March Madness Indeed

So everyone's brackets are busted. Like everyone. Period. If you actually saw these results coming than you are either lucky or crazy, maybe a bit of both. We're down to the sweet sixteen now, and oddly enough, my final four still remain. Yeah, I had Kansas to win it all in a bracket or two, but the one that really matters has Evan Turner and Ohio State winning it all. So what do I predict this weekend? Well, here's a look at the Sweet Sixteen Matchups:

Butler (+7) over Syracuse

I'm surprised Syracuse has made it this far without Onaku, but Butler has also proved me wrong by beating UTEP in the first round. I had UTEP to make it to the West finals, beating Syracuse and taking on Kansas State. That might just be Butler making it instead of the Miners, and i think I smells another #1 seed leaving the tournament.

Washington (+5.5) over West Virginia

Washington has been on a mission, led by the senior with the best name in the tournament: Qunicy Pondexter. I don't see them slowing down, and although I think this game is pretty much a toss-up, I don't see WV covering the spread. I like Washington to win, which poses problems against my pick of Kentucky coming out of the East.


Kansas State (-5) over Xavier

Sure Xavier has been playing some quality ball lately even surprising the hell out of me by beating Pittsburgh, a team that had sweet 16 written all over them, but when these two teams met earlier this year on neutral turf, the Wildcats demolished the mid-major team 71-56. I see nothing different in Kansas State's repertoire now, and I see them winning this one by at least a few possessions.

Kentucky (-9) over Cornell

I wouldn't put money on the spread here, but Kentucky is probably the most dominant team out there right now and look championship bound, if that can be said of anyone right now. I actually still like Baylor to pull off an upset next round against the Wildcats (avoiding the possible confusing Wildcats/Wildcats final), but I think Cornell will be unable to take down the fearsome duo of Wall and Cousins. I think we've heard the last from the Ivy League this season.

Ohio State (-5) over Tennessee

The Vols are another team whose luck is about to run out. This Buckeyes' team is proving not just how good Evan Turner is (which we all kinda knew), but that they also have other firepower in the form of Diebler. This is a team that's playing together and winning games. This one should be a routing by at least 8 points.

Baylor (-4) over Saint Mary's

I've been saying it all through the first week, all Baylor needs to do is make it to the sweet sixteen and they've got home court advantage. The Bears will be playing this game, and (fingers crossed) next round's game, in Houston, Texas. This is why I like Baylor coming out of the south, regardless of who wins between Duke and Purdue.

Northern Iowa (+1.5) over Michigan State

I would have picked the Spartans to win this one against the biggest Cinderella team of the tournament, but the news that Lucas will be out 4-6 weeks is bad news in this stage of the game. Especially when you're facing a team that is just excited to be where they are and a star player, Ali Farokhmanesh, who is stepping up big time. Michigan State couldn't have beaten Kansas without Lucas, and I don't see them beating Northern Iowa either. Let's just hope the refs stay out of this game...

Purdue (+8) over Duke

Let me just say first that Duke is going to win this game. There, out of the way. Now I can say that Purdue is going to put up a fight and this should be highly entertaining. The Boilermaker seem pissed that everyone put so much emphasis on the loss of Robbie Hummel and they are not backing down. Sure the win over Siena in the first round wasn't that much of a surprise, but Texas A&M was one of those teams that had a rough schedule in a tough conference and was highly underrated. Purdue beat them didn't they? This should be a nailbiter.