2013 NCAA Tournament: Sweet Sixteen - Midwest and West Regions

LaSalle's Tyrone Garland and teammates celebrate a big win

The rounds of 64 and 32 have come and gone and we're left with the "top" 16 teams in men's college basketball to duke it out for the 2013 National Championship.

Brackets across the country blew up thanks to Cinderella, who is played by Florida Gulf Coast University this year. That being said, I still have 10 of the 16 teams remaining in my bracket. FGCU was not one of them but I'll get into them Wednesday.

Midwest Region
#1 Louisville vs. #12 Oregon - The 'Ville is the overall number one seed and had little trouble getting to the Sweet 16, knocking off #16 North Carolina A&T and #8 Colorado State by 31 and 26, respectively. Oregon, the Pac-12 Tournament champion defeated #5 Oklahoma State by 13 before crushing #4 Saint Louis by 17. It'll be a tall order for the Ducks to reach the Elite Eight, but they've got a fighter's chance. I had Saint Louis, so I've got one of two in this match-up.

#2 Duke vs. #3 Michigan State - This played out exactly how the selection committee had planned--two Hall of Fame coaches pitted against one another. Duke beat #15 Albany by 12 in a game that wasn't that close before disposing of #8 Creighton 66-50. The Spartans took care of pesky #14 Valparaiso by 11 and not so pesky #6 Memphis by 22. I had both these winners through to the round of 16.

Overall, the Midwest Region was rather kind to me. Saint Louis, #9 Missouri and #11 Saint Mary's were my only casualties.

West Region
#9 Wichita State vs. #13 LaSalle - Not many saw this match-up in the Sweet Sixteen. The Shockers took down #8 Pittsburgh in the second round before knocking out #1 Gonzaga. People were saying all along Gonzaga wasn't worthy of a 1-seed and they proved everyone right, but you can't argue with what they did this year. LaSalle is 3-0 in the tournament thanks to a nine-point play-in game win over #13 Boise State and a pair of two point wins over #4 Kansas State and #12 Mississippi. I was especially glad to see them take care of Marshall Henderson and Ole Miss. Experts have been praising this kid--he was 14-42 shooting in their two tourney games. They're the only remaining Atlantic 10 team and I like them to move on to the Elite Eight. I had neither of these teams, in fact I had Gonzaga and #5 Wisconsin, who killed me by shooting just over 25% in their opening round loss to Ole Miss. Oh for two but well worth it. Thanks Tyrone Garland for the game-winner.

#2 Ohio State vs. #6 Arizona - The Buckeyes have a pretty sweet path to Atlanta if they can get past Arizona. They crushed #15 Iona 95-70 and snuck by #10 Iowa State thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer by point guard Aaron Craft. The Wildcats are flying under the radar but have beaten two solid teams en route to the Sweet Sixteen--#11 Belmont and #14 Harvard, who shocked the world by taking down #3 New Mexico, a team many thought would take this region by storm. I did have Ohio State playing but had them facing off with Wisconsin. As a matter of fact, I only had three winners overall in the West Region--Gonzaga's first win and the Buckeyes two wins. I'm an East Coast guy, what can I say?

It has been madness just as expected.

2013 NCAA Tournament: Picking Friday's Winners Based on Mascots

Bucky Badger is meaner than your average badger

Day Two of the 2013 NCAA Tournament is here--well, Day Four if you count both days of the First Four games.

I'll pick winners once again based solely on the mascots of the teams involved.

