And then there were Four

Jay Bilas was right.

From Midnight Madness in November to Selection Sunday a few weeks ago, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas repeatedly stated that there are "no great teams" this season. A plethora of fans vehemently disagreed with Bilas, arguing that Bilas's statement was an insult to their respective schools.

I agreed with Bilas from the get-go; if you digest each elite team this year, you'll find multiple flaws in their systems, gaping holes that could be potentially disastrous come tourney time.

Compare present-day Kansas to last year's National Champions, North Carolina. Sheron Collins is a talented, smart point guard, leading the Jayhawks' dominance of the Big 12 this year, but Collins never had the explosive speed nor the steely confidence Ty Lawson possessed; Lawson's ability to seize control of a game is the reason the Tar Heels were the clear favorites last season. Cole Aldrich might have the look of one of the scariest Centers in the game, but has the tendency to play soft, sometimes not even demanding the ball in the post. In stark contrast, Tyler Hansbrough, with his intensity level bordering insanity, was aptly nicknamed Psycho-T by his coach, Roy Williams. Coach Williams said numerous times last year that Hansbrough is the hardest worker he has ever coached. This picture does justice to Hansbrough's intense style of play.



The 2009 Tar Heels were superior to the 2010 Jayhawks in every aspect: the Heels played harder, worked harder, had more talent, had better chemistry, had experience beyond their years, had better playmakers, and had better leaders. That is why Jay Bilas categorizes the '09 Tar Heels as a "great team."

That is also why there is no great team this year. I compared Kansas to North Carolina simply because Kansas was the consensus choice to cut down the nets this weekend. If the Jayhawks couldn't match up with the Tar Heels, then no team in this year's bracket could.

The beauty of having no great teams in a season is - more often than not - the potential of having a great tournament. Once again, Bilas nailed this right on the noggin. The first weekend saw 2-seed Villanova make a desperate rally just to force OT against 15-seed Robert Morris (a 15-seed has not defeated a 2-seed since Hampton shocked Iowa State in 2001), eventually squeaking by the Colonials, 73-70. Naturally, Nova went down in the second round to a sound Saint Mary's squad, led by big man Omar Samhan, one of the many tournament darlings this year.

Before the upset over Villanova, the 10-seed Gaels knocked out 7-seed Richmond, 80-71, making Saint Mary's one of the eight double-digit seeds to advance to the second round. Joining the Gaels in busting the nation's brackets were 10-seed Georgia Tech smothering 7-seed Oklahoma State, 64-59; 13-seed Murray State stunning 4-seed Vanderbilt at the buzzer, 66-65; 12-seed Cornell toying with 5-seed Temple, 78-65; 11-seed Washington continuing their hot streak, beating 6-seed Marquette late, 80-78; 10-seed Missouri adding to 7-seed Clemson's first round woes, 86-78; 11-seed Old Dominion staving off a fierce 6-seed Notre Dame rally, 51-50; and the upset of the first round, 14-seed Ohio (seeded 9th in their conference tournament) dominating Big East Runner-up, 3-seed Georgetown, 97-83. How does a team ranked 9th in the MAC utterly destroy a team playing for the Big East Championship? They don't call it March Madness because it's predictable; they call it March Madness because the little teams like Ohio, Cornell, Murray State, and Old Dominion defy logic and advance.

By Thursday night, I was already content with this year's tourney; I had seen more upsets in one day than I had in 2007's entire tournament. Little did I know that Thursday was merely the beginning of a beautiful three weeks. Round two brought more bracket busters, including 11-seed Washington dancing through 3-seed New Mexico to the Sweet 16, 82-64; 6-seed Xavier holding off 3-seed Pittsburgh, 71-68; the aforementioned Saint Mary's upset over 2-seed Villanova; and, what is being called the biggest upset since George Mason over UCONN in 2006, 9-seed Northern Iowa overwhelming 1-seed Kansas with their smothering defense, dethroning the overall number one seed in the tournament, 69-67. It was the first time a 1-seed failed to make it out of the first weekend since Kentucky stumbling to UAB, also a 9-seed, in 2004.

