Ah, it is finally that time of year, “March Madness is here.” Dear Lord, I think it is time to duck and cover. Now we have everyone who claims to be a Bracketologist or someone who likes to pick the team with the pretty blue colors have a shot at winning in their bracket pool.
However, how many times do you have to listen to an ESPN personality or some guy who won the Fox Sports tournament tells you how to pick your bracket? To be honest, the “experts” or the “guys who won” probably have little shot of repeating the same success in the next year. So listening to these cats might be a little pointless. We here at Outside the Boxscore would like to talk about the tournament and allow you to form your own judgments about what you should do for your own bracket.
Here are some quick thoughts of the NCAA Tournament of 2009:
->The Big East received three of the four number one seeds: I have some sinking feeling that at least one of these teams will be upset. Why is that? Well, two of those teams did not make it to the final round of the Big East tournament and Louisville has one of the tougher regionals to get through. Do not buy into the “hype” of another chalk bracket this year.
->Give some love to the Pac-10 and ACC: Why is that? Well, these teams have to play through some of the tougher conferences and will be battle-tested for the tournament. Teams like Florida State, Maryland, Wake Forest, and North Carolina (when Ty Lawson is playing) can be world-beaters when playing well.
The Pac-Ten has received little love by the so-called analysts but looking at the teams in the tournament of UCLA, Arizona State, Arizona, and Washington. They have size, speed, and talent. I guarantee that one of the above teams will make a solid run to the Elite Eight.
->Who is the sleeper team of the tournament?: There are a lot of them, but to be honest, when I look at the bracket I do not see a version of George Mason this year.
Some teams to take a look at for early upsets: Portland State, North Dakota State, Western Kentucky, Utah State.
The two major hopes that could pull runs in the tournament are VCU and USC. VCU pulled off an upset of Duke back in 2007 and guard Eric Maynor is back to do more damage and be this year’s “Stephen Curry.”
USC needed to win the Pac-10 tournament to get in but do not think of them as a team without talent. Freshman guard Demar Derozen is a terror on the offensive end and they have size in forward Taj Gibson. USC head coach Tim Floyd has been around the block in the NBA and NCAA, so he knows how to push the right buttons.
->Who will make it to the Final Four?: As stated in a previous point, I highly doubt that we will have another “all-chalk” bracket this year due to the parity in College Basketball. However, when looking at the bracket, it would not surprise me to see 3 #1 seeds and #2 or a split of both #1’s or #2’s in the Final Four.
Teams like Gonzaga, Wake Forest, Duke, Missouri, Michigan State, and Memphis could spoil the party of an all-chalk bracket as well.
So if you take those factors into effect and go make your own judgments about your bracket for this year’s tournament. There is nothing worse than listening to some expert and changing your own picks to reflect what they believe. In the end if you still cannot decide what to do for your bracket, fill out more than one. If you cannot do that, your best guess is just as good as anybodies.
It is really “Madness” after all, Ben’s Take
