The Committee did a pretty fantastic job all the way around, this year.\u00a0 And, one of the most striking successes of this bracket is the balance that each region has.\u00a0 The Midwest is no exception.\u00a0 They have a UNC team that clearly has #1 talent, but hasn’t been quite as good as many thought.\u00a0 Kansas is a strong #2, even though, on paper, they may not have seemed it early in the year.\u00a0 Georgetown, while vulnerable, is a deserved #3.\u00a0 And, Michigan\/Temple at 4\/5 is pretty tough.\u00a0 And, yet, I still can’t say for sure that whether this region is stronger or weaker than any of the other three.\u00a0 Well done, Committee, well done.<\/p>\n
North Carolina<\/strong> should be one of the best college teams in a decade.\u00a0 But, they aren’t; and there is nothing to say that they will become so in the next three weeks.\u00a0 It was telling last week, when I had a lot riding on the Heels to beat Florida State in the ACC Championship.\u00a0 You really learn about a team when you watch their game, really needing them to win.\u00a0 I had no faith that they would make enough plays on either end of the floor.\u00a0 They struggle to guard people, particularly on the perimeter, and have a gaping hole in the middle without Henson.\u00a0 And, on the offensive end, when is Harrison Barnes going to show us why he was dubbed the “next Kobe?”\u00a0 He’s just not that good.\u00a0 I still might pick the Heels to win the whole thing, but that will only be because I’m neurotically stubborn.\u00a0 How about this, though, I think they will definitely beat either Pat Knight’s Lamar<\/strong> team or Vermont<\/strong> on Friday.<\/p>\n All the talk about Doug McDermott and the Creighton <\/strong>Blue Jays may have hid the dirty little secret about Creighton – THEY DON’T PLAY ANY DEFENSE.\u00a0 Don’t get me wrong, I love all things MVC, but this team really doesn’t guard anybody, and that almost completely precludes them from real success in this tournament, no matter how good McDermott is.\u00a0 I actually really like Anthony Grant’s Alabama <\/strong>team.\u00a0 They have top-level talent in guys like Jamychal Green and Tony Mitchell.\u00a0 They also have some really solid secondary players like Trevor Relaford (or is it Travis – one of them is on Kansas and one on ‘Bama) and Andrew Steele.\u00a0 And, the best part about them is that they buy into what Grant is selling – defense, defense, defense.\u00a0 I think that this team could give the college hoops world a shock this weekend.<\/p>\n And, I’m not talking about shocking the world by beating Creighton.\u00a0 I really think that Tar Heel fans should be Doug McDermott fans on Friday because this ‘Bama team can beat them.\u00a0 Creighton cannot – they just don’t play enough (any) defense.<\/p>\n Jon Bielein is a phenomenal coach, and he has rejuvenated this Michigan <\/strong>basketball program.\u00a0 They tied with Michigan St. and Ohio St. for the Big Ten title, which is nothing to sneeze at.\u00a0 But, are we convinced that this team really has what it takes to make a run here?\u00a0 I’m not.\u00a0 In fact, I think that Ohio<\/strong>, led by the great D.J. Cooper, has a real shot at an upset here.\u00a0 Either way, I’m not sure that Michigan is quite there…yet.<\/p>\n The team that is there – or better be after so many near-misses – is the Temple <\/strong>Owls.\u00a0 There is no secret as to what team I root for, but I have proven time and again that I am pretty objective when it comes to the Owls.\u00a0 I was terrified of Cornell; I didn’t think they had a shot against San Diego St. last year; and, I acknowledged that Michigan St. was probably too much to ask for, as far as an upset pick three years ago.\u00a0 But, this year is different.\u00a0 This year, the team seems more complete and more consistent.\u00a0 They don’t rely on one player, and they can both score and defend inside and outside.\u00a0 Oh, and it is definitely strange to not know their opponent yet.\u00a0 I think Cal <\/strong>is the better team and should take care of South Florida<\/strong> tonight, I am actually hoping that they do because I think the slowdown, physical style of USF is a nightmare for anyone in a one-game setting.\u00a0 Then again, if this Temple team is as good as we think it is, they should be able to win a game at either speed.<\/p>\n And, if there is any leftover resentment from the since-vacated Michigan Final Four run in 1993 that happened to go through the Temple Owls in the Elite Eight, maybe this year will be the chance to bury those demons…ya know, if Michigan gets there.\u00a0 Then again, I do think the Wolverines actually do matchup well with the Owls, so we Owls fans will be rooting for the Bobcats hard on Friday night.<\/p>\n Georgetown<\/strong> has been really good this year – at least one year ahead of schedule.