By JIMMY D / World Junior Hockey | Jimmy's archive
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad you didn’t take Jimmy’s advice last year and pick Syracuse to advance to the Final Four?
Jimmy was bang on when he predicted upsets aplenty in last year’s US college basketball championship. Problem was, every game where he picked the upset, the favourite won. And vice versa.
His Syracuse Orange to the Final Four fiasco - out in the first round, upset by a No. 13 seed from Vermont - underscored his lousy 2005 bracket.
After a stunning four-game winning streak and victory in the Big East tournament, you run the risk of getting all juiced over the Orange in 2006. Before you do, you might want to consider their recent track record. The thought of the Orange advancing too far might not be too ap-peeling.
First, they lost nine of their final 13 games, limping into the Big East tourney with barely a chance of even making the Round of 64. And had they lost to Cincy or gotten devoured by the Huskies of UConn as expected, they would be lucky to get an invite to the NIT.
But alas, maybe orange is Cinderella’s favourite colour. Jim Boeheim’s team, led by a scrappy senior guard named Gerry McNamara, turned on the juice.
He drained a running trey at the buzzer to beat Cincy 74-73. He followed that up a night later with a long bomb at the end to send the game with top-ranked Connecticut to OT where the Orange prevailed again.
Wins over No. 23 Georgetown and No. 15 Pitt in the Big East final later and the Orange were in as an improbable No. 5 seed in the Atlanta bracket.
But now what? I know this is mixing metaphors, but is there any steak here or just sizzle? They face Texas A&M, who won seven straight to end the season and nearly took out Texas in the Big 12 tourney.
The Aggies count on Acie Law IV and Joseph Jones and Jimmy sees Syracuse prevailing against their No. 12 foes, but not against LSU, who should handle Metro Atlantic Conference champs Iona with ease.
Now, since I may encounter some of my loyal readers in a bracket contest, I can’t give away all my secrets. I will cherry-pick a few winners for you and then invite you to a few games where you can turn your dynamism into dollars. (See the bottom of the column for some links).
Atlanta
Don’t expect Cinderella to make it to Atlanta. Jimmy sees this as the safest bracket to pick faves.
Duke is the No. 1, but has had a devil of a time lately, losing to Florida State and UNC, before rebounding to win the ACC title (yawn) again. They will get a scare from LSU in the Sweet 16. We see No. 2 Texas (upset by Kansas in the Big 12 final) and West Virginia (who will upset Big Ten champion Iowa) completing this bracket’s last four.
Bracket Swing Game: UNC-Wilmington vs. George Washington. The Colonels only lost once all year, but have injury woes and slipped to a No. 8. Good luck picking this one, I wouldn’t bet a nickel on it. Oakland
Memphis is the top seed in Oakland, although nobody seems to think the Tigers can scratch their way past Pitt or Kansas or whomever they face in the Sweet 16.
They get Oral Roberts first up, who were last in the tourney in 1984, two years before the famous (infamous?) televangelist told his flock he needed $8 million for the school or else God was “calling him home.” Oral got the money, but his plan failed and God didn’t call him home.
Wow, what a digression! Long story short, the Golden Eagles will be called home too after a good thrashing from Memphis.
Jimmy has also heard rumblings about Gonzaga, who never seem to win as a high seed. The madness mumblings are that the No. 3 Bulldogs might not get past No. 14 Xavier, who are peaking at the right time, having upset St. Joe’s to win the Atlantic 10 crown.
Indiana, Marquette and UCLA join the Tigers in the round of 16.
Bracket Swing Game: Bucknell vs. Arkansas. A lot of experts like Arkansas’s recent run. Jimmy watched Bucknell crack the Top 25 for the first time ever earlier this season. I think this is a blowout, but I don’t know for whom. Minneapolis
Whoever makes it out of Minny will have played some great ball and vanquished some great teams. From Villanova at the top to Ohio State, Boston College and Florida at the other high seeds, the round of 16 will see some dynamite action.
This is another bracket where Cinderella is not welcome. These top four teams are heads and shoulders above the rest of the field.
Bracket Swing Game: Arizona vs. Wisconsin. The Badgers always play tough at tourney time and they will consider this a home game. And Wisconsin is nearly impossible at home, which is bad news for Lute Olsen’s cats from the desert. Washington
UConn is a lock at the top of the bracket and No. 3 North Carolina is safe at the bottom. Everything in between is up for grabs. Tennessee is a flimsy No. 2 (some don’t think they can be Winthrop at No. 15 and they are only favored by eight points) and Illinois – last year’s runnerup - has too little size to be a threat at No. 4.
Jimmy’s loves the nickname Shockers, which means Wichita State will appear in his Sweet 16. They face Seton Hall first and probably Tennessee second.
Bracket Swing Game: Utah State vs. Washington. The 12 seeds have done well vs. No. 5’s in recent years and this shapes up as an interesting coaching battle. If the Aggies can dictate the pace, they may upset the Huskies, last year a No. 1 seed.
Now, where to use this new knowledge in pursuit of the perfect bracket. Click here for a few great contests on the web like the ATS Bracket Buster with $1 million, trips to Costa Rica and more at stake, the $1 million Perfect Bracket Game with fantastic main prizes like plasma TVs, iPods and more and the $100,000 Bracket/Props/Poker contest where you can win cash and entries to a $5,000 freeroll Texas Holdem tournament!
In the meantime, get busy, get busting those brackets. Email me with any questions JimmyD@ATS411.com Jimmy D |
