What a Game

That game was fantastic. I'd congratulate Kansas, but I'm sure Roy already has congratulated them plenty. Memphis had the game in hand, but Kansas stormed back. Chalmers was crazy clutch, not just on that 3, but on all of his free throws down the stretch. Additionally, Calipari needs to have his players foul Chalmers before he can take that shot at the end. 2 Free Throws cannot beat you when you are up 3.

Also....

I thought Free Throw shooting would cost Memphis. I've said it for weeks now. They had me fooled into thinking it was not a problem anymore. Then CDR and Rose missed 4 out of the last 5. That cost them the game right there. As well as CDR played, and Rose played in the 2nd half, those free throws cost them for sure. The Tigers unsung hero was Dozier, who played awesome. Too bad Kansas just willed there way to victory. Maybe next season Calipari will work on fundamentals like free throw shooting and situational defense.

The big question for Kansas now is, will Self stick around? Should be interesting, as T. Boone Pickens will probably offer him a small fortune to jump ship to OK State.

What a game to end a mediocre tournament. I'm already excited for next year.

Obligatory post about losing and such

Well, Carolina lost on Sunday. It is not a happy time around here. I suppose I will offer a rant, for cathartic purposes, and then move on with my life.

It is tough to know where to start. Kansas completely outplayed Carolina, and Carolina failed to show up until there were about 6 minutes left in the first half. It is absurd that they were in a 40-12 hole. The fact that they crawled back and cut the deficit to 4 was remarkable. It seemed as if they had nothing left after that. In a way, it was almost worse to lose in the manner that they did than if it had been a regular loss or a plain blowout. The opening of the game was simply embarrassing, and it seemed as if the majority of the roster was unaware they were playing a game at that moment. The emotion of the room I was in was a combination of stunned silence and angry shouting. Suddenly, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington started to hit some shots, and in seemingly no time, the game was close again. Then the team faltered again, which just crushed all of the remaining will left in any of the fans. A very disappointing end to the season, especially considering the dominance that UNC had displayed in the first 4 rounds. Some other thoughts, in bullet form.

• Roy Williams, as great of a recruiter and motivator as he may be, is a lousy game coach. It is painful as a fan to admit this, but aside from 2005, where sheer talent carried the Tar Heels to a title, Roy's teams have time and again faltered in big tournament games where they were favored. Roy's lack of adjustments, and stubborn refusal to call a time out as the Heels were being pummeled, is simply frustrating. Roy is obviously a great coach, the evidence is clear. But his stubbornness was quite appalling.
• Many people will point to Hansbrough's relative lack of production as a key element in the loss. However, Tyler did what he always does, which is get the ball and fight through traffic and toss up ugly shots, which normally go in. Do not misinterpret that last statement; as ugly as his game is, it is very effective and he is a great college player. The problem was, with Ellington shooting 1-9 from 3, no one else really hitting shots, and Ty Lawson's inability to successfully score of penetration, the Jayhawks were able to double and triple team Tyler aggressively, which rendered him relatively ineffective.
• Wayne getting the player of the game from CBS was absurd. Sure, he led the team in points, but he only played well for about 10-15 minutes, while the comeback was going on. His poor shot selection and poor shooting was a huge part of the early troubles that the Heels faced.
• Ty Lawson was also particularly mediocre. I really hope he and Wayne decide to stay for another year (I think Hansbrough will definitely be back). While Ty can be a 1st rounder, his play on Saturday clearly indicates that he needs more polish and work on his game before he is NBA ready. Obviously Derrick Rose is a superior player, but the gap that was displayed between them on Saturday was so wide, that it is apparent Ty needs one more season before he can make the leap. Hopefully he will learn from the likes of Joe Forte, William Avery, Erick Barkley, Omar Cook, and tons of others, and stick around for one more year.
• Deon Thompson and Alex Stepheson, who had both been playing their best basketball of the season during this tournament, both played terribly. Stepheson's lack of effort was so apparent that Roy only played him 6 minutes. Mike Copeland, who hardly played this year, was getting important minutes during a Final Four game because the collective performances by these two were so awful.
• The fact that UNC lost by more to Kansas than Davidson did is disturbing. UNC is obviously more talented, and it appears that it was simply a lack of effort that did them in. If Thomas Sander can shut down the Kansas bigs, Thompson, Stepheson, and Hansbrough should be able to as well. The guards are responsible too, as the bigs had to continuously help over as the guards got beat off the dribble. It is okay to get beat once in a while, but at least make the offense change directions to give the help a chance. Very frustrating performance.
  
