The Ever So Sweet 16

By Dan Rodgers

UPDATE: Not a very sweet night thus far. Look below for last second thoughts on each game.

Even though countless people had their brackets busted in the round of 64 with the losses of Missouri (my champion) and Duke, they might not be eliminated from the pools. I know that in my pool I can still tie for first if everything goes perfectly. So tonight could be the final make or break for your bracket, especially if you picked a No. 1 seed to go down tonight. My picks below:

(4) Wisconsin vs. (1) Syracuse -3 = I don't know about you but Syracuse showed me a lot in their last game. They struggled mightily in their match-up with UNC-A, but the Orange really responded with a convincing win over Kansas State. I thought KSU was going to really give Syracuse all they could handle, and while it was a one-point game at the half, Syracuse pulled away in the second half. KSU did what I expected in dominating the boards and especially the offensive glass (22-8 advantage); however, Syracuse shot very efficiently and played solid defense holding the Wildcats to just over 31% shooting. I think that this will be more of a scorefest than people probably think. I think people (me) underestimated the talent on Syracuse and maybe they can still make a deep run without Fab Melo. INCORRECT - The Orange played a solid game against a good defensive team. However, they got outscored in the second half after having a 6-point halftime lead. Wisconsin made 14 threes! That is unbelievable. They shot almost 10% better from three than overall. Not to mention, Syracuse missed the front end of a 1-and-1 at the end that could have led to a push.

(4) Louisville +5.5 vs. (1) Michigan State = This should be an excellent game. For my bracket, this is the most important game of the night. I am one of the few people in my pool who has the Cardinals over the Spartans. I can't help but be reminded of the run UConn made in last year's tournament when I think of Louisville. Obviously, they both came out of the Big East. Louisville is playing great defense, they've held their first two opponents to under 40% shooting and forced double-digit turnovers. The Billikens gave the Spartans all they could handle and they had a poor shooting night. If Louisville can be efficient and play their usually tough defense, I don't see any reason why the Cardinals can't win this game outright. CORRECT - well, Louisville won outright just like I needed them to for my pool. This game was just about the only positive for me the whole night.

(6) Cincinnati +7.5 vs. (2) Ohio State = I do have OSU winning this game outright, but I can't believe how high this line is. Cincy played extremely well and pulled the upset last week against a very tough Florida State team. Given the tough defense that the Bearcats have been playing (haven't given up 60 points or more in their last three games), it should be a good match-up with a Buckeyes squad that averages 75 points-per-game. Cincinnati's Yancy Gates should be able to match-up with Sullinger in the paint, and I fully expect Cincy to key in on Buford. If they want a shot in this game, they will need to make sure they don't get killed by the three-pointer. INCORRECT - After Cincy took a four-point lead, I didn't think there was any way they would get outscored by more than 12 the rest of the way. They had all of the momentum, but they couldn't stop fouling and turning the ball over. What a disaster/terrible defensive effort...

(7) Florida vs. (3) Marquette -2 = The reason I liked Missouri to make it out of their bracket is because of their likely match-ups. They would have faced these teams. Florida is very similar to Missouri and Marquette likes to play to their opponent. Luckily for the Golden Eagles, Florida doesn't have many experienced big men. When Marquette faced BYU it was a scorefest, and they adjusted to a more defensive game when they played Murray State. I fully expect this to be a high scoring game, and I just think Marquette has more experience and talent. INCORRECT - The Golden Eagles shot under 30% from three and 30% from the field. Jae Crowder and Darius Johnson-Odom both had 5-15 shooting nights, and you can't expect to win when both of your top players struggle.

This should be an excellent night of games so try to enjoy it. This is clearly where everyone's attention will be, and there isn't much I like in the NBA tonight anyway. Hope your bracket stays intact.

Rodgers That

Perfect Bracket No More

- By Dan Rodgers

Well, my bracket isn't anywhere near busted, but it is no longer perfect. I am tied for first in my most important bracket, having gone 14/16 yesterday. The two I had incorrect were UConn/Iowa State (8/9 match-up) and Colorado/UNLV (6/11 match-up). I'm not too disappointed because I haven't lost a Sweet 16 team, but I definitely thought that UConn would have at least shown up and UNLV would feel like they had something to prove.

Hopefully you listened to my Murray State, Gonzaga and Utah Jazz picks. Well, on to today, the final day of first round games.

The first game of the day that I like is the first game of the day -

(11) Texas vs. (6) Cincinnati -3 = I don't think Texas should have earned an at-large bid so I definitely can't pick them here. Cincinnati plays in the best conference in college basketball (Big East), and they beat Georgetown and Syracuse in the conference tournament before losing to Louisville in the championship game. Cincy plays good defense led by Yancy Gates. Two out of the three tournament teams that Texas beat were in conference (Iowa State/Kansas State), and while they hung around in some games, defense isn't exactly a strong point in the Big 12. I think Cincy pulls away and could take this one by double digits. CORRECT

(10) Virginia vs. (7) Florida -3 = This game seems to be a tale between polar opposites. Florida shoots the three very well and scores a ton. Virginia's offense isn't anywhere near as good but they play excellent defense. I think Virginia got a little bit screwed with their draw because I just don't think they can contain Florida's offense. Since the Gators are more concerned with scoring than stopping their opponent, if UVA can score, the game should at least be interesting. I think Florida advances to most likely play Missouri next round. CORRECT

(14) St. Bonaventure vs. (3) Florida State -6 = The Bonnies have the A-10 player of the years, Andrew Nicholson, on their squad but I doubt that will be enough. This is my favorite game of the early set. There is no way this line would only be six if these two teams faced off in the regular season. It appears that a lot of these lines have been a bit low and that is probably because of the "Madness" in March Madness. The Seminoles are among the hottest teams in the tournament, they're coming off their first ever ACC championship and a season in which they beat Duke and UNC twice. There is no way St. Bonaventure, a team that had to win the A-10 tournament to make it to the dance, will be able to hang with Florida State. INCORRECT - An extremely sloppy game for the Seminoles. The Bonnies shot 50% from 3-point range and the 'Noles turned it over 11 times and got out-rebounded. I'm thankful they won because of my bracket, but this game never should have been close. Florida State even pulled ahead by eight, but 3 threes in a minute and fifteen seconds and 11 points in under two minutes is unacceptable to give up when you pride yourself on being a defensive team.

I'll be back later to post my thoughts on a few late games.

Rodgers That

Sweet Sixteen - Thursday/Early

By Dan Rodgers

The first slate of games in the Sweet Sixteen is currently underway. Both two seeds are facing three seeds.

I have both three seeds winning their games in my bracket. That's kind of irrelevant because my bracket sucks, but nonetheless I might as well root for the teams I picked.

UConn, who was a point and a half underdog going into the game tonight, is up eight points with under four minutes to play. San Diego State has been playing them tough the entire game and there have been so many lead changes. SDST cut the lead to five and is shooting free throws. I still like UConn to win though. UPDATE: UConn

The other game is BYU vs. Florida. Jimmer is amazing and has kept BYU in the game by himself, he has 32 of BYU's 68 points. Time for overtime. Good thing I teased the game to BYU +7.

I'll write again in like 15 minutes.

Rodgers That