So we had one day of Madness in the “First 4” with two pretty good comeback wins from Western Kentucky and BYU to give us a pretty good sized dish of chicken wings as Madness Appetizers! (But ahhhh, I ordered the dry garlic ribs……shut up you got you’re comebacks!!)
Today should be no different with the other 2 play-in games: Cal vs. South Florida. Cal is a good team in a bum conference and South Florida is a mediocre team in a beast conference. Compelling match-up.
Oh and there’s the other play-in game for another 16th seed, which brings us to some Pat Knight karma, who coaches Lamar as they play Vermont. Check out his “tell-it-like-it-is” press conference a couple weeks back. J-Dawg was pretty pumped….it’s absolute gold for the first 4 minutes of the clip. Pat Knight kicks his player outta a news conference saying, “get outta here, you have no idea how to win!!!”…..ziiiinnnng! …..he goes on saying, “these guys are stealing money by being on scholarship”….now this is quality reality TV!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b72nc62XAcY
Like I said, some good dishes of appys.
But onto the Madness! Onto that one moment that’ll punch you in the face with unexpected comebacks….unexpected wins by surprising teams! Again, this IS tru reality TV….key word on REAL! Beat it producer driven shows like the Bachelor Geek choosing that phony stease!!!! I’ll take a game orchestrated by Pat Knight…..Tom Izzo…..and yes even Coach Sha-shaka-smart-is-coming-after-me-ski over a producer-driven “reality” show any day of the week.
The Insanity Crew is hittin the road in a couple hours, so lets get to the shot gun preview of the Favourites, Frauds and Darkhorses. Enjoy
FAVOURITES
NORTH CAROLINA
Everyone is aware of the top three forwards and point guard, Kendall Marshall. Some concerns are the health of John Henson and his wrist injury. There’s UNC’s somewhat susceptible defense, however improving. There’s Harrison Barnes occasional questionable shot selection at key moments of the game.
But there’s the rise of UNC freshmen, James Michael McAdoo and PJ Hairston. There’s Kendall Marshall’s finally looking for his own shots instead of the pass-only approach.
And there’s UNC incredible fast break that no one can contend with. They look like Kris Young, Alex Vieweg, Zara Huntley, Leigh Stansfield and Kristen Hughes running show on this side of the border! If Henson’s wrist is indeed healthy and not as limp as Bradley Thomas’ then the UNC is my team to go all the way. It’ll be a berve wracking run, but their bracket is quite favorable.
There’s alotta questions for UNC, but no one has their ingredients! NO ONE HAS THE INGREDIENTS LIKE THE UBC THUNDERBIRDS EITHER! Good luck Birds at Nationals in Calgary! Bring home that banner! Black on black!!!!!!
KENTUCKY WILDCATS
Again, the main scoop on Kentucky is in the first Top 4 seeds Insanity Report. Again the huge strength in Kentucky is their extremely talented team led by All-Adolph Player of the Year candidate, Anthony Davis. I challenge all of your potential Smack to veer off the obvious take regarding Davis’ uni-brow. Yes, it instantly grabs your attention, but when the guy can jump from the key and still block an effing 3-point shot, Davis can have a freaking upside down face ala Family Guy’s Jake Tucker!
Let’s see if super talented sophomore, Terence Jones can have his second ball to finally drop. This is a guy that came outta the blocks with great games as a freshman last year turning everyone’s head, then once the SEC schedule and Madness came around, he wilted like Lebron James in the 4th quarter. But Jones did show some stones in the SEC final finally going after it, despite their loss to Vanderbilt. If the second one finally drops, the Wildcats will be dangerous! If not, then the Wildcats are a prime target for a senior-laden team to out-physical them which shouldn’t happen until the Final 4 with whoever comes outta the West Region. (cough) Michigan State or Mizzou.
MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS
There’s Coach Tom Izzo and Forward, Draymond Green! Nuff’ said. Draymond Green is a dangerous yet undersized 6-6 post that gives teams fits with Izzo’s maestro-like game plans of hiding Green’s and the Spartans weaknesses (undersized frontcourt and lack of fast break) and highlighting their strengths (relentless rebounding and opportunistic points of turnovers)
Insanity Report Law #1 states: “Never bet against the Izzo….you don’t have to bet for him, but never bet against the Izzo!” No more true with this years Spartan team and especially their bracket match-ups.
