ten, Florida State however had no problem pushing aside Colorado, so another tough one ahead potentially there.

I was telling my cousin's best friend who is an Oregon fan, USC looks like a Final Four team and could definitely hand Gonzaga their walking papers, but if Oregon can pull it off, they can do the same.

stu said:

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SFCityBear said:

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stu said:

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Having to play Cal really prepared everyone in our conference for tournament play.

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The only plausible explanation.

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Must be true. The WSU women didn't play Cal and they lost in the first round today.

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Good one. Any team with high hopes should try and schedule Cal next season, not for an easy win, but to toughen themselves up and prepare them for tournament competition. Otherwise the PAC12 will continue to dominate.

Strykur said:

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Not much mention of Syracuse who is really hot and will probably blast its way past Houston and would be a tough one for Oregon State to get past after Loyola.

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'Cuse always looks good until they run into a team that seems prepared for their zone.

Chicago is no chump change and Houston has a legit nba player

No easy part to final four

I'm just not a believer in UCLA and usc/Oregon will knock each other out and then winner gets the clear best team in the tournament

sycasey said:

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Cal8285 said:

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sycasey said:

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HoopDreams said:

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sycasey said:

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HoopDreams said:

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espn re-seeded sweet16 teams

1 Pac team a 3 seed
3 Pac teams a 4 seed

basically, they are saying only 1 Pac team to the Elite 8 (because SC and Oregon play each other), and then none to advance to Final Four

Actually I think the teams who have the best shot at reaching the Final Four is USC and ....

Oregon State

---

The issue for P12 teams reaching the Final Four is that USC and Oregon are probably the most talented, but they're stuck in the same region with Gonzaga.

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agree.

I said the teams with the best shot to reach the final four is USC because they are the most talented and have the star power to pull an upset, but as you said, the Zags are in their region so we'll have to see

I said Oregon State as the other team. I don't think they are more talented than the others, but they appear to have the easiest path

Can you imagine Oregon State going to the final four??? it's possible.

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OSU would seem to have the easier path. The 1 and 3 seeds in their region are already out, and Houston has not been super impressive as the remaining 2.

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The 538 chart you posted says UCLA has the second best chance at 15%, with SC at 18%, and both Oregon schools at 9%.

I agree that Houston hasn't been that impressive as a 2.-- they really should have lost to Rutgers, which would have left Loyola as the highest seed left in the region. But Loyola really is underseeded, and I might put the OSU chances of getting to the Elite 8 at a little less than 31%. The 538 projection probably doesn't give OSU as good a chance at beating the Houston-Syracuse winner as it should, but I'd give Syracuse a better than 30% chance of beating Houston and I worry about Syracuse giving OSU a harder time than Houston, I'm not sure how well OSU will handle that Syracuse zone. Balance out overstating the chances of getting to the Elite 8 and perhaps understating the chances of winning the Elite 8 game, and the 9% chance of OSU to the Final Four might be about right.

I think UCLA's chances might be overstated. The 36% chance of beating Alabama might be right, but I think they overstate the chances of UCLA beating the Michigan-Florida St. winner.

At this point, I just want as much money going to Cal as possible, so I'll keep rooting for the Pac-12.

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Yeah, my personal eye test has Houston looking weaker than Michigan/Alabama, but the 538 algorithm seems to think they are stronger. If that's true then sure, I'd say OSU has a worse chance than UCLA. But my subjective take is that UCLA getting through that gauntlet is less likely.

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Data: Department of Education; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

"Four teams spend at least 25% of their athletics budget on men's basketball: Gonzaga (35%), Creighton (32%), Villanova (28%) and Loyola Chicago (25%).

Wild stat: Five schools (FSU, UCLA, Alabama, Villanova and Syracuse) spend more on men's hoops than Oral Roberts spends on its entire athletic department." Axios

bearister said:

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Data: Department of Education; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios

"Four teams spend at least 25% of their athletics budget on men's basketball: Gonzaga (35%), Creighton (32%), Villanova (28%) and Loyola Chicago (25%).

Wild stat: Five schools (FSU, UCLA, Alabama, Villanova and Syracuse) spend more on men's hoops than Oral Roberts spends on its entire athletic department." Axios

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Any idea where Cal slots in this list?

"After nearly a week off, the men's bubble is back in action this weekend with eight epic matchups.

The state of play: Gonzaga is the weekend's biggest favorite, while Sunday features two of the most even matchups in FSU-Michigan and Oregon-USC, according to betting lines.

Saturday

2:40pm ET: No. 12 Oregon State vs. No. 8 Loyola Chicago (-7)

5:15pm: No. 5 Villanova vs. No. 1 Baylor (-7.5)

7:25pm: No. 15 Oral Roberts vs. No. 3 Arkansas (-11)

9:55: No. 11 Syracuse vs. No. 2 Houston (-6.5)

Sunday

2:10pm: No. 5 Creighton vs. No. 1 Gonzaga (-13)

5pm: No. 4 FSU vs. No. 1 Michigan (-2.5)

7:15pm: No. 11 UCLA vs. No. 2 Alabama (-6.5)

9:45pm: No. 7 Oregon vs. No. 6 USC (-2)" Axios

Translate to Pacific time please, as I am too lazy.

Oregon State looks badly over matched. Deer in the Headlights.

oskidunker said:

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Oregon State looks badly over matched. Deer in the Headlights.

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Is Chicago that good defensively?

They are absolutely shutting down osu

actually both teams can't score

5 baskets in 13 minutes combined

#25 for Loyola looks 35 years old. Straight from a dad's pickup game.

HoopDreams said:

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Osu has the best player on the floor, Thompson

In this grind fest, Chicago is shooting 17%

OSU can thank Cal for preparing them for these types of battles

I think osu is on their way to the eight

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Sure looks like it. Covid could strike and put Beavers in the final four. Good to see Osu playing so well.

Crunch time

5 pt osu lead with 2+ on the clock

If osu hit their FTs game over

Go Beavs! If they can make the elite 8, why can't Cal?

philbert said:

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Go Beavs! If they can make the elite 8, why can't Cal?

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Fire Fox