• It was a good season, and it is hard to get too angry at a 36 win team, but standards and expectations at UNC are high, and it was a very disappointing end to a good year. Next year, with the addition of Bobby Frasor and 3 McDonald's All- Americans, and the loss of only Quentin Thomas, it is hard to not envision another Final Four run. Hopefully they can finish the job next time. Of course, if Lawson, Ellington, or Hansbrough decide to leave (only Lawson is a legitimate threat to actually go this year), it will be a bit trickier.

Quick thoughts on the rest of the Final Four:

• Memphis looked really, really good. Derrick Rose has joined Stephen Curry in the club of people who are The Truth. He is really, really good. I hope the Knicks can somehow draft him. Chris Douglas- Roberts has been playing great too. Evidence below:

• UCLA looked terrible. I would discuss this point further, but after UNC's performance for most of that game, it is hard to rip into UCLA too badly.
  
• Memphis had free throw shooting woes all year. Not during the tournament though. Why? Because only CDR and Rose have been shooting them! If Kansas can send the likes of Joey Dorsey to the line, they will have a better shot of winning tonight. However, Memphis has looked thoroughly dominating the past 3 games, and Kansas has looked dominant for about two thirds of a game. Memphis is my pick tonight.

One final story, the only good part of the night for the UNC fans I was watching with. A friend of JT's and mine had a huge parlay bet going. It was in the neighborhood of 100 bucks to win 3300. Anyway, he had everything correct, and just needed Memphis to win, and the over on the over/under of 135 to win all this money. Anyway, as the game was coming to an end, it became apparent that this over/under was going to be very close. With under a minute left, the total points were stuck at exactly 135! To make matters worse, UCLA decided to stop fouling, and Memphis was just eating the ball and killing clock. Needless to say, we were all losing our minds over this development. As Derrick Rose dribbled and the shot clock dwindled, we realized he would need to launch a shot. He threw up a terrible looking three pointer. IT BANKED IN! Our friend won the bet and we all went crazy. Our spirits would soon be trampled by a certain 40-12 run, but it was good while it lasted. Enjoy the game tonight everyone.

You Say Stephen, I Say Stephen

The stage was set. 16.8 seconds remained on the clock. Davidson was down by 2. Stephen Curry (named Most Outstanding Player of the Midwest Regional after scoring 33 points against Wisconsin and 25 against Kansas) would take the game winning shot.

But he didn't. Instead he passed the ball to Jason Richards who had to take the last shot from a mile away, missing the rim by about a foot. I don't have a problem with the shot selection. I do have a problem with the execution. ''They had a lot of bodies and a lot of athletic guys who could chase me,'' Curry said. ''They did make me work hard, and I had good looks at the end, but they weren't falling like they did all tournament. We can't hang our heads. We had opportunities. We just didn't execute.'' Apparently, Curry did too.

I don't understand why Curry took the inbounds pass. Davidson's offense is a funny thing - not a lot of movement, some post play, but generally it relies on Stephen Curry getting open on screens.

''Kansas had four guards out there and they just switched. It kind of defeated the purpose of the play,'' he said. ''I gave them a pump fake to try to get a look, but I was off-balance when he fell down. So I saw Jay open at the top of the key, so I swung it to him.''

Good coaching change by Self. However, having Curry handle the ball does not really make much sense. In any case, Curry wasn't able to get a good look at the basket. He could have tried jumping into the defender and forcing a foul? Would the refs have called it though? It'd be likely. Curry was graced by the all-star rule, which allowed him to, among other things, travel at his leisure. He trusted his teammmates, which you have to respect.

