Taking a spin around the world of sports

It would not be surprising to see three or four Big East teams in the Elite Eight, and even two or three in the Final Four. Of course, anyone can get hot in March, but the Big East teams have the advantage of having faced the heat all season.

-Brandon Christol, Feb. 23, 2009, from the blog "Wait 'til this Year"


I know, I shouldn't toot my own horn, but it's my blog and I needed to make myself feel good about something after a weekend filled with tragedy and despair.

Louisville had a chance to make it three Big East teams in the Final Four, but the Cardinals--normally a second half team--absolutely folded up their tent in the second half against Michigan State on Sunday. They were outscored 34-25 in the latter half, and shot 10-18 from the free throw line for the game. They shot just 38% from the field and were outrebounded by eight. Not a strong performance by the top overall seed in the tournament. So only two Big East teams will head to Detroit, but still an incredible tournament for the conference.

On the other side of the bracket, I cannot wait to see Villanova's defense go up against UNC's offense. North Carolina has averaged 89 points in their four tourney victories, but Villanova shut down a good Duke team in the regional semifinal and has allowed just 66 points per game in the tourney. They play great team defense, but UNC has numerous weapons. Should be fun.

One reason I'm left with zero (that's right: zip, zilch, nada) Final Four teams in my bracket is because of those all-important free throws. Here are the free throw numbers for my Final Four teams in the games in which they were eliminated:

Memphis: 18-32 (56%)
Pitt: 21-29 (72%)
Louisville: 10-18 (55%)
Oklahoma: 10-16 (62%)

That's 62% overall. My teams just kept shooting themselves in the foot when they stepped up to the charity stripe. Oh well, you live and you learn. I learned that a bracket can go downhill faster than Bode Miller: I had 14 of 16 Sweet Sixteen teams, yet none of my Final Four picks are booking hotels in Motown.

The Tiger and the O'Hair

Tiger's back, baby. He trailed by five strokes entering the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but he stormed back to tie it and nailed a 15-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole to win by one. You gotta love it. Tiger's been solid but not quite Tigerish since returning from injury, and then he puts it all together in his final tournament prior to the Masters, which starts April 9. Tiger is now in 12th place in the 2009 FedEx Cup standings despite playing just three tournaments while everyone else in the top 30 has played at least twice that many.

Gregg to close for Cubs

In one of the few decisions that remained for Lou Piniella this spring, Kevin Gregg was named the Cubs closer Sunday, while Carlos Marmol will be the primary set-up man. Gregg has more experience closing (29 saves last year, 32 in 2007) and has not allowed a run in 8.1 innings this spring. I've always thought the closer position is overrated (since the game is often decided in the 7th or 8th inning rather than the 9th), so I'm not too worked up about this decision. It will be nice to have someone with Marmol's stuff to bring on in the late innings, as was the case last year when Marmol put out many a fire. And if Gregg struggles or gets hurt, Marmol should be able to fill in nicely.

Yes, there was snow on the ground today in Chicago, but have no fear--baseball season is just a week away.

Elite East--I mean Eight

How scary did Louisville look Friday night? They dropped an NBA-like 103 points on the only wannabe Cinderella remaining, Arizona. Eight teams remaining, four of them in the Big East. It's sort of like we're about to watch another incarnation of the Big East conference tournament. If that's the case, I wouldn't mind seeing another six overtime thriller, though I'd prefer Pitt doesn't suffer the same fate as they did back in mid-March.

My stab at an upset stabbed me right in the back, as Gonzaga was never in it against an upstart Tarheel team. UNC was just two points shy of the century mark, and they now carry the ACC banner into the Elite Eight.

Michigan St. defeated Kansas in what really did become a battle of coaches. There must have been at least four timeouts called in the final two minutes. Whenever a team calls a timeout, much of the responsibility for the ensuing play must be placed on the coach, as he has the opportunity to draw up a play from scratch. In the end, Tom Izzo outscored Bill Self 7-2 in the final 1:48 to net a Spartan victory.

And Blake Griffin continues to raise his potential NBA stock value. He averaged 30.5 points and 15 rebounds in the first two tournament games, and proved he's nothing if not consistent with a 30 and 14 performance against overmatched Syracuse. That's right: a Big East team lost. Weird, I know.

Elite Eight conference breakdown:

Big East: 4
Big 12: 2
ACC: 1
Big Ten: 1

Sorry to burst your bracket

Cleveland may not be a state, but Cleveland State made a statement Friday with an 84-69 win over #4 Wake Forest. That statement was: "Brandon Christol, how dare you belittle us by doing nothing but make fun of our school's name in your blog prediction? Hope you enjoyed our sweet victory, punk." Touché, Cleveland State.

