surprised by Georgetown? do your homework!

(March 22)



Georgetown was a two seed in this year’s March Madness tournament and a trendy pick to go far, as most people followed the chalk up to the Elite Eight (and maybe even beyond). Tonight they burned many brackets as they fell to Florida Gulf Coast University (of all places), the biggest upset of a very busy couple days full of upsets.

My only question: what did you expect?

The Hoyas are always seeded generously in the tournament and lately they always disappoint. In fact, of the five times they have been in the tourney in the last six years, each time they lost to a double-digit seeded team.

2013: #2 seed – lost to #15 in first round

2012: #3 seed – lost to #11 in second round

2011: #6 seed – lost to #11 in first round

2010: #3 seed – lost to #14 in first round

2009: NIT – lost first round game

2008: #2 seed – lost to #10 in second round

Yes, that’s right. Four times in the last six years they have been a #2 or #3 and they have not even made it to the Sweet Sixteen once!

Including their NIT appearance, they are 2-6 since 2008, with first round exits via FGCU, VCU, and Ohio (not Ohio State).

I don’t watch much college basketball. In fact, I didn’t see Georgetown play at all this year (and perhaps not the two years before that, either). But I think it is safe to say that no one in the country has underachieved more than the Hoyas. When we see Georgetown we think BIG/SIZE, but they come up small under the bright lights of March Madness.

So if your bracket is busted because you picked Georgetown to go deep, well, I don’t feel sorry for you.

Oh how Sweet it is

The most memorable moment of the first couple rounds is Ali Farokhmanesh taking the most nuts shot ever and the fact that it went in, followed by the Kansas player (was it Collins?) crying on the court for 10 minutes later. What was he doing the last 40 minutes? Another great mement was the thrilling end of the Maryland/Michigan State game. Other highlights include Georgetown, Villanova, Pitt, Marquette, Louisville, and Notre Dame, all from the Big Bad East, not showing up for their games. All four of the MWC representatives are now at home.

1. Michigan State vs. Northern Iowa. Northern Iowa shows us one example of the Selection Committee doing a terrible job with seeding. The Panthers were a nationally top team all year, winning 30 games including their conference tourney. They dominated Kansas, now I'm a believer. I don't think Michigan State will be able to recover from losing their most important player. Northern Iowa

2. Kentucky vs. Cornell. This is the most compelling cultural matchup in the tournament: a powerhouse team from an athletics-focused school led by by 4 freshman versus an Ivy-League team with no athletic scholarships led by a bunch of seniors. Cornell can shoot, we know that, but after Kansas got embarrassed by UNI, there is no way Kentucky loses this game. And Kentucky will go on to win it all. Kentucky

3. Ohio State vs. Tennessee. I think this will be the best game of the third round. Buckeyes in the Final Four. Ohio State

4. Kansas State vs. Xavier. Xavier makes their third straight Sweet 16, but I really like K-State to make the Final Four, but this is a good matchup. Kansas State

5. West Virginia vs. Washington. Everybody loved the Mountaineers after they won the Big East tourney, but now we can see how overrated that actually was. I also think they are in trouble after losing their starting point guard. Washington

6. Baylor vs. St Marys. Baylor has played Sam Houston State and Old Dominion. St Marys isn't your household name either, but they are an outstanding team that thrives on fundamentals, good shooting, strong post-up play, and great guard play. St Marys will make the Final Four. St Marys

7. Syracuse vs. Butler. Syracuse has received a lot of attention with their 2-3 zone defense and being without their star center. Butler has a good shot to figure them out and beat them and I picked them last round. I think they will play the part of Northern Iowa. Butler, but not a lot of confidence

8. Duke vs. Purdue. The Boilermakers seem to have surprised everybody by making it this far. They aren't getting by Duke. Duke

let the Madness begin

Okay, last week I said how much I don't like college basketball. It was a bit of an exaggeration. The NCAA Tournament, I do like. Now that Conference Tournaments are over, this is the time to get excited about college basketball.

There are only two teams that I care about in college basketball (UVM and BYU) and both are in the West region so we'll start there.