Fear not Davidson/Curry fans! He'll be back next year.

After "I'm definitely coming back next year," the sophomore said in his team's locker room. "I don't think I'm ready for [the NBA]."

It gets better too. Curry said he will likely play PG next season filling the void left by Richards. That will allow Curry to improve upon his drives, his inside game, as well as his ball handling skills, all of which will make him much improved and complete basketball player - as well as a better NBA prospect. Maybe he'll grow another 4 inches before next season.


This is the first time that four #1 seeds have made it to the Final Four. Memphis looks like a completely different team than they did in the regular season. They're the most athletic team still playing and will certainly give UCLA (the media's lovechild) a run for their money. Kansas...

I also don't really understand what the big deal is that Roy's Boys have to play the Jayhawks.

_______________________________________________________

Other Sports Thoughts:

1. I hate baseball
2. I hate how baseball highlights take over SportsCenter
3. I hate how baseball highlights are all the same
4. The Packers will kickoff the 2008-2009 NFL season against the Vikings September 8 at 7:00pm. Good chance we'll start off 1-0. It'll be the first chance to see Aaron Rodgers as the starting QB for Green Bay. Kinda weird.
   
5. 1-0: Floyd Mayweather's WWE record. He not only broke Big Show's nose a couple of weeks ago, but he knocked out the 7', 440 lbs behemoth with his right, brassknuckled fist...after beating him with a metal chair.
6. Floyd Mayweather should stick to boxing or learn MMA.
   

Well that was mediocre..

What a boring weekend. Most of the games were not even close. Aside from Davidson's decisive win over Wisconsin, and Louisville's win over Tennessee, which was hardly an upset based upon the actual talent each team possessed, nothing happened. Did I still enjoy myself? heck yes. Some thoughts:

• I am not discussing UNC because everything I say is, in my warped mind, a potential jinx. That said, they've been playing very well. It should be a good game on Saturday. (jinx free statement? i hope so)
• UCLA has looked good, but really, have they played anyone that great? I say no. A& M and Xavier were both good teams, but not great. Kansas, aside from Davidson, also did not play anyone that good. UNC and Memphis had strong showings against strong teams, which bodes very well for them (I hope.)
• UCLA and Memphis will be an interesting match up just because of the contrast of styles. Memphis is a team of athletic freaks. Derrick Rose is really, really good. UCLA is a more disciplined team, but they can go cold at times. Also, as great an outlet passer as CBS and ESPN insists Kevin Love is, It may be harder for him to get good looks against a team as athletic as the Tigers.
• Credit where it is due, Memphis hit their free throws when it counted yesterday. As long as Chris Douglas- Roberts or Rose are the guys shooting, they are in good shape in that department. That's a large caveat for the final four though.
  
• Speaking of Kevin Love, this video of him making full court shots is impressive. But I have never heard such unnecessary fawning over a particular skill as I heard this weekend. Outlet passing, while a nice skill, is not exactly as important as rebounding, dribbling, scoring, running the floor, or many other skills. I've heard enough about it, who cares.

• Stephen Curry, as I have said before, is the truth. is performance against Wisconsin was incredible. I understand that he went cold for a while against Kansas, which seemingly dug them into a hole they could not rise out of. And I understand that that last play call made him look awful. But...

Do not blame young Stephen! For starters, he still kept them in the game by playing amazingly for the middle twenty minutes or so of the game. And he hit a big 3 when they needed it most. Kansas did a great job of guarding him, and no one else, with one exception that I'll get to shortly, stepped up. More importantly, everyone else on the team bricked all of their free throws. You cannot shoot 41 percent from the line against a team as good as Kansas, it is just terrible. Moreover, the last play call was pretty terrible. If you are Bo McKillop, and you call a high screen and roll for your best player at the end of the game, you HAVE TO KNOW that the two defenders are going to stay with him. Two options here are to have the screener roll to the basket, which he did not and would have been a bad choice as they needed to go for the win based on depth issues and whatnot, or you have another 3 shooter set the screen. This would force the defense to either not double Curry, or to leave a shooter open. Instead they had Thomas Sander set the screen and despite his earlier 3 pointer, he is not a real shooting threat at that stage of the game. The man they should of had set that screen was...

