Baller 21

Ah Yeah….Tournament Time

by Chris Harvey on 03/18/09

I don’t even need to specify when I say it’s tournament time, right?

In case you are the poor soul who doesn’t know what I’m talking about, it’s NCAA College Basketball, March Madness, hoops fans glued to the T.V. for the next couple of weeks, nobody is getting anything done at work, pretending your busy online so the boss doesn’t get upset but your really checking scores, buzzer beaters, upsets, and going crazy when your team wins TIME.

The faithful know what I’m taking about.

Today is the last day to fill out your brackets people. I have printed out and filed the last five years of brackets. Every year there is upsets, teams that step up and make a run, teams that let you down, and tough match ups to pick (that’s if you do the hard thing and have only one bracket).

Making picks this year was no exception. North Carolina was the favorite to win it all at the start of the season but they are no guarantee. They fell off the map earlier on in the season but regained form in the middle and won the ACC. But now Ty Lawson is recovering from injury and they will need him to make a run.

I’ve been following the Big East a lot this year, living in Louisville country, and UConn and Pitt have some solid teams. But they both have been up and down because of injury and playing consistency.

Louisville lost a few games early on and then battled it out to win the Big East league and conference championship. The biggest frustration with them is consistency and balance. They have as much talent as anybody in the tournament. They pressure the ball well and will get the transition game going. They can shoot and have an inside game. The key for them is not jacking so many three’s without establishing an inside/out game.

Memphis has an athletic team with great guard play, but there conference schedule is kind of weak.

Have you seen Oklahoma’s, Blake Griffin, play? Dude can fly!
But how much depth does the team have and how far can they go?

Two of my favorite teams, Duke and UCLA, have been really shaky all season.

Is Gonzaga going to make a run again this year?

Despite the challenge of picking my teams, and on one bracket, I got to finally make a call.

Final Four // Louisville vs Memphis and Pitt vs Oklahoma.

National Championship // Louisville vs Pitt.

Champion // Louisville.

Bracket Challenges // I’m in ESPN, Sports Business Radio Blog (winner gets a gift certificate to enjoy dinner at Morton’s The Steakhouse), Catalyst March Madness Giveaway (winner gets an All-Expense Paid Trip to Catalyst West Coast and other great prices for runner-ups), Yahoo Sports Tournament Pick’em, Harv’s Hoop Dance on Facebook, and Blogger Madness.

Bracket Side Notes // Last Year’s ESPN Winner Strategy and
President Obama’s Picks

Let the games begin.

C.Harv