One's all advance

For the first time in history, we have all four #1 seeds in the Final Four. My picks from Thursday did much better, and I even managed to get back in the black after last weekends second round gambling mishaps. I did miss on the South region and after overestimating Michigan State's chances against Memphis, Texas just didn't have the depth on the bench to hang with the much more athletic Tigers. And the Tigers surprisingly good free throw shooting didn't help. I don't know if it was part of Texas' gameplan to try and force Memphis to beat them from the charity stripe(and based on Memphis' usual free throw shooting, I expect it probably was), but the Tigers stepped up to the challenge and shot over 83% from the line while attempting 27 more free throws. Even if the Longhorns were in hack mode the entire game, 36-9 still seems like an inordinately large difference in foul shot attempts.

Davidson's cinderella run finally expired as Kansas barely managed to hold them off despite another amazing game from Stephen Curry, who became just the fourth player in history to average over 30 points a game in the tournament. Davidson had a chance to win it at the end, but despite only being down by two, the Wildcats decided to try and force a 3 that wasn't there instead of sending Curry into the middle for a two or a chance to draw a foul. Although with Davidson shooting free throws like Memphis(5 of 12 in the game), a foul may not have worked out much better. The loss broke Davidsons 25 game win streak and sent the Jayhawks into the Final Four to face former Kansas coach Roy Williams and North Carolina.

Riding on to San Antonio

Seeing as how my stellar bracket picks from last week have about as much relevance to the actual Sweet 16 as WMD's had with the war in Iraq, here's picks for the teams that are actually playing.

Thursday Games

#3 Xavier over #7 WVU: Last weekend WVU had the advantage of being able to wear down a tired Duke team in the second half. They won't be able to do that with a rested Xavier team that is one of the best defensive teams in the nation, if not the whole country.

#1 UNC over #4 WSU: Washington State is playing great ball right now and have got to be riding high after their win over the Leprechauns in the second round, but UNC is too much for them.

#1 UCLA over #12 Western Kentucky: 3 times in the past couple weeks UCLA has needed a horrible call to win a close game. There was the phantom foul call against Stanford, the no-call followed by the illegal game-winning shot against California, and another no-call against Texas A&M last weekend. Sooner or later their luck will run out and they will be on the wrong side of a bad call. Fortunately for the Bruins, this game won't be close enough for it to matter.

#3 Louisvillle over #2 Tennessee: Tennessee had a legitimate argument for a #1 seed, and instead got screwed with a #2 seed in the hardest bracket of the year. Put them in the Midwest or the South region and they're probably a lock for the Final 4. Louisville started the year slow due to some key injuries, but are playing hot right now. They'll have to slow down a potent Tennessee offense to get a win tonight.

Friday Games

#10 Davidson over #3 Wisconsin: Going out on a bit of limb here, but I'm a sucker for Cinderella stories. This should be a low scoring affair, but if Curry and Jason Richards can get through the stingy Badger defense they'll have a good shot at winning this game. Wisconsin has won both their tourney games easily though whereas Davidson has had to win two tight ones. If they keep this one close I think they have the advantage. Getting through Kansas for a Final Four berth will probably be a different story.

#2 Texas over #3 Stanford: This should be a great game to watch as DJ Augustin and AJ Abrams from Texas take on the Lopez twins from Stanford. When in doubt, pick the team with lower educational standards.

#1 Kansas over #12 Villanova: Villanova has had a great run, and Kansas is in a dead heat with Memphis in the race to see which #1 seed falls first. I've got my cinderella in Davidson, and I'm sticking with it.

#5 Michigan State over #1 Memphis: Memphis' free throw shooting nearly cost them the game against Mississippi St. If Neitzel shows up for the Spartans like he did against Pitt last weekend, Memphis will be in trouble.

Regional Finals

#1 UCLA over #3 Xavier: Anything less than their third straight trip to the Final Four will be a huge disappointment for UCLA, and even with the karma they've got going against them from the bad calls, I've got to give the advantage to Kevin Love and Darren Collison

#1 UNC over #3 Louisville: I don't really see any team still alive in the East or Midwest that can keep UNC out of the Championship game.

#1 Kansas over #10 Davidson: I really hope this matchup happens. If Davidson gets past Wisconsin they're going to be riding with as much confidence as anybody. Unless you're a KU student or grad, theres no way you won't be rooting for Davidson. Can they pull out a George Mason and ride the wave into the Final Four. I wish I could say yes.

#2 Texas over #5 Michigan State: Texas will be working with damn near a home crowd as they won't have to travel outside the state of Texas for the rest of the tourney. Texas also goes a little deeper and I don't know how far Neitzel can carry the Michigan State team.

