I have a few thoughts on this Thursday’s match ups. I think the nation will be shocked by what they will see and even more shocked by my predictions and upsets I have picked. All these games I have on my bracket (I only have one bracket. I hate people who have a billion brackets filled out. Your bound to be successful in one pool if you fill out 10 brackets, amateurs).
East Region: 1st Round
- Obviously I have Ohio State advancing.
- George Mason/Villanova is a tough pick but I’m going with George Mason
- West Virginia over the play team (Clemson/UAB)
- Kentucky over Princeton
- I have Xavier over Marquette
- Indiana St. over Syracuse ( I know I’m crazy but, I have a feeling ISU will shoot well against the zone. That’s just me though)
- Washington over Georgia big time
- North Carolina over Long Island
West Region: 1st Round
- Duke over Hampton, of course
- Michigan over The Vols
- Arizona over Memphis
- Oakland > Texas. Call me crazy but Texas has been struggling to score and the boys from Oakland have experience and can put points on the board. They put up 100+ twice this season including once in their conference tourney
- Mizzou bests Cincy
- Uconn pounds Bucknell
- Penn St pulls out the shocker
- San Diego State gets past Northern Colorado
Southwest Region: 1st Round
- Kansas over Boston (Kansas has a crappy track record against teams that start with “B”. Does Bucknell or Bradley ring a bell?) However, I think the Jayhawks have this one
- Illinois over UNLV
- Vandy over Richmond, this was a tough one to pick too
- Louisville > Morehead St. Gotta love the in state match up though!
- Georgetown over play in (USC/VCU)
- Purdue over St. Peter’s (Although losing Kelsey Barlow for the season hurts I think Purdue has enough guard depth, offensively, to still make a run)
- Texas A&M over Florida St. I have no clue on this one. Simply went with the higher seed on this one
- Notre Dame over Akron
Southeast Region: 1st Round
- Pitt over NC-Ashville
- Butler ousts Old Dominion
- Utah St pulls out a thriller against Kansas St ( I don’t care who you play you don’t win 30 games by accident. I see Utah St. shocking the nation only in the new 2nd round, field of 64)
- Wisconsin over Belmont. Bo Ryan will have his guys ready to go
- St. John’s I feel will clobber Gonzaga
- BYU escapes a close one against Wofford
- Michigan State surprises everybody by actually showing up to play and beating UCLA
- Florida wins it’s only game of the tournament against UC-Santa Barbara
I’ve mentioned in a reply to a comment that I’ve received that I’m unhappy and strongly disagree with some of the seedings. Some of the match ups will be interesting and I see a lot of potential upsets. The above mentioned upsets may sound ridiculous but how many people picked George Mason to make the run they made a few years back? They may be unlikely and I realize this. However, anything can happen and if I call these games correctly I look like a genius and if not who really cares. I could care less either way.
I would like to hear all of your thoughts and points of views. Especially if you think some different upsets may happen I’d be very interested in hearing your reasons of why. Leave a comment and let everyone else know your opinion.
Thanks everybody for reading!
The only problem i see with Purdue losing Barlow for the tourney is that they lose a good but inconsistent athlete that can play great defense on some of the best players. Your Syracuse upset would not surprise me because you never know what to expect from them come tourney time.
I would have to agree with you on your thoughts about Barlow. As for Syracuse you are right again. Even this year you didn’t know what team was going to show up.
Barlow will hurt Purdue badly. He is an excellent defender and can also deliver big time dunks at the best moments. He is also the back up point guard which creates the biggest problem for Purdue. To say you dont know which team will show up could be said for practically everyone in the tournament besides Ohio State. They have been the most consistent all season and even in their loss at Purdue they didnt play all that bad. I dont know if there is such a thing as an upset this year.
here is some info on Purdue that you might find interesting.
Ryne Smith G Doub Fri – Concussion – 3/16/11 Smith is struggling with the effects of a concussion and is expected to miss Friday’s game against St. Peter’s.
Kelsey Barlow G out for season – Suspension – 3/16/11 Barlow has been suspended for the remainder of his team’s season involving himself in “conduct detrimental to the program.” Barlow is said to have failed a drug test three times in one month.