My NCAA Bracket- Regrets and Predictions for the Thursday Games of the Sweet 16

Today we are going to take a look at my NCAA bracket as the Sweet 16 schedule has been set. It has been such an amazing tournament so far with wonderful upsets and a bunch of overtimes. The great thing about the tournament is that we get to see the heart and passion of these under dogs beat the wonderfully skilled teams. We get the upsets in the early rounds and a premier brand of basketball from this point on. Enjoy!

My entry into the the ESPN Tournament challenge is currently ranked 195th out of the some 11 million entries. I have 550 points, 40 behind the leader. Below is a look at my bracket.

Looking at my bracket, I can't say I have many regrets so far. If I had to choose one, it would probably be the against the grain mindset. This may seem ironic since I picked 3 of the 4 favorites to make the final four but picks like KSU over Kentucky and GW over Memphis were selections that I chose to go against the greater population. While these were simply first round match ups, with my impeccable 20-20 vision, they were obvious picks. 

Predictions for Thursday

Stanford #10 vs. Dayton #11

Let's start with the double digit seed Sweet 16 matchup. Stanford versus Dayton deems two of the the three cinderellas remaining in the tourney. For me the selection is simple, I believe Stanford moves on based on their inability to stop Chasson Randle and Dwight Powell. The Flyers, I'm anticipating, are spent and their magic has run out. As amazing of a run as Dayton has put together my instincts tell me that Stanford's talent will overcome the heart of the Flyers. This may seem ridiculous as the Flyers have defeated Syracuse and Ohio State, two teams who arguably sport much more talent than the Cardinals but one must remember that both squads struggled a lot down the stretch. Therefore, I believe Stanford wins 70-64.

Wisconsin #2 vs. Baylor #6

The streaking Bears take on a Wisconsin team that is back in their best form. What people forget is that the Badgers began the year on a tear ranked among the top 3 teams in the country. They hit a rough stretch during the Big Ten slate of games but found themselves during the tournament. Their counterparts have struggled all year despite having NBA caliber talent and high expectations. They are finally beginning to show their true potential. Wisconsin needed a huge 2nd half to escape the 7 seed Oregon Ducks while the Bears coasted past Creighton and McDermott. Baylor's newly implemented zone has posed problems with their superior length. Wisconsin, though, has the shooters to stretch the zone and cause problems. On the other side, Baylor should be able to crush the Badgers down low. Wisconsin does have Frank Kaminsky, a 6' 11 big man, but he does not compare to both Isaiah Austin and Corey Jefferson. I believe both teams will be able to score the ball tonight and this game will come down to getting defensive stops. In the tournament, I'm going to roll with the team that is going to force their opponent to shoot 3s. This team is Baylor. Baylor takes down Wisconsin by 5 and advances to the Elite 8.  70-65 Bears.

Florida #1 vs. UCLA #4

The other game in the South region pits Florida vs. UCLA in what I believe is the one team stopping Florida from winning a National Championship. Call me crazy but if Florida beats UCLA they have a  relative cake walk into the final four. Many will argue that Michigan State and Arizona/Louisville could pose problems in Texas but I truly believe the Gators, if they surpass UCLA, win will it all. But hold on. The Bruins pose major match up problems for Florida. Everyone knows about the senior experience of the Gators especially their Point Guard, Scotty Wilbekin, but UCLA has their own 6 foot 9 point guard who is a walking triple double. Wilbekin will have trouble guarding Kyle Anderson all day long. In addition, the Bruins best wing player, Jordan Adams, is a flat out scorer who could overcome Florida's tough defense. Finally, the Wear twins, the two big men for the Bruins,   have the ability to stretch the floor with their excellent mid range game. This could pull Patric Young away from the basket opening up driving lanes for Anderson and Adams. As much as I'm touting the Bruins, I cannot pick against my Gators. They simply have the experience and coaching to counter anything the Bruins can do. I think the Gators win 70-68.

Arizona #1 vs. SDSU #4

The last game of the night touts the best defensive team in the country against the remaining power house from not one of the Power 6 conferences. SDSU's best player is a Guard, Xavier Thames. Thames is an unbelievable senior player and the Aztecs sport a tough inside game but this simply isn't a good matchup for them. SDSU goes through stretches where they struggle to score which against Arizona is not a good flaw to have. If Thames is struggling, the entire team struggles. Because of this problem, Arizona will end up reeling off a huge run that they will be able to hang on to for the game. The Wildcats match up pretty evenly down low with Kaleb Tarczeswki and freshman phenom Aaron Gordon but on the perimeter is where the Wildcats will overmatch San Diego State. Nick Johnson is a Wooden Award Candidate for player of the year in the NCAA and his back court mate T.J. McConnell will be too much for the aforementioned Thames to handle in a solid victory by the Wildcats. Arizona wins 61-52. 

Round of 64-Upset Alert-Thursday-March Madness-NCAA Tournament

The Round of 64 begins tomorrow, March 21st. In it contains 16 of the 32 games played in the Round of 64. With that being said Sportacular Sports breaks down all the possible upsets and why.

Beginning with Louisville and Gonzaga, we will assume they are safe as 16 seeds are 0-112 against Number 1 seeds. 

After that, I would say any game could be on Upset Alert. No #2 seeds are participating in the festivities on Thursday therefore Upsets are bound to happen. 

I have heard analysts throw out names like Montana over Syracuse or Davidson over Marquette but I believe the NCAA tournament is relying heavy on Coaching and backcourt play (Point guards).
Therefore, Syracuse's Jim Boeheim and Marquette's under rated head coach Buzz Williams should be able to coach their teams to victory. 

