My hat goes off to Mike Hall, last seen winning the hit ESPN show "Dream Job." Talk about living the dream... the man got to host the ESPN NIT Selection Show last night! He really is working his way on up only three years after his glorious win on that program. Anyway, on to the brackets...
In the north, you gotta like the in-state matchup in the first round between Mississippi State and Mississippi Valley State. Should be a great game given that the only thing separating each school from the other is a "valley." Nevertheless, there will be lots of the letters "s, "i" and "p" on the floor that evening. Michigan, the two-time reigning kings of the NIT, will have trouble continuing their dominance, despite Tommy Amaker's coaching brilliance. Utah State is a sleeper from out west and if the Blue get past them, they will have to face Al Thornton and the F$U Seminoles. Out of this bracket, I go with F$U.
In the east, you have to wonder if Sidney Lowe's red blazer will continue to be a good luck charm for the Wolfpack. If so, figure them to be the team with the lowest amount of wins to ever make the Final Four. West Virginia must be proud to be starting the tourney against the MEAC powerhouse Delaware State. This should be a big draw in Morgantown... of local chapters of the Aryan Brotherhood. I hope that Kevin Pittsnogle is present, showing his pride for his former school, only made better if he shows up in the same white tux with tophat and tails that he wore to his Appalachian-themed wedding.
In the west, if Air Force's players can keep their hands off the cheerleaders from the other schools, they should be the pick to make the Final Four. I like Vermont to pull the upsets and make it to the Elite 8.
In the south, look for Syracuse to pull a "Maryland" and mail it in the first round against South Alabama. Clemson is a paper tiger in this bracket (no pun intended), and I think Missouri State can go ahead and pack their bags for a trip to New York for the Final Four!
So your Final Four... F$U, NC State, Air Force, and Missouri State. We'll all be on pins and needles until this year's champion is crowned in the mecca of sports, Madison Square Garden, on March 29.
... what's that my producers are telling me??? Maryland isn't in the NIT this year? They made the NCAA Tourney as a 4 seed???? Well then, this is all pretty irrelevant, isn't it? Quick gut-reaction breakdown is an easy win over Davidson who will quite simply be outmatched by Maryland's bigs and guards. A very tough game over Butler if they win, or a fairly easy ride against ODU if they win (I'm still torn on this game). Then I see the Terps bowing out in the Sweet 16 against Florida. It's too bad. I really was starting to enjoy that NIT thing.
March 12, 2007
Breaking Down the Brackets...
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6 Responses:
wow, you guys sure do have a lot of time on your hands with all these postings.
i can tell that you're all still in college. the good news is with that Maryland college degree you'll continue to have time on your hands after your 5 years of school. that is, you won't lose time for your day time postings, as your shifts won't be until the evening.
I forget, what is the current place of choice for Maryland college park grads? Is it Bucca di Beppo or P.F. Changs? either way, I'm sure you'll wait on your fair share of Duke alumni. good thing for you they'll have the money to tip well, assuming, of course, that you don't screw up the drink order.
HIIIIIMMMMYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey there... why don't you look down at my very first post entitled "Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste," if you'd like to know what my occupation is. And J-Red has the same occupation. So no, where J-Red currently works, they would never even allow him to expense P.F. Changs, as it would be beneath them. But nice job to come back here after saying we'd be an 8-seed and getting proven completely wrong on that with a completely unresearched and invalid flame. Enjoy your first round exit against VCU.
NO LOVE FOR THE MAC.
All this mid-major hype over the last few years for the MVC, CAA, etc, which I agree with to a large extent. But, why no love for the MAC? The Antonio Gates' led Kent St. Golden Flashes make it to the Elite 8, the Sczerbiak led Redhwaks to the Sweet 16, the Chris Kamann led Chippewas of CMU, etc. etc. The MAC always does well in the tourney.
Somehow, the mid majors are all going forward, and the committee is bitch slapping the MAC backwards. I don't get it. After all, we play the MVC and the CAA in the bracket buster games, and have for the last several years, and always do well against both conferences. the fact that the MVC gets 6-7 (whatever it was) teams in last year, and the MAC got just one, and it was a 14 seed, is an absolute travesty.
As for my mighty redhawks, we're solid, but definitely didn't deserve an at large bid this year if we had lost, but not giving one to Akron is a screw job. 26 wins, they won at Oral Roberts, and at Niagara, both teams in the tourney (albeit low seeds),lost by 2 to Nevada, beat Kent St. twice.
The A-10 is not a better conference than the MAC either. Xavier at 24-8 with their schedule is not better than Akron at 26-6 with theirs.
My point is this, wherever you come down on the mid-major top teams vs. the mediocre major conference teams getting in, you have to at least acknowledge that if they are going to give at large bids to the mid major top teams, that the MAC is just as worthy as the MVC, the CAA, the WAC, A-10 etc.
If you're thinking of taking the hawks to upset oregon, not gonna happen. we match up relatively well with them as far as size (we have 0 big men, just a bunch of scrappy power forwards), but they have 3 guys who can shoot the rock from beyond the perimeter and we have 1. We'll keep it close for a while, slow the pace down, but lose by 6-7 points.
that's all i've got to say about that.
As for Timmmmy, yes, Jeremy is an attorney, I am an attorney, Brien is a computer scientist and MBA student and Russell is getting his PhD in electrical engineering.
I went to law school at Tulane and graduated ahead of every Dookie in my class. The other Maryland girl in my class did the same, and was editor-in-chief of the Sports Law Journal. A Maryland classmate from the year behind me was 5th in her class, ahead of all Dookies and most Ivy Leaguers.
As for major conference middlers vs. mid-major majors, so long as Maryland is comfortably in I don't care. Do remember that the criteria is 34 best teams that did not receive an automatic bid. Combined with the fact that TV ratings are the name of the game, CBS is not going to cry over the 50,000 Akron fans.
16, 134 Akron fans, 35% of whom have STDs. 12% of whom got them from me.
huh?
"yes, Jeremy is an attorney, I am an attorney, Brien is a computer scientist and MBA student and Russell is getting his PhD in electrical engineering."
But we all went to Maryland so these degrees don't count. Or somebody just got bitch-slapped. It's suddenly very quiet around here...
And Jim, you must've really gotten around that campus when you were visiting as a soccer player for Miami. I would have to agree that a team like Akron should get an at large over a team like Stanford. But I would think that Syracuse deserves the at large over both.
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