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Another year, another abysmal performance by ol’ SwampSwami in the CBS Sports March Madness predictions.
Though I played high school basketball, I remain “O-for-Life” at predicting the men’s March Madness champion.
My chances for victory crashed last Thursday after the University of Houston lost to Illinois in the Sweet Sixteen round.
The same failed outcome happened for my pick (LSU) in the women’s bracket. Kim Mulkey’s Tigers lost to Duke on a last second 3-pointer in the Sweet 16 to sink my battleship in that competition.
CBSSports.com showed my men’s picks currently ranked a pitiful 1,138,732 (which must be somewhere near the bottom). My women’s selections have been slightly less embarrassing, but I am still ranked at a microscopic 477,876th overall.
Go ahead and laugh. I’m used to it.
Since my personal top selections are now vaporized, let’s take a closer look at the upcoming weekend of March Madness games.
But first…
I wanted to take a moment to agree with legendary UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma about some issues which he expressed concern about last week.
Beginning in 2023, the NCAA found a way to screw-up the women’s second weekend of Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games.
In the second weekend of men’s play, there are four regionals (East, South, Midwest, and West). Each region features four teams.
By contrast, the women’s second weekend featured just two regions with eight teams assigned to each site to play the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games.
Why did the NCAA do that to the women’s tournament? (Hint – $$$)
Connecticut women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma rightfully complained about logistics issues created by lumping eight teams together. His team was one of the eight assigned to “Region 1” in Fort Worth, Texas. The other eight teams in “Region 2” played in Sacramento, California.
In both cases, the city’s arena is needed to host two tournament games per day. That leaves the eight participating teams with odd practice times and inconsistent media times for the players and coaches. Some practices were conducted at the crack of dawn. Others happened in evening hours after the second game of the day concluded.
Coach Geno Auriemma told the assembled press last week, “You know what time our shoot-around was yesterday? 6:20 AM for just half an hour. Does anybody who makes these decisions ever ask the coaches and the players?”
The UConn coach then rolled off the poor 3-point shooting statistics for every team participating in last week’s 8-team Fort Worth regional.
He added, “They bring in new baskets and new basketballs right out of the box. We’ve got people dribbling the ball off their feet, missing layups all over the place! How many arenas are we going to sell out with that BS!”
He was blunt and made several valid points.
The eight teams in each of the two women’s regions had very little time to get familiar with the arena surroundings prior to playing in last Friday and Saturday’s games.
The only plausible reason for doing this is a cost savings decision by the NCAA. It is cheaper to lease two arenas than four like the men are utilizing during the tournament’s second weekend. The television production costs for ESPN are also lower with only two sites to broadcast from.
It’s doubtful that the NCAA home office in Indianapolis gave much (if any) thought to the logistical difficulties caused by bringing eight teams together to play over two days in the same facility. One report indicated that the NCAA will keep this format for another two years.
Good grief. How cheap can you get?
Now that we have that out of the way. Let’s review the women’s Final Four!
This year’s women’s semifinal and final games are being played in Phoenix. The same four finalists from last year (UConn, South Carolina, Texas, and UCLA) will return and try to win the title currently held by Connecticut.
This elite quartet won an incredible 95% of their games this season with a combined record of 143-7.
Semifinal #1 – 6PM CDT Friday on ESPN – Connecticut (38-0) vs. South Carolina (35-3)
Get your popcorn ready for this epic battle!
This is the women’s basketball version of pitting King Kong vs. Godzilla. These two teams have captured three of the last four national titles. UConn defeated South Carolina 82-59 in last year’s championship game, so the Gamecocks want payback.
Carolina has five players averaging in double figures led by All-American forward Joyce Edwards. She scores nearly 20 points per game.
Connecticut counters with two of the best players in the country. Forward Sarah Strong and guard Azzi Fudd are responsible for nearly 40 points per game this season for the Huskies.
Semifinal #2 – 8:30PM CDT Friday on ESPN – Texas (35-3) vs. UCLA (35-1)
Texas features ten players getting more than ten minutes of playing time every game. Forward Madison Booker leads the Longhorns with 19.3 points per game. UCLA’s veteran roster is led by center Lauren Betts (17 points per game) and elusive guard Kiki Rice (15 points ppg). Texas handed the Bruins their only loss of the season in a 76-65 win in late November. UCLA has won 25 straight games since that defeat and will be seeking revenge on Friday night.
Men’s Final Four – Scouting report
Unlike the four #1 seeds in the women’s Final Four, West region #1 Arizona and Midwest #1 Michigan are the only top seeds remaining in this weekend’s Final Four for the guys in Indianapolis.
Arizona’s last national title came in 1997, while Michigan’s “Fab Five” won the last title for Big Blue in 1989.
This Saturday evening’s nightcap between the Wildcats and Wolverines insures that there will be one top seeded team playing in Monday night’s championship game.
Fans of the East #1 seed Duke Blue Devils are still in shock this week. Duke surrendered a 19-point lead in a 73-72 loss at the buzzer to #2 seed Connecticut on Sunday afternoon. That other #1 seed was defending champion Florida. The South top seed lost in the second round to #9 Iowa by that same 73-72 score.
The UConn Huskies are riding a lot of momentum as they now seek their third national championship in the past four seasons.
Quietly, #3 seed Illinois has not advanced this far in the tournament since 2005 when they lost to North Carolina in the championship game. This season’s Fighting Illini basketball team is on a quest to bring home the school’s first men’s basketball title.
Saturday afternoon’s Men’s Final Four match-ups
Semifinal #1 – 5PM – TBS – South #3 seed Illinois (28-8) vs. East #2 Connecticut (33-5)
The Fighting Illini had lost three of its last five games heading into the NCAA March Madness tournament. Coach Brad Underwood’s team has tightened-up its defense during the tournament and has allowed less than 60 points per game. Illinois rings-up 84 points per game on offense with five double digit scorers in the starting line-up.
UConn has been led all season by the inspired play of senior center Taris Reed. He leads the team with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots per game. The Huskies proved their never-say-die mettle during Sunday’s 19-point comeback against #1 Duke. This team will hang tough until the final buzzer.
Semifinal #2 – 7:45PM – TBS – Midwest #1 Michigan (35-3) vs. West #1 Arizona (36-2)
Michigan won the Big Ten regular season title and was a perfect 11-0 on the road. Coach Dusty May’s Wolverines have scored 90 or more points in all four March Madness tournament games this year. Michigan features three players who have played at the center position in college. Getting a rebound has not been a problem for Big Blue this season.
Likewise, Big 12 champion Arizona has dominated teams by scoring from within the paint. The Wildcats’ outside shooting, though, has been suspect at times. Arizona was ranked #363 in the nation in three point shot attempts primarily because the team’s interior offense has been so effective all season.
Enjoy the games!