NCAA Championship

So we've finally made it down to two teams, Michigan St. and UNC. Two coaches with a combined 12 Final Four appearances, Izzo - 5 and Williams - 7. Two of the most storied programs in their respective conferences meet tonight in Detriot.



Michigan St. dominated UConn enroute to a 9-point win that looked more like a 19-point win. UNC continued to shoot lights out as they were the clock that struck midnight on the Villanova Wildcats who looked satisfied to just finally make it to the Final Four for the first time since 1985.


If we look at tonight's game its easy to see why UNC has made it to this point and is really no suprise to anyone who has followed college basketball all year long. Michigan State on the other hand has been somewhat under the radar all year long mostly due to being in a conference that hasn't received the pub that the Big East or ACC have gotten all year long. Everyone was surprised that the Big Ten got 7 teams in the tournament and felt that they had an inferior schedule compared to other leagues but we see now that Michigan St. sure had the preparation to get through to the end.


Tonight's keys rise and fall on Ty Lawson and Kalin Lucas. Both of these guards have provided the offensive sparks for each team and can initiate from the top of the key and draw another man allowing for a dish close to the hoop. Lawson is surrounded by a much better cast and can push the ball unlike any other play in the NCAA. His ability to get the ball to Danny Green and Tyler Hansborough allows for UNC to be one of the most well-rounded and prolific offenses all year.



Michigan State was very physical against UConn and were able to outrebound one of the best rebounding teams all year long. The only issue is that this physical play wont hamper a UNC team who is too good all around to be hurt in a one-dimensional attack. The only way Michigan St. can stop a hot UNC team is by forcing bad shots from outside. If Michigan St can do this and out-rebound another team it will look good from a Spartan perspective.


I don't imagine seeing UNC going cold from the floor but I do think that Michigan St. can hang with them for some time. This game will just come down to the fact that UNC is too strong and too deep for Michigan State to hang with.


UNC wins 83-77.

Final Four

Well here were are today down to the last four teams in the NCAA Tournament. For the most part it was chalk throughout the tourney with #3 Villanova and #2 Michigan State advancing past the top seeds in their regions. So let's breakdown these games and decide who's going to win.

UConn vs. Michigan State - UConn has been relatively dominant in the tournament thus far. Michigan State has shown a shooters touch and had an easy road to the Final Four playing the top seed of the tournament who hadn't played any of the top teams from its conference more than once in Louisville. With Michigan State "homecourt" advantage coming in Detriot, an area hit hardest by the recession, it might be easy to think that the Spartans have an advantage over UConn.

Let's rethink this though, Detriot is a great sports town and for the Spartan faithful to travel to Detriot would make it easy but since the recession has hit this area hard, I'd be lying not say that I don't expect an large amount of fans to make it to the game. Factor in a powerhouse school in UConn who generally travels well and I don't think fans will be much of a factor. Also the fact they are playing this game in the center of Ford Field making it tough for the fans to be directly on top of the court noise should not be a factor.


Now for the game analysis, UConn has been too good down low with Thabeet and Adrien for the Spartans to attempt to play this game in the post. The only chance Michigan State has is to shoot lights out the three and make the Huskies match them on every possession. Even with a good three shooting team the long misses and length of the post players for UConn should make it easy to grab these missed shots and convert them into break opportunities or one-shot possessions.


UConn wins this game easily and advances to the Championship game.

UNC vs. Villanova - Villanova has been somewhat under the radar all year but after dominating UCLA and Duke in the tournament teams have recognized their toughness and ability to go deep into their bench for quality minutes when in foul trouble. The only issue I see with 'Nova is that they aren't big enough underneath to match some of the size that UNC can bring off the bench. With nobody on the roster above 6'8 'Nova may have a tough time with the inside game of Hansborough.

If there is one person on Villanova that needs to step up and score its Scottie Reynolds. Reynolds has been the leader of this team for the past two years but hasn't been the prolific scorer he was last year. After his heroic last second shot against Pitt Reynolds seems to be nearing the point to where he knows he can score and can take over a game. For Villanova to compete in this game Reynolds needs to come up big on both ends of the floor. He may draw Ty Lawson on defense so denying penetration from Lawson and forcing him to get rid of the ball to some of their other guards may be key in Villanova keeping this game within reach. On the offensive side Reynolds needs to take it to the hoop to draw fouls or draw a double team to dish it their fowards who shoot jumpers well. Reynolds also needs to catch fire from three to force the UNC defense to come out a bit and cover thus opening up for Shane Clark and Dante Cunningham underneath.


