March Madness (3/03/10)

Here is the first installment of our Bracketology version.

March Madness Seeds (3/03/10)
#1: Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, Duke
#2: Purdue, Villanova, West Virginia, Kansas State
#3: Vanderbilt, New Mexico, Ohio State, Pittsburgh
#4: Tennessee, Michigan State, Gonzaga, BYU
#5: Temple, Wisconsin, Maryland, Georgetown
#6: Butler, Xavier, Texas, Missouri
#7: Texas A&M, UNLV, Baylor, Richmond
#8: Northern Iowa, California, UTEP, Wake Forest
#9: Marquette, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Florida State
#10- Georgia Tech, Louisville, Oklahoma State, Florida
#11- UConn, Old Dominion, Siena, Illinois
#12- Dayton, Cornell, UAB, St. Mary’s
#13- Kent State, San Diego State, Murray State, Utah State
#14- Sam Houston, Weber State, Charleston, Oakland
#15- Morgan State, Coastal Carolina, UC Santa Barbara, North Texas
#16- Campbell, Robert Morris, Bucknell
Play-in-Game: Jackson State, Stony Brook

Last 4 In: UAB, St. Mary’s, Dayton, San Diego State

Last 4 Out: Mississippi State, Rhode Island, Notre Dame, Minnesota

Conference Breakdown (Multiple Bids)

Big East (8) – Syracuse (1), Villanova (2), West Virginia (2), Pittsburgh (3), Georgetown (5), Marquette (9), Louisville (10), UConn (11)

Big 12 (7) – Kansas (1), Kansas State (2), Texas (6), Missouri (6), Texas A&M (7), Baylor (7), Oklahoma State (10)

ACC (7) – Duke (1), Maryland (5), Wake Forest (8), Florida State (9), Virginia Tech (9), Clemson (9), Georgia Tech (10)

Big Ten (5) – Purdue (2), Ohio State (3), Michigan State (4), Wisconsin (5), Illinois (11)

Atlantic 10 (4) – Temple (5), Xavier (6), Richmond (7), Dayton (12)

Mountain West (4) – New Mexico (3), BYU (4), UNLV (7), San Diego State (13)

SEC (3) – Kentucky (1), Vanderbilt (3), Tennessee (4)

West Coast Conference (2) – Gonzaga (4), St. Mary’s (12)

Conference USA (2) – UTEP (8), UAB (12)

Down to the Sweet 16

March Madness is under way, and we just got through the first 4 straight days of 1st and 2nd round games. Let's take a look at who is left, and what we saw over the weekend.

In the East bracket, where games will be played in Boston, all chalk, as the 1, 2, 3, and 4 seeds advanced. Pitt as the #1 seed was in a battle for 37 minutes against East Tennessee State. To see details from that game, check out the live blog on it. Pitt also had a tough game against Oklahoma State in the 2nd round in a game that saw an unbelievable first half, the highest scoring 1st half of the tournament so far, with the score tied 49-49 at halftime. Pitt advances to play 4th seeded Xavier, which knocked off Portland State, and #12 seeded Wisconsin. In the other game, the 2 vs. 3 seeds will play with Duke against Villanova. This should be a great game. Duke had to battle to get here against Texas in the 2nd round, whereas Villanova blew out UCLA by 20, after struggling in the 1st round against American.

In the South, we again see the 1, 2, 3, and 4 seeds advancing. UNC, the #1 seed had to battle to beat LSU, in a game LSU was leading by 5 in the 2nd half. UNC will play 4th seeded Gonzaga, who just played one of the most memorable games of the tournament against Western Kentucky. Gonzaga won on a buzzer beating shot to advance. The 2 vs. 3 seeds in this region will play in another matchup which should be a good one with Syracuse playing Oklahoma. Both teams had double digit victories in the 2nd round.

In the Midwest, we see the only remaining double digit seed in #12 seed, and possibly the last team to make it into the tournament, Arizona. They will face the #1 seed Louisville. Louisville looked to have their game against Siena in control, but Siena took a 4 point lead with eight minutes remaining until Louisville took control and won. Another 2 vs. 3 matchup features Michigan State and defending champion Kansas. Michigan State had to battle to win a 2nd round game over USC, and Kansas has been tested, but has looked good in wins over North Dakota State, and Dayton.

In the West, we see almost all chalk, with 1, 2, 3, and 5 seeds remaining. UConn had blown out both opponents thus far, and will play 5th seeded Purdue in the Sweet 16, a team that had a great game against Washington in the 2nd round. The 4th 2 vs. 3 matchup is featured and will be Missouri against Memphis. Memphis struggled in their opening game, but destroyed Maryland in the 2nd round. Missouri won a wild game against Marquette to get to this point.

