| Bracket Land- 3/15/07 Every year, like so many others, I fill out a bracket. I am not one to fill out bracket after bracket outlining every variation I could possibly believe in. Too many brackets always meant too much to follow and the inevitable realization that my sure thing pick that I put in every bracket was not so sure after all. With only one bracket I tend to make it count. I’ve had a good track record of picking the right upsets. My early rounds tend to be largely successful. After that everything falls apart as brackets become more busted. The way I make my picks is through my insatiable thirst for information. I watch a lot of games, watch a lot of Sportscenter, watch a lot of PTI and read everything written about everyone. The prospect of filling in a bracket gives me an excuse and an outline for my knowledge acquisition so I can better enjoy what I love about March: the Madness. I like knowing who the players are, who is good, what they’re good at, which teams are dangerous and which are must see. The bracket becomes secondary and the games become everything. That being said when I fill in the bracket I use all my knowledge to do the best I can, to predict a likely future. Going in I tend to have a good idea of where my bracket is going, who is getting that first round upset, which Cinderella will reach the Sweet 16 and which number one seed is going out early. I know the ins and outs of most of the major players. This year is no different in terms of my knowledge and awareness of the big names, big schools and potential difference makers. Except I had no idea who I had winning before I started my bracket and even though I’ve now made my predictions I still have no idea how I feel about most of the teams in the field. Things are so wide open. Anything can happen this year, perhaps even more than usual, perhaps even more than last year when anything did happen. I don’t have confidence in any of the favorites. Then again I don’t have confidence in any of the fringe contenders either. Yet I don’t see many upsets. I also lack confidence in the underdogs. The result was a random wander through bracket land. I chose game by game, not really sure how I felt about any of my picks, relying on vague notions of who I thought was special. More than ever before I followed the seeds the committee handed out. Of course there were deviations because there always are when madness takes over. Wisconsin will go out in the second round to Georgia Tech. The CAA will send two teams, Old Dominion and VCU, to the Sweet Sixteen. The MVC will carry on with their success sending Creighton to the Sweet Sixteen. After that the top tier teams take over. Kevin Durant aka Texas will take down a strong Carolina team just because Durant is destined to do something truly special but he won’t get past a Georgetown team that is not only a team but also has a player. Jeff Green is no Kevin Durant but if someone can compete heads up it is probably him. Joining Georgetown in the final four is last year’s champs Florida who will face, and lose to, Kansas. Georgetown will take on Texas A&M and we’ll see Acie Law IV on the big stage. It is difficult to pick against someone who appears to have the magic but I just feel good about Georgetown. I love the coach. I love Jeff Green. I love 7-2 Roy Hibbert. I love that they seem to be a little under the radar even as a number two seed, even though they blew out Pitt in the Big East tournament. If Georgetown plays like they can Law might not even have a chance to work his magic. In the finals it will be Georgetown over Kansas. It should be a great game. These are my picks and as I talk about them I feel better about them. Still, it feels different, like I really have no idea, like I don’t know enough to make good choices. Staying so close to chalk isn’t my style but this year it seems to be the way to go. |
The Gospel of Luke
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