I haven't posted anything of substance on this blog for, well, exactly a week now. And while that will change shortly, this post will provide little analysis of our Kansas Jayhawks, and instead be the public paper for me to ink my March Madness predictions.
You see, I am a very competitive person, and I like people to know when I get it right. So, here is a bundle of March predictions and projections, the first of numerous attempts at me actually getting something right. For once.
ACC (5) --> UNC, Duke, Clemson, Maryland, Miami (FL)
Atlantic 10/14 (4) --> Xavier, Rhode Island, Dayton, UMass
Big East (6) --> G'Town, Louisville, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Marquette, Pittsburgh
Big 10/11 (4) --> Wisconsin, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State
Big 12 (6) --> Kansas, Texas, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Baylor
Pac 10 (5) --> UCLA, Stanford, Arizona, Washington State, USC
SEC (5) --> Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Mississippi
WCC (2) --> Saint Mary's, Gonzaga
That is 37 teams given at-large berths, while only 34 are allowed. However, in the mostly ideal scenario of one of the teams on each specific list winning each specific tournament, and smaller-league-locks Drake and Memphis doing likewise, that means that only 30 "at-large" slots are filled. Meaning that I get four more picks. Again, all of this is done in a mostly ideal scenario. And that is not to say that I don't love the conference tournament upsets, that is what makes March the next level. The NCAA Tournament is awesome, but the addition of the conference tournament makes all other months shy in comparison. I am just trying to bring out the cleanest slate of bubble teams possible.
With all of that said, here would be the final four teams admitted into the NCAAs, in my opinion:
Syracuse (Big East)
Ohio State (B-10/11)
St. Joseph's (A-10/14)
Houston (C-USA)
Again, this is largely done on personal prediction and such, just a fun exercise on a boring Wednesday night.
#1) Tennessee (S), Kansas (MW), Duke (E), Memphis (W)
#2) Stanford (W), UCLA (E), North Carolina (MW), Georgetown (S)
That is all I am doing for now.
Before I sign off, and actually start talking about Kansas basketball, here is my Final Four prediction:
S --> Purdue
MW --> Kansas
E --> Texas
W --> Xavier
Just some fun on a Saturday night, a night hopefully about to be greatly increased with a sizable upset; Miami (FL) over Duke. Please, let it happen.
ROCK CHALK!