A Profile in Madness 2011
March 14th 2011 13:14
Ladies and Gentleman, Boys and Girls, Children of all Ages!!!!
Welcome to the annual addiction known simply as March Madness!!!!!
The addiction that breaks down all societal barriers by bringing together Men and Women, sports enthusiasts of every category, casual fans and individuals who have never watched an NCAA College Basketball game in their entire lives.
In this third annual addition of "profiling the madness" we’re going back to the basics.
The basics that come with using your gut instinct on the quest for a perfect bracket…
A quest that has left many crying over shattered brackets come Sweet 16 time while others were left in a state of shock by the sight of all their Final 4 teams still standing tall on final Championship Weekend.
To understand how I came to my conclusions this year you have to understand the terms that were once reserved for fairy tales but have now become synonymous with the idea of victory and heartbreak in the NCAA Tournament.
Cinderella, Dancing Shoes, Tickets to the Ball and Glass Slippers are all terms that can describe Long Island State University, Belmont and Bucknell who finished their NCAAA Division I Basketball Seasons with impressive hot streaks en route to dominating conference tournament performances.
Also poised to make noise are Utah St, Old Dominion University and Oakland University who also come into the tournament with impressive but unnoticed resumes by the mainstream basketball prognosticators.
While it may be a rarity to see one of these Cinderella’s in the Final Four, or winning a Championship, it is still a proven fact that these ticket holders are the University’s that will make or break your brackets.
With that said, the time has come to take care of some serious business.
The business of breaking down the brackets region by region to decide who will be left standing tall on April 4, 2011 to hoist the banner of 2011 NCAA Basketball Champions!!!!
In this year’s tournament the madness will begin on Tuesday March 15 with a series of Play-In games featuring opportunities for a few teams who would have otherwise been playing in the “other tournament” to have a chance to join the party on St. Patrick’s Day.
These games will feature the University of Texas San Antonio vs. Alabama State University for a play in game against #1 seed Ohio St in the East, University of Alabama at Birmingham vs. Clemson University for a play in spot against #12 seed West Virginia University in the East, University of Southern California vs. Virginia Commonwealth University for a play in spot against #6 seed Georgetown University in the Southwest and University of North Carolina Asheville vs. Arkansas Little Rock for a play in spot against #1 seed Pittsburgh University in the Southeast.
In these games I’m picking Texas-SA to play against Ohio St, Clemson University to play WVU, Virginia Commonwealth University to play Georgetown and ESPN First Take pundit Skip Bayless’s favorite team Ark-LR to get a spot against PITT.
If we begin the Tournament in the East what we will find are three key games in the first round.
The First of this trio is tournament darling George Mason University from Fairfax, VA who is left with nothing to prove after their legendary Final Four Run in 2006 taking on the cliff diving Villanova Wildcats who have mysteriously Swan Dived from Elite Eight Expectations to first round upset watch.
In my picks I have George Mason pulling off what some may still consider an upset.
In the second game we have a matchup of the play in winning Clemson Tigers against the up and down West Virginia Mountaineers.
As much time as I’ve spent throwing stuff at my TV in frustration at the some times mysterious Mountaineer losses and celebrating in joy for the huge Mountaineer wins this season I’m going to go with my gut and pick Clemson to break my heart.
The third big first rounder in the East bracket is Xavier vs. Marquette.
This game is going to be a shoot out won by the Xavier Musketeers who are known for getting the job done come tournament time.
My third round winners are Ohio St. over Mason, Kentucky over Clemson, Xavier over Syracuse and UNC over Washington.
Moving to the West where Duke is sitting with the #1 seed we have a few big games in the first round featuring the Michigan Wolverines against the Tennessee Volunteers, Texas Longhorns against the first of my tournament darlings in the Oakland Grizzlies, Cincinnati against Missouri Tigers and the University of Connecticut Huskies against the team that has been on the tip of my tongue all season in the Bucknell Bison and to round things out the San Diego State University Aztecs against the Temple Owls.
For these games I have Tennessee, Oakland, Cincinnati, SDSU and I’ll be shedding a tear for my Bison when UCONN advances to the second round.
In the East third round I have Duke over Tennessee, Arizona over Oakland, UCONN over Cincinnati and San Diego State University over a very tired Kemba Walker and UCONN team.
In the featured Southwest bracket Second Round games I have University of Las Vegas Nevada taking out Illinois, Richmond over Vanderbilt, VCU over Georgetown and Florida State University over Texas A&M.
