NCAA Bracket 2011 Predictions: Last-Second Info To Fill Out Your East Bracket
March Madness is finally upon us. It always brings excitement, and it serves as a good excuse to play hooky from daily life.
As the tournament draws near and you scurry to fill your bracket, there are some things you need to know. Which team is best poised for a six-game run? A few weeks stand between one team and a championship, but who will be victorious?
Millions of people are completing brackets, and they all want to get it right. A perfect bracket is such a rarity because the odds are just too outrageous. There are too many teams in the field to pick every single game right. But that doesn't mean you can't come close.
Here are my thoughts on some needed last minute info as you fill out your bracket(s). Be real, you know you do more than one.
Best Player: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State Buckeyes
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This guy is the real deal. He has the chance to become one of the best freshmen ever if he can lead the Buckeyes to a National Championship.
Sullinger averages a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds per game. He has dominated for the Buckeyes this season and will continue to do so in the big dance. He matches up well with anyone in the country and will certainly be a high pick in the NBA draft if he chooses to leave college.
Runner-up: Tie between freshmen sensations Harrison Barnes of North Carolina and Terrence Jones of Kentucky.
Best Team: Ohio State Buckeyes
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There's a reason they're the No.1 overall seed. As a Michigan fan, I really wanted to pick another team but there really isn't anyone as good as these guys.
They have one of the best players in Jared Sullinger on their squad as well as tremendous depth. No other team in the East Region plays as well as these guys can. Four players average double-digit points per game. The Buckeyes are a complete unit, and they have the capability of going very far in the tournament.
Does that mean I think they will? I certainly believe they can, even though they had some sloppy play recently. Does it mean I'm going to pick them in bracket to go all the way? I'm a Michigan fan, what do you think?
Runner-up: Syracuse Orange
Best Coach: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse Orange
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Jim Boeheim has won 855 games. He has a .740 winning percentage and has been one loyal coach. Boeheim has been with Syracuse since his playing days back in 1962. He took over as head coach in 1976.
Boeheim has been to the Final Four three times and won the 2003 National Championship. He has led the Orange to eight Big East Regular Season Championships as well as five Big East Tournament Championships.
You could make a case for Roy Williams since he's won two National Championships. However, he doesn't compare to the 855 games Boeheim has won and the long loyal legacy he will always carry.
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Coolest Uniform: Marquette Golden Eagles
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There are some pretty generic uniforms in the East Region. The Golden Eagles of Marquette stand out because of their unique pattern. It's a good blend of colors.
Runner-up: North Carolina Tar Heels
Ugliest Uniform: Clemson Tigers
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The all-orange get up just makes me sick. Honestly, how could you think that's a good idea? I guess to distract the other team with your hideous colors?
They better hope it does distract the UAB Blazers tonight in the first of the four play-in games. Clemson made the tournament, but they could be one of the first teams booted from the big dance.
Runner-up: Syracuse Orange, sticking with the all orange theme
Best Team Nickname: Xavier Musketeers
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A Musketeer? Oh heck yes, please. Sword fighting and shooting guns is always fun.
Hands down the best mascot from the East Region.
Runner-up: Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners. Beep Beep!
Worst Team Nickname: Indiana State Sycamores
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Really, your mascot is a tree? How does that strike fear into opposing teams? How did they even come up with Sycamores?
'Oh yes, these group of players are quite like trees, they just stand there.' Perhaps. But no.
Runner-up: Tie between Syracuse Orange (really, a fruit?) and Marquette Golden Eagles. A Golden Eagle? Wouldn't that just be a statue? Seriously, though, no eagle made of gold is going to be flying around.
Who Should Win This Upcoming Weekend: Syracuse Orange
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The Syracuse Orange should beat the Indiana State Sycamores on Friday night. They most likely will because Indiana State doesn't belong in this tournament. The Sycamores won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and honestly Syracuse should wipe the floor with them.
But let's not forget that Syracuse has been upset in this position before. In the 2005 NCAA Tournament, the Orange lost to No. 13 seed Vermont in overtime. The No. 13 seed versus No. 4 seed matchup didn't go so well for the Orange last time around. Who's to say they don't get knocked off again?
Who Will Win This Upcoming Weekend: Kentucky Wildcats
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It's obvious that Ohio State and North Carolina will win. No. 16-seeded teams do not beat the No. 1 overall seed. And it's extremely rare a 15-seeded team with upset a two seed. Now that the two most obvious ones are out of the way, we'll move to the next most obvious, Kentucky.
