2007 Tournament Preview

My Final Four random thoughts about the brackets before we jump into the preview…

1---Wow. I really thought the Fighting Illini were out of the tournament after their pathetic performance against Wisconsin in the Big 10 semifinals, but somehow the tournament committee not only gave them a bid, they gave them a weak first round opponent. Facing Virginia Tech won’t be easy, since the Hokies did beat North Carolina twice, but in my opinion, they are the weakest of the number five seeds. A second round matchup with coach Bruce Webber’s former employer, Southern Illinois, would be very interesting if both Land of Lincoln teams advance.

2---How on Earth is somebody supposed to make sense out of this field? The committee didn’t even need to give teams seeds, because they are completely meaningless this year. If the 15th best team an the 45th best team in the nation could play each other ten times, I bet it would go five and five. That’s because there is so much talent out there right now, and it is surprisingly spread out. This is why you will also be seeing a lot of people gravitating towards the number one seeds, because those four teams have more depth then the other squads.

3-Considering I didn’t even feel that they were a legitimate championship contender (See my February 28 post), I was quite surprised to see the Florida Gators the number one overall seed. With a record of 29-5 and SEC regular season and tournament titles, the team obviously deserved a one seed. But I don’t see how their resume is better then Kansas (a team they lost too) or Ohio State (a team Florida beat when Greg Oden was still one-handed). The committee was pretty much saying that it didn’t matter that the Gators stopped trying at the end of the regular season, because they earned their seed, and I disagree with that.

4-Some of the analysts I saw on TV and have read in the newspaper this week were very upset that UCLA didn’t receive a number one seed, despite the fact they have been in the top five of the polls all year long. My advice to those people is….pay attention. Not to say that I think UCLA is a bad team or anything, but look at what the Bruins have going for them. There first two games are up the California roads in Sacramento, and if they survive those, they go to the regional in San Jose. To make the Final Four, UCLA will never have to leave the golden state. For those of you that wonder what difference that makes, note that the same thing happened a year ago, when UCLA was also a two seed. They played their first two games in San Diego, there next two in Oakland, and made the Final Four. If I were the number one seed in the West, Kansas, I would not be happy with the idea of facing the lower seeded Bruins in Cali.


For this tournament preview, I have decided NOT to reveal who I am picking in the tournament. I will show my bracket on Thursday morning, but I don’t want anybody who is in one of my pools to know who I like. Instead I will be running down all the matchups and players you need to pay attention to.


MIDWEST
The tournament’s number one overall seed, the defending champion Gators, sit atop this region. Big Ten runners up Wisconsin is the two seed, followed by the champions of the Pac-10 tourney, Oregon. This region features some really good mid-major schools, such as Butler, UNLV and Winthrop.

The ten best players

10- Chase Budinger, Arizona----Doesn’t play a lick of defense, but has an un-real offensive game.
9-Joakim Noah, Florida----The most overrated player in the country, but still a beast on the defensive end.
8-Stephen Curry, Davidson---One of the best scorers that nobody really knows about.
7-Russell Carter, Notre Dame----A great shooter, when he catches fire he can carry the Irish on his back.
6-Carl Landry, Purdue----If he stayed out of foul trouble he would be a lock for a double-double every game.
5-Al Horford, Florida---Does all the things on the offensive end that all the experts say Noah should do.
4-A.J. Graves, Butler----Looks like he could be the second coming of Steve Kerr…yes he shoots the three that well.
3-Aaron Brooks, Oregon----A dynamic point guard that looks to score first, pass second.
2-Corey Brewer, Florida----He can score, he can defend, he can rebound. The Gators most complete player.
1-Alando Tucker, Wisconsin----When he’s shooting the ball well, he can’t be stopped on offense.

Three best possible matchups

Oregon-Notre Dame, round of 32----Both these teams love to run up and down the floor, drain threes and take a break on defense. The over/under combined point total on this one would be somewhere in the 150’s.

Florida-Maryland, Sweet Sixteen----Any time two championship coaches face off, it’s a must-see event. Plus these are two senior led teams that have been playing well lately.

Butler-Wisconsin, Elite Eight----A good, old fashioned drag out Midwestern fight. Both squads feature dynamic scorers and play physical defense.



WEST
In the history of college basketball, Kansas, UCLA, Kentucky, Duke, and Indiana have combined to make a total of 62 Final Fours. There’s a good chance this year that number will go up one, since all those teams are in this monster of a region. That is unless the three seed, Pittsburgh, or the four seed, Southern Illinois, (or the 12th seed Illini) make an incredible run to Atlanta.


The ten best players

10-Deron Washington, Va Tech---The best dunker in the entire country.
9- DJ White, Indiana---A physical player on both the offensive and defensive end. The Hoosiers will go as far as he can take them.
8- Darren Collision, UCLA---He can pass better then most point guards, score better then most point guards, and plays D better then most point guards.
7- Brandon Rush, Kansas---A dynamic scorer who can score from anywhere on the floor. He has also picked up his play on the defensive end.
6- Scottie Reynolds, Villanova---Definitely the best freshman shooting guard in the country. Put up 40 against UConn a few weeks ago.
5- Josh McRoberts, Duke---Probably the Blue Devils best scorer, passer and rebounder.
4- Aaron Grey, Pitt---One of the only true big men in the entire country. He can get pretty much any shot he wants with his back to the basket.
3- Jamaal Tatum, Southern Illinois----One of the great unknown players out there. Averaged 15 points a game for the highly ranked Salukis.
2- Julian Wright, Kansas---It makes sense that the kid from the Chi is the Scottie Pippen of the tournament. He passes and plays the passing lanes better then any other forward in the country.
1- Aaron Aflallo, UCLA---Facing him as a defender must be hell. Facing him as a guy trying to score is even harder.

