Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Onto the Regionals...
I'm pretty happy with the young Gators pulling out a huge win in the desert last night to make it to New York. On the other hand, I'm still stunned by the 26-point el foldo act the Orange pulled immediately before. The only good thing about that is that I'm not faced with watching a UF-SU semifinal. I can now cheer wholeheartedly for the Gators to beat UMass.
As for the big tournament, I needed to pull the trigger on some more upsets. I also need to put Clemson on my Kansas/Pitt list of teams to never pick. I was thinking that if Syracuse had beaten Villanova in the Big East tournament rubber match and made the field, they would probably have also made the Sweet Sixteen if placed in that Tampa pod. The Orange-Tiger game would've been an epic watch, which team would manage to choke it away first?
My first weekend record of 28-20 stinks. I lost one Final Four team (Georgetown) and one Elite Eight squad (Duke).
Round 1: 20-12 (22-10 last year)
Round 2: 8-8 (12-4 last year)
As for this year's regional semis, here are my updated picks.
Thursday - Charlotte
North Carolina over Washington State One thing is for sure, the Heels aren't going to score 100 plus in this one. The Cougs just won't have enough offense to pull it out. Plus, the crowd will be a factor working against them.
Louisville over Tennessee I picked Butler to knock off the Vols, and they came tantalizingly close to making me look smart for the first time this tournament. I then picked the Cards to take out the Bulldogs. The Vols have point guard issues and Chris Lofton has a minor leg injury, while the Cards have for the most part rolled through the last month. A more disciplined Louisville squad further exposes the Vols' shortcomings to move on.
Thursday - Phoenix
Xavier over West Virginia I was very tempted to take the Mountaineers here, since this is a fairly even matchup talent-wise. The only problem is the fact that WVU fouls A LOT, and Xavier does a good job of making their free throws.
UCLA over Western Kentucky The only chance the Hilltoppers have is for Courtney Lee, Tyrone Brazelton, and A.J. Slaughter to hit about 30 threes. Kevin Love creates an matchup problem that WKU won't have an answer for. Plus, if all else fails for the Bruins, they'll probably have the refs on their side. I don't see any close calls handing them victory, however.
Friday - Detroit
Davidson over Wisconsin I may be a little nuts for picking this one. I just think that if the Wildcats can handle Georgetown, they can also handle the Badgers. Stephen Curry will probably be double or triple-teamed all night, but he'll still get his shot, and his teammates are going to get opportunities because of all the attention focused on the Babyfaced Assassin. The only concern I have is that Wisky will have had five days to prepare, and they already are one of the best defensive teams left.
Kansas over Villanova Kansas has way too much of everything for the Wildcats. Plus, this Nova team is shooting far better than it did during the season, which can't last (and probably won't heading into the bad shooting environment they'll encounter at Ford Field).
Friday - Houston
Texas over Stanford Two keys for the Longhorns: superior guard play and smarter defense on the Lopez twins than Marquette played. Of course, I predicted Marquette would beat the Cardinal based on guard play, but D.J. Augustin is otherworldly for a college point guard and Texas does a great job of holding onto the ball at each position.
Memphis over Michigan State Tom Izzo could try the "Hack a Tiger" strategy here. The Spartans chances will hinge on how well their outside shooters adjust to shooting in the dome environment. It shouldn't matter, as the Tigers overall athleticism and skill will get them to another regional final, however.
Elite Eight picks Saturday.
As for the big tournament, I needed to pull the trigger on some more upsets. I also need to put Clemson on my Kansas/Pitt list of teams to never pick. I was thinking that if Syracuse had beaten Villanova in the Big East tournament rubber match and made the field, they would probably have also made the Sweet Sixteen if placed in that Tampa pod. The Orange-Tiger game would've been an epic watch, which team would manage to choke it away first?
My first weekend record of 28-20 stinks. I lost one Final Four team (Georgetown) and one Elite Eight squad (Duke).
Round 1: 20-12 (22-10 last year)
Round 2: 8-8 (12-4 last year)
As for this year's regional semis, here are my updated picks.
Thursday - Charlotte
North Carolina over Washington State One thing is for sure, the Heels aren't going to score 100 plus in this one. The Cougs just won't have enough offense to pull it out. Plus, the crowd will be a factor working against them.
Louisville over Tennessee I picked Butler to knock off the Vols, and they came tantalizingly close to making me look smart for the first time this tournament. I then picked the Cards to take out the Bulldogs. The Vols have point guard issues and Chris Lofton has a minor leg injury, while the Cards have for the most part rolled through the last month. A more disciplined Louisville squad further exposes the Vols' shortcomings to move on.
Thursday - Phoenix
Xavier over West Virginia I was very tempted to take the Mountaineers here, since this is a fairly even matchup talent-wise. The only problem is the fact that WVU fouls A LOT, and Xavier does a good job of making their free throws.
UCLA over Western Kentucky The only chance the Hilltoppers have is for Courtney Lee, Tyrone Brazelton, and A.J. Slaughter to hit about 30 threes. Kevin Love creates an matchup problem that WKU won't have an answer for. Plus, if all else fails for the Bruins, they'll probably have the refs on their side. I don't see any close calls handing them victory, however.
Friday - Detroit
Davidson over Wisconsin I may be a little nuts for picking this one. I just think that if the Wildcats can handle Georgetown, they can also handle the Badgers. Stephen Curry will probably be double or triple-teamed all night, but he'll still get his shot, and his teammates are going to get opportunities because of all the attention focused on the Babyfaced Assassin. The only concern I have is that Wisky will have had five days to prepare, and they already are one of the best defensive teams left.
Kansas over Villanova Kansas has way too much of everything for the Wildcats. Plus, this Nova team is shooting far better than it did during the season, which can't last (and probably won't heading into the bad shooting environment they'll encounter at Ford Field).
Friday - Houston
Texas over Stanford Two keys for the Longhorns: superior guard play and smarter defense on the Lopez twins than Marquette played. Of course, I predicted Marquette would beat the Cardinal based on guard play, but D.J. Augustin is otherworldly for a college point guard and Texas does a great job of holding onto the ball at each position.
Memphis over Michigan State Tom Izzo could try the "Hack a Tiger" strategy here. The Spartans chances will hinge on how well their outside shooters adjust to shooting in the dome environment. It shouldn't matter, as the Tigers overall athleticism and skill will get them to another regional final, however.
Elite Eight picks Saturday.
