NCAA Tournament 5 Final 4's

I have completed 5 brackets on ESPN. com, and for your viewing pleasure, here are my Final 4s:

1. Duke Wins

Illini beats Wake Forest
Duke beats UNC

Duke beats Illini 70-78

2. The Illini Win

Illini beats Louisville
UNC beats Duke

Illini beats UNC 72-66

3. UNC Wins

Illini beats Louisvile
UNC beats Duke

UNC beats Illini 76-75

4. Utah Wins (Bogut is a stud)

Illini beats Louisville

Utah beats UNC

Utah beats Illini 72-70

5. Alabama Wins (I had to do it)

Alabama beats Wake Forest
Duke beats Florida

Alabama beats Duke 75-70



Stay Tuned...

Coming soon:

Preview the SEC Tournament, Conf USA Tournament, and Grizzlies @ Utah (Thursday)


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Getting Caught Up: The Crimson Tide

After the heart-breaking loss at LSU last week, Alabama looked to come back strong with a win over #4 Kentucky. When they sprinted out to a 13 point first half lead, I looked at my fraternity brother, Zach Milner, and told him, "We're going to lose this game, you don't put UK in a hole like that this early, unless you blow them out..." Sure enough, by halftime, it was down to a 7 point lead. Then UK got their spark, or Sparks, I should say. This kid was unbelievable. He hit 7 3-pointers in the 2nd half. I started to say, wow, that kid just shot us out of the game, but then, I saw some highlights. What I realize now is that every open look he had, Earnest Shelton was struggling through a screen, or around a corner and was late getting a hand in Sparks' face.

So, a 2-game losing streak, and I know just the thing to cure that...AUBURN!

The Tigers are AWFUL this year, they don't have a big man on their roster, and they don't have any real shooters either. Long story short, Alabama BLOWS THEM OUT of Coleman, 94-53. With LSU winning in Oxford at the same time, Alabama will have a chance for the outright SEC West title, and the No. 2 spot in the SEC tournament with a win Saturday @ Mississippi State.
Shelton and Winston had 24 last night, and if they can shoot in Starkvegas, the Tide can roll to a WEST title, and get primed for a deep run into the tournament. ESPN "Braketology" currently places the Tide @ 5th, with a 32 matchup with Syracuse, and a 16 matchup with Illinois. A big win to bump us to a 4 would be great, and the signature road win we've been missing this year could be taken Saturday.

Stay Tuned...

Alabama @ Mississippi State priview tomorrow (after my 1:30 Fantasy Baseball Live Draft)

Grizzlies v. Wizards 6 p.m. (FSN)

Versus

The Grizzlies (30-23) hope to welcome back James Posey to the line-up after a few weeks on the IL with a strained Achilles, however the comeback will be bittersweet, as his activation just makes room for Stromile Swift to find a seat behind the bench nursing a "severely Sprained Ankle" according to the Commercial Appeal.

Washington (30-22) last three straight going into the break, and hold the 5th-seed in the East (.5 game behind Cleveland for the 4), as the Grizzlies will try to shake off two straight losses on the road against Eastern Conference Playoff teams. Both losses came down to a last second shot that Mike Miller missed both times.

Washington looks to make the playoffs after a ten year (YES, 10, even with MJ) absence, and make a push for home-court advantage. The Grizzlies are really just trying to hold on to the 7th seed in the west long enough to get Gasol back on the court, hopefully in time to make a push into the 5 or 6 spot (to avoid the Spurs).

The Grizzlies will look to build on the .5 game the Rockets gave them by losing to Seattle last night, and get back within a 1/2 game of the 6th spot. Hopefully the kings will continue their slide, and allow us to sneak up even further.

Very good article on ESPN.com today by Chad Ford, primarily dealing with the new NBA Collective bargaining Agreement (CBA), which is set to expire in June (which could lead to a work-stoppage). Worth a read if you have time.

Washington is favored 3 points at home. I am going to quit making guesses, since I seem to be bad luck...

I hope to get back to some political writing soon, just been swamped with paperwork at BDBCB.

Stay Tuned...

Alabama v. LSU Postgame...

Heartbreak...

What else can you say? I was all over the map last night. The game starts, and I'm optimistic, then, 5 minutes in, I'm looking to see what movies are on. By the time halftime came around, I was cautiously confident. When the ESPN crew said we came out of the locker room chanting about not letting an opportunity slip by, I was fired up.

When LSU started to pull away with 6 minutes to play, I told Robyn we were going to lose. Then Jean Felix made magic, and when Kennedy hit the 3 to Tie the game with 12 seconds left, I knew we were done. I couldn't believe they didn't take the last time out when the 3-pointer fell. As Brandon Bass drove and threw up a prayer, I gasped...HE MISSED IT, HE MISS...oh fuck. Who the hell is Ross Neltner!

Kennedy said it best "They really didn't know what they wanted to do, so Bass threw up the shot and missed it, All of the sudden this dude came out of nowhere."

Just that fast, the Alabama season went from "the sky's the limit" to "we need to win out to win the SEC WEST".

You knew early that things weren't good for our guys. It seemed like they were thinking about the Wildcats, and not the Tigers. We got out rebounded, by almost 20! We missed free throws down the stretch, we shot horribly from 3-point range (yes, you Earnest), and Toward the end of the second half, our guys looked afraid to go into the paint. The last thing we needed was Chuck Davis taking a 16 footer in the last two minutes while we are behind 4 points.

Now we look at this Kentucky game as real test of what we can do in the Tournament. If we can come out and play with intensity, get the three-headed monster of Chuck D, Shelton, and Winston firing on all cylinders, and REBOUND (*cough cough* Jermareo *cough cough*) we can put ourselves into a 3-seed for the dance, and maybe buy a bye in the SEC tournament.

ROLL TIDE!

Stay Tuned...

Alabama v. LSU 8p.m. ESPN

Versus

Alabama can wrap up the SEC Western Division title with a win at the Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge tonight. The game will be televised Nationally on ESPN, and will feature two of the SEC's hottest players in Kennedy Winston, and Brandon Bass.

Bass, the 6-8 Sophomore forward has been on a tear lately, averaging 24 points and 11 rebounds last week in wins versus Miss St. and Florida. The Tigers are also on a surge with the emergence of Freshman C/F Glen Davis, who has posted 3 double-doubles in the last 6 games, and has really helped LSU put together some defensive toughness.

The Tide is coming of a great week, with wins over South Carolina and Ole Miss, but must be careful not to look ahead to Saturdays matchup with Kentucky, as a loss tonight would put LSU 1-game back of the Tide for first place, and the schedules favor LSU for the last two weeks. The Tide has games with LSU, Kentucky, Auburn, and then @ Mississippi State, while LSU gets Alabama tonight, then Ole Miss, Vandy, and Auburn.

Steele had a great game last time the Tigers met the Tide in January, a 73-58 win in Tuscaloosa. He will have to interrupt the flow of the LSU offense again tonight, if the Tide is going to neutralize the Tigers home floor.

ROLL TIDE!!

Stay Tuned...

Alabama v. South Carolina 3 p.m.

Versus



Game will be shown regionally on JP sports @ 3pm central.

South Carolina recently knocked off #3 Kentucky (who will come to Coleman next Saturday), and are looking for a big road win to help solidify an NCAA tournament bid.

Will Albert Weber be back? Will Chuck Davis be healthy? Will Alabama take care of business, and not start thinking ahead to Auburn, LSU, or Miss St.?

The questions are endless, but the game will not be. We will have a winner this time tomorrow.

Stay Tuned...