NCAA Tournament Blog – Day 3

Satruday 3/20 – 11:50pm

“Jackie” Pullen?  Jacob?  Whatever his name is, the Wildcats blew it.  I had them advancing out of the Southeast bracket all the way to the Final Four.  Now that they, along with Pitt, are eliminated, the Florida vs. BYU sweet 16 game next Thursday proves vital as to who will be the favorite to reach the Final Four out of that side of the bracket.

6 out of 8 today in sweet 16 picks.  Worse than where I was but still not horrible.  Bring me some luck rainy Sunday.

Saturday 3/20 9:40

In 7th grade, my dad let me enter a March Madness pool he was in. Ten bucks. There were ten people in it, and relative to what I think I know now, I knew very little about college basketball. After I won, I thought I was some sort of savant. And it’s been all downhill from there.

Not to whine, but my brackets have more red on them than a fire truck — a red fired truck. One of my final two teams got bounced today and I have no more possible wins in the Southeast bracket thanks to Pitt’s mind-numbing loss to Butler. Credit goes to Butler, but no way Pitt should have lost that game. I guess that’s the “beauty” of the tournament. Let’s just say there will be nothing beautiful about what will happen if I lose. I think the Boilermakers are my best hope. Let’s go Purdue! — OM

Saturday 3/20 9:34

I knew there was a reason I liked Bill Plaschke. In a column this evening, he echoes what I’ve been saying about this year’s UCLA team all along, If this game had been in, say Chicago, I think the Bruins might have pulled it out. Florida is very good, but dammit UCLA and their fans want to beat them. I guess they’ll have to wait at least one more year.

Saturday 3/20 6:53

…and if you are Owen and had Pitt in the Final, you are also heartbroken… I don’t want to dress like a girl. I feel sick…. — OM

Saturday 3/20 6:41

BYU’s dominance is surprising me. I am taking K.St and Jackie Pullen in the other game. The Wilcats Curtis Kelly: 9 pts on 4 of 5 in the first five minutes. He is making Jim Calhoun wish he never gave up on him.–Loco

Saturday 3/20 6:38 PM

The finish of the Pitt v Butler game was the oddest thing I have ever seen in the March tournament. Two fouls, I said TWO fouls in the final 2.4 seconds occuring from half court and then 3/4 court.  I am happy for Butler and Matt Howard, but if you are Jamie Dixon and Pitt you have got to be heart broken.–Loco

Saturday 3/20 6:35 PM

No, no. Thought “Stevie Wonder,” was a name of endearment. SD St will not survive the round of sixteen. They played ugly and won, but don’t have a consistent offensive game, and lack a true go-and-get-it scorer.–Loco

Saturday, 3/20 – 5:30pm

All of my sweet 16 teams remain at this point, and the first 4 to advance were correctly picked, albeit the San Diego State / Temple game was a close one.  The biggest game today for my bracket will be the Kansas State / Wisky affair.  Kansas State is my underdog, as I have them advancing to the Final Four out of the Southeast bracket.  I think Frank Martin’s face alone could get them there.

“A-Stevie Wonder?”  Are you intimating that I may have made my picks somewhat blindly?  Well, you’d be somewhat right.  Susan from accounting always wins the office pool every year, doesn’t she?  – ADS

Sat 3/20 2:35

Updated Point Totals

A-Stevie Wonder: 26, Loco del Lucas: 25, O-Trainexpress.edu: 22

Sat 3/20 2:28

Ben Howland has himself a nice bunch of youngsters. Next two to three years they will be great if he can get kids like Honeycut, Lee, and Smith to stay put. Now that the Gators got through UCLA, I could realistically see them making a very deep run in the tournament. They are packed with Seniors, have a leader like Parsons, and a great back court with Boynton and Walker.–Loco

Sat 3/20 1:34

Naismath Watch: JaJuan Johnson, Kemba Walker, Terrence Jones, Nolan Smith, and JIMMER! Just hand the kid the damn award already. The rest of these are like flies on the wall compared to the kids godness.–Loco

Sat 3/20 1:28

I just really like players like Reeves Nelson. Why? How can you not? I mean the guy is average athletically and because of that has had to learn the game. LEARN the game. Without Nelson, the Bruins are down ten right now and have no shot today. While the rest of you tragically fall for the athletic leviathon who can’t shoot free throws or play under control, I will gladly give an undervalued guy like Nelson some love. He and the Gators Parsons, are the NCAA’s Kevin Love.–Loco

Sat 3/20 12:56

Decent first half for the Bruins. Gotta love their fight and grit. If everyone stays, UCLA will be in the Elite 8 or Final Four next year. They need to stay mentally tough to have a chance against Florida in Tampa at the end of the game… Loco- who would look uglier in women’s clothes? I think me. — OM

Sat. 3/20 12:47

UCLA and Florida playing a tight game. Gators Senior forward Chandler Parsons is the most complete player on the court. But UCLA’s Malcolm Lee and Tyler Honeycutt are freakish athletes.–Loco

Sat. 3/20 10:33 AM

Aldridge: ” Coach Cal, you shoot 57% and are still down eight coming into the 2nd half.” Coach Calipari: “That is what happens when you have freshmen out there.” That’s it? Last I checked, Kentucky hired you…well, to coach. You are on the biggest stage, a half away from the sweet sixteen, make millions of dollars, and that is all you have to say? Get out.–Loco

Sat. 3/20 10:31 AM

Sorry everyone, fansmanship slept in. This has been fun. Both Main’s and Loco’s brackets have gone to crap. Hopefully we can rally today and tomorrow to make things interesting, and avoid the embarrassment of dressing up as a drag queen at Farmers Market. My wife is evil. She is giggling just thinking about it.–Loco