It’s pulse pounding. It’s captivating. It’s a workplace nightmare. It’s the best event in sports. It’s here. “It” is, of course, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, endearingly referred to as “March Madness.” It may not include the Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors,
It’s pulse pounding. It’s captivating. It’s a workplace nightmare. It’s the best event in sports.
It’s here.
“It” is, of course, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, endearingly referred to as “March Madness.” It may not include the Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors, but it will certainly include upsets, so-called Cinderellas and meticulously choreographed office pool brackets that will inevitably hit the shredder before quitting time on Friday. The next three weeks offer a maze of possibilities and, though I’ve hit many dead ends, I’ve also solved its puzzle before, besting almost 600 brackets with my 2005 entry.
That humble brag aside, I have a few thoughts that could help as you dissect your own bracket before Thursday’s deadline.
This season has been one of the most unpredictable I can remember, with top-five teams having consistently fallen to unranked opponents. With that in mind, it should be no surprise if teams in the middle of the pack outperform the top seeds, as a whole. A few I have my eye on are Oklahoma State (5-seed), Wisconsin (5) and Arizona (6), all of whom can reach the Final Four.
Oklahoma State wasn’t doing any favors by the selection committee, matching up in its opening game with the woefully underseeded Oregon Ducks. Oregon had the resume of a 7-seed but somehow received a 12. Oklahoma State would also have to likely face the scorching Saint Louis Billikens and the overall top seeded Louisville Cardinals in its first three games. I may be overestimating the Cowboys because I love freshman point guard Marcus Smart, who can do everything and is one of the fiercest competitors in the country, but they won’t back down from anyone.
Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan knows how to prepare for this tournament and got a good draw from the committee. If the Badgers survive the opening weekend, they match up with the most suspect of the 1-seeds (Gonzaga) in the Sweet 16. Or maybe not. If the ‘Zags are upended early by, say, Pittsburgh (8), Wisconsin could suddenly be considered the second-best team in the West region, behind only Ohio State (2), whom it crushed by 22 points a month ago. Those circumstances make Ryan’s crew a potential Final Four flyer.
The Arizona Wildcats are also in the West region with Wisconsin and the same unpredictability of that section makes them a potential survivor. A strong frontcourt and a standout point guard (Xavier transfer Mark Lyons) give them a chance against anyone. They haven’t been great since conference play began, but this team beat second-seeded Miami and third-seeded Florida back in December. If it gets hot, it can be very dangerous.
Round of 64 upsets to watch for: Davidson (14) over Marquette (3), Boise State* (13) over Kansas State (4), Minnesota (11) over UCLA (6), St. Mary’s* (11) over Memphis (6), Bucknell (11) over Butler (6), Iowa State (10) over Notre Dame (7)
My Final Four: Indiana, Florida, Oklahoma State, Arizona
Champion: Florida
Enjoy the games and please continue reading when everything I just wrote unravels by the weekend.
*Boise State and St. Mary’s each play in the “First Four,” results of which were not available as of press time.
• ‘My Thoughts Exactly’ appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in The Garden Island. Email David Simon your comments or questions to dsimon@thegardenisland.com.
