Chalkfest 09

DISCLAIMER: My sorry attempt to make an image on paint has yeilded this. It is not much, but it is the best I can do with my limited talents and I am going to love it as if it were a perfectly normal picture.

With that out of the way, I would like to recognize what a great job the selection committee did this year in organizing the tournament field: All of the 1, 2, and 3 seeds; as well as 3 of the four 4 seeds advanced to the sweet sixteen. The Pat Forde's of the world can lament all they want about the lack of cinderella teams in the sweet sixteen, but I have no problem watching the most talented teams in the country play. We don't need to have some pretender come along playing in way over their heads, that all the marginal basketball fans watching the tourney can pin their dreams on. Realistically, none of those mid major teams (Gonzaga and Memphis being the exception) are ever going to win a championship. So I say we should enjoy the great upsets (Siena, Portland State) that did happen in the first round and look forward to a great weekend of basketball ahead. My predictions hold true for my teams as far as Villanova, UCONN, and Oklahoma are concerned. I think Oklahoma is going to have a real tough time with red hot Syracuse, but Blake Griffin, has shown this tournament that he won't be rattled (video).

As far as Arizona goes though, I am going to make some revisions. I said before that they would run into a "brick wall" in Louisville, But thus far in the tournament the cardinals have looked more like a stick wall--three little pigs reference, that just happened. Arizona meanwhile has been playing at the top of their game, getting great contributions from all three of their stars. If they remain hot and Louisville can't find a way to get some outside shots to fall, we will have a 12 seed in the elite eight. I'll even go out on a limb and say that it is going to happen. Nick Wise will continue to shoot the ball well, Jordan Hill will abuse Samardo Samuels on the block, and Chase Budinger will do a little bit of everything like he has all year. Louisville got annointed as a juggernaut because they breezed through the end of their schedule, but that was when a lot of teams were tired and dealing with injuries. Now that everyone is back at full strength, they are vulnerable.

That is all for now. Rest up and restock the fridge for another great weekend ahead.