NCAA Basketball National Championship Game Live Blog

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NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Live Blog

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NCAA Tournament 3rd Round Live Blog

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NCAA Tournament 2nd Round Live Blog

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Tips for Picking Out Your Bracket

Ah March Madness has arrived. We're two weeks away from baseball and the NCAA men's basketball tournament starts on Thursday*. It's a sports haven. The one downside to this time of the year is that you have to hear about people's fantasy teams in baseball or their brackets. I hate those people because they're the idiots who think they're really cute for picking a mid major to make the Elite 8. They're idiots and you shouldn't listen to them. 

*The play-in games on Tuesday and Wednesday don't count in my eyes as actual tournament games. 

You should though listen to an idiot like me. Here are some tips for picking your brackets winners and losers. 

Pick teams that are in Ken Pomeroy's top 50 of adjusted defense and top 20 of adjusted offense: Teams that play defense and offense exceptionally well in college basketball are most likely the teams to advance far in the tournament. I would especially avoid teams that are almost all defense and little offense. Those teams usually stall out in the tournament and stall out early. Arizona is one of those teams with the number 1 defense but their offense is in the 30's. They're in that 20-50 range but that's a big gap between offensive and defensive efficiency. 

Avoid Steve Alford or Bo Ryan teams: There's just something about these guys where their teams freeze up in the tournament. Do you realize Ryan has only taken Wisconsin to the Elite 8 once and that was nine years ago? Do you realize Alford has only been to the Sweet 16 once and that was 15 years ago at Southwest Missouri State? That's not even the name of that school anymore. If you need another reason not to take their teams go back to the Ken Pomeroy's rankings and see where both of those schools sit defensively. Wisconsin has the best chance to go to the Elite 8 because the West region is hot garbage. UCLA can probably make it to the Sweet 16, but that's about as far as those teams will probably go. 

Sweet 16 Live Blog

NCAA Tournament 3rd Round Live Blog

KSJ NCAA Tournament 2nd Round Live Blog (Day 2)

Leave comments and don't be a troll. Here's the schedule. 

Tips for Filling Out Your Bracket

The college basketball season is officially over the NCAA tournament bracket has been officially filled. I'm not here to argue which team doesn't deserve to be in the tournament or what team got screwed. I'm here to give you advice on filling out your bracket. Filling out brackets is highly random scientific and has been researched for many years. I've done my own research and here are my tips for filling out a tournament bracket.

Always Bet On A 12th Seed Advancing: You always see experts saying that at least one 12 seed will advance to the 2nd 3rd round. And it's absolutely true. You see there's always a 12th seed that is underrated and a 5th seed that is overrated. Looking at the match ups this year, I would definitely bet on Wisconsin losing to Ole Miss. Wisconsin is one of those teams year in and year out that always loses in the 1st 2nd and 3rd rounds. I have a reason why I don't bet on Wisconsin. That's the next tip.

There Are Certain Coaches Who Shouldn't Be Trusted: Either a coach is just plain unlucky (Jamie Dixon) or they're just bad in-game coaches that get exposed in the tournament (Vanderbilt) but they make it every year. The coaches I don't trust this year are Bo Ryan (Wisconsin), Mark Few (Gonzaga), Steve Alford (New Mexico), whoever the Missouri coach is because that school is unlucky, and John Beilein (Michigan). I wouldn't bet on these teams making it into the Sweet 16.

There Are Coaches To Be Trusted: On the flip side, there are coaches who you can absolutely trust to at least advance to the Sweet 16. Tom Izzo is at the top of that list. Depending on the team, Coach K is there. Ditto for Bill Self. I trust Thad Matta in the west bracket than any other coach there.

There's Always An Upset In The 1st 2nd Round: There's always an upset, but it's never the team the "experts" say it is. A couple of years ago Belmont was all the rage and then they lost in the 2nd round. When you hear Bilas or Dickie V talking about a Belmont type of school, immediately bet against them and take a chance on another low seeded school. The way Florida's season ended, I would maybe take a chance on Northwestern State.

More Likely Than Not, Your Bracket Will Bust: There isn't a more random event than the NCAA tournament. Yeah there are years when the number 1 overall seed wins the tournament, but the rest of the teams make the tournament a complete crapshoot. What you know or what the experts know, it's probably wrong. You know nothing about the tournament because it's a single elimination tournament.

So enjoy the college basketball tournament and good luck with your bracket.

