Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Brent Hinckley's Article About March Madness, courtesy of the Kingman Daily Miner

Later today, the NCAA selection committee will emerge from its' hotel room in Indianapolis and reveal the most important bracket of the year.
When the brackets are revealed, millions of basketball fans are going to eagerly fill out their brackets. Unfortunately, a lot of those people won't do a good job of filling out their bracket, because they haven't seen a lot of these teams play.
Some fans might just go upset-crazy and select all the underdogs to win. That's fine when deciding between No. 8 and No. 9 seed, or a No. 7 and a No. 10, but a No. 15 over a No. 2, that's a "stinky bracket."

Because I don't want any of the paper's readers to make these silly mistakes, I'm going to help out by telling you which teams to keep your eyes on this year. So, here we go.

The Favorites

North Carolina (27-4, 14-2)

The Tar Heels are the most talented team in the country. Don't worry about the Heels' loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday in the ACC tournament. UNC is a No. 1 lock. With the talent of Rashad McCants, Sean May, Raymond Felton and Jawad Williams, these guys are a safe bet to make the trip to St. Louis for the Final Four. The downside to UNC is actually coach Roy Williams. Despite being one of the most successful coaches in the history of college basketball, he has yet to be the big one. There is no doubt he can get his team into the finals, but can he finally break through?

Illinois (33-1, 15-1)

The Illini were one win away from completing the undefeated regular season. A loss to Ohio State may have broken that streak, but it just may be the difference maker, now that Illinois has been stung by a loss.

The loss of coach Bruce Weber's mother on Friday might be the motivation, the Illini need to stand behind their coach and cruise through the tournament.
Dee Brown is the most recognized name on this team, but the team does not live or die by his performance.

The Dangerous

Syracuse (26-6, 11-5)
If you have not seen the Orange play this year, you don't have cable. Syracuse has to hold the record for the team most shown by ESPN this year. With seniors Gerry McNamara and Hakim Warrick making another run at a second NCAA Championship, Orange opponents need to be on guard.

UConn (22-7, 13-3)

The defending National Champions. Gone is Emeka Okafor; gone is last year's amazing team. However, the Huskies are still a dangerous team and appear to be hitting their peak at just the right time.

Kansas (23-5, 12-4)

The Jayhawks are the most inconsistent top-10 team right now. The talent behind Keith Langford, Wayne Simien and Aaron Miles is enough to carry KU deep into the tournament. However, that three-game losing streak in the middle of the season could come back to haunt Kansas.

Arizona (27-5, 15-3)

The Wildcats have the best shooter in the country in Salim Stoudamire, but the rest of the team can be so inconsistent that the 'Cats can beat anybody one night and lose to lowly Washington State on another. UA could be an Elite Eight team or could be out in the first round.

The "Cinderella" teams

Pacific (26-2, 18-0)

The most underrated team in the tournament. Critics will blast Pacific because they play in the Big West, but don't be surprised when the Tigers are in the Elite Eight.

St. Mary's (25-8, 11-3)

The new Gonzaga (and they're in the same conference as the 'Zags.) They cracked the top 25 this year. A good, solid team, but it won't be dancing past the Sweet 16.
The time has come to fill out your bracket, now do so wisely.

Brent Hinckley is the Miner's sports writer. He can be reached by e-mail at bhinckley@kingmandailyminer.com