Madness Picks Revisited and a Guest Column

Last Wednesday, I threw my hat into the March Madness and tried my hand at picking the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, with the promise of revisiting my picks today.

What a horrible idea.

Out of 16 teams, I successfully predicted five making it to the Sweet 16 (Michigan State, Kansas State, Kentucky, West Virginia and Purdue). Since you’re supposed to dance with who brung ya (unless someone hotter comes along), I am sticking with four of these five to make it to the Final Four.

I’ve decided to let someone who knows a lot more about this stuff than I do take over for the Talkin’ with Tewks March Madness coverage. CSzem’s column is below. I have no idea what the hell he is talking about half the time, but it sounds smart. Unfortunately, he actually uses research, data and ‘facts’ to write his column, which goes against everything I believe in as a writer.

"Unfit in Ontario on my Sectional”

I can’t help but notice the stark contrast between the weekend that Tewks had and the weekend that I had. Saturday afternoon, while your regular blogger was competing in a challenge to be considered the Fittest Man in the World, I was competing in an epic adventure centred on drinking and gambling (or as I usually call it “Saturday”).

As Tewks has correctly pointed out, March Madness is a sacred time for people like me (support meetings are every Wednesday). Quite simply, the tournament provides a veritable smorgasbord of betting options. It’s like the Super Bowl, but spread out over 4 weeks. The most popular form of gambling this time of year is, of course, the bracket. Everyone’s got one. Your boss has one. That annoying woman from Accounting has one. Your pregnant wife has one (that’s the one that’s beating yours). This is the one with all the bragging rights. Sadly, it’s also the least lucrative of any of the gambling options (and certainly the one you’re least likely to win).

With the Sweet 16 now set, and another great weekend ahead of us, I’ll try my hand at some picks for the world to see (and ultimately ridicule). The irony of this is that Tewks makes his picks based on who’s seeded higher and/or where he’d rather go to school. My picks are derived from literally hours upon hours of watching games, breaking down stats, analyzing gambling trends, and devouring any other information I can find to make an informed decision. And our success rate will probably be nearly identical.

THE PICKS

Butler (+7) v. Syracuse

I like Syracuse to win, but I think Butler grinds it out and keeps within striking distance.

Prediction: 64-60 ‘Cuse

West Virginia (-4.5) v. Washington

Washington’s hot play from the latter half of the Pac-10 Regular Season and Conference Tournament certainly carried over into the first weekend of the tournament. It’s also entirely possible that Marquette was never any good and New Mexico, despite their nice season, simply wasn’t ready for prime time.

Prediction: 79-70 West Virginia

Kansas State (-4.5) v. Xavier

K-State was easily among the most impressive teams in the first two rounds. They’re an elite team, and can absolutely win the whole thing, especially after their in-state nemesis (Kansas) was taken out by a team led by a little white kid named Ali Falkjflakfjlkasdfjalsdfjlasdjfdlkjasflkjfasdlkasdfj.

Prediction: 81-68 K-State

Kentucky (-9) v. Cornell

5 years from now the only time any of these people will be in the same room is if John Wall needs his taxes done or DeMarcus Cousins needs an attorney to get him out of jail.

Prediction: 77-60 Kentucky

Ohio St. (-4.5) v. Tennessee

Tennessee just isn’t that good. They were lucky to beat San Diego St. and then lucked into playing Ohio. Conversely, Evan Turner is VERY good.

Prediction: 74-66 Ohio St.

St. Mary’s (+3.5) v. Baylor

The Upset Special: At the very least, St. Mary’s has the ability to keep this thing close till the end.

Prediction: 74-73 St. Mary’s

Duke (-8) v. Purdue

Would prison really be that bad, Tewks? I mean, you get your meals all taken care of, you get to exercise regularly. Sure, there is that “other thing”.....but I’m not nearly as pretty as Tewks, so I think I’d be OK. Let’s forget we talked about this.

Prediction: 68-54 Duke

Michigan St (-1.5) v. Northern Iowa

Everyone and their cousin are going to be riding Northern Iowa, completely ignoring the fact that they had never heard of them a week ago. UNI took out Kansas, Michigan St. isn’t as good as Kansas, so this should be no problem. The betting public is going to LOVE Northern Iowa. Of course, Vegas wasn’t built because the uninformed betting public has a high success rate. I think MSU guts it out and UNI doesn’t live up to their newfound expectations.

Prediction: 62-60 Michigan St.

Elite Eight

Kentucky over West Virginia, 79-77 in a thriller.

Syracuse over K-State, 74-70. The Orange’s destruction of Gonzaga brought me back on board.

Duke over St. Mary’s, 69-62. Nice run for the Gaels, but these are the big boy games now.

Ohio St. over Michigan St., 71-65. They were better in the Big-10, they’ll be better here.

I swear these predictions have absolutely nothing to do with the litany of bets I have remaining. Absolutely nothing.