March Madness Season (2023 EDITION)

[animal]

I've been watching Vandy vs Yale. Fuck a bunch of play-in shit.

[Show-Me Hog]

I've been watching Vandy vs Yale. Fuck a bunch of play-in shit.

That's a smart game.

[vegashog]

great game. state couldn't have gotten a better look.

[Barton Fink]

No they couldn't. No idea how Pitt left that kid that open. Kid had an easy put back too if he didn't rush it.

[TC]

I dont know where the fouls ended, but with around 5 minutes left in the 2nd half they were 7 for one team and 5 for the other.

Meanwhile bodies were flying all over the court.  Let's hope we get that ref crew.

[mr.zorak]

State drew up a perfect OB play.
Hate the guy missed it.

[jdcatty]

State drew up a perfect OB play.
Hate the guy missed it.

basically the same play that we used to get Pinion the shot at the end of that one game, I think...

[Barton Fink]

Well, I disagree with that, two games won't make a good coaching season after the regular we've had. Another Elite Eight might. Final Four for sure.

I don't think people completely understand the impact of losing Brazile. Sure he was giving us 12pts 6rbs per game but his impact was more than that. Muss could comfortably play him at the 5. With him shooting just under 40% from 3 forces the other team's big to guard him up top can't drop in pick and roll). That opens up the lane for guys like AB, RC, NSJ, and Devo to drive. Now we have no bigs to stretch the floor and they are planted in the lane which takes away some of our guys strengths. JWill was a big part of why Notae and Co could get to the rim at will last year.

I do think the current roster has underachieved. A lot has went into that. I just think losing TB has a bigger impact than just stats. He impacted how we played as a team.

[buff2.0]

Fuck Alabama.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/15/sports/ncaabasketball/alabama-shooting.html

A Fourth Alabama Player Was at a Deadly Shooting, in a Car Hit by Bullets
The presence of a fourth Crimson Tide player at the deadly shooting in January has come to light as the team begins its run as the top overall seed in the N.C.A.A. men's tournament.

March 15, 2023, 8:10 p.m. ET
A row of Alabama players in practice gear lined up near a sideline shooting 3-pointers as fans watch.
Alabama players during a practice session on Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala., ahead of their first-round N.C.A.A. tournament game scheduled for Thursday.Alex Slitz/Getty Images
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A fatal January shooting that involved members of the top-ranked Alabama men's basketball team, which has loomed over the Crimson Tide as they chase a national championship, could have been even more deadly, as surveillance video showed that two players were in a car struck by bullets in the crossfire.

The shootout, which sent people nearby scrambling for cover, killed Jamea Harris, 23, who was a passenger in a car. In another car that was struck were Brandon Miller, a star player for the Crimson Tide, and Kai Spears, a freshman walk-on whose presence at the scene had not been previously reported.

Including Spears, at least four Alabama players have now been placed at the scene of the shooting that took place in the early morning hours of Jan. 15, as bars emptied out along The Strip, a popular gathering spot for students near campus along University Boulevard in Tuscaloosa.

Darius Miles, a now-former Alabama basketball player, is in Tuscaloosa County Jail on capital murder charges. He is accused of handing his gun to Michael Davis, a childhood friend, who is also facing capital murder charges and has been accused of firing the bullet that killed Harris. Miles and Davis were indicted by a grand jury last week. A lawyer for Davis said that Davis had been acting in self-defense, while a lawyer for Miles said in a statement that evidence not seen by the grand jury showed that Miles was innocent.

Darius Miles wearing a No. 2 Alabama jersey. shooting a 3-pointer as a crowd of fans watches behind him.
Darius Miles during a game in December. A lawyer for Miles said in a statement that evidence not seen by the grand jury showed that Miles, who is facing capital murder charges, is innocent.Brandon Sumrall/Getty Images
Jaden Bradley, a freshman guard, was also at the scene. A review of surveillance video showed his car was in a narrow lane that intersects University Boulevard, parked ahead of Miller and Spears. Behind Miller and Spears was a Jeep with Harris in the front passenger seat.

The video showed Davis approaching the Jeep from behind, along the driver's side. Soon, flashes from gunshots could be seen entering and exiting the Jeep. After several shots were exchanged, Davis appeared to have been hit and staggered backward into a telephone pole. He regained his balance and circled in front of Bradley's car while continuing to fire at the Jeep. Two bullets struck the windshield of Miller's car. Neither struck Miller or Spears.

