Speculation, Conspiracy, and the Golden Flashes
Everyone else is talking about it, so I figure I may as well put in my two cents. It's March and for a sports fan, that means you're either talking Spring Training, NFL Draft, or March Madness. I can't stand baseball and I'm not a big enough fan of Pro Football to care about the draft, so guess what I'm going to talk about.
Who's got it in for the Zags?
What does Gonzaga have to do to get a decent seed? Granted, they're in the West Coast conference, but they went 13-1 in that conference and only lost two games outside of the conference, both to teams in the dance. They deserved better than a 6 seed and they should have been somewhere besides the West Region. Look for them to take care of business in the first round, but it'll be an early exist for the Zags as they come up against an Arizona team that's going to go pretty far in the tourney.
The 5-12 split
So which 5 seed gets upset this year? If you follow the Madness with any regularity then you know that every year one of the 12 seeds jumps up and bites a 5 seed in the upset category. This year won't be an exception. I wouldn't be surprised if Tulsa gave the East's 5th seed a ticket home, but my money's being placed over in the wild wild west. Missouri stumbled late in the season and limped into the tournament, but I think when coach Quin (the Eskimo) gets here, everybody's gonna rally 'round him (all apologies to Manfred Mann). Quin Snyder's Duke blood refuses to go out in the first round, especially to a Big East Opponent. They have quality wins against teams that either are in the tournament (Alabama, and Oklahoma State) or had their bubble burst late in the day (Virginia). It's not a lock, but don't look surprised if Miami goes home earlier than expected.
The Onion Picks
Here's a list of picks that I thought about making but didn't have the...um...intestinal fortitude to make. If you've got a bigger pair than I do, feel free to take these as your own:
Creighton - They traditionally give whoever they play in the first round fits. This year Florida is the target. The Gators faded late in the season and are ripe for an upset. I just think the Gators look at Creighton and see Butler, who gave them everything they could ask for and then some last year, if memory serves.
Valparaiso - Who? I know Valpo doesn't get much talk outside of the Mid-Continent conference, but they were 12-2 in their conference and lost to Arizona by 4 and Kansas by 8. Kentucky's coach Tubby Smith is on the hot seat and his kids know it. Unfortunately I don't think they have what it takes to save him. Look for whoever wins this game to be out in the next round.
Gonzaga - I like this team so much I'm going to mention them twice. The last three times they've been here they've been given a crappy seed and managed to make it to the sweet sixteen. The problem this year is that they're not an underdog. This time they've just been given a raw deal. 'Zona will be looking for them in the second round and coach Lute Olsen will make sure the Wildcats don't underestimate the Bulldogs.
Kent State - I've been whispering "Golden Flashes" to Alabama fans since the brackets came out. Of course, they don't believe Kent State has a chance of beating Oklahoma State, much less the Crimson Tide; but you have to respect an 18-game win streak. I don't care if a majority of the wins came in the MAC. That's not a bad basketball conference. If they make it past the Cowboys, then look for the Flashes to make some noise in the press room by upsetting the number 2 seed.
You knew it was coming
Who's going to win, oh round ball swammy, you say? I'm torn between Kansas and Duke. If there's a year that Kansas can win it all, this is it. They average 93 points per game. Their lowest point total in a conference game was 74 against a number 2 seeded Oklahoma. But I keep reminding people I bracket against that the numbers don't lie. Last year was the first time a Roy Williams led team made it past the sweet 16. Duke is poised to repeat as national champs. Who's it going to be in the end? Guess you'll have to join my Yahoo group ant find out. Head over to http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/men , sign up and choose to Join a Private Group. When prompted, enter the following information:
Group ID#: 2348
Password: club 721
We'll see who still standing at the end of the month.
Gasucawa,