This is the final piece in a four-part series looking at the different regions for this year’s men’s NCAA tournament. Part one is here, part two is here, and part three is here. Predictions are overrated (mostly since that hot chick with the nice rack that works three cubicles away from you is going to win your office pool because she likes Kansas’s colors), so we’ll take a look at some of the more interesting stuff within each bracket. Hopefully I’ll have all four brackets done by the time the action tips off on Thursday, but I’ll be piss-ass drunk celebrating other cultures this week, so we’ll see how everything goes.
Best team nickname: North Texas Mean Green. It’s not actually the most bad-ass sounding mascot (that honor goes to Florida State), but I’m going with North Texas for three reasons. First, it’s St. Patrick’s Day so they earn bonus points for the green part. Second, they have less of a chance of winning an actual game so they might as well win something. Finally, their nickname reminds me of a movie I watched way too many times in my childhood, The Big Green (also set in Texas, in case you forgot).
Best player name (but don’t ask me how to pronounce it): Mangisto Arop, Gonzaga. Seriously, just say it (or try to). Arop definitely has the coolest name in a bracket full of white kids, and like the other selections for best name in the region, Mangisto is not American. His player page on the Zags’ website lists him from Edmonton, Alberta (that’s in Canada for you smart kids), but judging by his picture I’m skeptical. I’ll just come out and say it: only white people live in Canada.
Player most likely to get mistaken for one of us (a.k.a. the whitest kid I could find): Zach Hahn, Butler. Our all-tournament honky team wouldn’t be complete without a white kid from Indiana, and Zack Novak isn’t in the tournament this year. Hahn leads the Bulldogs’ non-starters in minutes played and is your stereotypical dead-eye-shooting white guy, hitting 45% of his field goals, 43% (!) on three-pointers, and 93% (don’t get too excited, he was only 13 of 14) from the free-throw line. Oh, and he’s left-handed.
Shut up Jay Bilas, this dude sucks (Mr. Overrated): AJ Ogilvy, Vanderbilt. A 6’11” junior from Australia, Ogilvy has been decent for the Commodores this year, posting 13.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. However, Ogilvy has seen his stats dip in a major way this year (down from 15.4/7.1/1.7), while also shooting at a lower percentage. He also has a bad tendency to disappear at inopportune times for Vandy. He scored 2 points and pulled down four rebounds in their last loss (to Ole Miss). And how does a dude that tall only have one double-double the entire season?
Hottest WAG/Daughter/Celebrity Fan: Erin Andrews. A Florida alum, Andrews is a D4L favorite for obvious reasons. We’re hoping that she wins Dancing With the Stars so we see her in as many episodes as possible, but it would be nice to see her take a break and watch Florida’s only first round game against BYU.
Check out my predictions after the jump…
Why is this region interesting?: Visibility (or lack thereof). How many games have you watched of any of the teams in this region over the course of the season? Other than top seeds Syracuse and Kansas St. getting some run on ESPN, you probably haven’t seen too many of these teams play. This makes it pretty difficult to predict, but because of that, I’m excited to watch some new ball this weekend. Plus, the Syracuse-Vermont matchup is a rematch from the Catamounts’ upset of the Orange 5 years ago. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim is the only person who will have been involved in both games, but it’s interesting nonetheless. Also, 7-seed BYU is ranked above 3-seed Pittsburgh in this week’s AP poll. Go figure.
Don’t bet on this team: Butler Bulldogs. They ran roughshod (18-0) over a weak Horizon league, leaving them as the conference’s only tournament representative. They won’t get to play any of these games in the friendly confines of Hinkle Fieldhouse, and they played a pretty weak schedule. They were only 2-3 against tournament teams, but one of those wins was against an Ohio State squad without National Player of the Year candidate Evan Turner. I don’t see them getting out of the first weekend.
Bracket buster (a.k.a. The George Mason Award): Gonzaga Bulldogs. Do I really think Gonzaga will upset Syracuse? No. Does anyone? Not outside of Spokane, Washington. But the ‘Zags became a big name based on their ability to take down top seeds and make deep runs from relative obscure seedings. Mark Few’s squads have gotten the respect of the tournament committee in recent years, but maybe a return to an underdog role could bring out the best in Gonzaga once again.
Not going down without a fight (Cinderella): Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Gophers squeaked into the tournament on a last-minute run to the Big Ten tournament final (before getting blown out of the gym by Ohio State), and could be riding some good momentum into the tournament. Xavier is no slouch, having split the A-10 regular season title with Temple, but Minny coach Tubby Smith has some talented players on his roster that could come together to make another short run.
Possible first-weekend shocker: Oakland over Pittsburgh. There really isn’t any sound analysis here, I just usually have one or two gut picks every year. Sometimes they turn out (like Cleveland St. and Arizona last year), but most of the time they don’t. This is my gut pick. Plus they’re from Michigan. Shut up.
Final Four representative: Kansas State Wildcats. I’m tempted to predict a flyer coming out of the West, but I just don’t see it happening. Syracuse could be vulnerable after the injury to Arinze Onuaku, even if the MRI checked out. Pitt, Vandy, and Butler all don’t impress me for various reasons, and picking anything lower than that is just asking to be laughed at. Plus the Kansas-Kansas State Final Four matchup would be pretty entertaining.
The action kicks off tomorrow sometime before you’re done at work. Make sure your preferred internet browser is as updated as possible to avoid video-streaming issues, and leave your thoughts, predictions, and pictures of other goofy white kids I missed in the comments.
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