Ah, the South. Where to begin, where to begin? Let's go with the 8-9 match up, and work our way outward. Terrific.The Oregon Ducks, a school known as much for the ridiculous carousel of uniforms that Nike tests on them as for their production on the football field and basketball court, a school thought by many to be in danger of not making the field at all, is somehow a 9 seed. They go against Mississippi State, a school that hails from the god awful SEC, features the younger, shorter brother of Tyler Hansbrough, and just lost to Georgia on the same they that Georgia, a team with 4 conferences wins all year, just played an overtime game. Needless to say, I have very little faith in either of these teams. I went with Oregon, simply because once upon a time, Malik Hairston was considered a great player. I think he, along with Tajuan Porter, can carry the Ducks over the Bulldogs. It is essentially irrelevant, as Memphis will dispatch whoever wins this game in the next round anyway.
The 7-10 game features Miami and St. Mary's. Miami, like Oregon, was consider a bubble team by many, and they ended up with a 7 seed. They started off the year very well, but struggled some in conference play, excepting, of course, their win over Dook. St. Mary's, similarly, started off the year very well, but ended up on a poor note, with a loss in the WCC semifinals. While Jack McClinton is a good player, and a great shooter, I think St. Mary's is a bit better, and will pull off yet another 7-10 mini-upset. Much like the aforementioned game, the winner off this will probably be cast aside with ease by Texas.
Kentucky is an interesting team as an 11 seed. On one hand, they started off the year atrociously. On the other hand, they played very well in conference play. On the other hand, They play in the Shitty SEC. On the other hand, Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford, yet another Detroit Renaissance High School All- American bust, are both decent players,. On the other hand, Patrick Patterson, their best player, is injured. On that same hand (the bad hand, in case I lost you), they also lost to a garbage Georgia team in the conference tournament. Also on the bad hand, they have this ugly dude on their team:
What an athletic looking individual! Anyway, with all that said, I'm taking Marquette and Dominic James in this one.Michigan State is the 5 seed in this bracket. I, possibly, may have mentioned on this blog that I have very little respect for any of the Big Ten's basketball teams. Additionally, nearly every year some 12 seed beats a 5 seed. This game looks ripe for an upset pick. HOWEVER, Temple is the 12 seed, and I don't think they are that great, so look for Drew Neitzel to lead the Spartans to a narrow victory. For the record, if Nova and Temple switched regions, I would absolutely take them over Michigan State. Oh well.
The top 4 seeds should all move on with ease as well, and I have very little to say about the 13- 16 seeds (Big Red, like the gum? hilarious!). The top 4 seeds should also dispatch of the aforementioned (twice in one post? Amazing.) winners and advance to the Sweet 16.
The 2-3 matchup, Texas against Stanford, is quite interesting. Stanford has the giant Lopez twins, who not only are good at basketball, but are rising media darlings (they like Michael Jackson, Disney, and Comic books! Totally Normal!).
The Lopez's brother FantasyMemphis and Pittsburgh is also a great match up. Memphis has not played anyone decent since they were defeated by Tennessee, while Pittsburgh just won the grueling Big East Tournament. Memphis, talent-wise, is right up there with UNC, Kansas, and UCLA. They cannot, however, shoot free throws. Additionally, I must reiterate that they have not played a quality team in a long time. Also, Joey Dorsey, despite his high field goal percentage, is not that great of a player. One hell of an athlete, but a great player? Nope. Pittsburgh's Dejuan Blair, in contrast, is a good player. Moreover, Pitt is finally healthy, and looks primed to make a run in the Tourney. That's right, it's finally a real upset, as I have Pitt taking down Memphis!
Riding the momentum from the monumental victory, Pitt should be able to out-size, and out-athlete Texas as they roll into the Final Four.
*Final Note: Some of you may have noticed that I pick very few early upsets. That is because the lower seeded teams suck. Picking upsets for the sake of upsets is dumb. Of course, this will inevitably lead to me being beaten in my pool by someone who picks Siena because it sounds like the name of the Minivan they had growing up, but at least I'll have my integrity. I'll finish up with the West Region on Thursday, enjoy.
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