The Byrd Cage

Posts Tagged ‘NCAA Tournament’

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Byrd Droppings With Mort & Hugs, Episode 4: SHOWTIME

In Game Posts on March 21, 2013 at 8:00 am

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Editor’s Note:  Since it’s Tournament week and loads of new people from all over the world have found The Byrd Cage – let me explain what is about to happen to you. First let me say that we like to laugh around here and we hope you do too. As such, we’re happy to feature the next installment Mort & Hugs – our two in-house professional gripers/comedians who’ve never met a D1 athlete they weren’t scurd to anonymously mock on the internet. Mort & Hugs are here to bring some comic relief to – and/or at the expense of – our tiny basketball world in Nashville.

If you’re just joining us and are a ‘Belmont fan’, shame on you! Where have you been all year? If you’re an Arizona fan and don’t understand why Mort & Hugs are still making fun of some guy named Jordan Burgason: good. Now, go away. Finally, if you’re just ‘a guy’ with a bracket and you don’t know how you ended up here, who Jordan Burgason is or why the heck Mort & Hugs are talking about bunnies . . . ok fine, you my friend, can stay. Just…um…figure it out.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Inside the Emails: Breaking Down the ‘Cats

In Game Posts on March 20, 2013 at 10:39 am

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What better way to break down the Bruin’s first (second) round matchup than some emails. The Broadhead brothers opened up their inboxes and this is what we found. Read the rest of this entry »

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Adult Steve Talks NCAA Tournament

In Game Posts on March 19, 2013 at 7:08 pm

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Editor’s note: Stats used in this article are from statsheet.com and include all games played during the season.

As The Mont makes their sixth tournament appearance, the school’s faithful fans have by now grown accustomed to the one-and-done Bruins. Perhaps, we are all just guarding our hearts – but the sentiment after the emotional OVC Championship game as well as Belmont drawing an 11 seed on Selection Sunday, seems to be that, ‘we’ve done enough’. I beg to differ.

4 Things to Watch for Thursday’s game:

Read the rest of this entry »

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Sleeping With The Enemy – Wildcat Edition

In Game Posts on March 19, 2013 at 9:23 am

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Our longtime readers (do we have those?) will remember one of the Byrd Cage’s all-time greatest posts: ‘Speaking Sleeping With The Enemy’ a collaborative episode of tom-foolery with Georgetown University’s SBnation Blog – The Casual Hoya. This was a two-part post where each blog asked the other blog questions about their respective teams. Both blogs responded and posted their opponents answers.

This year we wanted to keep the brilliance rolling so we’ve teamed up with University of Arizona’s very own SBnation blog: Arizona Desert Swarm (our name is better) to get you the scoop.

What’s that you say? Yes. Yes, we are ripping off nearly everything about this Casual Hoya tradition - but hey, after the two merciless trouncings they administered to us in the tournament, the least we could do was wantonly steal from them on the internet, right? Right. But enough about those turds. We’ve got a new enemy to sleep with. Wait, what?

Kevin and his amigos at Arizona Desert Swarm graciously agreed to answer some questions for us. Some were legitimate questions some are completely asinine – as is our custom. Hopefully, you’ll laugh. Hopefully, you’ll learn something about the Wildcats. Hopefully, you are not neglecting work to read this.

************* Read the rest of this entry »

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Belmont (11) vs University of Arizona (6)

In Game Posts on March 18, 2013 at 10:27 am

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(Wilbur and Wilma . . .)

Well party people – we’re going to Salt Lake City!

…And by ‘we’ I mean next-to-no-one from Nashville – save of course those fortunate enough to have Bobby Fisher foot the bill. But no matter! We shall cut out of work and mercilessly yell at television screens across this great southern city of ours!

Was anyone at the Selection Sunday party? Joel was, check out his photos here. How about that Sodexho BBQ? How’s everyone’s gut feeling? It’s always fun to be in a big loud crowd when our name is announced. It’s also fun to see The Bruin ‘faithful’ cheer for literally ANY team we draw.

Anyway, we at the Byrd Cage are working on teaming up with the folks at ‘Arizona Desert Swarm’ like we did last year with those punks at The Casual Hoya. If they cooperate, it will be hilarious and informative, two of our favorite things.