NCAA Tournament Live Blog Elite 8, Day 2

Window #1
Atlanta, GA:  #3 Baylor vs. #1 Kentucky  2:20 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, SR: Tracy Wolfson)

Window #2
St. Louis, MO:  #2 Kansas vs. #1 North Carolina  5:05 (CBS - Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, SR: Craig Sager)

NCAA Tournament Live Blog Elite 8, Day 1

Window #1
Phoenix, AZ:  #7 Florida vs. #4 Louisville  4:30 (CBS - Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, and Reggie Miller, SR: Marty Snider)

Window #2
Boston, MA:  #2 Ohio State vs. #1 Syracuse  7:05 (CBS - Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, SR: Lesley Visser)

NCAA Tournament Live Blog Sweet 16, Day 2

Window #1
Atlanta, GA:  #10 Xavier vs. #3 Baylor  7:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, SR: Tracy Wolfson)
St. Louis, MO:  #13 Ohio vs. #1 North Carolina  7:45 (TBS - Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, SR: Craig Sager)

Window #2
Atlanta, GA:  #4 Indiana vs. #1 Kentucky  approx. 9:45 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, SR: Tracy Wolfson)
St. Louis, MO:  #11 North Carolina State vs. #2 Kansas  approx. 10:17 (TBS - Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, SR: Craig Sager)

NCAA Tournament Live Blog Sweet 16, Day 1

Window #1
Boston, MA:  #4 Wisconsin vs. #1 Syracuse  7:15 (CBS - Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, SR: Lesley Visser)
Phoenix, AZ:  #4 Louisville vs. #1 Michigan State  7:47 (TBS - Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, and Reggie Miller, SR: Marty Snider)

Window #2
Boston, MA:  #6 Cincinnati vs. #2 Ohio State  approx. 9:45 (CBS - Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, SR: Lesley Visser)
Phoenix, AZ:  #7 Florida vs. #3 Marquette  approx. 10:17 (TBS - Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, and Reggie Miller, SR: Marty Snider)

NCAA Tournament Live Blog 3rd Round, Day 2

NCAA Tournament Live Blog 3rd Round, Day 1

NCAA Tournament Live Blog 2nd Round, Day 2

1st Window

Nashville, TN:  #11 Texas vs. #6 Cincinnati  12:15 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, SR: Lewis Johnson)

Columbus, OH:  #11 North Carolina State vs. #6 San Diego State  12:40 (truTV - Tim Brando and Mike Gminski, SR: Otis Livingston)

Greensboro, NC:  #9 Alabama vs. #8 Creighton  1:40 (TBS - Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, SR: Tracy Wolfson)

Omaha, NE:  #10 Virginia vs. #7 Florida  2:10 (TNT - Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, SR: Craig Sager)

2nd Window

Nashville, TN:  #14 Saint Bonaventure vs. #3 Florida State  approx. 2:45 (CBS - Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, SR: Lewis Johnson

Columbus, OH:  #14 Belmont vs. #3 Georgetown  approx. 3:10 (truTV - Tim Brando and Mike Gminski, SR: Otis Livingston)

Greensboro, NC:  #16 UVM vs. #1 North Carolina  approx. 4:10 (TBS - Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, SR: Tracy Wolfson)

Omaha, NE:  #15 Norfolk State vs. #2 Missouri  approx. 4:40 (TNT - Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, SR: Craig Sager)

3rd Window

Columbus, OH:  #9 Saint Louis vs. #8 Memphis  6:50 (TBS - Tim Brando and Mike Gminski, SR: Otis Livingston) 

Greensboro, NC:  #15 Lehigh vs. #2 Duke  7:15 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, SR: Tracy Wolfson)

Nashville, TN:  #13 Ohio vs. #4 Michigan  7:20 (TNT - Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, SR: Lewis Johnson)

Omaha, NE:  #10 Purdue vs. #7 Saint Mary's  7:25 (truTV - Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, SR: Craig Sager)

4th Window

Columbus, OH:  #16 LIU-Brooklyn vs. #1 Michigan State  approx. 9:20 (TBS - Tim Brando and Mike Gminski, SR: Otis Livingston)

Greensboro, NC:  #10 Xavier vs. #7 Notre Dame  approx. 9:45 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg, SR: Tracy Wolfson)

Nashville, TN:  #12 South Florida vs. #5 Temple  approx. 9:50 (TNT - Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, SR: Lewis Johnson)

Omaha, NE:  #15 Detroit vs. #2 Kansas  approx. 9:55 (truTV - Marv Albert and Steve Kerr, SR: Craig Sager

NCAA Tournament Live Blog, 2nd Round: Day 1

1st Window

Louisville, KY:  #11 Colorado State vs. #6 Murray State  12:15 (CBS - Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, SR: Lesley Visser)

Pittsburgh, PA:  #9 Southern Mississippi vs. #8 Kansas State  12:40 (truTV - Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, and Reggie Miller, SR: Marty Snider)

Portland, OR:  #13 Davidson vs. #4 Louisville  1:40 (TBS - Brian Anderson and Dan Bonner, SR: Jenn Hildreth)