Cleveland State's win also sets up an interesting 13/12 game with Arizona, as the Wildcats defeated Utah in yet another 12/5 upset. What is it about that 12/5 upset? It's like death and taxes. If Louisville makes it to the Sweet 16, they'll face a serious underdog. That's me putting a positive spin on a terrible day of bracketeering for me.

It took 'til the final two games of the first round, but we eventually got to see a couple of great overtime games, both of which resulted in upsets. Ohio St. and Siena actually needed double OT, and Siena eventually claimed a thrilling 74-72 victory; Wisconsin made it three 12/5 upsets with an overtime victory against Florida State. The Big Ten finishes the first round 4-3.

I don't know about you, but I lost a pathetic eight of the sixteen games Friday. A full one-third of the day's games were won by lower seeds (13, 12, 12, 11, 10, and 9 seeds). At least all of my Elite Eight teams are still alive ... so ... that's somethin'.

Well, the first round went out with a bang--bring on round two!

The road to Detroit

First Round
Midwest

Louisville over Morehead St. I had Alabama St. winning this one, but then they lost the play-in game and completely screwed up my bracket.

Ohio St. over Siena. They're playing this game in Ohio! Not fair!

Utah over Arizona. Until 2007, Arizona had a player with one of the greatest names of all time: Mustafa Shakur. The loss of such a wonderfully-named player still haunts them.

Wake Forest over Cleveland St. Cleveland's not even a state, is it?

West Virginia over Dayton. Dayton's becoming a trendy pick, but West Virginia beat Pitt and Villanova, and Alex Ruoff can play.

Kansas over North Dakota St. Bill Self's squad won the regular season Big 12 title, and he'll have them ready to make a run in the tourney.

Boston College over USC. Middle-of-the-pack ACC over middle-of-the-pack Pac-10.

Michigan St. over Robert Morris. The Big Ten can't beat everyone, but they can beat the Northeast Conference.

West

UConn over UT-Chattanooga. The Mocs did win the SoCon tourney, and Stephen McDowell made the second most 3-pointers in the nation ... but no.

Texas A&M over BYU. I like the Aggies' size over the Cougars' shooting.

Purdue over Northern Iowa. UNI has a chance to pull the ol' 12/5 upset, but Robbie Hummel is healthy and the Boilermakers have a big man down low in JaJuan Johnson.

Washington over Mississippi St. MSU beat Tennessee (twice), LSU and Kentucky, and if they get hot from downtown, they could take it. But the Huskies score points by the bucketful, and I'll keep my money on them.

Marquette over Utah St. This game will be in Idaho, which neighbors Utah, and that's wack. But I still think Marquette has the firepower to take down a WAC team, even if they have lost five of six after losing stud Dominic James.

Missouri over Cornell. Those 1500 SATs won't do you any good against the run-and-gun Tigers!

Maryland over Cal. See: Boston College over USC.

Memphis over Cal State Northridge. Just a warm-up for Calipari's boys.

East

Pitt over E. Tenn. St. Just too many abbreviations in E. Tenn. St. You can't win when even your name is half-assed.

Tennesee over Oklahoma St. This one's tough. Could be a shootout, and I'll put the money on Bruce Pearl finding a way to get the win.

Florida St. over Wisconsin. The Badgers lost to Marquette, UConn, Texas, Michigan St. and Purdue (twice). Florida St. can handle 'em.

Portland St. over Xavier. I wanted to pick an upset. Xavier's young, Portland St. can shoot the trey. Go get 'em, Vikings!

UCLA over VCU. If only VCU had one more letter, then maybe they could win this rather acronymous match-up.

Villanova over American. Um, Villanova's just better.

Texas over Minnesota. I had a hard time with this one, but I guess I'll take A.J. Abrams over ... wait, who the heck does Minnesota have, anyways?

Duke over Binghamton. I'm pretty sure I've never heard of Binghamton.

South

UNC over Radford. I'm pretty sure I've never heard of Radford either.

Butler over LSU. Butler beat Xavier, and Xavier beat LSU. The transitive property never fails.

Western Kentucky over Illinois. Did you know that WKU beat Louisville? Illinois has no go-to guard, hasn't been able to close out games lately, and lost Chester Frazier to injury. Plus there has to be a 12/5 upset.

