dbacksfan414

Here were my picks to win in the first round:

North Carolina- win
Arkansas- win
Notre Dame- win
Washington State- win
St. Joseph's- loss
Louisville- win
Butler- win
Tennessee-win

Kansas- win
Kent State- loss
Villanova- win
Vanderbilt- loss
Wisconsin- win
Southern Cal- loss
Davidson- win
Georgetown- win

Memphis- win
Oregon- loss
Michigan State- win
Pittsburgh- win
Marquette- win
Stanford-win
St. Mary's- loss
Texas- win

UCLA- win
Texas A&M- win
Drake- loss
Connecticut- loss
Baylor- loss
Xavier- win
Arizona- loss
Duke- win

• I went 22-10 in the first round, which is really bad.
  
• I was 4-6 picking the lower seed.
• 13 of my Sweet 16 teams are still alive (Connecticut, Southern Cal, Vanderbilt)

What I noticed:

While watching the Clemson/Villanova game, there was a held ball when Villanova had the ball, with the possession arrow pointing towards Clemson. Villanova head coach Jay Wright thought that there was a foul on the play, and he got a technical foul for his actions. I thought that would be the momentum swing that Clemson needed to come back and win. Thank goodness that Villanova won.

I saw more fouls on three point attempts in one day that I have ever seen. It is ridiculous how undisciplined some of these players can be. Villanova guard Corey Fisher had two fouls on three point attempts a few minutes apart.

Free throws are very important. I knew that coming in, and that is mainly why I picked Villanova to beat Clemson. However, poor free throw shooting could mean the end for a team in the NCAA Tournament. Most of the teams that did well from the line won their game.

There was a record setting day/night in Tampa, Florida. All of the higher seeds won in a region for the first time ever (San Diego, Western Kentucky, Villanova, SIena). This killed many brackets, and the afternoon games were incredibly exciting. That was a bad timeout by Keno Davis in my opinion. That timeout allowed Western Kentucky to set up an offensive play even though they did not have any timeouts left. Still, it was a well defended shot, and it still went down.

Brandon Johnson had one of the guttiest performances in the NCAA Tournament thus far. He injured his groin late in the second half, but he stayed on the floor the rest of the way before fouling out. He was a main reason why San Diego won, also combined with San Diego's superior guard play (in my opinion). It was definitely noticeable to me.

All four teams playing within 175 miles of their campus won in the first round (Kansas State in Omaha, UCLA in Anaheim, North Carolina in Raleigh, and Davidson in Raleigh). I guess home court does make a huge difference in the NCAA Tournament.

What I didn't notice:

Teams were not afraid to shoot the three. There were an NCAA Tournament record 70 combined three-pointers taken in the Drake/Western Kentucky game, and there were a record 30 made 3-pointers in that same game. We see more and more teams rely heavily on the three-ball now.

The referees making bad calls: I thought that the refs did a fine job in the first round. The calls varied depending on the ref, but I think they knew that they should not be the deciding factor in the game.

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The second round starts later today, and let's hope it is just as exciting as today. It will be very hard to top what happened in the first round though.

Here are my full NCAA Tournament picks. I never had a chance to post them:

First round:

North Carolina
Arkansas
Notre Dame
Washington State
St. Joseph's
Louisville
Butler
Tennessee

Kansas
Kent State
Villanova
Vanderbilt
Wisconsin
Southern Cal
Davidson
Georgetown

Memphis
Oregon
Michigan State
Pittsburgh
Marquette
Stanford
St. Mary's
Texas

UCLA
Texas A&M
Drake
Connecticut
Baylor
Xavier
Arizona
Duke

Second round:

North Carolina
Notre Dame
Louisville
Tennessee

Kansas
Vanderbilt
Southern Cal
Georgetown

Memphis
Pittsburgh
Stanford
Texas

UCLA
Connecticut
Xavier
Duke

Regional Semifinals:

North Carolina
Louisville

Kansas
Georgetown

Pittsburgh
Texas

UCLA
Xavier

Regional Finals:

North Carolina
Kansas
Texas
UCLA

National Semifinals:

Kansas
UCLA

National Finals:

UCLA

Here are my records in my brackets so far after the Cornell/Stanford game:

Yahoo 1: 7-1 (Kent State)
Yahoo 2: 8-0
Yahoo 3: 7-1 (Kent State)
*CBS 1: 5-3 (Temple, Kent State, Baylor)
CBS 2: 7-1 (Kent State)
CBS 3: 7-1 (Baylor)
ESPN 1: 7-1 (Kent State)
ESPN 2: 8-0
ESPN 3: 6-2 (Kent State, Baylor)
ESPN 4: 8-0
**Offline: 6-2 (Kent State, Baylor)

I do not have any teams out in the sweet 16 so far. All of the teams I had losing I had losing in the next round anyway.

