Dirty Picks March Madness Preview
THREE BOLD ASS TAKEZ ON THE TOURNEY!!!
Bobby Catz
1. Multiple high seeds will fall in the first round.
Eastern Washington will absolutely beat Georgetown in Portland! GTown is notoriously overrated year after year and its going to take a loss to a team like this to finally get that across to the selection committee. Throw in the fact that the Hoyas have to travel across the US and Eastern is a mere 5 hour drive down to Rip City. Georgia State will absolutely beat Baylor!!
G-State is a solid ass squad going against a very overrated (based on seeding) Baylor team. Plus State has Kevin Ware who is known for having the grossest injury ever on live TV which means he has to be due for some good luck right?? Give the man a bone already!! Oh....shit that was gross. State's gonna win though.
BUT THE GRANDDADDY UPSET OF THEM ALL!! Arizona will lose in the first round to Texas Southern!! Southern has already played a brutal schedule (and got rocked a bunch) that prepared them for the crucible that is the NCAA tournament. Throw in huge road wins against Michigan State (I know, its not much) and Kansas State and you have a team that is primed for the upset!! Throw some serious money on this one and show off to your friends because this one is gonna be a shocker!!
2. Gonzaga will make the championship game!!!
Sure this pick is biased as shit because I happen to be an alum of this prestigious institution (I have the credit score to prove it). But this is easily Few's best team ever and first legitimate team that could actually contend for a national championship. Sure other teams might have had higher potential draft picks and what not, but this one is tall, deep and very talented. Now all bets are off once they get in to the final, especially because most likely they will play Kentucky, but its a huge step for this program even making one. Zags are going to open up a few eyes this tourney, don't be surprised if they get a couple of lucky bounces along the way, this is a team of destiny. 3. NOT A single 12 seed will beat a 5!
This has become an annual tradition where as soon as the brackets are released people are picking what 12 seed (or seeds) will upset a 5 because it always happens right?? Well not this year. Sure people will try and sell you on Stephen F Austin beating Utah or maybe Buffalo over WVU gets your solider to half-salute? Well put it back in your pants because they ain't happening. This class of five seeds is appropriately rated, whereas all of the 12's would have trouble against 14's. Don't fall for the classic 5/12 trap this year because you will be bustin' a lot of brackets. For what feels like the first time in history, a 5 seed will not lose to a 12. Kentucky Will Not Win the Tournament
Mr. Nutz
By now most of you have filled out 10-100 brackets for the Men's NCAA Tournament and 0 for the women's tournament (you feel bad now don't you?). The biggest theme in college basketball this year has been Kentucky dominating the shit out of everyone. The Wildcats have technically dominated this season, but I think when you take a deep dive into this Kentucky team you can find some key weaknesses. Will Kentucky win this tournament? Probably, but that's not as fun and would never get on such scripted shows as First Take or WWE. So here are three reasons to bet against Kentucky in this year's tournament.
1. They don't have a tournament "star"
The beginning of each tournament is always carried by star players. Whether it be Jimmer Fredette, Kemba Walker, Steph Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Derrick Williams, Adreian Payne, or whatever future NBA player; the Cats don't have it! Do they have NBA players? Oh fuck yeah, absolutely. Towns is and Cauley-Stein will be top 10 picks, but they are not dominant stars! Can they block shots and rebound? Yeah! They're damn near 7 feet tall playing against a bunch of 19 year olds! What the fuck would you expect? Don't get me started on the Harrisons. They came alive last tournament to the surprise of yours truly, but they are not the typical bad ass Calipari-caliber guards we have grown to see. They are NBA role players AT BEST, and not the type of "take over the game " guards you need in a tournament. Kentucky may be unselfish and talented across the board, but they don't have an ultra talented player that will own a tournament moment and that's a big problem.
2. Too much pressure from all angles
They went all out during the season and kept their streak intact. This is a phenomenal feat in itself and should be applauded. The problem is, the pressure has been mounting for a while. They have shown weakness throughout the season and, to their credit, they were able to overcome it. The problem is, the tournament is a different animal! Teams are literally fighting for their basketball lives! Some of these dudes are going to graduate and start working at T-Mobile the next week! Everyone wants to be the team to beat Kentucky and they will throw every trick in the book at the Wildcats until they crack. By the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, the 'Tucky will be mentally and physically drained and vulnerable.
3. Their offense isn't good enough
So this one is probably the most offensive to Coach Cal and the 'Cats. They finished 29th in ppg at 74.9 this year which is not bad at all. The problem is, they don't have one thing they do at an elite level, nor do they have an elite scorer. Well, I guess they do have one thing going for them: Elite Size. Not sure if that is a thing or not, but it is really what they are best at. They are also 42nd in assists per game, probably due to the Harrison's lack of talent. They will probably put 120 on their first opponent, but when they get deeper in the tourney, shit's not going to be so easy. ESPECIALLY if teams pack the paint and hope for a bad shooting day.