WEST
I would like to point out that I think it's strange that Syracuse is the #1 seed in the West and they have a first round matchup with Vermont.

That being said, how cool is that Vermont plays Syracuse again! I still remember where I was in 2005 when Vermont defeated Syracuse in one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history. And I picked that game, too. This year Syracuse is a little better, but I like the team Catamounts. A #1 seed has never lost a first round game, don't wet your pants if it happens this year. Unfortunately for the Catamounts, they are playing in Buffalo so it's a home game for the Orange.

BYU got a pretty good draw, matching up with the last at large team to make the field, Florida. Jimmer Fredette is one of the most exciting players in the country. BYU has lost 8 straight tournament games, but this is their best shot. They are the best shooting team in the country (leading everyone in FT%, something that has killed them in the past). And even more exciting, if they make the Sweet 16 they'll have a game at Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City. I see a miracle one win.

Two weeks ago Kansas State was #5 in the country. Almost half of their 7 losses were to their homestate rival Jayhawks and lucky for KSU they won't play them for a while. Pittsburgh has beaten Syracuse, West Virginia, and Villanova (all 1-2 seeds) and I think they have the best shot to reach the Final Four from this bracket.

Upsets to watch out for:
Syracuse will lose to either Gonzaga or Pitt. Murray State will beat Vanderbilt.

EAST

So I just used ESPN AccuScore and it says #11 Washington will win this region. Don't count on it.

Kentucky is one of the most talented teams in the country. They have the nation's top point guard, one of the top big men, and a great coach with tourney experience. Their two superstars are freshman, which means mistakes can happen, but Kentucky is with Kansas in the unquestioned top 2 teams in the country.

West Virginia won the Big East Tourney, and while that is one of the best accomplishments of the season, that won't necessarily help you from here on out. Only two Big East Tourney champs have reached the Final Four in the last 11 years, and I don't like West Virginia's chances.
Being an alumni from the MWC, I really like New Mexico, 5-0 against Top 25 teams.
Texas won their first 17 games and got to #1 in the land showing that they can be scary, but the Longhorns are the worst free throw shooting team in the bracket, and in a tournament full of close games this will lead to an early exit.

Upsets to watch out for:
Washington will beat Marquette. Temple will beat Wisconsin. New Mexico will beat West Virginia.

MIDWEST

Kansas is the best team in the country and has been all year. Earning the top overall position is supposed to give you a little break. I can't believe that they got put in this region, the toughest region by far with the best #2, #4, Final Four Michigan State at #5, best #6 and #9. So while I think they are best team and would be the no-question favorite to win it all, there's so much opportunity to slip up or tire out.

Ohio State has the best player in the tournament, Evan Turner. Sometimes ('Cuse with Carmelo) that leads to a championship, but other times (Texas with Durant) it just led to an early exit due to a lack of other support. Georgetown went far in the Big East tourney, but they have been too inconsistent to win very many games here. Tennessee has beaten Kansas and Kentucky already this season, which shows that they can fight with anybody. UNLV is usually ready for some wins, taking advantage of a hometown MWC tourney once again to get in, but they had a "down" year, and they have a rough matchup against a strong Northern Iowa team. I think the most interesting team in this region is Michigan State, who aren't the best team around but have the best coach in the tournament, Tom Izzo.

Upsets to watch out for:
Tennessee will beat Georgetown. Northern Iowa will beat UNLV.

SOUTH

Duke is the weakest of the top seeds but they still were placed in the weakest bracket. I hate Duke and want to pick them to lose, but it just won't happen. Villanova is the weakest #2 and has played poorly recently, Purdue is expected to get bounced early, Notre Dame barely made it in and they are still a 6 seed. I think this will be the most headline-grabbing region with a lot of upsets possible because of the weak high seeds. Utah State or St Mary's will be the lowest seed to reach the Sweet 16.

Upsets to watch for:
Utah State over Texas A&M. Sienna over Purdue. St Mary's over Richmond. Baylor into the Elite 8.

