It's a mad, mad, mad, mad March

I have a lot to be grateful for right now. I’m healthy, I’m receiving an adequate education, I’m employed (at two different places) and it’s my favorite time of the year. Life should be good.

But there is one thing that is infuriating me like a fresh batch of mosquito bites. You see, I scheduled my week so that I would be able to see as many NCAA hoops games as possible. By getting my homework done Monday through Wednesday, I’ll have nothing to do at the end of the week other than relaxing in Upset City. Because spring break starts as soon as the school-week ends, I’m going up to Minnesota to visit a fellow hoop-lover. And to maximize my basketball watching, I’m riding an overnight bus that leaves Chicago at 10:30 p.m. By doing that, I’ll be able to watch almost every first round game of the weekend. Strategy wise, it’s about the equivalent of the Bulls putting Scottie Pippen on Marc Jackson in the ’98 Eastern Conference Finals or Barack Obama using the word ‘Change’ as his campaign motto.

Only one problem: The only game I really NEED to see, the one involving my beloved Fighting Illini, starts at 9 p.m. Thursday. It’s the very last game of the day. Of all the times they could have been chosen to play at, Illinois ended up with the one that I can’t see. Since it takes 15 minutes for me to get to Union Station from my place, and the bus company requests riders arrive 15 minutes early, it means me leaving at like 9:50. So unless the Illini are up 20 with five minutes to go in the first half, I’ll spend the entire walk/wait/early part of the ride wondering how the orange and blue did.*

*That’s a lie. Regardless of the score when I leave, I’ll spend the entire time until somebody calls me wondering what’s going on. When I was in Spain in December during the final week of the NFL season, I spent an entire afternoon at a famous Spanish castle thinking about what Kyle Orton was doing in thousands of miles away. I just can’t train my brain to let stuff go. This Illin team especially can’t be trusted, they’ve blown too many games over the course of the season.

Anyways, if my bracket holds true to form, I’ll still be able to watch the Illini once more this season. And trust me, that is not something to be grateful for.



Speaking of my bracket, here once again (See 2007 and 2008) are my NCAA Tournament picks. Feel free to copy whatever you’d like, assuming you share 10% of your winnings with me and realize I haven’t picked the correct champion since UConn cut down the nets in 2004. Good luck.


Midwest

1- Louisville over 16- Morehead State
8- Ohio State over 9- Sienna
5- Utah over 12- Arizona
4- Wake Forrest over 13- Cleveland State
6- West Virginia over 11- Dayton
3- Kansas over 14- North Dakota State
7- Boston College over 10- USC
2- Michigan State over 15- Robert Morris

1- Louisville over 8- Ohio State
4- Wake Forest over 5- Utah
6- West Virginia over 3- Kansas
2- Michigan State over 7- Boston College

1- Louisville over 4- Wake Forest
2- Michigan State over 6- West Virginia

1- Louisville over 2- Michigan State

BREAKDOWN: Call this the region that chalk created. As you can see, I have only one upset in the entire Midwest, and a 3 vs. 6 game rarely counts as a shocker. Louisville has the most talent of these 16 teams, and with the attacking style of Rick Pitino, they should be able to run and press teams out of the gym. If I’m wrong with anything in this region, it’s the Sweet 16 game between the ‘Ville and Wake Forest. I really love Jeff Teague, and if they are draining outside shot, the Deamons Deacons could be Final Four-worthy.

West

1-UConn over 16- Chatanooga
9- Texas A&M over 8- BYU
5- Purdue over 12- Northern Iowa
4- Washington over 13- Mississippi State
11- Utah State over 6- Marquette
3- Missouri over 14- Cornell
7- California over 10- Maryland
2- Memphis over 15- CSU Northridge

1- UConn over 9- Texas A&M
4- Washington over 5- Purdue
3- Missouri over 11- Utah State
2- Memphis over 7- California

1- UConn over 4- Washington
2- Memphis over 3- Missouri

2- Memphis over 1- UConn

BREAKDOWN: Another region that Cinderella forgot, I am more sure about this Elite 8 matchup being correct than anything else in this entire bracket. The Huskies (UConn, not Washington) and Tigers (Memphis, not Mizzou) are clearly the two best teams out West and should cruise into this showdown. Expect another regional final like the one between UCLA and Memphis three years ago, when neither team scored more than 55 points. Both Connecticut and Memphis play great defense, putting points at a premium. I’ll take the Tigers, whose athleticism on D is downright scary, over the Huskies, who have the nation’s best shot blocker in Hasheem Thabeet.

East

1- Pittsburgh over 16- E. Tennessee State
8- Oklahoma State over 9- Tennessee
12- Wisconsin over 5- Florida State
4- Xavier over 13- Portland State
11- VCU over 6- UCLA
3- Villanova over 14- American
7- Texas over 10- Minnesota
2- Duke over 15- Binghamton

1- Pittsburgh over 8- Oklahoma State
4- Xavier over 12- Wisconsin
3- Villanova over 11- VCU
2- Duke over 7- Texas

1-Pittsburgh over 4- Xavier
3- Villanova over 2- Duke

3- Villanova over 1- Pittsburgh

BREAKDOWN: Once again, I like all four top seeds to advance to the second weekend. The Pitt-Xavier game should be a good one, but I’m not sure any Musketeer can handle DeJuan Blair and Sam Young down low. The other Sweet 16 game, Duke-‘Nova, will also be outstanding, due to the great perimeter play each team brings to the table. I think the Wildcats play better defense, a reason I like them advance. In the Elite Eight, it was essentially a toss-up, but I went with the Wildcats on the basis of their outside shooting and Blair’s problems with foul trouble against athletic teams.

South

1- North Carolina over 16- Radford
8- LSU over 9- Butler
5- Illinois over 12- Western Kentucky
4- Gonzaga over 13- Akron
6- Arizona State over 11- Temple
3- Syracuse over 14- Stephen F. Austin
10- Michigan over 7- Clemson
2- Oklahoma over 15- Morgan State

1- North Carolina over 8- LSU
4- Gonzaga over 5- Illinois
6- Arizona State over 3- Syracuse
10- Michigan over 2- Oklahoma

1- North Carolina over 4- Gonzaga
6- Arizona State over 10- Michigan

1- North Carolina over 6- Arizona State

BREAKDOWN: Don’t ask me how I came up with these upsets, I think it was part research, part me wanting to be a little bit different. I’m not 100% confident on all of them, but at the same time, I really like Michigan’s matchup with Oklahoma and I could see the Sun Devils giving Syracuse some problems. The key, as has been written on hundreds of other sites, is the health of North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson’s toe. If it’s 90-100%, the Tar Heels drive off to Detroit. If it’s lower than that, anything can happen.

National Semifinals

2- Memphis over 1- Louisville
1- North Carolina over 3- Villanova

BREAKDOWN: Assuming Lawson is good to go, the Heels will make life hell for Villanova. When teams try to run versus UNC, they realize rather quickly they can’t keep up, and I see the Wildcats having that problem. The other game will be an interesting chess game between two of college basketball’s shrewdest coaches: Rick Pitino and John Calipari. In the end though, I like the experience and explosiveness of the Tigers.

National Championship

2- Memphis over 1- North Carolina

BREAKDOWN: The Tar Heels are better at nearly every spot on the floor and like I said about their Villanova game, UNC is the very best at teasing teams intro running with them and then turning their Usain Bolt on and blowing right by. That being said, I refuse to pick favorites in the NCAA Tournament, and I think most people’s minds are Carolina Blue. So instead, I’m taking Memphis to cut down the nets after coming so close in 2008