Do you want March Madness storylines?

You know you do.

Championship Week is the prelude to Madness, but it has plenty of Madness itself.

Let’s start with the near misses.

Brown University was a couple of missed free throws and one defensive stop with six seconds left from winning 8 straight to get to 14-17 and earn a rare, rare bid. Instead, Yale made a peep, as my Dad always called close shots, and broke the Brownies hearts.

Temple was in the midst of a potential gambling scandal just two weeks ago. The Owls made a run to the AAC Championship Game, including knocking out favorite FAU, only to be denied by UAB. The Blazers were the team on the other side when Temple was accused of potential point shaving. Turns out UAB is just lots better than Temple, as are most teams.

Indiana State didn’t have a clever story, other than winning the regular season title in the MVC then losing to a very good Drake team in the MVC Championship Game. Unfortunately, the Sycamores got denied a bid by a committee that once again shunned the little guy in favor of another couple mediocre Power Six teams(more on this in my Final Thought).

Okay, now the good news.

NC State seemed prepared to fire head coach Kevin Keats after another uninspired year in the ACC. The Wolfpack came in seeded tenth, with the only benefit being the fact they got hapless Louisville in the opening round. Then NC State squeezed out Syracuse in the next round. From there the Pack ran the gauntlet by beating Duke, Virginia, and North Carolina to earn the automatic bid from the ACC. The run included this crazy buzzer beater to get them to overtime with Virginia. Obviously, the Pack prevailed in overtime.

 

Now Kevin Keats has a new two year contract extension and a team looking for more Madness.

Last Monday, Long Beach State fired longtime head coach Dan Monson. Monson, the consummate professional, agreed to coach the team in the Big West tournament. After upsetting top seed UC Irvine and third seed UC Davis, Monson has the Beach in the NCAA Tournament. Monson has been pure class his whole career, so this is a sweet ending to this chapter. Madness is going to be Madness.

When you look at droughts, you won’t find many like the Duquesne Dukes years of futility in attempting to get back to March Madness. Keith Dambrot took the job at Duquesne mainly because his dad had been a star player at Pittsburgh’s university “on the hill”.  Dambrot won more than 20 games in all but his first of his thirteen years at Akron, yet came to Duquesne. It has been up and down in his seven seasons at Duquense, but Sunday afternoon Dambrot and the Dukes out toughed VCU after knocking out top seed Dayton earlier to win the A-10 tournament and earn a bid to the Big Dance. It will be Duquense’s first appearance since 1977. Madness in the ‘Burgh.

Now it is time for more. The brackets are set, and the Big Dance is about to commence. Tonight will be the first two contests in the “First Four”. Tomorrow will be the second set of games played in Dayton for the “First Four”. Then the two best days in sports. Thursday and Friday will mark my usual call off work days so I don’t miss any upsets or buzzer beaters in the first round of the greatest event in sports.

Let’s get down to business.

How do I think this bracket will play out? I used to be pretty good at this, but lately I think I would have more luck picking based on uniform colors, mascots, or nicknames. This year, parity has gone to even greater lengths than years passed, making picking brackets even more difficult.  However, I think a couple teams stand above the rest. But can they avoid the Madness of March to make it to April and the Final Four?

Here is my Two Cent bracket, region by region.

East Region

Wow!

This region was loaded up. The top four seeds —UConn, Iowa State, Illinois, and Auburn all just won their conference tournaments and are all Final Four capable. Good luck winning this region. It won’t be any easier to pick this region either. 

I have been on the ‘UConn going back to back bandwagon’ for the last two months. One team worries me in this region. Auburn. Bruce Pearl told his team when the SEC Tournament started that they were not losing the rest of the season. Oh, and if UConn wins that they get either Iowa State or Illinois. Iowa State just beats you up and Illinois may have the most dynamic player in the tournament in Terrance Shannon. Here’s how I see this region:

  • Most dangerous double digit seed: Drake
  • Best team: UConn
  • Team seeded lower than 4 with best chance to win region: San Diego State
  • Game most likely to bust my bracket: Auburn over UConn
  • My pick to win: UConn
East

It has always been my theory to stick with a pick. Since January I have thought UConn was the best team in the country, and I don’t think that is shocking to anyone. When I first filled my bracket out I had Auburn going to the Final Four. This region is a gauntlet for UConn, and the Auburn game worries me the most. Still, stick with the pick. UConn goes to the Final Four.

South Region

We can call this region Houston and the Blue Bloods.

Duke and Kentucky certainly have the firepower to reach the Final Four, but Houston will be tough to get passed. How effective will Tyler Kolek be for Marquette? He totally changes the look of Marquette when he is healthy. Kentucky flies up and down the court, but the Wildcats don’t bother to guard too many people. Duke has disappointed for most of the season, and I have no reason to think that will change.

