What a crazy tournament it has been thus far! Plenty of upsets and many are having their brackets busted early in the tournament with teams like Duke, UConn, and USC making early exits. The other side of that is, Cinderella has been all over, but has especially taken form in the way of the Davidson College Wildcats. They have been lead by sharpshooter Stephen Curry who has scored at least 30 points in every tournament game thus far. Unfortunately for the Wildcats though, tonight they run into Kansas (my pick to win the whole thing). Kansas has six or seven players that could lead them in scoring on any given night, and they have elite guards in Brandon Rush, and Mario Chalmers. All of which will lead to the carriage turning back into a pumpkin by the time the last buzzer sounds.
The other team trying to make it to San Antonio as a non traditional powerhouse is the Xavier Musketeers. If they are going to make it, they are going to need to shoot the lights out and play solid defense. Xavier has played excellent defense all the way through the tourney, but they will be facing Kevin Love, Darren Collison and the rest of the UCLA Bruins who have their eye on the national championship. The Musketeers simply don't have the personnel to get past the mighty Bruins, as UCLA will be in the final four.
The upset special of the sweet sixteen was supposed to be Michigan State knocking off Memphis. It was quite the opposite, the Spartans were ran off the floor as the were routed by Memphis. Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts, and Joey Dorsey were too much, and this game was over not long after it got started. Memphis will be facing the Texas Longhorns in the Elite Eight, and this is where the Tigers' run will end. First off, this is a home game for the Longhorns with the game being played in Austin, Texas. Second, DJ Augustine is the best pure point guard in the country and he will be able to shut down Derrick Rose. Texas also has the defense and athletes to bang with Joey Dorsey, and run with Chris Douglas Roberts. This is going to be a close game, one that is going to be decided at the free throw line, the Tigers' biggest weakness ( they have the worst free throw percentage in the country). This will lead to Memphis exiting the tournament in the elite eight for the third straight year.
This next game is one of teams that have been dominating college basketball for quite some time. Both lead by Hall of Fame coaches, making this the most exciting game of the weekend. The North Carolina Tar Heels, are poised to add another National Title to their list of accolades. The Heels have won 16 conference titles, when they do that they have made it to the Final Four in 11 of those years, a staggering statistic. Although if it comes down to a single play or strategic move, Rick Patino is they guy I want making that call, the Cardinals are still going to have to execute, and they will not be able to do it. David Padgett has been great this season, but how will he match up with possible player of the year Tyler Hansbrough? Louisville will have to out rebound and out hustle North Carolina, but Tar Heels coach Roy Williams will not allow that to happen. North Carolina will squeak out a win in this one, and stamp their ticket to the Final Four.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
NCAA MEN's TOUNEY PICKS!!!
Its time for the big dance, so short and simple here are the picks for round one!
EAST
North Carolina over Mount St.Mary's
Indiana over Arkansas
Notre Dame over George Mason... no Cinerella story for George Mason this year.
Washington State over Winthrop
Oaklahoma over St.Josephs
Louisville over Boise State
Butler over South Alabama
Tennesse over American
MIDWEST
Kansas over Portland State
UNLV over Kent State
Clemson over Villanova
Vanderbilt over Siena
USC over Kansas State... OJ Mayo has much more talent around him than phenom Mike Beasley
Wisonsin Over Cal State Fullerton
Conzaga over Davidson
Georgetown over UMBC
SOUTH
Memphis over UT Arlington
Mississippi State over Oregon
Michigan State over Temple
Pittsburgh over Oral Roberts
Marquette over Kentucky.... This is the year Kentucky's first round victory streak ends
Stanford over Cornell
Miami over St.Mary's
Texas over Austin Peay
WEST
UCLA over Mississippi Valley State
BYU over Texas A&M
Drake over Western Kentucky
UConn over San Diego
Purdue over Baylor
Xavier over Georgia
Arizona over West Virgina.....upset special!
Duke over Belmont
There we have it...round one, book it!
EAST
North Carolina over Mount St.Mary's
Indiana over Arkansas
Notre Dame over George Mason... no Cinerella story for George Mason this year.
Washington State over Winthrop
Oaklahoma over St.Josephs
Louisville over Boise State
Butler over South Alabama
Tennesse over American
MIDWEST
Kansas over Portland State
UNLV over Kent State
Clemson over Villanova
Vanderbilt over Siena
USC over Kansas State... OJ Mayo has much more talent around him than phenom Mike Beasley
Wisonsin Over Cal State Fullerton
Conzaga over Davidson
Georgetown over UMBC
SOUTH
Memphis over UT Arlington
Mississippi State over Oregon
Michigan State over Temple
Pittsburgh over Oral Roberts
Marquette over Kentucky.... This is the year Kentucky's first round victory streak ends
Stanford over Cornell
Miami over St.Mary's
Texas over Austin Peay
WEST
UCLA over Mississippi Valley State
BYU over Texas A&M
Drake over Western Kentucky
UConn over San Diego
Purdue over Baylor
Xavier over Georgia
Arizona over West Virgina.....upset special!
