I love the NCAA tournament. To me, it is the best sporting event of the year. 65 teams playing basketball, it's sort of a free-for-all. Anyway, just a couple of quick preliminary thoughts on teams of local interest.
Minnesota - NIT-bound, but rate mention because they have improved drastically with Tubby Smith as the coach. And, Blake Hoffarber's buzzer-beater against Indiana in the Big Ten tournament was the most exciting thing to happen in Gopher basketball in quite some time. For what it's worth, Minnesota is playing Maryland in the first round of the NIT. Maryland has been on the skids lately, losing 5 of their last 6. Here's a tip for Maryland: wear Illinois uniforms. But, I think with Tubby Smith at the helm, the Gophers will be a team that will get to the NCAA tournament as soon as next year.
Wisconsin - They are the 3-seed in the Midwest and start out with Cal State-Fullerton, which is probably better known for its baseball team (meanwhile Wisconsin doesn't have baseball). I don't know that they shouldn't have been a 2-seed, but the Big Ten apparently is on its way to being a mid-major, so I guess a 3-seed isn't bad. The upside is that if they get to the Sweet 16, they could have a somewhat friendly crowd in Detroit. The downside is that Kansas is the #1 seed. If Wisconsin somehow gets to Kansas, I think the Jayhawks run them out of the gym. And, that's only if they get past Georgetown. But, they don't seem to get any respect nationally. It seems a lot of prognosticators think the USC-Kansas State winner will beat Wisconsin.
Marquette - They are the 6-seed in the South and get to play Kentucky. I can't get a good read on Kentucky. Going 12-4 in the SEC is a big deal, but they didn't do much out of conference. Also, they were one of Georgia's victims in the Bulldogs' unbelievable run through the SEC tournament. As for Marquette, they have the guard play to make a run, but the Golden Eagles just got through a bruising run through the Big East. And, MU hasn't been consistent lately. I think they beat Kentucky, but are going to have a hard time beating Stanford. At this point, it would be nice for a Tom Crean-coached team to get past the first round without Dwyane Wade.
As for the national title, without having analyzed the bracket that much as of yet, I can't say for sure. But, I am really impressed with Kansas. I am also pretty impressed with North Carolina, although Clemson gave them a game today. I may come back with some first round picks for games that interest me.
Regardless, this is the best sporting event of the year. I like it more than the World Series or the Super Bowl, or the BCS (which sucks).
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3 comments:
Good post, Mikey - I have linked over at my place.
So this may be OT but why not? Your March 4 post leads me to beleive that the source for yours and my illnesses started in Barneveld. Damn the luck. I too, missed work. But not until after I endured two full days at UWEC teaching. How I ever made it through is the stuff of legends. I did find it difficult to keep the students on task after Favre's announcement. It reminded me of Sep 11, 2001. Strange, but true.
Nice to see the Stinger Nation on the Web.
Mark - Thanks for the link...again!
Paulie - Yeah, it was definitely in Barneveld that I got sick. Actually, I got a cold in Madison when I was there for the Birthday Bash. So, that's 2-for-2 in Madison-area trips in '08 where I got sick.
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