Damn you Neitzel!

From Wednesday's post...

#4 Pittsburgh over #2 Georgetown - It's a rematch of the Big East championship game with the same results. Pittsburgh takes home their first ever national title. If Georgetown can't get past UNC, UNC beats Pittsburgh though.

Well that worked out well. By the end of Saturday, my bracket wasn't good for anything except wiping my ass.

From 16 to 1

EAST Regionals

#1 UNC over #5 Notre Dame - Luck of the Irish runs out here
#3 Louisville over #7 Butler - I almost picked Butler here, but I gotta give some credit to Pitino

MIDWEST Regionals

#1 Kansas over #12 Villanova - Nice run 'Nova, but you're not super yet(shit, that was cheesy and geeky)
#2 Georgetown over #11 Kansas State - Shit Beasley, if you'd gone to a serious contender you'd be damn near a lock for Player of the Year and the #1 pick in the draft.

SOUTH Regionals

#4 Pittsburgh over #1 Memphis - And the first #1 seed is out! Memphis loses by 4 after going 12-29 from the free throw line.
#2 Texas over #6 Marquette

WEST Regionals

#1 UCLA over #5 Drake - D'oh! Bulldogs Fall to Collison
#3 Xavier over #2 Duke - You've gotta question the wisdom of this one

Great Eight

#1 UNC over #3 Louisville - Honestly if you're not picking UNC for a trip to the finals I don't know what to say
#2 Georgetown over #1 Kansas - Georgetown gets their second straight trip to the Final Four
#4 Pittsburgh over #2 Texas - Now that Pitt is healthy, they are a genuine threat to take home a title
#1 UCLA over #3 Xavier - And we've got two #1 seeds in the Final Four

Final Four

#2 Georgetown over #1 UNC - I don't know what to say
#4 Pittsburgh over #1 UCLA - I'm channeling my inner Bobby Knight. If they lose I'll just throw a chair across the room and choke somebody.

Championship

#4 Pittsburgh over #2 Georgetown - It's a rematch of the Big East championship game with the same results. Pittsburgh takes home their first ever national title. If Georgetown can't get past UNC, UNC beats Pittsburgh though.

Second Round Picks

EAST

#1 UNC over #9 Arkansas
#5 Notre Dame over #13 Winthrop - No cinderella here
#3 Louisville over #11 St Josephs - No glass slipper here either
#7 Butler over #2 Tennessee - I give Tennessee plenty of support drinking Jack Daniels. Time to show Butler a little love.

MIDWEST

#1 Kansas over #8 UNLV
#12 Villanova over #4 Vanderbilt - Hmmm, can the Wildcats make it till midnight?
#11 Kansas St over #3 Wisconsin - Uh-oh, Villanova has competition for the midwest cinderella crown
#2 Georgetown over #10 Davidson - This is pretty experienced Georgetown that didn't lose much from their 2007 Final Four run

SOUTH

#1 Memphis over #8 Mississippi St - I don't think Memphis has what it takes for a serious title run, but they get past the Bulldogs without much trouble
#4 Pittsburgh over #12 Temple - Another cinderella wannabe turns out to be an ugly stepsister
#6 Marquette over #3 Stanford - If they're the Cardinals, why is Stanfords mascot a Christmas tree that looks like it won 3rd prize in a kindergarten grade arts and crafts contest
#2 Texas over #10 St Mary's - If Durant had stuck around for another year, this Texas team would be headed for title town

WEST

#1 UCLA over #9 Texas A&M
#5 Drake over #4 UConn - Drake Beats Fairies from Connecticut
#3 Xavier over #11 Baylor - You hear that Baylor? Thats the clock striking midnight. Maybe next year
#2 Duke over #10 Arizona - Duke haters will have to wait at least another week

March Madness starts tomorrow

Holy shit the games start tomorrow. Where the hell did the rest of the week go? Between work, St Paddy's day, and other things going on, I didn't even fill out a bracket until this morning. In addition, other than a few conference tourney's I've watched very little basketball in the last several weeks and managed to squeeze in maybe a grand total of an hour of March Madness preview shows on ESPN this week. Since I don't have much time today to do serious research, I'm going with the gut-feeling method of filling out a bracket. Because of this, I'm not going to list any gambling picks for the first two rounds this weekend. I can't stress enough the importance of not taking these picks seriously. Unfortunately, my complete lack of effort on this also almost guarantees this will be the best bracket of my life.

