I'm not a huge college basketball fan. In fact, I've not watched a complete college game so far this year. That said, when March rolls along, much like the nicer weather, college basketball starts appearing more often in my life. This year is no different. I am ready for a fun three weekends of three-point shooting, pick and rolls, and zone defenses, and other things that make the quality of the college game a whole lot worse than the NBA, but the drama just as good. Anyway, the bracket this year has some interesting storylines all to its own. Here are my rambling thoughts on the bracket.
= The first thing that jumped out was the quality of the Southeast (the quarter that Pitt is the #1), and by that, I mean mostly how soft it is. They have, imo, the worst of all the 2's (Florida, a team way overranked), and due to Davies' suspension, the worst of the 3's. Honestly, they have the worst of the 4's, in Wisconsin, as well. Pittsburgh is famous for flaming out in the tournament under coach Jamie Dixon and even before that under Ben Howland. If they don't make it out this year, then they never will.
= Ohio St. can't be too happy with its draw given that it is the top overall seed. This is the second year the selection committee has loaded the region with the overall top seed. Last year Kansas got a brutal draw that was irrelevant since they lost to Northern Iowa. This time, they have a good 2-3-4-5-6-7. All of those teams have a shot. Ohio St. has a really good combination of inside/outside offense but they will need to be at their best.
= I won't be able to really talk about the legitimacy of VCU and UAB being included over the likes of Colorado and Alabama and Virginia Tech, but I will talk about how pissed off Jay Bilas was. He threw the biggest shit-fest over the whole thing, calling out everyone associated with the committee, saying it doesn't "pass the laugh test" (which really made no sense). He made it seem like the biggest snub in the history of the bracket bubble. Why all this drama for teams that have about a .02% chance of making it even to the Sweet 16? Lord knows, but to see Jay Bilas, one of the best, most intelligent, level-headed ESPN personalities, lose his shits was fun.
= I said this last year: "Kansas was my pick to win it all, and this is the last time I ever trust them. I had them winning it all in 2007 too. Of course, they won the following year, so this might bode well for the 2011 Jayhawks." I honestly predicted Kansas winning the 2011 title back in May 2010. Of course, it isn't really a prediction, nor am I going to pick them, but it is scary how consistent they are at screwing with my bracket one year and being really good the next.
= Is there nothing more grating than everyone saying "The Big East is the best conference by far." And this unfounded crap is only going to intensify now that the Big East got 11 bids. This is a conference that got 8 bids a year ago, and only two got to the sweet sixteen and only one got to the elite eight (West Virginia, a team that was not among the best Big East teams last year). Also, the Big East was a juggernaut in 2009. This is not the same thing. I don't see any great teams from the Big East. I'll be stunned if any of them win the title. In 2009, three of the one seeds were from the Big East, and out of their seven bids, five made the Sweet 16, four made the Elite Eight, and two made the Final Four. That's success. If the Big East fails again to come close in 2011, I think the "Big East is the SEC of basketball" needs to stop.
= Back to the draw. I'm not loving Duke's chances. First, they are out West. One seeds out west, especially those who don't come from the Western part of the country, are not usually very successful. Only UCONN as a one out West has come out of it, and that was in 2009. Strange thing about UCONN, which makes Duke's position more precarious, is that they are amazing out West. UCONN was in the West bracket in 1999, 2004 and 2009. Their results: Champions, Champions, Semifinals.
= Also, there is the Tennessee and Texas factor. Texas is a good team that went through a lull, but is, in my opinion, really underranked. They were in the conversation for a one or two seed a couple weeks ago. They can play. Then there is Tennessee, who has been extremely average for most of the second half of the season. That said, they have some big scalps on their mantle over the past four years. Bruce Pearl coaches that team up like no other. In the Florida Back-to-Back years, Tennessee beat Florida three out of four times. In 2007, they played Greg Oden's Ohio St. team in the Sweet 16 and lost by one. In 2010, Kentucky and Kansas had a combined three regular season losses, two of those were to Tennessee. Then, as a five seed they made the Elite Eight. Finally, this season, they beat Pitt and then beat Villanove when they were good. They are a team that can rise to the level of their opponent.
= Kansas should be worried about Louisville. Rick Pitino has NEVER lost in the Sweet 16 round. If he goes that far, he always makes at least the Elite Eight, which is a ridiculous statistic. Kansas and Louisville are slated to play in the Sweet 16. That said, Self is 5-2 in the Sweet 16 round, so something has to give, but I'm not liking Kansas' chances against Sir Rick Pitino.
Overall, this should be a fun tournament. There really is no great team, although Ohio St. is probably the closest. The tournament is really wide open, and there is a chance for some new blood in the Final Four. As always, it is March, let the madness begin.
I'll be back with picks later today or tomorrow. Part 2 of the India-venture coming later this week.