\u00a0 Belmont<\/strong> has been really good this year – again – right on schedule.\u00a0 This Belmont team is, dare I say, great.\u00a0 They have been playing together for four years.\u00a0 They are unselfish and balanced.\u00a0 They are experienced, confident,\u00a0and talented.\u00a0 They can shoot the lights out, but don’t mind mixing it up or driving to the rack.\u00a0 I am not going to say that they the favorites here against a really solid G’town team, but this is not IN ANY WAY your typical 3\/14 matchup.\u00a0 The Hoyas got a bit of a raw deal here, if you believe they were 3-seed worthy (which I do, actually).\u00a0 This is a very live upset pick here – more than any 3\/14 I can remember.<\/p>\n And, just to blow this pod up completely, I actually do think that N.C. State<\/strong>, the 11-seed, should be favored to beat #6 San Diego St.<\/strong> on Friday.\u00a0 Not only have the Aztecs been struggling, but they rely on Jamaal Franklin a little too much, and N.C. State has a slew of athletes to throw at him.\u00a0 C.J. Leslie is one of those guys that you don’t want to count on in ho-hum games on the road on a Wednesday night in January, but when the lights are on, I’ll take him.\u00a0 Oh, and by the way, this game is scheduled for 9:40 am, San Diego time.<\/p>\n So, with both games in the first round in total flux, who can possibly tell what we have in store for us on Sunday.\u00a0 Either way, it should be awfully interesting, and I think I’m going with an 11-seed to be favored to win this pod because I think they should get by SD State and certainly can beat G’town (or Belmont).<\/p>\n How good is Bill Self?\u00a0 Very good.\u00a0 This Kansas <\/strong>team was not supposed to win their 8th consecutive Big XII title (an incredible streak in any conference, let alone one of the best in the country), and yet they did.\u00a0 I know that Thomas Robinson went from “good” to “best in the country” and Jeff Withey went from “stiff” to “very good,”\u00a0but still, to think that this team, this year, would be a #2-seed is remarkable.\u00a0 Even Ty Taylor seems to have bought in, which could seal Self’s COY honors in and of itself.\u00a0 But, even with a 2-seed, they were not done any favors in the first round.\u00a0 While Robinson might be the best player in the country, Detroit<\/strong>‘s Ray McCallum Jr. might be the second-best player in this game.\u00a0 And, the Titans are rolling.\u00a0 Despite a slow start, they won the Horizon tournament, despite the big disadvantage of the 3-seed, and they are playing with a ton of confidence – even talking some trash.\u00a0 While they are probably deserving of their 15-seed (and, therefore, not warranted to talk any trash to Kansas), they are dangerous.\u00a0 I would not have liked my draw, if I were a Kansas fan.<\/p>\n St. Mary’s<\/strong> has officially become their own program now that they beat Gonzaga for the regular season outright title and then took them down in the WCC championship game.\u00a0 (Ignore the fact that they both got 7-seeds…)\u00a0 Now, they get a shot to grab another tournament victory for a program that has arrived.\u00a0 But, they have a really tough first test in Purdue<\/strong>.\u00a0 The Boilermakers are battle-tested through a brutal Big Ten and, even though they lost a pair of NBA draft picks, they did add a star in Robbie Hummel back to the mix.\u00a0 This game is one of the better first round matchups, and it seems like a total toss up to me.<\/p>\n While Kansas got, easily, the toughest 15-seed, they probably got aligned with the 7\/10 duo that presents the least danger in the second round.\u00a0 I love Matthew Dellavadova and the St. Mary’s<\/strong> Gaels, but they don’t have anyone who can possibly matchup with Robinson or Withey inside.\u00a0 And, while you’d be a heartless bastard not to root for Hummel to have some sort of success, this Purdue <\/strong>team is just not good enough to be considered a real threat to the Jayhawks.\u00a0 I would say that Purdue presents a slightly tougher matchup than St. Mary’s, but not appreciably, and the Jayhawks should still be playing next week…then again, we’ve heard that before.<\/p>\n The Committee did a pretty fantastic job all the way around, this year.\u00a0 And, one of the most striking successes of this bracket is the balance that each region has.\u00a0 The Midwest is no exception.\u00a0 They have a UNC team … Continue reading \n
Michigan’s Pod<\/strong><\/span> – Fri\/Sun in Nashville, TN<\/em><\/h3>\n
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Georgetown’s Pod<\/strong><\/span> – Fri\/Sat in Columbus, OH<\/em><\/h3>\n
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Kansas’s Pod<\/strong><\/span> – Fri\/Sun in Omaha, NE<\/em><\/h3>\n
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