Well, here were are. It's the day after the NCAA selection committee pieced together yet another bunch of powerhouses, cinderellas, and no chancers who make up the annual NCAA Tournament. And of course, that can mean only one thing: Dudes all over the country are wracking their brain trying to figure out what to do with their brackets. I filled one out first thing this morning and the results disgusted me. In my elite eight I had two three seeds as my lowest seeds remaining. And of course an all #1 final four with UCLA winning it all. IT NEVER HAPPENS THAT WAY! So why bother handing this in?
I need a different strategy this year. With the immergence of "Mid-Majors" in recent years, it just doesn't make sense to pick all the highest seeds to advance to the final four. Good example, look at George Mason last year. They were tournament studs, which is why I am going to pick them to advance the sweet 16 again. Remember when Gonzaga was just a Cinderella team? Now they are a legitimate program with expectations of tournament success. Look at teams like Butler and Drake. These are nationally ranked teams, just like the big programs. I think you see where I'm going with this.
This is what I'm going to do. I am going with a small school bracket. And we'll see how they fare. Can Oral Roberts knock of Pitt? Can St. Joe's knock off Oklahoma? Can St. Mary's knock off Miami? Can Maryland-Baltimore County knock off Georgetown? i hope the answer to all of those is YES because I'm picking them...well maybe except for the Georgetown game. Is UMBC a community college?
I'm looking for George Mason, Winthrop and Butler to make some noise in the East.
I'm looking for Siena and Davidson in the Midwest.
I'm looking for Oral Roberts (Oral Bob as Rockweezy calls them) and St. Mary's out of the South.
And I like Drake or Western Kentucky in the West (they play each other in the first round)
Long live Bryce Drew and Valpo!
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1 comment:
I wouldn't count on another George Mason. But I do think MSU is very capable of being this years tourney suprise and here is why:
- this team is as good as the top 10 pre season ranking and has a good tournament style team (3 capable point guards, outside shooters, depth)
- only one loss out of conference this year. MSU is a team that uses a lot of set plays. Big 10 teams study these and know how to defend them. non conference teams will struggle to stop MSU
- MSU plays the first 2 rounds in Denver. Denver probably has the largest Spartan fan base out of Michigan. It will be like a home game.
- MSU lost a lot of games this year due to turnovers and foul trouble. Memphis, a likely sweet 16 opponent, is one of the worst free throw shooting team in the country. Foul away.
- By the time the elite 8 comes around, this team will have all the confidence they need to finish the job.
At the very least, even if Temple sends the Spartans home early, MSU finished better than Michigan.
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