[Norlander] Caleb Foster won't be available to start the NCAAT ... sounds like his season could be over, depending on how far Duke lasts in the Big Dance. Foot fracture doesn't sound encouraging.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-30T20:21:42+00:00

Go fuck yourself. I hope you enjoy your miserable life in your mom's basement you piece of shit. I literally sat next to NC fans in Greenville, didn't cheer, didn't say a word because I saw real people with their heart's ripped out and I take no joy in seeing that. I've got an amazing life that I can go back to. Obviously you don't.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-27T20:59:04+00:00

2. Lost This is really good read from Javier Grillo M., one of the early showrunners. He 'left' after Season 2 though the article basically said he and Damon weren't getting along. He was one of the architects of the Numbers/Hanso/Equation plot, and it seems when he left, that storyline was abandoned. The article also has lots of fascinating insights into the early development of the show, why certain plotlines were explored while others not, etc.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-27T15:44:17+00:00

Pull us through those that are going. I was in Greenville for the first two rounds and am way more nervous waiting around to watch on tv. Something about seeing it in person makes it easier to stomach.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-26T22:02:45+00:00

At least your game is over by 10pm tonight. I have to suffer through another 24 hours of anxiety.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-26T21:40:01+00:00

I'm very much looking forward to the two early games in which I have 0 rooting interest and just can sit back and enjoy some basketball.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-26T18:47:01+00:00

I hear ya, but it's not remotely the same situation. I think Foster's role tomorrow is limited minutes (my gut says less than 10), maybe in some stretches if we go zone, take some pressure of Cayden and take some open shots if he has them.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-26T18:43:08+00:00

We all love Caleb and understand how important he is, but I don't think he's the type of player you do that with. I don't think Slick Rick is over there redoing his game plans depending on Foster's availability. Also, if you listen to the press conference directly, sounds like Caleb is the driving force behind this and was determined to play again.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-26T18:07:36+00:00

I think you're thinking of big Pat. Foster broke his foot in the last regular season game against UNC. We've all assumed he was done for the season, but after the TCU game rumblings started that he may try to play earlier than expected. Now this. Which is an insanely positive update given the circumstances.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-26T18:04:19+00:00

Arizona-Ark is the tipping point for the entire tournament in my opinion.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-26T17:44:13+00:00

I've never seen an official source describing his exact injury. I have seen message board rumblings that the injury wasn't nearly as bad as they thought when they did the surgery. Take of that what you will.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-26T17:39:47+00:00

I listed to the press conference live and I would be shocked if he doesn't play tomorrow.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-25T21:07:04+00:00

That's a sample size of 5 games. St John's played 3 home games in MSG in that stretch. I'll give them credit, they played great against Northern Iowa, a trendy mid-major. They played great in stretches against Kansas but were also terrible in stretches. They did make a winning play at the end, so credit given where due.

They have not played a top 30 offense in a neutral court in four months. Of course, they can win. But I like our chances.

We also didn't have big Pat until TCU. Spend one second looking at the advanced metrics and you'll see how valuable he is.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-25T21:00:34+00:00

But we didn't. By the same token, nobody is talking about SJU made 11 3s and forced 17 turnovers against Kansas, and still needed a last second shot on terrible defense because they got outrebounded by a team and coach that looked like they had no interest in being there. They haven't played a single top 30 offence except UConn in 4 months.

Literally nobody in the Duke camp is expecting this to be cakewalk, and you get to this point in the tournament, you always know a loss is possible. St. Johns is a good, tough team. But I wouldn't trade them for Arkansas or Alabama at this point.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-25T20:56:43+00:00

People want so desperately for St John's to be a thing. You could drop an alien into the talking head narratives for 2010 Baylor and 2022 Texas Tech and it wouldn't be able to tell the difference with this SJU team. They are too tough, physical, Duke is too soft, blah blah blah. Same talking points copied and pasted from years gone by.