"I'm sorry, I'm not going to be able to speak about that," said Spears, a freshman who has not played this season and who is the son of Marshall University's athletic director, Christian Spears. Kai Spears briefly spoke Wednesday in the locker room Alabama was using for practice ahead of its first-round N.C.A.A. tournament game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday. Miller also declined to comment.

In its aftermath, the school has sought to distance itself from the shooting. Miles was dismissed from the team and kicked out of school within hours of his arrest, and the involvement of other players — of which the school was aware — was kept quiet as the Crimson Tide established themselves as the toast of the Southeastern Conference and one of the best teams in the country.

Alabama athletic officials did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on Wednesday.

On Feb. 21, a police detective testified at a pretrial hearing about the presence of Miller and Bradley at the scene. He said that Miles had texted Miller, telling him to pick him up and that "I need my joint," referring to Miles's gun, which he had left in the back seat of Miller's car.

The detective also made note of an unidentified passenger in Miller's car. A person familiar with the case identified that person as Spears. That person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters in the case.

In the last several weeks, Alabama has been criticized for continuing to play Miller, a decision that Athletic Director Greg Byrne told ESPN had been made in conjunction with the university's president, Stuart R. Bell. Initially, Alabama Coach Nate Oats characterized Miller's involvement as "wrong spot at the wrong time" before apologizing for that description.

Another apology ensued when Miller continued what had been a ritual during introductions at home games: holding his arms out while a teammate patted him down, as if he were being searched for a weapon.

Brandon Miller holding a basketball and looking to shoot during a practice session.
Brandon Miller is one of the Crimson Tide's best players and a top N.B.A. prospect.Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Miller, a 6-foot-8 forward who will likely be among the top picks in the N.B.A. draft, has become a lightning rod since his presence during the shooting became public. He has played exceedingly well, scoring 41 points — including the winning basket — in an overtime win at South Carolina in his first game after the pretrial hearing. And Miller was awarded the SEC tournament's most outstanding player award after Alabama won the title on Sunday in Nashville, near where he grew up.

He has excelled despite being heckled with chants of "lock him up" by South Carolina fans and "Brandon Killer" by Vanderbilt fans during the conference tournament.

Miller arrived at a news conference on Wednesday accompanied by an armed guard.

"If you guys saw some of what I've seen sent his way, I think you would understand why that's the case," said Oats, who indicated that Miller had received anonymous email threats, but declined to elaborate.

A pair of Alabama fans showed up to the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals on Saturday wearing customized T-shirts that turned heads — and a few stomachs.

On the back, the shirts read: "Killin' our way through the SEC in '23."

A fan wearing a T-shirt, the back of which says "Killin' our way through the SEC in '23."
A fan wearing a T-shirt referencing the shooting during the Southeastern Conference tournament.John Amis/Associated Press
The T-shirt was deemed in such poor taste that the SEC said that any fans wearing it would be prohibited from entering the arena for Sunday's championship game. A conference spokesman said afterward that security officials had not spotted anyone wearing the T-shirts.

"It's meant to make you think," said the man, who identified himself as Jimmy Johnson, from Mobile, Ala., as he stood in the concourse just after halftime on Saturday. The man, whose real name is Jason O'Rear, hung up without answering questions on Wednesday when he was contacted by the Times.

Last week he called the shooting a tragedy but said that Oats and Miller were being unfairly attacked, using an expletive. "The media is going to cancel Miller," he said. "Now, I don't condone anything about what happened, but I know where the media is going to come crashing down and try to ruin a guy's career. I know where the clicks are."

He was asked if he would feel differently if his daughter had been killed.

"I don't know," he said.

In Tuscaloosa, most of the bars along The Strip have been closed this week and the campus is all but vacant as most students have left town for spring break. Few who remain seem willing to discuss the shooting or the university's response to it.

"Jamea Harris should be living her life and raising her son," said Walt Maddox, the mayor of Tuscaloosa. "Her murder, as with every senseless act of violence, weighs on all of us. Our words are inadequate to provide comfort to her family; however, our actions matter to ensure justice."

But in a surveillance video, when Davis hobbles toward a parking lot — after firing at least eight bullets and taking one in the shoulder — Bradley, the freshman from Rochester, N.Y., peels out and turns onto University Avenue.

As Miller follows after them, the Jeep, with the mortally wounded Harris, sideswipes Miller and Spears, one bullet-riddled car screaming past another in a tragedy that could have been even worse.

Susan C. Beachy contributed research.

