I want to take a minute away from the tournament for a second because it is on hiatus and focus instead on the pros. One thing I am fascinated by more than almost anything in the NBA is the impact of serious injuries on a team from a betting perspective. Given that, what is going on with Dallas right now is as good as it gets. Dirk Nowitzki went down to the ground with a crash against San Antonio, and it was immediately obvious that he was in trouble. It appears that he has sprains to his knee and ankle. Initial reports were that he was out for two weeks, but the team has shied away from setting a timeline and it could reasonably be much longer. It never seems like a big guy comes back from a leg injury faster than expected.
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Author: T.O. Whentam
After four long and intense days of watching college basketball I’m taking a bit of a break. I’m not burned out by any means – how can get you get burned out by something as great as college basketball. I just feel like the best thing for my intensity and focus is to take a day where I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about basketball. That means that I will feel ready to jump right back into it tomorrow to get ready for another weekend and to see if there is any value available in any of the other tournaments.
1. The Big East confuses the heck out of me – Coming into the tournament I felt reasonably confident that the Big East was the strongest conference. Now I’m not so sure. In some ways they have been better than expected, while in others they have disappointed.
Continue reading “Three Things I Learned From The Tournament’s First Weekend”
1. I’m a big Big Ten guy, but I obviously need more self-esteem when it comes to my conference. I thought that we were coming into the tournament looking pretty unimpressive and were on the road to embarrassment. Instead, we have two teams in very good shape. Michigan State put together a solid, impressive win over a Pitt team that was supposed to upset Memphis in the eyes of many. Wisconsin came out and really elevated their chances in my eyes today with a big win over Kansas State. They totally smothered an impressive offense and controlled every aspect of the game. I have lots of excuses for the conference in my back pocket, but they may just get to stay there for a while.
Continue reading “10 Random Notes From a Tournament Saturday Night”
I’ll be here again for the first eight games of the day. Times are still mountain time, so adjust accordingly.
10:17 – We are just underway with Tennessee and American. The Eagles are out to a 4-2 lead. Watch out world, here comes American!
We are just a couple minutes away from the first tip-off. I’ll check in periodically throughout the day with thoughts and such. All times will be mountain time, so add two hours for eastern, subtract one for pacific and so on:
When I was a little kid I was never able to sleep on Christmas Eve. I could hardly even stand to close my eyes. I would just lie there thinking of what was about to come the next day – the presents, the food, the people, the excitement. It was excruciating and torturous, and every second seemed like an hour. Now that I am older, that Christmas eve experience takes place on a Wednesday in the middle of March. The tournament starts tomorrow, and I absolutely cannot wait. Ever since the college football season ended my primary focus has been on college basketball, and it all leads to the three weeks of insanity that get underway tomorrow. I have played every game over in my mind a million times, and I have a hundred different theories about how it might all work out, but until it starts we can’t be sure which, if any, are correct. As I sit here willing the hours to pass until the first tip-off, here are the ten things that I am most looking forward to about the first two rounds:
UCLA is a very popular choice to win it all, and they are very likely to find themselves going very deep in most of my brackets. It only makes sense – they have been to the Final Four twice in a row, and this team is just as good as the last two teams. Kevin Love is probably the best player who has played for the team during this run. It’s not all sunshine and roses, though. Two of the starters are hurting. Love has a sore back that has limited his participation in recent days. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute sprained his ankle for the second time this season, and that kept him out of the Pac-10 championship game against Stanford. So, the question is this – should we panic? Will these injuries damage an otherwise promising run? Here’s a look:
Continue reading “Should We Be Worried About UCLA’s Health?”
If you have a pulse then you have probably already fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket, and you probably will fill out several more before Thursday. I’m not pretending that I have all the answers, but I’m also not that moron in every pool who makes the painfully stupid picks, either. I don’t win every pool by any means, but I’m usually fairly competitive. I’m not suggesting for a second that I am a genius or a guru. I just follow a few rules to avoid making dumbs mistakes. Here are 10 tips for a winning March Madness bracket. It’s not my fault if you win, but you can send me a cut of the winnings if you do.
Continue reading “10 Tips for a Winning March Madness Bracket”
The bracket has just been announced, and I am sure my opinions will change the more I look at it, but here is what jumps out at me as my initial reactions:
Most generous seeding – Washington State. I thought they would be a six or a seven, not a four. I don’t like their chances against Notre Dame, though.
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