Quick Hits: NBA Playoffs

I couldn't have been more wrong on the Rockets. This series is once again proving that the regular season is . . . the regular season, and it doesn't mean anything come playoff time.

Love him or hate him, LeBron probably isn't as overrated as Deshawn Stevenson thought. Oh, and Deshawn, as much as you probably wish you were invisible right now, we still see you. Taunting when down by 20 really shows a person's true character . . . and you clearly have none.

Why do the "experts" have Cleveland winning in 6 or 7? They've eliminated the Wiz the past 2 years, and this time Gilbert Arenas is nowhere near 100%, and the King is extremely motivated. I will be stunned if this series makes it to game 6.

Could the Eastern Conference 1st round be any worse? It's an absolute lock that all the top seeds will advance. The only thing even remotely interesting, is how big of a scare can the Sixers give the Pistons? I'd rather watch the NHL playoffs . . . almost.

Philadelphia and Atlanta are in the Playoffs, while the Heat are crossing their fingers for a #1 draft pick. That's a statement I never would've anticipated making heading into this season.

Tim Duncan . . . for 3?

Chris Paul is a one man show. There are better scorers, but no one carries their team the way CP3 does. The ball is always in his hands and nothing positive happens, unless he orchestrates it. He's more fun to watch than J-Will in Sacramento, and that's saying a lot.

Ladies and Gentlemen . . . My New Hero!

Night 1 of the Sweet 16 provided the mild surprise of Louisville dominating Tennessee. But . . . Stephen Curry and Davidson has one upped Pitino's squad. Davidson cruised to a 73-56 win over Wisconsin in the first batch of games Friday night. I now find myself strongly routing for Villanova. Could there be anything better than a 10 vs 12 in the Elite 8? OK, I admit it, I'm a sucker for a Cinderella, but if you're not in love with Stephen Curry (I'm man enough to admit it), I'm questioning your basketball fanhood.

Updated Bracket
NY Times on Davidson Upset

Oh So Sweet 16 Preview

We're down to 16 teams, and North Carolina is still my top choice to win it all.

With 25% of the teams remaining from non-power conferences (Memphis, Davidson, Xavier, Western Kentucky), could we see a surprise national champion this year? Cross Memphis off the list of underdogs (being a #1 seed), and eliminate W. Kentucky (there's just no way), and that leaves us with Davidson and Xavier as dark horse selections. Take into account a possible Elite 8 matchup between 10th seeded Davidson and 12th seeded Villanova, and things could get interesting in San Antonio.

Predictions
(1) UNC over (4) Washington State
(3) Louisville over (2) Tennessee
(1) Kansas over (12) Villanova
(10) Davidson over (3) Wisonsin
(1) Memphis over (5) Michigan State
(3) Stanford over (2) Texas
(1) UCLA over (12) W. Kentucky
(7) West Virginia over (3) Xavier

NCAA Round 2 Recap

The Sweet Sixteen is set, and we have 3 Cinderellas remaining. Could we see #12 Villanova against #10 Davidson in the Elite 8? A guy can dream can't he . . .

I didn't have the guts to pick Davidson, but I did have a hunch. Well, sure enough they pulled out, upsetting Georgetown 74-70. Curry went for 25 in the 2nd half (30 in total), and proved once again why he's the most exciting player in the nation.

I correctly picked Western Kentucky to make the Sweet 16. Sure the rest of my picks suck, but I still feel good about that.

Call me crazy, but I actually enjoy watching Stanford. The Lopez twins are two skilled big men, which is a rarity in today's basketball world. I'm now officially pulling for the Cardinal to reach the Final 4.

Oh, and one final note . . . I can't decide what's a more effective method of torture; waterboarding or watching Wisconsin grind out another ugly win.

NCAA Day 2 Thoughts

Finally . . . some HUGE upsets. San Diego over UConn (didn't see it coming), Western Kentucky over Drake (picked it correctly), and Siena over Tennessee (also picked it correctly) all sparked the beginning of the Cinderella talk.

Villanova busted my bracket by beating Clemson. I had the tigers moving on to the Sweet 16.

Davidson also fits that Cinderella mold. Stephen Curry is absolutely amazing. He had 40 points (30 in the 2nd half), with the defense keying on him the entire game. I'm expecting Davidson/Georgetown to be a great game , and wouldn't be surprised if Davidson pulls it out.

What a treat for the fans in Tampa. All 4 underdogs advanced from the same site for the first time in tournament history.

Congrats to my my Razorbacks, who move on to play #1 seeded North Carolina in the 2nd round on Sunday. North Carolina is the superior team, but that's the great thing about March . . . anything can happen.

Through round 1 I've correctly picked 25 out of 32 games. My Sweet Sixteen is still intact (except for Clemson).

What to watch in Round 2: 13. Siena/12. Villanova (Sun. 12:10), 7.Butler/2.Tennessee (Sun. 2:30), 13.San Diego/12.Western Kentucky (Sun. 2:40), 10.Davidson/2.Georgetown (Sun. 2:50), 9.Arkansas/1.North Carolina (Sun. 5:20)

NCAA Day 1 Thoughts

Belmont was for real. It wasn't a fluke that the Bruins were able to play with Duke. If Belmont would've shot slightly better from behind the arc (which may have happened if there best 3 point shooter, Wicke wasn't in foul trouble) the Blue Devils would be watching at home come Saturday.

Overall, a disappointing day, with no real upsets. Kansas St. over USC and Texas A&M over BYU weren't exactly shockers.

How disappointing was Kent St.? I'll be honest, I didn't know much about the Golden Flashes heading into the Big Dance. All the "experts" had great things to say about them, some even going so far as to predict a possible 2nd round upset over Kansas. Well . . . we all see how that turned out. 10 points in a half is absolutely unbelievable.

I thoroughly enjoyed the Xavier/Georgia game. A great back and forth battle, where Xavier showed their poise and experience.

Through day 1 I have 3 incorrect picks: Washington St. over Winthrop, UNLV over Kent St., Texas A&M over BYU

Bracket Blog - Day 1

Day one has provided two monumental blowouts, and a very limited dose of madness. So far, with four games to go tonight, Duke vs. VCU has been the only "down to the wire" finish. Out of the 12 games thus far, I've picked 10 correctly (which is much better than my usual ratio of success by this point in the tourny).

The day consisted of skipping my night class to watch games, signing my younger brother out of school at 12:00 so that he could watch games, and generally avoiding all of my daily responsibilities (so I could watch games, of course). As for day 2, I'll be glued to the games once again, and I'm expecting a little more drama for Friday's action.