[Guardrail]

Just win baby. Alabama gives no fucks. We all know They'll wait until after the tourney to address this - if they ever do.

[mr.zorak]

Yes.  Fuck Alabama and fuck the way they are blind eyeing this.
Their fans are so ignorant and starved for any kind of winning because of their pathetic backwater trash lives they don't give a fuck about anything.
Whatever happens, on April 2nd they can go back to their trailer, pound out a Family Dollar peanut butter sandwich and Clover Valley cola whilst planning whose cousin they can butt fuck while all in all planning to steal their drivers license to take to the local Wal Marts and try to ply out yet another pack of Sudafed and lithium battery cache for a shake and bake party at the closest Knights Inn.

Fuck all those sons of bitches.

[buff2.0]

As only a Tennessee fan could say it

[mr.zorak]

As only a Tennessee fan could say it

Damn straight.  I hate them as much as you all hate Texass.

[TC]

Yes.  Fuck Alabama and fuck the way they are blind eyeing this.
Their fans are so ignorant and starved for any kind of winning because of their pathetic backwater trash lives they don't give a fuck about anything.
Whatever happens, on April 2nd they can go back to their trailer, pound out a Family Dollar peanut butter sandwich and Clover Valley cola whilst planning whose cousin they can butt fuck while all in all planning to steal their drivers license to take to the local Wal Marts and try to ply out yet another pack of Sudafed and lithium battery cache for a shake and bake party at the closest Knights Inn.

Fuck all those sons of bitches.

That was violent.  I love every bit of it.

[Mazeppa Pompazoidi]

Yes.  Fuck Alabama and fuck the way they are blind eyeing this.
Their fans are so ignorant and starved for any kind of winning because of their pathetic backwater trash lives they don't give a fuck about anything.
Whatever happens, on April 2nd they can go back to their trailer, pound out a Family Dollar peanut butter sandwich and Clover Valley cola whilst planning whose cousin they can butt fuck while all in all planning to steal their drivers license to take to the local Wal Marts and try to ply out yet another pack of Sudafed and lithium battery cache for a shake and bake party at the closest Knights Inn.

Fuck all those sons of bitches.

Now this is classic Woopig posting right here. Clever, funny and right on point.  Kudos!

[BASS]

Yes.  Fuck Alabama and fuck the way they are blind eyeing this.
Their fans are so ignorant and starved for any kind of winning because of their pathetic backwater trash lives they don't give a fuck about anything.
Whatever happens, on April 2nd they can go back to their trailer, pound out a Family Dollar peanut butter sandwich and Clover Valley cola whilst planning whose cousin they can butt fuck while all in all planning to steal their drivers license to take to the local Wal Marts and try to ply out yet another pack of Sudafed and lithium battery cache for a shake and bake party at the closest Knights Inn.

Fuck all those sons of bitches.

This is the way

[abnormal hog]

Yes.  Fuck Alabama and fuck the way they are blind eyeing this.
Their fans are so ignorant and starved for any kind of winning because of their pathetic backwater trash lives they don't give a fuck about anything.
Whatever happens, on April 2nd they can go back to their trailer, pound out a Family Dollar peanut butter sandwich and Clover Valley cola whilst planning whose cousin they can butt fuck while all in all planning to steal their drivers license to take to the local Wal Marts and try to ply out yet another pack of Sudafed and lithium battery cache for a shake and bake party at the closest Knights Inn.

Fuck all those sons of bitches.

Man I'm copying and pasting this to every Bama fan I see on Twitter.

[Son of Spam]

After over 8 minutes, it's WV 13 Maryland 4. Barn burner. Both teams shoot about like we do. And they just interviewed the Maryland coach..."well, we are only down 9 points."

[Guardrail]

Yes.  Fuck Alabama and fuck the way they are blind eyeing this.
Their fans are so ignorant and starved for any kind of winning because of their pathetic backwater trash lives they don't give a fuck about anything.
Whatever happens, on April 2nd they can go back to their trailer, pound out a Family Dollar peanut butter sandwich and Clover Valley cola whilst planning whose cousin they can butt fuck while all in all planning to steal their drivers license to take to the local Wal Marts and try to ply out yet another pack of Sudafed and lithium battery cache for a shake and bake party at the closest Knights Inn.

Fuck all those sons of bitches.

Clover Valley AND Knights Inn? Damn. That's straight for the jugular violent.

[Sus-Scrofa]

Have a game on in the background, looks like refs are letting teams play today.

So


I expect Illinois to be in the bonus within five minutes for our game