For UNC the key is to get Hansborough the ball underneath because the Wildcats have a tendency to get into foul trouble and the easier they can get players like Clark and Cunningham on the bench for fouls the easier this opens up 'Nova's defense. Lawson will also play a vital role in starting break opportunities for the Tar Heels off of misses and made baskets and his penetration has seemed to be unstoppable. As long as Lawson continues to not turn the ball over, only 2 thus far this tournament, UNC will be hard to stop.


I imagine this game could be the most exciting of this round and personally I would like nothing more than to see Villanova win the game and advance to the championship. It will be tough and I think that UNC has too much quality depth to let this one slip away. Close in the first half I see UNC pulling away late in the second half advancing to face UConn in a matchup that will not be one to miss.

Elite Eight

I was only wrong on two games in the Sweet 16, Kansas and Memphis, so I aim to make it up with these picks all winning.

UConn vs. Missouri - I liked how Missouri played in their huge win over Memphis. Missouri kept Memphis shooting very poorly and player terrific on offense. The only problem here is that Missouri runs into a UConn team that has been absolutely dominant in the tourney thus far. I don't expect UConn to take a step back but I do think that running into Missouri's press could lead to some issues, but UConn is just too good to lose this one.

Pitt vs. Villanova - Did anyone expect 'Nova's win against Duke to look so easy? I sure didn't but I also believed that 'Nova was much more athletic inside that Duke and would win the battle down low and that's exactly what happened with Dante Cunningham playing like Dwight Howard. Pitt on the other hand has Dejaun Blair down low and he seems to create mismatches with his size and athletic ability. I don't think 'Nova can make it past Pitt and will choose Pitt in this game but don't be surprised if 'Nova keeps it close because of the play of their athletic forwards mainly Cunningham.


UNC vs. Oklahoma - Blake Griffin is by far the best player in the NCAA this year and will be the #1 pick in the draft. The only problem here is that UNC is too talented on the perimeter to lose this game. The Griffin-Hansburough matchup is one to watch and suspect Griffin will dominate Hansburough, but it will be Ty Lawson and the other guards' play that will make this outcome favor the Tar Heels.

Louisville vs. Mich St - Michigan State has played well the 2nd half of the season after a bunch of injuries hampered them early on. I didn't think they'd make it this far but they've proved me wrong. I think that this could be a close game but Louisville has been making it look easy lately and they'll run away with this one late in the 2nd half.

This should lead to the 2nd consecutive year where all the #1 seeds make it to the Final Four.

Hopefully Monday I'll have something to brag about with these picks but until then enjoy these games with the highlight being the Pitt-Villanova game featuring two of the best Big East teams.

Sweet Sixteen

Alright a look back on some of my picks followed by a quick re-up on this weeks picks.


First off West Virginia couldn't get hot like they had been prior to the start of the NCAA tourney and I knew this team was a stretch when I picked them to advance to the Elite 8.


Wake Forest absolutely flubbed it when it came to losing to Cleveland State in the first round. Now its not their fault that Cleveland State couldn't miss like the old Michael vs. Larry McDonald's commericial, but they didn't help their cause when they played very sloppy at both ends of the court.


Now for my predictions for the upcoming Sweet 16.

Louisville vs. Arizona - The Wildcats have proved everyone as to whether or not they belonged in the tourney. They've strung together two good games but I think the talent of Louisville will be too much. Plus I think that the Siena game was a wake-up call for Rick Petino's crew.

Kansas vs. Michigan St. - I didn't have the Jayhawks making it this far but I think with their experience they'll push through to the Elite 8.

UConn vs. Purdue - The pending internal investigation of Jim Calhoun's squad could pose some focus problems for this team but I think that the talent of the Huskies and leadership of its players won't let it affect them. Huskies run away with this one.

Missouri vs. Memphis - This is an interesting game featuring two of the nations best defenses. I think the raw talent of Memphis gives them the edge and that they will ultimately win the game but if they get into free-throw shooting trouble they are in for a tough one.

Pittsburgh vs. Xavier - I think that Pitt is way too talented to lose this game and you'll see the Panthers "Big Three" play well.

