Here we are it's tourney time once again. The talking heads have all screamed about who they think should have gotten in blah blah blah, if you are on the bubble and you don't get in it's your own fault for not forcing your way into the forefront of peoples minds. That being said, everyone loves a cinderella. Some of those last few teams in could make a run. Let's see who is the most likely to do so.

Ole Miss

 

They rebound and they score. They drew a wildly overrated Wisconsin team in round one. Now Wisconsin has shown they can hang with the best of the Big Ten, by playing defense and hitting the glass. But they can't score. When up against a team that can keep them off the glass Wisconsin is going to struggle to get buckets. Ole Miss is going to look like the better team in this game trust me. The problem with Ole Miss making a run is that they run into a Kansas State team that just matches up very well with them. But look for them to pull off the 12-5 upset in the first round, over Wisconsin.

 

South Dakota State

 

Nate Wolters. He is the reason to back the Jack Rabbits from South Dakota. I have heard him compared to Steve Nash, now I wouldn't go that far but he is facing off against the nations most overrated player Trey Burke. I don't care that the game is in Michigan. I don't care that they have more talent and that they are deeper. Nate Wolters is going to abuse Trey Burke so bad that his draft stock will fall. When you take him out of the game that leaves a possibly hobbled Hardaway and then a team full of guys that don't want to step up. Michigan is going nowhere because they don't have any leadership, Nate Wolters is just going to broadcast that to the world.

 

If beating Michigan in Michigan wasn't enough for you, the Jack Rabbits will probably draw VCU in the second round, a team that thrives on teams that don't have good point guards...enter Nate Wolters. This VCU team is nothing compared to the past VCU teams. The VCU teams of the past would blow this current edition out of the water. There just isn't much havoc and that's not going to change when playing a great ball handler.

VCU

 

I know I already made the case for Nate Wolters but hear me out. If Michigan gets hot or some of their bench players actually step up and the home crowd carries them to a win in round one then VCU will be licking their chops. That would mean they would get Trey Burke. Then they would get Kansas a team without a point guard, and into the Elite 8 they go.

 

Butler

Everything I said about VCU in the Jack Rabbits paragraph goes for the Bulldogs. They have a great coach but they don't seem to have the talent this year to get the job done like years past. Butler was firmly inside the top 10 before they started playing worse than the Charlotte Bobcats. Everything has gone wrong down the stretch. But with coach Brad Stevens and a worst case scenario of a Bucknell, Marquette opening weekend, the Sweet 16 doesn't sound so farfetched.

 

I don't mean to sound like Marquette is a pushover, they are a three seed for a reason. They have heart, they have proven that they won't quit, they just can't shoot. If they fall behind they are in trouble, and their offense really relies on Vander Blue getting hot.

 

Minnesota

 

Partially a product of a great draw, since they got UCLA in round 1 who just lost their best player. But in addition to that they have Tubby Smith, a tourney proven coach that has earned his way back in. The Golden Gophers were a top 5 team earlier in the year before the wheels started falling off. Tubby is good enough to get these guys focused for the tournament, especially when you can get the ball rolling over UCLA. Then toss in they would most likely play one of the most overrated teams around, Florida. They could be poised to make a sweet 16 run.

 

mlz

Monday, March 18, 2013