Remember, this is a Jayhawk squad that was a very good team, but not a great team. And they were the TOP SEED in the tournament. And 42.7% of the 4.8 Million brackets entered in ESPN's Tournament Challenge declared Kansas the victor. I even picked Kansas to dance all the way to the National Championship, eventually falling to West Virginia. So, naturally, the very-good-but-not-great top seed couldn't survive the Missouri Valley Champs.

In four short days, March became Mad again. Not one region included all four of its top seeds, and only one - the South Region - involved three of the top four (1-Duke, 3-Baylor and 4-Purdue). In most years, the fun stops after the first weekend and the chalk begins to take over the tourney. Luckily for us, this isn't most years. No Great Team was the smartest thing Bilas has ever said, and he says a lot of smart things.

While 12-seed Cornell couldn't keep up with 1-seed Kentucky (losing 62-45) and 9-seed Northern Iowa came up short against 5-seed Michigan State (falling 59-52), there were two upsets that shocked the Nation almost as much as Northern Iowa: 2-seed Ohio State, with Kansas out of the picture, was the new favorite to cruise through the Midwest Region. So what does Ohio State do? They step up for the fans and allow 6-seed Tennessee sneak away with the win, 76-73.

The big winner was 5-seed Butler's defensive dominance over 1-seed Syracuse, eventually icing the game with clutch free throws, 63-59. The talk all year had been about the Orange's wicked 2-3 zone and how nobody could beat it. Like so many teams in the tourney, Butler proved the experts wrong, hitting virtually every perimeter shot, which subsiquently crippled Jim Boeheim's work of art. The Bulldogs also proved their in-your-face man-to-man defense is a force to be reckoned with.

With two 1-seeds being sent home early, the Elite Eight was set up to be surprisingly intriguing. The Midwest Region was guaranteed to have, at best, a 5-seed as a Final Four participant. Butler was just one win away from being the first team since UCLA in 1962 to play the Final Four in their hometown. The East Region played host to the top two seeds in the region in Kentucky and West Virginia, but neither school had been to the Final Four in the last decade, with the Mountaineers absent since 1959. 3-seed Baylor was playing a virtual home game against 1-seed Duke in the South Region in Houston, with the Bears having returned to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1951 and the Blue Devils back in the Regional Final for the first time since 2004, which, for Duke, is almost as serious a drought as Baylor's extended absence.

As most of you know, when it comes to sports, I'm about as unlucky as a person can get. That's why Saturday turned out to be one of the most special sports days of my short life. Not only did Butler complete their dream of playing at home in the biggest stage, but West Virginia also found a way to take down mighty Kentucky with an impenetrable defense. For those of you who don't know, the Mountaineers are considered my third favorite college basketball team, with Butler sitting pretty as my sixth favorite team. To see both win - to pull off upsets, really - in the same day was one of the most satisfying experiences I can recall. It was a perfect sports day in the World of Cheyne Heiny.

With the Final Four set, I can easily say this is the best tournament, from start to finish, that I have ever witnessed. I also find that painfully ironic if Duke were to cut down the nets next Monday. As an avid Tar Heel fan, how can I possibly say the best March Madness in the history of March Madnesses ended with my archrival hoisting the boring, yet beautiful, NCAA Plaque? That just goes to show you how Mad this March has been. It also seems fitting to me that a Duke boy (Bilas) called this five months ago.

Here's Jay Bilas's take on the Final Four:

Here's Andy Katz's Final Four Primer:

You can't have March Madness without Dickie V, right? Here's his Players to Watch:



I'll have more on the Final Four teams, but for now, congratulations to Michigan State, Butler, Duke and West Virginia for their outstanding seasons and for winning their respective regions.

Possible Expansion

A lot of issues have recently surfaced this month, including a possible expansion of the NCAA Tournament (from 65 teams to 96 teams). Here's an excellent debate by the experts at ESPN:



I'll have much more on this later, including my own opinion.

March Madness Eve

In what has turned out to be the greatest regular season in BYU basketball history, the Cougars' time for a first round victory in the NCAA Tournament is "now or never," according to Salt Lake Tribune's Gordon Monson. And, considering what BYU has done in the past, and what they've accomplished this season, he might be right.

