Tag / Virginia

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Put On Your Dancing Shoes

The nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks as the NCAA tournament kicks off later today.  I’m not in any pools this year, so most of these selections have no ultimate bearing on my life, aside from personal pride.  With the Final Four and the Championship taking place just down the road in Indianapolis, I may have to expend a not-insignificant amount of money should a certain school from West Lafayette manage to make it that far.  So, without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s selections.

Maybe it is personal bias, but I am expecting big things from the two Big Ten teams in this bracket, including one making their way to the Final Four.

Purdue followed up a disappointing end to the regular season with a spirited run through the Big Ten Tournament to capture the championship.  Are they fixed?  Well, I hope so since I have them coming out of this region and heading to Indy. Continue reading →

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It’s Time To Go Dancing

The nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks as the NCAA tournament kicks off later today.  I’m not in any pools this year, so most of these selections have no ultimate bearing on my life, aside from personal pride.  I do happen to have a hotel room booked for Houston for Final Four weekend just in case, so fingers crossed.  So, without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s selections.

Alabama enters the tournament under a cloud of scandal, as their star player was recently involved in the murder of a young woman.  Because of that, I have second seed Arizona going to the Final Four.

Fun fact: the first college basketball game I ever attended was Purdue versus Houston at Market Square Arena back in 1993.  Both teams are top seeds in this tournament.  It pains me to have Indiana going as far as I do, but they were a formidable opponent this year, so I see them giving the field a run for their money.  In the end, though, I have Xavier going on to Houston.

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Socially Distanced Dancing

Because money is more important than the health of their so-called student athletes, the NCAA tournament returns after a year break caused by the outbreak of the corona virus.  For reasons that I’m sure make some sort of sense, games this year will be Friday through Monday instead of Thursday through Sunday.  As the nation’s attention is grabbed for the next few weeks, let’s take a look at my picks for this year’s tournament.

A few minor upsets, but the overall #1 seed, Gonzaga, makes it out on their way to the Final Four.

Purdue finds themselves the #4 seed, playing tomorrow night at Lucas Oil Stadium.  Again, there’s a few minor upsets early in the going, but I have things chalk in the Elite Eight, where Ohio State, the #2 seed, gets through. Continue reading →

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16 Left Standing

We enter the Sweet 16 without the major upsets of last year, but also without the Cinderella team for the nation to rally around.  My Boilermakers are still alive, thanks to their thrashing of defending champion Villanova last weekend, which makes me cautiously optimistic about their chances this weekend.

Things look pretty good in the East, with only one of my Sweet Sixteen picks already out of the running.

Things aren’t looking so hot here, where I only have 2 picks still alive and none of them picked to pass through to the Elite 8.  On the plus side, this may mean an easier road to the Final Four for the old alma mater.

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Time To Go Dancing

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m down to just one pool this year; one at my mom’s work.  Without further ado, let’s take a look at this year’s selections.

I’m not seeing much in the way of upsets here, with overall #1 seed Duke my pick to make it to the Final Four.

Purdue finds themselves the #3 seed, playing the first weekend in Hartford.  Given Virginia’s historic poor showing last year, I don’t see them doing much with the #1 seed, so I expect quite a few upsets in this region.

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Keep On Dancing

As we enter the Sweet 16, brackets across the nation are busted thanks to upsets galore, including the first ever 16 seed knocking off a 1 seed.  Thankfully, my Boilermakers are still alive, and thanks to my trip to Vegas this week, I have some money riding on them to win the whole thing.  Crazier things have already happened in this year’s tournament.

I’m in trouble here, as only 1 team I picked heading in to the Sweet 16 is still alive.  Virginia, the overall #1 seed, lost in the first round to the upstarts from UMBC.  Exciting times all around.

I’ve got 2 out of the remaining 4 teams still alive, and my final four slot here is still in play.  Hopefully I lose that, though, on my way to paying off the Vegas bet.

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Dancing Days Are Here Again

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m down to just two pools this year; one at my mom’s work, and one run by a friend, as the work pool died due to lack of interest.  If it weren’t for my upcoming trip to Las Vegas, I’d likely be heading to Detroit this weekend to cheer on the Boilermakers.

A couple of upsets make up my first bracket, with the #2 seed, the Bearcats of Cincinnati, being my pick to advance to the Final Four.

After some late season stumbles, Purdue winds up as the #2 seed.  Villanova is the early favorite to win the whole thing, and, using my head instead of my heart, I’m picking them to come out of the East.

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Sweet Sixteen

As we head in to the Sweet Sixteen, I’m currently towards the bottom in my work pool, thanks to upsets galore that have wiped out many of my picks.  3 out of my 4 Final Four picks are still alive, but with plenty of people picking Kansas to win the whole thing, I’ll need to get as many early points as I can.

2016Souths16

Some tough breaks here in the South bracket, but the good news is that my champion is still alive.

2016Easts16

My best bracket to date, with only 3 losses. Continue reading →

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Tournament Time

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m in three different pools again this year, one at work, one at my mom’s work, and one run by a friend.  The Purdue Boilermakers return to the tournament for the second straight year, though they will likely not have an easy go of it.

2016SouthThe South bracket has the overall #1 seed in Kansas, who is also my pick to win the whole shebang.

2016EastThe Big 10 is well represented in the East region, with both IU and Wisconsin picked to make it to the Sweet Sixteen.

 

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