FINAL: NCAA Championship...anybody care?

By Dan Rodgers

Wow, is this last minute or what?

(1) Duke has finally made it back to the NCAA Championship, their first appearance since winning the whole thing in 2001. They face off against (5) Butler. What's that...you think I just had a typo? Nope, Butler has actually won 25 games in a row and now face Duke for the whole dang thing... now this is what I call March Madness.

Duke is favored by 6.5 points...

Personally, I think Butler is either going to pull the biggest upset in championship history since eight-seeded Villanova beat powerhouse Georgetown. Yes, back in the day with Patrick Chewing... er, I mean Ewing.

Butler is either going to cover the spread and beat Duke out right, or get clobbered like Michigan State did last year. I would love to see Butler win, but the realist in me says I don't see how Duke can lose. Look for Nolan Smith to have another big game. Don't expect Butler to stick with the Blue Devils if Matt Howard doesn't play...unless Gordon Hayward goes off from three...

Duke 73 Butler 58

Duke 61 Butler 59 FINAL

Duke wins another championship :( and they are the first team to score over 60 points on Butler during the tournament...Butler...PLEASE prove me wrong!

Rodgers That

Tourney Talk

By Dr. Jekyll

This was supposed to be an article about how to pick tournament winners. How to avoid the suckers bet and walk away from your bracket with your head held high. About knowing what upsets to call, how to root against a 5 seed, and understanding that your completely understandable hatred of Duke is fine, but they won’t lose in the first round.

And then some team from Northern Iowa shot my bracket in the foot, and just as it started hobbling St. Mary’s took out Villanova.

But despite the fact that there’s no hope for getting the right champion, I still have 7 of the elite 8 hanging around. So what are the keys to tournament success?

I’ll tell you.

1. Pick upsets early. Other than giving all of the 1, 2, and 3 seeds a free pass (Georgetown not withstanding). After that, seeding really doesn’t mean much. Every year some 12’s come out of nowhere (Murray State and Washington this year) and “shock you”. When in doubt, just pick the cooler mascot.

2. But don’t listen to experts. More than anything, everyone is a bandwagon fan. A team like UTEP goes from a nice side pick to suddenly a magic 8-ball that you can’t turn away from on ESPN. The moment you hear them talking about some special team, dump em.

3. Same for Cinderella. Double digit seeds push their way into the Sweet 16 every year, but don’t get cute. With the exception of George Mason, it’s never a good idea to throw a bunch of 9’s and 10’s into your Final Four.

4. On that same note, always have at least a 1 in your Final Four. They’re ranked as the top teams in the country for a reason. No matter what else happens, they earned that seed at some point, and the chances of the four “best” teams dropping out are pretty poor.

5. Watch the injury reports early. If you do nothing else with college basketball, pay attention when players go down during their respective Conference Tournaments. Basketball injuries linger.

6. Pray. Let’s be honest, you’ve watched maybe five college basketball games all year. You spend about three days reading every column you can find on trendy picks, and ultimately you have no idea what you’re doing. But there’s nothing more fun in the world than screaming at your TV for some mid-major that you’ve never heard of (GO BAYLOR!) to make it to the finals and show everyone else just how much of a champion you are.

So go curl up a comfy seat for the last few days of the tournament. Angrily yell at kids who aren’t even able to legally drink to win your $400 pool. And always bring your bracket.

Upset...Saturday?

By Dan Rodgers

This Saturday was just absolutely filled with upsets...and I'm not just talking about one sport.

NCAAB:

(1) Kansas 77 - 85 Oklahoma State
(2) Kentucky 65 - 74 (17) Tennessee
(11) BYU 81 - 83 (12) New Mexico
(13) Georgetown 64 - 78 Notre Dame
(21) Texas 58 - 74 (23) Texas A&M

NBA:

Celtics 96 - 104 Nets
Heat 71 - 94 Bucks
Bulls 90 - 100 Pacers

Just thought I would comment because there was a ton of upsets today and I love them. Even though I am a big Kansas supporter...I like to see parody in sports so people will stop thinking that games are rigged or officials are paid off etc...

Rodgers That