• The White Lobster! As terrible a nickname as any ( He's from Maine and is White! Very Clever!) This kid was deadly from deep against Kansas. he hit 3 big shots in a row, right when Curry was struggling. He was the only non-curry player to step up in this game. I'm a big Jason Richards fan, but he did not do much when the game was on the line against Kansas. Barr stepped up big, and could of opened things up for Curry or hit the shot himself at the end of the game. Instead, he was stuck in the corner. Davidson had a great run and Curry was incredible, but to blame him for this loss, as many have been, is absurd.
• I'm too nervous to write anymore about the final four until next week. I'll probably start writing about baseball or something, ugh.
  

A look at the weekend that was

Some old- fashioned, bullet form analysis...

• Stephen Curry, seen above, is the Truth. Despite only shooting 5 for 15 from deep in the game, he carried Davidson on his shoulders over Georgetown. I was at this game, and from the crowd's perspective, it seemed as though every time he touched the ball, especially in the last 10 minutes, that the ball was destined to find the bottom of the net. It was truly one of the most incredible solo performances that I have ever witnessed in person. That said, the rest of the team played very well, especially in the second half. Jason Richards is a great point guard, Andrew Lovedale was all over the place, and the team's undersized big men did an outstanding job of guarding Hibbert, even inducing two offensive fouls, which kept him on the bench for prolonged stretches. It would be foolish to think that they cannot threaten to upset Wisconsin next week, because they have shown the ability and desire necessary to succeed.
• Speaking of Wisconsin, I have to officially apologize to the Big Ten. The presence of two teams in the Sweet Sixteen is two more than I anticipated. Michigan State, in particular, really impressed me with their win over Pitt, which also represented the final, lethal, blow to my bracket. I still don't like the Big Ten style of play, but I suppose I have to acknowledge that it works. Maybe the Spartans can surprise me and beat Memphis.
• Memphis is a very talented team, but it would shock me, and most of the people who watch college basketball, if their free throw shooting did not come back to haunt them in the next few games. Villanova showed that it is pretty easy to shut down a team who cannot shoot freebies, and although Memphis is better than Clemson, this glaring weakness will surely punish them before this tournament is through.
• As mentioned earlier, my bracket is in shambles. I do not mind though, because of four big factors.
• Dook Lost!
• Most people's brackets are mediocre at best right now.
• My little sister's bracket is in the 98th percentile on ESPN. This sums up everything that needs to be said about College Basketball knowledge relating to bracket success.
• UNC is playing ridiculously.

• The other game I witnessed was UNC's decimation of the Arkansas Razorbacks. When the Tar Heels destroyed Mt. St. Mary's, I was pleased but I also understood the mediocrity of their competition. Arkansas is a legitimate basketball team, but Carolina made them look like a sixteen seed. The Heels shot almost 68 percent from the field, and the game was over by halftime.

Run away, Razorbacks!

• Two encouraging notes from that game. Ty Lawson looks to be back in his pre-injury form. This is great news. He, along with Quentin Thomas, are distributing the ball effectively without turning it over. It appears as if Ty's injury was the best thing that could of happened to the Heels, as 'Q' now appears to be a quality player, which was not the case pre-injury. Also, Deon Thompson and Alex Stepheson combined to shoot 13-13 from the field, and they both played outstanding defense. If these two can contribute at this level, or even close, the Tar Heels appear to be seemingly unbeatable (knocking on wood!). Obviously this weekend poses a more difficult challenge, but as a Carolina student and fan, I could not possibly be more encouraged and optimistic than I am now, after yesterday's performance.
  
• Louisville-Tennessee, Stanford- Texas, Xavier- West Virginia, and even Kansas- Villanova all look like great match ups, and it should be a fun weekend. I am going to abstain from making more picks, as I obviously am inept when it comes to college basketball clairvoyance.
• UCLA- Western Kentucky does not appear to be that interesting of a match up, but after UCLA's narrow escape against Texas A&M (Josh Shipp clearly got ALL arm on that last block), it could shape up to be a more entertaining game than expected. We can only hope.
  

