How Is Your Bracket Doing?
With the NCAA Tournament well underway along with the contest on this site, I will take this time to reflect back on the first round. You can use this post as an open forum to gloat or cry about your situation as well.
After a somewhat simple and unsurprising Thursday, Friday brought the tournament into full effect. Buzzer beaters, upsets, the second day was a lot of fun. You can see my bracket’s status above. With only two teams out of the sweet sixteen I think right now I am in pretty good shape. I also collected a few quality upset picks. There was also a record set for most three-pointers made in a day of tournament play. A few key moments so far:
- My sweet sixteen lost its first member when Drake went down today (Vandy twisted the knife later). One of the few mid-majors I had doing any real damage, the Bulldogs went down on a last second three pointer from Western Kentucky. Still, it was a great game and an example of what makes the tournament so exciting.
- I do not know about everyone else, but I am picking a lot of wrong upsets it seems. Winthrop made some noise last year, so I gave them a shot. On the other hand, name me one player on Kansas State besides Beasley…exactly. USC and Milk Ketchup should have been able to annihilate K.State and blew it. Give me some dap on Villanova and San Diego (another excellent game) though.
- Duke had a close scare on Thursday night, but narrowly avoided what we all wanted to see. I am not sure what makes the Blue Devils hated by everyone, but I know that at that point I did not care about my bracket. I wanted Duke to get taken down. A few joke calls at the end, and they advance.
Games I Am Looking Forward To
West Virginia vs Duke: I know I am not the only one who picked the upset here. Alexander has been a beast lately, but he is actually less of a factor to the win. We know he is going to get his points, the question is whether or not Duke will get theirs. If they can hit threes there are in good shape, but shut that down and West Virginia can advance.
Stanford vs Marquette: Otherwise known as small vs big. Will Stanford’s giant twin tandem be too much for the size-challenged Marquette? I think it will be, but if Dominic James can get it going it could be a tough test.
Wisconsin vs Kansas State: This is going to be a great game. I have a feeling The Beastley is going to have a monster night, so it will be entertaining to see if Wisconsin can withstand it. USC learned that (surprisingly) you have to do more than shut down Beasley to win the game.
Pittsburgh vs Michigan State: I have Pitt winning it all, but they do have a tough road ahead. It is clear I am going to pick Pitt to win, so the question becomes how do I want them to dominate. The answer is Dejuan Blair going nuts on the boards. If my dream comes true he will finish the night with something like 20 and 20…for the rest of the tournament. Blair is a big boy, but right now no one is as big as Levance Fields. If he stays consistent then both Bob Knight and myself start to look a lot smarter.
What have been your favorite moments in the tournament so far? Any games you are looking forward to ? Also take this is an opportunity to answer the question above…how is your bracket doing?
March 22nd, 2008 | 3:04 am
this tournament has been so memorable. western kentucky against drake was one of the most intense games ever, and though i picked drake, it was an incredible game. as of now, i have lost only 2 sweet 16 seeds, uconn and vanderbilt, and am in sole first place on jbomb.net, so im satisfied.
March 22nd, 2008 | 9:39 am
sitting in second right now i am pretty comfortable. Clemson was my huge sleeper and that obviously fell through. I was proud to have picked w kentucky and absolutely loved the game. I agree that friday was an overall awesome day and I have high hopes for what saturday has to bring. I also do not know why everyone hates duke so much, but being a huge fan myself i was proud to rub it in everyone’s face who i was watching the game with, i.e. xane, luke, putt, z, and mike. I am looking forward to all of the same games and will be not leaving my room much today.
D-U-K-E let’s go duke! X-A-N-E is a dook!
March 22nd, 2008 | 9:42 am
by the way, bill walker of k state dropped 22 on milk ketchup. beasley, although admittedly beastley, is not the only player. another pick i got right. tha answer key is a tough name to live up to, but, you know, i do my best.
March 22nd, 2008 | 3:34 pm
alright before everyone starts nutting, yes i know duke lost. i admit wvu outplayed them in the second half - resulting in the win. Joe Alexander is dominant and mazulla was today as well. no one can say that duke gets all the calls though because if you watched the game today and have sense you realize that duke was being called very sharply. so congrats wvu and you can all nut over pitt now.
March 22nd, 2008 | 11:57 pm
Like Pitt, and even more like Duke…I’m terrible.
March 23rd, 2008 | 12:12 am
With Pitt gone I am done. Now I hope that my bracket becomes completely and totally wrong. As Ricky Bobby once said about NCAA College Basketball, “If you’re not first, you’re last.”
March 23rd, 2008 | 12:17 am
Your times are off.
March 23rd, 2008 | 7:08 am
Justin, I’m not surprised you picked Pitt to go so far. Sometimes hometown loyalties skew one’s judgment… and Bobby Knight’s prediction didn’t help. But am surprised by your choice of literary (read: movie) quotes. Ricky Bobby? Talladega Nights is on my list of the world’s 10 worst movies - right below The Pick of Destiny.
March 23rd, 2008 | 7:33 am
i picked pitt in the final 4 as well. they looked solid in the big east tourney. im surprised they choked against a msu team. id def love to see mississippi state knock off memphis today to counter my pitt picks.
March 23rd, 2008 | 11:53 am
My bracket is bleeding. However, only 2 of my Elite 8s are out, and I still have all of Final 4 teams, so things could work out for me yet.
My success and failure lies in the hands of UCLA, as I am the only person in the group picking them to win it all.
March 24th, 2008 | 12:19 pm
Well considering it didn’t save my champion pick, I’m destined to be last. Good thing I care :P. (I also just randomly clicked on teams,Justin more or less forced me to make a bracket)
March 24th, 2008 | 9:26 pm
These are the hardest in between days ever.
March 24th, 2008 | 9:37 pm
these tweener days are makin my stomach toil in anticipation. my friend offered me tickets to see 4 sweet 16 game in detroit this weekend for 160 bucks but i cant do it cuz i broke.
March 25th, 2008 | 9:32 am
an extremely sad death occurred today. R. I. P. Baseball off-season
March 25th, 2008 | 5:26 pm
well you all will be satisfied. today i was turned down from Duke, but by no means is my love gone. I forgive my trespasses as my trespasses have been forgiven. It was their strongest applying academic class and their largest. Over 20,300 applied and only 1,650 were offered spots so i am understanding. I was accepted into wake forest today and am seriously looking at that option. Thought you all would like to know.
March 25th, 2008 | 7:44 pm
My bracket is unbelievable. My consistently strong streak of braketology has ended (1st place, 2nd place, 4th place last 3 years). At least 3 of my final 4 teams are still in (thanks JT3 and terrible Hibbert). Today I did a Scenario Generator on my bracket and even if all my picks are right there is still no chance I can win. Also, jbomb, I was curious of your thoughts on the performance of Stephen Curry from Davidson (70 points in 2 games)?
March 25th, 2008 | 10:22 pm
wow wake forest is a good school man, good for you, and good job forgiving your trespasses
March 26th, 2008 | 1:54 am
Simply put, Curry is a monster. He already has player of the tournament locked up in my mind. Put this kid at UNC and he is being talked about as a top 10 pick in the draft this year. I will be rooting for him as they play Wisconsin, and honestly I hope that Davidson makes the Final Four. Cinderella teams are always the best stories.
March 28th, 2008 | 9:17 pm
Stephen Curry… 103 points in 3 games. They just showed a MAN on TV who had a sign that said “mmm…spicy Curry.” Weird.