What's this, a new post? Why yes, yes it is, and it will have some substance, too. Do yourself a favor and print this out, put an away sign on your desk, and enjoy your time in the bathroom, you may be there for a while.
With the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament starting in just a few short hours, I thought it would be fitting if I threw my 2 cents about everything I thought about the tournament and teams since everyone else has as well.
*Use this to fill out your bracket at your own risk.
First a few likes/dislikes of the tournament as a whole:
Like- The drama, there is nothing quite like a 10-15 seed knocking out their better ranked opponent during the first two rounds and watching those kids react like it is their National Championship game.
Dislike- The Monday after the field is announced because of all the crying that takes place. Look, the 40-65th seeds don't really mean too much anyway, so since you probably aren't going to win the tournament, just relax if you don't get in.
Like- The conference tournaments getting automatic bids
Dislike- 34 at large bids. Since the number of conferences rose to 31, why not just eliminate one at large bid and not have an "opening round game"
Like- Mid majors
Dislike- Mid majors playing each other in the first round. This year we have: Butler vs. Old Dominion, Southern Illinois vs. Holy Cross, Nevada vs. Creighton, and BYU vs. Xavier all in the first round. There weren't that many at large teams from mid major conferences to get in anyway, and now they have to knock each other off in the first round? Boo.
Like- Conference tournaments. They give us a great chance to see some of these smaller schools before the tournament begins, and they also feature hoarsd of fans treating each game like it is life or death.
Dislike- Some conference tournaments ending on Saturday and some on Sunday. Give everyone an extra day of rest instead of having some teams end on Saturday and then begin the tournament on Friday and some end on Sunday and begin on Thursday, huge advantage there.
Like- My schedule for the next 5 days. Last day of the work week tomorrow, Madison on Thursday morning to see Aquinas play Manitowoc Roncalli in the first round of the D3 State Basketball tournament, back to my apartment to watch
all of the games, watching
all of the games Friday morning and afternoon, Michelle comes back, we leave for Chicago Friday night, watch more basketball and go out in Chicago on Saturday, and then Sunday have tickets for the final 2 games of the tournament in the United Center, which will hopefully include games with Kansas and Wisconsin.
Alright, onto the tourney itself. Some of these observations will be thought out and some will be very subjective.
Midwest Region1 Florida vs. 16 Jackson St.Like- Florida is really, really, really good. The only thing which may have slowed them down was when Al Horford went down with a twisted ankle in the first half of the SEC Championship game this past weekend. He came back and they destroyed Arkansas. Let's just say for this game, I like that Florida usually has very good looking co eds in the stands, because that may be the highlight of this game.
Dislike- I dislike the fact I know nothing about Jackson St. That and I also dislike most of the players on Florida and how they handle themselves, but that's not going to be enough in this matchup to sway my decision.
Pick- 1. Florida8 Arizona vs. 9 PurdueLike- Mustafa Shakur, Chase Buddinger, Lute Olsen's hair, Arizona's talent, Carl Landry and Matt Painter. Obviously, that's more likes for Arizona. I also like Arizona because they are Garcia's favorite team, and as long as they aren't playing one of my favorite teams, I'll cheer for them.
Dislike- Arizona hasn't really played up to its potential this year. If they catch a hot streak and start hitting 3 threes like they are able to, it could be a fun 3 weeks for the fans in the desert. Purdue played in the Big Ten which wasn't really the best conference this year, but they always seem to win a few surprising games in the big dance. Even so, I don't believe in them.
Pick- 8. Arizona5 Butler vs 12 Old DominionLike- It's a 5-12 matchup, so you just have to know the right one to pick and you'll get an upset. ODU is a very good 12 seed and probably could have been an 8 or 9. Butler was really good in November and December, but it is March. ODU played in the Colonial and beat Hofstra a couple of times, that's good enough for me.
Dislike- Everyone is picking Old Dominion to win and their mascot is "Monarchs", and Butler beat up on UWM and UWGB this year. I don't like that one bit. This is a tough game to pick because I like ODU, but so do many other people. Oh well.
