Comments Off Check out the right side colum for a list of our tourney sites, and a new update about our trip from this last weekend. Or, you can just click here.
Working on headed to Glendale, AZ this weekend for a probable UConn vs Memphis game, which should hold me over until the following weekend, and my flight to Detroit.
Looking forward to watching Michigan State later this week. Goran Suton is putting on his game face.
This has been a great year of College Basketball. I can’t remember a time when there has been as much parity in the game. No clear cut two or three teams threatening to run away with everything. Last year we saw all four #1 seeds advance to the Final Four. It is certainly possible this year, however, I feel there are a pool of 8 potential serious contenders to cut down the nets in front of me in Detroit next month. (In no particular order you homers)
1. Connecticut: Why they will – All world big man Hasheem Thabeet will always give them a chance. A coach and program who’s been there before and knows how to get it done in March. Balanced scoring with four players averaging 13ppg. Why they won’t – One of those players is Jerome Dyson, who isn’t about to sniff a pair of sneakers for the rest of the year. Oh, they can’t beat Pittsburgh either.
2. Pittsburgh: Why they will - Best big man in the country hands down. DeJuan Blair is an animal who plays with fire, wants to be the best and has shown he can be against anybody in the nation. Why they won’t – Lost three road games this year, two that should have been won easily IMO, (@ Villanova, @ Providence). This shows me they are prone to overlook teams. Haven’t been there before.
3. Oklahoma: Why they will – Blake Griffin is a monster. Enough said. Why they won’t – The Sooners have stumbled as of late, with and without Blake.
4. Michigan State: Why they will – Battle tested coach who’s gotten it done before. Younger talented players have learned a lot with bad losses this season (I hope). Peaking at the right time. Why they won’t – The Spartans have been horribly inconsistent all year. No killer instinct. Young players tend to show their true colors in pressure situations.
5. Louisville: Why they will – Terrence Williams. Guy does it all, and Rick Pitino should write this guy into his will. Deep team with shooters off the bench (Jerry Smith, Andre McGee) provide a lift when often maligned Edgar Sosa wants to dribble the ball off his foot 50 times a game. Why they won’t – Any team that gets blown out by Notre Dame by 30+ points has to have something wrong with its head. That, and Pitino won’t be wearing his white suit until the Kentucky Derby.
6. North Carolina: Why they will – They play an amazing brand of basketball based solely on being faster than everybody else, and less on true talent. Roy Williams has asked God and the following day he found a quarter in his shoe. Why they won’t – Ty Lawson’s toes are falling off. The walking pelvic gyration that is Tyler Hansbrough is a hot head.
7. Memphis: Why they will – Freakishly athletic. Abnormal. They could seriously be aliens. Tyreke Evans is a beast. How do you guard this guy? He’s closer to being a power forward than a center. Calapari is a good coach, you just wonder how long he’ll be able to stay in CUSA with these bottom feeders. He’s made a mockery of the conference. Why they won’t - Haven’t played with the big boys since the start of the season. That Gonzaga win in Spokane was nice, but hardly like running through a Big East or Big Ten schedule.
8. Kansas: Why they will – Sherron Collins. Guy is lightning in a bottle. Plays fast and hard for 40 mins. Clutch (as shown several times this year). Watching him play you can tell he enjoys his roll on this team. Why they won’t – Inexperienced and young. You have to put in your dues before you gain the success. Two of these players even played last year for Kansas. Oh, Bill Self hasn’t tithed enough this year. For Shame!
See you next year: Duke, Villanova, Wake forest, and anybody from the Pac-10. You’re all garbage. Especially Duke. No true big man front court player. Everybody takes charges too often. I don’t see it happening. I love Villanova, but they just don’t have the horses to run with the guys on the list.
Comments Off Championship Week is coming, Selection Sunday is coming, and The 8th Annual Tourney Trip is just a few weeks away. Tickets have been secured, hotel rooms reserved, vacation time scheduled, airplane tickets bought, and a car decided on. Philadelphia is not only the destination for 8 deserving college basketball programs, but for a knowledgeablegroup of 5 basketball fans making a trip to a great city to watch what are hopefully some good games. The possabilities are wide open for what teams might make the trip with us, and there is still hope for a few of our favorites to play in front of us next month.
Here is who I would like to see:
UConn. Given the location we have chosen it seem inevitable that we get these Big East monsters, so I chose to embrace it. I have never seen them play and look forward to seeing one of the great powers of my era live and in person for the first time.Since you can’t have a #1 seed without the #16 Seed I’ll take whoever they give us there and like it. Due to our location I would bet we get the MEAC champs. I am one of the few people in our group that likes to see a 1/16 matchup. Probably because I am one of the few who remembers the excitement of Holy Cross/Kansas. At some point a 16 will beat a 1 and I want to be there for that.
The other benefit of having the 1 seed at your site is that you get the 8/9 game which opens up a world of possabilities. My preference for this would be Dayton and either LSU, Kentucky, Tennessee, or some other SEC squad that can play its way in but not up the field. My feeling is that the A10 is really a hidden gem in college hoops and is consistently under appreciated and under rated. I would like to see what kind of damage a well coached team like Dayton could do against an SEC team with an inflated record, and possibly against a power like UConn.
For the other pod I would hope to get a 3/14 and a 6/11. The 2/15, 7/10 is to similar to the 1/16, 8/9, and 4/13, 5/12 seems like under achievers against upset specials that never quite happen when we are there. So I’ll take the 3/14, 6/11 for not only its upset potenital but because that 11 seed is usually reserved for some of the last at larges in the field. That is where I would like to see either Maryland or UNLV. UNLV is an obvious choice because it would be great for Rhett to have a chance to follow his team all the way into the NCAA tournament, and if we get UNLV it would also prevent us from getting BYU and their roster of 28 year old goof balls. UNLV is also a tradition rich program who has been resurgent in recent years under a great coach. Maryland would also be great since Gary Williams is a classic character, their fans are cool people that hate Duke, and I can make lots of inappropriate Len Bias cocaine jokes. The 6 seed counterpart has to Syracuse. I have been an admirer of the Cuse for a long time but have never had the privilege to see them in person. Magoo is a great coach, I love that big orange mascot, the 2-3 zone, and would like to buy Gerry McNamara a beer if he is in town.
In our 3/14 game I want to see Memphis and Cornell.The cerebral Ivy League approach against the running and gunning style that Calapari has established at Memphis would be fun and I love that Memphis is a powerhouse in a non BCS league, and that the Ivy League doesn’t’ play a conference tournament. And once again I’ve never seen either team.
For the record I always want to see Western Michigan, Michigan State, Eastern Michigan, Oakland, and Georgetown. I’d be happy with all of them at our site every year. However we are 0-7 trying to see Michigan State and it looks like this year they will be a #2 either in Dayton or Minneapolis, and the other 4 have almost no chance at making the field so I am trying to be realistic.
Comments Off Xavier is refered to as X is refered to as dynasty and you put your hands in the air to let them know. While they have lost a few familiar players you’ve grown to love over the past few years (D. Lavender), they played well with Derek Brown in foul trouble early and largely a non factor overall. Memphis still demonstrates they cannot shoot free throws and dunk a lot. Fun game to watch this early in the season. Memphis has freak athletes. Could be aliens.
I knew Indiana was going to be bad, but had no idea just how bad. I love Creen there, and appretiate the tradition and the striped pants. Here’s to hoping its a quick turn around.
Anybody know where I can buy an O’Reilly auto parts t shirt?
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