NCAA column
I hear some of these comments every year around this time:
“The person that won our bracket pool last year just picked teams out of the blue.” Or, my favorite, “My co-worker picked teams based on their mascots and colors and won it.”
I’ll probably never go either of those routes, but I admit it’s tempting. Maybe I would have more success, but knowing my luck — probably not. I haven’t picked a championship winner since 1999 (UConn), and I’m usually eliminated from contention in pools sometime around the Sweet 16.
At least I make it further than Kansas usually does.
My bracket won’t be complete until sometime later today and will have changed several times between now and then. That being said, I’m not going to throw a lot of predictions in this column, but instead, here’s a few general observations:
The Coaches Corner (or the East Region): Roy Williams (UNC), Bob Knight (Texas Tech), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Rick Barnes (Texas) and Tom Creen (Marquette) are all in the East. This quintet has combined for an impressive 16 Final Four trips and five national titles. There’s also a coach named John Thompson III in the East directing a strong Georgetown team ... his dad had some pretty good Hoyas’ squads, too.
Repeat performance?: Florida has the best chance to repeat as national champion than any team in recent history with all five starters back. No one has repeated since Duke in 1992, but rarely do teams return as much talent as the Gators.
ACC’s best shot (besides UNC): The Tar Heels are a bonafide contender as a No. 1 seed, but Maryland, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech have draws that set them up for a Sweet 16 run. Duke (vs. VCU then Pittsburgh) and Boston College (vs. Texas Tech then Georgetown) will have a tougher road.
Who’s the Mason: A 12 seed beating a 5 is not really that huge of an upset now days. However, a lower seed — like George Mason last year — going deep is still a big deal. This year, some of the best mid-majors have tough draws — for example Davidson (vs. Maryland) and Winthrop (vs. Notre Dame). Vanderbilt is a No. 6 from a major conference, so not really a sleeper, but the little-known Commodores could do some damage (to your bracket sheets).
Readers may contact Star Assistant Sports Editor Gabe Whisnant online at gabewhisnant@shelbystar.com.
“The person that won our bracket pool last year just picked teams out of the blue.” Or, my favorite, “My co-worker picked teams based on their mascots and colors and won it.”
I’ll probably never go either of those routes, but I admit it’s tempting. Maybe I would have more success, but knowing my luck — probably not. I haven’t picked a championship winner since 1999 (UConn), and I’m usually eliminated from contention in pools sometime around the Sweet 16.
At least I make it further than Kansas usually does.
My bracket won’t be complete until sometime later today and will have changed several times between now and then. That being said, I’m not going to throw a lot of predictions in this column, but instead, here’s a few general observations:
The Coaches Corner (or the East Region): Roy Williams (UNC), Bob Knight (Texas Tech), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Rick Barnes (Texas) and Tom Creen (Marquette) are all in the East. This quintet has combined for an impressive 16 Final Four trips and five national titles. There’s also a coach named John Thompson III in the East directing a strong Georgetown team ... his dad had some pretty good Hoyas’ squads, too.
Repeat performance?: Florida has the best chance to repeat as national champion than any team in recent history with all five starters back. No one has repeated since Duke in 1992, but rarely do teams return as much talent as the Gators.
ACC’s best shot (besides UNC): The Tar Heels are a bonafide contender as a No. 1 seed, but Maryland, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech have draws that set them up for a Sweet 16 run. Duke (vs. VCU then Pittsburgh) and Boston College (vs. Texas Tech then Georgetown) will have a tougher road.
Who’s the Mason: A 12 seed beating a 5 is not really that huge of an upset now days. However, a lower seed — like George Mason last year — going deep is still a big deal. This year, some of the best mid-majors have tough draws — for example Davidson (vs. Maryland) and Winthrop (vs. Notre Dame). Vanderbilt is a No. 6 from a major conference, so not really a sleeper, but the little-known Commodores could do some damage (to your bracket sheets).
Readers may contact Star Assistant Sports Editor Gabe Whisnant online at gabewhisnant@shelbystar.com.
posted by Gabe Whisnant at
1:18 PM
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