BUCKET BRACKETS 101

Charles Barkley said the Mountain West Conference is better than the Big Ten. Hurry, you want to get into Barkley’s bracket pool.
— steve rosenbloom (@steverosenbloom) March 19, 2013

Johnny J

Everyone may know how to fill out a bracket, but I'm here to help you keep an open mind about when making these selections. As we know, all teams are capable of losing at anytime. I take all match-ups in the tournament serious and with that said, there is no such thing as an "easy" match-up, regardless of the seeding (Unless of course a match-up involves a #16 seed--Ed). For instance, looked what happen to Kansas in 2010. They were the number one seed overall and they lost to ninth-seeded Northern Iowa in the second round.  No one saw that coming and it teaches everybody a lesson: it's always smart to do research on these small schools that no one has never heard of. When you look at match-ups, you have to take into play everything. I mean EVERYTHING:  where is the game going to be played? Are any of the key players injured or in a slump? And how did this school I never heard of make the tournament?

With that said, let's take a look at the top seeds:

• Kansas 
• Louisville 
• Gonzaga 
• Indiana 

Now in my opinion, Indiana shouldn't be a number one seed. Miami, who just won the ACC tournament, as well as the ACC regular season crown, should have been rewarded with the #1 seed. Indiana, on the other hand, lost three times in six games. Three times!  They got crushed by Wisconsin, in the Big Ten. Not to mention they lost three times as a number one seed (Hotter than a Hot Potato--Ed).  Another thing I don't understand is how is Louisville number one overall in the tournament? Gonzaga--hello?--they've only won 14 in a row; going a perfect 16-0 in their conference and only losing two games all year. No love for the small institutions.  I'm sorry, "mid-majors."

With the tournament starting on Thursday, now is the time to fill out your brackets. You wanna be able to take your time and do research on these teams. You don't wanna rush into it, because every mach-up is harder than it looks. The seeds that are in the middle are always the hardest.  If you just look at the match-up you realize it can go either way. For example my favorite team is North Carolina.  Currently, they are an eight-seed playing ninth-seeded Villanova. Of course I want North Carolina to win, but Villanova is tough. I had them to win the Big East tournament. They were 4-2 against top 50 RPI teams. That is a tough match-up if I've ever seen one. I definitely have to think about some of these picks. So starting early is beneficial.

Looking at team stats is a plus as well. If a team ranks fifth in scoring in the country, I know they can score anywhere, anytime, and at any place.  The thing is, "can their opponent keep up? Can they score?  Can they play defense?" All these things come into play. Here's a good example: the Creighton Blue Jays of the Missouri Valley Conference, is not a ranked team, but they can score. They are ranked 24th in the nation averaging 75 points per game. And they make shots consistently ranking 1st in the nation at almost 51% from the field. They are a dangerous seventh-seed. If they get past Cincinnati, they could face two-seeded  Duke in the third round, which would be a very tough match-up for them.

You should now have a better understanding of filling out your bracket. Look at all angles of each game: who has the "home advantage" at a particular "neutral site?" Who can score? What teams are hot? Most important of all, start thinking about these match-ups early. Oh yes, there will be upsets!

I already hate my bracket.

— Barry Rozner (@BarryRozner) March 17, 2013

More NCAA is available here.

ZIG-ZAGGING: Gonzaga's March to the #1 Spot

ZAGS SURVIVE! No. 2 Gonzaga withstands upset bid from BYU, 70-65. Bulldogs are seeking first No. 1 ranking in school history.
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 1, 2013

--Johnny J

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have flown under the radar all year. They are currently ranked number two in the nation and are setting their sights on being the new number one come next week. With the Indiana Hoosiers falling to Minnesota earlier this week, the Bulldogs have all, but locked up the top spot for next week. It will be the first time ever Gonzaga would be ranked number one. For a team that has flown under the radar all year, now is the time to get hot and bark the loudest (pun intended).

The Bulldogs are currently 29-2 and 16-0 in the West Coast Conference. They've clinched their Conference on Thursday by escaping with a 70-65 win at BYU. "There was a lot of clawing, scratching, pushing, shoving and that's what the score (shows)," junior Kelly Olynyk said. "That's what you live for and what we want to play like."

They have one of the highest, regarded basketball programs ever since they made their "Cinderella" run  in 1999, making it all the way to the Elite Eight. In the 16 years they've been in the WCC, they have earned the Conference title ten times. Their victory at Portland made them undefeated in Conference play; their first time since going undefeated in the conference since the 2008-09 season.

"Our guys really [wanted] to finish up the conference really strong and go undefeated," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said.

This year, the Bulldogs have a much bigger picture in mind: the goal of winning an NCAA title. The Zags are doing it the best way possible--quietly.  They have notched up almost 30 wins on the season and they've done it with nobody talking about them. I guarantee  nobody wants to see them in the tournament; they have won 10 games in a row and have lost only twice this year: to 13th ranked Illinois in December and 13th ranked Butler in January--they lost by one point.

The Zags are winning games by sharing the wealth. They're ranked 30th in the country in assists, averaging 15.3 a game and are hitting a remarkable 51 percent of their shots as a team. Talk about scoring at will; they're ranked ninth in the country at 78.6 points per game.  That says a lot for a team that hasn't been discussed as a threat. Did I mention they hit 39.6 percent from the trey. That's another word for the three- point line.

The Zags are led by 7-foot, junior Kelly Olynyk, nicknamed, "Long Hair, Don't Care" for his Herculean, long hair look. He is the leading scorer on the team with about 18 points a game to go along with 7 rebounds.  In 2011, he had played for the Canadian National Team, but yet he only averaged 4.8 points for Gonzaga because of then NBA prospect, Robert Sacre who was taking all the glory for Gonzaga. So in order not to transfer, he sat out a year. Now that Sacre is in the NBA as a Lakers' reserve, Olynyk is the man in the middle at Gonzaga.

I guess its safe to say, Olynyk and the Bulldogs are going to be a problem for a lot of teams come tournament time. Anytime you can win on the road in a tough atmosphere shows that the team can stay focus on the task at hand: just winning. I know this team will be hard to stop anywhere they go. I was watching the BYU game and they just kept their composure. Every time BYU got close, the place would begin to rock. Talk about a tough road game, it was a real hostile environment. Gonzaga is a dangerous team.

Let's welcome the new number one: the Gonzaga Bulldogs!

More NCAA is available here.