In the third round I have UNLV pulling off the first ground shaking upset by toppling the Kansas Jayhawks, Louisville over Richmond, Purdue over VCU and FSU falling to Notre Dame.
Looking at the Southeast Bracket I’m seeing nothing but monumental destruction throughout the bracket for the all the favorites.
In the notable first round games I’m taking Old Dominion University over 2010 finalist Butler, Utah St over Kansas St, Belmont over Wisconsin, St. Johns over Gonzaga and UCLA over 2010 Final Four Team Michigan St.
In Southwest Bracket Third Round I have the second big tournament upset with ODU over PITT, Belmont over Utah St, St John’s over Brigham Young University and Florida over UCLA.
My Sweet 16 has Ohio St over Kentucky, UNC over Xavier, Duke going down to Arizona, San Diego State University Aztecs over UCONN, Louisville Cardinals over UNLV, Purdue over Notre Dame, ODU over Belmont AND St John’s over Florida.
In the Elite Eight I have Ohio St over UNC, Arizona over SDSU Louisville over Purdue and St John’s over ODU.
Final Four Matchups will consist of Ohio St having their way with Arizona and Louisville taking out St. John’s.
My NCAA 2011 Men’s Basketball Tournament Champion is Ohio St.
As some of you know, I really hate to take the safe pick.
In a year filled with so many teams packing the middle and a tournament that is more about matchups as opposed #1 Seeds my bracket ended up rounding out with a mixture of Cinderella’s, proven contenders and teams rising up from the middle of the pack.
Throwing out all preconceived notions of team loyalty, rivalries and regional favorites these are my picks straight from the gut.
Maybe yours will be different and if they are I can’t blame you for doing so.
Either or, I hope you reach the quest for the perfect bracket and have a fun 2011 NCAA Tournament Season!!!!
Let The Madness Begin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!
Khalfani King is an Independent Journalist that posts a weekly blog on www.politicsandculture.net featuring commentary on current events, entertainment, sports, news and social culture.
If you enjoyed this blog and would like to see more postings featuring sports themes please vote by using the application below.
For questions, comments or to simply talk trash please do so by leaving your comments on this blog or by e-mailing Khalfani King at khalking@aol.com
Welcome to the annual addiction known simply as March Madness!!!!!
The addiction that breaks down all societal barriers by bringing together Men and Women, sports enthusiasts of every category, casual fans and individuals who have never watched an NCAA College Basketball game in their entire lives.
In this third annual addition of "profiling the madness" we’re going back to the basics.
The basics that come with using your gut instinct on the quest for a perfect bracket…
A quest that has left many crying over shattered brackets come Sweet 16 time while others were left in a state of shock by the sight of all their Final 4 teams still standing tall on final Championship Weekend.
To understand how I came to my conclusions this year you have to understand the terms that were once reserved for fairy tales but have now become synonymous with the idea of victory and heartbreak in the NCAA Tournament.
Cinderella, Dancing Shoes, Tickets to the Ball and Glass Slippers are all terms that can describe Long Island State University, Belmont and Bucknell who finished their NCAAA Division I Basketball Seasons with impressive hot streaks en route to dominating conference tournament performances.
Also poised to make noise are Utah St, Old Dominion University and Oakland University who also come into the tournament with impressive but unnoticed resumes by the mainstream basketball prognosticators.
While it may be a rarity to see one of these Cinderella’s in the Final Four, or winning a Championship, it is still a proven fact that these ticket holders are the University’s that will make or break your brackets.
With that said, the time has come to take care of some serious business.
The business of breaking down the brackets region by region to decide who will be left standing tall on April 4, 2011 to hoist the banner of 2011 NCAA Basketball Champions!!!!
In this year’s tournament the madness will begin on Tuesday March 15 with a series of Play-In games featuring opportunities for a few teams who would have otherwise been playing in the “other tournament” to have a chance to join the party on St. Patrick’s Day.
These games will feature the University of Texas San Antonio vs. Alabama State University for a play in game against #1 seed Ohio St in the East, University of Alabama at Birmingham vs. Clemson University for a play in spot against #12 seed West Virginia University in the East, University of Southern California vs. Virginia Commonwealth University for a play in spot against #6 seed Georgetown University in the Southwest and University of North Carolina Asheville vs. Arkansas Little Rock for a play in spot against #1 seed Pittsburgh University in the Southeast.