Albuquerque, NM:  #13 Montana vs. #4 Wisconsin  2:10 (TNT - Spero Dedes and Bob Wenzel, SR: Jamie Maggio)

2nd Window

Louisville, KY:  #14 BYU vs. #3 Marquette approx. 2:45 (CBS - Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, SR: Lesley Visser)

Pittsburgh, PA:  #16 UNC-Asheville vs. #1 Syracuse  approx. 3:10 (truTV - Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, and Reggie Miller, SR: Marty Snider)

Portland, OR:  #12 Long Beach State vs. #5 New Mexico  approx. 4:10 (TBS - Brian Anderson and Dan Bonner, SR: Jenn Hildreth)

Albuquerque, NM:  #12 Harvard vs. #5 Wisconsin  approx. 4:40 (TNT - Spero Dedes and Wenzel, SR: Jamie Maggio)

3rd Window

Louisville, KY:  #16Western Kentucky vs. #1 Kentucky  6:50 (TBS - Verne Lundqist and Bill Raftery, SR: Lesley Visser)

Portland, OR:  #12 Virginia Commonwealth vs. #5 Wichita State  7:15 (CBS - Brian Anderson and Dan Bonner, SR: Jenn Hildreth)

Pittsburgh, PA: #10 West Virginia vs. #7 Gonzaga  7:20 (TNT - Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, and Reggie Miller, SR: Marty Snider)

Albuquerque, NM:  #14 South Dakota State vs. #3 Baylor  7:25 (truTV - Spero Dedes and Bob Wenzel, SR: Jamie Maggio)

4th Window

Louisville, KY:  #9 Connecticut vs. #8 Iowa State  approx. 9:20 (TBS - Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery,
SR: Lesley Visser)

Portland, OR:  #13 New Mexico State vs. ##4 Indiana  approx. 9:45 (CBS - Brian Anderson and Dan Bonner, SR: Jenn Hildreth)

Pittsburgh, PA:  #15 Loyola (MD) vs. #2 Ohio State  approx. 9:50 (TNT - Kevin Harlan, Len Elmore, and Reggie Miller, SR: Marty Snider)

Albuquerque, NM:  #11 Colorado vs. #6 UNLV  approx. 9:55 (truTV - Spero Dedes and Bob Wenzel, SR: Jamie Maggio)

NCAA Tournament Thoughts

(Once again a reminder that we'll live blog the entire NCAA tournament starting Tuesday with the First Four games.)

Confession: I love holding the bracket in my hands and looking over the first second round match ups and the potential sweet 16 and elite 8 match ups. I've had this obsession since I was a kid when I would cut out the bracket out of the local paper. Now I just go to a website and print out the bracket. I like doing this because I feel like I get a better grasp of what I'm reading if it's on paper compared to a TV or computer screen.

Another confession I must make is that I haven't followed college basketball as faithfully this season. With all the scandals, conference realignment, and arguments about if college players should be paid has took a toll on me. And all this conversation hit during the football season that left a black mark on me for the basketball season. So I basically didn't watch a ton of college basketball this year because I sorta lost my passion for college sports.

So the past 48 hours I've been trying to catch back up in college basketball. I watched conference tournaments, read tournament preview columns, and listened to the "experts" on ESPN and CBS. Here our my thoughts on the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

Trendy Picks: With more and more mid-majors reaching the elite 8 and final four in recent years, trendy mid-major picks by columnists and analysis have become more prevalent. You're going to hear about how person X really likes Murray State to advance to the elite 8. Here's the truth though, we have no clue what mid-major will advance.

The tournament is a complete crapshoot and the mid-major that usually advances the furthest usually has a player that will be drafted in the NBA lottery or has a deep team full of senior players. Also matchups matter. Richmond made it to the sweet 16 last year because they beat an usually overrated Vanderbilt and a Morehead State team that upset Louisville in the first round. So when making picks look at potential matchups before deciding what mid-major can go on a run.

We're Going To Pretend That Game Never Happened

Everything about last night's championship game stunk. From Butler's horrendous shooting to Jim Nantz trying to surpass Tim Brando in the pun department, last night's National Championship Game was horrendous. I'm not going to to let that game though ruin what was a great tournament.

We're very lucky as fans in that we've now had two great tournaments in a row. Last year's tournament is still my favorite, but this year's tournament is close because of the upsets in the first round 2nd round and close games in the elite 8 and final 4. This tournament was great only it was completed with a terrible championship game. So we're going to do is pretend last night's game didn't happen and celebrate the great tournament overall.

As always I would like to thank the people who contributed to the live blogs. Live blogging the entire tournament is very time consuming, so thanks to everyone to helped contribute to them. Hopefully we can do it against next year.

Final Four Live Blog

Live blog kicks off at 1PM PT/4PM ET. Leave comments and don't be a troll.