On the cusp of a wonderful weekend of college basketball, the first few rounds have already shown some things about how this years March Madness might play out.
- After watching the Kentucky/Mississippi St. game, I have come to the conclusion that Tubby Smith's Wildcats aren't very good. For those who saw the game, Kentucky lost in heartbreaking fashion when Senior forward Sheray Thomas (I think it should be mentioned that he was born in Canada) left the foul line before his teammate, Freshman Jodie Meeks, received the ball from the ref to shoot his second freethrow. Had Thomas not moved the game might have been put out of reach, but he didn't and Mississippi State's Jamont Gordon knocked down a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime. Kentucky went on to lose in overtime. Even though they are probably going to get an at large bid and dance with 64 other teams, I guarantee they won't escape the first 2 rounds. They may squeak by the first, but even that seems like a stretch. Kentucky hasn't won a national championship in 9 straight seasons and if they don't win one this year, it'll be the longest drought in school history.
- Greg Oden continues to please me. In the quarter final game against Michigan, Oden was absolutely DOMINANT. He's now shooting free throws (and making them) with his natural right hand and his post play has simply been too much. If you double team this guy, he'll just pass it out to his overly competent teammates who will undoubtedly make you pay. If you take away the outside shot and put only one guy on Oden, he'll score seven or eight times out of ten. He is ridiculous and unstoppable. One can only pray that Ohio St. meets Texas somewhere down the line. In my own humble opinion, that game would be one of the most hyped college basketball games ever played.
- After UCLA lost to California in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament, the question can now be brought up whether or not they deserve to be a number 1 seed. They've now lost their last two and if Texas A&M can win the Big XII tournament, I think they deserve a number 1 instead. The other 3 would be Ohio St. Kansas, and either Florida or UNC depending on how they do this weekend. For those who say the University of Wisconsin deserves a number 1, I give the following points.
- If it weren't for a game winning prayer three pointer by Kammron Taylor, Wisconsin would have been swept by Michigan St. in the regular season.
- They won't win their own conference tournament. This is excusable if your in a tough conference like the Big XII or ACC, but in one as weak as the Big 10, two teams shouldn't get number 1 bids. Ohio St. gets one which leaves Wisconsin out in the cold.
- The most important point in this argument is that Wisconsin isn't the same team headed into March as they were all throughout the regular season. Starting forward Brian Butch won't be effective after sustaining a grotesque elbow injury in their game against Ohio St. Without him, they aren't as strong as their record shows and therefore aren't deserving of a number 1 seed.
- Maryland was probably the hottest team in the country headed into this week's ACC tournament, but after a surprising first round loss to a bad Miami team, their stock should considerably drop in the eyes of the selection committee.
- How high a seed does Memphis deserve. Memphis is currently ranked number 5 in the country and are mowing through the Conference USA tournament, yet for some reason they aren't projected to get any higher than a number 3 seed. I think they deserve a 2.
- Due to surprising losses by Nevada and Xavier, the window for bubble teams is really starting to close. Teams like Texas Tech, Kansas St., and Florida St. are starting to get really nervous now that they've been eliminated from their conference tournaments and won't be guaranteed a spot.
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