As always, as a public service to the gambling public, here are my NCAA Tournament predictions. This is how my bracket looks in my espn.com pool. Last year I correctly nailed exactly 0 out of the 4 Final Four teams. I argue it takes talent to be that awful at prognosticating. (In my defense, I had 14 of 16 Sweet 16 teams right. Unfortunately, Duke got rolled by Villanova, KU blew a 12 point halftime lead to Michigan State, Syracuse failed to show up against OU, and MU fell just short to UConn). This year, I'm aiming to at least get one Final Four team. Baby steps.
West Regional:
1 Syracuse over 16 Vermont. The last time these two hooked up in the tourney, Vermont not only ousted my second favorite team in overtime, 90 minutes later, Bucknell took out KU. That was not a happy St. Patrick's Day, let me tell you. Probably good I was drinking heavily.
9 Florida State over 8 Gonzaga. When your worst team in a decade is still an 8 seed, you've had a pretty solid decade.
5 Butler over 12 UTEP. Not seeing the upset. Butler's too good to lose in this spot to a decent Miners team. Plus Houston showed the world how to beat UTEP (hit the jumper from 18-22 feet). Butler's got a ton of guys that can do just that.
4 Vanderbilt over 13 Murray State. Should be a solid game, but I think Vandy finds a way to survive and advance.
11 Minnesota over 6 Xavier. Every year some team with no business being in the field finds a way to win a game or three. The Gophers are this year's team in that category. Seriously, how the hell did Minnesota and Florida get into this thing? Was the bubble really that atrocious? (Yup).
3 Pitt over 14 Oakland. Probably won't tune in for even three seconds of action in this one. On principle I cannot root for any team named "Oakland".
7 BYU over 10 Florida. Florida is the worst at-large team in the field. And they're a 10. Unbelievable. At least they'll be one and done.
2 KSU over 15 North Texas. Can't wait to see what ridiculous shots Denis Clemente nails in this snoozer of a matchup. If you haven't seen the Youtube! clip of Clemente tossing the ball off the overhead video board, having it come back, bounce off the floor, and drain nothing but net, you gotta look it up, its just sick. This kid makes me drool. And I mean that in a good way.
1 Syracuse over 9 Florida State. Tough out for the 'Cuse here though, especially if Onauku can't go. (And yes, I would have done the exact same thing that Boeheim did, and lied through my teeth regarding his availability. Especially seeing how the committee bent Purdue over with their seeding).
5 Butler over 4 Vanderbilt. Love this Bulldogs team. Highly underrated.
11 Minnesota over 3 Pitt. Two tremendous coaches with overachieving squads battle it out. Seems amazing that Tubby hasn't reached a Final Four since 1998. Some classic choke jobs at Kentucky last decade, that's for sure.
2 KSU over 7 BYU. Coin flip game. I'm guessing the crowd helps push KSU over the top in an instant classic. Can't wait to see Fredette v Clemente. And you gotta love the Abe Lincoln beard that Pullen has. Wait, why am I praising a hated rival? Dammit, this team is just too much fun to watch to hate them. Kinda like MU last year.
5 Butler over 1 Syracuse. Syracuse is the weakest of the one seeds. The key to beating the matchup zone is to hit the long range jumper. Butler would already have done that against UTEP and Vanderbilt to get to this point. No reason they can't do it again.
2 KSU over 11 Minnesota. Total coaching contrast: loud and energetic Frank Martin vs comatose, corpse-like Tubby Smith.
2 KSU over 5 Butler. Over / under on the number of cows tipped in Manhattan next Saturday night: 14,567. And I mean actual cows, not the female students that attend KSU. (ka boom boom ching).
Midwest Regional:
1 Kansas over 16 Lehigh. Probably good this is an 8:45 tipoff. Something to fall asleep to.
9 Northern Iowa over 8 UNLV. Honestly, the winner of this game will be KU's toughest out in the region. I don't want any part of Lon Kruger's team. And I don't want any part of Northern Iowa either.
5 Michigan State vs 12 New Mexico State. Izzo's worst team in a while, and they're still a 5 seed. The most underrated stat in college hoops -- every senior class Izzo has ever coached, has played in a Final Four. Call me crazy, but that's good coaching.
13 Houston over 4 Maryland. ACC Player of the Year my ass. I hate, I freaking hate, Grievis Vasquez. I can't even put into words how much I hate Grievis Vasquez.
11 San Diego State over 6 Tennessee. Just keep the shirt on this year, Bruce Pearl. That's all I ask. Well, ok, don't paint the chest either, that was even more disturbing than a head coach going shirtless in the student section.
3 Georgetown over 14 Ohio. Who exactly did Georgetown beat to get a 3 seed? Horrible overseed. But probably won't matter against whoever the hell Ohio is.
