Well, I went 1-3 for my Elite Eight picks. Is it even worth trying anymore? I mean, picking the tournament has been a disaster for me. It's been that way for most everyone it seems. Two people out of millions and millions on espn.com had the exact Final Four. Two. Well, I'm going to give it a shot anyway for these four games tomorrow.
No. 11 VCU (28-11) vs. No. 8 Butler (27-9)
You gotta figure those two people who selected the correct Final Four go to VCU, went to VCU, live around Richmond, or are sympathetic to the CAA. No one could have possibly had the Rams in the Final Four. No one. The only people who believed it would happen was coach Shaka Smart and his players. I wasn't surprised when they beat USC. I didn't think the Trojans belonged in the tournament. A win over struggling Georgetown was no surprise either. A pasting of Purdue and a clobbering of Kansas have been a bit more shocking. Sandwiched in between those victories is VCU's toughest test in the tournament--a grind-it-out overtime win over lowly 10 seed and ACC member Florida State. *Note: I say "lowly" sarcastically. No one really gave the ACC much credit this season but FSU has been the stiffest opponent so far for a team blazing through the bracket. End note.* It hasn't been just THAT the Rams have won, it's how they've done it and by how much they've won by. Simply dismantling teams. The tables have turned. The Rams have looked like a top-four seed so far that belongs in Houston. They've done it with a relentless up-and-down attack on offense and lethal shooting from beyond the arc. The Rams are shooting, I think, 44 percent from 3 in the tournament. That's insane. Almost making 1 out of every 2 shots they throw up. Almost all teams during the regular season have team 3-point percentages somewhere in the 30s. The Rams have also been equally tough on defense. They've held their five NCAA tournament opponents to 62 ppg. The Rams held Georgetown to under 50 points and Kansas, a team which averaged 82.7 ppg during the regular season, to 61.
After singing all their praises I have to be picking the Rams to beat Butler, right? Yeah, but it's not an easy choice. If there's a team that has as much fight in it as VCU, it's the Butler Bulldogs. Butler, another mid-major, lost their best player to the NBA in the offseason and are making a RETURN trip to the Final Four. Crazy. VCU has been nothing short of dominant in their games and Butler has been nothing short of clutch, with a little luck thrown in. The Bulldogs' win over Pittsburgh was especially lucky. But Butler has worked extremely hard and has been amazingly resilient in all their games. They got down 11 with nine minutes to play against Florida in the Elite Eight but fought back to win in overtime. They've done it with tough-nosed defense, another NBA prospect--Shelvin Mack--and one of those "glue" type players you hate to play against in Matt Howard.
Like I said, I am picking VCU, but the choice is almost impossible because, how can you say no to either of these teams? After the Pitt game, I had an inkling Butler could make it back to the Final Four. I vowed I wouldn't pick against them anymore. But I am officially saying the same thing now about VCU after their win over Kansas. And the feeling I have about the Rams is a little stronger than the one I have about the Bulldogs. So I'm picking VCU to win 69-67.
But the way this tournament has progressed, I wouldn't be shocked--or Shakaed--by anything.
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No. 4 Kentucky (29-8) vs. No. 3 Connecticut (30-9)
Controversial coaches clash in the second national semifinal in Houston. Kentucky's John Calipari and UConn's Jim Calhoun have both had their fair share of scandals recently surrounding themselves and/or their teams. But there is no denying they are good coaches. Calhoun is making his fourth trip to the Final Four while Calipari is making his third. And they've both done it with teams who have looked shaky at times. The Wildcats lost to this same UConn team back on Nov. 24 84-67. Two months ago in early February Kentucky lost four of seven games, including losses to Ole Miss and Arkansas, not exactly top-of-the-line material in the SEC this season. But Calipari has somehow brought his young group together and they've now strung together ten straight wins, which includes a victory in the SEC title game over Florida. Calipari's teams have often been made up of one-and-done stars and I always thought that formula would have his teams knocked out in the Sweet 16, maybe Elite Eight. So I got to hand it to the guy, even though I don't necessarily agree with how he might go about operating his basketball team.
What Connecticut has done, meanwhile, is even more brilliant than Kentucky's run. The Huskies have pulled out nine straight tournament games, dating back to a first-round Big East tournament win over DePaul on March 8--and the conference tournament started immediately after UConn had dropped four of their last five games. Kemba Walker--one of, if not the premier player in the nation--has refused, however, to let the Huskies go down without a fight. I like the Wildcats overall cast, though, better than UConn's. Brandon Knight, DeAndre Liggins, Terrence Jones, and Josh Harrelson--a senior--bring more to the table for me than Kemba's crew of Jeremy Lamb, Alex Oriakhi and Shabazz Napier (great names though). Kemba can't do it all can he? I want him or his teammates to prove me wrong though, because that will be one heckuva show to watch if he does.
While VCU-Butler brings more local flavor and underdog pizzazz to Houston than UConn-Kentucky, the better game could definitely be the matchup between the Huskies and Wildcats. We are talking about a couple of the more successful teams in all of college basketball and the lights will be bright and the stars will be out. Should be a fun one. I like Kentucky 77-74 in the nightcap.
