Sweet 16 Preview

Before I get to the 16 things we all need to know before the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 this weekend I would like to congratulate myself on some of my correct predictions.  I said the games would be much closer than last year and I must say, these games last week were unbelievable.  The scheduling by CBS sucked though because it seemed every good game happened at the same time as another good game and then there would be slots where all four games were blowouts.  This is something CBS needs to look at next year, I don’t want a time slot with two #1’s playing 16’s, a 2 playing a 15 and a 3 playing a 14.  I also said that last weekend would be the best sports weekend of the year and outside of my Giants winning the Super Bowl it definitely was (the Super Bowl has to be put on another level though and doesn’t count).  I also said many people would be throwing their brackets away on Monday morning and assuming many of you had Duke going further then round 2 and didn’t have Davidson or Western Kentucky in your Sweet 16 I feel confident that I was correct.  My final four is also still alive.  I feel very good about my predictions and even better about this tournament being an absolute classic.  All we need is a few great Sweet 16 games and a couple good ones over the weekend, followed by a powerhouse Final Four and we have a tournament to remember, as I predicted.

Please forget all the predictions that I made that went wrong.  Like my two sleeper teams, USC and UCONN, going out in the first round.  I also said DJ Augustine would be the tourney leading scorer but I think Stephen Curry has that locked up.  (My brother asked me this weekend why I didn’t pick Curry as the leading scorer in the tourney because I was about the only person all year to talk about how good he was.  Well, that’s because I over thought the situation and I am stupid). 

In the end I made a few good calls, which made me look smart, but many other terrible predictions, which made me, look dumber then I really am.  All that matters though is I have my final four teams and 7 of my elite 8 teams still alive and I am in a good situation to win my family pool, again. 

On to the 16 Things You Must Know For This Weekend.

1. Memphis’ free throw shooting won’t matter until the Elite 8 because they are much too talented for Michigan State.  If they shoot horribly against Stanford or Texas though, they will lose.
2. The Cinderella’s are done in the Sweet 16.  Davidson, Western Kentucky and Villanova will all lose.  (I don’t consider West Virginia a Cinderella because they are a single digit seed).
3. UNC played better then anyone in the first two rounds and suddenly look like the team to beat.  I still don’t think they will win it all (but I sure hope they do).
4. UCLA is lucky to be here, they could have lost that game to Texas AM.  (Give Kevin Love the ball every time down the floor.  My brother calls him the white Tim Duncan; I am starting to believe he’s right about that).
5. Tennessee is also lucky to still be playing.  Butler would have beaten them by 15 if they could have made a lay-up.
6. Stephen Curry will again go for 30+ but Wisconsin will handle them.  I am done sleeping on Wisconsin; they are a really good team.
7. The best game of the Sweet 16 will be Louisville-Tennessee.
8. And the Texas-Stanford game will be a very close 2^nd.
9. Forgetting my bracket, I think the Elite 8 will be: UNC, Louisville, Kansas, Wisconsin, Memphis, Stanford, UCLA and Xavier.
10. And the Final Four will be: UNC, Kansas, Stanford and UCLA.
11. Whoever schedules the Sweet 16 needs to change the set-up.  They should play a game at 12:30, 3:00, 7:00 and 9:30.  Why put two games on at the same time when you don’t have to? 
12. Chris Lofton is highly overrated and disappears when his shot is not on.
13. I am going to stay with UCLA and Kansas playing for the title.
14. The Pac-10 was overrated all year; can we agree on that now and forget the idea of an east coast bias?  They are the same as the Big-12, two elite teams (UCLA and Stanford for Pac-10, Kansas and Texas for the Big-12) and then some good teams that are not title contenders (sorry but Wazzu is not a true contender).
15. Friday’s game will be better as a whole than Thursday’s but not by much.
16. If everything goes right, no one comes out and lays an egg, every team plays up to their potential and the games we expect to be close are close, we could be in for one of the best tournaments ever.  I expect many more close games, another buzzer beater or two, a powerhouse Final Four and one crazy sprint to the Championship.  I also expect every one of you to enjoy every second of it.  I know I will.

Until next time, I’m gone, like New England’s hopes of a perfect baseball season.