The tradition continues as Radio Edit will once again be participating in ESPN's Tournament Challenge (ESPN needs the link). If you are reading this, then you are most likely in the group, however if you are not, feel free to comment for the password. My first try at picks have already been submitted, and while I would love to document my significant insight here, it will have to wait until the brackets are final. However, here are a few quick remarks.
I'm a homer for two teams in the tournament, so hopefully this will be the year it pays off. When the brackets came out and the predictions held true that Charlotte could play St. Joseph in the second round, I literally screamed for joy. I'm actually more worried about Texas Tech than St. Joe's, but Knight's recent tournament resume has been less than impressive. Let's see how Jameer Nelson does against a Demon!
I'm quite shocked that Duke and North Carolina are in the same region. If it's not an unwritten rule, than they should write it down that the two should never be in the same side of the bracket and thereby taking away the possibility for the greatest final of all-time.
It looks like a trip down memory lane for Duke.
2nd round: Seton Hall (lost in '89 final four) or Arizona (beat for '01 National Championship)
Sweet Sixteen: Cincinatti (blemish of '99 regular season) or Illinois (played alot recently)
Elite Eight: North Carolina / Texas (beat like a drum on a netural court earlier this year) / Louisville (lost '86 championship) - though I don't think any of the 3 will make it
Final Four: UConn (lost '99 Championship) - Good job selection committe of putting the two best teams in the same side of the bracket!
Championship: Kentucky (on the positive side, Lattener in the regional final, on the negative side the 1998 regional final collapse)
Possibility of UConn vs. NC State in the Sweet Sixteen, which was one of the best games of the 2002 tournament.
Btw, if there is a better resource let me know, but this person has a collection of the brackets since '97 (look at the bottom for the other years).
For final four results, I'll save you a few clicks and give you the direct link.
Names have been omitted:
The toughest path to the Sweet Sixteen is for ________. If somehow they manage to get past ________, who plays a _________ style of basketball, they will then have to get past ________, who is the namesake of the _________ style of basketball. I also believe, correct me if I'm wrong, that ________ has lost to _________ and their _________ style of basketball in previous tournaments. Also, the ________ players are too dumb to know what to do against the ________ style of basketball. That's why I'd predict ________ or ________ will win.
Of course, the most notable tournament tidbit of ________ and the _________ style of basketball was when they were a 16th seed and lost to top-seeded __________ by only one point.
- ____________
Posted by: maggette at March 15, 2004 06:14 PMWhy, oh why did I pick Charlotte to win their first round game? They may have been the worst team I've ever seen... they have a guy nicknamed "butterfingers" for god's sake!
Posted by: Dave at March 18, 2004 11:21 PM