Purdue was once considered a lock as a #1 seed, but an injury to Robbie Hummel ended any chance of that. Their situation is comparable to Cincinatti’s situation when Kenyon Martin got hurt right before the 2000 Tournament. A key injury added to the fact that Siena has won a tournament game each of the last two seasons makes this one of the few times that #13 may be favored over #4. For Purdue, this game allows JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore to finally get a chance to show the nation what they can do without Hummel around hogging the spotlight. This game should be one of the most entertaining back and forth games of the first round. I’m calling for Siena’s streak of NCAA wins to continue this year!
Duke has the easiest path to the Final Four out of all the #1 seeds in the Tournament, but they are also the weakest #1 seed. In my opinion, Duke is not better than any of the #2 & #3 seeds! They benefited from playing in a WEAK ACC this season, and they were rewarded for it for some reason. Duke’s lack of athleticism makes them an upset waiting to happen, BUT two things Duke does very good are shooting 3’s and playing defense. They also have Coach K, who is easily the best coach in the college game (I still don’t get why he won’t go to the NBA!). Louisville has already beaten Syracuse twice this season, but they put on a bad display in the Big East Tournament as they were OWNED on the boards by Cincinnati. If Louisville comes out with the same energy as they did against Syracuse, then they are very capable of pulling off this upset BUT if they don’t then they may not even make it to play Duke. I honestly would not consider a Louisville win over Duke that big of an upset, but looking at seeding it is.
Utah State is one of the best defensive teams in the tournament, as they hold their opponents to 40.4% shooting. Texas A&M is a scrappy team that finds ways to win games. It is hard picking a winner of this game, and the best way to do so is probably simply picking names out of a hat.
Baylor is only 7-years removed from one of the biggest scandals in college basketball history, as then player Patrick Dennehy was murdered by his Baylor teammate Carlton Dotson. Back in those days Baylor was the joke of the Big 12, and it looked like the program would never get any better. Now in 2010 I have Baylor making the Final Four. It’s simple the bracket is set up perfectly for Baylor to make the Final Four run, as they are in the easiest bracket in the tourney. They are a balanced team as they score inside and out, with guards Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn scoring from the outside and big man Ekope Udoh scoring inside. They can potentially cause a matchup problem for Villanova because of their size inside. Prior to Selection Sunday I would have never thought that Baylor had any chance of making the Final Four but that all has changed.
Add talent and experience together and you should get a player that equals to Alex Franklin. Franklin has the numbers (16.3 and 8 rpg) and the experience (2 NCAA Tourney appearances with 2 wins) to help Siena make an impressive run in the tournament. He won’t blow you away with freakish athleticism, but he is the type of player everybody would love playing with. He knows his role to help the team be successful and doesn’t try to do anything more outside of that. When he doesn’t show up it is very hard for Siena to win a game.
I knew this kid would be special after seeing him go 10-10 from 3’s in an AAU game as a sophomore in high school while playing on the Elite Boo Williams AAU team (one of the top AAU teams in the nation). This kid is amazing and is the definition of a scorer, but unlike previous years he has shown the ability to get other players involved in the game. He’s a shooting guard in a point guard’s body. This is a guy that will make a team pay for leaving him open. His numbers are: 18.5 ppg, 3.3 apg, 2.7 rpg, and 1.5 spg. He is everything you want your senior leader to be!
Yeah, I know you’re laughing at me right now and I don’t blame you! I actually laughed at myself when I finished filling out the bracket and saw this matchup, but hey the best part about the tournament are surprise matchups that no one expected. Once again, this is the easiest bracket therefore it is the hardest bracket to pick. I would of never guessed a year after Louisville lost both Terrance Williams & Earl Clark (two 2009 lottery picks) to the NBA that they would be in position to go to the Final Four. I see Baylor winning this game but anything is possible once teams are in the Elite 8. I highly doubt this matchup will hold true, but hey it wouldn’t be the first time I was wrong about the NCAA Tournament!
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