Get Even More Visitors To Your Blog, Upgrade To A Business Listing >>

How Sweet It Is!

This year has brought a whole new meaning to the word "madness" in terms of the 2014 NCAA tournament. First, let's start with the bad news:

  • If you did a bracket... chances are it's a mess.
  • If you wanted to win $1 billion... you won't. (Nobody's perfect, after all.)
Now, let's move onto the good news:
  • If you are Warren Buffett... you don't have to pay someone $1 billion.
  • If you are a fan of basketball... it's time for the Sweet 16 aka things are about to get REAL.
A lot of big name teams are out - Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, Kansas, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Villanova, Cincinnati. Some smaller name teams are out, too. But these guys had high aspirations - Wichita State, Creighton, and VCU. 

Some teams just keep on winning - I'm looking at U... Dayton. (See what I did there?)

The most exciting part of the tournament from an Upset perspective is the round of 64. You see those surprises such as Duke getting upset by Mercer or North Dakota State upsetting Oklahoma. And I must shout out my UAlbany Great Danes who gave Florida a run for it and did the America East proud! The cool thing about college basketball these days is the parity. What you have with a team like Mercer is a team of seniors who have been playing together now for four years, who have learned as a team, played as a team, and grown as a team. Take a starting five of 21-22 year-olds and pin them up against a few 18 year-olds, and what do you get? An upset. That's one of the reasons why this tournament is great. 

The Round of 32 brought more upsets. We saw Dayton continue it's run and defeat Syracuse, who turned in a pitiful offensive performance that was, for all intents and purposes... offensive. We saw Kansas go down to #10 Stanford, and did anyone have Baylor defeating Creighton? The most heralded upset of the weekend game when Kentucky defeated #1 Wichita State, who was previously 35-0, now 35-1. Wildcats' fans are echoing the Giants 18-1 with their upset of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII with their website 35and1.com/. 

So I've decided to provide my very own Power Rankings for the remaining 16 teams - in reverse order. 


16. Stanford
Stanford beat Kansas and was able to hold Andrew Wiggins to only 4 points. That's how you win a game! However, I saw a stat that said they were 0 for 9 from three. Shooting like that won't win you more games. They also struggle with guard play, and could prove to be turnover prone against some of the better defensive teams. 

15. Dayton
Two stunning upsets. I will refrain from any Cinderella puns, though it pains me to do so. They just don't have the same talent as everyone else, which is why they are down here. Period. Can they continue their run? Well, they are playing Stanford, so who knows? They will battle it out for a date with either UCLA or Florida. 

14. Baylor
Baylor shut down one of the top scorers in the country - Doug McDermott - who put up numbers that rivalled little known guys such as Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson. Isiah Austin is a monster in the lane that helps anchor the Bears defense. Streaking teams usually get a lot of love from me, but they Bears stay here at #14 because I think Wisconsin can take them. 

13. San Diego State
SDSU plays great defense. They have that in their favor, but they have to face Arizona, so that will definitely test that defense. 

12. UConn
The Huskies had an Old Big East rematch against Villanova and won it. Shabazz Napier is awesome, but is he healthy? I saw that he might have hurt his lower leg, and I feel like UConn goes as he goes. 

11. Tennessee
Tennesee was a "bubble team" that has proved that they belong. They have NBA talent in McRae, and he has some help with Stokes and Josh Richardson. Can they beat Michigan? If they play their defensive game, then I think so. They are a veteran team, which I think helps their cause a lot. 

10. Iowa State
ISU lost Georges Niang, but as I heard on Sports Center, ask Louisville about what happens after losing someone for the rest of the tournament... I think they will get passed UConn, but that's about it. 

9. Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a talented team, no doubt. They showed a lot of grit coming back to defeat Oregon. But, I look at Baylor as a team riding high off of an upset and wonder how they will do against Baylor. Their big men are good shooters, though, which creates problems for opposing defenses. 

8. Michigan
They have experience, after making the title game last year. I also think that with Duke losing, things look a little easier for Michigan. However, I also think that Tennessee could be a tough matchup for them because of their front court defense. Michigan looked good against Texas, though, and they are in the Top 10 because of their great shooting versus the Longhorns. 

7. UCLA 
I am putting UCLA this high because they are on a roll. I am a big proponent of streaking teams going far into tournaments. This applies to baseball and it applies to college hoops as well. The Bruins won the Pac 12, and they can score a lot of points and shoot a high percentage from the field. Have they met their match against Florida? We'll see. 

6. Virginia
Seems like there is no love for UVA. Virginia wants a low scoring game so that they can control the tempo and win. I couldn't ask for a better game than MSU vs. UVA in the Sweet 16. If the score is under 50 as the game nears the conclusion, then they have a shot. 

5. Kentucky
I love the fact that Kentucky and Louisville will face each other in the Sweet 16. The team was highly touted at the beginning of the season, but soon fell off. However, they looked good against Wichita State. Which Kentucky will show up - that team or the one that lost to South Carolina? Calipari has owned Pitino, winning 5 of their last 6 meetings. Who will win the 7th?

4. Louisville
Rick Pitino's team never lets me down in the tournament. Luke Hancock is showing that he is valuable in the clutch, like last year, and Russ Smith is still there too. Syracuse is a prime example of "It's not how you start, but how you finish." Louisville ended the season hot, and they can win pretty or they can win ugly. 

3. Arizona
Arizona lost Brandon Ashley earlier on, which they have bounced back from. I didn't think they were deserving of a #1, but they have proved me wrong.  It their game against SDSU turns into a track meet, then the game could get ugly. But SDSU is one of the better defensive teams left. 

2. Florida
Everybody's favorite, and the Gators are streaking. Billy Donovan has won a few titles recently, and the team is led by the SEC player of the year. What makes Florida good is that they can close games, as shown against Kentucky in the SEC Championship game. 

1. Michigan State
Tom Izzo has not won an NCAA title since 2000. His teams are always up there, but the difference this year, is that no one was talking about them. They should be, but I am sure that they like flying in under the radar. Sparty has been injured for most of this year, and now they are healthy. They are number one right now because they are playing at a high level. If they can get past UVA then look out!








This post first appeared on "Caitlin Says", please read the originial post: here

Share the post

How Sweet It Is!

×

Subscribe to "caitlin Says"

Get updates delivered right to your inbox!

Thank you for your subscription

×