10 Georgia Tech over 7 Oklahoma State. This ... is my darkhorse. And its a huge gamble. Georgia Tech is either making a deep run, or they're losing 85-50 in round one. There's no in between with these guys. Here's hoping I guessed right.
2 Ohio State over 15 UC Santa Barbara. Another sleep-inducing Big 10 (plus one) crapfest. Really, as awesome as Evan Turner was last weekend, its such a shame he's stuck in the Big 10 (plus one). You put Turner on a Tennessee, or a Pac 10 team, or any other up-tempo squad, holy God. If only the BuKCs could win the lottery this year and get this guy ...
1 Kansas over 9 Northern Iowa. This game scares the sh*t out of me. Tough, tough out for KU. Thankfully we go last, so the Hawk fans will be liquored up in Bricktown. That, and as painful as it will be, work together, Hawk and Wildcat fans. Turn the Ford Center into a ridiculous home court advantage for both schools.
5 Michigan State over 13 Houston. Its nice to have Tom Penders fake tan and dyed blonde perm back in our lives though. Seriously, did you see Penders in that game against UTEP? Wow. I've seen more legitimate tans on a mannequin. How do you get the orangy glow like that? The Neutrogena spray-on? Tom, pal, you live in Houston. You're on the Gulf. You can actually be outside in February and not freeze your ass off. Natural is always better. Well, unless you get fake boobs, those can be better than the real thing. But tanning, dude. Lay off the day-glo.
11 San Diego State over 3 Georgetown. Not feeling this Georgetown team. Too up and down. Plus Steve Fisher is a helluva tournament coach. I'll take him over JTIII anyday of the week, and twice on whatever day these two meet.
10 Georgia Tech over 2 Ohio State. My gut says Evan Turner blew his load with the two game-winners last weekend. He can't keep pulling this stuff out of his ass can he? Please, please let the answer be no. I hate the Big 10 (plus one)'s style of play so much ...
1 Kansas over 5 Michigan State. Revenge for last year's choke job against the Spartans. And there's no other way to put it, KU whizzed that game away.
10 Georgia Tech over 11 San Diego State. Should be a really entertaining undercard.
1 Kansas over 10 Georgia Tech. Avenging the toughest, most gut-wrenching KU defeat I've ever witnessed in person.
East Regional:
1 Kentucky over 16 East Tennessee State. Smells like a 105-45 beatdown.
8 Texas over 9 Wake Forest. Battle of two underachieving squads with (at best) clueless head coaches. Texas collapsed slightly better than Wake did, so I'll go with the Horns. Although I honestly have no clue who wins this.
5 Temple over 12 Cornell. Possibly the best first round matchup on the board. I really liked how Temple played last weekend.
4 Wisconsin over 13 Wofford. Of all the Big 10 (plus one) teams, there's none I hate more than Wisconsin. They've done more to set back the game of basketball than any other program in America. Go Wofford Go!
11 Washington over 6 Marquette. Another ridiculously overseeded Big East team. Someone needs to bash some common sense into the committee. 10-8 in the Big East with only one win over a top 4 finisher (Georgetown) does not equate to a six seed.
3 New Mexico over 14 Montana. If a 3 seed can be a sleeper, then this is my sleeper in the East. This is a really, really, really good Lobos team. Gotta give some props to Montana though -- they're the Grizzlies! (grizzley bear voice) grrrrr!
10 Missouri over 7 Clemson. Oliver Purnell is 0-5 in the tournament, despite being the higher seed all five times. Make that 0 for 6 after Friday afternoon.
2 West Virginia over 15 Morgan State. They won't need Da'Sean Butler to hit a buzzer beater in this one.
1 Kentucky over 8 Texas. Think Duke / KU back in 2000. An underachieving Jayhawks squad survives a similarly underachieving DePaul team in overtime. Then KU gives Duke all it can handle, losing by one. I see a similar scenario here on Saturday.
5 Temple over 4 Wisconsin. Intriguing matchup. And by "intriguing", I mean "for the love of god, turn this crap off before I blow my brains out!" First team to 45 wins.
3 New Mexico over 11 Washington. Intriguing matchup. And by "intriguing", I mean "this is a great game on paper! Turn it on!" First team to 95 wins?
2 West Virginia over 10 Missouri. Kudos to Mike Anderson for milking a tourney berth out of a rebuilding season. Past MU coaches could never manage that. Having said that, this might be the "Bill Maas Memorial Game" of round two. So long as the Mountaineers show up and put their uniforms on, they'll roll.
5 Temple over 1 Kentucky. I am not sold on this Kentucky team at all. The first well-coached team they run into is going to make life miserable for them. Hey, Temple's that team!
3 New Mexico over 2 West Virginia. I am sold on this New Mexico team, though. This might be the best game of the tournament. Could be a UCLA / Gonzaga type showdown from a few years ago.
