Spectating Savant

Can you taste madness? Can you? Is it something in the air? Is it sweet? Is it sour? Is it addictive? Does it smell like a certain perfume?

Every year, the sporting world assembles to witness what might be the best spectating material there is. 63 of the most electrifying games a sport can produce take place in less than one month. This is the best annual single elimination tournament in athletics.

So without further sucking up, let's talk about the tourney.

Upset Special: #14 Oral Roberts over #3 Washington State

13 and 14 seeds win 19% of the time in the first round. Only 15 seeds, who are 4 for 88 all time, and 16 seeds (0 for 88) win less often. However, with the absurd nature of the brackets this year, and Oral Roberts' affinity for knocking off big boys on the road, I gotta take that 6'6" preacher from Tulsa.

I feel like ORU's defense could shut down anyone. I base that mostly on the fact that the ORU Basketball home page said their defense was "stifling". More in depth reasoning: Ken "The King" Tutt and Caleb "Mean" Green have scored 2000 and 2490 points in their careers respectively.

Finally, the best team Oral Roberts beat this year was then #3 Kansas. The best team Washington State beat? Then #7 Arizona.

UCLA, Oregon, and 1/2 of UCLA are the only teams worth anything in the Pac 10.

I'll take ORU again in the second round over Vandy. Yeah, I'm that crazy.

Upset Upset Special: #6 Notre Dame over #11 Winthrop

Everyone and their mother is taking Winthrop over Notre Dame. It's the stereotypical NCAA Upset - a double-digit seed under 12 facing a team that has been known to combust.

Well combust this: Notre Dame is shooting 39.7% from beyond the arc as a team. Kyle McAlarney is shooting 46.4% from 3 land and Rob Kurz is right there shooting 42.9%. You're going to tell me that a team that shoots the 3 ball like this is going out in the first round of the NCAA tournament?

Does anyone remember Indiana in 2002? They were a 5th seed but went all the way to the finals because their 3 stroke got hot in the tournament. The only reason they lost in the finals is because Juan Dixon was playing the best basketball of his life (to date).

Notre Dame will not only beat Winthrop, they'll go a lot further than people think.

Unless Tajuan Porter and Bryce Taylor of #3 Oregon decide they're going to drain 7 three balls a piece.

Mid Column Break

Tired of reading? Take a mid-blog break and watch this:

Player of the Tournament: Kevin Durant

I know, I know, it's not exactly a difficult pick. Durant is about to win NCAA Player of the Year, so what's so good about this pick? Well, this Texas basketball team is a lot like the 2005 Longhorns' Football team: Mediocre coach with a terrible record in the spotlight, best player in the country leading his team and winning big despite his coach. Without Durant, this team is missing out on the big dance and having overalls fitted for the ho-down that is the NIT.

Everything is set for Kevin Durant to lead this team deep into the tournament. Meanwhile, Greg Oden and Joaquim Noah both have to win the tournament in order to be considered for this honor. Durant only needs to get his team to the Final Four, maybe even the Elite 8. After what I saw last weekend and the fact that Texas A&M is not in their bracket, I think the Longhorns can get to the Final Four and solidify Durant's position as player of the tourney.

Biggest Snub to win the NIT

Watch the irate Jim Boeheim tear into the NIT field as the terribly snubbed Syracuse Orangeman win the NIT. Would anyone want to play Syracuse at this point? Demetrius Nichols may score 1000 points in this tournament. I say that without hyperbole.

Also, why wasn't there a camera on Boeheim when Syracuse was snubbed from the tournament? This could have been right up there with Denny Green's press conference after the Bears-Cardinals game last year! The coaches with the biggest snub possibilities should always be video taped. And, in cases like this where the snub was too shocking to be expected, a camera should be on the coach as soon as humanly possible. Surely someone at ESPN is working on this for next year!

(Note: Isn't this the Big East's fault more than anyone else? This conference has 16 teams in it! They could make up an entire bracket on their own! Depaul, Providence, St. John's, South Florida? These teams get into the tournament once every 10 years! That's ridiculous! Someone should be working on organizing The Small East Conference right away)

Final Four Prediction:

• UCLA
• Texas
• Ohio State
• Florida

NBA Showcase

For those following along, my Final Four pits 4 seed Texas against 1 seed Ohio State. Those of us who love pure point guards will surely be excited about the prospect of watching DJ Augustin and Mike Conley Jr. square off in this matchup.

The rest of the nation, however, will be keyed in on the prospect of watching Greg Oden and Kevin Durant play on the same court for the first time (in the NCAA) and last time(in the NCAA). Granted, Durant's sharpshooter play and Oden's pure center play may never bring them up against each other. However, if Kevin is feeling frisky and decides to go to the hole, we might see the Celtics and Grizzlies faithful explode with simultaneous delight and terror.

We should all be so lucky to watch this game. Perhaps the long arm of NBA Comish David Stern can organize one of his good-old-fashioned conspiracies.

(Matchup Note: Nobody ever says anything about Greg Oden's passing ability. Why is this? He sets up fast break after fast break! He pulls down a rebound, he makes a good pass. It's like clockwork. We're talking about spot-on lasers too. I've only been alive 21 years, but I can't remember seeing a center get the ball away like this. Couple that with his blocking ability and Conley Jr. running the floor, and you've got an unfathomable fast break machine.)

Vengeance Realized: Gator Nation Undone

A convenient consequence of Ohio State and Florida playing on opposite sides of the tournament is the possibility for a championship meeting in Atlanta. Justice is swift. I can think of no better retribution scenario for The Event That Must Not Be Named than to see my young squad of Buckeyes upset the veteran, defending NCAA champs. To add even more fuel to the fire, Gator basketball pounded Ohio State earlier in the year by 26 points. Oden vs. Noah, Conley vs. Green. Is this not the matchup that all of college basketball is hoping for? Would anything else make a better story?

I think not.

I shall have my revenge!

NCAA Champs: Ohio State Buckeyes

Tschüs!