Beyond the Ball

In an interview with CBS Sports, the SEC conference chairman noted that NCAA basketball selections were founded on a big picture approach to evaluating teams. They look beyond what the media announcers dubb the "power teams" (UNC, UCLA, Perdue, etc.) and instead consider a number of other factors that go into determining what makes a great team. He mentioned not only the skill of each team's players but also their willingness to compete against higher ranked teams. For some schools that means enduring strenuous travel schedules. The opposing teams they're out to meet often aren't the ones who anything to lose and so will often refuse to travel to the campuses of lower ranked teams because they don't have to. There is fairness in the team selection process that wasn't clear before, and I find it refreshing to know the process is based on a logical, weighted system. It isn't just about the number of games a team happens to win; it's also about the games' level of difficulty.

That said, I give more value to the selection of the final 65 teams that have made it to the NCAA tournament. Just being there validates the practices, plays, and sacrifices each student athlete has made, regardless of whether his team wins in the end. It is a matter of distinction.

Now I must make my picks. Several of my favorite schools have made it to the tournament, and most of these are relative surprises. They're going against highly favored teams, and their wins would be what most announcers would call upsets. I'm going to call the games as I'd like them to go anyhow. Not as the experts say they will, but as I hope the outcomes will be.


Midwest
Ohio vs. Sienna = Ohio
Utah vs. Arizona = Utah
Wake Forest vs. Cleveland = Wake Forest
WVA vs. Dayton = Dayton
Kansas vs. N. Dakota = Kansas
Boston College vs. Southern Cal = Southern Cal
Michigan State vs. Robert Morris = Michigan State

West
UConn vs. Tennessee = UConn
BYU vs. Texas A M = BYU
Purdue vs. N. Iowa = Purdue
Washington vs. Mississippi = Mississippi
Marquette vs. Utah = Marquette
Missouri vs. Cornell = Missouri
California vs. Maryland = Maryland
Memphis vs. CS Northridge = Memphis

East
UPitt vs. E. Tenn = UPitt
OK State vs. TN = TN
FL vs. WI = WI
Xavier vs. Portland = Xavier
UCLA vs. VCU = UCLA
Villinova vs. American = American
TX vs. MN = TX
Duke vs. Binghamton = Duke


South
UNC vs. Radford = UNC
LSU vs. Butler = LSU
Illinois vs. Western KY = Illinois
Gonzaga vs. Akron = Gonzaga
Arizona vs. Temple = Temple
Syracuse vs. S F Austin = Syracuse
Clemson vs. MI = MI
OK vs. Morgan State = Morgan State