The Cougs finished the season at 29-5, setting a school record in wins (BYU won 28 in 1950-51). This team has the most depth its had in ages, it has a star in Jimmer Fredette that fans in Provo haven't seen since the glorious days of Danny Ainge in the late '70s/early '80s, it has a masterful thief in Jackson Emery, shattering the single-season steals record with 89; Marty Haws held the previous record with 66 thefts in 1989-90. Funny enough, BYU has Marty's son, Tyler, playing the dominant freshman, averaging just over 10 points a game as a greenie.

This is clearly the most well-rounded team the Cougars have had since the mid-'90s; in fact, this team plays better together than the 1992-93 team that last won a game in the NCAA Tournament, beating SMU 80-71. The chemistry between Jimmer, Jackson, Tyler Haws, Jonathan Tavernari, Chris Miles, Noah Hartsock, Brandon Davies, Charles Abouo, Michael Lloyd Jr, Lamont Morgan Jr, James Anderson, Brock Zylstra and Logan Magnusson is as good as I have ever seen in any team; for me, it rivals the '07 Rockies, when they stormed their way to the World Series. If the Rox could win 21 out of 22 to make the Fall Classic, then why can't BYU win four straight to find themselves Dancing in Indy? With the way the bracket is set up this year, it's a decent possibility.

Here's Bracketologist Joe Lunardi's preview on BYU:



Here are some other articles/columns regarding BYU and their chances at making a deep run:

Pat Forde's Best/Worst Case Scenarios for all 64 teams.

Pat Forde's Forde Minutes: March Madness Edition. Both of Forde's articles are definitely WORTH READING! He is a hilarious columnist, and these are usually my favorite annual articles to read before the Madness.

Video Preview of West Region:



Bracketologist Joe Lunardi reveals his tourney bracket:

Eamonn Brennan's Five Bold Predictions.

Andy Katz's Breakdown of the West Region.

As you can see, I'm crazy excited about MARCH MADNESS starting tomorrow! In a lot of ways, it's a good thing BYU's the first game of the weekend, mainly because I don't have to stress about them while watching all the other games. Win or lose, I'm ready for a great game against Florida tomorrow!

With the BYU talk all out of the way, here's a look at my bracket:

MIDWEST REGION:

First Round:

1) Kansas over 16) Vermont
9) Northern Iowa over 8) UNLV
5) Michigan State over 12) New Mexico State
4) Maryland over 13) Houston
11) San Diego State over 6) Tennessee
3) Georgetown over 14) Ohio
7) Oklahoma State over 10) Georgia Tech
2) Ohio State over 15) UC-Santa Barbara

Second Round:

1) Kansas over 9) Northern Iowa
5) Michigan State over 4) Maryland
3) Georgetown over 11) San Diego State
2) Ohio State over 7) Oklahoma State

Sweet 16:

1) Kansas over 5) Michigan State
2) Ohio State over 3) Georgetown

Elite Eight:

1) Kansas over 2) Ohio State

WEST REGION:

First Round:

1) Syracuse over 16) Vermont
8) Gonzaga over 9) Florida State
5) Butler over 12) UTEP
13) Murray State over 4) Vanderbilt
6) Xavier over 11) Minnesota
3) Pittsburgh over 14) Oakland
7) BYU over 10) Florida
2) Kansas State over 15) North Texas

Second Round:

1) Syracuse over 8) Gonzaga
5) Butler over 13) Murray State
6) Xavier over 3) Pittsburgh
7) BYU over 2) Kansas State

Sweet 16:

1) Syracuse over 5) Butler
7) BYU over 6) Xavier

Elite Eight:

1) Syracuse over 7) BYU

EAST REGION:

First Round:

1) Kentucky over 16) East Tennessee State
8) Texas over 9) Wake Forest
12) Cornell over 5) Temple
4) Wisconsin over 13) Wofford
6) Marquette over 11) Washington
3) New Mexico over 14) Montana
10) Missouri over 7) Clemson
2) West Virginia over 15) Morgan State