*Upset bracket
**Money pool

First round picks:

North Carolina
Arkansas
Notre Dame
Washington State
St. Joseph's
Louisville
Butler
Tennessee

Kansas
Kent State
Villanova
Vanderbilt
Wisconsin
Southern Cal
Davidson
Georgetown

Memphis
Oregon
Michigan State
Pittsburgh
Marquette
Stanford
St. Mary's
Texas

UCLA
Texas A&M
Drake
Connecticut
Baylor
Xavier
Arizona
Duke

The inaugural College Basketball Invitational is this year. It is another postseason tournament for college basketball, but unlike the NCAA Tournament and the NIT, the CBI is not owned by the NCAA. Here are my predictions:

Ohio 84, Brown 71
Virginia 75, Richmond 70
Rider 77, Old Dominion 76
Nevada 89, Houston 82

I do not have the time to analyze each and every game, so I just predicted the score of each game.

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First round

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(8) Robert Morris (26-7) at (1) Syracuse (19-13)
Tuesday, March 18, 8 P.M. (Syracuse, NY)
ESPNU

Prediction: Syracuse 84, Robert Morris 71

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(5) Maryland (18-14) at (4) Minnesota (20-13)
Tuesday, March 18, 9:30 P.M. (Minneapolis, MN)
ESPN/ESPN360.com

Prediction: Maryland 76, Minnesota 69

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(6) Akron (23-10) at (3) Florida State (19-14)
Tuesday, March 18, 9 P.M. (Tallahassee, FL)
ESPN Classic

Prediction: Florida State 74, Akron 72

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(7) Stephen F. Austin (22-5) at (2) Massachusetts (21-10)
Tuesday, March 18, 6 P.M. (Amherst, MA)
ESPNU

Prediction: Massachusetts 87, Stephen F. Austin 68

First round

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(8) Alabama State (17-10) at (1) Arizona State (19-12)
Tuesday, March 18, 11 P.M. (Tempe, AZ)
ESPN/ESPN360.com

Preview:

Out of all of the NCAA Tournament snubs, Arizona State might have had the best resume. They had 5 wins against the top 50, but they still did not get in. The NIT might be better for this very young team, who started 3 freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior on a consistent basis. Alabama State got in by winning the SWAC regular season title. Alabama State was the best team in their conference during the regular season, but slipped up in the conference tournament. At least they get to play another game...

Players to watch:

Jeff Pendergraph (Arizona State)

Pendergraph is the leader of this team. He is the only junior or senior that starts for the Sun Devils, and he is very effective. He averages 12.5 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game. He is also very good from the field (59.7%) and a surprisingly decent free throw shooter (78.6%). Shot blocking is another part of his game. If he can stay out of foul trouble, and Pendergraph has a good game, ASU should win this game easily.

Brandon Brooks (Alabama State)

Brooks is not known for his scoring ability, but he is a very good playmaker. He averages more than 6 assists per game compared to only 2.4 turnovers per game. He can knock down the 3-point shot, but he is more of a playmaker. If he makes pinpoint passes to set up good looks, this game can be closer than people think.

Prediction:

Arizona State 77, Alabama State 58

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(5) Oklahoma State (16-15) at (4) Southern Illinois (17-14)
Tuesday, March 18, 9 P.M. (Carbondale, IL)
ESPN2/ESPN360.com

Preview:

Both of these teams are much better than their records show. Oklahoma State started off the year very poorly at 10-12, but recovered enough to make a postseason tournament. Southern Illinois started out the season ranked in the top 25, but they faced a brutal non-conference schedule, and were unable to notch a few big wins. They made a late run in the regular season, but lost in the first round of the MVC Tournament to end any chances of making the NCAAs. The NIT is the next best option, and that's where these teams will meet up.

Players to watch:

Randal Falker (Southern Illinois)

Falker has had a very disappointing season after a very good junior season. He is still putting up solid numbers (12.7 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game), but they aren't what people thought they would be. Falker is a key to the Saluki's success, and when he is on, Southern Illinois wins games.

Byron Eaton (Oklahoma State)

Eaton is a very balanced player who can score, rebound, and pass the ball. Even though his stats are not mind-blowing, they show that he is a good all-around player that is capable of doing a little bit of everything. He can be the difference between a win or a loss for Oklahoma State.

Prediction:

Southern Illinois 69, Oklahoma State 65

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(6) Rhode Island (21-11) at (3) Creighton (20-10)
Tuesday, March 18, 10 P.M. (Omaha, NE)
ESPNU

Preview:

Rhode Island started off the year 14-1, but they lost 7 of their final 8 games to miss the NCAA Tournament. They are a good team, but they struggled in conference play. Creighton is consistently near the top of the Missouri Valley, and it was no different this year. Even though neither of these teams made the NCAA Tournament, both are very good teams that can make a run in the NIT.

Players to watch:

Dane Watts (Creighton)

Watts is second on the team in scoring and leads the team in rebounding. He is also a good shooter, and could knock down a few threes. Watts could be a major factor in the game tonight since Creighton only has one other player averaging more than 10 points per game.

Jimmy Baron (Rhode Island)

Although Baron is not the leading scorer on the Rams, Rhode Island struggles when Baron struggles. In Rhode Island's losses in February, Baron was 8-31 from behind the arc, which is not good. He shoots just under 41% on the year, and he is a very good free throw shooter. If Baron can make some shots, that will take some of the pressure off of leading scorer Will Daniels.

