Dayton wins the last NIT Ever?

ESPN.com's Kurt Snibe provided the picture of the Dayton and UNC NIT commerative jerseys. I think it's a little bit of an exageration. I mean, would you rather be a 14 seed and loose after one weekend or play 5 games, includeding two in MSG? The later doesn't sound so bad.

The question at hand now is, will Dayton be the last NIT champion ever. It appears expansion to 96 teams is going to happen, so what's going to happen to the NIT? The quality of teams will be going down, as well as the possibility that not enough teams will qualify (.500 record or better). I think if they do expand, the NCAA, which owns the NIT, will just get rid of the post season tournament all together. Meaning, that yes Dayton will be the last NIT champ ever. For the schools who don't qualify for the NCAA tournament, don't worry there's always the CBI championship.

2010 NIT Bracket Breakdown: Why I Love the Little Dance

The National Invitation Tournament is the red-headed stepchild of the college basketball postseason. While 65 programs get to experience the glory and the headlines that come with an invitation to the Big Dance, the snubbed squads of the nation let out a collective sigh and get ready for a possible trip to Madison Square Garden.

But the NIT isn't that bad of a consolation prize. Winning this tourney can redeem a lost season, prove that pesky selection committee wrong, or lay the groundwork for a better 2011.

Granted, Penn State followed their 2009 title with a disastrous 2010, but at least Talor Battle got to cut down somebody's nets during his time at State College.

Here are eight great reasons to watch this season's National Invitation Tournament, which kicks off Tuesday and Wednesday with first-round action around the country:

Burst Bubbles

These are the schools whose video feeds we didn't get to see on CBS Selection Sunday. Which is probably for the best, because coaches Seth Greenberg (Hokies) and Bruce Weber (Illini) may have needed a three-second audio delay in lieu of serious self-control.

Illinois (No. 52 in the Pomeroy Ratings), Virginia Tech (No. 31, the highest rated team in the field), and Memphis (No. 51) all have legitimate beefs with the committee this year.

Tech's Malcolm Delaney is a bonafide star, making the all-ACC first team this year on his way to a lucrative NBA career. He averaged over twenty points a game for the Hokies, along with 4.3 assists and 3.6 boards, while hitting the 30 point mark five times. Four came against NCAA Tournament teams including Clemson, Temple, and Georgia Tech.

Memphis, in its first year without John Calipari, is just two years removed from a trip to the NCAA Championship game. The Tigers lost to Houston in the C-USA tournament by a single point, sending the Cougars on their way to an improbable dance invite while costing themselves a bid.

Sophomore guard Elliot Williams, a Duke transfer, leads the team in scoring (18.3 ppg). But he needs to get his mojo back if Memphis wants to make a run - he has shot just 17-53 over the Tigers' last five.

Illinois thought their win over Wisconsin, coupled with taking Ohio State to double overtime in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, might be enough to earn them a dance card. But a 19-14 record and bad losses to teams like Utah and Bradley were enough to sway the committee the other way.

Juniors Demetri McCamey and Mike Tisdale give the Fighting Illini a solid inside-outside game. As a one-seed, they draw Stony Brook in the first round, and I look for Illinois to play with a chip on their shoulder while making a deep run in the NIT.

Goliath


Ah, North Carolina. The perennial powerhouse is one of those schools that you expect to see in your bracket each and every year, but they barely qualified for even the NIT in 2010 at 16-16.

I guess losing Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson would be enough to make anybody take a step back, but Carolina's preseason ranking has proven even more inaccurate than the most optimistic Duke fan could have hoped.

Ken Pomeroy projects a comfortable Tar Heels win in the first round, but will fans show up for the NIT? Roy Williams is probably the best coach in this tournament, but he has struggled to deal with this .500 season. Carolina ended the season losing 9 of their last 12, including Georgia Tech in the early rounds of the ACC tourney.

That first round prediction looks safe, except that UNC happens to have drawn a particularly interesting opponent...