Not too many upsets to this point, there is only one team seeded above 5 left in the tournament. The Big East set a record with 5 teams in the Sweet 16, the most ever. This tournament has been good so far, and should get even better with some potential classic matchups remaining.

Pitt vs. East Tennessee State Live Blog

The Pitt Panthers are scheduled to begin their 2009 NCAA Tournament today at 2:55. This is the Panthers 8th straight year in the NCAA Tournament, and being a #1 seed, this may be our best chance to go deep into the tournament. While watching the game, I did a live blog for Kotite’s Corner, and it is included below.

2:35 PM: Oklahoma State just beat Tennessee in a great game. This is the game before the Pitt game, so we’ve got about 30 minutes before the tip of Pitt vs. East Tennessee State.

2:56: I’m way too nervous for rooting for a #1 see against a 16 seed.

3:06: And the game is under way, Pitt wins the tip, Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery calling the game.

3:08: ETSU going full court press to start the game, 5-3 ETSU as they drain a 3 from half court.

3:12: First timeout on the floor, 11-7 Pitt, Young, Fields, and Blair all on the board for us, which is a good sign.

3:17: 4th turnover for Pitt already, bad sign.

3:21: How can you not dance when these Geico commercials come on? 17-15 Pitt.

3:26: Ashton Gibbs off the bench draining a 3. We sat next to Gibbs’ mom at an earlier Pitt game this season, nice lady.

3:29: Apparently Jaime Dixon never taught his team how to beat a press. He’s only had all season, 20-19 Pitt, 7:31 left in the first half. Pitt seems close to making a run, let’s see if we can do that at the end of the 1st half.

3:35: Pitt with 8 turnovers already, to ETSU’s 1, 20-20 game.

3:38: 10 Pitt turnovers, this is getting ridiculous, really sloppy game. We really should be losing right now, and if we keep playing like this, we will be the 1st #1 seed to lose to a 16 seed. And I will be depressed.

3:39: DeJuan Blair gets a technical foul for hanging on the rim. Bad call, his feet weren’t under him, he could have gotten hurt if he let go earlier. ETSU just made both free throws, 24-22 Pitt.

3:43: Bill Raftery is the best color announcer in college basketball, and it’s not even close. And I’m not just saying that cause I’ve met him before. He should team up with Gus Johnson to make an all-star announcing lineup. Can’t we get Raftery to start doing color for CBS football games?

3:45: Another turnover due to the press…. sloppy.

3:50: I’m watching the most pathetic game of the tournament so far. With 1:20 left in the first half, the score is 24-23 Pitt. I wish I had some great highlights to talk about, but I think Pitt had 4 points in the past 10 minutes.

3:56: Halftime - 26-23 Pitt. We have 13 turnovers, and 10 made field goals. DeJuan Blair is the only Panther who came to play, he already has 11 points, 10 rebounds at halftime. Levance Fields leads the nation in assist-turnover ratio, and has already turned the ball over numerous times. Sam Young apparently didn’t even show up to the court today. ETSU should be winning and would be if they could make a 3-pointer. Pathetic.

4:12: Dixon better get this team ready for the 2nd half, we need to get our shit together.

4:21: Same story for Pitt, 2 missed layups in a row, 30-29 Pitt, this one may come down to the wire.

4:23: Sam Young drains a 3, thanks for showing up Sam. 33-29 Pitt, let’s go boys.

4:25: These Degree commercials are stupid with the guy on the grocery cart flying through traffic. Give me a break.

4:26: The Philadelphia Eagles signed Seahawks fullback Leonard Weaver. Just saw that, figured I’d pass that along.

4:29: DeJuan Blair tries a reverse layup when he could have dunked, Fields gets rejected on a breakaway, then Pitt allows an ETSU player to get his own miss, and putback. Turnover Pitt, 15th of the game. 35-33 Pitt, ETSU ball.

4:33: Another offensive board for ETSU. 37-37, 14 minutes left. At some point I would think we would be able to put these guys away.

4:35: Levance Fields need to get involved in this game, he is flat out playing horribly.

4:39: DeJuan Blair for 2, hes got 20 points and is carrying Pitt right now, 44-40 Pitt.

4:40: Arizona State beats Temple.

4:43: 15th turnover for Pitt, except every team to press Pitt from here on out.

4:47: Pretty pathetic that I am happy that Pitt is up 4 points right now.

4:52: 50-45 Pitt, currently sitting at 16 turnovers. DeJuan Blair is carrying this team right now. Please stay in school DeJuan.

