I kicked off my 2013 Tourney picks with a 12-4 day so going into day 2...looking for more of the same..my pick of New Mexico for the Final Four in one bracket is truly dead but I'll soldier on.
Albany vs Duke
Do not think I'll be up at 2am for this one....Duke by 14
Ole Miss vs Wisconsin
Wisconsin by 7
Temple vs NC State
NC State by 8
Pacific vs Miami
And now in basketball...it's all about The U!! Miami by 15
After going 5-3 on a Saturday where all of the
favourites had wins, I am looking forward to a few of the matchups on Sunday. Will
chaos ensue again?? Hmm…let’s pick ‘em!!
Midwest
Region:
N.C.
State (11) vs. Georgetown (3)
The
Wolfpack should have been seeded higher and will get a win on Sunday by 7
Ohio
(13) vs. South Florida (12)
One
of these lower seeds will get into the Sweet 16….Ohio should roll on by 9
Creighton
(8) vs. North Carolina (1)
Will
be a good test for UNC who should win by 11
Purdue
(10) vs. Kansas (2)
Kansas
gets by ….by say 10 points
West
Region:
St.
Louis (9) vs. Michigan State (1)
Mich.
State by 4
Norfolk
State (15) vs. Florida (7)
Upset
number 2 for Norfolk State?? Yep….Norfolk State by 3
South
Region:
Lehigh
(15) vs. Xavier, OH (10)
Xavier
by 7
East
Region:
Cincinnati
(6) vs. Florida State (3)
Florida
State by 3
See you later in the week when the Sweet 16 games kick
off!!
Yep, I'm a little behind as usual but here are a few things to start getting me caught up. Firstly here is a continuation of my NCAA look at Conferences.
ACC Still Gold Standard of NCAA Hoops
Entering the 2009-2010 NCAA season, the ACC once again hosts the defending national champions, the North Carolina Tarheels. While the Heels lost a lot of talent from last years squad, the cupboards are not bare by any means. Don’t be surprised by a return to the Final Four by the Roy Williams coached outfit. Duke returns a solid nucleus and should also contend. Clemson, Maryland and WakeForest will be dangerous both in and out of conference play as will Georgia Tech and FloridaState.
Here is a rundown of the teams:
First we go to Chapel Hill for a look at the North Carolina Tarheelswho are looking to defend their NCAA crown. Returning forward Ed Davis is seen as a lock for the NBA Lottery once he decides to leave or graduate from UNC. This season he looks to become more aggressive in the Tarheel attack along with continued hard work on the glass. Marcus Ginyard returns for his senior season after being declared a medical redshirt last season. He will provide leadership and toughness for this bunch of young players with the support of Deon Thompson. The team also hopes for continued improvement from center Ty Zeller.
The team got off to a three win start where they were hardly troubled before heading to New York for the Semi Finals of the Coaches versus Cancer Classic where they survived a close one 77-73 over Ohio State before being overwhelmed by a stifling Syracuse zone defense in an 88-71 loss. The Orangemen used a 22-1 start to the second half to turn the game around against the young squad. Overall look for the Heels to be near the Final Four again this year. They will be tested in the first week of December with games against MichiganState and Kentucky.
Down the road in Durham, the Duke Blue Devilsare looking to go farther into the post season and improve on last seasons 30-7 record. After the early departure of Gerald Henderson to the NBA and surprising transfer of Elliot Williams left the Blue Devils thin in the back court but all everything forward Kyle Singler returns for his junior season raring to go.
Duke is hungry to return to the upper echelon of the NCAA and tired of hearing it from Tarheel fans as UNC has won two titles since Duke’s last visit to the Final Four in 2004. The team has been rarely troubled in winning its first four games of the season with Nolan Smith, Singler and Miles Plumlee leading the way. Additional help has come from shooting guard Jon Sheyer and improving freshman Andre Dawkins. On the horizon for the Blue Devils is ArizonaState in the semi finals of the NIT Tip-Off tourney with a matchup against either UConn or LSU after that. From there the team will travel to Madison to face always tough Wisconsin in the Big 10 – ACC Challenge.
This team has most of the pieces in place to go far into the post season but will need to get solid play at the point guard spot as the season progresses.
Now, we will stay in the Carolina’s but venture to South Carolina for a look at the Clemson Tigerswho are coming off of a 23-9 season but hungry after a bitter first round NCAA loss to Michigan. The Tigers will look to further their school record streak of three straight twenty win seasons and set a new school record for consecutive NCAA trips at four. The team returns workhorse forward Trevor Booker and add highly touted freshman Milton Jennings to the mix.
Thus far, the Tigers are off to a roaring start with easy wins in their first four outings. The team heads to California for the 76 Classic this week with a first round meeting with Texas A&M followed by a matchup with either Long Beach St. or West Virginia. After the trip, Clemson returns home to face Illinois and state rival South Carolina in the first week of December.
You can safely expect another twenty win year from Clemson and the complimentary NCAA bid where the team hopes to advance through the first round at the least.
Going back into North Carolina, we head to Winston-Salem where WakeForestis also looking for redemption for last seasons early exit from the NCAA tourney at the hands of ClevelandState. The Deacs were 24-7 for the season last year and briefly held the top spot in the national rankings. The team lost two Top 20 NBA picks from last years roster but the cupboards are far from bare as forward Al-Farouq Aminu returns along with incoming freshman Ari Stewart who has been compared favorably to former Deac Josh Howard.
Currently the Deacs sit at 3-0 for the season after easy wins. On the horizon looms a tough Purdue team along with a visit to Gonzaga. At the end of December is a test against a tricky Richmond team before starting the New Year with a game against the always rugged Xavier-Ohio team.
The Deacons will have their moments of inexperience but come March, they should be dancing.
Even more hoop happenings are now a reality with the US college basketball season underway. While the first couple of weeks will inevitably produce a lot of Who are they?, Where are they from?, What is a top team doing playing them? There is always a close call or two for the big timers.
Early on, we have seen the return of Isiah Thomas to the coaching game at Florida International University. His welcoming gift was a visit to defending Champions North Carolina where they were promptly disposed of by a score of 88-72.
The early surprise of the season came last Friday when little Rider College upset #18 Ranked Mississippi St. on the Bulldogs home court88-74. The woes of the Southeastern Conference continued last weekend with Alabama going down to a solid Cornell team at home 71-67. It goes to show that on any given night in the college version of the game, a team can put it all together and surprise the "Bog Boys".
A Sunday highlight saw Harvard survive in a three overtime thriller with William&Mary 87-85. Monday had another beauty as #4 Kentucky beat Miami-Ohio 72-70 thanks to a clutch basket by highly touted freshman John Wall.
Overnight there were narrow escapes by #19 Georgetown, 46-45 over Temple, #12 Connecticut 76-67 over Hofstra and #2 Michigan State 75-71 over always tough Gonzaga.
In the next few days I will go from A-Z of the Division 1 Conferences and highlight a few top teams and players.
