weekend recap

alright, just one more march madness post (i think). just some random thoughts after a weekend full of basketball and a bracket that a two year old could have done.

1. no one really knows anything. i think i may have mentioned that in the previous post. before the tourney started i heard an expert say that he thought the big 10 conference was weak and that the teams were not any good. i, for whatever reason agreed with him. i have watched many big 10 games during the season, but he saying that they were no good made me doubt all of the teams as though i, a guy with less basketball skill than any guy on the court, am one to judge the quality of play of a whole conference. anyways, the only team that i didnt go against was indiana and they lost in the first round. i had wisconsin winning one game and the others (purdue and michigan state losing first round). mich. state and wisconsin are still in it and purdue won their first game.

2. the good teams do win. usually. in the south region, the remaining teams are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th seeded teams and in the east region the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th seeds still remain. its boring, but it usually happens in at least a couple of the regions, if not more. again, not the funnest way to fill out your bracket, but its a safe way to ensure that you have a few teams in the sweet sixteen and other later rounds.

2.a. with that said, in the other regions, both 12 seeds are still alive as well as a 10 seed and a 7 seed. but you knew that there would be upsets. which were so awesome. they completely destroyed my bracket but its totally fine because its worth it to see no-namers at schools like usd and siena bombing on powerhouses like uconn.

3. i went with duke and i shouldnt have. here's the thing. i watched duke play a few times and i think they, well, i thought they were legit. they beat unc at unc. but here is what i failed to realize or remember when filling out my bracket. when they beat unc, they hit like 15 3 pointers. in the game they lost over the weekend they were like 2 for 23 from 3 point range. so they live and die by the three. never a good thing.

4. coaching matters. i really think it does. and i think this is why i went with duke, because they always seem so calm no matter how dire the situation. and i think that is because their coaches keep them calm. they dont get rattled by the situation and they stick with their game plan and help their boys do the same. anyways, i just dont know basketball to be able to go into more depth with this one, but i just feel like teams with experienced coaches always do well. even this year. well, except with duke of course. so this observation is worthless.

5. be wary of the 'hot' teams. analysts are always big on 'teams that are hot.' clemson was one this year because they were mediocre, probably not going to make the tournament, then they made an improbable run and lost by 2 to unc in the acc tourney finals. so people were saying they were hot and they went from probably not getting into the tourney, to being a 5 seed. but here is the problem with a hot team like that. 1. they were hot like a week ago. i know that doesnt seem like that long ago. but in those conference tournaments teams play like 4 games in 4 days. they get hot and on a roll and just ride it and do well. but then they rest for a week before the tournament and they cool off. 2. with some of those teams, they are just happy to get in the tournament. if they have been 'hot' for the second half of the season that is one thing. but a team like clemson, they were just happy to be in the tournament.

6. byu broke my heart again. why cant they just win one freakin game?! just one. thats all i want to see. they actually didnt do all that bad for starting the game down 11-0. lame.

anyways, i realize as i write this that i have no idea what i am saying. im not a basketball guy at all. i just enjoy the tournament and i have been thinking about it, so i thought i would post my thoughts. but they are worthless. i dont know anything about filling out a bracket, nor about giving advice about this sport. im terribly unqualified. nellie is beating me btw. she has picked 31 winners out of 48 games, i have picked 27 correct. i know nothing. but its still great.