The Sweet 16 will commence tonight with four games and although I am immensly unqualified to predict anything …
I figure we should start out West, because that’s the only regional that definitely won’t be won by a No. 1 seed. Perennial chokers Cincinnati lost to the UCLA “We’re really much better than a No. 8 seed” Bruins, who were a preseason top-five team, then fell off the face of the earth as quickly as Dana Carvey’s career.
Interestingly, UCLA faces another bunch of underachievers in Quinn Synder’s Missouri Tigers, a team ranked top-ten in the preseason who fell to a No. 12 seed, thanks in large part to a record of about 0-78 on ESPN. UCLA is a better team, and senior center Dan Gadzuric is finally finding his game … about three years too late. They should make the Elite Eight.
Their opponent there will be the Arizona Wildcats and I say this because the Oklahoma Sooners, their opponent, are really not as good as everyone thinks.
When the brackets came out and Oklahoma was a No. 2 to Cincy’s No. 1, everyone here on the Hilltop was complaining. I’d really like to know when 75 percent of Georgetown became Big 12 denizens?y’all picking up DirecTV or some nonsense at your lavish Burleith homes? Oklahoma isn’t that good, and hasn’t even clicked yet this tournament. Lute Olson is a beast as a coaching force, and he will guide ‘Zona to another Elite Eight, in an all Pac-10 game.
In the East, Maryland will maul Kentucky, and UConn will do the same to Southern Illinois. Even though he is our Big East rival, you need to feel bad for Jim Calhoun?his first-round site was D.C., where Hoya fans hate him; and for the regional they send him to Syracuse, where his team is even more hated. Apparently 611 career victories doesn’t get you so much anymore.
In the South, ummm, Duke. They will rock Indiana to the absolute core of their being, and proceed to do the same to Kent St. You must think I’m crazy, calling KSU over Pittsburgh. Well, here’s my reason: Pittsburgh is exactly like Georgetown was last year: creampuff non-conference schedule, followed by surprising Big East run fueled by coaching upswing and good team unity. In other words, expect them to decline the 2003 NIT. Georgetown only got to the Sweet 16, and they will too. It’s too perfect.
In the Midwest, the question of the entire weekend is: Can Kansas beat Illinois? They almost choked huge against Holy Cross, but re-discovered their swagger against Stanford. Illinois bounced the Jayhawks last year, and Roy Williams hasn’t advanced to the Elite Eight since his point guard’s last name was “Jordan.” Hehe. Does anyone else remember Adonis Jordan?
In the other game, huge amounts of Georgetown students will try and analyze the Texas vs. Oregon matchup, knowing absolutely nothing about each team. The fact is, Oregon is better, but Texas is Big 12, and a Texas vs. Kansas regional final is a better match-up because Texas gave Kansas one of its biggest scares of the season.
Remaining Elite Eight predictions: Duke, Texas (because I trust Roy Williams even less than a frosh tapping a keg), Maryland and Arizona will all be headed to Atlanta, for Final Four 2002.
