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

NCAA Tournament Predictions

Round of 32

East
(1) UNC over (9)Arkansas
(5) Notre Dame over (13)Winthrop
(3) Louisville over (11) St. Joe's
(7) Butler over (2) Tennessee

Midwest
(1) Kansas over (9) Kent St.
(5) Clemson over (4) Vandy
(3) Wisconsin over (11) Kansas St.
(2) Georgetown over (10) Davidson

South
(1) Memphis over (8) Miss St.
(4) Pittsburgh over (5) Michigan St.
(6) Marquette over (3) Stanford
(2) Texas over (10) St. Mary's

West
(1) UCLA over (8) BYU
(12) Western Kentucky over (4) UConn
(3) Xavier over (6) Purdue
(2) Duke over (7) West Virginia

Elite 8
(1) UNC over (7) Butler
(2) Georgetown over (1) Kansas
(2) Texas over (1) Memphis
(1) UCLA over (2) Duke

Championship
(1) UNC over (2) Texas
Final Score: 80-70