NCAA Tournament Thoughts

So I managed to forget my actual projected bracket at home; thus, I will give a summary of how my projections looked before delving into the actual bracket itself.

I correctly predicted 63 out of the 65 teams. Therefore, the quest for perfection continues. I had both Cincinnati and Michigan in the Field of 65 and Air Force and Utah St out. As I have mentioned to those I have talked to since Sunday night, I am perfectly ok with Michigan being left out in favor of Utah St. Michigan was my last team in the tournament and Utah St my second team out of the field (Hofstra was the first team out for me, with Missouri St third and Florida St fourth). However, Cincinnati being left out would be hilarious if it was not so painful for their team. Other experts I saw after the brackets came out last night had projected Cincy as high as a 9-seed; I believe I had them a 10-seed. Either way, that means there were between 10-14 teams that were considered lesser bids than the Bearcats. I have to wonder if the fact that Cincinnati's inclusion would have put the Big East at nine bids or the cloudiness of the coaching situation at Cincy factored in to the committee's decision. Furthermore, Air Force was not in my first four out; they were seventh I believe. I do feel Air Force is a good team, but their resume is laughable to me. "Big" victories over Miami and Georgia Tech just does not get it done.

The committee was also very inconsistent. Including teams with similar resumes to Maryland, Florida St, Missouri St, Hofstra, & Cincy makes me scratch my head. How Air Force gets in with a pathetic strength of schedule while Hofstra is left out confuses me. The seeding of the tournament is, of course, contraversial. Gonzaga & George Washington both felt cheated; I agreed completely with Gonzaga a 3-seed and had GWU a 6-seed, close to a 7. I did not have Tennessee a 2-seed; I had them a 4-seed. Pitt and Illinois both should have been a line higher at least. Rewarding Syracuse for the Big East tournament title is fine, but a 5-seed is unreal. The Orange went from a "bubble bubble" meaning barely in or barely out to a 5-seed? Maryland did the same thing two years ago and lost to Syracuse in the second round.

George Washington did not win the A-10 tourney. Syracuse played its way in; Florida St, Michigan, BYU, Maryland, Colorado, (and I thought Air Force) all played their way out in league tournaments.

I will be posting ACC Tournament Sights and Sounds at some point this week. I will also cover the NIT quickly and give a tournament preview by Wednesday. Now, for The Blue Team.

Carolina took one on the chin Saturday after a grind-it-out victory over Virginia Friday night. BC killed the Tar Heels in the paint on their way to shooting 62%. It was a very frustrating loss, as even though BC is very good and serves as a tough match-up, I still feel like Carolina could have won that game. I'd love to play a third time in Indianapolis. I am concerned about the draw of Michigan St in the second round of the NCAAs, but do not overlook George Mason beating the Spartans. Murray St, the first round opponent for UNC, is a quality team as well. The two teams played a tough first round game in Florida during the '95 tournament (UNC won by ten I think). Hopefully the Tar Heels will avoid an outcome similar to the last team they were a 3-seed: 1999, West Regional, lost to Weber St. *Insert shudder/punch/expletive here*

Ok, NCAA Hannakah is upon us. Enjoy filling out your brackets. I will be emailing out a league set up on yahoo for everyone who wants to do a pool. No money, but it will be fun.

Happy belated 3-11 day to everyone. Bling bling.