Villanova vs. Duke - This is the match-up of this round. Two athletic teams that come from the two best conferences in college basketball. I think that for 'Nova this is a great match-up, I've watched them play all year and found this team has a knack for staying with any team they play. I thinks Villanova wins this in a close finish, possibly overtime.

UNC vs. Gonzaga - Easy pick with a Tar Heel teams that has a semi-healthy Ty Lawson. They're too good to let this Gonzaga team get to them. Blowout with UNC.

Oklahoma vs. Syracuse - This is where I think that Syracuse runs out of steam. Plus I think that with the way Blake Griffin is playing he'll be way too much for the Orange to handle.

Almost all chalk! Let's see how my picks hold up.

Let the Madness begin

On the eve of the beginning of NCAA Tournament, most of us are frantically trying to analyze and make last minute changes to our brackets with the hopes that we have "THE" bracket. Well staying with the spirit of making picks I'll breakdown my Final Four and some of the other interesting match-ups and upsets that I have.

First Round Upsets:
Arizona - two words Chase Budinger
USC - long and athletic up against BC
Utah St - Marquette lost 5 out of 6 once they lost PG Dominic James
Maryland - if they can guard the 3 Cal is in for a surprise
VCU - Eric Maynor is a top-10 PG who can take over a game
W. Kentucky - back again for another run into the sweet-16?

Surprise Sweet-16:
Missouri - great defense gets a break when they meet Utah St.
Arizona St - Syracuse's luck runs out against the Sun Devils
West Va - good shooting Mountaineers shock defending champ Kansas

Cinderella?
Arizona State - runs into a recently inconsistent Oklahoma to advance to the Elite 8

Final Four:
Louisville - despite a weak conference schedule the Cards have the easiest road to the Final Four
Memphis - strong defense and a chip on their shoulder muscle the Tigers in once again
Pitt - Dejaun Blair dominates the East in a win over Villanova
UNC - makes it this far despite a well-less than 100% Ty Lawson

Championship Game
Louisville - Memphis can't quite hang with the Cards
UNC - Lawson close to full strength gives a huge edge to a UNC team whom many thought could run the table this year

CHAMPS
Despite having a schedule that didn't feature Pitt, UConn, or Villanova twice, the Cardinals are a team that is well rested from an easy Big East grind. Terrence Williams is the Most Outstanding Player and leads Louisville to a National Title and Rick Petino gets another one.

It's already March, where's the Madness?

With Conference tourney's revving up and the NCAA Tournament right around the corner we've hit the part of the season where the debating starts. We'll argue who's in, who's out, strength of schedule, quality wins, etc. But have the conferences gotten too big? The ACC is 12 teams, the BIG East 16, and Atlantic 10 with 14? Does the large amount of teams per conference muddy the waters when not every team plays home and away games at each of there conference opponent?


A classic example is Louisville. Louisville, though very good has had one of the easiest Big East schedules all year. They played all the Big East teams once and had home games against Notre Dame, Pitt, UConn, and Marquette. All of these teams were ranked in the top 13 when the Cardinals played them. They only had to play at Syracuse and Villanova in a conferernce that is arguably the best in college basketball.

Maryland on the other hand is a team that is exact opposite coming out of a strong ACC that has had three different teams hold the #1 spot in the polls at some point this year. Maryland Duke and UNC twice, at Florida State and at Clemson, while having only Wake as the other home game vs a ranked opponent.

Now, I'm not making a case for Maryland and against Louisville, but I do find it interesting how the conference schedules have broken down over the past few years as we've seen an influx in the amount of teams in the elite conferences. When you stop playing teams in your conference twice a year, once at home and once on the road, the integrity of the tournament comes into question. What was once a fair way in deciding who belonged and who didn't from these major conferences has become a debate because of the saturated conference structure.

To truly have a fair regular that is uncompromised by the dilution of teams in the major conferences we need to have either less non-conference games which would allow for teams to have both home and away games against each team. Or we need to put a cap on the amount of teams allowed per conference so that we can still allow for some non-conference matchups as well as all the in-conference home and away battles that have become a part of the college basketball landscape.

Either way something needs to happen because aside from a screwed up conference setup, the NCAA Basketball committee has it right when it comes to deciding a National Champion. The NCAA Tournament is still the premier way to decide who the best of the best is.