Gonzaga over Akron. The Zags are my Cinderella team. Oh, wait, that was like eight years ago, you say? A 4 seed can't be a Cinderella? How about a sleeping beauty, then?

Arizona St. over Temple. Dionte Christmas is good, but he's all they've got.

Syracuse over Stephen F. Austin St. OK, I'm positive Stephen F. Austin isn't a state.

Clemson over Michigan. I'm not even sure Michigan should be dancing, though they do have talent and could cause some trouble.

Oklahoma over Morgan St. Blake Griffin = good. MEAC = bad.

Second round
Midwest

Louisville over Ohio St. The Buckeyes made a nice run in the Big Ten tourney, but Louisville won their conference tourney. Take that!

Wake Forest over Utah. Jeff Teague is sweet. Sweet Sixteen, that is.

Kansas over West Virginia. I think WVU could pull off the upset, but Bill Self will keep the back-to-back dream alive a little longer.

Michigan St. over Boston College. MSU's got Izzo, and they've got they best rebounders in the country.

West

UConn over Texas A & M. Aggies' big men ... meet Hasheem Thabeet.

Purdue over Washington. Defense over offense.

Missouri over Marquette. The Golden Eagles just aren't the team they were two months ago. Mizzou, on the other hand, won the Big 12 tourney.

Memphis over Maryland. Put a pin in the Terrapins.

East

Pitt over Tennessee. The Vols aren't disciplined enough to take down one of the best.

Florida St. over Portland St. It was fun while it lasted, Vikings.

Villanova over UCLA. Villanova beat Pitt once and Syracuse twice. They'll ruin the Bruins.

Duke over Texas. The Dookies are a little soft, but Gerald Henderson is a man.

South

UNC over Butler. Ty Lawson or no Ty Lawson, don't matta.

Gonzaga over Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers won't be able to top the hill of threes built by Gonzaga. Wow, that was awful.

Syracuse over Arizona St. They may not even need overtime!

Oklahoma over Clemson. Terrence Oglesby can only do so much.

Sweet Sixteen
Midwest

Louisville over Wake Forest. The Deacons aren't quite there yet.

Kansas over Michigan St. Can you tell I'm not real big on the Big Ten?

West

UConn over Purdue. Told ya I'm not big on the Big Ten.

Memphis over Missouri. I gotta be honest: I don't know how to judge Memphis since they play in Conference USA and weren't on the tube a whole lot this year. But I think they're good enough to beat the Tigers.

East

Pitt over Florida St. FSU meets their match, and more.

Villanova over Duke. It's no fluke Duke will get nuked earlier than expected--they do it every year.

South

Gonzaga over UNC. I guess you could say this is my upset special. I'm counting on an old-fashioned shootout, a not-100% Ty Lawson, and a classic ACC flameout.

Oklahoma over Syracuse. The Orange had a great (and exciting, and long) conference tournament, but they only finished sixth in the regular season.

Elite Eight
Midwest

Louisville over Kansas. Great coaching match-up, great overall match-up, but Louisville is older and better.

West

Memphis over UConn. The Tigers haven't lost since Christmas--can they make it to Easter?

East

Pitt over Villanova. The Wildcats won by 10 earlier this year, but move ova 'Nova, Pitt's got revenge on their mind.

South

Oklahoma over Gonzaga. The Sooners can match any style of play, and they have more talent than the Zags.

Final Four

Louisville over Memphis. Louisville didn't just survive the insane gauntlet that is the Big East--they won the regular season and conference tournament titles. They're good.

Pitt over Oklahoma. DeJuan Blair, Sam Young, Levance Fields, Jermaine Dixon--this team's loaded.

National Championship game

Pitt over Louisville. Pitino's squad won by six in the regular season, but that was in Looavul. Pitt was undefeated at the time, but fell victim to a 24-8 Cardinals run over the final nine minutes. Revenge is a dish best served in April.

Are You There God? It's me, March Madness.

It’s March, and you know what that means: It’s Fire Prevention Month!

Oh, and it’s time for March Madness! Ah, March Madness—an annual tradition of buzzer-beaters, upsets, watching basketball at work while trying not to get caught, and—most exciting of all—lots of numbers accompanied by alliterative adjectives (e.g. Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight and Final Four). It’s an extended sports spectacle that grabs the attention of Americans young and old and fills the coffers of bookies everywhere. Sixty-four teams enter with one common goal: to apply the concept of Murphy’s Law to my bracket by losing if I pick them to win and winning if I pick them to lose.

