I figured that after my poorly-called Super Bowl XL prediction I needed to write about something that is a little bit closer to my own heart-college basketball. It is safe to assume that if the good Lord came down today and told me that I could work for ESPN and could only cover college basketball or be thrown into a lake of fire for all eternity, I would take the first.With conference schedules getting down to the wire, the cloudy mess that is the college basketball landscape starts to become clearer as wins and losses start to accumulate.
The women’s tournament is shaping up to have another year of astounding finishes and close games, defining teams and their coaches. Right now Duke is No. 1 in the nation followed by LSU, North Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, Ohio State, Rutgers, Connecticut, Oklahoma and Purdue.
Competing for the conference championships in a few of the major powerhouses will be Duke and UNC in the ACC, Rutgers and Connecticut in the Big East, Ohio State and Purdue in the Big Ten and LSU and Tennessee in the SEC. Duke, Connecticut, Ohio State and LSU will take the titles.
Barring any upsets, although there will be many, the four teams I just mentioned will be top four seeds for the national tournament. All four will not make the finals, but my women’s final four will be Duke, UNC, LSU and Connecticut. Watch out, though, for upsets by Rutgers, Baylor and Georgia.
Ultimately, I would like LSU to win the title outright. I do not think there is any way that Pokey Chatman’s Lady Tigers will be denied another shot at winning a national title.
The men’s tournament is a horse of a different color and almost impossible to predict, but with my flawless accuracy I will do my best. Wait, I had better rephrase that; I know I will be hearing about it from about 50 people on campus tomorrow morning.
The Big East is proving to be the best conference in all of America, with No. 1 ranked team UConn, Villanova, West Virginia, Pitt, Georgetown and BC all in the top 20.
Duke, Memphis, UConn and Villanova, as long as they make the Big East Championship, will be the top four seeds in the tourney.
Teams like Gonzaga, Texas, Florida and Pitt will make some serious noise in the tournament, and look for the lower seeded teams like LSU, Georgetown and Washington to also shine in the spotlight.
In the end it will come down to Duke, UConn, Gonzaga and Memphis in the final four. As much as I would love to say that our Colonels would win the whole thing, I believe coach J.P. Piper would rather me hold off on such boastful statements. Duke will win the title and give Coach K the fourth ring of his career.
I know that there are at least two people on campus who will agree with my pick, and if you ask me, those are two more readers than what I had when I was writing this, so I can’t complain.
I know that I will be spot on or horribly off with these predictions, so if I am wrong and you see me around, I will be more than happy to talk about it, but if I am right expect a parade down Audubon in early April.
