NCAA Tournament: More Things That Grind My Gears

David Letterman is famous for his Top 10 Lists, so I'll do him one better.  With no further ado, here are Jux Berg's Top 11 Things That Grind His Gears (I know, I'm borrowing that from Family Guy—I don't think MacFarlane will mind).

 11.  Duke's Non-conference Schedule:  Anyone else notice that Duke never ever plays a true road game?  It's always a neutral site or at Cameron.  I know they don't have to do it, since they're Duke ("Everyone bow down to Duke!"), but why don't you guys grow a set and actually do it?  Go play in a small gym somewhere.  See what happens. So weak.

10. Stanford's Non-conference Schedule:  Has anyone taken a look at the Cardinal's out-of-conference schedule this season?  Is this a joke?  Is someone tryin' to mess with my brain, or is this actually who Stanford played?  In case you don't feel like looking it up, the best team they played was Siena—and oh, by the way, they lost by 12! 

9. People arguing that Virginia Tech should have made the field.  Obviously, these people watched one game and one game only.  The ACC Tournament semifinal against UNC in which they let Tyler Hansbrough get an offensive rebound and hit a buzzer-beater.  These people easily didn't bother to notice that the Hokies have 13 losses, and kind of, uh, lost to Penn State, Old Dominion, and Richmond, while scoring big marquee wins over, well, nobody.

8. Tyler Hansbrough's mouth.  Does he EVER close it? EVER?  

7. Notre Dame's Luke Harangody.  Watching him play.  That, in itself, not only grinds my gears, but it effectively trashes my entire will to live.  Please, Lord, don't make me watch this awkward yutz play anymore!  I'm begging you!

6. The Popular Cinderella Pick.  Every year, every "expert" joins together to deem a certain school as "this year's Cinderella" before the tournament starts.  This year, it happens to be Davidson.  Everyone is so obsessed with "Cinderella."  Get over it.

5. The Hottest Team.  The experts also like to jump on the bandwagon of the hottest team, but they're ignoring a common factor.  It's the "blew-their-wad-too-early factor."  This means that the team already did all it could do and won't make another run.  This year, I have a feeling it just may be "dark horse" Pitt.     

4. Selection Committee Chairman Tom O'Connor, a.k.a. "Dr. Evasive."  This guy is pretty slick.  He always seems to find a way to phrase his answer with some big prelude about the beauty of competiton before barely touching on what was actually asked.   

3. Punishing Teams for Losing in their Conference Tournaments.  This happens every season.  It's almost like the regular season means nothing.  It's ridiculous to judge a team based on one loss in a conference tournament against a team who has already played them twice and knows all their plays by now.  This year, it was Illinois State, who finished second in the MVC, a very tough league.  Also, Tennessee bowed out early in the SEC Tourney, which apparently negated them being the only team to beat Memphis.

2. Arizona Gets Nod Over Arizona State.  This is why the RPI needs to be tossed.  Let's see, ASU had the better record in conference play, the better non-conference win, beat Stanford, and oh yeah, swept Arizona.  But hey, Arizona was able to schedule Memphis and Kansas, so they get the nod.  Big surprise, too.  I wouldn't expect the committee to reward a more deserving team over a team that would generate more revenue, would you?

1. Billy Packer.  I've had enough of his antics.  He needs to pack up those antics, and take them elsewhere.  His opinions are so "Almighty Creator of College Basketball."  Plus, he likes to subtly hint towards racist stereotypes—you know, the old "What a smart, heady player with a high basketball IQ," when referring to whites and the old "What a great athlete" deal when referring to black players.  I know he's the voice of the Final Four, but I could list five better options.  It's time for him to go.