After a solid four games yesterday at the World’s Most Famous Arena, we’ve got four more today, as the four winners from yesterday take on the next four teams to enter the tourney.
#8 West Virginia vs. #9 Connecticut
Everyone knows who Kevin Jones is, but do we really know how good he is? Yes, he is averaging 20 and 11, which is amazing. But, the offense isn’t exactly fast-paced and he’s still putting up these numbers. Plus, he seems to save his best games for the biggest spotlights and the toughest frontcourts. He had 30 & 12 against K-State. He had 28 & 17 against the monstrous Baylor front line. And, he had 26 & 14 against Syracuse. If the Mountaineers weren’t in 8th place in their conference, he might be getting more talk for national POY. Well, he’s still got a shot to shine, and it starts today against UConn, who took care of DePaul yesterday afternoon. 8 people have UConn in this mild upset (Dave, Gersh, KA, Primm, RDoc, Rikey, Stri, Waters). Gross and Teddy both have West Virginia winning this game and tomorrow against against #1 Syracuse, so this is a big one to keep alive that big upset possibility.
#5 Georgetown vs. #13 Pittsburgh
What a game this is. I think it’s safe to say that this is, easily, the game of the day. G’town has potential Final Four talent. Pitt was supposed to have Final Four talent, but it all went wrong. After beating St. John’s yesterday, they continue their chance to make up for the disappointment of this season. The winner here gets Cincinnati tomorrow. This is a pretty big game as far as CTC implications go. Bry and Gross both have this pretty big upset pick. While 18 people have the Hoyas winning here, 11 people have them beating Cincy in the quarters (Alexi, Dave, Gersh, J, KA, Lynch, Primm, Rikey, RDoc, RSmith, Teddy). J, Lynch, and Teddy have them going to the finals. J and Lynch have them winning it all.
#7 Louisville vs. #10 Seton Hall
The Hall got a big bubble win last night against Providence and now they can probably cement their at-large chances with a win over Louisville. As for L’ville, remember when they were in the Top-5? Seems like forever ago because this team is not that great. But, they are one of the best coached teams in America and they do have some talent, so they could be a tough out in this tournament and next week’s. The winner here gets the #2-seed, Marquette. J, Lohse, Lynch, and RDoc have a nice upset pick here. The other 16 have the Cardinals. Dave and Mac have Louisville reaching the semis. Primm has them in the finals.
#6 South Florida vs. #14 Villanova
Oh, the USF Bulls. Nothing like a conversation about them being on the bubble to get the talking heads to pretty much implode. “They had a soft Big East schedule.” “But, they finished 6th in an elite conference.” Blah, blah, blah. Today could go a long way to ending these debates. Villanova actually looked pretty good last night, ending the Rutgers season with a 21-point win in the nightcap. Today the ‘Cats go for two straight to earn a trip to the quarters to face #3 Notre Dame. Primm is the only one with Villanova winning again here, so this would be a HUGE game for him, if they can do it (90 points gained on the rest of the field). KA, RDoc, Scoot, Teddy, and Waters have already lost this game with Rutgers. The other 14 all have USF. The biggest USF fans today are Dave, J, and Lynch, who all have the Bulls going to the finals. Gross could also use a win here, as he has them in the semis.
I as well have UCONN let the record be known…West Virginia is complete garbage much like the rest of the EAST Region I mean Big East…bye bye tournament bid to the loser of this game.
you’re right. and, you’re right. you do have UConn (post changed), and the big east blows. the problem is that the people who matter don’t ever agree. this pile of crap conference is going to get another 9-10 bids…and i’m going to throw up