EAST

#1 UNC over #16 Mt St Mary
#9 Arkansas over #8 Indiana
#5 Notre Dame over #12 Winthrop - Notre Dame is actually one of the few teams I've watched this year, and they've been flying under the radar
#13 Winthrop over #4 Washington State - Woohoo, our first big upset of the week
#11 St Joseph's over #6 Oklahoma - Sorry, no Fiesta Bowl rematch here
#3 Louisville over #14 Boise State - Despite what I said Monday, these Cardinals will totally kick the shit of these Broncos
#7 Butler over #10 South Alabama - South Alabama? So are they from the Gulf of Mexico?
#2 Tennessee over #15 American - If you pick American to lose the terrorists win, but if you pick them to win you hose your bracket. Nobody said this was gonna be easy

MIDWEST

#1 Kansas over #16 Portland St
#8 UNLV over #9 Kent State - Always bet on Vegas
#12 Villanova over #5 Clemson - Clemson played tough in the ACC tourney, but I still say they're a 9 or 10 seed at best
#4 Vanderbilt over #13 Siena - Isn't Siena a crayola color? update: Burnt Sienna is a crayola color. They still lose
#11 Kansas St over #6 USC - USC has a solid team, but whose gonna stop Beasley? And Mayo ain't going shot for shot with Beasley
#3 Wisconsin over #14 CS Fullerton
#10 Davidson over #7 Gonzaga
#2 Georgetown over #15 UMBC

SOUTH

#1 Memphis over #16 UT-Arlington
#8 Mississippi St over #9 Oregon - I'm still not sure why I picked this one
#12 Temple over #5 Michigan St - When in doubt, pick against the Big 10
#4 Pittsburgh over #12 Oral Roberts - Cause nobody wants oral from a dude named Roberts
#6 Marquette over #11 Kentucky
#3 Stanford over #14 Cornell - It's the battle of the eggheads! Stanford by the square root of 158!
#10 St Mary's over #7 Miami
#2 Texas over #15 Austin Peay

WEST

#1 UCLA over #16 Mississippi Valley
#9 Texas A&M over #8 BYU - If God was a mormon, Mitt Romney would've beat McCain. BYU heads home early for Easter.
#5 Drake over #12 Western Kentucky - Drake Balls For Championships
#4 UConn over #12 San Diego
#11 Baylor over #6 Purdue
#3 Xavier over #14 Georgia - I hadn't heard a peep about Xavier until the selection show. Where the hell did they come from?
#10 Arizona over #7 West Virginia - Arizona SOS is #2 and they played in the Pac-10. I gotta give them some love
#2 Duke over #15 Belmont - Duke may have gotten a gift with the #2 seed, but they still take Belmont easily

From the Weekend

What you missed while passed out in green-infused drunken haze

• Nate McMillan got his 300th career victory as the Blazers beat the Timberwolves 107-96. Big props Coach!
• Denver had 8 players score in the double digits and Marcus Camby had a triple double in less than 27 minutes of play as the Nuggets beat the Oklahoma Sonics 168-116
• The Rockets continued their improbable win streak, beating the Lakers by 12. The Rockets have now won 22 straight games, including 10 straight since they lost Yao Ming for the year.
• Tiger Woods is dialed in tight. After two rounds of play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Tiger trailed by 7 strokes and his streak of 6 straight tournament victories seemed at risk. But Tiger battled back and by the time he got to the 72nd and final hole, he was tied for the lead and he was standing 25 feet away from the hole with a downhill, breaking putt that would either win it or send him to a playoff. Even though he hadn't made a putt over 20 feet all weekend, I think we all would have been more surprised if he had missed it. Tiger has 9 wins and a 2nd place finish in his last 10 tournaments, and is now tied with Ben Hogan for third place on the all-time wins list.
• The NCAA tournament field is set. Memphis, UCLA, Kansas, and North Carolina all received #1 seeds. Coppin State became the first team to ever make the tournament after losing 20 games, and will face off with Mount St Mary's Tuesday for the right to lose to North Carolina.

I'll be back later this week with some March Madness picks. You should ignore them and make your picks based on the mascots and uniforms. It's a proven method. If you can't beat Veronica in accounts payable, join her. Don't worry about what your friends will think. If they ask why you picked Boise State over Louisville, you don't have to tell them it was because you thought a Bronco would kick the shit out of a Cardinal, just spout some shit about Boise State's 50% shooting from the field and higher assist/turnover ratio.

I'm kind of a big deal

I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany. Oh yeah, and I'm also officially a Portland Trailblazers season ticket holder. That's right, next year me and one lucky guest(it could be you!) will be sitting in section 317, row L, seats 1 and 2.



That's right, I got aisle seats. That means I won't even have to step over any fat guys when I get up to get another beer.