I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK

First of all it's been over a year since I started this blog, and almost a year since I last wrote something. A lot has happened in the basketball world since then; including: the Big 3 formation in Miami, Melo and Amare teaming up in New York, and Derrick Rose leading a team of seemingly nobodies to a possible top seed in the East.

So let's get back to it...

Eazy Buckets Will Return On Monday

Sorry I've been busy!

My championship pick is #2 West Virginia vs #5 Michigan State.

I actually had West VA in the championship game from the beginning, but it would not surprise me if both Butler and Duke won. I've been wrong so many times during this tournament.

Interesting Note: Georgetown played 3 out of the Final Four teams, and could not beat West VA in any of the matchups.

South Region Sweet 16 Predictions

Game #1 #3 Baylor (27-7) vs. #10 St Mary's (28-5)March 26 -- 7:27 PM

St. Mary's Omar Samhan has been putting up big time numbers so far in the tourney, 305 ppg and 9.5 rpg. Let's be real though! He did it against teams with no real big man, and Baylor has about 3 or 4 of those.

Baylor is the second tallest team in the nation, and that height will make Samhan look very average tonight. If he has a big game again, then St. Mary's will win because it will mean that Baylor bigs got into foul trouble.

LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety Carter may be too athletic and good for St. Mary's guards, and they don't shy away from taking the ball to the hole. If St. Mary's guards can stay in front of Carter and Dunn, then there is a chance for St. Mary's.

I'm going with Baylor in this game. I picked them to go to the Final Four in the beginning and it looks like it will happen.

Game #1 #1 Duke (31-5) vs. #4 Purdue (29-5)March 26 -- 9:57 PM

It's amazing to me that Purdue made it this far without Robbie Hummel. I actually thought they would lose the first round against Siena, but I sure was wrong. Purdue still has E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson around, and they have both provided Purdue with reliable scoring.

Chris Kramer of Purdue was the 2nd round hero, as he surprised America and decided to take the ball to the hole to win the game instead of shooting the open jumper. Purdue has said that they will put 6'3 Kramer on 6'8 Kyle Singler of Duke. With that height difference it will be interesting to see how that works out.

Duke honestly only has three real options with Singler, Jon Scheyer, and Nolan Smith. So, if Purdue can eliminate one of those three then they can win the game. Both teams want to play the game at a slow pace, so if Purdue speeds Duke up and gets them out of their sets then they can win.

I actually like Purdue in this game, because of Moore on the perimeter and Johnson inside. This should be a VERY boring game, but aren't all Duke games boring?

Midwest Region Sweet 16 Predictions

Game #1 #2 Ohio State (29-7) vs. #6 Tennessee (27-8)March 26 -- 7:07 PM

Ohio State is as balanced as a team could get, but they only go 6 deep. Evan Turner, aka Penny Hardaway 2.0, will have a tough time on the offensive side of the ball with Tennessee's J.P. Prince guarding him. Prince matches Turner's length and athleticism, and if Prince can lock up Turner then the Volunteers have a real chance of winning. Turner was horrible in the 2nd round with turnovers, as he had 9.

Like Prince, Ohio State's David Lighty will have a tough assignment in Tennessee's Scotty Hopson. Lighty is a shutdown defender, and if he can take Hopson out of the game then Tennessee will be forced to find another option on their thin roster.

This Tennessee team knows their roles and how to play them, and have rebounded well after losing soon-to-be NBA Draft lottery pick Tyler Smith. They have shown the capabilities to win against a better team, as they've beaten two #1 seeds in Kansas and Kentucky.

With that said I'm a little hesitant to take Tennessee in this matchup, because Ohio State wins the matchup battle and they'll have the best player on the court.

I'm going to say Ohio State in a close game.


Game #2 #5 Michigan State (26-8) vs. #9 Northern Iowa (30-4)March 26 -- 9:27 PM

Yeah, yeah they beat Kansas. Honestly, what I saw last Saturday was uninspired basketball from Kansas. They played like they expected to win, similar to Syracuse last night. Michigan State will not come into this game sleeping on Northern Iowa, and I'm sure by now they're sick of the way the media is overrating them.

Northern Iowa got by the first two rounds because of Ali Farokhmanesh's three pointers. First round he hit one with 4 seconds left to win and against Kansas he hit one with 34 seconds left to seal the deals. This team seems to live and die by the three, and that's not always good as we saw Cornell die by the 3 last night against Kentucky.

Michigan State will be without their heart and soul of the team, point guard Kalin Lucas. The Lucas loss will be huge for them as they move forward in the tournament. His backup, Korie Lucious, is not as good as him at distributing the basketball. The loss will hurt Michigan State in the next round, but not tonight. I think they had enough time to prepare for Northern Iowa without Lucas so they will be fine tonight.

I'm calling for an all Big Ten Elite 8, as I predicted from the start.

Gilbert Arenas Gets 30 Days In A Halfway House

Gilbert Arenas avoided the suggested 3 months in jail, but did not get off free as he was sentenced to 30 days in a halfway house.

Arenas will also have to complete 400 hours of community service and he has to pay a $5,000 fine.

The Washington Wizards are still trying to void the remaining money on his six year, $111 million contract.

It's still hilarious to me that Arenas left the three guns by Javaris Crittenton's locker with a sign saying, "Pick One."