Today is 3/7/06 on a Tuesday. Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament (a.k.a. The Big Dance) is this upcoming sunday. I've gotta take my picks, and so here I go. I won't list for you all of the teams going, because half the teams goin dancing will be going fishing before you can blink your eyes. So, who's a contender, and who's a pretender? I'll break down 8 teams that have many people talking about them.
Teams (Not in order of rank) :
1. Duke: (Breakdown) These guys have two great players in Sheldon Williams and J.J. Reddick. Reddick is the best guard in basketball, and Williams is one of the elite
Big Men in the NCAA. These two guys have a lot of star power, but two guys can't carry the load of this Duke team all the way. The just lost to arch rival North Carolina over the weekend, at home on Coach K court, and I just can't help but wonder if the weight of this team is a little two strong for Sheldon Williams, and especially J.J. Reddick.
(Prediction) Ok, despite all the pressure on J.J. and Sheldon, these guys are going to make the elite eight. They will lose however, and fail to make the final four.
2. Memphis: (Breakdown) This team is 2-2 against ranked teams. (They beat Gonzaga, they lost to Duke, they beat UCLA, and lost to Texas.) All these teams are among the major title contenders in the country. Everybody else aside from UAB (Beat Memphis five days ago 80-74), has been crushed. Memphis is playing well right now, and they have five seniors on their roster, so experience is not a problem. Memphis will be tough to beat.
(Prediction) Final Four team, baby. These guys are good. They can compete with anybody, and to to tell you the truth, they have what it takes to go all the way. They won't take the title, but depending on the bracket, they just may make the title game. No.1 seed all the way.
3. Gonzaga: (Breakdown) This team is 2-3 against ranked teams. They played all these teams well, and are certainly very competitive. (They beat Maryland and Michigan State) (barely lost to Uconn and Washington by a combined 6 points) So, they can ball. They got the skillz that killz. My only concern is they barely beat Loyola Maramount (a Bullshit team from the WCC) to take the WCC title. The score was 68-67, and so that now pushes their winning streak to 17 consecutive wins. People say that the Zags have played in so many close games, and their RPI doesn't speak for shit due to their bullshit conference known as the West Coast Conference. I sadly, have to agree with this analysis, because here is the bold-faced reality. Over those last 17 wins, not one of those teams were ranked. Almost all of which were teams from the WCC. A lot of those games were close (i.e. Loyola Maramount). Here is the reality, I don't know if Gonzaga remembers how to beat a top ranked team. (the first two wins against top 25 teams came in their first three games) It almost seemed like they started hot, and then just whooped on the crappy teams from their divison, and then put up a valient effort against contenders. Look, valient efforts don't count for shit. Wins do. So, unless they can put their noggins 2gether and remember how to beat a top ranked team, they could be in trouble come tourney time. Plus, they are too one dimensional, they have Adam Morrison who's fantastic, and then from there the well begins to run dry. They only other good player they've got beside Morrison is J.P. Batista who's been kicking some ass. But other than that it is up to Morrison (and J.P. Batista) to carry this team, and they will suffer from the same desease that will plauge Duke. It's called onedemensionalysis (When you have one or two guys with mad skillz and then everybody else is just a part of the circus). This desease can kill so many teams. They got no depth, they got no recolection of how to beat a tough team, so it will be tough.
(Prediction) An elite 8 matchup against either Uconn, Memphis, or Vilanova, and they will get spanked (by 10+ points) It will be valient effor that will fall short.
4. Uconn: (breakdown) First off, definantly a final four team (and the national champion) . They got depth, they've got wins, they've got the schedule to back it up, and they got so much more. These guys are the very best team in the best conference in basketball. That would be the Big East Conference . Every team in that conference seems to be contending for the national title. No team there is out of the mix, and they will send 6-8 teams to the tourney. Heck, why not send them all? No seriosly, they've got a fabulous record against top 25 teams. They are (get this!) 8-1 against top 25 teams. That is crazy. The only loss was to No.2 Villanova couple of weeks ago, and since then they payed back the favor by beating Villanova by more points. Nobody can beat them, they are destined to be a No.1 seed barring any bizzarre scenario in which the commitee gets drunk and throws in Gonzaga, George Washington, UCLA, and Kansas as no.1 seeds (which won't happen because the commitee can't be SUI "Selecting Under the Influence"). So, they will be number 1. Everybody on the starting 5 is averaging 10+ points again, and they can go as deep as 8 or 9 players, which is just spooky when you compare that to "Duo" Duke and the goofy Gonzaga Bulldogs.
(Prediction) They will go to the NCAA Title Game..........and WIN!!! They will be NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!! who will they face? Does it really matter? No, because they will win. Huskies all the way baby!
5. North Carolina: (breakdown) Let me say, that this is a team that very well may live up to last seasons Championship standards. They are young, but they have talent. This team is 5-3 against ranked teams, so it is clear that these guys are a threat. They are not very deep relative to other teams, but their 3 best players (Tyler Hansbrough, Reyshawn Terry, and David Noel) are all very good players, and they can come together to beat anybody in the nation, as it was seen last saturday as they upset arch rival Duke on "Coach K Court" by a score of 83-76.
So, they are lethal, but I don't expect them to hang around for long.
(Prediction) The elite eight is where they will finish. They got enough depth, talent, and skill to get to the elite eight, but they will lose in a close one in the elite eight.
6. George Washington: (breakdown) 1-1 against top 25 teams and (0-0) against top 15 teams. Yup, that is right. Despite being ranked as high as #6 in the nation, I think that they just don't have the strength of schedule to back it up. They lost to Temple in the Atlantic 10 tourney, and so I can't quite expect this team to go far. If you think Gonzaga is over rated, you have not seen nothing yet. George Washington is the most over-rated team in the nation. No wins against top 15 ranked teams (because they've never played them), so unless they can go out and beat one of these teams, why in the hell are they ranked in the top 15? Look, here is where G.W. belongs, # 20 in the nation. That's it. If they want to prove other wise, then let's see them go far in the tourney.
(Prediction) They will be a third seed, which is why I think they'll get to the sweet 16 and lose. They really have a nice team, it's just that they are not worthy of being a top 10 team. What's on their resume?
7. UCLA: (Breakdown) These guys are 2-4 against ranked teams in the country. Not really impressive for a number 2 seed. They did however mangage to win the Pac 10 tourney, so they are a good team, but, I don't have them escaping the sweet sixteen, since the Zags will knock them out. A great season, certainly a team to watch for, but realistically, they'll be packing for home earlier than they expected.
(Prediction) I already said it, a loss to Gonzaga in the sweet 16.
8. Tennesee: (Breakdown) 3-1 against ranked teams. They are dangerous. Chris Lofton and C.J. Watson make up a very deadly Tennesee back court that could cause a lot of problems for teams come tourney time. Major Wingate their Center is also playing very well right now, he can score, and he's a decent rebounder and defender. With those 3 guys on the court at once, Tennesee can be very dangerous.
(Prediction) But, despite that great trio, Tennesee will fall short in the sweet 16 to North Carolina. It will be a good game, but the Tarheels will come out on top.