Three best possible matchups

Kansas-Illinois, Sweet Sixteen---Bill Self facing his former team is enough for me to put this on the list. Once the ball is thrown up though…lets just say it won’t be pretty for us Illini fans.

Duke-Kentucky, Elite Eight----Both teams are in down years, but anytime you can get a matchup of these legendary schools with a Final Four birth on the line, it is must-see TV.

Kansas-UCLA, Elite Eight---Two of the five best teams all season long. The Jayhawks may be the one seed, but with the game in San Jose, I would say this is a dead even matchup.

EAST
In my opinion, this is the best overall region. One seed North Carolina has more talent on their roster then any other squad in the country. Georgetown is on the two line, and they have lost only once since January 17. Washington State is a tough defensive team, Tom Izzo’s Michigan State squad is very difficult to handle, and don’t forget not to mess with Durant, I mean Texas.



The ten best players

10-Kyle Weaver, Washington State----The Cougars leader in assists and rebounds is the ultimate glue guy, somebody that is extremely helpful in this tournament.
9-Derrick Byars, Vanderbilt---Considering who else is in the league, its pretty impressive that he won SEC player of the year. A threat to score any time he touches the ball.
8-Roy Hibbert, Georgetown---At 7-2, he is nearly impossible to guard. And considering he shots about 70% from the field, its obvious nobody has stopped him yet.
7-Brandon Wright, North Carolina----A freak of nature with a wingspan of a seven-footer. The best of the three freshmen UNC starters.
6-Jared Dudley, Boston College---Put up 19 points, 8.3 rebounds a game and shot over 45 percent from 3-point range. One of the toughest players to guard in the nation.
5-Jarius Jackson, Texas Tech---The heart and soul of Bob Knights team, he put up over 20 points a game in the rough and rugged Big 12.
4-Drew Neitzel, Michigan State----He may not look like much, but he can really play. One of the most clutch players in the nation.
3-Tyler Handsbrough, North Carolina---With or without the Rip Hamilton mask, he’s a beast down low.
2-Jeff Green, Georgtown---Almost impossible to guard at 6-9 since he can play near the hoop and shoots well from long distance.
1-Kevin Durant, Texas----Seriously, what am I supposed to say here? Just watch the kid play.

Three best possible matchups

Texas-North Carolina, Sweet 16---Seeing the look on Roy Williams’ face when Kevin Durant drains a couple of 30 ft. three-pointers to start off the game will be priceless.

Michigan State-Texas Tech, Elite Eight---Again, the two title winning coaches makes this game must-see. Also the point guard matchup between Jarius Jackson and Drew Neitzel would be magnificent.

Georgetown-Texas, Elite Eight----Any time the regions two best players are not only on the same court, but are guarding each other, all eyes should be glued to the tube.

SOUTH
Greg Oden and his Buckeyes will get all the attention, but watch out for second seeded Memphis, who should be rested. Texas A&M, if they make the second weekend, will be playing close to home in San Antonino. I really like the Cardinals vs Cardinal (Louisville-Stanford) first round matchup.

Ten best players

10-Terrence Williams, Louisville---A nice player that averages around 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists a game.
9-Jamar Wilson, Albany---It takes a pretty special player to lead a team in points, rebounds and assists per game and Wilson does it all for the Great Danes. (the best nickname in the tournament)
8-Nate Funk, Creighton----Was very impressive in the Missouri Valley Tournament Final. A true leader at the PG position for the Bluejays.
7-Mike Conley Jr, Ohio State----Of all the freshmen point guards out there, I say Conley’s the best. He knows when to score and when to feed the ball to his teammates, especially in crunch time.
6- Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis----The Tigers have so many talented players, it was tough picking just one. Douglas-Roberts is a good all around forward who does a lot of things well.
5-Sean Singletary, Virginia---One of the most exciting guards that most of the country has never seen. Fellow Cavalier J.R. Reynolds isn’t too bad either.
4-Chris Lofton, Tennessee----Reminds me of former Volunteer, Alan Houston. I wouldn’t want to face this guy in H-O-R-S-E, because he can make a shot from anywhere.
3-Nick Fazekas, Nevada---One of those guys who seems like has been in college for like seven years. A good scorer both near and far from the hoop.
2-Greg Oden, Ohio State---Quickly becoming the beast we expected him to be. A forced to be reckoned with both on offense and defense.
1-Acie Law IV, Texas A&M---The basketball comparison to Adam Vinatieri, because ff the game is on the line, you want your money to be on this guy.

Three best possible matchups

Memphis-Louisville, Sweet Sixteen---Former Conference USA rivals facing off would be interesting, especially since coaches John Callapari and Rick Patino don’t really like each other.

Stanford-Ohio State, Elite Eight---A lot has been made about Greg Oden, and he deserves it. But the Cardinal have a pair of nice freshmen big men also in Robin and Brock Lopez.

Texas A&M-Tennessee, Elite Eight----The nations best shooter, Chris Lofton, versus the nations best clutch shooter, Acie Law IV would make for an exciting game.






Coming Thursday will be my complete bracket along with some explanations for my picks.