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Mick CroninMick Cronin

Moving the college three-point line back will open the floor but might make the game uglier due to poor shooting

So we're going to the FIBA line... a foot and a half [back]. So the theory is that it'll open the floor up more. I'd agree with that. But again, are you going to stretch your defense if guys can't make the shot? So you have coaches that think it's going to be great. You have coaches that think, well, it's just going to be less guys can make it. So it's going to be uglier.

The NCAA did move the line back for the 2019-20 season. Scoring and 3PT percentages dipped slightly but the floor spacing benefits were realized.
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HankHank

Duke will have the #1 recruiting class and Matthew Hurt will be their next star white player people hate

Number one recruiting class. They got Vernon Carey Jr. And everyone likes to root against the white guy that's a high recruit at Duke. Matthew Hurt is the guy. Have you seen pictures of this kid? ... Duke's back.

Duke's 2019 class was ranked highly (top 3 depending on the service), and Matthew Hurt was a key part of it, though he didn't become a legendary 'hated' Duke figure in the vein of Laettner or Grayson Allen.
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Big CatBig Cat

Texas Tech is officially a basketball school as long as Chris Beard is the coach.

I now officially consider you [Texas Tech] a basketball school as long as Chris Beard stays there.

Chris Beard eventually left for Texas, and Texas Tech has remained a competitive basketball program, though Beard was the catalyst for their peak.
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PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Virginia will beat Auburn by a lot

I like Bruce [Pearl]. I think that they're going to get beat by UVA. By a lot, I think. I think that UVA is a very, very, very, very, very good team with a fan base that I really don't want to see win the national championship. But I think they're a much better team, so I think it's going to be UVA.

Virginia won 63-62, so they won but not 'by a lot'.
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Mark TitusMark Titus

Texas Tech might be the best team in the country right now.

Texas Tech might honestly be the best team in the country right now. They just beat Gonzaga, who I thought was kind of the best team in the country, and they beat them pretty, like, it didn't feel like a fluke. It felt like Gonzaga played really well in that game, and Texas Tech was just better.

Texas Tech reached the title game and lost in overtime, proving they were arguably the best or second-best team.
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Big CatBig Cat

My 2019 Final Four: Virginia, Duke, Kentucky, and Michigan

So my Final Four is Virginia, Duke, Kentucky... and Michigan.

Only Virginia made the Final Four. Duke and Kentucky lost in the Elite Eight; Michigan lost in the Sweet Sixteen.
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PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

My 2019 Final Four: Duke, Gonzaga, Virginia, and UNC

I have Duke, Gonzaga, Virginia, and UNC in my final four.

Only Virginia made the Final Four. Duke and Gonzaga lost in the Elite Eight; UNC lost in the Sweet Sixteen.
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Matt JonesMatt Jones

UC Irvine will upset Kansas State and reach the Sweet 16

I'll tell a big upset I like. I like UC Irvine to the Sweet 16. They play Kansas State. Dean Wade's not going to play. I don't like Kansas State at all... And UC Irvine's the only team in the tournament with 30 wins.

UC Irvine did upset Kansas State in the first round, but they lost in the second round to Oregon, so they did not reach the Sweet 16.
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Fran FraschillaFran Fraschilla

Kansas lacks the cohesiveness of Kansas State and Texas Tech heading into the Big 12 tournament

They're starting four freshmen right now... they don't have the cohesiveness, I think, that K-State and Texas Tech have going into this tournament this week.

Kansas reached the Big 12 final but lost to Iowa State. Neither K-State nor Texas Tech won the tournament.
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Fran FraschillaFran Fraschilla

Florida State is a March Madness dark horse because of their incredible length

One, they've been good all year, but no one ever talks about them... that's Florida State because they got like 15 guys. I mean, and they got like seven guys over seven feet. It's amazing... All they did this year in a great league is go... 25-6.

Florida State reached the Sweet 16 but lost to Gonzaga.
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PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The college basketball arm hook rule will cause an apocalypse in the tournament

This is going to cause absolute hell during the NCAA tournament. You're going to have stars foul out because of this weird flagrant foul thing. It's going to swing games, too. It's going to be awful. Once people realize how bad this rule is, the NCAA is going to be an apocalypse.

