NCAA tournament brackets have been revealed and so much to discuss. The only #1 seed I had an issue with was Michigan State. They played one of the toughest non conference schedules; suffering losses against North Carolina and Duke. I just don't like a team with 7 losses being a #1 seed. While the big ten was a top 5 conference in America with a lot of ranked teams, I felt with Kansas, Missouri and Baylor being ranked top 10 most of the year, the big 12 deserved a #1 seed.
Whether it's Missouri or Kansas, who both ended up being 2 seeds, I thought either school had a better case than Michigan state. You can call it conference bias, I just thought the best 3 teams in the big 12 are better than the top 3 teams in the big ten. Missouri hurt themselves by having an awful non conference schedule. If you watch Missouri you would say who cares. They would've been a #1 seed for sure in spite of their weak non conference schedule had they not blown a double digit lead at Kansas. Missouri is by far the best #2 seed in my opinion and would want nothing to do with them in the tournament as a Tar Heels' fan. Should Michigan State survive a tough region and play Missouri in the elite 8, they will get mauled tiger style. Yes, I have Missouri in the final four.
Teams to look out for: VCU, Baylor, Florida State, any of the 3 teams from the Mountain West (UNLV, San Diego State and New Mexico) and Belmont. First round major upset alert: Belmont will beat Georgetown--mark it down. Do not miss out on this. Belmont won their last 14 games and should've beaten Duke in the first game of the season at Duke. Also going with VCU in the classic 12 vs 5 first round upset over Wichita State. While the 'experts' can say VCU is not as good as last year, did anyone think that team was going to the final four? Of course not. Trust in the system and a team that is battle tested with the next great coach in Shaka Smart. Wichita State also lost in non conference against Alabama and Temple. Two teams VCU plays similar to. Not saying you have to ride VCU to another final four, but at least take them in a first round upset.
Almost forgot one more potential 12 vs 5 upset, Harvard has a really good chance at beating Vanderbilt. Now I know everyone is wondering if I'm talking about the same team who just beat Kentucky. Yes, even though Vanderbilt played a tough non conference schedule and lost a bunch of close games, including twice against Kentucky--I just think with the exception on Sunday against Kentucky they showed an inability to win close games. Harvard will force them into a close game and bottom line is--I don't trust Vanderbilt. They have lost 3 straight tournament games.
As a fan of North Carolina hoops, I feel thrilled (almost to the point of feeling guilty) with how easy their region appears. I just don't think too highly of Kansas as a #2 seed. Bill Self got a gift National Championship in 2008 when Memphis collapsed late. Kansas may not even make it to the elite 8. Do not trust Kansas. The biggest story that will ultimately determine how far UNC can go is the health of Jon Henson. We will find out more this week of the severity of his wrist injury. Without him UNC can go out early; with him they can cut down the nets in New Orleans.
One sad part about the tournament is, Butler, after having appeared in back-to-back Championship games, will not have a chance at a third straight. They finished 20-14 but failed to win their conference tournament. It was a great story for 2 years but they lost too much of their team and when you're a mid major it's not that easy to replenish. Can VCU shock the nation and return to the final four? Will another mid major make a run like they did last year? I will look at the brackets more closely and give you my final four Tuesday or Wednesday. I assure you nobody from the play in games will be in my final four. So I may get burned there because if you recall VCU was in the play in game last year.
What more can I say about the Knicks that I haven't already said? While I'm an obnoxious fan at times, I'm not going to be an obnoxious blogger and say I told you so. I just think fans are fans and to their credit want to believe in something. To those who supported Carmelo Anthony (perhaps some of you still do) that is what being a good fan is all about. Who am I to tell you to not support the highest rated player on your team? You should defend him. The reality of what he is can suck--no doubt about it. And I'm not saying the Knicks can't turn this around. The teams behind them are not good at all as I had written before the loss at Milwaukee.
And whether you want to blame the recent 5-game skid on Carmelo, D'Antoni or even injuries, nobody can deny how difficult their post all-star schedule has been. If Carmelo never returned, do we know the team that had won 7 straight games courtesy Linsanity would have done any better during the last 5 games? The biggest issue with the Knicks since Melo's return has been the defense. The Knicks had gone 12 straight games without allowing 100 points. However, last 8 games they've allowed 100 points in 7 of them.
It's just a total mess right now. The only good news for the Knicks having to play in Chicago is, the Bulls were missing Noah, Hamilton and Deng against Utah Saturday night. 60% of their starting lineup and somehow still won by 14. Deng will be out Monday for sure; don't know about the other two. The Knicks need to steal a win in Chicago. It starts with effort and commitment. One thing is for sure, a total collapse and missing the playoffs guarantees D'Antoni's firing. Seems like that's the only thing that will make a Knicks fan smile.
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