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GYERO

Streaming TV ad sales (and buying) is the Wild Wild West about as much as NIL is. There’s reporting and attribution and all the things but it’s so different from traditional broadcast and cable TV. Yet also the same. Hard to explain. And I’m terrible at explaining things.
 
Thursday night in Bridgestone was like a huge game at Rupp. Incredible atmosphere and an incredible win.

We played out our seed in the SEC, and will probably do so in the NCAA. But without Butler, we do not match up well with good teams that have good guards.

Pope has done an incredible job considering all the injuries. Has definitely brought back the excitement that Cal took away.

But Good Lord these SEC refs.

It's been a hell of a season. Looking forward to seeing what it looks like the next 10 years.
 
That was a good point about Wisky stealing our 3 seed. I’ve been worried about Arizona winning tonight and stealing it. It’s whatever at this point. Dust yourself off, and get back on that horse. Hang on for dear life!
 
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Maybe Wade getting announced to NC State Tuesday.
Could be announcing new chancellor. Seems like weird timing with McNeese in tourney.
 
Lot of people forgetting how bad Arkansas was with Fland running the team.

Freshmen Cal guards have really shown out in the tournament this decade so I’m sure they’ll be fine.
 
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I’ve found The Athletic’s Slingshot model for NCAA upsets interesting for the last few years. Not sure how they model it before the matchups come out but it doesn’t love us…

The Athletic

Which March Madness 2025 favorites are most vulnerable to an upset?

Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky has persevered despite a deluge of injuries. Their win at Missouri last Saturday showed that, even without Jaxson Robinson and Kerr Kriisa, they remain dangerous, particularly on offense. But they’re also vulnerable in the first round, yet again.

Why? They don’t maximize possessions. Start on defense, where the Wildcats force a turnover about as often as their fans applaud a ref’s call. In fact, they rank dead last in the nation in steal rate (4.8 percent). While they do a good job of limiting opponents’ success from three-point range (30.4 percent shooting allowed), they let teams take a lot of treys (43.7 percent of attempts). That’s a dangerous gambit: Analytics show that the best form of perimeter defense is to limit 3-point attempts, as 3-point percentage is harder to control and more subject to fluctuations. Kentucky fans have seen that firsthand all season. In a loss to Auburn, the Wildcats allowed the Tigers to hit 12-of-26 3s. Ole Miss hit 13-of-30 in a 14-point win in February. Alabama hit a combined 24 3s in a pair of wins. Looking ahead to the tourney, letting a mid-major shoot a lot of 3s is … not great, Bob.

Nor is UK’s offensive rebounding. That’s the only weak link in the country’s sixth-ranked offense, but it’s a big one from Slingshot’s perspective. Like Wisconsin, Kentucky lacks a buffer against a poor shooting night, which is a serious concern in March. Mark Pope’s first year back in Lexington has certainly been a success, but there’s a real chance it could end with another first-round disappointment.
Sounds like their model is just repurposing the Four Factors (eFG%, offensive rebounding%, turnover%, and FT attempt rate) which are tightly correlated with winning games... in aggregate. It's certainly less robust when trying to predict who is going to win an individual match-up, which is by-and-large a fool's errand with existing tools IMO.

It's likely better than traditional stats, sure, and we could certainly lose our first game, but I'm not too worried about the things they're pointing out which have been present for us all season long. I'm just not sure our vulnerabilities are any worse than any other team on the 3-5 lines.
 
Pope sounded disgusted post game. Use it.

Walter Clayton Jr can't get out of this conference soon enough. That kid is such a winner.

If the rumors are true about the UAB forward, then bring it on. He's legit. Would MUCH rather have him than a freshman.

Kobe Brea's highlight tape will be one of my all time favorites. He could've taken 25 shots last night and I would've been okay with it.

Every team that won the late night game got beat the next round. Two of those teams got blown out the next round.
 
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Winning to the ceiling...

What a trade up. A milquetoast whiner that loathes the current climate of college athletics, replaced by a guy that has connections and charisma out the wazoo, that only cares about winning, and is unafraid of getting down into the dirty.
 
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