NCAA Tournament Thoughts

Let's start with the most talked about topics:

• Middle Tennessee and St. Mary's: Should not have been granted a berth in the NCAA Tournament. I hate this fact but the committee is going to look at a Big 6 school than a teams like these every time. 

By not winning the Conference USA or the WCC, neither were guaranteed zero, zip. Don't look at them and feel sorry because both of them had far too many chances. MTSU played Princeton, Auburn, USC and Miami and went 1-3 in those four games. St. Mary's went 1-2 in the Wooden Legacy and didn't have any body of work in the non-conference part. Good choices by the committee if you ask me.

• USC: Should have been in. USC did their part until the final in their conference tournament. Yes I know that they had several ugly losses and I don't think the FBI probe did anything with it but they had two Top 50 OOC wins both on neutral courts (NMSU and MTSU). They would have a better chance than Syracuse.

• Louisville/Oklahoma State/Notre Dame: Louisville did it to themselves. Close out a 4 point game with nine tenths of a second AT HOME than we'll talk about you guys making the big dance. Lost to Syracuse at home didn't help either. Lost 3 out of the last 4 to close out the year too. OK State yes they've been a great story in year one under Mike Boynton but with a terrible OOC schedule, that put the Cowboys in massive trouble even before the committee met. The Fighting Irish did have a case with quality wins both OOC and in conference play however a lack of chemistry due to their injury bug I think cost them a spot in the end.

• Syracuse: Should not be in. In my opinion, the Orange did not do anything near the justification of them getting in. Losing to Boston College (A lot better this year) doesn't help any but where are their decent wins?? None that I've seen

• Davidson/San Diego State: Bid stealers. Beating SBU and Rhode Island for Davidson and defeating Nevada (San Diego State) were huge for the A10 and MWC and disastrous for teams like Notre Dame/USC/Louisville/St. Mary's.

• East Region: In my opinion it appears that Villanova and Purdue are on a course to meet in Boston two Sundays from now. Florida is a dark horse, wouldn't shock me to see them gone in the first round or make it to the elite eight. Texas Tech needs Keenan Evans healthy to make a decent run at it and it's unlikely but how about a WVU/Marshall Round of 32 matchup? Would make the state of West Virginia proud I bet. 

• West Region: Michigan is playing hot as anything right now. I personally like their chances of getting to San Antonio. Xavier has a relatively easy road until the second weekend (Particularly Ohio State and UNC/A&M/Michigan) North Carolina also will make a run to repeat as champions. If both Michigan and UNC make it to the Round of 16 look out for a classic. I like the Houston/San Diego State game a ton. both are clicking the right time.

• Midwest Region: Death. Taxes. Bill Self. Kansas getting to Omaha won't be easy because Seton Hall and NC State are two underseeded teams and both can match up well to KU. Clemson/NMSU and Charleston/Auburn are going to be the Round of 64 best matchups I feel. New Mexico State and Charleston can cause hell for both Clemson and Auburn. Time to see what NMSU is made out of. Michigan State should make it out of the first weekend and meet Duke. Both Rhode Island and Oklahoma in that 7/10 game are struggling to even make it to the airports to play a game much less win it.

• South Region: The most competitive region out of the four. Both Arizona and Kentucky have tough opponents in the first round and UK has to go to Boise to play them. Don't be shocked if Davidson is in the game at all against Kentucky. Virginia should easily defeat UMBC and Creighton/Kansas State and as long as either Arizona/UK make it ouf of Boise that Virginia/Arizona/Kentucky matchup will have quite a bit of hype to it. Cincinnati in my opinion has a great shot to make it all the way to the regional final. Miami is in a really tough spot to begin the Round of 64 (Loyola (IL)) and Tennessee is really dangerous so if it verifies, UT/Cincy should be a good game.

• Oklahoma and Arizona State: Both are in and should be. Don;t like either of them to advance but both teams have a ton of wins that have equity in them. Beating Xavier and Kansas away from Tempe means something even though you lost 11 out of the last 19. Oklahoma as a member of the Big 12 has 6 Top 35 wins and a win against Wichita State. Didn't see why so many people wanted them out of the bracket.

Everyone complains about what matchup, what location, what teams, what broadcasters they're struck in. And it ends up being a great tournament EVERY SINGLE YEAR does it not?? Stop bitching, play basketball and maybe you win a game or two. It's not supposed to be easy