Midwest Region
#15 Albany vs. #2 Duke - The Great Danes and the Blue Devils. While a great dane is one of the biggest dogs you're likely ever to see, we all know I'm a Duke fan, and who can mess with devils, even if they are blue. THE DEVILS!! Winner: Duke Blue Devils

#10 Cincinnati vs. #7 Creighton - The Bearcats and the Blue Jays. You can never trust an animal who's name is a mish-mash of two animals--the bear and the cat. Bears are fierce, while cats can be tame (Burmilla, Siamese). The Blue Jays fly high, no lie, they ballin', especially with Doug McDermott tearing it up. Winner: Creighton Blue Jays

West Region
#12 Mississippi vs. #5 Wisconsin - The Rebels and the Badgers. Because the badger is omnivorous and personally, I'd hate to encounter an angry badger, I think they'd tear the flesh off a rebel, regardless of how rebellious they are. Winner: Wisconsin Badgers

#13 LaSalle vs. #4 Kansas State - The Explorers and Wildcats. I'd hate to come across and angry, purple wildcat in my day-to-day explorations, it probably wouldn't end well--for me. LaSalle is dangerous and has nothing to lose while all the pressure is on K-State. LaSalle has the better stats but I think the purple cats advance. Winner: Kansas State Wildcats

#15 Iona vs. #2 Ohio State - The Gaels and the Buckeyes. In possibly the least scary match up of the entire tournament, an Irish-themed team faces a tree species. Seriously? Ohio State is more talented top to bottom, but you can't count out the Irish. Oh wait, this isn't Notre Dame. Winner: Ohio State Buckeyes

#10 Iowa State vs. #7 Notre Dame - The Cyclones and the Fighting Irish. I knew Notre Dame was on their way to the mascot parade. A cyclone can be deadly but I can't see the Fighting Irish backing down and given the fact that the atmospheric pressure isn't likely to be all that low in Dayton, I think ND advance. Winner: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

South Region
#16 Western Kentucky vs. #1 Kansas - The Hilltoppers and the Jayhawks. A hilltopper, for all intents and purposes, is exactly just that, the topper of a hill. The giant red blob of a mascot is scaring no one. Any bird with 'hawk' in the name scares me, and Kansas is no different. Winner: Kansas Jayhawks

#9 Villanova vs. #8 North Carolina - More Wildcats and some Tar Heels. Wildcats are a lot scarier than tarred heels, but these are some athletic Tar Heels. They're fast, athletic and one hell of a basketball team. And they've got head heel Roy Williams guiding them to possibly a deep run into this tournament. Winner: North Carolina Tar Heels

#11 Minnesota vs. #6 UCLA - Gophers and Bruins. Gophers hang out in a hole, something Minnesota better not find themselves in this afternoon against the Bruins, who are short one--second-leading scorer Jordan Adams is out for the tournament, giving the edge to those pesky Gophers. Winner: Minnesota Gophers

#14 Northwestern State vs. #3 Florida - Demons and Gators. Demonic as they may be, nothing chomps like the jaws of a gator. NW State is going to need some demon-like sorcery to take down the mighty Gators. Winner: Florida Gators

#10 Oklahoma vs. #7 San Diego State - The Sooners and Aztecs. While known in the past for unprecedented levels of human sacrifice, the same can no longer be said of the Aztecs. And for the Sooners, they settled on free land years and years ago and even have a nice covered wagon to ride in. They'll ride off with a W tonight in Philadelphia. Winner: Oklahoma Sooners

#15 Florida Gulf Coast vs. #2 Georgetown - The Eagles and the Hoyas. The eagle may be symbolic here in the USA, but I don't think they're going to fare very well against the Big East champ Hoyas from Georgetown--especially in a quasi-home game for the 2-seed. Winner: Georgtown Hoyas

East Region
#16 James Madison vs. #1 Indiana - The Dukes and the Hoosiers. The mystery surrounding the term 'Hoosier" is mind-bending and the fact that JMU is names after a president but it's athletic teams are named after the first basketball coach the school ever had (in return for towels and uniforms) makes this a head-scratcher. When in doubt, go with the state in which no one knows what the heck a Hoosier is. Winner: Indiana Hoosiers

#9 Temple vs. #8 NC State - Hoot! The Owls and the Wolfpack. The owl is a bird of the night and is a deadly hunter, but there's no way it can hunt a pack of wolves. I like the A-10 and I like the Owls, but the Wolfpack have more athletes on the roster, making them the favorite, right? Yes. An even though I picked Temple to advance, a Wolfpack should never lose to Owls. Winner: NC State Wolfpack

