Well, the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament has come and gone. As we get primed for the Sweet 16, let's have a look back at some of the highlights of the first two rounds.
- As always, I will lead with Syracuse. They barely beat UNC-Asheville, but survived without Fab Melo. They went on to look very impressive against Kansas State. My Orange still have a big challenge ahead of them in the East bracket, but perhaps shipping up to Boston for the weekend will be kind to them, and put them back in the Final Four in New Orleans, like in 2003.
- A fun side note: Syracuse will be able to make an in-home recruiting visit to Nerlens Noel, the #1 recruit in the country, when they travel to Boston this week. On his ESPN blog, he says he narrowed his list down to three: Syracuse, Kentucky, and Georgetown.
- The Big East and the Big 10 (12... learn to count...), or as I will now call them the B1G, each have 4 teams in the Sweet 16. Half of the teams from two conferences is pretty damn impressive. What is better? Ohio getting in 4 teams. Xavier, Ohio State, Cincinnati and those fighting Bearcats of Ohio University should be very proud.
- The upsets pulled off by Lehigh (over Duke), Ohio (over Michigan and then South Florida), and Norfolk State (over Mizzou), have made this tournament extra fun.
- My Final Four is still intact, but that can happen when you pick 3 1-seeds (Cuse, Kentucky and UNC) and a 3 (Marquette). How is yours?
- The most impressive teams by far have been Kentucky, Marquette and Florida. It would take one hell of an effort to beat Kentucky the way they have been playing.
- NC State is playing the role of the team pissed off at their seed, and deciding to take it out on their opponents. Kansas is vulnerable, as they showed against Purdue. While I won't pick the Wolfpack, an upset wouldn't surprise me.
- I tend to think chalk wins out in the later rounds, so if there is a team outside of a top four seed in the Final Four, I will be very surprised. It is up to Xavier, Ohio, Florida, NC State, Cincinnati to prove me wrong.
- The most intriguing matchup of the Sweet 16? The rematch between Kentucky and Indiana. The Hoosiers are responsible for the Wildcats' only regular season loss, and I am sure they would love to get revenge.
- Cincinnati vs Ohio State could be the most physical game. These are not finesse teams, though the Bearcats' four-guard offense has the speed and shooting ability to pull off the upset.
- Cuse vs Wisconsin might set offense back a few years, but it should be damn good defense.
- Louisville and Baylor, if they both reach the Final Four and play each other, should just decide who has the worse uniform, and then move on from there. Both hideous.
Enjoy the games.
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