March Madness

It's time to talk about March Madness. For you readers who do not know what March Madness is....simply put, it's the greatest sporting event of the year. It's the NCAA Division 1 college basketball tournament where 65 of arguably the countries best college basketball teams play 64 games in 3 weekends to determine who will be crowned this year's National Champion. The first weekend all 65 teams play, and then the winners play again in the 2nd round; which means 49 games of good college basketball in 4 days. A true fan couldn't ask for more. March Madness also means a time to fill out a bracket in which you do your best to pick the winners of each game in the tournament before it begins, then throw it into a pool with your friends and let the trash talking begin! This year I entered two bracket pools on yahoo.com, one with my friends from back home, and another with friends from my church here in Shreveport. With the first two weekends gone and only 4 (Kansas, North Carolina, Memphis, and UCLA) teams left in the tournament, my bracket is looking pretty thin. I only have 2 teams left in my bracket (Kansas and North Carolina). I had 14 of my Sweet 16 picks end up being correct, but the Elite 8 round killed me; in just one round, I fell from 3rd to 10th in both of my pools! I have also lost my champion pick, Texas, after they got murdered by Memphis in the Elite 8. So basically my bracket has fallen to trash and I've thrown it away, and now all I can hope for are some close, good, competitive basketball games in the Final Four (and hopefully Memphis won't continue to blow teams out like they did the first 4 rounds).

Now let's look at some of the highlights from the tournament:

My best 5 picks
(upsets and picks that I predicted in my bracket):

  1. San Diego(13) over UConn(4)
  2. Western Kentucky(12) over Drake(5)
  3. Villanova(12) over Clemson(5)
  4. Louisville(3) in the Elite 8
  5. Kansas in the Final 4 (this wasn't a bold prediction, they were a #1 seed)

My worst 5 picks
(upsets and picks that didn't go my way):

  1. San Diego(13) in the Elite 8
  2. Vanderbilt(4) in the Sweet 16
  3. USC(2) in the Sweet 16
  4. Duke(2) in the Final 4
  5. Winthrop(13) over Washington St(4)

Top 5 Disappointments of the tournament
(teams that didn't live up to the hype):

  1. Duke (almost losing to Belmont in the first round???)
  2. Vanderbilt (losing to Siena after a great SEC season?)
  3. Tennessee (did they really deserve a #2 seed?)
  4. Geogetown (this really isn't fair, they had to play a great Davidson team...who knew they would fold like a lawn chair?)
  5. Clemson (that's what you do after winning the ACC? Maybe the Big East is better...oh wait they didn't put any teams in the Final 4)

Top 5 Surprises of the tournament
(the Cinderellas and upset Kings):

  1. Davidson (Stephen Curry is the real deal, and they should be in the Final 4)
  2. Western Kentucky (a #12 seed in the Sweet 16....very nice)
  3. Siena (no one saw them beating Vandy, and if you said you did, you either go to Siena or you're a liar)
  4. Villanova (another #12 seed in the Sweet 16? this is crazy!)
  5. San Diego (I gotta give my boy Chris Lewis credit, nice win over UConn)

Top 5 Game Changing Performances
(Big time plays and playmakers)

  1. Stephen Curry; Davidson (he changes every game he plays in, his team might not be in the Final 4, but he's got my vote for tourny MVP)
  2. Ty Rogers; Western Kentucky (hit a game winning 3 with no time left on the clock to beat Drake)
  3. De'Jon Jackson; San Diego (hit the game winner against UConn)
  4. Gerald Henderson; Duke (drove the length of the court to hit a game winning lay up, to beat Belmont by 1; even though they should have never been in that situation, way to stay focused)
  5. Kevin Love; UCLA (Had a huge game against Texas A&M, to save his team from being upset)

If you notice, I have San Diego on almost every list up above. The reason for this is that one of my best friends, Chris Lewis, plays for San Diego. We began playing basketball together in 5th grade when he moved to my elementary school. We ended up playing junior high and high school basketball together, and we both graduated from L.D. Bell High School together in 2005. Because of him, I put a lot of faith in the San Diego Toreros this season.

One final March Madness thought, for those of you that do not know, or head coach's contract was not renewed for next season. So, our athletic director, and the powers that be are in the process of finding a new coach for next season. In the mean time, our assistant coaches, Todd Russ, Adam Walsh, and Joe Nagy are staying committed to the players, as we stay committed to the Centenary program, and they are continuing to work us out, and get us prepared for next season, no matter who the new coach might be. So, even though we might not have made it to the big dance this year, we are going through a little March Madness ourselves.

I hope you are having a good spring and that you enjoy the Final Four games this weekend, because I know I will. Oh yea, did I mention I was going to the Final Four? Yea that's right! So have a good weekend and I'm sure I will have great things to tell when I return from San Antonio! Final Four here I come!!!