In these games I’m picking Texas-SA to play against Ohio St, Clemson University to play WVU, Virginia Commonwealth University to play Georgetown and ESPN First Take pundit Skip Bayless’s favorite team Ark-LR to get a spot against PITT.
If we begin the Tournament in the East what we will find are three key games in the first round.
The First of this trio is tournament darling George Mason University from Fairfax, VA who is left with nothing to prove after their legendary Final Four Run in 2006 taking on the cliff diving Villanova Wildcats who have mysteriously Swan Dived from Elite Eight Expectations to first round upset watch.
In my picks I have George Mason pulling off what some may still consider an upset.
In the second game we have a matchup of the play in winning Clemson Tigers against the up and down West Virginia Mountaineers.
As much time as I’ve spent throwing stuff at my TV in frustration at the some times mysterious Mountaineer losses and celebrating in joy for the huge Mountaineer wins this season I’m going to go with my gut and pick Clemson to break my heart.
The third big first rounder in the East bracket is Xavier vs. Marquette.
This game is going to be a shoot out won by the Xavier Musketeers who are known for getting the job done come tournament time.
My third round winners are Ohio St. over Mason, Kentucky over Clemson, Xavier over Syracuse and UNC over Washington.
Moving to the West where Duke is sitting with the #1 seed we have a few big games in the first round featuring the Michigan Wolverines against the Tennessee Volunteers, Texas Longhorns against the first of my tournament darlings in the Oakland Grizzlies, Cincinnati against Missouri Tigers and the University of Connecticut Huskies against the team that has been on the tip of my tongue all season in the Bucknell Bison and to round things out the San Diego State University Aztecs against the Temple Owls.
For these games I have Tennessee, Oakland, Cincinnati, SDSU and I’ll be shedding a tear for my Bison when UCONN advances to the second round.
In the East third round I have Duke over Tennessee, Arizona over Oakland, UCONN over Cincinnati and San Diego State University over a very tired Kemba Walker and UCONN team.
In the featured Southwest bracket Second Round games I have University of Las Vegas Nevada taking out Illinois, Richmond over Vanderbilt, VCU over Georgetown and Florida State University over Texas A&M.
In the third round I have UNLV pulling off the first ground shaking upset by toppling the Kansas Jayhawks, Louisville over Richmond, Purdue over VCU and FSU falling to Notre Dame.
Looking at the Southeast Bracket I’m seeing nothing but monumental destruction throughout the bracket for the all the favorites.
In the notable first round games I’m taking Old Dominion University over 2010 finalist Butler, Utah St over Kansas St, Belmont over Wisconsin, St. Johns over Gonzaga and UCLA over 2010 Final Four Team Michigan St.
In Southwest Bracket Third Round I have the second big tournament upset with ODU over PITT, Belmont over Utah St, St John’s over Brigham Young University and Florida over UCLA.
My Sweet 16 has Ohio St over Kentucky, UNC over Xavier, Duke going down to Arizona, San Diego State University Aztecs over UCONN, Louisville Cardinals over UNLV, Purdue over Notre Dame, ODU over Belmont AND St John’s over Florida.
In the Elite Eight I have Ohio St over UNC, Arizona over SDSU Louisville over Purdue and St John’s over ODU.
Final Four Matchups will consist of Ohio St having their way with Arizona and Louisville taking out St. John’s.
My NCAA 2011 Men’s Basketball Tournament Champion is Ohio St.
As some of you know, I really hate to take the safe pick.
In a year filled with so many teams packing the middle and a tournament that is more about matchups as opposed #1 Seeds my bracket ended up rounding out with a mixture of Cinderella’s, proven contenders and teams rising up from the middle of the pack.
Throwing out all preconceived notions of team loyalty, rivalries and regional favorites these are my picks straight from the gut.
Maybe yours will be different and if they are I can’t blame you for doing so.
Either or, I hope you reach the quest for the perfect bracket and have a fun 2011 NCAA Tournament Season!!!!
Let The Madness Begin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!
Khalfani King is an Independent Journalist that posts a weekly blog on www.politicsandculture.net featuring commentary on current events, entertainment, sports, news and social culture.
If you enjoyed this blog and would like to see more postings featuring sports themes please vote by using the application below.
For questions, comments or to simply talk trash please do so by leaving your comments on this blog or by e-mailing Khalfani King at khalking@aol.com
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