Day 1 thoughts

Some quick Day 1 thoughts:

• Obviously no one cares, but I got 13 out of 16 games right yesterday. I am neither elated nor disgusted with this number. One game I got wrong was the 8-9 game between UNLV and Kent State. Oh well, who knew the Golden Flashes would show historically epic ineptitude?
  
• Another game I got wrong was the Arizona- West Virginia game. Credit where it is due, more players than just Joe Alexander showed up to play, although he proved to be a huge thorn in Arizona's side as expected. Arizona showed the same inconsistency that has plagued them all year. Perhaps playing for an interim coach can be blamed for these issues? I really see no other excuse for such talent to achieve such mediocrity.
• As for the third game, well, I will let Bob Knight explain:

"Kansas State has not always been a team that comes to play. Tonight they came to play."
Well said, General!

Well, shit. I had USC in the Sweet 16, so that sucks. Bill Walker took over in the first half, despite foul trouble. Also despite foul trouble, Michael Beasley put up a Beasley-esque Double Double, mostly in the second half. This combined with some general ineptitude shown by USC players not named Mayo, Jefferson, or Gibson, led to the K-State win. In fact, USC's big three and K-State's big two scored the same amount of points. The rest of K-State, to my surprise, outplayed the rest of USC.

• Most of the other games yesterday were mediocre. A & M and BYU played a reasonably close game, as did Marquette and Kentucky. Joe Crawford, who I made a bit of fun of in my South region preview, absolutely caught fire, and scored 33 points. It wasn't enough, as the Golden Eagles prevailed.
• Oh yea, Dook almost lost to Belmont. This would have been an epic upset, and was thrilling from start to finish. Every time Dook would start a run, Belmont had an answer. In fact, Belmont even blew some chances to win at the end. Why did no one step in on Gerald Henderson's winning lay up? Why did they fail to execute an out of bounds play so miserably? I cannot even fault them, they are a fifteen seed, and it was an awesome game to watch. I cannot even find the proper words to explain how I would have felt had they won. Orgasmic Elation? Not quite right, but close to that for sure.
• Speaking of Dook, I feel extremely uncomfortable having them in the Elite 8. I actually thought they were somehow being underrated in the past week, but now it looks as if they were overrated. West Virginia, Xavier, or even Purdue all have great shots at them now. And even if it causes my bracket to fall apart, seeing them lose would be great and worth it.
• One final Dook note: I love Brian Zoubek. He is one of the worst players I have ever seen. I cannot understand why Coach rat face keeps playing him. Just because he is a 7 footer does not mean he is a positive contributor. But by all means, keep playing him. The amusement that i get from watching 6'5" Belmont players reject him, or take him to the hole for an "And 1" layup, is unrivaled. If anyone can find a picture of him getting rejected, it would be outstanding.
• Enjoy the games today, I'll be at the Raleigh games this evening to watch UNC and perhaps Indiana. Sweet.
  

The real, really late West region preview

Let's call a spade a spade shall we? The West region is far and away the weakest region of them all. Since some of the games are going on as I type, I'll get right into it.

Xavier, who is currently down in the first half to Georgia, will win this game. Georgia is not actually good. Xavier, while seeded too high as a 3 seed, is still a superior team to the Bulldogs. Drew Lavender and Stanley Burrell are a good back court, and should rally the Musketeers to a victory.

In the second round, Xavier will probably face Purdue. Purdue is a team with a good, young, core, and they will be dangerous in the years to come, as none of their young stars are of the Beasley-leave early caliber. Baylor is a nice story, but they have been unimpressive the latter part of this season. The Boilermakers should defeat Baylor and move on to the second round, where Xavier, who are far more experienced and well balanced, should end their run.
Many people are picking Drake to be upset by Western Kentucky. This is misguided. Drake is a good mid-major team from a good mid-major conference, and they have a very dangerous penetrate-and-dish style of play that fits their personnel quite well. Drake will move on to face...

