Well basketball fans, it is that time once again. The madness is here and this year’s tournament promises to be a great one. It seems like a month ago Michigan State defeated Florida to take home last year’s national championship. But this year’s tournament is anyone’s for the taking and could possibly be more entertaining than last year’s. The top seeds feature overrated Duke, Illinois, Stanford and last year’s champion, Michigan State.
The first round of the tournament starts this Thursday and concludes this Friday. The games to watch are the eight-nine games. These could be the closest and the most entertaining. Certainly look for the number one seeds to advance. However, Duke could run into some trouble along the way. They have already lost Carlos Boozer and Jason Williams. If Williams cannot play during the tournament, then Duke better prepare themselves for a possible early exit. Illinois has had a very solid season and should hopefully go deep because they have a great coach in Bill Self. And keep in mind this in Self’s first season as head coach at Illinois and he has already guided them to a number one seed. Check out the South bracket. See any familiar teams who might have played one another in a pretty significant game last year? That’s right, last year’s final two teams could square off again in a bit of a re-match. That would be the game to see. But Florida has a problem. They might have to beat North Carolina before they have any dreams of knocking off Michigan State. Three teams in the East to watch are Duke, much-improved Boston College and Kentucky. All three won their conference championships and if one plays the other, get ready for a serious war. The West has some great teams. Stanford is the top seed and could take the region. The St. Joseph’s Hawks will have an interesting first-round game. And keep an eye on Indiana and Maryland. Especially Indiana, because they have been playing very well as of late.
Locally, the only teams who will be doing some dancing this March are the Atlantic 10 tournament champions, the Temple Owls and the Atlantic 10 regular season champions, the St. Joseph’s Hawks. Temple is on a roll as of late, defeating George Washington and Umass to win the A-10 tournament and receive their automatic bid. The Hawks had a bit a disappointing end to their season losing two out of three including an A-10 tournament semi-final loss to Umass. But for both teams this is a new season. However, Temple could run into some trouble because they have no bench whatsoever. But no one wants to play that smothering defense of John Chaney’s. The Hawks will have an interesting game with Georgia Tech, who is coached by former Villanova assistant Paul Hewitt. But if they get past the Yellow Jackets, they will more than likely have to face Stanford. But fear not, because one of the country’s best backcourts will return next year.
All 65 teams are 0-0 and will look to go 6-0 over the next few weeks. The brackets are done and now fans can get their office pools together and enjoy the best basketball of the year. Who will win is anyone’s guess. The tournament is wide open and the madness starts Thursday. How far will the number one seeds go? How far will Temple and St. Joseph’s go? The road to the Final Four starts Thursday. Get ready.