Duke over Belmont
There we have it...round one, book it!
Friday, March 7, 2008
March Madness
Welcome to one of the most exciting times in college basketball...March Madness! Which means, its conference tournament time, and right here you have a winner for each conference along with some small side notes. Let's jump right into it starting with....
ACC
Winner: North Carolina. Of course, arch rival Duke may have something to say about it, however I am not sold on the Blue devils. They rely too much on three point shooting, and in the tournaments, that is just not going to cut it. Carolina is lead by player of the year candidate Tyler Hansbrough, who averages 23 points, 10 rebounds and is shooting 55% from the field. He put the team on his back when injured captain Ty Lawson was out. Now that Lawson is back, the Tar Heels are not simply looking to win the conference, they are eyeing a national title.
Of Note: The University of Miami has been the surprise team in the ACC this year. They play excellent defense, and they beat Duke for the first time ever in a victory on February 20th. The hurricanes will make some noise in the conference tourney.
BIG 12
Winner: Texas. The conventional thinking is that Kansas will win this conference, but I'm not buying it. Everyone knows how good PG DJ Augustin is, averaging almost 20 points and 6 assists per game. What everyone doesn't know is that the Longhorns have lots of other speed and athleticism in guard AJ Abrams (16.4 ppg) and forward Damon James (13ppg, and 10.5 rpg).
Of Note: You cannot talk about the Big 12 without mentioning Kansas State freshman Michael Beasly who is averaging 27 points and 12 rebounds per game. He broke Carmello Anthony's freshman record for double-doubles, and is set to be the number one pick in the NBA draft. He alone is going to be good enough for an upset or two throughout this tournament.
BIG EAST
Winner: Louisville. The Cardinals are lead by David Padgett as one of the most well-rounded teams in the country. They have four players who average double figures in scoring each game, and could be bound for the Final Four.
Of Note: This is the most wide open conference in the country. The Georgetown Hoyas are tied with Louisville for best in the conference before the tournament, but they seem to be lacking the hustle and tenacity to win it. Next in line is where it gets sticky. Notre Dame, UConn, Marquette, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh all are talented teams that can play with anyone. This is going to be fun to watch.
BIG 10
Winner: Indiana. This has been the year of the freshmen, and the Hoosiers have a good one in guard Eric Gordon (21ppg). He has great backup in forward DJ White (17ppg/10rpg) and they are playing inspired basketball. They have had an emotional year and lost coach Kelvin Sampson. They have Sampson's initials on their shoes and have been playing in his honor since he left. They use this as motivation and will use it in this tournament, and the big dance.
Of Note: Although currently Wisconsin is atop the standings in the Big Ten, they seem very vulnerable. They lost both games against Purdue and could have easily lost a handful of others. Although they did not actually lose those games, the way they have been winning will not be good enough to win the conference title.
C-USA
Winner: Memphis. No conference opponent has been able to knock off the Tigers this season, and the tournament will be no different. Memphis is the only team in the conference that will have multiple players playing in the NBA (Chris Douglas-Roberts, Derrick Rose, Joey Dorsey). They use their superior talent to impose their will on every conference team.
Of Note: UAB is the only team to come close to a victory over Memphis, when they lost in the final seconds 79-78 after a traditional three point play by Chris Douglas Roberts. The Blazers are lead by guard/forward Robert Vaden, he averages 22ppg. Memphis only shoots free throws at a pathetic 58%, and also appears a bit immature. Although UAB could pull the upset, they won't.
SEC
Winner: Tennessee. Honestly, the SEC is having a down year overall and Tennessee was the number one team in the country...for one day. After winning a huge game against Memphis in Memphis, they lost to Vanderbilt. That being said, Bruce Pearl has quite possibly his best team ever since he has been the coach on the Rocky Top. Guard Chris Lofton will lead his team to a SEC championship.
Of Note: Kentucky is 11-4 in conference play this season after a rocky start to the season. Vanderbilt is also looking to make some noise in this tournament. The Commodores have 25 wins this season, and have Shane Oliver averaging 20.6ppg. Both these teams have struggled at times, but are still very capable of making a run.
PAC 10
Winner: UCLA. The Bruins have a fantastic freshman in big man Kevin Love (17ppg/11rpg) and also have a great guard in Darren Collison. The Pac 10 has a few good teams, but none good enough to knock off the Bruins. They have been road warriors this season, with and astounding 9-1 record on the road. Their controversial victory over Stanford shows me that the ball is bouncing their way, and they will ultimately come through.