UCONN. UCONN will not have trouble with San Diego. They are far too athletic and large up front with Thabeet and Jeff Adrien. Hey, Did you know one of the San Diego player's is related to a mass-murdering cult leader? What an interesting story! Thanks, sports media! I am sure that Rob Jones just loves that all of America knows his family's dark past. College basketball: It's all about the student-athlete's welfare. Alright, moving on.

UCONN will beat Drake. UCONN is just too athletic and large for Drake, whose cinderella season will finally come to an end.

Programming note: Xavier is down 9 at halftime. I stand by my pick, but uh oh.

The West Virginia is the "sleeper" pick of many people to make the Sweet 16. This is entirely because Joe Alexander is good, and Bob Knight has talked them up. But let's be real people. They would have lost to Providence if the Friars did not brick about 23324243 open lay ups. They are not that great of a team. I have Arizona, who underachieved this year due to injury, beating them handily.

Since Dook was seeded a line too high, many people are down on them. Dook has been a very good team this year, despite the one dimensional nature of their game. Dook should beat Arizona and the Xavier, although both of these games have major upset potential, since Dook is vulnerable against speedy guards (see Wake Forest, Miami), and Jerryd Bayless and Drew Lavender both fit this description. I think Dook is too deep to get beat by either of these teams, and they, annoyingly, will probably advance to the Elite 8. Here is your requisite rat face Coach K picture...
Texas A and M against BYU is an interesting match up. Both teams were better earlier this year, and fell off late. Both teams also have good big men, and weaker guards. A and M has more of these good big men, so I pick them to win. It is irrelevant though, as UCLA should tear through either of these teams, despite Luc Richard Mbah a Moute being dinged up.

UCLA against UCONN should be a hell of a game, with tons of great athletes on the floor. UCONN has been more inconsistent this year, while UCLA has been luckier. This game should be close, and can go either way, but UCLA is the pick.

The Regional championship, between UCLA, will not be as close. UCLA will absolutely dominate Dook inside, on the shoulders on Kevin Love. Plus, Dook won't be able to guard all of UCLA's fast little guys. UCLA will advance to the final four. In fact, they will advance to the final, as they should beat Pitt, leading to a UNC- UCLA final. As I said previously, UNC is my homer, and honest opinion, pick. Knocking on wood. Enjoy the tournament everyone, I'll update things after the weekend!

Southern Comfort

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 Fantasy

Texas, in contrast, is relatively weak inside (Connor Atchley? Come on now), but they have exquisite guard play. In a tight game, it is going to be a lot easier for DJ Augustin and AJ Abrams to take over than Brook and Robin Lopez, especially against Stanford's average-at-best guards. Texas is the pick.

Memphis 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.

Midwest Express

Today, Ladies and Gents, I'll take a look at the Midwest Bracket, which could also be called the North Bracket, but the geographic region names are generally meaningless after the first seed. Anyhow, let's jump right into it.

The Midwest bracket features not 1, not 2, but 3 of the most intriguing first round match ups that the tournament has to offer. The Davidson- Gonzaga match up showcases two of the top mid-major teams in the nation (Gonzaga resents this distinction, but I truly do not care). Davidson features Stephen Curry, son of former Charlotte Hornet Dell Curry. You may also recognize Dell from the seats behind the bench of his alma mater, Virginia Tech. It is unfathomable to me that Virginia Tech failed to get young Stephen to play for them. There must be some reason that such a talent is at Davidson, If Davidson can beat Gonzaga and Georgetown I may decide to find out what it is. Davidson also features a very good point guard named Jason Richards. This duo makes Davidson a formidable foe against any team, as evidenced by their close losses to UNC, Dook, and UCLA earlier this year.
Gonzaga, also known as Davidson before Davidson was Davidson (I think that makes sense...), is also has a formidable back court, featuring Jeremy Pargo and Matt Boulding, among others. Gonzaga also has some good big men, like Josh Heytvelt. This game should be close, but I, along with a surprisingly large amount of other people, am going to pick Davidson in a mini- upset.