4:53: Back to back 3’s, 53-48 Pitt, under 8 timeout. I’m nervous as hell.

4:57: I was about to take the Levance Fields jersey off and switch to the Oakland Zoo, but I have to stick with the jersey for the whole game.

5:01: We are completely rattled right now, it’s like we are in completely over our heads right now. We have no idea what to do. ETSU gets a 4-point possession, 61-57 Pitt. I’ve seen this Pitt team lose games before, but to be just throwing balls out of bounds on inbounds plays, like we have never seen the press, or a 1-3-1 zone before.

5:07: ETSU just got their 19th offensive rebound. Pitt is one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, and ETSU is owning them on the offensive boards.

5:08: I’m shitting my pants right now.

5:10: Gibbs drains a huge 3, but Pitt doesn’t defend on the other end, and gives up an easy layup. Pitt up 67-61 with 1:05 remaining.

5:15: Pitt up 10 with 30 seconds to play. First double digit lead of the entire game for either team.

Final: 72-62 Pitt Panthers

Overall, an unbelievably sloppy game, in which we could never put ETSU away. #1 seeds are now 99-0 against #16 seeds. Pitt advances to take on Oklahoma State on Sunday. DeJuan Blair ends the game with 27 points and 16 boards to lead Pittsburgh.

March Madness Preview

March Madness kicks off in a little over an hour, and these next few days and weeks ahead should be exciting. These next two days mark the two most unproductive work days of the year, and everyone is watching games on the Internet, or checking scores, or just flat out not working.

There are always first round upsets, it is just a matter of picking the right ones, and hoping your teams are able to advance. It's never good when one of your final four teams is coming down the the wire against a 14 seed in the first round. No #1 seed has ever lost in the first round to a #16 seed, but there have been some close calls, and it has to eventually happen at some point.

Looking at the regions, I feel like the West region with UConn as the #1 seed is the hardest region. There are a lot of teams that are capable of coming out of the West. The West has some very strong teams who all play extremely well when they are playing at their best, but are inconsistent. Memphis, Missouri, Washington, and Purdue can all come out of this region, along with UConn.

I see the South as the easiest region, with UNC as the #1 seed in that region. Gonzaga, and Illinois are fairly weak matchups in the Sweet 16 for UNC, that is if either of them even make it there. Oklahoma has been playing poorly as of late, and might not even be able to make it to the elite 8 to face UNC. UNC probably has the easiest road to get to the final four.

In the Midwest, with Louisville as the #1 overall seed, there is some competition in this bracket. Although Izzo and Michigan State always seem to do pretty well in the tournament, Michigan State is fairly weak as a #2 seed. Kansas, West Virginia, and Wake Forest are all capable of going deep in this tourney.

In the East, with Pitt as the #1 seed, they will have to beat some good teams to get to the Final Four. Pitt has the toughest potential 2nd round matchup in Tennessee or Oklahoma State, both of whom can play at a very high level. Florida State would also be a tough match in the Sweet 16, along with either Villanova or Duke in the Elite 8.

All in all, it should be a great tournament. Kotite's Corner is endorsing the Pittsburgh Panthers are the 2009 College Basketball Champions. With Sam Young, Levance Fields, and DeJuan Blair, the Panthers have 3 of the best players in the nation at their position at the SF, PG, and C position, and if the officiating lets teams play, Pitt will win this tournament.

Let the Madness Begin

Every year when March approaches, you know a couple things. Warm weather is right around the corner, and college basketball kicks into full gear with March Madness. Some say March Madness is the greatest tournament/game/playoff system in all of sports. I’d say besides maybe the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl, that may be true.

March Madness is so great that it makes college football’s bowl system look like an absolute joke.... probably because the bowl system is an absolute joke. College basketball actually decides the champion on the court in the greatest tournament you can possibly have. When you put 65 teams into a bracket style tournament, madness is sure to ensue.

This year’s tournament seems to be fairly top heavy, but is also very wide open. All the #1 seeds this year have been in the top 10 all season, with Pittsburgh, UConn, and UNC barely leaving the top 5 all season. Other teams such as #2 seeds Oklahoma, Duke, and Michigan State have been in the top 10 pretty much all year also. After these top teams, the rest of the field is wide open. And even the top teams have lost games to some other these other teams comprising the “rest of the field.” This really is anyone’s tournament, and should make some great basketball. The conference tournaments were crazy, we have already seen a lot of upsets, and multi-overtime games. If this continues, we are in for some great games come this March Madness.

Check back for the annual Kotite’s Corner Tournament Link to be posted shortly.

