Let me apologize in advance, but I'm sorry, I just can't stop talking about the NCAA tournament. This past weekend was fantastic. The March to the Arch has just been captivating. Three of the regional final games went into overtime with one (Kentucky against Michigan State) going into double overtime. And the Sweet 16 matchups of Villanova vs. UNC and Arizona vs. Oklahoma State were instant classics.
But now we have our Final Four. If you had told me when I wrote my tournament preview column that two Big 10 teams would make the Final Four, I would have told you that you've been spending too much time partying with the DTD brothers.
But that's the NCAA tournament. It's unpredictable.
Yet we'll always try, especially me and my friends. A special thank you this week goes out to Louisville for helping me win my gentleman's bet with my one friend, who insisted on Washington as a Final Four team.
In the interest of improving the collective chances of my readers and me of succeeding next year (because if you listened to me this year, you probably did terribly in your pool) I want to take a look at my rules from two weeks ago.
I'm going to be the bigger man. I can admit when I'm wrong. I've been wrong before in this column. I picked the Eagles over the Patsies. And I was wrong. And I was pretty wrong this year in the NCAA tournament. I was a bracket buster.
Let's look at the rules:
1. "The Big East, the ACC, and the Big 12 are your legitimate conferences this season. When deciding on your Sweet 16 picks, look for teams from these conferences because they're the best teams and they play the best teams."
Well that one was pretty wrong. Kansas (Big 12), Syracuse (Big East), UConn (Big East), Wake Forest (ACC), and Oklahoma (Big 12) didn't make it into the Sweet 16. The three conferences still put a combined seven teams into the Sweet 16, but I never expected to see NC State and West Virginia over UConn and Wake.
2. "The SEC, the Pac-10, and the Big 10 are trash. The competition in these conferences is over-hyped. Teams from these conferences will get you in trouble."
The Big 10 wasn't trash. At all. Wisconsin, Michigan St., and of course Illinois made the Elite Eight. I was on the fence when I was writing about the Big 10 being bad, but I make claims and I stick by them. And I was wrong.
I made an exception to this rule for Arizona. I originally had them in the Final Four, beating Illinois in the Chicago regional final. But I changed it for them to lose to Illinois. And Illinois miraculously came back from a 15 point deficit in the final four minutes to prove me right. Go you Fightin' Illini!
But I was right about Washington, LSU, Florida, and Alabama. It was Kentucky that surprised me. I didn't give Kelenna, Sparks and the Wildcats much credit. But Tubby proved me wrong.
3. "Conference USA will screw you. I've lost count of how many times Bob Huggins and Cincinnati have come up short. My exception this year is Louisville."
How many of you picked Louisville to the Final Four? Do you feel screwed by Louisville coming out of a field with Wake Forest, Gonzaga and Washington? Well I think I was close on this one.
4. "Stay away from Roy Williams and good coaches with bad tourney records (Williams has never won a national title, despite having some of the best players in the country). That means keep clear of Bob Huggins (Cincinnati), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), and Williams (UNC) and embrace coaches with good tourney records like Lute Olsen ('Zona), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), and Bob Knight (Texas Tech)."
Boeheim went out in the first round, Huggins in the second, and Williams, who heads my champion pick, may go out early against Michigan St. I can't believe I broke my own rule for "Bracket Buster" Boeheim. I put that team in the Final Four.
Meanwhile, Knight led Tech to an upset of Gonzaga and Olsen upset Oklahoma St. Other examples of this rule: Tom Izzo leading his team back to another Final Four (upsetting Krzyzewski) and Rick Pitino taking his third school to the Final Four.
5. "Pick some first round upsets. Your best bet is to pick 10s and 12s."
I told you to pick University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Of course I also told you to pick Northern Iowa, St. Mary's, and UTEP. And I said nothing about Vermont or Bucknell. That's the tournament for you.
6. "Pick some Philadelphia teams. Well maybe that's just my rule."
Penn got blown out by Boston College. But I still stand by the Quakers and Fran Dunphy. And I'm really getting tired of seeing Philadelphia teams lose to Boston teams. The Sixers trail the Celtics in the Atlantic Division, the Eagles lost to the Pats in the Super Bowl, and now my Quakers got beat by some Golden Eagles. Boston sucks.
But Villanova almost upset North Carolina. Allan Ray, Mike Nardi, and Kyle Lowry put up a valiant effort without their big man (Curtis Sumpter) and played UNC stronger than anybody this tournament.
So in conclusion. I was wrong definitely on two of those rules and misguided on three others. I'm sorry. Have I compromised my journalistic integrity by embracing and endorsing unproven criteria strictly for gambling purposes? Probably. Do you want or deserve some kind of refund for following my rules? If you can sing the Philadelphia Eagles fight song, I'll consider it.
That's a wrap for Phodder Tourney coverage. See you next year, when I pick Villanova to win it all.