Get it?

The second good game in the first round of this bracket features two highly publicized freshman in OJ Mayo (see above) and Michael Beasley (see below).

Michael's sister?

Anyhow, I have USC winning this game, mainly because USC has other good players, namely Davon Jefferson and Taj Gibson, and Kansas State, with the exception of Bill Walker sometimes, does not. As good as Beasley is, the rest of his team sucks enough that USC should win with some ease.

Villanova is a very good 12 seed. They would have been higher had they not forgotten how to play basketball for 2 weeks during the middle of the season. Scotty Reynolds is very good, and if the rest of the Wildcat guards catch fire, as they did in the second half against Syracuse, Clemson could be in trouble. On the flip side, Clemson is a very good team, as evidenced by their ACC tourney performance and close games against UNC throughout the season. Free throws are a huge issue for Clemson, and could end up costing them this game. However, I think they are too talented not to get past Nova. In fact, I see them beating Vandy in the second round as well.

Speaking of Vandy, they are good enough to beat Siena, but, as mentioned previously on this very blog, they are not that great of a team. In fact, the SEC as a whole sucks. As mentioned before, I have Clemson beating them. Clemson's dance ends there, though, because they meet Kansas in the Sweet 16. Kansas will not only beat them, but will advance all the way to the Final Four, where they will play Carolina. Kansas is too deep and talented to lose to anyone in this bracket.

To advance to the Final Four, Kansas will probably play Georgetown. Georgetown can be great on some days, and not show up on others. This could be a recipe for an early exit, but no one on their half of the region is good enough to beat them. Wisconsin, along with the rest of the Big Ten, is mediocre, and I have USC upsetting them in the second round.

The last game i neglected to mention is Kent State- UNLV. I have Kent State, but this game is of little consequence as the victor will proceed on to play Kansas, who will house either team.

Long story short, Kansas to the final four from this region, with some quality, entertaining, games along the way. Huzzah!

Hooray Basketball!

Hooray Basketball!

Box may have sworn off writing about college basketball, but I have not. In fact, I have decided to ignore less pressing issues, including the acquisition of David Carr by the WORLD CHAMPION New York Giants, and discuss, extensively, the NCAA tournament.

JT said that it is debatable whether one's tournament picking abilities are inversely proportionate to their basketball knowledge. From past experience, I can say that people who know nothing win their pools at alarming rates. Despite the fact that my little sister would rather watch America's Top Model than the ACC championship, it is almost guaranteed that she will get more games right than I will. And this sucks. And it is embarrassing. But sometimes these things are just out of our hands.Pre-Crazy TyraBanks

With all that being said, I am still going to provide a region by region breakdown of the NCAA tournament, which will inevitably be wrong and lead to me finishing 26th in a pool with a bunch of people who couldn't separate the Diebler brothers from the Calathes brothers, or plan on picking Kent State to beat Kansas because surely a Golden Flash is superior to a Jayhawk. What the hell is a Jayhawk anyway? Anyhow, let's begin with...

The East Region!

My Carolina Tar Heels earned the Number One overall seed, which basically means they get to play the winner of the play-in game instead of some other equally inept basketball team. It is also supposed to mean that they are matched up with the worst Number 2 seed. Instead, they were paired with Tennessee, who by most accounts was worthy of a Number 1 spot themselves, or at the very least the top Number 2 seed. Moreover, while arguments can be made for the South or Midwest regions, the East is most likely the toughest region. Having Butler and Indiana as 7 and 8 seeds, respectively, is just absurd. Butler is the #10 team IN THE NATION. It is absolutely ridiculous that they are a seven seed, playing in Alabama against a team from Alabama. Might as well step on their head while they are drowning, NCAA. Indiana is also a ridiculously talented team for an 8 seed, but the Tar Heels should be able to handle them, especially since they are playing in North Carolina.

Many members of the media are claiming that Notre Dame may fall victim to an upset. I disagree, as I think the Fighting Irish are a very good team, who would have done big things had they not drawn a Sweet Sixteen match up with UNC. I have them beating Washington State in the second round, although that should be an entertaining game.

