The brief respite, though, also gives me a chance to evaluate my picks. How am I doing? Pretty well, actually. Last Monday, I picked 13 teams worth watching out for, predicting that eight of them would eventually make up the Elite Eight, and one would be your national champion. One week later, my list still looks respectable, if not wholly clairvoyant.
Here are my eight remaining teams.
Here are my eight remaining teams.
- Louisville
- Michigan State
- Missouri
- Memphis
- Pitt
- Villanova
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
Obviously, Memphis and Missouri, who face off against one another Thursday night, can't both make the Elite Eight, but the other seven have a very good shot at filling out the bracket. Not too bad. Not particularly surprising either, given the team's respective national rankings heading into the tournament. But still pretty good.
As for the five teams that didn’t make it to the Sweet 16, I only regret picking BYU, which was a total shot in the dark, and based almost exclusively on Ken Pomeroy’s ratings. I also thought they had a shot of upsetting a suspiciously soft UConn squad in the second round, if A&M hadn't gotten in the Cougars's way. Hence my exclusion of the Huskies from my original list. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Purdue knocks them off this weekend. If I could have one mulligan, I would have picked the Boilermakers instead of the Cougars. Hindsight is, of course, always 20/20.
I’m most surprised-- and upset-- that West Virginia didn’t win a single game. Statistically, they should have been a lock for the Sweet 16, if not the Elite Eight. I also thought Arizona State’s offense (re: Harden) was better than it showed in the first two rounds. Serves me right for backing a Pac-10 team. Texas could have (should have?) beaten Duke, but my selection of the Longhorns was, admittedly, a bit of reach, even if the Blue Devils fall to Villanova Thursday night. And VCU? Well, they broke my heart. I had high hopes for Maynor and the Rams.
As for the five teams that didn’t make it to the Sweet 16, I only regret picking BYU, which was a total shot in the dark, and based almost exclusively on Ken Pomeroy’s ratings. I also thought they had a shot of upsetting a suspiciously soft UConn squad in the second round, if A&M hadn't gotten in the Cougars's way. Hence my exclusion of the Huskies from my original list. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Purdue knocks them off this weekend. If I could have one mulligan, I would have picked the Boilermakers instead of the Cougars. Hindsight is, of course, always 20/20.
I’m most surprised-- and upset-- that West Virginia didn’t win a single game. Statistically, they should have been a lock for the Sweet 16, if not the Elite Eight. I also thought Arizona State’s offense (re: Harden) was better than it showed in the first two rounds. Serves me right for backing a Pac-10 team. Texas could have (should have?) beaten Duke, but my selection of the Longhorns was, admittedly, a bit of reach, even if the Blue Devils fall to Villanova Thursday night. And VCU? Well, they broke my heart. I had high hopes for Maynor and the Rams.
The eventual national champion, though, is still on my list of eight remaining teams. I guarantee it.
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