The Final Four...

Wow. Yesterday had to one of the best days for college basketball in a long time. Their was a bit of everything: overtimes, big-time upsets (sorry Hoya and Vandy fans), and game-winning shots (Hello Ali Farokhmanesh, Ishmael Smith, and Danero Thomas). Thankfully I didn't lose any of my Final Four teams yesterday (which would have made this post a little more embarrassing/awkward). So without further ado, here is how I think (know) things will play out in Indianapolis:

On the left side of the bracket, we have a familiar matchup in Kansas vs. Kansas State. Look for both team's fans to make the trip to see this rivalry game play out on the big stage. Kansas has won all three games this year, but it's the Final Four now, so none of those really matter. Kansas St. was definitely not expected to reach this point, so they will really be playing with nothing to lose. Kansas would be disappointed if they don't have a chance to get back to the title game, with all the preseason hype and them being the #1 overall seed. All these factors that put the pressure on Kansas point to the potential for a K-State upset right? Wrong. Kansas is not going to get nervous being on the big stage, having been in the same situation two years ago, and having gone through a humbling experience losing to Michigan St last year. They are ready to seal the deal once again, and look for them to come out fighting and jump on Kansas St. before holding on to win.

The second matchup is also not without it's share of intrigue. Kentucky's diaper dandies have relied on talent and not experience to get to Indianapolis, while Baylor is in completely uncharted territories. Baylor can match Kentucky's three-some of Wall, Cousins, and Patterson with it's less heralded, but immensely talented trio of Tweety Carter, LaceDarius Dunn, and Ekpe Udoh. And the Bears also have some frontcourt depth to bang with the Wildcats, having two other seven footers on their roster that get playing time. But as we saw yesterday in the Kentucky game, Kentucky has so many more scoring threats such as underrated guard Eric Bledsoe (who made 8 three-pointers yesterday) and Darius Miller. Baylor doesn't have the ammunition to keep up for a full fourty minutes in this one. It should be a close game until the end, with Kentucky pulling away to seal the win and meet Kansas in the final.

Kansas vs. Kentucky. Two of the most storied programs in the history of college basketball. The top two teams this year. Self vs. Calipari part 2. Future NBA draft picks all over the floor. It's the game that everyone has been waiting for. Honestly at this point, you'd have to nitpick pretty hard to extract any kind of difference in talent between the two teams. So the deciding factor has to be experience. Kansas has this, while only Kentucky's coach has it. The Baby Wildcats have grown up mightily throughout the tournament, but this is the biggest of big in college basketball. They are too talented to not keep the game close, but I see this game being eerily similar to the Kansas-Memphis game two years. Look for suspect free-throw shooting from Kentucky down the stretch to put Kansas over the top.



Must be nice to be a Kansas basketball fan.

March Madness: South Region Preview...

All you Duke haters, start your engines. Duke somehow managed to be the third #1 seed (how are they higher than Syracuse??) AND have the easiest path to the Final Four. This region is so much easier than any other one it isn't even funny. Let me break this down: You have the most overrated one seed, a reeling two seed in Villanova, a 3 seed in Baylor that is talented but totally unproven and only a few years removed from being really really bad. Then you have a Purdue, which lost it's last game by like 1000 points and clearly is not the same team without Robby Hummel, followed by Texas A&M, which has not gone past the second round in forever, and Notre Dame, which must have collaborated with Duke on how to undeservingly get a high seed because they weren't even in the tournament a month ago. I would venture to say that this might be the first time in the history of the bracket that seeds 1-13 have a chance to get to the Final Four. That might lead to some interesting results, but it doesn't make it easy when we're filling our brackets.

Other observations on the region:
-Everybody loves to pick against Duke, but they have actually been pretty solid this year, sharing the regular season ACC title and winning the ACC conference tourney. If anything, the lack of an elite challenger should make you feel more comfortable about them getting to Indianapolis. Or you can have them lose in the second round. That's what I'm doing, but I strongly dislike Duke and emotional feelings are usually not a good basis to go on.
-A lot of people are thinking Siena over Purdue, but it might be a safer bet to pick Utah St. to knock out Texas A&M. Coach Stew Morrill always has his teams fundamentally prepared, and A&M will have to play a consistent and turnover-free game to knock off the other Aggies.

