Tourney Thoughts

You may not care, and there's no doubt that it's repeated enough to be cliche', but the NCAA Basketball Tournament is a tremendously entertaining sporting event. Not because the NCAA is great, or even because basketball is great - but because basketball combined with this tourney format is great. More than any other sporting tournament, the field of 64 can devolve into chaos - and that's what most fans love about it. True, the most talented teams often advance. But sometimes, refereeing, hot (or cold) streaks, and sheer randomness take over

With the NCAA tourney starting tomorrow, I'd be remiss if I didn't make some commentary on my selections in this year's bracket. I have filled out 4 through ESPN/Yahoo/CBS, and have went with the strategy of making all 4 the same. That's right. I'm riding or dying with my gut.

Random Thoughts:
- My Final Four? Kansas, Butler, West Virginia, and Duke. Final game? Kansas vs. Duke. Full disclosure: if the NCAA allowed me to ban two teams from the Final Four at the beginning of each season, I'd always pick these two. Hopefully, the reverse psychology works here and neither makes it. My national champion? Kansas. God, that would suck.

- I've probably jinxed Butler and they'll lose in the first round to UTEP. I just don't like anyone in that West region. I think Syracuse will suffer without their center and I just don't trust K-State, a team and coach who aren't used to such high expectations. I suspect Pitt has played over their heads this season and I think inconsistent Vandy will lose to Murray State in the first round. Thus, Butler, come on down.

- In that same region, I picked BYU to win three games and advance to the Elite 8. The same BYU that refuses to play on Sunday, and oh, hasn't won a tourney game since 1993. In Jimmer Fredette I trust.

- Along with BYU over K-State, I've picked another 7 seed to beat a 2 seed in the 2nd round: Richmond over Villanova. I'll root for the Spiders as far as they go, but don't think they'll can top Baylor, the devil-dealing Baptists.

- I broke a cardinal rule and picked every 5 to beat every 12. I just don't like any of the 5 vs. 12 games this year. Cornell is a chic pick to be sure, but most believe Temple (their opponent in round 1) is better then their 5 seed indicates.. I like the Owls, and watched many pick Cornell to knock off Mizzou in the first round last year only to see them fail. Miserably.

- I did pick three 11-seeds to win (Washington, Old Dominion, and San Diego State). Notre Dame as a 6-seed is just begging for money to drop on ODU.

- In addition, I chose 13-seeded Wofford to beat 4-seed Wisconsin. The past 2 seasons I've put faith in Bo Ryan's Wisky teams in the tourney and always they've failed me. I have little faith in any of the 4 seeds, predicting each of them to lose in either the first or second round.

- I have Mizzou beating Clemson in round 1, not because I'm confident that they will, but rather because I feel contractually obligated. I do think that the team of Tigers that advances will be curb-stomped by WVU in the 2nd round.

- I have Baylor in the Elite 8 - necessitating that they win 3 games. They've never won one game in the tourney, let alone 3, under Scott Drew. But they have the talent.

- No game in this bracket has given me more trouble than the 8-9 game between UNLV and Northern Iowa. For continuity's sake I've picked the best basketball team in the state of Iowa, but I really don't know about this one.

- Another intriguing 8-9 game is Cal vs. Louisville, and I say that because I don't think either team is very good. I picked Cal because this year's Louisville team seems only capable of playing it's A-game against Syracuse, and fails against everyone else. But my heart wants to go L'ville. Partially because I've liked Rick Pitino since his days at Kentucky, but also because of Edgar Sosa. Sosa isn't an especially likable player, but he reminds me of one of my all-time favorite Missouri Tigers: Clarence Gilbert. In the grand cosmic basketball balance sheet, players like Gilbert and Sosa are probably more negative than positive. In graduate school, I was a perfunctory member of the department's intramural basketball team. I rarely saw the court and even more rarely saw the ball. This was good for all those involved. However, I was part of a tandem at the end of the bench, and collectively we were "Captain Jack and the Mad Bomber." I bring this up because the Sosa/Gilbert type is the true Mad Bomber. These guys will chuck up a shot from anywhere on the court. Open, guarded, straight up, falling away ... they don't care and they sure as hell aren't afraid. They miss more than they make, and sometimes (as they say) they can't buy a bucket. But they also get hot. And when they're hot, there's nothing more terrifying in all of basketball.