March Madness Bracket (3/12/09)

Not much new in the bracket today. Robert Morris and Portland State both were two points winners, and locked up automatic bids, and Providence played themselves back to being close to being in the tournament by beating DePaul. A little shuffling around for today's bracket, there should be many more changes coming as the major conferences get into the bulk of their conference tourneys.

#1: Pittsburgh, UNC, UConn, Oklahoma
#2: Louisville, Memphis, Michigan State, Kansas
#3: Duke, Wake Forest, Villanova, Washington
#4: Gonzaga, UCLA, Missouri, Clemson
#5: Xavier, Purdue, Florida State, Illinois
#6: LSU, Arizona State, Marquette, Syracuse
#7: Butler, West Virginia, California, Utah
#8: Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma State, BYU
#9: Siena, Wisconsin, Boston College, Dayton
#10- Wisconsin, South Carolina, Ohio State, Texas A&M
#11- New Mexico, VCU, Michigan, Arizona
#12- Creighton, Utah State, Western Kentucky, UNLV
#13- North Dakota State, Cleveland State, Northern Iowa, East Tennessee State
#14- American, Binghamton, Morgan State, Robert Morris
#15- Cornell, Bowling Green, Portland State, Radford
#16- Morehead State, Stephen F. Austin, Alabama State
Play-in-Game: Cal State Northridge, Chattanooga

Last 4 In: Creghton, UNLV, New Mexico, Michigan
Last 4 Out: Penn State, Florida, Saint Marys, San Diego State

Conference Breakdown (Multiple Bids)
Big East (7) – Pittsburgh (1), UConn (1), Louisville (2), Villanova (3), Syracuse (6), Marquette (6), West Virginia (7)
ACC (6) – UNC (1), Duke (3), Wake Forest (3), Clemson (4), Florida State (5), Boston College (9)
Big 12 (6) – Oklahoma (1), Kansas (2), Missouri (4), Texas (8), Oklahoma State (8), Texas A&M (10)
Big Ten (6) – Michigan State (2), Purdue (5), Illinois (5), Wisconsin (9), Ohio State (10), Michigan (11)
Pac-10 (5) – Washington (3), UCLA (4), Arizona State (6), California (7), Arizona (11)
Mountain West (4) – Utah (7), BYU (8), New Mexico (11), UNLV (12)
SEC (3) – LSU (6), Tennessee (8), South Carolina (10)
Atlantic 10 (2) – Xavier (5), Dayton (9)
Horizon (2) – Butler (7), Cleveland State (13)
Missouri Valley (2) – Creighton (12), Northern Iowa (13)

March Madness Bracket (3/11/09)

Championship week is just kicking into gear. Lots of teams have clinched automatic bids already, and we have seen teams like Cleveland State knock a team from off the bubble. It only looks to get more exciting this coming weekend when the major conferences start playing. Here are the updated seeds as of the morning of 03/11/09.

#1: Pittsburgh, UNC, UConn, Oklahoma
#2: Louisville, Memphis, Michigan State, Kansas
#3: Duke, Wake Forest, Villanova, Washington
#4: Gonzaga, UCLA, Missouri, Clemson
#5: Xavier, Purdue, Florida State, Illinois
#6: LSU, Arizona State, Butler, Syracuse
#7: Marquette, West Virginia, California, Utah
#8: Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma State, BYU
#9: Siena, Wisconsin, Boston College, Dayton
#10- Wisconsin, South Carolina, Ohio State, Texas A&M
#11- UNLV, VCU, Michigan, Utah State
#12- Saint Marys, Arizona, Western Kentucky, New Mexico
#13- North Dakota State, Cleveland State, Northern Iowa, East Tennessee State
#14- American, Binghamton, Morgan State, Robert Morris
#15- Cornell, Bowling Green, Portland State, Radford
#16- Morehead State, Stephen F. Austin, Alabama State
Play-in-Game: Cal State Northridge, Chattanooga

Last 4 In: Saint Marys, Arizona, New Mexico, Michigan
Last 4 Out: Florida, Penn State, Minnesota, Creighton