It's hard for me to pick against a Villanova team when you have a player as clutch as Scottie Reynolds, but I just don't think this team has the complimentary pieces inside (losing Dante Cunningham was bigger than people think) to get all the way to the Final Four. And I've already discussed how my hatred for Duke inhibits me from picking them. So I'll go with Baylor. They definitely have the talent, with former Michigan defensive stalwart Ekpe Udoh helping to complement the solid (and All-Name) backcourt of Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn. Their mascot is also the Bears, and since my Cal Bears have no realistic chance of getting to the Final Four, I've gotta at least pick a team that has the same mascot.



Oh no you didn't (Actually. Yes you did, Why did you leave Michigan Ekpe? We would have been so good!)

March Madness: West Region Preview...

I don't 100% think that Kansas is going to come out of the Midwest Region. But I definitely have more confidence in that happening than picking any team in this region. Don't get me wrong, this blog loves the Orangemen of Syracuse, but the Onuaku injury makes me feel a bit uneasy about picking them to roll off four straight wins. Not to mention that they got shipped way out West to Salt Lake City, which I'm sure is not a place where there is a plethora of Cuse fans. But the list of challengers in this region isn't exactly inspiring. Kansas State (aka "Oh I'm sorry, did you mean Kansas?"') has a talented backcourt in guards Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente, but has no significant tournament experience. Pitt's Jamie Dixon is one of the best coaches in the country, but he lost a lot of talent from last year's team. Is this group of relatively new faces ready to shine on the biggest stage? They lost their opening-round Big East tournament game, and many analysts don't even think they will make it of of their Milwaukee early round games.

Other observations on this region:
-The lack of a clear-cut pick in this region makes for some exciting early round games. Gonzaga vs. Florida St., Butler vs. UTEP, Xavier vs. Minnesota, and even Vanderbilt vs. Murray St. are all games that could definitely go either way. Be sure to pick some upsets, but good luck figuring out which ones.
-A sleeper team could be BYU. They get to play a Florida team that might have payed off the selection committee to receive a ten seed. If they can get by Kansas State, they will also be playing the rest of the way in front of a BYU crowd in Salt Lake City. It's extremely tough to win on BYU's home turf (even if this isn't technically it). They also have a stud guard whose name is Jimmer Fredette. Props to his parents on that one.

Like I've said, no easy choice here, but I'll go with K-State (sorry Rockstar). In the event that they play Syracuse, they have the size and athleticism to match up with Cuse. And neither team has much depth, so that matchup is practically a wash. Plus, fear the beard!!!

March Madness: Midwest Region Preview...

Kansas did what it was supposed to do. It started and finished the regular season as the best team in the country. The selection committee apparently thought so highly of this accomplishment that they gave Kansas the most-stacked region, with Kansas needing to potentially beat teams such as Ohio State, Georgetown, Maryland, or Michigan State. Ohio State was the Big 10 Champ and would have assuredly been a top seed if Evan Turner hadn't missed a stretch of games earlier in the season, while Georgetown happened to be five seconds away from winning the ridiculously intense Big East Championship. I haven't even gotten into the fact that the two teams that Kansas lost to this year (Tennessee and Oklahoma St.) are also in this region. That is just a cruel punishment that should never be bestowed upon the #1 team, no matter who it is.

Other observations on this region:
-Not sure what to expect in the 6-11 game. Tennessee is more unpredictable than Brett Favre's retirement plans, having beaten two of the #1 seeds while also losing to teams like Georgia. They also just got hammered by Kentucky. San Diego St., on the other hand, is on a roll after getting through a pretty strong gauntlet of Mountain West Conference teams to win the conference tourney. So why do I feel like Tennessee is going to win big?
-Keep an eye on Houston. They feature one of the nations more explosive players in guard Aubrey Coleman, and they're on a roll after coming out of nowhere to win the C-USA tournament.

In the end, it's just too hard to pick against Kansas. They have everything you're looking for in a team, with experience, talent, and a big-time performer in PG Sherron Collins.




Plus, their half of the bracket is a little more manageable than Ohio St.'s or Georgetown's, which would have to play each other first. Also, the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 are right in St. Louis, and that's pretty much a home game for the Jayhawks. Finally, I can't pick Ohio St. to get to the Final Four. It's like going against my blood.