Pasch-ion Play: Breaking Down the Tournament

Somebody remind the NCAA tournament selection committee that the games played this past weekend do matter. Looking at the seeds and not using conjecture, I find it hard to believe conference tournament semifinal and championship outcomes played a role. Otherwise, Ohio State wouldn’t be heading to Albuquerque, while Illinois is staying in Chicago. Oregon and Alabama wouldn’t be two seeds, and Oklahoma, which beat the No. 1 ranked team Kansas, would get a number 1. I’m still incredulous over Gonzaga getting a six seed. Anyway, here is how I see the tournament playing out. By the way, last year, I correctly picked three of the final four teams, including the national champ and runner up.
South: Duke
West: Gonzaga
East: Maryland
Midwest: Kansas
National Championship: Maryland over Duke
Sleepers: Kent State, Southern Illinois, Marquette, Hawaii
Thanks for stopping by: Kentucky, Texas Tech, Stanford, Miami, California

Congratulations to Marianna Freeman, and the SU women’s basketball team.
A deserved at-large bid to the NCAA tournament after a great year playing one of the most difficult schedules in the country. They also have a legit shot at winning their first round game, thanks to a 10 seed. That also shows they impressed the committee enough to be a solid seed, instead of one of the last seven or eight teams in.

As for the men, they will be playing a Saint Bonaventure team that hammered Connecticut on the road. The Huskies are a two seed in the big tournament. The Bonnies only lost by six at Oklahoma, another two seed. However, like Syracuse, they struggled down the stretch, losing four of their last five. It should be interesting Wednesday night at the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse University Athletics

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