3 New Mexico over 5 Temple. At least one region will be a complete train wreck in the brackets by the end. I'm betting on the East.
South Regional:
1 Duke over 16 Arkansas Pine Bluff. Should not be even remotely competitive.
9 Louisville over 8 Cal. Total coin flip game. Should be fun to watch.
12 Utah State over 5 Texas A&M. Utah State is grossly underseeded. A&M is probably overseeded. Should be a fun battle between the Aggies.
13 Siena over 4 Purdue. The Boilers are done. That first half against Minnesota was worse than a disgrace. Seriously, 33-4 at one point? 11 points in the half? Against an (at best) wretchedly mediocre Gophers team? Another brutal Big 10 (plus one) team to watch "play the game". Thankfully, most should be sent packing early. Although hell, they probably pack their bags at a slow, methodical, bleed 34 seconds off the shotclock pace.
11 Old Dominion over 6 Notre Dame. How the hell are the Irish a 6 seed? How? This is ridiculous. From out of the tournament to a six seed in two weeks? Sure.
3 Baylor over 14 Sam Houston State. I'm not as sold on Baylor as most folks are, but they win this one easily.
7 Richmond over 10 St. Mary's. Richmond is capable of a deep tournament run. They're my sleeper in the East.
2 Villanova over 15 Robert Morris. This is the worst seeding crime of all. How is Villanova a 2? Based on what? Jay Wright having incriminating photos of the tourney chair bound and gagged, wearing leather ass chaps, while riding a cybian? How is Villanova a 2? How?
1 Duke over 9 Louisville. Hopefully Rick Pitino can find a decent Italian joint in Jacksonville for a pregame quickie with a waitress. What, too soon?
13 Siena over 12 Utah State. Two decent double digit seeds. Should be entertaining at least. Enjoy it while it lasts guys.
3 Baylor over 11 Old Dominion. Does the live bear Baylor keeps on campus make the trip to Houston for the regional final? And how do you transport a live bear? Do you put him in one of those haulers like they do with ponies and cows? Does he have to have an animal control person there armed with a tranquilizer gun at all times in case said bear goes on a rampage? These are the things that drive me bonkers. (Jesus, no wonder I sleep alone at night. I'm certifiably crazy.)
7 Richmond over 2 Villanova. Even a home movie of the tourney chair hooking up with three transvestites in a sleazy downtown Vegas hotel room (hello Golden Gate! Man I love that place ...), not even something as kinky as that can save Villanova from an early exit.
1 Duke over 13 Siena. It is a crime that Jon Scheyer didn't win ACC Player of the Year. A freaking crime.
7 Richmond over 3 Baylor. At least the Baylor players can come back to campus and enjoy a cold one while hooking up with a cheerleader after a tough Sweet Sixteen defeat. Oh wait, sorry guys, I forgot. Its Baylor. No drinking, no sex, no fun. No wonder their players kill each other. I'd probably go ape-sh*t crazy too if I went to school in a freaking convent. (And yes, I seriously contemplated going to Baylor. Even made an official visit there. And was totally in love with the place until they dropped the "now, we are a strict Southern Baptist college. If you are caught drinking or caught engaging in relations with a member of the opposite sex, you are subject to ..." That's all I needed to hear. There wasn't a shot in hell I was going to a religious nuthouse for the best four years of my life).
1 Duke over 7 Richmond. Hard to believe its been six years since Duke was in a regional final. Let alone the Final Four.
Final Four:
1 Kansas over 2 KSU. The prospect of beating these guys four times in one year is pretty sweet to contemplate. On the other hand, the whole "KU in 1988" counter-argument is rearing its ugly head. You know, how KU couldn't beat OU or KSU in the regular season, got dominated by both schools in all five matchups ... and KU blew out KSU in the Elite 8 (thanks again for knocking out Gene Keady's best ever Purdue team for us. All Hawk fans appreciate that nice gesture, KSU), then somehow beat a loaded OU team in the final. KSU should have beaten us in Manhattan. They hung tough for 33 minutes in Lawrence. They were never out of it in Kansas City. I'm guessing this will be another tight, hard fought game. KU 75, KSU 73.
1 Duke over 3 New Mexico. I'll take Coach K over Steve Alford every day of the week. And twice on Saturday. The key will be if Scheyer can control Darington Hobson. If they fight to a draw, Duke wins by 15. If Scheyer plays like he did against Georgia Tech last Saturday, this comes down to the wire. My guess ... Duke 81, New Mexico 66.
National Title Game:
1 Duke over 1 Kansas. I just somehow envision Scheyer, Singler, and Smith going off from three land early and often, Duke building up a solid 12 to 15 point lead, and KU chipping away, chipping away, getting close ... and then Scheyer draining a late three to seal the deal. Duke 83, Kansas 79.
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