Road to March Madness

In the midst of teams gathering for Spring Training this week, basketball season heated up quite a bit. While I won't claim to be a big expert on the NBA (and specifically with the Bucks continuing to spin their wheels), certainly some of the trades that took place will help many teams contend...but that's for another time. Today I'd like to talk about college basketball, and what to expect from the big tournament next month.

There are few playoff setups in sports today that really get it right. Partially because of how some sports are played limits their formats, partially because few are able to capture the tense atmosphere. The NCAA basketball tournament, which has been given several catchy nicknames like "The Big Dance" and "March Madness", is without a doubt my favorite format. Each game matters, and I'm convinced any team can win on any given day. That's something that can't be said for rotisserie and best of 7 formats, the excitement just lacks a little there. Because if you lose, you always have the next game to look forward to.

Not only is each game exciting, but the field is so wide and there's so much action going on. If one game turns into a blowout, it's likely there will be another one at the same time which might be more exciting. The game makes it so that the teams can keep playing day after day, and there are no week breaks until it gets down to the finals, so there's just non-stop action. You can argue whether its the best format, but it's by far my favorite.

So who should we keep an eye on? Personally, I don't see a clear cut favorite. For as good as Duke is, they are beatable. Kansas is a very good team, but they also can have an off day. The Big East is all great, but it's been almost a decade since one of those teams won a national championship. My advice is to ride the number 1 seeds till a tough matchup and then make a gut call. People love upsets, but these teams get those seeds for a reason, far too often do people try to call a #1 upset too early. Sometimes you get lucky, but the rest of the time you're just being stupid. Chances are if a #1 loses early, nobody in your pool called it.

Wisconsin and Marquette are both coming off big road victories this week. In the Big Ten, home court advantage means a lot. So to beat a fairly good Michigan team in their house on a buzzer beater is nothing to discredit, it was a solid game that Wisconsin overcame with some heroics. Marquette gutted out a hard fought match at #14 ranked UConn. Gold Eagles fans be proud, I'm about 99% sure Marquette just punched their ticket for the dance with that victory. Late season signature wins like that mean the world no matter what your record is.

Jordan Taylor

I'm uncertain what to expect from each team, both of whom have weaknesses that can be exposed by even decent teams. Wisconsin lives outside the paint, and with a pressure defense on them, they struggle to score consistently. If they are going to be successful, they need to use some of their size inside with Leuer and Brusewitz and try to open up the outside more for their prime scorer Jordan Taylor. If Wisconsin will have one difference maker this postseason, it will be Taylor, who has turned out to be a pretty special player. He is a true guard who remains fairly consistent. A game manager who averages 18 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds a game. That's solid production, and it's his well rounded game that makes him such an important player.

Jimmy Butler

For Marquette, the other end of the court seems to be their issue: defense. It's partly that Big East style, but this team can't get away with some of sloppy fundamentals they show. The silly turnovers, the breakdowns in coverage, they've shown time and again that a 10-point lead is not safe. However, when they get on a roll, they can't be stopped. They can hurt in you so many ways with several scoring threats, and if they can limit the mistakes, they can beat anyone. Inside and outside, they can come at you in so many fashions. If Marquette will have one difference maker this postseason, it will be Darius Johnson-Odom or Jimmy Butler. Each brings a somewhat similar game, but strength where the other lacks. DJO can be a big time scorer and carry the team on his back, as he showed against UConn last night. Butler makes his presence known inside, and can rebound with the best of them, grabbing an average of 6 a game. Butler has been known to have a hot hand too, and is mostly the go-to shooter when they need points. Both need to bring their 'A' games to this tournament to be successful.

That said, my expectation for each team is unfortunately not great. With some good luck and slight adjustments mid-games, each in their own right can make a solid run, but I think it'd be a hope and prayer to even see Wisconsin make the Final Four. This has been quite a year for the state so far though, we'll see if that magic from the Rose Bowl appearance and the Superbowl win can carry over.