SYRACUSE ORANGEMEN
The most stable favorite going into the Madness despite their early exit in the Big East Tourney this past weekend. They don’t have the questionable youthfulness of Kentucky or the injury questions of UNC.
The ‘Cuse have 3 veteran ballers in PG Scoop Jardine, Wing, Brandon Triche and Forward, Kris Joseph. Fab Melo is a huge huge presence in the paint, making Coach Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone even more deadlier then an Alex Vieweg jumper! The x-factor is their bench. The ‘Cuse have Forward, CJ Fair and Guard, Dion Waitors offering instant offense off the bench. However, their shot selection is predictable and they can be as cold as a Bradley Thomas jumper. Waiters can score at will, demonstrated by his 13 ppg (2nd on the team), but he is prone to bad turnovers at bad times and he is a liability on the top of the 2-3 zone.
……OH WAIT, Fab Melo was deemed ineligible for the Madness…….adjust those brackets if you must! Will Terry McKaig stick to his guns or fall victim to the sexy pick in Florida State or darkhorse pick in Ohio State! Well? T?
FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES
These guys were originally pegged into the Darkhorse section, but their resume and ingredients scream Madness favorite.
First off, they beat UNC twice and Duke twice in the same season! They have all the ingredients with huge size in the blocks with stingier defense than a Cav Whitely tip-calculator. They can rain 3’s consistently with rare droughts! They have all the ingredients highlighted by THE BEST defense in the nation.
They are officially the “sexy” pick to win the Madness, which at most times seems, too obvious, but the proof is in the pudding for Florida State who have been slowly building their team through 5-star and blue chips recruits. This could be their coming out party this month.
MISSOURI TIGERS
These guys sneak into the favorites column as well. They “sneak” in due to the their offensive make up with a 4 guard, 1 post offense! There is no size, but they have proven all year that they can get timely rebounds despite their size disadvantage. They have lost their games due to mismatches in the paint. But their bracket has no teams with such advantages, leading to a dream match up vs. Izzo and the Spartans who also have a great, yet undersized front court!
FRAUDS
PUKE POO DEVILS
Soft and slumping frontcourt in the Bumlee brothers. Plus softie forward Ryan Kelly is questionable with an injured foot. There is no true point guard with the failed experiment to convert super 3-pt shooter, Seth Curry to the point. And Austin Rivers is a solid solid freshmen, yet he jacks too many shots and tries to force Nolan Smith-like scoring spurts way too much. K-Smack made a good point in that Duke doesn’t have any other option but to have Rivers jack shots, but even if he does get hot, it won’t last past the first weekend.
Duke is susceptible to even a first round loss to #15 seed Lehigh as Duke has the WORST defense against the dribble drive leading to so many drive and dishes for easy lay-ups or open treys. This was evident all the way back in November and Duke has showed zero improvement in this weakness!
Lehigh has a scoring machine in CJ McCollum. Duke should still win, BUT if they are cold and McCollum gets hot, then we party like it’s 2007 when Duke was out in the first round to a buzzer beater from VCU!
LOUISVILLE (?)
I’m just saying, cuz Louisville’s entry to the Madness this year is just like last year’s Madness. They entered as the Big East Tourney champ and heavy favorite vs. an unknown. Then blam, Morehead State explodes onto the scene with a win and the best t-shirt this side of “I’m with stupid” t-shirts!
As much as I respect Coach Pitino’s coaching job this year, they are Big East tourney champs, and are going up against a relatively unknown Davidson squad. I fell for this last year in choosing Louisville to win, and go deep in last years Madness and it feels like history might repeat itself. I choose Davidson on the basis of ‘Fool me once (like last year), shame on Louisville, Fool me twice, shame on me’! Go Davidson!
FLORIDA GATORS
They have OK forwards, which I always under-rate, but they jack way too many treys still. Very few of those are in Kristin Highes-like rhythm. Plus they look like they’re facing a defensive juggernaut in Virginia in the 2nd round. So bye-bye Gator clamp!