#10 Colorado vs. #7 Illinois - The Buffaloes and the Illini. A whole gang of buffaloes will invade Austin this afternoon to take on a school who's mascot is that of an Indian chief's headdress. Stampeding buffalo, feathered head garb. I'll take the gang. Winner: Colorado Buffaloes

#15 Pacific vs. #2 Miami (FL) - The Tigers and the Hurricanes. While a streak of tigers is certainly nothing you'd even want to encounter, a roster full of Hurricanes trumps all. They'll wipe out any number of Tigers if the big cats get caught in their path, as Pacific will soon realize. Earthquakes are a West Coast thing, but these Hurricanes have made noise throughout the country. Winner: Miami (FL) Hurricanes

My record yesterday was a mediocre 9-7. Here's to better results today. Happy March Madness.

2013 NCAA Tournament: Pac-12-Seeds and an Overrated Mountain West

Allen Crabbe and #12 Cal are moving on after taking down #5 UNLV

After many witnessed #12 Oregon's high-octane offense take down #5 Oklahoma State yesterday, another Pac-12 12-seed quietly took care of business as the Cal Bears took down #5 UNLV, 64-61. Overall, it was a good day for the conference and for the two 12-seeds NOT named Akron (the Zips were dismantled by VCU, 88-42).

Oregon used a late 5-0 surge to close out the first half and take an 11-point lead into the half and was never really threatened the rest of the way. They cruised to a 69-54 win over the Cowboys, who were a two-point favorite. I had that one pegged as the 12-5 upset special of the day. Oregon's leading scorer, E.J. Singler, managed only eight points but got plenty of help from his teammates, as four Ducks scored in double figures, let by Damyean Dotson's 17.

California had similar thoughts as their Pac-12 brethren. I picked UNLV and they, as well as the rest of the Mountain West Conference, let millions of bracketologists down. Cal looked in control the whole game while the Runnin' Rebels hoisted up three after three and wound up just 6-20 from deep. The Pac-12's leading scorer, Allen Crabbe, is someone many people know very little about, but UNLV found out quickly how good the Pac-12 Player of the Year actually is. Crabbe poured in 19 points to go along with 9 rebounds and four assists to help the Bears to a three-point win.

Were Pac-12 teams snubbed in the Big Dance? Not all of them, but Oregon and Cal were seeded a little lower than they should have been. #6 Arizona buried #11 Belmont, 81-64 and will meet #14 Harvard, who pulled the biggest upset of the day in knocking out the MW champion and 3-seed New Mexico Lobos. If #6 UCLA and #10 Colorado win today, the Pac-12 can improve to 5-0 in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

The Mountain West, meanwhile, isn't faring quite as well. Many thought New Mexico would make a run in the tournament, but as we all found out, that didn't happen, as the Lobos were stunned by the Ivy League champ Harvard Crimson, 68-82. Another MW team, #13 Boise State, lost in the First Four against LaSalle, eliminating them from the tourney. I already mentioned UNLV's loss to Cal. #8 Colorado State supplied the conference with their only win, an emphatic 84-72 win over #9 Missouri. Overall, a 1-3 record was not what any experts and pundits picked.

If today is anything like yesterday, I can't wait to glue myself to the computer and then television to take it all in.

2013 NCAA Tournament: South Regional - By The Numbers

YAROU!!

If you know me, you know I love names and numbers. I'll take a look at the 2013 NCAA Tournament's South Regional and give a stat brief for the player with the best name on his team, regardless of playing time or productivity. It's about time to give everybody some random publicity.
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#1 Naadir Tharpe, Kansas: Double-A in the first name and a last name that many automatically assume is Thorpe, averages just 18 minutes a game but dishes out three assists and chips in 5.5 points per game for the Jayhawks.

