| Almost two weeks ago, on March 7th, I predicted who the
sweet sixteen would be before some regular seasons had ended, before some
conference tournaments had begun, and four days before the brackets were
announced. I did this under the theory that the best teams usually made
the sweet sixteen and match-ups were almost inconsequential.
The results bear it out
as my sweet sixteen I picked early was almost as good as the one I picked
the day after the brackets were announced.
First, the correct picks:
Stanford beat NC-Greensboro and survived St. Joe's (more on this later),
Duke beat Monmouth and Missouri, Michigan State beat Alabama State and
Fresno State, Illinois beat Northwestern State and Charlotte, Arizona beat
Eastern Illinois and Butler, Maryland survived a scare from George Mason
and handled Lefty and Georgia State, Mississippi had close calls with Iona
and Notre Dame, and Kentucky held off a game Holy Cross and dominated
Iowa.
There were close calls
and runaways but eight out of sixteen is not a bad record. I fell victim
to match-ups with 3 pairs of teams matched in the same bracket. Only one
of those games was of any consequence however (Stanford-St. Joe's). Here
is what went wrong with the other seven.
Two of the remaining
eight won their first round game. The other five were one and done:
One and Done: Wisconsin
ran into fate with Lefty destined to play Maryland in a classic match that
never materialized. Ohio State just couldn't shoot against Utah State.
Virginia lost a heartbreaker to perennial underdog (and sweet sixteen
member) Gonzaga. Iowa State lost the shocker of the tournament to Hampton.
Hofstra led at halftime against UCLA, but folded with only 15 points in
the second half.
Second round losses:
North Carolina lost to Penn State… no, not in football, in basketball and
at the end, it wasn't all that close. Twenty-One points… Florida lost to
Temple by twenty-one points. Go figure, because I sure can't. Where did
the Gators go on Sunday? How many people west of Pennsylvania had Temple
beating Texas and Florida? Three guys in Boise. That's it.
One note about St.
Joseph's, they got screwed by the tournament committee. They were a top
twenty-five team for much of the year. That should have given them at
least a seven seed. A nine seed was ridiculous and because of that, you
got rid of one of the top teams in the nation much too early in the
tournament. St. Joe's had a legitimate shot at Stanford but just couldn't
pull it off.
So, eight of sixteen. Not
bad. The average I have seen is around ten. With a few breaks I could have
had ten also. I think it goes a lot towards proving my point that the best
teams, regardless of match-ups, advance in the tourney. By the way, my
Final Four pick was Stanford, Michigan State, Arizona, and Kentucky. Still
very possible. My championship game pick was Stanford over Michigan
State... Maybe my clairvoyance is just heating up.
I would pick a final four
and champion based on the brackets, but I believe it would be the same as
my picks prior to the seedings. I will pick the elite eight, though. Of
course Stanford, Arizona, Kentucky, and Michigan State make it along with
Illinois, Temple, Duke, and Maryland.
Possible upset? If I were
to pick the most likely upset, it would be Temple over Michigan State.
Temple is playing unbelievably and Chaney has them thinking they can do
anything.
A quick apology to the
Pac-10. You guys had a MUCH better conference this year than many gave you
credit for. I knew you were strong at the top, I didn't figure any depth
would be apparent. I was very wrong. There I said it. Print it out,
because I may not say it ever again.
Later...
Article first appeared at www.e-sports.com
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