Dancing With the Stars

I’m glad it’s finally done. It’s official. Teams are no longer on “The Boeheim”. Man I hate that phrase. I hate ESPN’s relentless coverage of a mediocre Syracuse program. No one cares. I apologize for this tangent but really I’m just very happy the speculation is done and the teams deemed worthy can begin playing.

I could take the approach of griping about Tennessee getting the last #2 seed essentially, but I don’t really agree with that. I initially was shocked and frankly pissed. That did not seem fair and I hated the justification of the Vols started out in Birmingham and then going to Charlotte, both relatively close to Knoxville. I appreciate the thought by the committee I suppose, but Tennessee fans are legit and travel. Ultimately I’ve come to acknowledge that in the tournament the best team is going to win no matter how they got there. You are going to have to beat great teams eventually if you want to win the tournament. You are eventually going to have to either beat North Carolina or another team that was at least good enough to beat North Carolina. Honestly any of the other one seeds seem just about as dangerous to me too. So I’m not going to go that route. Had Tennessee beaten Arkansas in the SEC Tournament and then Georgia like they absolutely should have, they wouldn’t be in the situation to begin with. You earn your positions this time of year.

Quickly I would also like to mention something about the SEC Tournament that has been greatly overlooked. Had the Alabama player that hit the three to send the game into overtime that was being played when the tornado hit the Georgia Dome missed the shot…thousands of people would’ve been outside when it hit. Lots of people could have potentially died or been injured. I don’t know how that fact has managed to fly under the radar but I think that’s really interesting/scary. I would also like to say that I’m thrilled for Georgia. What they did was quite the accomplishment. Obviously I wanted Tennessee to win it but what Georgia did is what this part of the season is all about and it was exciting to watch. Way to rep the SEC.

Ok what I’m going to do now is pick my Elite Eight here, give a couple other little guys I think to watch for, and mention a few other games to really watch for surprises in.

The reason I didn’t post this last night is because honestly this is the first season that I have been dumbfound as to who to select in my bracket. I usually take a little while to really look through it all and compare different aspects of teams, then I eventually feel confident…but this season there are so many great teams. Not just as excess of good, competitive teams, but this year there are an excess of great teams.

My official Elite Eight are as follows:

1. East- UNC, Tennessee

2. Midwest- Kansas, Wisconsin

3. South- Memphis, Texas

4. West- UCLA, Xavier

Yea I know…lots of shockers. Honestly speaking, the biggest mistake people make in picking their brackets is picking lots of upsets. You are far more likely to succeed picking fewer. Especially once you get down to the Elite Eight. I think it’s a bad decision 100% of the time to pick an upset team to be in the Final Four. I would only have teams seeded 1-4 in the Final Four personally. That being said I’m a fan of upsets just like everyone else. I want to root for the little guys to get in there and stir things up too. Obviously I didn’t pick any to make it to the Elite Eight but that doesn’t mean I don’t think some have a chance…

Keep an eye on (and maybe pick to thrive):

1. East- None.

2. Midwest- Sienna (I think they’ll beat Vandy), Davidson (I think will beat Gonzaga AND maybe Georgetown…I’m still undecided on Georgetown but I’m considering picking that.)

3. South- St. Mary’s (I expect them to beat Miami.)

4. West- Drake (Drake was a team that I have playing in the Sweet 16. I want to have them beating UCLA but I just can’t logically do that to UCLA. I know Drake hasn’t really been under the radar this season but they still overall have no tournament experience at all and are likely to still get overlooked. I love their coach-Keno Davis-and their style of play. They definitely are a team I’d keep an eye on.) I'm also thinking that as always UConn is vulnerable to lose in the first round but I don't know if I'll pick that.

Other games worth noting:

1. Butler vs. South Alabama- I have no idea who to pick here. I want to go with South Alabama but Butler has an experienced Senior-led team and 29 wins on the season.

2. Gonzaga vs. Davidson- Should be a great game. As I mentioned above I’m going with Davidson here because I like that they have the point guard leading the nation in assists and Dell Curry’s son who can shoot lights out.

3. Marquette vs. Kentucky- Don’t underestimate Kentucky just because they lost Patterson. As a matter of fact don’t EVER underestimate Kentucky. Marquette is a streaky team and you don’t know who will show up. I think you can be sure that Kentucky will show up to play. I’d look for Kentucky to slow Marquette down and force them to play in a half court set. Free throws will be key here in my opinion and Kentucky has proven to be able to knock them down late when it matters most.)

4. Xavier vs. Georgia- Yep I’m going there. I personally have Xavier in my Final Four but at the same time Georgia is HOT and I have no clue what to expect from them come tournament time. I expect them to put up quite a fight but I doubt they'll win really...however I would be willing to sacrifice my bracket if Georgia could go as far as beating UCLA...that would essentially complete my life.