While the rule remained controversial, it didn't lead to a total 'apocalypse' or single-handedly ruin the 2019 tournament.
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Ed CooleyEd Cooley

Villanova will beat Michigan 84-72 to win the National Championship

Tomorrow night, I'm an incredible basketball fan. John Beilein. Jay Wright. 84-72. Villanova [wins].

Villanova won 79-62. Cooley got the winner right and the double-digit margin right, though slightly off on the exact score.
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PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The UMBC upset was a calculated move by the school to develop a national profile and drive admissions

I'm staying a little bit woke on that... this was a very good opportunity for UMBC to develop a national profile with a Twitter account. And then they used it to start like promoting their president. And they tweeted out like links to apply to UMBC.

Hot TakeCBBHotSarcastic
UMBC did indeed see a massive surge in applications and profile following the win, though it wasn't a 'calculated move' to win a basketball game for that purpose.
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Mark TitusMark Titus

2018 is the year a #16 seed finally beats a #1 seed, likely Penn over Kansas

I'm going to say this is the year that a 16 over one happens because why not? ... Penn, Kansas seems to be the one... If Kansas played Penn in a seven-game series, they're obviously going to move on, but it's a one-shot deal.

Titus correctly predicted that a #16 would beat a #1 in 2018, which happened for the first time in history when UMBC beat Virginia. He just missed the specific matchup.
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Frank KaminskyFrank Kaminsky

Top football and basketball conferences should break away from the NCAA

I think the biggest thing that could change the NCAA as a whole is if the top 100 basketball and top 100 football conferences or teams – just completely break off from the NCAA and form their own thing. I think that's the best thing they could do because then they can play by their own rules in a sense.

While they haven't fully 'broken off', the creation of the CFP and the massive conference realignments (SEC/Big Ten dominance) show the sport moving in this exact direction.
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Matt JonesMatt Jones

Kansas and Arizona are the two schools most at risk in the FBI scandal

The FBI scandal, the thing that no one talks about is I think Kansas and Arizona are the two schools most at risk, but your boys down at Duke, I'd be nervous if I were them because Jeff Capel kind of buddies with those with these dudes that are implicated in the FBI.

Kansas and Arizona both faced significant NCAA investigations and penalties (Self and Miller were heavily scrutinized), though they didn't receive the 'death penalty' some predicted. Duke remained relatively unscathed.
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Matt JonesMatt Jones

Virginia will not win the championship because their style of basketball is too terrible

I can tell you the team that's not going to win. I guarantee you Virginia won't win because God does not allow that terrible form of basketball to win a championship.

Matt Jones was spectacularly correct for the 2018 season, as #1 Virginia became the first #1 seed to lose to a #16 seed (UMBC). However, Virginia won the title in 2019 using the same style.
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Tom CreanTom Crean

Trae Young and Oklahoma are struggling with fatigue and spacing, not a lack of talent

I don't see him [Trae Young] playing as quick as the last week or so... I think the whole mental fatigue, physical fatigue, everybody's got that in February. Sometimes you just got to get back to playing quicker... if his team can stay committed to the spacing and they've got to start to string some stops together, I think they'll be just fine.

Oklahoma continued to struggle, losing in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament to Rhode Island. Young's efficiency never fully recovered to early-season levels.
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PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

North Carolina will win their Final Four game by 20 and the championship by 10

I think [North Carolina] are going to win this game by 20. And then I don't care who they play in the finals. They're going to win by at least 10.

UNC won the title, but both games were close: they beat Oregon by 1 and Gonzaga by 6.
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Jay BilasJay Bilas

It is a near certainty that college players will eventually boycott a game

I do think as the players, as we go forward, the players are getting more sort of socially aware and their awareness of their power in the marketplace is becoming greater. I think we'll see at some point somebody will boycott. I don't know when it's going to come, but I think it's a near certainty it's going to happen.

While not a widespread 'Final Four' boycott as joked about by PFT, player empowerment and NIL have fundamentally changed the power balance as Bilas predicted.
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Big CatBig Cat

My heart can only be ripped out by Wisconsin if they blow a 20-point lead

I don't think my heart can't be ripped out unless Wisconsin gets like a 20-point lead because it's still the Sweet 16. So I think they'll either have a huge lead and blow it or they will advance and that will be the heart rip out on Sunday.

