It’s one of my favorite times of the year. Yes, it’s time for March Madness! We’re in the week of conference championships which will help determine many team’s fate for the big dance.
To go along with all the games that will be played, you know that we’ll be doing a bracket challenge. I’ll be managing all the brackets this year through ESPN.com. They have a great system that will keep track of all the games that have been played as well as the points awarded per round.
To sign up: go here for instructions:
http://games.espn.go.com/
Once you create your account and get your entry ready, be sure to join the group that I’ve created. Under the groups tab, you’ll want to click on “Create or Join a group” and then search for Convina March Madness. If the instructions seem a little too much, feel free to just send me an email at trevor@convina.com. I’ll be able to send you an invite which will take you directly to the sign up page, and then direct you to my group where you can join.
Just like the football bowl challenge, I’ll be buying a College T-shirt of your choice if you are the overall winner. There’s nothing to lose, and even if you’re not in to college sports (most of you ladies), you can at least try to win a shirt for your husband, or your son, or maybe your secret crush, right? Now on to my favorite 4 teams who are going to make a lot of noise in the tournament.
Although I haven’t been able to watch every game of every team, I do watch enough basketball to have some knowledge about a lot of teams, and in the process, I’ve come to a few conclusions:
Having said that, I have selected 4 teams for this year that I believe can make a big run in the tournament. I’m not able to give you my final four picks since I can’t see how the bracket is structured, but here are a few teams to watch out for:
SYRACUSE
DUKE
MICHIGAN STATE
KANSAS
Overall, there are a lot of teams that could be mentioned in this conversation. A few honorable mentions would include Kentucky, Villanova, Purdue, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Maryland. These teams definitely have a reason to be in the tournament and it will be fun to see where they end up. This year should be a lot of fun and I hope you enjoy this tournament as much as I do. Good luck!
My Favorite Four
After not being ranked in the top 25 by the start of the season, they started turning a few heads after they went on a 3-game winning streak, on the road, against three conference teams. That’s saying something, especially when you consider they’re in the Big East. Overall, Syracuse is just a solid team. They play a strong 2-3 Zone defense; they’re athletic and can score inside or out. Andy Rautins is playing his best basketball, they have a star with Wes Johnson, and the best thing about this team is that they are so unselfish. Syracuse knows how to play the game and is going to be very solid going into the tournament.
Duke has had their ups and downs, but the best thing about them is that they’re consistent and they get better each game they play. You want your team playing their best basketball at season’s end, and that’s exactly what Duke is doing. There are two main reasons why I think Duke is a dangerous team to watch for. 1: Efficiency – They’re led by Jon Scheyer who has the second best assist to turnover ratio in the country. They don’t turn the ball over and value every possession that they have. 2: Big Men – Duke hasn’t been known for dumping it inside and pounding it with their big guys, but that’s something that they have now. Zoubek is playing his best basketball of his career, and they have two good freshmen that can rebound and bring a lot of energy. They’re getting a lot more offensive rebounds, which in turn, creates more opportunities to score for Scheyer, Singler, and Smith. Duke is ready to play.
Michigan St. hasn’t had quite the season that they were hoping for after a big championship run last year, but they’re molding at just the right time and have found who they are just in time for the tournament. Tom Izzo has his team playing really solid and the main reason is their defense. During the middle of their conference schedule, they weren’t able to stop anybody, but toward the end of the season, a lot of teams are having trouble getting any points against the Spartans. To go along with their D, Michigan State has gone back to their inside game and have been dominating inside. Raymar Morgan and Draymond Green have been big forces inside and are peaking at just the right time. The best thing going for the Spartans is their experience and I think they’ll raise some eyebrows in the tournament.
Kansas has been solid all year and has to be the next best team in the nation behind Syracuse. I think that Kansas is the most well rounded team and that’s what makes them so dangerous. They have (in my opinion) the best point guard in the country with Sherron Collins who is playing his best basketball all year. They have the best post player, Cole Aldrich, who plays offense and defense; he can score and doesn’t give up any easy points in the paint. They have one of the top freshmen players, Xavier Henry, who has grown leaps and bounds this season and is playing much smarter than at the beginning of the season. And to go along with all that, they have an outstanding bench and they barely miss a beat when their stars are sitting down. Kansas plays very smart, they understand the importance of scoring on every possession and then getting back to play defense. They have a lot of experience, they know how to finish games and how to win the close ones. Watch out for the Jayhawks.