Through the day I’ll add what I see and like:
-Every time I see Jimmer Fredette’s name I assume it’s a misprint. That’s one awkward name.
– Villanova is a mess. They are down by six at the half to Robert Morris. I assume that they’ll win this one, but they are not long for this world. Reynolds is supposed to be the savior, but he has been terrible in the half.
East Region
This region comes down to precisely one thing – do you buy into the hype about John Wall and Demarcus Cousins? Kentucky comes into this region as the best team, and they are in a good position to make the Final Four and beyond, but only if their fab freshmen are as good as people say they are. Personally, I buy the hype. We’ve seen some impressive accomplishments from freshmen in the tournament in recent years – especially one frosh point guard from Memphis – and Wall is in the same ballpark as those that have risen to the occasion before him. Wall also has the benefit of a coach who is very used to hitting the tournament with a freshman running the point, and he has a fairly easy pod to star the tournament and get his feet wet. The first round will be a joke, and the second round will put the Wildcats up against one of two chronically flawed, horrifically underachieving teams. There’s no drama en route to the Sweet Sixteen.
Midwest Region
The more I think about this region, the more interesting I find it. I still believe two things that are central to this region – that Kansas is the best team in this region, and one of the two best teams in this tournament. The challenges that Kansas faces in this tough group, though, significantly reduce their margin for error. This is probably the toughest bracket that any No. 1 team faces. In fact, it definitely is. The first round is obviously not a concern, but every game after that has a potential pitfall or two in it. UNLV is a decent team with wins over squads like Louisville, BYU (twice), and New Mexico. They could be dangerous. They may not even get out of the first round, though – Northern Iowa is an incredibly tough defensive team who controls the pace very effectively. Kansas will be challenged by either of those teams, though they should be able to win. After that, Kansas would face either probably the best No. 4 seed in the tournament in Maryland, who has the stone cold Greivis Vasquez leading the way, or the best No. 5 in the tourney, Michigan State, which has one of the very best coaches on the planet. Either of those teams will have five days to get ready for Kansas, and they will be ready for the challenge.
Continue reading “NCAA Tournament Preview – West and Midwest”
1. Somebody out there loves Duke. It’s certainly not me – I hate them. They have probably the easiest path to the Final Four. Their number two, Villanova, forgot how to win down the stretch and is probably seeded too high. Baylor is fun to watch, but probably in over their head as a three seed. I love Purdue, but without Robbie Hummel they are one player away from being a matchup challenge. Their biggest road bump potentially comes in the second round if Louisville gets past Cal in round one. There isn’t a team in the bracket that can keep up with Duke in their current form if the Blue Devils play their game.
I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but if I were I would be looking at the Mountain West conference as prime territory of interest after yesterday. Going into the conference tournament there were two teams n the conference – New Mexico and BYU – that were stone cold locks to make the NCAA tournament. UNLV and San Diego State were both in pretty decent shape as well, but both could have used one more win to solidify their case and take away any nervousness on Sunday. Given their conference and accomplishments, the seeding for New Mexico and BYU is probably relatively secure regardless of what they did in the conference tournament. It just seems a little too perfect, then, that in conference tournament action on Friday UNLV beat BYU and San Diego State beat New Mexico. The two winners got the wins they needed, and the two higher seeds get an extra day or two of rest before unleashing what could be long tournament runs. The administrators of all four schools couldn’t have set up a more perfect scenario if they tried.
I don’t know about you, but all I can think about now is the bracket. I’m just counting the seconds until the bracket comes out – two days and counting. It’s hard to make any real predictions about what will happen until we see where teams are seeded and who they play, but I just don’t want to wait. Here’s a look at four likely lower seeds that I like a lot:
Cliff Lee became the latest big name pitcher to make his spring training debut with a new team yesterday. It was a mixed bag – mostly, but not entirely, positive. The good news is that he lasted the full three innings he was scheduled for, and he did it without obvious issues with the foot injury that he had been struggling with up to this point. It’s also pretty positive that he only allowed one run and one walk in those five innings. The problem is that he allowed five hits in the outing, and his control wasn’t exactly pinpoint throughout. It’s too early to panic, of course, and the Mariners just have to be relieved that their new toy isn’t broken, but we’ve been spoiled by so many good outings so far this spring that I guess I just hoped for more – especially considering how optimistic I am about the Mariners this year, and about their rotation in particular.
What the hell is going on with the Clippers? Just over a month after they relieved Mike Dunleavy of his coaching duties and mad him a full-time GM they have now removed him from that position as well. The reason they gave us that they are tired of losing as they have throughout the Dunleavy era, and that they want to win now. First, I don’t actually believe that the Clippers are determined to win because nothing they have done in the last decade has made us believe that that is the case. Second, how is getting rid of Dunleavy now going to do anything to help them win now? What will help them win is getting Blake Griffin healthy, adding another nice lottery pick this year to play with him, and starting to make some decisions that aren’t moronically driven by being incredibly cheap. That cheapness hasn’t been Dunleavy’s fault – it’s the fault of the ownership. I have no problem with the moving away from Dunleavy, but I don’t understand why they felt compelled to do it in such a dramatic, distracting way.
Another day, another high profile pitcher making his two-inning spring debut for his new team. Unlike Roy Halladay and Aroldis Chapman before him, though, Stephen Strasburg was only solid and not jaw-dropping. The Nationals’ future ace didn’t allow any runs, but he did allow consecutive hits with two outs in the second. He threw 27 pitches – 15 of them for strikes – and he topped out at 98 mph. Two things in particular stood out when I watched the game. First he ended the second inning – his last – with a stunning breaking ball. It was clocked at 81 mph, and it looked like it was bending around a corner. That’s a serious major league out pitch. Beyond that, though, Strasburg definitely looked like a guy who is in need of some time in the minors before he hits the big time. His talent is obvious and massive, but he struggled with his location throughout his outing, and he doesn’t quite look like he believes he belongs and can dominate the pitchers he faces. It’s not like Washington is going to do anything this year anyway, so I think it would be a real mistake to rush him along. Regardless of the rough edges, though, it was exciting to finally see him pitch in the pros, and it’s not hard to see why we have heard so much about him.
There is one good thing abut being a Michigan fan right now – there is absolutely no reason to be nervous about Championship Week. It would take a miracle – a really miraculous one – for the Wolverines to make the field. The discussion of the bubble is entirely irrelevant to me. Because of that, I can just sit back and watch – and hope for the worst for bubble teams for my sadistic pleasure. On that front tonight couldn’t have been any better. St. Mary’s, a bubble team on the outside looking in by most accounts, absolutely crushed Gonzaga to win the WCC Championship. That means that they get an automatic bid in the tournament instead of a trip to the NIT. Since Gonzaga was a tournament lock no matter what happened, this means that the 11 spots for at-large teams has been reduced to 10. Now if only Old Dominion had lost to William & Mary.
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