My bracket went to absolute shit. I knew this would either be a great year or an awful one. Ah well.
Karon Abraham on Robert Morris is a beast. Being a 5'9" freshman of course I'm gonna root for the kid, but he was fearless out there.
Jay Wright is the most overrated coach in the history of basketball. I don't get why people love him so much. His teams always make the most boneheaded decisions, like Reggie Redding passing up a breakaway lay-up in a one possession game.
"They (Rob Morris) only lost on the scoreboard" NEVER SPEAK AGAIN.
(How funny would it be to see Brittney Griner, the 6'8" freshman phenom on Baylor's women's team, battle Dwight Howard for a rebound? I dunno, that thought made me chuckle)
Gilberto Clavell, a forward on Sam Houston, kept helping Baylor players off the floor. Why doesn't that happen more often? You can possess sportsmanship and the desire to beat someone's brains in without hating the opposing team...I dunno, maybe that's a soft stance, but fuck you.
I had my doubts about Baylor's Ekpe Udoh...not anymore. He needs to stay another year at least, but he has the skills to be really good and the frame to be a MONSTER.
I was worried about Ohio being trouble. But I didn't do nearly enough research...more on that later.
If there's one thing John Calipari does well as a coach, it's that his team always KNOWS that they're the best on the court. That swagger, expectation of winning, is major, especially when he relies on so many inexperienced players.
(I decided automatic bids is a good thing. Only so many teams truly deserve a shot to win a championship anyway. If you can't make it out of the first round, or first weekend, you should forfeit your chance at the title. I like the idea of round 1 being a warmup, top teams shouldn't have to face too tough a task.)
I still can't believe Georgetown lost that game. It felt like Ohio shot 70% from three (actually 57%), and they converted more and-1s in that first half than they have all year prior. Once that continued into the second half they went into panic mode; the play that stands out occurred around the 12 minute mark: Greg Monroe led a fast break with two trailing teammates he could've - and normally would have - passed to, and instead went up for a lay-up only to get whistled for an offensive foul.
(All season Greg Monroe has defied the so-called pundits who say he isn't aggressive enough to be a star, but this showed he needs to stay another year and actually learn how to be an assertive player now. But I digress...)
***After the Georgetown loss I was put off of the whole thing, but no fan of competition of any kind could stay away from the Madness that would ensue.***
The Texas Longhorns have given everyone a lesson in how far one can fall in such a short time. This team was #1 in the land and Damion James was the leader for National POY, not to mention in the discussion for the NBA lottery. Now they're watching the games with us, and James is hoping he even cracks the first round. MADNESS.
Speaking of awful coaching, Jay Wright is the most overrated coach in the entire country. If ever there was a team that I would expect to make an absolutely boneheaded play during a big moment, it's Villanova. I almost feel bad for Scottie Reynolds. Almost.
The one other thing of note to me, probably my favorite unspoken story of the first weekend, was the success of two former Indiana kids who transferred after the Kelvin Sampson fiasco. Ohio's Armon Bassett averaged over 17 points/game and dropped 32 on Georgetown, before getting shut down by the supremely athletic Tennessee. And Xavier's Jordan Crawford (yes, THAT Jordan Crawford ha), who averages over 20 points/game, has his team in the Sweet 16 in a very (somewhat) winnable matchup against Kansas State. Good luck.
A lot of people are saying the MOP so far is St Mary's Omar Samhan... he's played exceptionally well, but he hasn't been challenged. I'm giving it to Quincy Pondexter.
To close, I'll give a brief breakdown of the next round of games, starting with Thursdays quartet. Syracuse-Butler will be won by the Orange. End of story. Xavier-Kansas State will be entertaining, and I'd like to give Jordan Crawford a puncher's chance - and I will - but I don't expect an upset here. Washington-West Virginia could be a joke, or VERY highly contested. Washington is very much under the radar as far as their talent level, and I expect them to make this a real game. I got WVU, Da'Sean Butler - along with superior athleticism - will probably be too much, but don't be surprised by an upset. Quincy Pondexter is the real deal. Finally, Cornell-Kentucky is probably the most bizarre matchup that could ever happen. On one hand you have Cornell, who plays with senior leadership, and to put it bluntly, are generally White and academically charged. On the flipside, Kentucky wins with raw, young talent; and are all Black and, well let's be honest, these are athlete-students, not the other way around. There is no way Kentucky loses this game, but it's as close to a 'trap game' as there can be at this point, and it'll be fun to watch.
On Friday we have four games that I really don't care about. St Mary's-Baylor is intriguing only for Ekpe Udoh vs Omar Samhan. My money's on Udoh and the Baylor Bears. I still don't know why I refused to trust them. Purdue-Duke could actually be a pretty good game, but I don't like watching either team. Duke wins. Tennessee-Ohio State I'll watch ONLY to see more of Evan Turner. I'm not quite as enamored as most, but I would like to see more before I really pass judgment. OSU wins, probably. Northern Iowa-Michigan State. WHAT?? Kalin Lucas is out, I'm disappointed about that. But Korie Lucious is as good a backup as there is in the country. Tom Izzo isn't losing this game.
Well, there you have it. I'm sure I left out a lot, feel free to add whatever you wish.
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