It’s March! With the big tournament right around the corner
it’s time to start paying attention a little bit closer so you can fill out a
bracket that will crush your competition.
With the conference tournaments starting today for the major conferences
we thought we would take a look and tell you a little bit about the conference,
who is most likely to win, as well as give you as a dark horse team to cut down
the nets. Since we like to imbibe in the occasional alcoholic beverage, we've also included a drink of choice for each conference tournament.
American Conference-
This conference has been a lot of fun to watch. You got Cincinnati, Louisville, and Memphis
running all over the court and turning the game into a track meet. The top 5 teams in the conference have beat
the hell out of each other, and I expect the Conference Tournament to be no
different.
Team to beat: Even though this tournament is played in
Memphis and Cincinnati is the #1 seed I think the team to beat is
Louisville. The Cardinals are coming in
hot, having won 9 of their last 10, and they have the experience from winning
the whole thing last year. Look for the
Cardinals to cut down the net.
Dark Horse: I am looking at you Connecticut. The Huskies are the fourth seed in this
tournament, but they don’t have to play 5 games in 5 days like they did in winning
the Big East tournament in 2010. They
only have to win 3. They split their
season series with #1 seed Cincinnati (who they would play in the Semifinals),
and even though Louisville has given them fits this season I believe it would
be a good game between the 2. I think
that Connecticut will beat Cincinnati and will face the Cardinals in the
Championship game.
Drink of choice: With
the frenetic pace that the top teams in this conference play with it gets your
heart pumping. Exactly like a Vodka
Redbull would do for you. Pound them
down and try not to run around the building.
Atlantic Coast
Conference –
Surprise Surprise.
The regular season champ isn’t Duke or North Carolina. It isn’t newcomer Syracuse either. In what quite possibly could be the most
unheralded conference championship ever Virginia is the team that is the #1
seed going into Greensboro. Didn’t see
that one coming. So are they the
favorite to cut down the nets? Well, no.
Team to beat: Because of an unbalanced schedule Virginia
only had to play Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse once. Two of those games were at home. The one that was on the road was the one they
lost. While Virginia is a very good team
I don’t think they can beat the top competition consistently enough to get the
job done. That is why my favorite to win
the ACC tournament is Duke. This team is
battle tested, having played 2 great games against Syracuse and going up and
down with North Carolina as well. Plus,
since this tournament is in Greensboro Duke will probably get some 50-50 calls
going their way (which never happens). I
think the Blue Devils win this tournament, beating North Carolina in the
championship game.
Dark Horse: I wouldn’t call any of the top 4 seeds in this
tournament a dark horse. So I am going
to the fifth seed. Pittsburgh. In their first year in the ACC the Panthers
did well, finishing 11-7. They went toe
to toe with Syracuse twice and gave Virginia all they could handle. With the up and down nature of North Carolina
this year, Pittsburgh beating them wouldn’t be a shock. After that they could match-up with both
Virginia and Syracuse. Those would be
great games.
Drink of choice: A nice southern Bourbon is the drink of
choice here. Something that is smooth to
sip but with a bite. That is why we are
going with Makers Mark here. Pour
yourself a glass straight or with a little bit of ice, kick up your feet and
enjoy.
Big 12-
This has been an interesting year from the Big 12. You have the rise, fall, and then little rise
again of Marcus Smart and Oklahoma State.
Texas has saved Rick Barnes job (I wonder how many times that sentence
has been written the past few years), and Oklahoma and Iowa State have been
huge successes thanks to their coaches.
Even Kansas has had some drama this year. With the uber-talented Joel Embiid not
playing in the Big 12 tournament they are vulnerable. This is going to be a fascinating conference
tournament where 7 teams have a legitimate shot to win.
Team to beat: The more things change the more they stay the
same. Even with the injury to Embiid the
Jayhawks are the favorites. This is a
well-coached athletic team that played one of the toughest schedules in the
country and still won the conference for the 11th straight
year. Even with 8 losses this team is in
the running for a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and if they win it here in
Kansas City don’t be surprised if they get it.
Dark Horse: This was the single toughest pick to make. So many teams could win it. I ended up going with Oklahoma State for the
obvious reasons. This is a top 10 team
when they play well. If they win their
first round game against Texas Tech they play Kansas, a team they have already
beaten once this year. Yes they would
have to win four games in four days but there is not a team in this tournament
they can’t beat. Watch out for the
Cowboys in the next four days.
Drink of choice: The same thing wins every year. The drink of choice is something that has won
a major award. That's right, Papst Blue American Ribbon!! Enjoy
Big East-
Oh what might have been.
If Louisville, Connecticut, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh were still in the
Big East this would be so much fun.
Alas, they are not and this conference loses so much of its shine. It is still going to be a good tournament but
if these 4 teams were still playing it would be one of the best ever. I hate
realignment.
