Anyone else noticing how fashionable a pick St. Joe's is?

[The Maestro]

Hey, I realize we are not Final Four material, but I guess I am so surprised that everyone thinks St. Joe's is going to beat OU. I am seeing more "expert" picks with St. Joe's over OU than the other way around. Yahoo's list of yahoo's had four of five taking St. Joe's.

Again, we are not the 88 Sooners by any means, but St. Joe's has double digit losses in a craptastic league.

By the way...who has done some St. Joe's homework? What do they have? Who are their studs?

Oh, and as my friend told me, "How long has Frank Barone been the St. Joe's head coach?"

[Eielson]

I have yet to see an expert pick us to win. Good!

[The Maestro]

Here is Joe Lunardi's pick...

41. OKLAHOMA The Sooners are banged up. Phil Martelli is 7-1 in first-round NCAA and NIT games at Saint Joseph's, losing only when Delonte West was injured in 2003. It's the Hawks' balanced offense besting the OU defense, 73-68.

Did I mention Joe Lunardi, yes, the Bracketologist, does radio color commentary for a team in the field.

His alma mater.

St. Joe's.

[birddog]

no way they score 73 on us. this game will be played in the low 60's. coach barone said it will be a physical, grinder of a game.

[illinisooner]

I wouldn't pay much attention to the ESPN guys picks. Hubert Davis picked George Mason to beat ND "because they had alot of upsets 2 years ago". Well, that's great, but the 2006 GMU team isn't playing, so it does not matter what happened 2 years ago aside from the confidence factor. Remember, we got blown out vs. Texas and that's the last thing people remember. Alot of people think they've got the classic 6/11 or 5/12 upset pegged, and it totally goes the other way. If you actually look at the numbers, we match up very well against them and if they can't shoot, it's not gonna be pretty for the Hawks. I think it's actually a pretty even matchup, certainly not a game St. Joe's should be favored in. What's the line?

[colleyvillesooner]

I believe ou -1 1/2

[soonerfan28]

I know Pat Calathes is their best player. He is 6'10, but is only listed at 210. He has a pretty good jumper and has range. Seems to be a good rebounder, but I don't think he can bang with Blake if Blake is 90%. Their guards seem to be a lot like ours, if they're on they can be really good, but when they're off it's going to be a long night. I think Godbold and Crocker can shut them down and if we can make some shots this should be our game. I know the A-10 has a couple of good teams, but how do you lose 7 games in that league.

[bri]

Calathes isn't going to be banging with Blake; he's a 6'10 shooting guard.

That, gang, is a "matchup problem".

[colleyvillesooner]

ms. Pacman champ? Woman

[bri]

Hey, Ms. Pac-Man is special. She's cute. She's fun. She swallows.

[soonerfan28]

Calathes isn't going to be banging with Blake; he's a 6'10 shooting guard.

That, gang, is a "matchup problem".

I meant for rebounds not for posting up down low. The guy has been able to rebound.

[bri]

Ah. Still, it'll probably be our third guard or Taylor having to check him on the boards. Both the Tulsa World scouting report and Rivals make it sound like this guy is 3 who plays like a 2. I'd be surprised if they put him on Blake on the defensive end.

[soonerfan28]

True. They have bigger players and they have a big forward who can also hit from the outside but I can't think of his name. I was on oklahoma.scout.com and they had a pretty good report, but it seems to favor St Joe's.

[bri]

I don't really blame 'em. If I wasn't an OU fan, I'd probably give St. Joe's the edge too. You know, since our two best players have bum legs in a sport that's all about being able to run and jump.

[soonerfan28]

The big man's name is Rob Ferguson. He's listed at 6'8 235lb and leads the team in 3-point % w/ 43.8% from beyond the arc. That could hurt us.

[bri]

Yeah, they strike me as one of those teams like Texas with big men who can come outside and make shots. Our post guys don't have the mobility to be chasing their assignments 19 feet away from the bucket.

Dude, we gotta quit talking about this. I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this game.

[soonerfan28]

I understand. I think we have faced better teams then this and held our own.

[Eielson]

Yeah, they strike me as one of those teams like Texas with big men who can come outside and make shots. Our post guys don't have the mobility to be chasing their assignments 19 feet away from the bucket.

It should help that they don't have AJ Abrams or DJ Augustin.

[Big Red Ron]

Yeah, they strike me as one of those teams like Texas with big men who can come outside and make shots. Our post guys don't have the mobility to be chasing their assignments 19 feet away from the bucket

Yeah, but Texass has arguably the best point guard in the country and a damn good two guard to boot.

[bri]

True. Augustin is the reason I have Texas in the championship game. I just couldn't come up with a compelling reason for them NOT to be.

And for what it's worth, I never hesitated to put us as advancing to the second round. I think we'll have to play a hell of a game, but this team has proven that they're capable of "a hell of a game". If only we hadn't been hit by the injury bug, who knows how far we could go...