March Madness is Here!

My trip to Arizona for Spring Training was a great trip (thanks, Dad). I had originally planned to post pictures and a trip report from it today, but there is a more pressing major sports event beginning today: March Madness College Basketball!

First, a gripe with the NCAA Selection Committee. Why did the Arizona State Sun Devils get passed up in favor of the Arizona Wildcats? ASU beat Xavier, a number 3 seed in the NCAA tournament, by 20 points, beat Stanford, another 3 seed, beat USC, a 6 seed, beat Coppin St., who was the 65th team selected for the tournament, beat Oregon, a number 9 seed, and most importantly, swept U of A (beat them twice)! The Sun Devils finished with a better overall record than Oregon and Arizona. As for the U of A Wildcats, their only notable wins are against Texas A&M, USC, and a sweep against Washington State. In addition, U of A has lost 8 of their last 13 games and their has been turmoil in the coaching staff. With these records side by side, I still don't get how U of A got in, let alone as a number 10 seed!

As for the actual NCAA tournament, do you have your brackets set? Do you think Coach Bruce Pearl (pictured above) and his Tennessee Volunteers can win in the East region? Will UCLA add another championship banner to the rafters in Westwood? Or will the powerhouse North Carolina Tar Heels celebrate another championship?

For the record, here are my Final Four picks: the Georgetown Hoyas (number 2 seed in the Midwest region), the North Carolina Tar Heels (number 1 seed overall), the Texas Longhorns (number 2 seed in the South region), and the UCLA Bruins (number 1 seed in the West region). As for the National Championship, two powerhouses collide with North Carolina going against UCLA with UCLA bringing the championship back to LA for the first time since 1995.

To view my entire predicted bracket, go here.

As a side note, I've written a few posts on Florida coach Billy Donovan and the Florida Gators basketball team. The Gators won back-to-back national championships in '06 and '07 and did not get into the NCAA tournament this year. They are, however, in the NIT, considered the consolation prize for teams turned down from the NCAA. The NIT is also where the Sun Devils are playing (instead of the NCAA where they belong).