Team to beat: Do me a quick favor and go to the Bracketology
page of ESPN.com and look and see who the fourth #1 seed is. You got Arizona, Wichita St and Florida which
are easy picks. The fourth one is a crap
shoot. Right now it is the Villanova
Wildcats. Villanova is 28-3! When did
that happen? Villanova is a team that
doesn’t beat themselves. They have
quality wins against Kansas and Iowa, as well as running through the
conference. They only lost 2 conference
games, and both were against Creighton.
Even with saying that I think that Villanova is the team to beat and not
Creighton. Doug McDermott is a great
scorer and the Blue Jays could win as well, but it is super hard to beat a team
three times in one season and I think the Wildcats will beat them this time
around.
Dark Horse: The dark horse here is Xavier. They split with Creighton in the regular
season and will get a rubber match if they beat Marquette. Xavier is always a tough out in every
tournament they are in and the Big East tourney is no different. Also, since it is their first year in the Big
East they want to make a splash and prove they belong with the big boys.
Drink of Choice: They are playing at the famed Madison
Square Garden. College basketball at the
garden is a beautiful thing to watch. So
sit down with a nice micro-brew of your choice and imagine all the games that
have been played on that storied court.
Go ahead and reminisce. We don’t
mind waiting.
Big Ten-
The Big 10 hasn’t won a National Title since 2000, and yet
every year people say they are the best conference in basketball. Just goes to show you that being the best
conference doesn’t mean you produce the best team. This year is no different. It is the deepest conference in basketball
again and that is going to make for one hell of a conference tournament.
Team to beat: I
believe that the team to beat has the best coach in the league and is finally
getting healthy. That would be the
Michigan St Spartans. I know that
Michigan made the NCAA title game last year and is the #1 seed in the
conference but I am still going with Sparty.
I know better than to bet against Izzo in any sort of tournament and I
also know that this team was #1 in the country when healthy, which they are
becoming again. Maybe I have more faith
in Michigan St than most people, but I believe they are going to win it.
Dark Horse: Speaking of teams with lofty rankings the Ohio
State Buckeyes were #3 in the country on January 7. After losing a tough overtime game to
Michigan St the wheels fell off a little bit and they finished only 10-8 in
league. They have beaten Wisconsin and
gotten revenge against the Spartans.
Could Ohio St get hot and win 4 games in 4 days and cut down the nets in
Indy. Absolutely. Don’t count out the fighting Thads just
yet.
Drink of choice: The drink has to be something that slows
you down, just like the style most Big 10 teams play. So because of that and St Patricks day we are
going with a Guiness. Enjoy.
Pac 12-
The quality of play the last few years from the Pac 12 has
been awful. In all honesty this year
hasn’t been that much better but the play of one team has risen the conference
up. This year you had 2 teams on the
top, 2 teams on the bottom, and 8 teams jumbled up in the middle fighting for
mediocrity. I guess that is an
improvement.
Team to beat: Arizona.
This team is head and shoulders above everyone. It will be a shock to me if they don’t win
it. Arizona is deep, talented, and
wants a #1 seed. This is one of the
best defensive teams in the country even without the injured Brandon
Ashley. They could win
the whole thing, so winning an average Pac 12 shouldn’t be tough for them.
Dark Horse: Any teams 3-10?
I’m going to go with the #6 seed Stanford Cardinal. If they get by their first round game against
#11 Washington State they will play Arizona State and then presumably UCLA, 2
teams they have beaten. This is a senior
laden team and they need to make the tournament to save their coaches job, so I
think that they will be playing with extra fire and passion. Do I think they will win? No. But they can.
And that is the beautiful thing about March.
Drink of choice: A drink that has the potential to be great
but usually falls flat on its face. That
describes the Pac 12 this year and that
also describes a Mojito. So that is what
we are going with.
Southeastern
Conference-
This is where the best team in the country resides. I have been on the Florida bandwagon since
December (I can provide witnesses if I must) and the SEC has not shown me that
anyone can compete with them. The
Florida Gators have made 3 straight Elite 8’s and just ran through the
conference undefeated. This team is
scary good and can beat you in so many ways.
I just love the way they play.
Team to beat: I guess I just wrote that didn’t I? Florida is #1 for a reason. They deserve it with the way they play and
they will continue to play well.
Dark Horse: The Field.
Florida is such a prohibitive favorite in this one that anyone else
would be a dark horse. I am going to say
Tennessee. They have won four in a row
going in and are in a similar situation to Stanford. They have to play well if they want to save
their coaches job. I think they
well. I just don’t think they are
beating Florida.
Drink of choice: Easiest pick. Southern Comfort for Southern basketball.
There ya have it! Now
enjoy some college basketball and remember, for as much fun as you have this
week, the real fun starts next week!
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