#13 Percy Blade, Western Kentucky: A bit player for the Hilltoppers, maybe one day he'll slice through opposing D's to score more than 1.9 points per game.

#43 James Michael McAdoo, UNC: Typically, only serial killers go by three names and JMM fits the bill--murdering defenses trying to stop him to the tune of 14.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for the Tar Heels.

#13 Mouphtaou Yarou, Villanova: Yarou is a man, man. The senior averages 9.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, slightly below his averages from a year ago. His name is just fun to say--Yarou! Yarou! Yarou!

#12 Mo Alie-Cox, VCU - The redshirt freshman didn't accumulate any stats this season. Coming out of high school, he was the #9 rated prospect in Virginia, according to Rivals.com. I hope we hear his name a lot next season.

#44 Zeke Marshall, Akron: "Zeke" used to be a term you called people who were acting a fool, but I dare anyone to call Marshall a fool. Averaging 13 points and 7.1 rebounds a game for the Zips, this Zeke is a force to be reckoned with.

#20 Josh Bartelstein, Michigan: His name sounds like it's right out of The Mighty Ducks or something, but it's not. Instead, Josh is a walk-on who has scored just 6 points in four years in Ann Arbor.

#42 Jordan Dykstra, South Dakota State: The 'Jacks have a scoring option besides Nate Wolters and his name is Dykstra. No relation to Lenny. He averages 12.5 points and 7.9 rebounds a game but they'll need more out of him to knock off the Wolverines.

#21 Khalid McCaskill, UCLA: He doesn't play much but any time you have four "ck" sounds in one name, I'm impressed. One point and half a rebound per game is all McCaskill brings to the Bruins.

#13 Maverick Ahanmisi, Minnesota: I ain't talking Top Gun and neither is Maverick. He scores only 3.5 points per game for the Gophers, who have a decent shot at knocking off UCLA in the second round.

#1 Kenny Boynton, Florida: The senior has a fun last name and a pretty good hoop game as well. He's a key cog for the 3-seed Gators, averaging over 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Yeah Boyn!!

#35 O.J. Evans, Northwestern State: Anyone with the name O.J. might initially be thought of as a killer or a former Bills running back, but this O.J. averages around 3.5 points and rebounds per game for the Demons.

#0 Skylar Spencer, San Diego State: It just kind of rolls off your tongue--Skylar Spencer. Three points and three boards a game is all the Aztecs get from him though.

#3 Buddy Hield, Oklahoma: A freshman from the Bahamas, Hield played a pretty big role for the Sooners--8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. I'm sure they wouldn't mind him matching his season-high in points (16) and rebounds (11) against SDSU.

#22 Otto Porter, Jr., Georgetown: The Big East Player of the Year also has one of the best names in the country, reminiscent of Otto, the bus driver on The Simpsons. Porter averages 16.3 points and 7.4 rebounds but can drain it from three-point range, shooting a robust 42.7%.

#23 Eddie Murray, Florida Gulf Coast: Not that Eddie Murray, this one is an Osprey, not an Oriole. He provides not only senior leadership to a team making their first NCAA Tourney appearance, but he also averages a modest 3.8 points and 3 rebounds per game.
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I hope your name quota has been fulfilled. Games start in 75 minutes.

2013 NCAA Tournament: Picking Thursday's Winners Based on Mascots

Billikens are sure cute, but they're damn good at basketball!

Today kicks off what many believe is the best weekend in sports - the first weekend of March Madness. I'll attempt to delve into today's slate and pick winners based solely on mascots.