David

William and Mary has enjoyed serious hype all year, much more than their unassuming profile (No. 113 Pomeroy, No. 58 RPI) would dictate.

Their reputation as a giant killer precedes them, and was earned by beating Richmond (home), Maryland (road), and Wake Forest (road) during a brutal nonconference schedule. All three are in the Big Dance. Sophomore swingman Quinn McDowell (6'5", 212) might be one of the best players in the NIT this year - he is capable of offensive explosions and is joined by steady senior guard David Schneider in a duo that can give opposing guards fits.

Is Carolina's defensive ace Marcus Ginyard up to the challenge, or can William and Mary add another scalp to their wall and atone for losing to Old Dominion in the Colonial conference finals?

SEC Snubs

Mississippi State (No. 54 Pomeroy) and Mississippi (No. 41) enjoy a classic intra-state rivalry, and one that State has gotten the better of twice this year.

The powers that be at the NIT placed the Rebels (or should I make it the Ackbars?) and the Bulldogs on opposite sides of the bracket, setting up a potentially epic clash in the finals if both schools can survive.

Bulldog forward Jarvis Varnado might be the biggest name in this year's tourney. Averaging a double-double and almost five blocks a game, the senior gives opposing players fits in the paint.

Mississippi junior guard Chris Warren paces the Ackbars, shooting .415 from downtown to average over seventeen points a game. But his team has struggled in big games, with their only two big wins coming in early season action against Kansas State and UTEP.

Cardiac Cats Go East

Northwestern (No. 77) just had its best season in school history, notching twenty wins after losing its best player before the season even began. Pomeroy rates their matchup with Rhode Island as Wednesday's game to watch.

Rhode Island skidded into the postseason with painful losses to also-rans St. Bonaventure and Massachusetts, as well as a 57-44 pasting at the hands of NCAA 5-seed Temple, but they are 13-2 at home this year. Northwestern is 2-8 on the road.

Guard Michael "Juice" Thompson plays over 90% of minutes for the Wildcats and was one of the Big Ten's best point guards all season. Sophomore John Shurna was one of the best players in the Big Ten, period, averaging just over 18 and 6 from the forward spot.

URI's best win came over Oklahoma State in the early going. Northwestern's best wins include Purdue, Notre Dame, fellow NIT teams NC State and Illinois. As a Wildcat partisan, I'm hoping that the road will be kind to Northwestern. Either way, it should be an exciting game.

Gang of Five

According to pundits around the country, the Big East is the nation's best conference. Eight Big East teams got into the NCAAs. Five more are in the NIT. That's a whole lot of postseason love.

South Florida (#78 Pomeroy), Connecticut (#55), Seton Hall (#62), Cincinnati (#69), and St. Johns (#72) ought to give Madison Square Garden a distinctive Big East flavor in the coming weeks.

Four-seed Seton Hall welcomes Texas Tech before a probable second rounder against Arizona State, both major conference opponents who could feel the wrath of the East.

UConn (another 4 seed) draws 20-12 Northeastern, a talented squad, and could play Va. Tech in second round. Behind Carolina's Williams, UConn's Jim Calhoun is the second best coach in the NIT, although his health problems have certainly played a role in the Huskies' struggles this year.

USF (a 3-seed) will play NC State in the first round, yet another major conference matchup. Their star guard Dominique Jones averages 21.3 points per game and gives the NIT yet another superstar to watch.

Cincinnati (2-seed) gets Weber State (20-10, #109) from Big Sky in first round, a team that has a lot of postseason experience getting knocked out in the first round.

St. Johns is the only Big East school denied home court advantage in the first round, and drew Memphis. If they can survive the Tigers, they get to come home to the Garden and a probable game against Ole Miss.

The Big East has to be the favorite to cut down the nets in Madison Square, on numbers alone.

