Predictions For Saturday's Final Four Games

(The Mega Star and the Destroyer of Dreams)

It feels like it's been long enough to enjoy college basketball again, hasn't it? I'm not going to jinx things...but if a certain two teams meet in the championship game (regardless of the eventual winner), I win one of my pools. You can say I'm invested in the results of today's games. Here are my predictions for tonight's Final Four games. I'm sorry I didn't post these earlier...so that others could jump in with their own predictions in the comments section. But a lot of people bitched and moaned about wanting a Pitt/Villanova post...then didn't read it, or didn't comment on it. I figure that we're all about square. Enjoy the games.

Connecticut over Michigan State

Reasons:

• As I've said before...if you think a little bump-in-the-road like a "recruiting scandal" is going to slow down Jim Calhoun and the UConn Huskies, you're dead wrong. These accusations are just pissing Coach Calhoun off! As if he and the Huskies needed proper motivation. He's got (way more) than 1.6 million reasons to win this game!
• When in doubt, go with the team that Pitt defeated twice this season when they were ranked #1 in the country. You better believe I'm going to keep cramming Pitt into this blog at every opportunity.
• I decided not to doubt the abilities of Tom Izzo and a Big 10 team last weekend when I chose MSU over Louisville. It paid off. But I can only give that kind of credit once per NCAA Tournament...and the Spartans used up that voucher in the Great Eight.
• If you think that there is a "home court" advantage for Michigan State playing in Detroit...you're clinically insane. There's gonna be a bunch of random middle-aged white guys at this game, the press, and some empty seats. Yeah...that bodes really well for Michigan State.
• Most of you have been reading this blog for awhile. Most of you have been watching the NCAA Tournament. Go ahead...name me TWO players from Michigan State. I dare you! It's ok...I'll wait.
  
• UConn is simply the better team. Everyone knows this. The reason that the press is hyping up Tom Izzo's success and the "home court" advantage for MSU is because they (and everyone else) knows that UConn should kick ass in this game. They are the favorite. They have the talent. They will have the victory.
• Confidence in this pick: 8.7

North Carolina over Villanova

Reasons:

• You don't defeat the Pitt Panthers on a last second shot, denying the best Pitt team in history their first trip to the Final Four, and expect to keep advancing. There are repercussions to your actions Villanova! The road ends here! F*** off!
• If you think the nation is done hearing about Tyler Hansbrough...you have another thing coming! We're not done seeing #50 on the court and being subjected to announcers detail his passion (whiteness) and talk about how he came back for his senior year to win a national championship. It almost makes me wish Billy Packer was doing these games, just to hear him gush with Hansbrough related man-love.
• Ty Lawson plays for North Carolina. Enough said.
• What makes the Final Four games different than the Great Eight games is preparation time. These teams have had 6-7 days to prepare for the Final Four (opposed to about 36 hours of prep time for the Great Eight). When given time to practice, game plan, and prepare...the better team will win 9 out of 10 times. Point UNC.
• If I pick against North Carolina, Liz and Emily might kill me. I value my life right now, so I'm going with the Tar Heels. (I also made a promise to root for UNC unless they were playing Pitt, so I'm going to be a man of my word and keep rooting for Lil Wayne Ellington and company)
  
• I guess this is a huge day for Matt. He was about 3 years old the last time Villanova reached the Final Four. Props to you Matt...your team made the Final Four. Enjoy it for all it's worth, because it's going to end very soon when North Carolina beats you.
• Confidence in this Pick: 9.3

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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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Weekend Wrap-Up - Oscar Edition

"Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative" ~ Oscar Wilde

"I love trash...I love it because it's trash" ~ Oscar The Grouch

I'm taking a moment here for self evaluation. I'll fully admit that my writing has not been up to snuff and that I've been recycling bits from last year's blog. I'm not necessarily going to CHANGE anything, I just wanted to disclose this in the hope that this blog will be an enjoyable experience for everyone, and that I'll continue to improve all the time. Thank you kindly. Tidings be.

Only 3 weeks left until selection Sunday. We're dangerously close to the beginning of the conference tournaments so it's time for this blog to push things forward. To do this, I'm going to attempt something never done before in the history of writing: create fake, Oscar'esque categories through which I'll describe some component of college basketball that took place over the weekend. Brilliant!

Best upset of the weekend: Take your pick - North Carolina lost to Maryland in overtime, UCLA got bumped by Washington St. at home, Oklahoma got shocked by Texas after Blake Griffin took one in the head, Robert Morris embarrassingly got tripped up by Wagner, Jerry Lewis continues to defeat death, and I actually ended up at the 31st Street Pub for a rock show.

Best performance picking Bracket Busters games: Not me. I went a passable 8-5 with my picks. I'm still not sure what the purpose was with those picks, except that I enjoy making picks. When in doubt (not the movie), go with the Missouri Valley Conference, they went 7-3 in their non-conference games this weekend. Phil does not win this category either as he went 0-1 with his picks, brashly choosing a shaken Davidson team over Butler.

Best team from Iowa this weekend: The Iowa Hawkeyes...narrowly beating out the Drake Bulldogs to win this category. Jake Kelly set career highs with 23 points and 9 rebounds (while playing all 45 minutes) in Iowa's overtime victory over Michigan on Saturday.

Best team in the Patriot League: American University. In a Patriot League battle for the ages, American U. defeated Holy Cross 56-50 on Saturday. The Crusaders had an opportunity to move into a first place tie in the conference with the Eagles, but it was not meant to be. Although these two squads split the season series...American U. is safely in first place and Holy Cross looks good to be the number two seed for the upcoming conference tournament.

Best props given from the stage during a performance: Bob, to me. Much thanks to you Bob for pimping my blog during the show this weekend. I'm not sure how many rock and roll kids are into the college basketball, but I don't care, it's the thought and props that count. I am truly humbled, though not yet famous. You definitely got the Toby Ziegler in you.

Best player in a "supporting" role: I know the Tar Heels lost this weekend, but after watching a couple of their games recently, I'm thinking that Ty Lawson is the real star of that team. Tyler Hansbrough receives most of the press and a lot of the fanfare...but Ty Lawson seems to be the leader of that squad. He's the player I'd want with the ball in his hands down 2 with under a minute remaining. Lawson has more skills and is more versatile than any of his teammates. He shouldn't be overshadowed by Hansbrough anymore. Am I wrong?

Best team to be ranked #1 in the nation tomorrow: Pitt! I'm giddy.

Best teams not bothering to recruit defensive players: Duke and Notre Dame. Both teams scored over 100 points in their wins this weekend. That's great and sexy and what-not, but come next month, those teams are going to play tough games in the tournament (NCAA or NIT) where that kind of shit ain't gonna fly. Athletic and physical teams win in march. Teams made up of twigs that have a knack for hitting three pointers don't go very far.

Best tirade by a coach: Jim Calhoun. The University of Connecticut head coach decides who is stupid and discusses the economic implications of athletic organizations while making me really want iced coffee from Dunkin' Donuts. Enjoy!

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