Pick- 12. Old Dominion4 Maryland vs 13 DavidsonLike- Maryland reminds me a little bit of Florida last year, except not quite as good and they didn't win their conference tournament. They're like a B to Florida's A+ last season. Gary Williams is one of the 10 best coaches in the tournament and they are a fun team to watch with the talent they have on the floor.
Dislike- Other than not having seen Davidson play, nothing about this game, really.
Pick- 4. Maryland6 Notre Dame vs 11 WinthropLike- Winthrop played well against Wisconsin and has been a very good mid major all year. They definitely could have gotten a 5 seed like Butler, but I guess the Big South isn't that good of a conference. I also like Notre Dame's green uniforms, but I don't think they'll be wearing them in the tournament.
Dislike- I really dislike Digger Phelps and not just because of how he pronounces Wisconsin. Therefore, I hate everything he is associated with save for ESPN.
Pick- 11. Winthrop3 Oregon vs 14 Miami (OH)Like- Oregon got hot shooting the ball in the Pac 10 tournament and won the whole thing going away. They are usually either a little bit better or a little bit worse than advertised and I think this year is one of those where they are a little worse. I have seen them a few times this season, and they just don't seem like a number 3 seed to me. They also get to play the first 2 rounds in Spokane, so that's good for them. Miami got into the tournament on a fantastic end of the game bank shot to win the conference tournament by 1, which is always very exciting.
Dislike- It took Miami that shot to get into the tournament. I don't think Oregon has what it takes to last very long in the tournament, but playing very close to home will help them avoid this upset.
Pick- 3. Oregon7 UNLV vs 10 Georgia TechLike- UNLV beat Texas Tech in Lubbock on the day Bobby Knight was supposed to become the all time winningest coach in NCAA history, no small feat. Other than that, I don't know much about either team.
Dislike- Many "experts" are taking UNLV to beat Wisconsin in the second round, but that isn't enough to make me want to pick GT.
Pick- 7. UNLV2 Wisconsin vs 15 Texas A&M Corpus ChristiLike- Badgers highest seed ever, and Alondo Tucker will finish in the top 3 in player of the year voting. They proved they were the 2nd best team in the Big 10 and play less than 2 1/2 hours from home. Texas A&M CC may have the longest name in the tournament.
Dislike- Where to begin? Alondo was useless against Ohio State, Michael Flowers has regressed on both ends of the floor, Kam Taylor forgot how to shoot, Greg Steimsma is not Brian Butch, Jason Chappel is a liability offensively, they can't play against a 2-3 zone, my confidence level is the lowest it has been on this team all year. Even with all of that, it's a number 15.
Pick- 2. WisconsinWest Region1 Kansas vs 16 NiagraLike- Kansas may be the most talented team in the entire field given their depth and most of these players remember the first round loss last season, so that hurts them. Like that Niagra won an NCAA tournament game prior to playing Kansas. There are a large number of Kansas fans in Chicago where I will be this weekend and where this game is being played giving them kind of a home away from home advantage. Julian Wright is an excellent wing player and many draft pundits have the Bucks taking him in the draft.
Dislike- Niagra had to "play-in" to the tournament even though they won their conference tournament. This never makes sense, why not have the last 2 at large teams in this game?
Pick- 1. Kansas8 Kentucky vs 9 VillanovaLike- Both teams are nicknamed the Wildcats which makes it easy to cheer for them and be 100% sure that the Wildcats will win. Ashley Judd is a huge Kentucky fan, perhaps she'll be at the games this weekend and I will have a random celebrity encounter. Jay Wright and Tubby Smith are both very good coaches with solid programs, even though both underachieved this season. Kentucky's players may be playing with a chip on their shoulder with all the talk about Tubby possibly being let go.
Dislike- Villanova's Nardi, just don't like his style of play. As stated, both teams should have been better this season, and the aforementioned chip on their shoulder didn't help Kentucky in the SEC tournamentant.