Second Round:

1) Kentucky over 8) Texas
4) Wisconsin over 12) Cornell
3) New Mexico over 6) Marquette
2) West Virginia over 10) Missouri

Sweet 16:

4) Wisconsin over 1) Kentucky
2) West Virginia over 3) New Mexico

Elite Eight:

2) West Virginia over 4) Wisconsin

SOUTH REGION:

First Round:

1) Duke over 16) Arkansas-Pine Bluff
8) California over 9) Louisville
5) Texas A&M over 12) Utah State
4) Purdue over 13) Siena
6) Notre Dame over 11) Old Dominion
3) Baylor over 14) Sam Houston State
7) Richmond over 10) Saint Mary's
2) Villanova over 15) Robert Morris

Second Round:

1) Duke over 8) California
5) Texas A&M over 4) Purdue
3) Baylor over 6) Notre Dame
2) Villanova over 7) Richmond

Sweet 16:

5) Texas A&M over 1) Duke
3) Baylor over 2) Villanova

Elite Eight:

3) Baylor over 5) Texas A&M

FINAL FOUR:

1) Kansas over 1) Syracuse
2) West Virginia over 3) Baylor

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP:

2) WEST VIRGINIA OVER 1) KANSAS

WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS are your 2010 NCAA CHAMPIONS!

Well, there you have it; I was forced not to pick my beloved Tar Heels to win it all, as they suffered their worst season under Roy Williams. So what do I do? I pick my 3rd favorite team, West Virginia, to hoist the NCAA Plaque (see picture).



64 teams. 3 BEAUTIFUL WEEKS of Madness. 4 Region Champs in Indy. 1 Champion. ONE SHINING MOMENT.

As for me, the search for the Perfect Bracket continues...

YES!!!!!!

MARCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Finally, the BEST month of the year is here! The next 31 days are like Christmas for me, starting off nicely with a new Bracketology, Bubble Watch, Top 25 Rankings, and finding out New Mexico head coach Steve Alford received a reprimand for cursing at BYU's Jonathan Tavernari. I would say that Alford needs to show more class, but, with his record, it's like telling me to stop watching sports.

Anywho, that's my tiny rant about the disaster that was Sautrday. I might talk about more of it when the pain desists; that is, if it ever does.

So, back to why March is so perfect...I've thought about the Ide(al)s of March ever since I was a senior at Wheat Ridge, and I've successfully been able to brew up a list of 10 Masterful March Moments:

10) Increasingly Warm Weather
-Bitterness becomes brightness as February turns to March. Aside from the occasional 10-foot watered-down blizzard, March is a clear sign of spring!
9) World Baseball Classic
-Although it is now featured every 4 years, it brings a new addition to the game: International Camaraderie.
8) Outdoor Track
-Back in high school, this was always a great thing to look forward to; I felt like I was being let out of a cage in the form of Indoor Track/winter running.
7) St Patrick's Day
-I don't care how silly of a holiday it is, it has always been one of the best, and I honestly have no idea why.
6) Spring Break
-It's nice to have a week off of school, sure, but Spring Break usually meant Tucson or Disney World, which always made it one excellent week off.
5) Shamrock Shakes
-This might be the main reason why St Patty's Day is so amazing. Shamrock Shakes are quite possibly the greatest thing to happen to liquids since the discovery of drinking water.
4) Conference Tournaments
-This is why March Madness starts two weeks early for me: 347 teams in 32 conferences deperately fighting for a ticket to dance.
3) State High School Basketball Tournament
-Probably the longest on-going tradition in my family. I've gone every year since - I think - 1988. I'm pretty bummed I'm missing it this year.
2) Spring Training
-Hope springs eternal. Spring Training is a fresh start. It's fantasizing about a World Series ring in October, regardless of how talented the team is; that's how unpredictable baseball really is.
1) MARCH MADNESS
-Does it really need an explanation? No, but I'm gonna give one anyway. It is the greatest postseason of any kind in any sport in the World. Pat Forde of ESPN once stated that the Dance was "exactly one micro-element away from human perfection." To me, it is human perfection.