Elite 8: Review of Saturday's games/ Preidctions for Sundays games.

Hello again. I had started writing my review of the Sweet 16, but things happened and I ended up not finishing it. So, I am back with my review of the Elite 8 so far. 2 games took place on Saturday, so I will discuss them and also predict what will happen in Sundays games. Let's get into it.


#1 Florida ended Dayton's magical run by defeating the Flyers, 62-52. Scottie Wilbekin lead the Gators with 23 points, while Dayshawn Pierre had 18 for the Flyers. It was a great run for the Flyers, and they have nothing to be ashamed of. They just ran into a better team.


Now, lets get to the game that really has people talking. #2 Wisconsin defeated #1 Arizona by a score of 64-63 in Overtime. It was back and forth the whole way through, with neither team gaining a big sizeable advantage at any point in the game. The Badgers finally prevailed in overtime. The last 3 seconds of the game were hectic. Johnson was called for an offensive foul with 3.5 seconds remaining and the Wildcats down by 1. I think that the officials should have let it go in that situation, although I have never been an official, and I may have done the same thing if I only had that much time to make a call. It is no lock that Zona would have won the game, and that was not the only play that took place, so no credit should be taken away from Wisconsin. The game was not over yet, however as Arizona would get the ball back after the ball went apparently went off of the hands of a Wisconsin player. I did not think that there was enough evidence to overturn the call, but either way, I hate... HATE the length of these reviews in basketball games, as this play was reviewed for what felt like forever. I understand how important the some calls are, but there was once a time when officials did not feel the need to go to the monitor whenever a close call needed to be made, or deciding if a foul is flagrant or not( which also happened in this game, go figure) was not thought of as necessary. Did that make March Maddens any less exciting, I think not. I could go on for hours about this, but lets move on. Aaron Gordon would then miss a potential game winner, and Wisconsin punch their ticket to the Final Four. If I was Sean Miller, I would have tried to get the ball to a big man in the post, instead of drawing up a play to take a jump shot. Arizona was scoring inside a lot all game long, so it might have worked. Frank Kaminsky lead the Badgers with 28 points and 11 rebounds, while Nick Johnson lead the Wildcats with 16 points.


On Sunday, #7 UConn will face #4 Michigan State,  #2 Michigan will face #8 Kentucky. UConn and UK were not expected to be here, but that is what's great about sports. My predictions? Kentucky is finally playing like they were expected to when the season started in November, and I believe they will pull off the upset here. Michigan did not impress me against Tennessee, and UK is hot. Julies Randal and company will get the Cats to their 3rd Final Four in the past 4 years. Michigan State will prevail as well in my opinion. They are playing great, and Tom Izzo is hard to bet against in these types of games.




That's all I've got to say about that. Thanks for Reading

NCAA Torunament: My thoughts as the Sweet 16 nears

Wow, do we have a lot to talk about. The first 2 rounds of March Maddness were beyond maddness. We saw upsets, heartbreak, joy and a lot of pissed off civilians throwing away their brackets by the time Saturdays games got underway. All of these things are what makes this month so special in the world of sports. When people who are not sports fans fill out a bracket and pay attention just for a brief period of time, that is a special thing. I am not going to do a breakdown of every single game because I am only a man, but I will give out awards, some  good, some bad, but awards nonetheless. Let's get into it.

Biggest Surprise: Mercer beats Duke

Tell me, how many of you reading this post knew where Mercer is located on the map before this game? Now put your hands down, liars. Believe it or not, I do know some people who picked Mercer to win this game, but I was still shocked by the result. The fact that Duke was playing in their home state of North Carolina makes it that much more stunning that they lost. Mercer had 1 thing that the Blue-Devils did not: experience. Most of the mid-major teams that make runs in the tournament are filled with seniors, and that is not a coincidence. Coach K gave Mercer full credit in the post-game press conference, saying basically that they won they game, and not that Duke lost it, which I feel is true, as Mercer played close to perfect. The dream would die just 2 days later at the hands of Tennessee, but that does not take away what these kids accomplished. It will not be forgotten by fans anytime soon.
Biggest disappointment: Wichita State loses to Kentucky
Any time a team that finished the season at 35-0 and gets a #1 seed loses in the 2nd round, it's hard to imagine them not getting this unfortunate award. I am not doing this to hate on Gregg Marshall's team by any means: winning 35 straight games is a great accomplishment no matter what conference a team is in, and I still believe that they deserved all of the praise that they got. Unfortunately for the Shockers, Kentucky was just a little bit better on this day. The thing that is most disappointing to me is that some people will remember the 2014 WSU Shockers as a team that was a product of a down conference and never should have had the spotlight in the first place. Because of that fact, I really feel for those kids who could have been remembered as a team that went to the Final Four and possibly beyond.

Best Game
Wichita State vs. Kentucky
This was a tough one to decide as there were so many great games to choose from in this tournament, but I decided that this one had the most drama. On one side we had an upstart program who was out to prove that it belonged with the best of them. On the other we had a legendary program who's tradition dates back decades, and was out to save what many have called a disappointing season. This alone makes for compelling television, but the game was exactly what makes college basketball great. This game went back and forth the whole way through, and Kentucky had several chances to put they game away late in the game. But the Shockers would not go away without a fight, and the game was not sealed until a 3 pointer shot by Fred VanVleet fell short. Kentucky will move on a face Louisville in the Sweet 16, and what a game that should be.

Best Story: Dayton

What a story. Dayton, Ohio is a town that has fallen on hard times in the past and doesn't have a lot to take pride in, but one thing that people from Dayton are proud of is their basketball team. Now, coach Archie Miller has guided Dayton to the sweet 16 for the first time since Regan was president. This scene on campus pretty much sums up why I think this has been the best story of the tournament so far.

