NCAA Hoops, Royal Rumble, Blue Team

Loads of NCAA happenings. First of all, next week I will put up my first predicted bracket. More info on that to come later on this week or with the bracket itself. Secondly, a plug for the website: www.bracketography.com has a new piece up by me. I like Buzz Peterson, so I wrote about him. Read it and weep...or just read it. Next, I will spare you details, but let's look at some teams rising and falling in NCAA hoops.

• Oklahoma got a must-have conference win over Texas Saturday night on ESPN. It was must-win b/c it gave them confidence, got'em a big win on nat'l TV, and sent OU in the direction of the top of the Big 12 where it was projected at the beginning of the season.
• Seton Hall notched huge wins over NC State and Syracuse. Right now, today, the Hall would be the last team in the tourney. But that's just today, cause they're hott. With two T's.
• Stanford is quietly pushing towards the top of the horrible Pac-10. The Cardinal are only 10-7 on the season, but are tied for second in the league with Cal and Arizona. Cal and Stanford each have weak out-of-conference profiles, but could both finish higher in the league than "sure-fire" NCAA teams Arizona and Washington. Heard it here first: one of them, either Stanford or Cal, will make the NCAA. I got $5 on Stanford.
• Let me put it this way: I had Stanford, ahem, somewhat successful in my preseason predictions. If you are motivated, go back and check in the November archives. But don't try too hard, I don't want to look stupid. I honestly think they could slip in and do some damage. And Washington: don't foul 3-point shooters. Especially Chris Hernandez.
• Boston College is playing unbelievable ball right now. A natural let-down against Georgia tech at home, but I never felt as though the Eagles were in danger. The key for BC will be getting a good matchup in its bracket in March and the development of a consistent outside shooting game from Sean Marshall, Tyrese Rice, and Louis Hinnant. I am liking this team more and more as the season "roles" on.
• How 'bout a nice booster for the ACC courtesy of Carolina's whooping of Arizona? Yes sir, that was good. And on top of that, the women's team is number 1 for the first time in the regular season after a come-from-behind won at rival Duke. Congrats.
• Later this week, we'll look at my first 5 to Thrive for the tourney: 5 teams who could very well Thrive this March.

In unrelated news, I missed the Royal Rumble on Sunday night for the first time since college. It is by far my favorite WWE PPV every year, more so than Wrestlemania. There is such a letdown after Mania, but the Rumble sets up the entire year's worth of storylines. Rey Mysterio won the Rumble, which I think is dumb to be honest, especially if they end up stripping him of the title shot at Wrestlemania XXII, which is the current rumor. I am tired of good guys winning the rumble every year. But, better Rey winning it than HHH. Also, Kurt Angle defended his title against Mark Henry (duh) and Edge dropped his belt to John Cena. That is ridiculous. Why put the title on Edge for a month, then give it right back to the same guy. If you're gonna waste his title shot and subsequent win, at least use him to transfer the title from one good guy to another. Now we will end up with Cena vs HHH at Wrestlemania with HHH winning back the title for the 457th time. Wonderful. And, Edge will go back to sucking as the guy who has no point in the big picture.

Blue Team from here on out (remember, the Blue Team is my alma mater...I am writing about the alma mater):

Nice win, but don't get too excited. The opponent, though talented, is really not that good. They play zero defense and are known for getting completely out-of-sync and away from their gameplan. We looked good, but give any decent team open shots and they should make them. I'm excited about Green Light coming on and firing away, he has been a spark for sure. Our PGs were good, but they have to play like that consistantly. Finally, what do you say about the Mule? The Psycho one is unreal. I just hope he doesn't get tired.

Big picture: Resume building win, but the league is more important. The best would be 10 wins in the league, 9 is the goal, and 8 is the minimum. We're probably in the Dance either way, but it would be nice to have 9 league wins and play on Saturday in the conference tourney. Remember, at the beginning of the season, we said we'd gladly take a 6-seed and two rounds in the NCAAs. That is still successful at this point. Who knows...maybe...nah, nevermind.

I don't wanna be a playa no mo'...