March Madness is one of my favorite times of year, mainly because it features 126 hours of sweet hoops action spread out over 10 different days. But there are many other reasons to feel much gladness about March Madness:

-You get to hear Gus Johnson call last-second shots. “Rises and FIRRRRRRES … GOT IT!!!!”
Sometimes I spice up my day by pretending Gus Johnson is announcing my actions. As in: “He drives down the road, looks right as he goes to parallel park, squeezes in there, straightens it OUUUUUUUUUTTTTT … GOT IT!!!” If you don’t know what I’m talking about, or even if you do, click here, sit back and enjoy the beautiful rhetorical stylings of the third greatest announcer in the world.

-The Chippens NCAA Tournament Challenge!

-It means baseball’s Opening Day is just around the corner. In fact, the championship game often coincides with the Cubs’ first game (like it does this year), which is like having your birthday on Christmas or buying a house and discovering that it comes with a BMW.

-It’s college basketball with no Dick Vitale. Why won’t he stop yelling at me? I don’t care what BMOC stands for. What did he say? The ACC is strong this year? I can’t understand him when he screams like that. He sounds like Kermit the Frog if he were afflicted by voice imodulation disorder and injected with some sort of serum limiting his speech to strange and ridiculous exaggerations.

-Winning the Chippens NCAA Tournament Challenge!

-One word: Drama. It’s Win or Go Home. There’s something natural and Darwinian about it. Teams play 25+ games, fighting and clawing to claim a spot in the tourney, and then all of a sudden—BAM!—a last-second heave from half court (hopefully called by Gus Johnson) can send them packing ‘til next year. There’s no best of five, no byes, no Papajohns.com Bowl. It’s drama to the 64th power.

If you want to reminisce, or perhaps whet the palate in preparation for this year’s Big Dance, check out some of these clips:

Big East is a Beast, but DePaul is the Least

How ridiculous is the Big East? The conference seems to feature two or three can't-miss match-ups every week. Five of the nation's top ten teams reside in the Big East (Pitt, UConn, Louisville, Marquette, Villanova), and three others have been ranked this season (Notre Dame, Georgetown, Syracuse).

Some historical perspective from the New York Times:

"In 2006, the Big East set an NCAA tournament record by ushering eight teams into March Madness. In 2008, the conference tied its own mark with another eight-team showing. The latest edition of Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology at ESPN.com has seven Big East teams making the tournament this season. We could still have a record this year, though, as Georgetown, Cincinnati and Providence could also squeeze in."


Georgetown hurt their chances with a 76-58 loss to Louisville tonight, but could still sneak in by winning their final three games. The fact that an 8-10 team could potentially dance speaks volumes about the conference. Here's one way to look at it: The Big Ten, which is no slouch of a conference (and also has seven teams Marching to Madness according to Lunardi), has its 11 teams averaging 17.1 total wins this season. The top 13 teams in the Big East average 18.8 wins.

Here are some Big East games that have taken place in the last three weeks:

1 Connecticut vs. 7 Louisville
16 Villanova vs. 20 Syracuse
13 Villanova vs. 12 Marquette
1 Connecticut vs. 22 Syracuse
Notre Dame vs. 7 Louisville (ND ranked as high as 7 this year)
4 Pittsburgh vs. 1 Connecticut
11 Marquette vs. Georgetown (ranked as high as 9 this year)
14 Villanova vs. 25 Syracuse
6 Louisville vs. Georgetown

This Wednesday, (2) UConn will visit (10) Marquette, and then Marquette has to visit (6) Louisville this weekend.

The point: the Big East is a freakin' gauntlet this season. Teams like Connecticut and Pittsburgh (and Louisville, and Marquette, and Villanova ...) will be very well prepared for the madness coming next month, as they have faced top teams week in and week out since early January. It would not be surprising to see three or four Big East teams in the Elite Eight, and even two or three in the Final Four. Of course, anyone can get hot in March, but the Big East teams have the advantage of having faced the heat all season.

One last point: What the hell is DePaul doing in this conference? Other than losing, that is. The Blue Demons have to be feeling quite blue about their 0-14 conference record. But they don't just lose, they lose like only a team that is completely and utterly over matched in every conference game they play can lose: by an average of 17.6 points per game.

