Weekend Madness: Halfway Analysis

Whew!  Marquette won.  My bracket is saved (reminder, I have them in national championship game); although, as a Hoosier, I regret Butler's defeat.  Wish they were in different bracket (see LaSalle-Ole Miss game), but that's not the way it works.

Yesterday

Let's admit it, NCAA & CBS "family of networks," yesterday was not a great viewing day.  Here's the list: Michigan by 25, Michigan State by 22, Louisville by 26, Arizona by 23, even Oregon by 17.  Not exactly glued to TV games.

Then there was the classic that was Butler-Marquette.  Iffy calls; gutsy plays; free throw shooting; steals; and coaches working the strategy.  Great stuff.  The better team won, but they weren't better by much.  How much farther will the Warriors go?  Can they beat Miami, the likely next opponent?  I have it that way in my bracket, but we'll see.

The Gonzaga game was good, too, if you switched over after the Butler-Marquette game.  What we learned is that the Zags aren't one of the premier squads in the country; given their 9 week run of wins, they may have deserved their seeding (or a bit less), but winning 6 straight against NCAA tournament teams just was beyond them.  

Syracuse survived.  Will they win next week?  I don't see it happening.

Quote of the day:  Charles Barkley, talking about either VCU or Georgetown (or both) -- "these great defensive teams turn out not to play such good offense.  If they can't turn you over and run, then they have no offense."  Makes me worry about Ohio St. 

Today

CBS is running the games on the same heavy-on-the-prime-time schedule, with single games at noon and two, five-thirty, then all over from 7.  We'll all be groggy tomorrow morning if we are up (and don't have a snow day) after the Duke-Creighton game.  And that should be a good game -- probably as good as the Syracuse-Cal nightcap last night.

As for MY bracket watch, the big game is the Florida-Minn contest at 6:10 on TNT.  Why?  Half of my competitors have someone beating Florida; I have them winning.  In other words, there are points to be gained.

Everyone has Ohio St, then IU, Kansas, Miami and Duke.  No one foresaw either LaSalle or Ole Miss -- okay, one person has Ole Miss winning today.  San Diego St-Florida Gulf Coast?  Who's got that?  

As for LaSalle, who this blog has watched as it bubbled around, today's game is tricky.  Ole Miss scores about 7 a game more, and rebounds better.  But LaSalle is a better shooting team.  Which is the better league -- A10 or SEC?  It's a 12-13 game.  And they have "only" #9 seed Wichita State waiting on them.  Big game.  But hard to call.  Go Explorers.

So, it's not a bracket busting day...until you look at the long view.

As I said in yesterday's blog, next weekend is where brackets are won.  Having as many teams left next weekend is tantamount; getting there with all four Final Four picks puts you in front of the pack.  

On that note, I say "go Ohio State," (though it costs me $5) as they are my last Final Four team not in the Sweet Sixteen yet.  

Happy viewing...and in the mid-Atlantic, good luck with overnight snow so you get to get your sleep after the Duke-Creighton game.