The Mid-Major Superstar

Illinois State's Osiris Eldridge (6'3", 215, senior guard) has been starting in Bloomington-Normal since he was a freshman. This year, he leads a deep, experienced Redbirds squad that will play Dayton on the road in Round One. The Flyers are arguably the best team State has faced all year outside of Northern Iowa, and Eldridge and Co. couldn't handle UNI.

The Missouri Valley is well-represented this year, with Wichita State joining ISU in the NIT bracket, and Northern Iowa getting hard-earned hype in the Big Dance.

A Blessing In Disguise

Coastal Carolina had a great year. Yet at 28-6, they're out, while Winthrop dances. That's gotta hurt.


The Chanticleers drew Mike Davis' UAB Blazers in the first round, creating an exciting medieval matchup - the Blazers' mascot is a dragon, while a Chanticleer, by all appearances, is some kind of mythical rooster.

Junior Chad Grey (6'7", 205) and senior Joseph Harris (6'5", 180) lead the scoring for Coastal, and both shoot good percentages at well over 50%. The Chanticleers got beat down by Duke on Nov. 16, 74-49, in their only game against a true major opponent.

UAB may be favored to win on their home floor in Birmingham, but Coastal Carolina is honestly lucky to have choked against Winthrop. Those poor saps get to go to the play-in game for the honor of battling Duke in the first round of the other tourney.

Who do you think has a better chance to make a run? I'll take the Chanticleers for all the marbles, please.

UNC: GREATEST EVER!?

(Update) See the picture, that is a screen shot of ESPN.com at 12:21 PM the day after they won. Mmaybe the worldwide leader is becoming predictable. But the article that accompanies this image agrees with what I was saying last night; That they are a good team, but not an elite team. Good read though. -SN

I can already picture ESPN debating this all day tomorrow starting with Mike and Mike in the morning through the evening Sportscenter.

Right now it's almost half time and I am here to say even if UNC wins by 50 they are not the best team ever. Yes I know they are looking to win ever game in the NCAA tournament by at least 12 but they are not the best team not even close.

Here are some teams off the top of my head.

1976 Hoosiers who went undefeated

but i still don't think they can match the Bill Walton and Lou Alcindor's UCLA teams that won something insane like 60 some games in a row. Those are elite teams. This UNC team is good, but not in thier competition.

Other teams I would take over this team

80's Georgetown
Early 90s UNLV
Early 90s Duke
Mid 00s Florida teams

Heck they aren't even in my top 2 UNC's schools of all time. I would take that stacked 82 Champions or the 2005 team over these guys.

Alright, feel free to hate on me below.

Final Four and Fantasy Baseball

Today is a huge day. At 6, we're getting Michigan State v. UConn, then Villanova v. UNC afterwards.

I'm picking the favorites here. Even though 'Nova and MSU have played great this season, the Huskies and 'Heels have been far and away the best teams in the nation. I wouldn't be shocked at an upset, but I would be shocked if we don't get a couple of great games.

In other news, I joined a public Yahoo!Sports fantasy baseball league, since all of my old collegiate leagues have gone by the wayside. I have always stunk at fantasy baseball. Usually, just sneaking into the playoffs was quite an achievement for the Double Baggers.

After a random draft, my team is looking really good in the pitching staff and a lot less strong in the hitting department. Quick breakdown:

BEST POSITIONS:

Starting Pitching: Led by Giants ace Tim Lincecum, my team also includes the Padres 1 and 2 guys, Peavy and Chris Young, and my homer picks John Danks and Gavin Floyd. The number six guy is former A's stud reliever Justin Duscherer, who has battled injuries since leaving the 'pen but put up excellent stats while healthy.

Second Base: I have two of the best 2b's in the league, period. Chase Utley and Dan Uggla should net me some serious trade offers.

WORST POSITIONS:

Third Base: I'm not too confident with Colorado's Ian Stewart as my only third baseman, although he is also 2b eligible. Might be time to do some work on that Uggla trade.