Wisconsin lost in OT to Florida, which is arguably a 'heart rip out' regardless of a 20-point lead.
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Stu FeinerStu Feiner

Tournament games will be lower-scoring (unders) this weekend as teams tighten up

I think it'll tighten up. I think when teams tighten up, when more is on the line, normally the under is prevalent.

While this varies, many Elite Eight and Final Four games are high scoring; the 2017 title game was very low scoring (65-71).
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Big CatBig Cat

Wisconsin will lose in heartbreaking fashion on a buzzer-beater

Wisconsin is going to lose in heartbreaking fashion. That's going to be fun... South Carolina will probably win on a buzzer beater right in my face. I'll have front row seats.

Wisconsin lost to Florida (not South Carolina) on a buzzer-beater by Chris Chiozza in the Sweet 16. The spirit of the prediction was eerily correct.
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Big CatBig Cat

Gonzaga is a team of destiny because they absorbed Northwestern's power

I do believe in teams of destiny absorbing the teams they beat and their destiny... So they took out Northwestern, which was a true team of destiny, and they absorbed all that destiny. They're double the destiny.

OpinionCBBMediumSarcastic
Gonzaga did reach the championship game in 2017, their first ever Final Four.
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Big CatBig Cat

Northwestern is the greatest tournament team in college basketball history because they are undefeated

For a limited time, [Northwestern] are undefeated in tournament history. [They are the] best tournament team ever.

Technically correct at the moment of speaking (1-0), but satirical in nature. They lost their next game to Gonzaga.
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Mark TitusMark Titus

Gonzaga is the best team in the country

I actually like Gonzaga. I think Gonzaga's the best team in the country, and I know that's absolutely insane to say. I don't expect them to win at all, but I do think they're the best team and the most complete team.

Gonzaga made the National Championship, proving they were a top-tier team, even if they didn't win it all.
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Mark TitusMark Titus

Rhode Island is the mid-major most likely to make noise in the tournament

I would say Rhode Island [is a team that can make some noise].

Rhode Island upset 6-seed Creighton but lost to 3-seed Oregon in the next round.
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Big CatBig Cat

If Brad Stevens became available, Indiana would fire Tom Crean immediately

I don't think it would matter if Indiana was good or not. If Brad Stevens became available... You just fired Tom Crean. Yeah, Tom Crean is gone.

Indiana did fire Tom Crean in 2017, but they did not hire Brad Stevens; they hired Archie Miller.
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Mark TitusMark Titus

North Carolina is untouchable if they continue to hit three-pointers

UNC, the way to beat them is that they don't make threes, and for some reason they're making threes... if they're shooting like that, yeah, no one's touching them... If they shoot like they are, they're untouchable.

UNC shot well until the championship game against Villanova, where they lost on a buzzer-beater.
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Big CatBig Cat

Wisconsin will probably beat Notre Dame and then lose in a tragic, heartbreaking fashion

They'll probably beat Notre Dame and then maybe... be up by 10 against UNC. And I'm like, oh, man, I cannot believe the Badgers are going back to the Final Four. And then there'll be tragedy and heartbreak. And people will be sending me mean tweets.

Wisconsin lost to Notre Dame 61-56 in the Sweet 16 on March 25, 2016. While they didn't beat ND as he thought 'probably' would happen, his prediction of 'tragedy and heartbreak' was accurate as they lost a close game late.
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Mark TitusMark Titus

Indiana winning the Big Ten was a nightmare because it saved Tom Crean's job

This was my nightmare as an Indiana fan... now they're probably going to lose to Kentucky in the second round... And then people that like Crean are going to say, Oh, but they lost to the final four Kentucky team... It's a weird position to be in when you're kind of cheering for them to lose. So that way you just fire Tom Crean.

Indiana did beat Kentucky in the 2nd round but lost to UNC in the Sweet Sixteen. Crean was eventually fired a year later in 2017.
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Mark TitusMark Titus

Oregon is the weakest 1-seed but has an easy path thanks to Duke being in their bracket

Oregon's definitely the weakest one seed, but then you've got to look at their bracket. Because they were blessed to have Duke in their bracket, the committee always gives Duke the easy ride. By proxy, Oregon also got the easy ride.

Oregon (1-seed) beat Duke (4-seed) in the Sweet Sixteen but then lost to Oklahoma in the Elite Eight.

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