Another team I've heard under Upset Alert would be Butler against Bucknell. Bucknell's star player is Mike Muscala who plays under the basket. While he may be an underrated big man, Butler truly does well in the postseason and don't see this trend stopping this year.

A team that hasn't been mentioned on upset alert that contains a strong backcourt and excellent head coach is Michigan State. They face the #14 seeded Valparaiso who they should have no trouble handling.


With that being said, I see a ton of potential upsets on the slate for Thursday.

The College Basketball season has been madness already and to think that this trend would come to an end would be silly. 

8 vs. 9 games will also not be counted because I don't believe they are truly upsets.

Sorry for the long introduction, now we get down to business.

1.South Dakota State vs Michigan (13-4) 
Michigan started off the season with a bang and eventually obtained the #1 ranking in the nation. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, they are trending in the wrong direction. While their season did not spiral out of control like the 2010 Texas Longhorns, the Wolverines did not finish with momentum. With that being said, Michigan still has a National POY candidate in Trey Burke. But on the other side for the Jack Rabbits, South Dakota State has 6 4' guard Nate Wolters. Wolters is a tough guard who puts the ball in the basket. South Dakota State has experience in the tournament (appeared last year) and Michigan is a young team. Michigan fell in the first round last year and their coach, John Belein, only has an 8-7 career record in the NCAA tournament. My alert level would be low but don't be surprised.

2. Belmont Bruins vs. Arizona Wildcats (11-6)
My alert level would be at a medium for this matchup. Arizona was another team that began the season undefeated and entered the top 5 ranking at one point. They have excellent players in Solomon Hill and Mark Lyons but the Wildcats are inconsistent. On the other hand, Belmont has tournament experience which is very important come March. They also have a Senior Guard in Ian Clark who average 18 points per game. Arizona very well could breeze through this Belmont team and then beat New Mexico two days later. But, don't be shocked if it's this Belmont team that is defeating Arizona and New Mexico in a span of 3 days.

3. California Golden Bears vs. UNLV Runnin' Rebels (12-5)
UNLV might be in trouble. The Runnin' Rebels reign from the MWC (Moutain West) which has low success in the Big Dance. To augment to the conference's low success level is my disbelief in highly ranked mid major teams. I've never seen a team from a mid major seeded top 5 go very far in the tournament. For some reason, those schools are always the Cinderellas never the favorites. Another reason I don't like St. Louis, New Mexico, or this UNLV team. But in this instance, it is more what I like about Cal than what I don't like about UNLV. If you've never heard of Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobb you will be hearing their names tomorrow night. Crabbe and Cobb are the backcourt for the Bears and combine for 33 points per game. Not only do I think they'll run past the Rebels (no pun intended) but I think they'll shoot the lights out against Syracuse's zone two days later and advance to the Sweet 16. 

Thanks for reading my Upset Alert picks. Leave your comments below.

Sportacular Sports Morning Newspaper

This is the first edition of the Sportacular Sports morning newspaper where Sportacular Sports will recap yesterday's headlines.
Thursday, January 10th

2 unbeatens remain as Arizona falls to Oregon in Eugene
-With Chip Kelly in the house, the unranked Ducks put on a show Thursday night. After the 'Cats scored the first 11 points of the game, Oregon and its crowd rebounded for a 40-19 run ending the half up 11. The Wildcats had no quit in them though as they cut it to 3 with under a minute. After a missed Oregon shot, the Wildcats had a chance to tie it or cut the lead to one but a bad turnover by the Point guard and it was clutch free throws from there on out. There was one last thing to do: Storm the funny looking court Oregon has!
Player of the game: E.J. Singler 14 pts 7 reb 7ast
Final score: 70-66 Oregon

Heat fall to the Blazers as LeBron passes up the last shot (yet again)
-From this headline I purposely make LeBron look bad because I believe he should be taking last shots not Mario Chalmers. But if you didn't see the highlights, James actually made the right play in dishing the ball to Chris Bosh who found Chalmers wide open for the would be game winning 3. Chalmers is usually clutch in those situations but the Heat came up short for the 3rd time in the last 5 games. The Heat aren't playing good basketball and look like they're coasting to the playoffs. The Blazers on the other hand could be scary in the postseason. Rookie sensation Damian Lillard and players like Nic Batum and LaMarcus Aldridge set up a pretty solid squad. Now let us all ponder if they had taken Durant over injury prone Greg Oden in the 08 draft. Oh boy.
Player of the game: Nicolas Batum 28 pts
Final score: 92-90 Trail Blazers

Tar Heels fall at home to the Hurricanes, 10-5 overall
-North Carolina does not look even remotely close to the National Championship contender they were last season. I guess it's tough when you lose your entire starting lineup but still this is UNC. The Tar Heels blew an early lead to a mediocre Miami team at home. The Tar Heels are now 0-2 in conference with bad losses to Virginia and now Miami. Lets see if the Hesls can turn this season around and make the Big Dance.
Player of the game: Kenny Kadji 18pts 9reb
Final score: 68-59 Miami

In early morning news, the Cleveland Browns hired former Panthers offensive coordinator Chudzinski in addition to former Chargers head coach Norv Turner as their OC. These signings brings an aerial attack to the Browns but how will they paid that with Trent Richardson? I guess we will find out.

Notable scores: Michigan state 62 Iowa 59- Iowa led for the first 32 minutes but couldn't hold on against #22 MSU
Indiana Pacers 81 New York Knicks 76