#14 Valparaiso vs. #3 Michigan State - While Valpo's mascot, the Crusader, was a U.S. Navy fighter jet (F-8 Crusader), the Spartans were well-documented in the film 300 featuring Gerard Butler. That being said, Sparta was also a pre-eminent military city-state in Greece and there's no way a Crusader will take down Butler and Sparta. Winner: Michigan State Spartans

#11 Bucknell vs. #6 Butler - The Bison and the Bulldogs. Hmm, let me think about this one--Bison win. They're bigger, more rugged and although the Bulldogs are cool to look at and have as a pet, I'd fear for my life with a Bison running amok in my yard. Winner: Bucknell Bison

#9 Wichita State vs. #8 Pittsburgh - The Shockers and Panthers.The Shockers are a stinging bee while the Panthers come in from the Steel City. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee Shocker but Panthers have a certain ferocity about them that makes them hard to ignore and the Shockers will be swatted away. Winner: Pittsburgh Panthers

#13 New Mexico State vs. #4 Saint Louis - The Aggies and Billikens. An Aggie is nothing more than a student of a land-grant university. Basically, they're going to school on free land, not very scary. A Billiken isn't much more dangerous--it's merely a charm doll with a "no-worry" mentality. I have no worried Saint Louis will take down New Mexico State. Winner: Saint Louis Billikens

#11 Saint Mary's vs. #6 Memphis - The Gaels and the Tigers. While it's easy to go with Memphis and the fact that they are the largest cat species, the Gaels derive from Ireland, and with St. Patrick's Day in the rear view, I like the Gaels to shake the hangover and get a win. Winner: Saint Mary's Gaels

#14 Davidson vs. #3 Marquette - The Wildcats and the Golden Eagles. All that glitters is not gold, but the Eagles soar high above the hungry Wildcats in this one. Davidson might be a senior-laden team and Marquette may be a bit inconsistent but I think the physicality of MU will prevail in this one. Winner: Marquette Golden Eagles

#16 Southern vs. #1 Gonzaga - The Jaguars and Bulldogs. Again with the Bulldogs, but this time I like the cuddly, snorting pet instead of the lethal Jaguar though in a fight, the jag would certainly triumph. This is basketball, however, and the Bulldogs will pull away early. Winner: Gonzaga Bulldogs

#12 Oregon vs. #5 Oklahoma State - Fly, Ducks, Fly and the Cowboys. Cowboys are a wild group but based on recent sports history, haven't really been a threat lately. These Ducks have been flying under the radar despite an early-season top-10 ranking. Winner: Oregon Ducks

#16 North Carolina A&T vs. #1 Louisville - More Aggies and the Cardinals. We already know about the Aggies but the Cardinals are a pretty-looking bird with a lot of talent. They're led by a proven winner and can't see them landing soon enough to be captured by a land-grant student. Winner: Louisville Cardinals

#13 South Dakota State vs. #4 Michigan - The Jackrabbits and the Wolverines. First off, only one of these is an X-Men character and the other is a furry little rabbit used to make stew in the wilderness that is South Dakota. Michigan should make rabbit stew tonight in Auburn Hills. Winner: Michigan Wolverines

#11 Belmont vs. #6 Arizona - The Bruins and the Wildcats. These cats may be wild, but the Bruins have one fierce competitor in Ian Clark. This one has upset written all over it but would it really be an upset if a bear devoured a cat? Not really. Winner: Belmont Bruins

#12 California vs. #5 UNLV - The Golden Bears and Runnin' Rebels. These Rebels can run and the Bears come limping in with two straight losses. The Rebs can not only run but they can also rebounds, pretty damn well, too. The advantage on the boards sends UNLV moving on. Winner: UNLV Runnin' Rebels

#9 Missouri vs. #8 Colorado State - The Tigers and the Rams. Tigers are fierce, as I've stated prior. Rams do have some mean-looking horns but the lead Tiger, Phil Pressey, is pretty damn good and should lead his ambush of Tigers to victory. Winner: Missouri Tigers

#12 Akron vs. #5 VCU - Wooooo Zips and more Rams. Zips sometimes refers to a derogatory term used by mobsters referencing newer immigrant mafioso and these Zips are equally scary. The Rams are an experienced team used to winning. There will be no guns involved to hunt Rams in this game which is why I'm giving the edge to VCU. Besides, Zippy the kangaroo, Akron's mascot, isn't really all that intimidating. Winner: VCU Rams

