Sweet Sixteen Here We Come

I was with an AAU coach in LA one time and I asked his opinion why there were so many upsets in college basketball. He gave me an answer which I would see over and over again. "There a alot of good basketball players." With that in mind, it sort of explains why a team from little Sienna could hang and come close with Louisville. To me that is what makes the whole deal...these little known teams that beat and hang with the big boys. Sienna would never even be scheduled with Ohio State in football...they may not even have a team for all I know. But to see a team like that hang with the big boys and beat an Ohio State, now that is madness. They had a very nice team.

I continue to be impressed with Syracuse. They seem to have a ton of good players at all the key positions. They have shooting, size and a nice point guard in Johnny Flynn. A friend of mine called from Arizona and I told him that the best team won...too big, too fast and too good. Oh yeah, they also have a very decent coach, a ton of heart, and a zone that is hard to match up against.

Wisconsin upset Florida State. Probably not really the better team, but they have a style that slows the ball down and were a terrible first round matchup for the Noles. The other part of the equation is that matchups are everything. Mix that with the old lots of good players and you have strange happenings.

Oklahoma/Syracuse has the makings of a great game. I have no clue how this one will play out. I think UNC will handle Gonzaga if healthy. Villanova ambushed UCLA and were only a 2 point favorite in Philly. That would have been the game of the year to bet on. What a blowout. The only solace UCLA can take is they go back to LA and Villanova has to live in Philly. Probably about as bad a day for UCLA hoops in a long time.

Pitt looked beatable, but now may have the easier time in their region. Still, they seem primed for a fall, and if they make it past Xavier and have to play Villanova or Duke there could be big trouble. Speaking of Duke, they played well against Texas and sure seem to get the right calls with the refs. This brings up a sore point. The refs in many games seem to always seem to make calls at the right time against the lower seeded small conference teams. Also, there are games when the ref just takes the best players out with really non calls. It gives the advantage to the deeper team.

If Memphis makes it through to play U-Conn, that would be a great game.

ACC weaker than advertised. Big 12 a little better than expected. And of course, the Big East, as advertised. Still, with the ACC there were some close buzzer type games, its the way the tournament goes. And what about Cinderella Arizona. Could they beat Louisville? Rumor has it Pitinos wife is house shopping in Tucson (a big upgrade from Loserville believe me). Wouldn't it be funny if the interim coach beat his replacement. Probably won't happen, but does have some intrigue.

I would bet only on one thing: we probably won't have all number one seeds again this year at the final 4. Good luck and talk at the final 4.

Speaking of which, I saw almost no people in the crowd for Utah-Arizona. Why not play that game out west instead of Miami. People in Miami could care less about those 2 teams.