I wonder if Jamal Shead will put the Houston Cougars on his back as other great guards have done in past years? Here’s how I see this region:

  • Most dangerous double digit seed: James Madison
  • Best team: Houston
  • Team seeded lower than 4 with best chance to win region: Texas Tech
  • Game most likely to bust my bracket: Kentucky over Houston
  • My pick to win: Houston
South

I like Kentucky a lot, and John Calipari is due. However, Houston has the kind of defense that can contain the Wildcats high octane offense. Plus, Kentucky’s defense will make Houston look offensively potent. The rest of this bracket isn’t all that great, and Marquette may or may not be at full strength. The Cougs head to the Final Four.

Midwest Region

The Midwest Region is chokers anonymous.

Will Purdue and/or Tennessee bury their habit of getting knocked out of the tournament long before they should. Purdue plays tight and not to lose, while Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes hasn’t seen a tournament game he can’t lose. This year may just be different for both squads.

Purdue could be in trouble if referees start officiating Zach Edey correctly. Edey has gotten away with a lot of fouls, while getting a lot of soft calls for himself. Tennessee has the best player in the region, with all due respect to Zach Edey. Dalton Knecht has been an absolute five star stud for the Volunteers. He doesn’t always like to play defense, but Knecht can score on an unlimited basis. Creighton has been a team I have suggested could make a Final Four run for most of the season. The game with Tennessee could be a real thriller. Kansas was my pick for the Final Four up until three weeks ago. Too many injuries have sunk the Jayhawks season. Here’s how I see this region:

  • Most dangerous double digit seed: McNeese
  • Best team: Purdue
  • Team seeded lower than 4 with best chance to win region: South Carolina
  • Game most likely to bust my bracket: Creighton over Tennessee
  • My pick to win: Tennessee
Midwest

I am conflicted over this region. Due to past tournament history, it is dangerous to pick Purdue or Tennessee. Creighton is a strong 3 seed, and could easily win this region. Then again, South Carolina could beat Creighton in the round of 32. Here again, Oregon could upend South Carolina in the round of 64. You get the point. I am going with the guy I think is player of the year, Dalton Knecht, and he plays for Tennessee.

West Region

Is it me, or does the West Region always feel like the weakest region?

North Carolina is good, but they are vulnerable. Arizona looked unstoppable early in the season, then came back to Earth. The Wildcats are vulnerable. Baylor has looked really good at times, but have compiled 10 losses. The Bears are vulnerable. Alabama can’t guard anyone and is very vulnerable. There are lower seeded teams that are marginally interesting, but boy are they vulnerable.

It appears as though I should pick the lesser of the evils. Here’s how I see this region:

  • Most dangerous double digit seed: Grand Canyon
  • Best team: North Carolina, I think
  • Team seeded lower than 4 with best chance to win region: Michigan State…I know, I know
  • Game most likely to bust my bracket: Nevada over Arizona and Michigan State over North Carolina
  • My pick to win: Arizona, at least for today
West

I have gone back and forth on this one. One time I write down Arizona, and the next time I write down North Carolina. Ultimately, I like Arizona’s bigs to control Armando Bacott and Caleb Love to get his revenge on his former team. But ask me tomorrow and I may have a different answer.

Final Four

  • UConn over Arizona: This one could either be a blowout or a nailbiter. It all depends on which Arizona shows up. Either way, UConn will be too much for the Wildcats.
  • Houston over Tennessee: This one could be a slugfest. Ultimately, the Cougars defense will shut down my man Dalton Knecht.

National Championship Game

  • UConn over Houston: UConn has been the best team in the country all year, and it truly hasn’t been close. I know it doesn’t happen all the time in college basketball, but sometimes the best team wins it all. Plus, always stick with the pick.
Bracket

So, there you have my Two Cent bracket picks. Don’t forget to check out my Two Guys Gone Mad podcast here at the site. I’m sure my picks will have changed at least a bit by then.

My picks are no doubt worth no more than those two cents, but what else are you going to use to make your picks?

A coin?

Yea, maybe you better go with the coin.

Two Cent Takes

March Madness

~Shouldn’t UConn get the easiest path as the top seed? Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC champs as the 2, 3, 4 seeds doesn’t really seem easy. As a matter of fact, it is the hardest path to the Final Four.

~The Big East was good this year, but did become clearly top heavy as the season wore on. That doesn’t mean St. John’s, Seton Hall, and to a lesser extent, Providence weren’t worthy of a bid.

~Pitt sure looked like a tournament team the last three weeks. The Panthers easily were a better team than fellow ACC member Virginia, who did somehow make the Dance. Oh, and Pitt beat Virginia handily head to head. I guess that wasn’t one of the criteria the committee used. At least not for that instance.