#14 Harvard vs. #3 New Mexico - The Crimson and the Lobos. While crimson is a shade of red, the color of blood, I don't think Harvard can match up with the Lobos on the hardwood. A lobo is a timber wolf in English and these wolves should have mo problem chopping down the Ivy Leaguers. Winner: New Mexico Lobos

#13 Montana vs. #4 Syracuse - The Grizzlies and the Orange. Unless the Orange can get some points on the board, the Grizzlies will hang around with upset in mind. The bear typically eats an orange--or does it?--but Otto is one bad-ass orange and should help the 'Cuse squeeze out a close win. Winner: Syracuse Orange

Have a great day and let the games begin. March Madness is here, baby!

2013 NCAA Tournament: By the Colors

Orange reigns at the Carrier Dome and the East Region

With the NCAA Tournament come schools: a) you cheer for, b) you root against, c) you've never heard of, d) whose mascot you think is cool and/or e) whose colors you like.

For the purpose of this post, I'm going to breakdown each region by primary color based on the athletic page of said schools on Wikipedia. (Note: Indiana's primary color is cream.)

Midwest Region
This region is dominated by reds (Louisville, Cincinnati and Saint Mary's) and blues (Saint Louis, Memphis, Creighton and Duke) but the thing that makes this region stand out is the greens. Colorado State, Oregon and Michigan State are the only teams in the field with green as their primary colors. There's also a brown (Valparaiso), gold (Missouri), orange (Oklahoma State) and purple (Albany) in here, all but rounding out the color wheel.

Reds - 4; Blues - 5; Greens - 3; Others - 4

West Region
Here's a region dominated by the color red. Eight teams feature a shade of red as their primary colors: Ole Miss, Wisconsin, Arizona, New Mexico, Harvard, Iowa State, Ohio State and Iona. Whew! Running second in the color scheme of things is blue (Southern, Pitt, Boise State and LaSalle (one of whom will be out tonight) and Belmont). A black (Wichita State), white (Gonzaga), purple (Kansas State) and a gold (Notre Dame). A very diverse yet top-heavy region out west.

Reds - 8; Blues - 5; Greens - 0; Others - 4

South Region
Another region dominated by a single color, this time of the blue variety. Kansas, North Carolina, Villanova, Akron, South Dakota State, UCLA, Georgetown and Florida Gulf Coast are the schools who sport true blue, even though UCLA is truly the only one with "true blue" as their primary hue. Red has a moderate showing with four schools (Western Kentucky, Minnesota, San Diego State and Oklahoma). There's also a black (VCU), a maize (Michigan), an orange (Florida) and a purple (Northwestern State), but blues rule the south.

Reds - 4; Blues - 8; Greens - 0; Others - 4

East Region
This is where the colors get a little brighter, specifically in the shade of orange. Five schools comprise this section of the color spectrum: Syracuse, Bucknell, Illinois, Miami (FL) and Pacific. Besides the predominantly orange aspect of this region, it's also the most diverse in terms of non-red and blue teams. As stated, Indiana is cream. James Madison is purple while LIU-Brooklyn is black, though one will be eliminated tonight. Colorado is gold. There are five schools whose primary color is red (NC State, Temple, UNLV, Montana and Davidson) while three feature blue (Cal, Butler and Marquette).

Reds - 5; Blues - 3; Greens - 0; Others - 9

All of the above may not clarify which color has the best offs of winning the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship, so here's one final look at all the remaining teams - all 66 of them.

Reds - 21 teams - 32% of the field
Blues - 21 teams - 32% of the field
Orange - 7 teams - 11% of the field
White/Black/Cream - 5 teams - 7.5% of the field
Purple - 4 teams - 6% of the field
Yellow/Gold - 4 teams - 6% of the field
Greens - 3 teams - 5% of the field
Brown - 1 team - 1.5% of the field

Sorry for failing to mention Middle Tennessee State and Liberty, two teams eliminated last night, who feature blue as their primary color.

The Colors of March are complete.