Like everyone worth a damn, I've been spending the last couple days filling out brackets trying to come up with The Perfect Bracket. My personal bracket-filling process is long, intense, and in-depth, with much time spent pouring over matchups, performing statistical analysis, and breaking down everything from where teams are playing to how hot they are. It's an annual rite for me. Maybe the best word that describes it is "futile", because it is long since I was even remotely competitive in any bracket-filling competition I have entered. I think I peaked in about 4th grade, when I picked teams based on the coolness of their names.
Anyway, while immersed in my annual ritual this year I came to one inescapable conclusion and irrefutable truth: almost all the teams in the tourney suck this year. Seriously, name one team seeded 3 or lower, besides Texas, that has a shot to win? Or even make the Final Four? Let's break it down:
3 seeds: Oregon, Pittsburgh, Washington State, Texas A&M.
The simple fact is none of these teams will make the Final Four because they'd have to go through a 1 or 2 seed (or both) to do it. Oregon has the best shot, but Aaron Brooks is a punk and he'll fold like a chair against tough defense like Wisconsin's. Pittsburgh is overrated and can't get past UCLA. Washington State is a nice story but they peaked in January. Texas A&M is just not very good.
4 seeds (minus Texas): Maryland, Southern Illinois, Virginia.
Maryland peaked too early, as did Virginia, and everyone know that mid-majors like So. Ill. make better runs when they are underdogs rather than when they are favored.
Everyone else: fugedaboutit.
Even some of the 2 seeds are weak, like Wisconsin and Memphis. And Georgetown is getting so much Final Four buzz that there's no way they make a run. Jay Bilas sealed Georgetown's fate by picking them to win it all.
That leaves: Florida, North Carolina, Kansas, UCLA, and Ohio State. Parity be damned; this will be the first year in a long time were chalk rules and the Final Four will consist of 3 or 4 number 1 seeds. These teams are just too good to be upset.
On another note, if you age me by about 130 years and slide me into Digger Phelps' chair, no one would know the difference.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
shit my comment got deleted. ummm...let's try this again.
if you look like a younger digger phelps, you must be one of the white guys on that collage.
i agree with you in general save for a couple of teams, but yeah most of these guys suck.
this year reminds me of 1998 or 2000 when the #1 seeds were prohibitive favorites. both years only one #1 seed made it to the final four and in 2000 we had two #8 seeds. the lesson you ask? don't piss off the tourney gods or you'll get stuck watching boston college in the final four.
BC?! NOOOOOOOOooo!!!!!!!!!
heh heh...that's the same thing i say whenever they're on tv.
Post a Comment