~The committee seems to change criteria to fit the teams they selected. This team played a great out of conference schedule. That team had no bad losses. The next team had a great NET. Another had more quad 1 wins. I have said it for years, tell us what the criteria is.

 

 

What a horrible quote from the committee chair. We need a set criteria that is used so every player, coach, administrator, and fan understands what is going on.

~Iowa State came into their conference tournament as the last two, seed by most bracketologists. They steamrolled through the Big 12 tournament and absolutely demolished Houston in the finals and…

 

 

So, apparently conference tournaments don’t mean much. Well, unless the committee needs them to. 

~Virginia scored under 50 points 6 times. They have a putrid offense and a mediocre resume, but the Cavs were given a bid. Why?

~FAU should have been a First Four participant, but instead the Owls are an 8 seed. Wow.

~Dayton and Duquense both seeded too high.

~Duquense head coach Keith Dambrot announced he will retire when Duquense’s run is over. His wife has been fighting cancer and he felt it was time to be home. Class guy. It would be cool to see Duquense win a game in the tournament. 

~BYU apparently was dropped a seed line because they can’t play on Sunday.

~I am not sure why Texas A&M and Mississippi State got as high of seeds as they both did. They seemed more like bubble teams to me.

~I may be the only one who is okay with the Mountain West teams’ seedings. I think it is a great conference, but all there wins are against each other.

~The most interesting conference tournament finish happened in the WAC between Grand Canyon and UT-Arlington. An unnecessary dunk, an excited winner, and a bitter loser.

 

 

~Can the NCAA not even do one tiny thing correctly? Why on Earth do they allow the portal to open the day after Selection Sunday? Why take attention away from your premiere event? Why force coaches to balance coaching in the tournament and checking the portal for next year’s roster? I-D-I-O-T-I-C.

~Teams turning down the NIT is a relatively new scenario. It is a shame for that tournament, but they still have some quality teams fighting to get to New York.

~Why does CBS still force me to listen to Grant Hill. Hill doesn’t announce all year, and with the exception of a couple end of year games, doesn’t watch many college games. It shows through every March. Just let Raff take over the mic and go.

The Weekly Shiny Penny

Every March we see this same sight over and over, and it is one of the key parts to March Madness. Kids with no NBA hopes that just want to keep playing and winning. These players lay it all on the line. Nobody in this year’s tournament epitomizes that like Duquense guard Jake DiMichele. A local kid from McKees Rocks who didn’t get one scholarship offer, walked on at local school Duquense, worked his way into the starting lineup, and then made a key basket late in the A-10 Championship Game. He would say he was just thinking about everything it took to get here in this video during the postgame celebration. A typical March Madness scene.

 

 

A Penny For My Final Thought…

NCAA College Basketball Committee Chair Charles McClelland said the committee was up until 2 AM on Saturday night. Clearly they were drinking that entire time. I am on record as being a committee hater. If a committee can screw it up, the committee will definitely screw it up.

Because the committee seems to get worse at this endeavor each year, I now am on board with expanding the tournament to 80 teams. Not the kind of expansion head money grubber Greg Sankey is talking about. Sankey, the SEC commissioner, wants expansion that allows the power conferences even more bids to the tourney. No, I am looking to take care of the little guys like Indiana State and Princeton who had one bad day in their conference tournament and lost their chance at bids.

 


Aldridge is spot on here. That is a huge part of this March Madness thing.

What makes this event interesting, provocative, and even quaint is the David vs Goliath matchups. The Cinderella stories that happen every year. I remember Penn going to the Final Four, Princeton scaring everyone from UCLA to Georgetown, George Mason, St. Peter’s, and Florida Atlantic. The little guys have trouble scheduling the big boys because those teams see it as a lose-lose situation. All they can do is play the schedule they have. Yet, the committee routinely snubs them in favor of 13, 14, 15 loss power conference teams that finished sixth or seventh in their conference. It stinks.

I am in favor of going to 80 teams and five of those bids would be required to go to non power conference teams. That would improve the small conferences’s chances for bids, while still allowing for the errors the committee made with power conference teams(see my Two Cent Takes above).

Guys like Joe Lunardi defend the committee, and on a large scale they get a lot correct. They also miss a lot, too. That costs schools money and players and teams exposure. This year between seeding and the bubble, the committee failed on a large scale.

I bet St. John’s, Indiana State, Pitt, Seton Hall, and Oklahoma, just to name a few, would be all for expansion. With parity in full bloom, don’t think those last twelve teams added couldn’t win a game or two in the tournament.

I never thought I would be in favor of expansion. However, parity, NIL, the portal, and a committee I not so surprisingly don’t trust, puts me fully on board.

A small addition of more Madness seems like a win. Maybe not a buzzer beater win, but a win nonetheless.

Just my two cents…