The Wildcats will easily destroy the Princeton Tigers. Princeton had to win their way in and did so on a buzzer beating shot. The Tigers will not be able stop the young guns of Kentucky. Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones will be too much for Princeton to deal with, and the Wildcats will dominate.
Upset Special: Marquette Golden Eagles over Xavier Musketeers
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The Golden Eagles feel they are a much better team than the 11th seed given to them by the selection committee. They will be hungry to prove they belong in this tournament and that they're a good team.
Marquette is led by Jimmy Butler who averages 16 points and six rebounds per game. You better believe the senior leader does not want an early exit from the big dance. Marquette knows they have a strong chance of reaching the Sweet Sixteen if they can get past Xavier. The Golden Eagles are likely to face Syracuse in Round 2 and they've beaten once already this season.
However, they'll have to stop Tu Holloway and Xavier first. Holloway averages 20 points and five assists per game. I like Marquette to upset the X-men here because they will play with the same fire and intensity that their head coach Buzz Williams displays on the sidelines.
Runner-up: Georgia over Washington
Overrated: North Carolina Tar Heels
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The Tar Heels were regular season ACC Champs this season. They lost to Duke in the ACC Tournament Championship game and were awarded a No. 2 seed.
The ACC is very weak this year. Really only two, maybe three teams should have made the tournament this year. When North Carolina played the tough out-of-conference games against Texas, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Illinois, they only won one of those games. And that was to a Kentucky team early in the season that was still learning to play together.
The Tar Heels also lost to Georgia Tech and Minnesota. They struggled in the ACC Tournament to teams they should be demolishing. There's a reason they weren't; North Carolina is overrated. I have them losing in the Sweet Sixteen and honestly wouldn't be all that shocked if they lost in Round 2.
Runner-up: Georgia Bulldogs. They always seem to blow large leads and let their fans down.
Underrated: Kentucky Wildcats
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The Wildcats just won the SEC Tournament, but still they received a No. 4 seed. I thought they deserved a much better seed.
Kentucky has won six games in a row now. Could they possibly win another six in a row and the National Championship? Not many people seem to think so, but a part of me says they can. They're very young which is why people doubt them. Just because they're young doesn't mean they're not good.
Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones are two phenomenal freshmen. When they're on and Doron Lamb and Darius Miller are knocking down the threes, this team is very difficult to beat.
Runner-up: Marquette Golden Eagles
Best First Round Matchup This Weekend: George Mason vs Villanova
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Can the Patriots pull another spectacular run in the NCAA Tournament? They have a tough draw facing a depleted Big East team and if they win that they'll battle the No. 1 overall seed in Ohio State.
Villanova has lost 10 of their last 15 games. That's what happens when you don't come to play in the toughest conference in the country. If they can turn things around and play like they did at the beginning of the year, then George Mason and perhaps Ohio State are in trouble.
This will be fun to watch because we don't know what to expect from either team. George Mason hasn't played anyone of worth this season. How will they fare when the square off against a bruised team from the Big East?
Runner-up: Washington versus Georgia. Both teams love close games, and even if Georgia is up big, they'll find a way to let Washington back in it.
First of the Four Top Seeds to Go Out: North Carolina Tar Heels
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The Tar Heels will be the first of the top four seeds to fall. They're too shaky of a team for me to rely on that much in this tournament.
There's a possibility that North Carolina could lose in the second round. They lost to Georgia Tech this season whom the Georgia Bulldogs beat. If they meet the Bulldogs in Round 2 it's going to be a tough fight. Georgia has the potential to beat the Tar Heels but just doesn't know how to close games. If they figure it out in Round 1, then the Tar Heels better be worried in Round 2.
If they play Washington, they could still fall if they play as sloppy as they have been. A No. 2 seed should not be struggling against Miami and Clemson.
Next out: Kentucky Wildcats. In the Sweet Sixteen matchup against Ohio State, Jared Sullinger will be too much for the Wildcats.
Player We'd Most Love to Hang With: Travis Leslie, Georgia Bulldogs
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Can you teach me how to dunk like this Travis? We'd probably have to lower the hoop though. I've got hops, but not they're not that good.
I may be a little biased here since I went to Georgia, but hey you'd probably do the same thing. Leslie is one of if not the best athlete in the tournament. A human highlight reel, he's sure to get one monster throw down in the big dance.
Runner-up: Isaiah Thomas, Washington Huskies. I'm four inches taller than him, I think I could take him. Plus it'd be cool to say I met the other Isaiah Thomas.
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