No. 11 VCU (28-11) vs. No. 8 Butler (27-9)
You gotta figure those two people who selected the correct Final Four go to VCU, went to VCU, live around Richmond, or are sympathetic to the CAA. No one could have possibly had the Rams in the Final Four. No one. The only people who believed it would happen was coach Shaka Smart and his players. I wasn't surprised when they beat USC. I didn't think the Trojans belonged in the tournament. A win over struggling Georgetown was no surprise either. A pasting of Purdue and a clobbering of Kansas have been a bit more shocking. Sandwiched in between those victories is VCU's toughest test in the tournament--a grind-it-out overtime win over lowly 10 seed and ACC member Florida State. *Note: I say "lowly" sarcastically. No one really gave the ACC much credit this season but FSU has been the stiffest opponent so far for a team blazing through the bracket. End note.* It hasn't been just THAT the Rams have won, it's how they've done it and by how much they've won by. Simply dismantling teams. The tables have turned. The Rams have looked like a top-four seed so far that belongs in Houston. They've done it with a relentless up-and-down attack on offense and lethal shooting from beyond the arc. The Rams are shooting, I think, 44 percent from 3 in the tournament. That's insane. Almost making 1 out of every 2 shots they throw up. Almost all teams during the regular season have team 3-point percentages somewhere in the 30s. The Rams have also been equally tough on defense. They've held their five NCAA tournament opponents to 62 ppg. The Rams held Georgetown to under 50 points and Kansas, a team which averaged 82.7 ppg during the regular season, to 61.
After singing all their praises I have to be picking the Rams to beat Butler, right? Yeah, but it's not an easy choice. If there's a team that has as much fight in it as VCU, it's the Butler Bulldogs. Butler, another mid-major, lost their best player to the NBA in the offseason and are making a RETURN trip to the Final Four. Crazy. VCU has been nothing short of dominant in their games and Butler has been nothing short of clutch, with a little luck thrown in. The Bulldogs' win over Pittsburgh was especially lucky. But Butler has worked extremely hard and has been amazingly resilient in all their games. They got down 11 with nine minutes to play against Florida in the Elite Eight but fought back to win in overtime. They've done it with tough-nosed defense, another NBA prospect--Shelvin Mack--and one of those "glue" type players you hate to play against in Matt Howard.
Like I said, I am picking VCU, but the choice is almost impossible because, how can you say no to either of these teams? After the Pitt game, I had an inkling Butler could make it back to the Final Four. I vowed I wouldn't pick against them anymore. But I am officially saying the same thing now about VCU after their win over Kansas. And the feeling I have about the Rams is a little stronger than the one I have about the Bulldogs. So I'm picking VCU to win 69-67.
But the way this tournament has progressed, I wouldn't be shocked--or Shakaed--by anything.
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No. 4 Kentucky (29-8) vs. No. 3 Connecticut (30-9)
Controversial coaches clash in the second national semifinal in Houston. Kentucky's John Calipari and UConn's Jim Calhoun have both had their fair share of scandals recently surrounding themselves and/or their teams. But there is no denying they are good coaches. Calhoun is making his fourth trip to the Final Four while Calipari is making his third. And they've both done it with teams who have looked shaky at times. The Wildcats lost to this same UConn team back on Nov. 24 84-67. Two months ago in early February Kentucky lost four of seven games, including losses to Ole Miss and Arkansas, not exactly top-of-the-line material in the SEC this season. But Calipari has somehow brought his young group together and they've now strung together ten straight wins, which includes a victory in the SEC title game over Florida. Calipari's teams have often been made up of one-and-done stars and I always thought that formula would have his teams knocked out in the Sweet 16, maybe Elite Eight. So I got to hand it to the guy, even though I don't necessarily agree with how he might go about operating his basketball team.
What Connecticut has done, meanwhile, is even more brilliant than Kentucky's run. The Huskies have pulled out nine straight tournament games, dating back to a first-round Big East tournament win over DePaul on March 8--and the conference tournament started immediately after UConn had dropped four of their last five games. Kemba Walker--one of, if not the premier player in the nation--has refused, however, to let the Huskies go down without a fight. I like the Wildcats overall cast, though, better than UConn's. Brandon Knight, DeAndre Liggins, Terrence Jones, and Josh Harrelson--a senior--bring more to the table for me than Kemba's crew of Jeremy Lamb, Alex Oriakhi and Shabazz Napier (great names though). Kemba can't do it all can he? I want him or his teammates to prove me wrong though, because that will be one heckuva show to watch if he does.
While VCU-Butler brings more local flavor and underdog pizzazz to Houston than UConn-Kentucky, the better game could definitely be the matchup between the Huskies and Wildcats. We are talking about a couple of the more successful teams in all of college basketball and the lights will be bright and the stars will be out. Should be a fun one. I like Kentucky 77-74 in the nightcap.
I'm sure on watching the games you threw your hands up and said, "I give up!" Lol. For a while there it felt like VCU was going to win because they made Butler play their game, but Butler regained control. I had leaned toward Kentucky too, because I just didn't believe that a one-man team could make it that far. Butler-UConn should be insane.
ReplyDeleteha, yeah. i think ill refrain from making a pick for mondays game because ill obviously just jinx that team. i was able to watch vcu-butler and ill watch kentucky-uconn in the morning (read: noonish). butler did a good job once they started handling vuc's press and vcu just wasnt as hot shooting as they have been in their other five tourney games.
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