DePaul went from Conference USA to the Big East in 2005 when the Big East invited them, Cincinnati, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida to join their ranks in response to having lost three football teams. But DePaul doesn't even have a football team, and they apparently don't have a basketball team either. This invitation was clearly like when you're having a party and there's that guy at work who has no friends and is way too proud of his Star Trek Convention Trivia Championship and he always has just a little bit of drool on his chin but you have to invite him because he's going to find out about it anyways, but I'll tell him it's just a little get-together and it's no big deal if he can't make it and please God let him be busy that night. But no, DePaul's schedule was completely free that night and he can't wait to come and he'll bring his Star Trek: Insurrection DVD because it's the one where the crew discovers a cloaked Federation ship that contains a gigantic holodeck and it's going to be the greatest night ever and have you seen it yet? You haven't seen it? Do you think everyone else has seen it? I'll come over early and get it all set up.

So now DePaul gets the crap beaten out of it every year, having won a total of 20 conference games in their four years in the Big East. This year's fourth and fifth place teams (Louisville and Villanova) have combined for 22 wins THIS SEASON. With 16 teams, the Big East is more like the Huge East, and should think about downsizing.

But more importantly, it's also incredibly strong from top to middle, and it should be exciting to see how the teams fare come tournament time.

A Look Back

Illinois got all Jekyll on their Hyde last night, ending a brutal road slump by staging a comeback victory against Northwestern. Down by 14 with just 5:28 left, the Illini went on a 17-2 run, and Demetri McCamey banked in the winning jumper with 2.9 seconds left (17-2, oddly, matches the Bulls' run to beat the Pistons Tuesday). Northwestern dominated the first 35 minutes of the game, but once Illinois instituted a full-court press, the Wildcats fell apart, showing why they've never made it to the NCAA tournament. C'mon, Northwestern. The NCAA tournament has been around since 1939, and you've NEVER made it. NOT EVER. Your last conference championship was in 1933! There was no TV or radio in 1933! You are clearly the 11th wheel in the Big Ten.

The Bulls, proving they are consistently inconsistent, dropped their final game before the All-Star break, losing to Miami 95-93. The Bulls trailed most of the game, tied it with 6.5 seconds left, then lost on a Shawn Marion dunk with 1.1 seconds left. At the break, the Bulls are 23-30, in 10th place in the East.

Notre Dame's losing streak had to end sometime, and you figured that when it did, they were going to unleash their anger on someone. The Irish took out their religious wrath on Louisville, getting revenge for an OT loss earlier this season with a 90-57 victory. Louisville shot a pathetic 39 percent, while ND was 10-18 from three.

On a separate note, I'm glad to see Field of Dreams did well in the poll. Whoever voted for The Natural: you are wrong.

A Look Ahead

One day--that's right, ONE--until Cubs pitchers and catchers report for spring training. Exercising, stretching and ... well, that's actually about it for now. But still, there will be Cubs players on a baseball field, and that's what counts.

As ESPN.com points out, Illinois has won every home game and lost every road game since early January. With road games against 4-6 Northwestern and 1-10 Indiana this week, the Illini hope to change their road fortunes. Despite their struggles away from Assembly Hall, the Illini are favored by 2.5 points tonight (8:00, ESPN2), in part because they've won 11 of their last 12 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Illinois knows it's time to crank things up (only seven of 18 conference games remain), and given the fact that Illinois won't have the opportunity to beat down NW in Champaign this season, plus the fact that they only have to travel a few hours for this "road" game, I think Illinois will finally figure things out tonight. Northwestern is in the top 25 in points allowed, and scoring has been the problem on the road for the Illini, so while I expect a close game, Illinois has more talent and athleticism, and should pull it out.

It's also #1 vs. #2 tonight. No, not in college basketball. Rather, #1 overall pick Derrick Rose and the Bulls will try to stay hot as they battle #2 overall pick Michael Beasley, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat (6:00, TNT). Wade has struggled at the United Center in the past, and lately, he's been their whole team. Therefore, the call here is that the Bulls take their last game prior to the All-Star break.

Did you know: Notre Dame is French for "Not that much better than DePaul." DePaul, who wishes they had never joined the Big East in 2005, is 0-12 in conference play. Notre Dame, a program with a storied history and a preseason ranking of nine, is just 3-7, having lost their last seven. Now I know why their football team doesn't join a conference! Their seven consecutive losses have been by an average of 13.8 points. Wow. Is there anything the Pope can do?

The answer is no (I think--I'm not entirely familiar with all the teachings of the Catholic church). And tonight, there won't be much Luke Harangody or Kyle McAlarney can do to stop the bleeding against Louisville (6:00, ESPN). There doesn't seem to be much fight in this year's version of the Fighting Irish. ND goes down again tonight.