SAINT LOUIS BILLIKENS
This year these guys would win a game in convincing fashion, which would make one think they’ll win easily the next time out, and almost like clockwork, they choke! Look for the same vs. Memphis. Plus what makes them, so special that they get the full spelling of “Saint” Louis and everything else is “St.” Louis!?!?!? Beat it Billikens!
WISCONSIN BADGERS
We love Wisconsin. Got much respect for the Badgers and Coach Bo Ryan, but just don’t feel the mojo from PG Jordan Taylor and this year’s Badger crew. However, Forward, Ryan Evans flat-top is a repeat winner of this year’s Chris Mullin Do-of-the Year.
MURRY STATE
Don’t trust their 30-1 record. Just ask T-Smack and the Commish!
DARKHORSES
GEORGETOWN HOYAS
Not many peeps are glossing over the Hoyas, but they are ferrrr real!
They are led by their Senior Center, Henry Sims who leads the team in freaking assists. Only Zara Huntley and Leigh Stansfield pass better off the high post and short corner then Henry does! This offensive set is so tough to stop as the ball goes through Sims on every possession with many looks. Sims will dish a high-low pass to Otto Porter from the elbow or pass outta double teams when he’s on the blocks. He can make timely hoops, making forcing the opponent to have to respeck his jumper.
GTown has typical John Thompson III blue-collar defense, but look for this year’s Madness to be the coming out party for Freshman forward, Otto Porter! He oozes offensive IQ like a young K-Smack, yet displays some defensive lapses like a young (and old) Dave Adolph. His timely hoops will overshadow the defensive lapses he has.
KANSAS JAYHAWKS
They have super forward Thomas Robinson and a mish-mash of solid role players. Trust in Coach Bill Self to pull off an Izzo-like performance for the Rock Chalk Jayhawks for a deep run, but their lack of a “Robin” to Thomas Robinson’s “Batman”, will be tough vs. Georgetown in the Sweet 16
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
The Buckeyes are only a darkhorse as they have had some untimely losses vs. great teams, which has led to them dipping under the radar. But they have all the ingredients in Center, Jared Sullinger, 3-pt specialist (yet, cold 3 point % this year), William Buford and PG Aaron Craft.
Look for an amazing match-up in the paint in the 2nd round with Gonzaga and Robert Sacre vs. Sullinger and the Truckeyes.
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
A lot of ingredients in Freshmen PG Trey Burke and wing, Tim Hardaway Jr. But little experience, that I feel will hinder them in the 2nd round or Sweet 16. This will be great building experience for John Beilien’s squad.
VANDERBILT COMMODORES
They had a very disappointing non-conference schedule with many bad losses, as well as bad start to their SEC conference sked this year. But the Commodores have used their senior laden line-up to dig themselves outta their huge hole to take the SEC Tourney title last weekend.
K-STATE WILDCATS
Any team that swept Missouri twice in one year can beat Syracuse in the 2nd round, especially with Fab Melo’s ineligibility.
LONG BEACH STATE 49ers
Chalk up one of the yearly 12 seed upsets to Long Beach this year as they have been preparing for this years Madness with the gauntlet of all gauntlet non-conference sked vs. Pitt, San Diego State, Louisville, Kansas, North Carolina, Xavier and K-State! Wow!
Plus look for Casper Ware to score at will like a Young Coach “Bear” Corness at the Bear Café in Cali, and James Ellis’ go-go gadget arms to get many a steal at the top of the Long Beach 2-3 zone.
BELMONT BRUINS
Before the bracket came out, we had Belmont pegged as a 14th seed dynamo upset pick, with their senior laden line-up with 2 years of great Madness experience…….until they were paired up vs. Georgetown in the first round. Sorry Belmont. Great run though!
That’s it.
Please allow this opportunity to congratulate Brent “Iron Dawg” Day and his beautiful wife Chantelle on the birth of their Madness Baby Boy!
Enjoy the Madness. Fill out those brackets and bring the Smack!
Yours in Madness,
Commissioner Adolph
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