The Madness tips off with the Southeast 16 matchup, and the right to be abused by actor turned coach Jamie Dixon and Big East champs Pitt. UNC-Asheville and Arkansas-Little Rock are the pairing, and it should be a good game as the vast majority will be this week. The Ark-LR Trojans struggled down the stretch before getting hot in the Sun Belt conference tourney. UNC-Asheville took the Big South, and we're going with the Bulldogs. First, it's their mascot name, second is their coach Eddie Biedenbach, who was an assistant under Hugh Durham at Georgia for a long time in the 80s. They also beat Auburn back in November, and played North Carolina somewhat close earlier in the year as well. Plus, they once had the most massive human being we've ever seen in 7'7 Kenny George, who would be in the NBA if a staph infection didn't cost him part of his foot. Yep, NC-Asheville wins the first game of the NCAA Tourney this year.
Later tonight will be the East 12 matchup for the chance to lose to Huggy Bear and West Virgina in the noon game Thursday afternoon (that quick turnaround will play a part in the L). UAB vs. Clemson, and we're obviously going with the Blazers of UAB. Maybe Brad Brownwell will be different, but until we see otherwise, Clemson is nothing but losers. They can win just enough to make you forget that at times, but when things matter, Clemson loses, always. Oliver "Peanuthead" Purnell took this same team to the NCAA the last several years thanks to a weak non-conference schedule and a .500 or so record in the brand name ACC. But then, that brand name ACC is thanks to Duke and North Carolina, not the usual pack of scrubs around them where you'll get maybe 1 or 2 respectable others but the majority of that conference has tended towards suckitude of late (see Virginia, Georgia Tech, NC St, Miami, Wake Forest, et al). The Blazers have been solid under Mike Davis, and while they've only made the NIT of late, at least they can win when they get there. And to repeat, until shown otherwise, Clemson is a perennial loser. Pick them at your own peril.
Wednesday at 6:40, the East 16 is between UT-San Antonio vs. Alabama St. We're not gonna pretend like we know either team, or that it matters since Ohio St will bludgeon either one come Friday, so we'll make the pick lady-like using mascots. UTSA is the Roadrunners, Bama State the Hornets, and as huge fans of old looney tunes, we're going with the Roadrunners of Texas-San Antonio, because even a super genius could never catch that stupid bird.
The later game Wednesday is Virginia Commonwealth and Southern Cal for the 11 seed in the Southwest and a Friday game vs. the Georgetown Hoyas. Former Florida assistant Shaka Smart has done well for VCU, in addition to having an awesome name. He's done so well, he may be on the move to a bigger school such as Georgia Tech or Arkansas when the Rams' season ends this weekend. On the other hand, Southern Cal's Kevin O'Neil just got suspended (and reinstated for Wednesday) after getting into a "verbal confrontation" with a booster of his former school Arizona during the Pac 10 tourney. O'Neil was a sacrificial lamb at the end of the Lute Olsen era in Arizona, and stunk up Thompson-Boling during his days at Tennessee, among multiple other stops and firings in his career. Chances are, he's not gonna last much longer for the Trojans once the NCAA sanctions have run their course. We'll take Shaka Smart and the Rams in this one, and it won't be as close as the other 3 play-in games in our opinion.
The Madness is here, and quite possibly the greatest weekend in sports begins tonight. We're going back to college days baby, the weekend starts on Tuesday!
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