Of Note: It can be said that the refs beat Stanford instead of UCLA but, the calls were bad on both sides throughout the game. Washington State plays great team basketball, and USC has OJ Mayo. But none can top the combination of Love and Collison.
ACC
Winner: North Carolina. Of course, arch rival Duke may have something to say about it, however I am not sold on the Blue devils. They rely too much on three point shooting, and in the tournaments, that is just not going to cut it. Carolina is lead by player of the year candidate Tyler Hansbrough, who averages 23 points, 10 rebounds and is shooting 55% from the field. He put the team on his back when injured captain Ty Lawson was out. Now that Lawson is back, the Tar Heels are not simply looking to win the conference, they are eyeing a national title.
Of Note: The University of Miami has been the surprise team in the ACC this year. They play excellent defense, and they beat Duke for the first time ever in a victory on February 20th. The hurricanes will make some noise in the conference tourney.
BIG 12
Winner: Texas. The conventional thinking is that Kansas will win this conference, but I'm not buying it. Everyone knows how good PG DJ Augustin is, averaging almost 20 points and 6 assists per game. What everyone doesn't know is that the Longhorns have lots of other speed and athleticism in guard AJ Abrams (16.4 ppg) and forward Damon James (13ppg, and 10.5 rpg).
Of Note: You cannot talk about the Big 12 without mentioning Kansas State freshman Michael Beasly who is averaging 27 points and 12 rebounds per game. He broke Carmello Anthony's freshman record for double-doubles, and is set to be the number one pick in the NBA draft. He alone is going to be good enough for an upset or two throughout this tournament.
BIG EAST
Winner: Louisville. The Cardinals are lead by David Padgett as one of the most well-rounded teams in the country. They have four players who average double figures in scoring each game, and could be bound for the Final Four.
Of Note: This is the most wide open conference in the country. The Georgetown Hoyas are tied with Louisville for best in the conference before the tournament, but they seem to be lacking the hustle and tenacity to win it. Next in line is where it gets sticky. Notre Dame, UConn, Marquette, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh all are talented teams that can play with anyone. This is going to be fun to watch.
BIG 10
Winner: Indiana. This has been the year of the freshmen, and the Hoosiers have a good one in guard Eric Gordon (21ppg). He has great backup in forward DJ White (17ppg/10rpg) and they are playing inspired basketball. They have had an emotional year and lost coach Kelvin Sampson. They have Sampson's initials on their shoes and have been playing in his honor since he left. They use this as motivation and will use it in this tournament, and the big dance.
Of Note: Although currently Wisconsin is atop the standings in the Big Ten, they seem very vulnerable. They lost both games against Purdue and could have easily lost a handful of others. Although they did not actually lose those games, the way they have been winning will not be good enough to win the conference title.
C-USA
Winner: Memphis. No conference opponent has been able to knock off the Tigers this season, and the tournament will be no different. Memphis is the only team in the conference that will have multiple players playing in the NBA (Chris Douglas-Roberts, Derrick Rose, Joey Dorsey). They use their superior talent to impose their will on every conference team.
Of Note: UAB is the only team to come close to a victory over Memphis, when they lost in the final seconds 79-78 after a traditional three point play by Chris Douglas Roberts. The Blazers are lead by guard/forward Robert Vaden, he averages 22ppg. Memphis only shoots free throws at a pathetic 58%, and also appears a bit immature. Although UAB could pull the upset, they won't.
SEC
Winner: Tennessee. Honestly, the SEC is having a down year overall and Tennessee was the number one team in the country...for one day. After winning a huge game against Memphis in Memphis, they lost to Vanderbilt. That being said, Bruce Pearl has quite possibly his best team ever since he has been the coach on the Rocky Top. Guard Chris Lofton will lead his team to a SEC championship.
Of Note: Kentucky is 11-4 in conference play this season after a rocky start to the season. Vanderbilt is also looking to make some noise in this tournament. The Commodores have 25 wins this season, and have Shane Oliver averaging 20.6ppg. Both these teams have struggled at times, but are still very capable of making a run.
PAC 10
Winner: UCLA. The Bruins have a fantastic freshman in big man Kevin Love (17ppg/11rpg) and also have a great guard in Darren Collison. The Pac 10 has a few good teams, but none good enough to knock off the Bruins. They have been road warriors this season, with and astounding 9-1 record on the road. Their controversial victory over Stanford shows me that the ball is bouncing their way, and they will ultimately come through.
Of Note: It can be said that the refs beat Stanford instead of UCLA but, the calls were bad on both sides throughout the game. Washington State plays great team basketball, and USC has OJ Mayo. But none can top the combination of Love and Collison.
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