I have all the top seeds advancing in the first round, although I have reservations about the Oklahoma- St. Joes game. Blake Griffin's health will go along way in determining whether the Sooners fall victim to an upset.

While I feel Butler could potentially upset Tennessee, i think the Vols will survive, although I have Louisville knocking them out. The Cardinals are a very good 3 seed, and they are better than their record indicates, as they dealt with many injuries throughout the year. I think the Cardinals, with Padgett, Palacios, Clark, and Caracter, are too big inside for the Vols, and they also have quality guard play to match up with Chris Lofton and the gang.

Finally, I have UNC beating Louisville and advancing to the Final Four, where they should go on to win it all. They are, along with UCLA, Kansas, and Memphis, one of the four best teams in the nation (not necessarily my final four picks!), all of whom happen to be Number 1 seeds, and with good reason. My blatant homerism, the fact that they do not leave the State until the Final Four, their undefeated road record, and the re-emergence of Ty Lawson all influenced my choice. HOWEVER, I am terribly afraid of jinxing them, so I would like to make it clear that i have been knocking on wood throughout this entire post.

Anyhow, return tomorrow for one of the other regions, it'll be a surprise, I guess.

Vacation

I'm on vacation this week, so this will be my last post until Monday, at which point most of my posts will be about the NCAA tourney. I cannot wait. In the mean time, a few thoughts.

• UCLA is a really good team. Clearly one of the top 4 in the nation. As Stephen A. Smith would say, HOWEVA, their past two wins have been entirely, outrageously, shenanigan-filled. The last play of regulation in the Stanford game was clearly NOT a foul. Some have been claiming that their was body contact on the play. I am not stupid or blind. I play basketball. I am fully aware that a defender can get all ball with their hand and still foul a player with their body. This was not one of those plays. It was a clean block, and the Cardinal community should be outraged. Luckily, it probably will not affect their tournament standing, as they will probably be a two seed anyway, but it does rob them of a share of the Pac-10 title, and that sucks. Additionally, UCLA's comeback against Cal, while impressive (although why was Cal beating them like that?), was also filled with nonsense. Kevin Love's 3, while impressive and lucky, but that is part of the game. The ensuing foul on Ryan Anderson was pretty outrageous, but the final shot by Josh Shipp was the proverbial final straw. It was an amazing shot, and I wish there was not a rule that made that illegal, but there is, so it should not have counted. Despite all this, UCLA is still probably a final four team.
• I am convinced every team in the Big Ten sucks. Ohio State, as previously discussed on this very blog, sucks. Now they are probably going to make the tournament because they beat Michigan State and Purdue? Let's be real, those teams are pretty mediocre too. Unless they receive some miraculously easy draw, I would not be surprised if the Sweet 16 lacked any Big Ten teams. Seriously.
• The SEC sucks too. Kentucky was ridiculously bad in the 2007 portion of the season, and now, because they have been good in conference, they are a tournament team? And they got better without their best player (Patrick Patterson)? While I am willing to believe that they are a decent team due to the senior talent that has underachieved the past 4 years (Bradley and Crawford...), I think their success is more of a reflection on the general mediocrity of the conference.
• Speaking of Crawford, he and Malik Hairston played together in High School. They were also both top 10 recruits in 2004. Out of the top 14 recruits that year, 12 of them are currently in the NBA. The only exceptions are these two. Just an interesting note...
• Carolina beat Dook. Sure, the officiating was bad, but really, it was bad in both directions. However, based on UNC's style of play, this loose officiating should have been more detrimental to them. But they still won. Needless to say, I am quite pleased with the result.
• On a serious note, applause to the Gameday crew, the UNC, and the Duke administrations for their handling of the tragic Eve Carson murder. They handled it respectfully and with class. Even the Duke student body, for the most part, acted with class and dignity. It was a senseless tragedy and my thoughts are with her friends and family.
• With that said, I hope everyone enjoys all the conference tournaments, and I shall return once the tournament field is unveiled.