Conference Breakdown (Multiple Bids)
Big East (7) – Pittsburgh (1), UConn (1), Louisville (2), Villanova (3), Syracuse (6), West Virginia (7), Marquette (7)
ACC (6) – UNC (1), Duke (3), Wake Forest (3), Clemson (4), Florida State (5), Boston College (9)
Big 12 (6) – Oklahoma (1), Kansas (2), Missouri (4), Texas (8), Oklahoma State (8), Texas A&M (10)
Big Ten (6) – Michigan State (2), Purdue (5), Illinois (5), Wisconsin (9), Ohio State (10), Michigan (11)
Pac-10 (5) – Washington (3), UCLA (4), Arizona State (6), California (7), Arizona (12)
Mountain West (4) – Utah (7), BYU (8), UNLV (11), New Mexico (12)
SEC (3) – LSU (6), Tennessee (8), South Carolina (10)
Atlantic 10 (2) – Xavier (5), Dayton (9)
West Coast (2) – Gonzaga (4), Saint Marys (12)
Horizon (2) – Butler (6), Cleveland State (13)

March Madness Bracket (3/04/09)

With March Madness quickly approaching, I wanted to give our version of bracketology. Below you will find the 65 teams we are projecting to make the tournament, and their projected seeds.

#1: UConn, Pittsburgh, UNC, Oklahoma
#2: Louisville, Memphis, Kansas, Duke
#3: Michigan State, Wake Forest, LSU, Missouri
#4: Villanova, Washington, Gonzaga, Marquette
#5: UCLA, Xavier, Clemson, Purdue
#6: Arizona State, Illinois, Butler, Syracuse
#7: West Virginia, Tennessee, Utah, Florida State
#8: Texas, Dayton, BYU, California
#9: Saint Marys, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Boston College
#10- Ohio State, Kentucky, Utah State, Creighton
#11- Davidson, Siena, Virginia Tech, UNLV
#12- Providence, Arizona, Florida, Oklahoma State
#13- North Dakota State, Western Kentucky, VCU, Rhode Island
#14- American, Vermont, Morgan State, Weber State
#15- Cornell, Buffalo, Jacksonville, Robert Morris
#16- UT Martin, Radford, Stephen F. Austin
Play-in-Game: Cal State Northridge, Alabama State

Last 4 In: Providence, Rhode Island, Florida, Arizona
Last 4 Out: Penn State, Minnesota, San Diego State, Cincinnati

Conference Breakdown (Multiple Bids)
Big East (8) – UConn (1), Pittsburgh (1), Louisville (2), Villanova (4), Marquette (4), Syracuse (6), West Virginia (7), Providence (12)
ACC (7) – UNC (1), Duke (2), Wake Forest (3), Clemson (5), Florida State (7), Boston College (9), Virginia Tech (11)
Big 12 (5) – Oklahoma (1), Kansas (2), Missouri (3), Texas (8), Oklahoma State (12)
Big Ten (5) – Michigan State (3), Purdue (5), Illinois (6), Wisconsin (9), Ohio State (10)
SEC (5) – LSU (3), Tennessee (7), South Carolina (9), Kentucky (10), Florida (12)
Pac-10 (5) – Washington (4), UCLA (5), Arizona State (6), California (8), Arizona (12)
Atlantic 10 (3) – Xavier (5), Dayton (8), Rhode Island (13)
Mountain West (3) – Utah (7), BYU (8), UNLV (11)
West Coast (2) – Gonzaga (4), Saint Marys (9)

2008 College Football Playoff

.... And then there were two. We are down to the final two teams in our college football playoff, and it is a great game with the #1 and #2 seeds, Oklahoma and Florida, respectively.

Mr. Green: Oklahoma

Roget: Florida

Willard: Florida

Dr. G: Oklahoma

Jack Flack: Oklahoma

WINNER: OKLAHOMA (3-2)

Oklahoma takes the national Championship in a very close game. Congratulations to the Oklahoma Sooners, the 2008 National Champions.

So what does this all mean? Did the BCS get it right, since we ended up with Oklahoma and Florida in the championship through a playoff? The answer is a resounding No. In fact, the question "Did the BCS get it right?" is a stupid question to be begin with, because the BCS cannot get it right, the BCS is not right to begin with. The BCS means a computer chooses two teams to play for the National Championship. Whether the two teams selected are the best two teams in the nation is meaningless. What about Texas? Alabama? USC? Boise State? Utah? There are other teams still with just one loss. Oklahoma lost to Texas, Florida lost at home to Ole Miss. The point is there are arguments for and against all of the top teams, which is why we need a playoff system in college football. Division I-AA, and all Divisions below that have a playoff system.

College basketball will always be better than college football, because of college basketball's playoff system, March Madness. Did anybody ask whether Memphis and Kansas deserved to play for the National Championship last season? Did anybody ask whether March Madness got it right? No, because March Madness is a great playoff system, which always features classic, memorable games, upsets, buzzer beaters, and memories. A playoff system in football would probably create the same result.

To close our 2008 college football playoff, here is the final bracket, and how the tournament played out.