FINAL FOUR PICKS
Kansas (champ)
Kentucky (runner-up)
Duke
Kansas State

the nonsense side of March Madness

Want to know why I don't like college basketball? I'll tell you why! It has the most meaningless regular season of any league and sport.

The problem is Conference Tournaments. Conference Tournaments are the stupidest and most redundant creations in sports.

What is the purpose? #1: To crown the conference champion? Hello, we already have a conference champion, that's what we've been doing the last four months. #2 Find out who's the best teams? Dude, the NCAA tournament comes right after! That is the real tournament. #3: To get the country's best teams into the NCAA Tournament? Actually, the Conference Tourneys do nothing more than water down the Big Dance. #4 Make the NCAA Tournament more exciting? Fail, it only precedes bigger blowouts.

Here are a few examples:

-Coastal Carolina is champion of the Big South, as they went 15-3 in the conference and 28-6 overall. However, Winthrop, 3rd in the Big South with 12 wins (16-13 overall in the regular season) got hot and won 3 games in a row to win the Conference Tournament and replace Coastal Carolina for the NCAA Tourney, despite being the lesser team. Up next: 16 seed, blowout loss to someone like Kansas.

-Weber State went 13-3 to win the Big Sky Conference. Montana was 10-6 but will represent the Big Sky in the NCAA Tournament.

-East Tennesee was 5th in the Atlantic Sun Conference this season. But that doesn't matter, they stole a ticket to March Madness.

-UConn has lost 6 straight conference tournament games, but has still made the Elite Eight twice in the last four years.

-Stony Brook is conference champion, but either Vermont or Boston University will also be champions of the same conference. Kind of an odd predicament.

-The March Madness Tournament has 65 teams, but either Washington or Arizona State, ranked 50 and 56 respectively, won't be in. Memphis is #46 and will also likely get left out, replaced by East Tennessee State and Winthrop, schools somewhere ranked around #150.

So March Madness is probably the most followed sporting event in America. Everybody fills out a bracket: secretaries, 5th graders, librarians, politicians, etc. And yet the 65 spots are not filled by the 65 best teams. And this is why a 16 seed has never beaten a 1 seed, and only one 2 seed has ever fallen to a 15 seed. The regular season doesn't matter. And why there is a need for back-to-back tournaments? And with the possibility and likelihood of two conference champions, both outshadow the other. (I won the regular season crown but the conference tourney, I won the conference tourney crown but finished 4th in the regular season.) Neither one matters anymore.

Each Conference Tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tourney. Nevermind those schools that slugged it out for five months to win their conference outright, their spot can be taken by a team that has one good week. And because of that, another even better school, who would be more competitive against the good teams, will get left out.

I guess it's just an excuse to give everybody a ribbon, just like 5th grade. There are no losers, everybody is successful.

So forget the four months of games you've played, the only ones that matter are in that one week in the middle of March.

The Most Dominating Team in all of Sports

Last year I moved to Connecticut where I've been a little closer to something amazing. This may be the only time that I ever write a thing about women's basketball but it deserves to be written.

My eyes opened up when I read in the paper that the UConn women beat Norteastern by 70 points to open the season. (Sure, Northeastern doesn't have a great team, but they are still a college basketball team.) And then on Monday they beat Duke to run their winning streak to an incredible 57 games. Coincidentally, that's second in women's Division I history behind UConn from 2001-2003.

This season UConn is 18-0, but it's so much more than that. The BYU Men are 18-1 but they haven't played anybody good. Here's who UConn has beaten this year:

#2 Stanford by 12
#3 Notre Dame by 34
#7 North Carolina by 41
#7 @ Duke by 33
#10 @ Florida St by 19
#12 @ Texas by 25

Their scoring margin is 39.7. In other words, their average win is by 40 points.

And yes, they've won 57 straight games, going undefeated last year as well (closest tournament game 19 points). But wait, there's more. They've won 32+ games four years in a row, with a composite record of 153-11 since November 2005. That's a lot of numbers and stats; all I need to say they are rediculously good. And after they sweep through the rest of the season they will set a new record with 77 or 78 straight wins because there is no other team in the country that can compete with the Lady Huskies. This is the dynasty in sports.