2014 NCAA Tournament Preview
2014 NCAA Tournament Preview
The Billion Dollar Games
Over the weekend some dreams came true and others were ended as conference tournaments came to a close. Some took the weekend tourneys as a last chance to make it in to the field of 68 by being crowned their conference’s champion or by putting up enough fight to make it off the “bubble.” Other teams were a lock and just wanted to make sure that they got a favorable seeding to help ease their way to Arlington. Selection Sunday is now over and millions of red-blooded Americans started reading article after article and coming up with their own formulas to pick every winning team in their bracket for the pride, glory, and bragging rights of offices and dormitories everywhere (or to try to win a billion dollars … thanks Warren Buffet!)
Out with the old…
Like every year, gone are some familiar faces: a number one seed Indiana from last year, a 23–9 SMU team led by Hall of Fame NBA Coach Larry Brown is your #1 seed, and Marquette University which had been dancing for the last 8 years with appearances in the Sweet Sixteen the last 3 (also my alma matter, so excuse me if I’m a little bitter). We also say hello to some new faces. Cal Poly is in for the first time ever as the Champions of the Big West. They had gone 13–19 on the year and 6–10 in Big West play to unbelievably make a run in their tournament and win with a last second three-pointer over CS Northridge. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Panthers are returning to the Tournament for the first time since 2006 after winning the Horizon League. Last year, the Panthers were 8–24 so what a turnaround season for them.
Wichita State is not new to March play by any means, especially after last year’s Final Four run. But they are new to being a number one seed which they got by going UNDEFEATED in the regular season, the first team to not lose since UNLV in 1991. But they also drew the toughest bracket, the Midwest, which includes powerhouses like Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Syracuse, and last year’s Champ- Louisville. Whoever makes it out of the Midwest should get some sort of secondary trophy as Louisville, NC, Kentucky, and Syracuse have all been crowned champs within the last 10 years.
Pick your team
So as a man without a team, who do I root for this year? Would I want former Big East foe Louisville to repeat as champs? Do I look for #1 overall seed to win the championship for the first time since Joakim Noah told us that they were “going to do it big, ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT” after winning in 2007 (did anyone have any idea what he was talking about?) Maybe it’s Creighton and scoring champ and “walk on” senior Doug McDermott that we want to see make it to the Final Four? Or do I want to see super freshmen like Jabari Parker out of Duke or the duo of Wiggins and Embiid from Kansas make it to Arlington? No, not really to any of the above. I’m personally going to be rooting for either Arizona with the dynamic duo of Nick Johnson and Aaron Gordon OR Iowa State coached by Fred “The Mayor” Hoiberg. They’ll eventually have to beat each other up to come out of the West, but they will then face a tired champ out of the slaughterhouse Midwest.
My pick?
Arizona over Florida in Arlington.