Catcher: I have Dioner Navarro from Tampa. Right now I also have a waiver wire pick in on Texas' Jarod Saltamacchia ('Salty' for future reference). I hate catchers in fantasy.
Others:

I've got Carlos Pena and Paul Konerko at 1b. Jason Bay, Ichiro, and Vernon Wells starting in the outfield, and Michael Young at SS. Willy Taveras and Jack Cust on the bench.

My relief staff features Jonathan Broxton and Kevin Gregg (yeah, I know, a Cub), as well as Chad Qualls. Trying to decide whether I need a fourth.

Add/drop suggestions? How about Casey Blake, who is 3b eligible?

Sweet 16: Who'g going to win the Final Four?

So I was asked this the other day by my buddy Derek, “Who do you think is going to win the Final 4 now?”

Instantly I wanted to say Pitt! You know my bracket selection for champion. But as much as I wanted to say it, I knew I couldn’t. They have underperformed in their first two games. So that got me thinking, of the Final 16 teams competing for a national championship who do I think is going to win?

At first glance UConn and UNC jump out after dominating performances the first weekend. I had raised concerns about both these teams and their lack of a point guard health. Lawson came back and played decent if not pretty well in the second game against an LSU team that I really liked. Part of me wants to say these are my new Championship games, but, these were two #1 seeds. They were supposed to roll in the first weekend. That’s why everyone wants the number 1 seed.

Memphis struggled round one but played well round 2. I kind of have a feeling that the winner of the Mizzou Memphis game will be the team that makes it out of the West Regional. That should be a very fast paced and fantastic game. UConn still worries me without Dyson even though Price has played well. I think Purdue is capable of beating them, but I still am leaning towards UConn winning. I don’t think UConn can keep up with a tempo of either Mizzou or Memphis.

I still don’t trust anyone from the Midwest to win it all. Each team has too many weaknesses. Louisville has played well but they are running into Arizona who is on the eff you guys, nobody believed in us mode right now. MSU and KU should be a fun game. Louisville and MSU are both pretty close to home, I think that will help these team and have then end up facing each other where I think Louisville will win

In the East, where Pitt is, I am worried without the home court crowd ‘Nova won’t be playing as well. I like them to beat Duke, but I wonder how much of their performances dealt with sleeping in their own beds and playing in familiar territory in front of their fans.

The team I feel is playing the best over the weekend was Blake Griffin and co at Oklahoma. Saying that, I think they are too much of a one man team to go all the way. If ‘Cuse is hitting and their 2-3 zone slows Griffin down, do you really trust anyone else to score. This is how I would stop Griffin (Yes a little over the top, but he tried to let go, but Griffin wouldn’t let him. Worth of a T but not ejection) UNC will probably come out of this region but I would feel better if I know Lawson was 100% healthy.

So looking at all of this who do I think is going to win? Crap I don’t know, I guess I’m sticking with Pittsburgh, Sadly.

Who do you thinks going to win. Post Comments and let me know.

Mark's Final Bracket

7:21 PM Wednesday:

Watching Miami (Fl) vs. Providence in the NIT, getting ready to go out to Nevin's with my mom (who I just talked into filling out a bracket for the first time ever!) to watch Northwestern vs. Tulsa.

I just finished the bracket that will be entered into the Mother Bears Just For Fun Pool. I'm not goanna break it down matchup by matchup, but wanted to hit some of the highlights.

MIDWEST: I've got Louisville going to the Final Four. West Virginia over Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen in Indy. North Dakota State beats Kansas in the first round and we all get to see the famous Bill Self Choker Face. And Arizona downs Utah in the first round on the way to giving Wake a run for their money on Sunday. I almost picked 'Zona to the Sweet Sixteen, but didn't quite have the intestinal fortitude.

WEST: I have Washington taking out one-seed UConn after beating Purdue. On the lower half, I've got Missouri beating Cornell, Utah State, then Memphis in what would be an awesome game, before taking down the Huskies and advancing to the Final Four.

