Some early reactions to the NCAA men’s hoops tourney (in progress!) …
- I’m glad Purdue got in … if only to see Lute Olsen’s Arizona Wildcats beat them up in the first round in New Orleans. Purdue as a #9 seed bodes well for Indiana being an 8.
- Butler gets a dangerous #12 seed, but they won’t have to worry. They’ll win.
- Wisconsin gets a nice road to the Sweet Sixteen
- Winthrop may join them, as my early upset special
- Illinois is a #12 seed??? That usually doesn’t happen in the major conferences, and it bodes well for them returning to the Sweet Sixteen.
- Indiana is a #7 seed! Excellent! It is a rematch with Gonzaga, the team who ousted us last year under Mike Davis. Zags coach Mark Few was my choice to replace Davis (although I’m glad we have Kelvin Sampson).
- Duke is going down. They’ll lose to VCU in the first round.
- Michigan State gets a #9 seed and a date with Marquette. That’s potentially a tough loss for the Spartans.
- Georgetown gets a #2 seed. I’m looking forward to rooting for them against Belmont, since former IU player Patrick Ewing, Jr. is a player for the Hoyas.
- Bob Knight might be Ewing’s second-round opponent in Winston-Salem, assuming Texas Tech upsets #7 Boston College.
- Bad draw for North Texas. They aren’t likely to beat #2 Memphis, but they were a team I was looking at as a nice upset choice. No longer.
- The Big Ten teams are well aligned for a nice second-week showing. These six teams should produce a much better outcome than last year, I hope.
- Drexel was a surprise. Maybe they’ll win the NIT.
The Informatics crew has a bracket group again this year. I am so winning.