What to watch for: Tennessee is on fire, and I am interested to see what happens when they take on Nick Stauskas and the #2 seeded Michigan Wolverines. Stanford vs. Dayton should be great as it is 2 Cinderella's battling against one another. Louisville vs. Kentucky is 2 historic rivals battling against each other for the 2nd time in March since 2012, so that says it all. All Sweet 16 games are interesting, but these are the ones that stick out to me.

That's all I got for today. Thanks for reading!

Last Minute predictions for the Field of 68

Here are my predictions for who will play who in the NCAA Tournament. I plan of seeing how accurate I am in predicting these, as you will see in my next article.


SOUTH
#1 Florida
#16 Milwaukee
#2 Kansas
#15 Wofford
#3 Syracuse
#14 Manhattan
#4 Creighton
#13 Western Michigan
#5 Ohio State
#12 Harvard
#6 Cincinnati
#11 Dayton/NC State
#7 Saint Louis
#10 Arizona State
#8 Stanford
#9 George Washington


West
#1 Arizona
#16 Albany
#2 Wisconsin
#15 Weber State
#3 Iowa State
#14 UNC Central
#4 San Diego State
#13 Delaware
#5 Kentucky
#12 North Dakota State
#6 Gonzaga
#11 Colorodo
#7 UConn
#10 SMU
#8 Pitt
#9 Texas


East
#1 Michigan
#16 MOUNT Saint Mary's/Costal Carolina
#2 Villanova
#15 AMERICAN U
#3 Virginia
#14 MERCER
#4 UCLA
#13 New Mexico State
#5 New Mexico
#12 Tulsa
#6 VCU
#11 Xavier/Nebraska
#7 Oklahoma State
#10 Saint Joseph
#8 UMASS
#9 California


Midwest
#1 Wichita State
#16 Cal Poly/ Texas Southern
#2 Duke
#15 Georgia State
#3 Louisville
#14 Eastern Kentucky
#4 Michigan State
#13 Stephan F. Austin
#5 UNC
#12 Providence
#6 Oregon
#11 Tennessee
#7 Oklahoma
#10 Iowa
#8 Memphis
#9 Kansas State

NCAA Basketball: My thoughts as March Maddness Nears(Part 1)

We are now in the month of March. We all know what that means: we are approaching March Madness.  I thought it would be a good idea if I would give out my thoughts on who I think the best teams in the country are, and also who I think is overrated/underrated, and teams who I think could turn a lot of heads in a few weeks.

Let's get into it.

Top Teams

Florida

#1 for a reason. Have 4(almost 5) players averaging 10 or more points per game. Have a good combination of size and athletic ability.  The Gatos are lead by senior forward Casey Prather, who is averaging close to 15 points per game, and Michael Frazier, who hit 11 3 pointers in Tuesdays blowout win over South Carolina. They also have one of the best coaches in the country in Billy Donavon. The interesting thing about Florida is, statistically they are not what one would think of when they are thinking of a #1 team. They only rank in the top 100 nationally in 1 major offensive statistic, and that is field goal percentage at a underwhelming #83. One big statistic in their favor is the fact that they have allowed only 58.2 points per game, good for 6th fewest in the country. One thing that should be noted however, is rebounding. The Gators are only 169th in the country in rebounds per game, at 24.2, and that could hurt them in the tournament. Nevertheless, a 28-2 record and #2 RPI does not lie.

Wichita State

31-0. A lot of teams have played in crap conferences over the years, but none has ever accomplished that feat in the regular season. I think that the Shockers are very much for real, and it should not be a shock to anyone if they are in the Final 4 once again(sorry, had to do it.) The Shockers are defensive minded, and are 13th in the country in points allowed per game (59.9) and 17th rebounds per game (26.8). Another thing that helps them beat teams is offensive rebounding. The Shockers are 25th in offensive rebounds per game. Very solid team all the way around, and Greg Marshall is one of the better coaches in the country. Cleanthony Early is also a player to watch, as he averages nearly 16 points a game and is a 6'8 beast. Statisticaly, the Shockers are ready for a deep run in the tournament, but one factor plays against the: 1 team in history has gone undefeated for a full season, and that was Bob Knight's Indiana Housiers, in 1975-76. Stranger things have happened though.

Arizona

I said Florida was ''#1 for a reason'', and it is true, because there is a reason behind everything in life. That being said, I believe the best team in the country resides in Tuscan. I just love the way these guys play. Duquense legend TJ McConnell(pictured at top of post) is a old school point guard. Far from the being mentioned among the nations most physically gifted players, as he averages less then 10 points a game, McConnel makes great use out of the talents that he does posses: getting the ball to the players who do possess great physical talent, being a leader and playing hard as hell. McConnel does all of these things very well, and does exactly what coach Sean Miller wants him to do, and any fan of another team who has a brain would love to have this kid running the point for their team. Aaron Gordon, part of this years very talented Freshman class around college basketball, has been very effective, averaging 12.2 points and 8 rebounds per game. Nick Johnson is the teams leading scorer, averaging 16 points a game. The only 2 games Arizona has lost this year were on the road, both at Cal and Arizona State. Since the Wildcats destroyed both of those teams in Tuscan, maybe they were just flukes. The loss of Brandon Ashley is a problem, and may hurt this team down the stretch, but they have not proven me yet that they can not overcome it. They may not be the best team in the country after all, but for now, this is my opinion.

Wisconsion

On fire. 25-5, a few very quality non-conference wins. Bo Ryan's team always plays together, rarely having a standout player. Much like Florida, the are not a great team statistically, for example they are 270th in the country in offensive rebounding. But, they play great defense and are hot at the most important time of year.

That concludes part 1. Part 2 will deal with other top teams and potential bracket busters. Thanks for reading.