Prediction:

Rhode Island 79, Creighton 74

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(7) San Diego State (19-12) at (2) Florida (21-11)
Wednesday, March 19, 9 P.M. (Gainesville, FL)
ESPN2/ESPN360.com

First round

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(8) Morgan State (21-10) at (1) Virginia Tech (19-13)
Wednesday, March 19, 7 P.M. (Blacksburg, VA)
ESPN Classic

Preview:

Virginia Tech is another team that people felt got robbed of an NCAA Tournament bid. They had a fine season, but they will just have to settle for the NIT. They can be inconsistent at times, but when they are on, the Hokies are hard to beat. Morgan State got into the NIT by winning the MEAC regular season title. They lost to Mount St. Mary's in the semifinals of the MEAC Tournament.

Players to watch:

Deron Washington (Virginia Tech)

Deron Washington is one of the most exciting players to watch in all of college basketball. For those of you who have never seen a dunk from him, check out this link. He is also a pretty good player. He is second on the team in points per game and rebounds per game, and he is a player that both the opposition and the fans have to keep an eye (or two) on.

Boubacar Coly (Morgan State)

What a name for a pretty good player. He averages nearly a double-double with 9.6 points per game and 11.1 rebounds per game. He is also a very good shot blocker, getting 2.6 per game. Coly can be a matchup problem for the Hokies, who do not have anyone taller than 6'9.

Prediction:

Virginia Tech 66, Morgan State 54

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(5) UAB (22-10) at (4) VCU (24-7)
Wednesday, March 19, 7 P.M. (Richmond, VA)
ESPN2/ESPN360.com

Both teams were in the discussion for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, but neither got in. Virginia Commonwealth got into the dance last year and shocked the nation by beating Duke. UAB had a disappointing season last year, but bounced back this year with another 20-win season. The Blazers suffered a huge loss early in the season when Paul Delaney III was lost for the season.

Players to watch:

Eric Maynor (VCU)

Maynor is one of the best clutch players in the nation. He was the hero in last year's NCAA Tournament game against Duke when VCU pulled the upset (I picked them last year to beat Duke). Maynor is a pure point guard who is a very good decision maker. He averages nearly 18 points per game and over 5 assists per game. If Maynor makes good decisions with the ball, and takes good shots, VCU can be very dangerous.

Robert Vaden (UAB)

Vaden has really turned it on late in the season, but his efforts were not good enough to lift UAB into the NCAA Tournament. He has scored double-digits in all but one game this year. He has also put up 25 or more points in a game 11 times, including 41 against UTEP in late February. Vaden is a very dangerous 3-point shooter as well; he made 5 or more threes 14 times this year. If he can find his stroke from beyond the arc, UAB has a chance to win this game.

Prediction: VCU 83, UAB 78

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(6) Charlotte (20-13) at (3) Nebraska (19-12)
Wednesday, March 19, 9 P.M. (Lincoln, NE)
ESPN Classic

Preview:

Both teams had their ups and downs this season, and both have been very inconsistent. Charlotte beat Clemson this year, but lost to Hofstra and Monmouth earlier in the year. Nebraska beat Oregon and Arizona State, but was unable to beat Colorado. Nebraska is capable of being very good at times, and so is Charlotte. Let's hope the best of both teams come out when they meet tomorrow.

Players to watch:

Aleks Maric (Nebraska)

This 6'11 senior caused problems for both Arizona State and Oregon earlier in the year. He averages 15.9 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game, with rebounding being in the top 20 nationally. Maric is also capable of blocking shots when he needs to. He can cause a matchup problem for any team because of his size, and that can't be good for Charlotte.

Leemire Goldwire (Charlotte)

Goldwire is one of the most free shooters in the nation. He leads the nation in 3-pointers attempted, and he is right up there in field goal attempts. He is good at making three pointers, where most of his points come from. If Goldwire can be consistent with his long range jump shot, Charlotte will be in decent position to win the game.

Prediction:

Charlotte 75, Nebraska 67

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(7) UC-Santa Barbara (22-8) at (2) Mississippi (21-10)
Wednesday, March 19, 8 P.M. (Oxford, MS)
ESPNU

Preview:

Mississippi got off to a very fast start. They went undefeated in non-conference play. After that, it all went downhill from there. The Rebels lost their first SEC game by 2 at Tennessee, and struggled to a 7-9 conference record and a first round exit in the SEC Tournament. UC-Santa Barbara got here by winning the Big West regular season title. They beat UNLV in the regular season, which shows how good this team can actually be.

Players to watch:

Dwayne Curtis (Mississippi)

Curtis is always a threat to get a double-double every time he steps onto the court. He averaged 15.1 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game during the regular season. He is also among the nation's best with a field goal percentage of just under 65%. He is not very big, and he isn't a good shot blocker, so the opposition might take advantage of him in that regard.

Alex Harris (UC-Santa Barbara)

Harris is the team's leading scorer with an average just above 20 a game. He is capable of hitting the long range shot on a consistent basis. If he makes a few threes and doesn't force up bad shots, the Gauchos should be able to stay close, if not win.

Prediction:

Mississippi 80, UC-Santa Barbara 68