Predictions For Thursday's Sweet Sixteen Games

(Writing poetry & slamming dunks all the way to the Great Eight)

I'm actually doing well in some of my pools this year, but I'm still going to make things interesting and informative by predicting the rest of the games from here on out.

Connecticut over Purdue

Reasons:

• Jim Calhoun is like teflon...if you think something as small as a "recruiting scandal" is going to knock him off his game, you're crazy. A similar situation destroyed the Indiana Hoosier program, but it's only going to piss Coach Calhoun off and make the team stronger.
  
• UConn has arguably been the best team in the tournament so far, steamrolling their way through the first two rounds. They're doing a great job as the "underdog" after being labeled the most "vulnerable" No. 1 seed.
• I have a sneaking suspicion the nation is not done hearing about Hasheem Thabeet. Not to mention, A.J. Price is really really good.
• It's Big East over the Big 10. It doesn't take a astro-physicist to get this one correct.
• I couldn't name you a single Purdue player other than Robbie Hummel. And I'M the one that's been obsessed with college hoops for the past 5 weeks.
• The Boilermakers definitely win the mascot battle over the Huskies, but I have to go with the #1 seed here. There are at least 1.6 million reasons to like them against Purdue.
• Confidence in this pick: 9.2

Pittsburgh over Xavier

Reasons:

• It's only been four days since this match-up has been set, but I've already been reminded that Xavier Coach Sean Miler used to play for the Panthers roughly 25,000 times. For some reason, I'm angrier at Xavier for hiring him than I am at Pitt for recruiting him. Enough of this story already!!!
• Oklahoma State hung with Pitt athletically, but eventually lost because they were grossly undersized (and they stink). Xavier is neither athletic OR big. The only way they can win is to "out-Pitt" Pitt. And that's not gonna happen with Sam Young and Dejuan Blair in the mix.
• Xavier lost to Duquesne. I mean...I have Pittsburgh pride here...but Duquesne? Really Musketeers? Sean Miller is a "great" coach and you lost to the Dukes? You're better than that.
• I'll take the Big East over the A-10 EVERY SINGLE TIME! OK...maybe not DePaul over anyone, but I'll take the Big East over the A-10 EVERY SINGLE OTHER TIME!
• By choosing the Panthers, I'm going against some blog trends. I'm picking against the Jesuit institution, which means I could potentially be going against God. By not going with Xavier, I'm also saying that Liz & Emily's grandmother's favorite team is going to lose. So there are possible karma issues involved (such as losing another closely contested NCAA pool...or being hated on). But these reasons will not deter me, for we are all Pitt Panther fans today!!!
• This Pitt team is a team of destiny. And by destiny, I mean that they're going to reach the Great Eight for the first time in my lifetime. We're gonna see it happen Phil. This team is too talented. It's GOING to happen! (I typed this whole point with one hand, so I could cross my fingers with the other hand. No jinx going on here)
• Confidence in this pick: 8.1

Missouri over Memphis

Reasons:

• Don't really have any legitimate reasons for this pick. I'm shamelessly rooting for Missouri because an "upset" win by them helps me out in a lot of my brackets. And I can earn way more bragging rights by excelling in my brackets than I can by randomly predicting a team to win on this blog.
  
• If you desperately NEED a reason...Missouri is the one team that can run and actually keep up with Memphis. This is a good Memphis team but not the one that made the national championship game last season. If a team can come out early, punch them in the mouth, run with them, and not back down...they're going to be in trouble. And I think that trouble finds them tonight in the form of Missouri (coached by the outstanding Mike Anderson).
• Confidence in this pick: 5.4

Duke over Villanova

Reasons:

• I honestly have no idea who to pick here. This is as even a match-up as one could hope to find in the sweet sixteen. Should be a great one.
• Big East vs. ACC? Very evenly matched. This is why we watch college basketball. Can't find an edge here.
• Coach K vs. Jay Wright? Well Wright obviously wins that match-up if fashion sensibilities were the only criteria. There are a lot of Coach K "haters" out there, but the truth of the matter is, his track record is a little more beefy and established than Jay Wright's.
• Duke wins the battle of most awkward looking white players. But I'm not so sure that "win" isn't more of a loss.
• Neither team has been overly impressive...with Villanova getting a scare from American in the first round, and Duke going down to the wire with Texas in round two.
• If I went with Villanova to win here, it would just look like I was pandering to Matt. I'm choosing to avoid that appearance. But please, please, please, please, please.....don't for one second think that I like the Duke Blue Devils.
• I don't even know which of these two teams I'd want Pitt to face in the Great Eight. But back to the jinxing thing, I'm getting WAY ahead of myself here.
• Confidence in this pick: 0.0 (totally a 50/50 propsition)

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