In the meantime, we wanted to set up a place where we can keep the conversation going and to share what the talking heads are saying about The Bruins. So here it goes: Read the rest of this entry »

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Belmont: Previewing the 10-12 Seeding

In Game Posts on March 15, 2013 at 2:56 pm

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Earlier, we posted previews of Belmont as an 8 or a 9 seed.  While that makes me happy to actually type – this year, the assertion could be reasonably considered absurd. That being said, let’s preview our most likely seeding below, a 10-12 seed.

But before we do that- what seed do you think we’ll end up with? Read the rest of this entry »

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What if Belmont Was an 8 or 9 Seed?

In Game Posts on March 15, 2013 at 10:01 am

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If there has ever been a season where the seeding was unsure for BU – it is this year.  I don’t know about you but I’ve seen projections of Belmont from a 7 seed  (Yes.  SEVEN SEED.) to a 12.  It really is insane.  For now, we realize there are a TON of variables to consider – from the makeup of the Selection Sunday Staff to the very timing of this article. While us Byrd Cagers are the top experts in this field, we simply cannot guarantee what seed The Mont will draw.  So let’s look at what could happen. This post covers projections of Belmont as an 8 or 9 seed. Later, we’ll talk about 10, 11, and 12 seeds. Here we go. Read the rest of this entry »

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From 2006 to Anywhere: Jono Looks Back

In Game Posts on March 12, 2013 at 2:59 pm

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I need to start with a confession:

I honestly don’t remember where I was when the Bruins beat Lipscomb in the 2006 Atlantic Sun Championship game to go to their first ever NCAA tournament.

Read the rest of this entry »

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We Are The Champions

In Game Posts on March 10, 2013 at 9:53 pm

WHAT A GAME!!!

Did everyone survive? Any heart attacks? Mort, Adult Steve, Coach Nick, and I nearly killed each other watching this thing. It was a 45 minute uphill battle that Murray should have won at several different points in the game.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Belmont Draws 14 Seed, Will Play Georgetown in Columbus on Friday

In Game Posts on March 11, 2012 at 9:10 pm

Belmont’s season was good enough to warrant a 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  In a building full of crowded Bruin fans, CBS announced the seeding to thunderous applause, fist-pumps, and high fives all around.  But were the high-fives of real excitement at our seeding, or even our match-up?  Can this even be considered vengeance for the first time we played them in the NCAA Tournament?  No one can know for sure, but the general feeling around the campus was one of celebration.  It was one for the thumb, after-all.

After the selection, I had a chance to catch up with Coach Byrd about Belmont’s seeding.  ”We are excited about the upcoming game in Columbus, but obviously we really would have liked the 13-seed.”   Coach Byrd also was pleased with the location. “Columbus is not the farthest away we have played, and I look forward to seeing our fans travel.”  Coach Byrd did not expect a Nashville location due to our higher seeding, but said that the team was ready to play no matter the location.  He also thanked the number of fans for turning out at the Selection Show and making this occasion such a wonderful experience.

But what about Georgetown as a team?  Are they the same we matched up with during our second NCAA tournament berth?  The Byrd Cage will have plenty to write about in the upcoming days, so stay tuned.  But before we get to our deeper previews, i’ll repost the article we published last week about a possible 14 seed playing Georgetown by our own, Nick Broadhead.

“Here is another Big East team that has some history with the Belmont Bruins. If you remember, Roy Hibbert and company easily handled a helpless Bruin front line in the first round of the 2007 NCAA tournament. John Thompson III’s team this season may not be littered with potential first round draft picks, but talent is never a problem for the Hoyas. They are 22-7 overall are currently sitting at #11 in the AP poll, #13 in the Kenpom ratings.

This version of the Hoyas makes their living on the defensive end of the floor, and not by forcing turnovers. This grind-it-out style of play leads to a slow-paced half court game. They are surrendering only .91 points per possession and forcing opponents to shoot a measly 43.3 percent effective from the field, seventh best in the country. This slowed paced style forces opponents to be brutally efficient. The Hoyas put up these defensive numbers against the 8th most difficult schedule in the country. This does not sound like any fun…”

No, this may not be a 13-seed, or anything we were expecting- but Coach Byrd and the rest of the Bruins know what they are in for and they are hungry for their first NCAA Tournament win.  Stay tuned for more in-depth coverage of the match-up as the game gets closer!

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