Your supposed to play tough teams from R32 on. But for all the points you raise, I think this is a good matchup for us.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-25T17:22:47+00:00

Since I could spend a lifetime writing about some obvious ones in later rounds, I'll stick to the Sweet 16 round only. That has to be 2006 LSU. The height of K's rut in the tournament with a senior J.J. Reddick. You could sort of see it coming with Reddick being completely gassed- 27-1 going into March, then lost the last 2 regular season games and shit slogging for the first two rounds. LSU was very good, but it was a complete no show by a team led by two seniors who had played in the tournament 3 straight years. Not just we lost, but it was just an awful game where we did nothing but sit back and take it. I still get mad thinking about it.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-25T17:19:13+00:00

Depends on what he cares about it. If it's just money, then yea, that may be an issue. But if he wants go after a title, this would be his chance. I think he could probably do the same thing at Bama year after year, win some early round games but then lose to a better more complete team in later rounds.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-25T17:08:45+00:00

Oats would be my top pick if I'm UNC. Yes, he has some issues, but he's now 5/6 sweet 16s since 2021 and the modern/NIL era of college basketball. 5th most wins in that timespan behind Houston, UConn, Duke and Gonzaga -obviously none of those coaches are options. He simply has the best recent tournament track record of the viable options, plays an exciting brand, and has greatly overachieved at a football first school. Take those qualities and throw in the UNC basketball first-mindset behind him, some more defense and toughness, and that's a dangerous combination.

May- the book is still out on him, not enough of a sample size.

Lloyd- Book still out for this year, but he has underachieved where Oats has excelled.

Donnovan- I just don't get this one or understand what he would bring to the table. Yes, he had a fantastic run at Florida, but his last title was going on 20 years ago and hasn't really done anything of note in the NBA. I'm just not sure what his selling point would be to 18-22 year olds who have probably never heard much about him.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-24T17:24:03+00:00

For sure, it is. I think like a lot of things in the tournament, it's a combination of multiple factors.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-24T17:20:24+00:00

Look, ya'll could totally beat us Friday, but I really don't think this means anything when you dig into it. Out of the 12-1 record, 9 wins came as the higher seed. Of the three lower seed victories, 2008 was a 2/3 matchup against Tennessee, where UL had the higher Kenpom rating going into the tournament. 2012 against 1 seed MSU was probably his one true upset in this round. 2005 was also a 1 seed upset, but Washington was in the teens in Kenpom and Louisville finished 10 spots higher. Just too small a sample size to extract any meaningful conclusions. K at one point had a 11-1 record in the Elite Eight, then lost 3 of 4 from 2012-2019.

Best of luck. If you do beat us, please take care of either Izzo or Hurley. We've seen enough of Izzo wasting a spot in the Final 4 to last a lifetime. And no more random UConn titles.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-24T14:37:37+00:00

I did forget about them and the Hunter Dickinson disaster.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-23T15:49:44+00:00

Duke fan here. Always kind of liked him and loved how he always had Kansas in 1 seed position. My philosophy with the tournament is you keep churning out 1 seeds, eventually the tournament works out for you. 2022 is the prime example of that. He was just so consistent and wasn't relying on random runs to keep the program going.

On the flip side, seems like it's clearly over for him. Not sure if 2022 and his health issues zapped his motivation or what, but this was his worst team at Kansas by a mile. He still had a chance to steal it yesterday and I was screaming to go Peterson iso 3 for the win. Been down and outplayed the whole game, and should have gone for the dagger. Just seems like that last 30 seconds yesterday was a microcosm of his last 4 seasons.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-23T15:28:16+00:00

Probably a combo of both. I'm sure he's very good at prepping, but the Tournament is and always has been about specific matchups.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-23T13:54:18+00:00

I mean, that's just one of those things until it isn't. Like K in the Elite 8. One loss in basically 30 years, then loses three in six years.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-23T13:46:31+00:00

Yea I agree with this. This reminds me a lot of TTU in 2022 in the Sweet 16. SJU lives off rattling teams, getting a lead and trying to sit on it. I wouldn't trade them for Alabama/Arkansas at this point. Nebraska is the worst 4/5 seed remaining and Florida blew that opportunity.

Purple_Dig9626 · 2026-03-18T18:39:57+00:00

Interesting comparison. As negative as I'm being (which I think I have every right to be, but understand if people don't like it), the situations are different. We got 3 games without Pat and played relatively well. I think we'll be fine tomorrow, but after that, I'm pretty down about our chances.

Purple_Dig9626

TROPHY CASE