Pick- 8. Wildcats5 Virginia Tech vs. 12 IllinoisLike- Xavian Dowdell and the way Virginia Tech plays defense. Also, their coach gives the most in depth, lengthy, and meaningful halftime interviews I have ever seen, which scores huge points with me. People have called the ACC weak this year because Duke wasn't an elite team, but I like the fact that other teams are able to step up when Duke has an off year. If the Blue Devils would have finished in 2nd or 3rd or even 4th place in the conference this season, then the conference would have sucked, but other teams like the Hokies stepped up their game to overtake the Dukies. Now that Bill Self's players are all gone, we're seeing what kind of a coach Bruce Weber is, and I like it.
Dislike- Bruce Weber and Illinois. Wisconsin bias here, but I don't like anything about this team, don't like where they play, don't like the Orange Crush, am glad Weber is struggling, although I still don't understand why Chief Illiniwik is gone and never will. Finally, I don't know why or how Illinois even got into this tournament, so I dislike that very much.
Pick- 5. Virginia Tech4 Southern Illinois vs 13 Holy CrossLike- Holy Cross is the alum of Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy, so that gets them points in my book. Salukis are always an interesting herding dog to see at Westminster, but they never win. SIU seems to not have lost a beat after Bruce Weber left, although Illinois has gone down a bit. The Crusaders is the same nickname my grade school team had. Southern Illinois plays outstanding defense and are fun to watch on that end because of how they pressure the ball.
Dislike- It would take a huge upset by Illinois to meet SIU in the second round where it would hand former coach Bruce Weber his hat. This would have been a great first round matchup a la Marquette (Tom Crean) vs Michigan State (Tom Izzo).
Pick- 4. Southern Illinois6 Duke vs 11 Virginia CommonwealthLike- Duke has been my favorite team not in Wisconsin for many, many years. Gerald Henderson is looking like he could be the first "enforcer" Duke has had in a long time, especially since that ninny Josh McRoberts definitely is not one. I like the draft hype of McRoberts because hopefully that means he'll leave school and I won't have to watch him for 2 more years. Jon Scheyer appears to be headed towards J.J. Reddick- esque success. VCU plays in the Colonial Athletic Association which will always have a spot close to my heart thanks to Gaddis and Chris.
Dislike- Everything about the way Duke has played this season. They don't have a leader, crunch-time scorer, or shut down defender (all due respect to DeMarcus Nelson). The team just hasn't impressed me this year and I could go on for days, but will stop here. VCU dominated Hofstra, which I never like to see.
Pick- 6. Duke3 Pittsburgh vs 14 Wright St.Like- Not much here. I like the fact Marquette and Wisconsin went 3-1 against Pittsburgh. Like that Wright State was able to beat heavy favorite Butler in the Horizon league championship, although it was a home game for Wright State, which I can't complain too much about since UWM hosted the championship game in years past. Jaime Dixon seems to be a very good coach, and I can't hold that against the team.
Dislike- Pittsburgh. That team has been a thorn in the side of both Wisconsin and Marquette in the post season. I really don't like Aaron Gray, if for no other reason than he seemed to get away with murder during the Marquette game in the Big East tournament. Pittsburgh is becomming one of my most hated teams.
Pick- 3. Pittsburgh7 Indiana vs 10 GonzagaLike- Mark Few and how he handled the situation after Josh Hydtveldt was suspended for being arrested on drug possession charges. Gonzaga may be back in the "Cinderella" role, and a potential second round matchup against UCLA lurks.
Dislike- Kalvin Sampson basically gave the finger to Oklahoma
and his own son after last season when he bolted to Indiana. I also dislike Indiana since they are a rival of and beat Wisconsin this season. The winner of this game has no chance in the second round.
Pick- 10. Gonzaga2 UCLA vs 15 Weber StLike- The Big Sky is a great name for a conference. Darrin Collison is an excellent player and he and Aaron Afflalo can carry UCLA a LONG way and with a potential matchup against Kansas in the Regional Final in SAN JOSE is a definite advantage.
Dislike- The Bruins don't really have a big man which could cause problems down the line, but not for this game.
Pick- 2. UCLAThere you have it. Check back tomorrow (or at least before the tournament starts) for the other side of the bracket.
-Until next time...