EAST: Pittsburgh to the Final Four. I really don't like this bracket at all! In that spirit, I've taken Minnesota to beat both Texas and Duke on the way to the Sweet Sixteen, where they will be joined by Florida State and Villanova. I love Eric Maynor and had to take VCU to at least win their first game. 'Nova over Tubby's boys in the Round of Sixteen.

SOUTH: Please, please, please, let Ty Lawson's Toe be okay! Like our president, I just had to take the University of North Carolina to not only emerge from the South, but then go on to defeat the ascendant Missouri Tigers in the final. It won't happen if Lawson can't go. In other news, I've got Temple upsetting Arizona State, Michigan downing Oklahoma to get to the Sweet Sixteen, and Illinois joining them there after beating an overrated Gonzaga team in the second round. Michigan becomes the sole Big Ten team to make it to the Elite Eight.

FINAL FOUR: Missouri over Louisville, UNC over Pittsburgh.

CHAMPIONSHIP: UNC 79, Missouri 72.

So there you have it. Can't wait for tomorrow!

NCAA Pre-Season and NCAA Tournament Games

So the tournament is almost upon us - I figured it would be a good time to look back and forward.

Now that the field is set let’s take a quick look back at my pre-season predictions for the Final Four for this NCAA basketball season


The Good!

North Carolina

This one looks pretty good. They are the number 3 over all number 1 seed. If Ty Lawson is healthy this team has the potential to win it all. If he doesn’t play, or play that well, I still don’t see much competition from the rest of the south. Looks pretty good

UConn

This one also looks pretty good. Not quite as good as UNC because of Dyson being out. But there are very few players who can change a team’s strategy like Thabeet. He is a monster on defense and starting to figure it out on offense. Memphis is a touch draw for them if they go that far. Looks good, not great.

The OK!

Purdue

Well they are in one of the top 20 seeds in the tournament. They struggled during stretches but not the Hummel is playing again they were able to perform more at the level I expected them. They did just win the Big Ten Tournament but they will run into UConn and Memphis if they go.


The Bad

Notre Dame

Well Mr. Harangody and Co. couldn’t keep the home court streak in tack or make it out of the tough Big East. Yeah, not too good a year for the Irish; Well at least St. Patty’s Day is still coming!


So I did ok with my predictions. Notre Dame really hurt me, and the fact that Purdue and UConn will have to play each other means the max my pre-season I can get right is 2. We will wait and find out how I did.


Now looking forward it’s time to fill out the brackets!

I traditionally wait until Tuesday to fill out my brackets just so I don’t make any rash and dumb decisions. I will have a post about this tomorrow

I will be doing at least 2 pools and maybe three. The for sure ones that I am doing is the office and family (free and bragging rights) pools. I am sure I will get roped into a few more.

I am also doing a fantasy tournament. In this, there are 11 teams and 25 players per team. Each team picks players in the tournament. Which ever team's 25 players score the most points throughout the tournament wins.

So not only do you want to take somebody who's going to score a bunch of points, but you want players going deep. If a guys scores 20 ppg, but loses in the first round, you only get 20 points; but if you have a guy scoring 5 points a game over 6 games, that's 30 points.

Pay out is:

Top three Scoring Teams pay out
Team with the highest individual scorer pays out
Each rounds highest scorer pays out

So there’s lots of ways to win. Here’s the official site for it http://swkncaa.com/


The last thing I might compete in is a Tournament Auction. Starting with the 16 Seed each team is auctioned off. 16 Seeds go for like a dollar while 1 seeds go for $150+. Each win your team gets, the more money they bring in. I am not sure if I will be participation in this auction this year.

There are lots of ways to enjoy the tournament, let me know of some of the things you guys will be doing.

Lastly, some random info about this year’s tournament. The State of Ohio is sending 5 teams to the tournament which is the most of any state. California, New York, Pennsylvania and Tennessee are all sending 4. 33 of the 50 states are represented.