Dance Line$ - Picking the Tournament - Sweet 16

This year, I will be picking every game of the Tournament against the spread.

For the record, I am doing this just for fun - for the love of the game!

Off the record, who knows, so wish me luck. Thanks!

Well, things went a little better for me yesterday, as I was on-point with my Notre Dame pick. As for that thing I said about West Virginia covering, please forget that ever happened.

Record: 20-35-1

Yesterday: 2-2

Friday, 3/27/15. Regional Semifinals:

(2) Gonzaga -8.5 vs (11) UCLA, 7:15PM, Houston, TX, CBS

This might be the year that Mark Few and the Zags finally fulfill their dream of reaching a Final Four and I don't see the upstarts from L.A. disrupting that. Gonzaga rolled over a pretty good Iowa team in their last game and they won at UCLA rather easily way back in December. Yes, the Bruins are a different team than they were then, but they still don't have enough to deal with the Zags.

(4) Louisville -2.5 vs (8) NC State, 7:37PM, Syracuse, NY, TBS

The Wolfpack won the only meeting between the two this season, on the Cardinals' home turf. That came as a surprise at the time, but NC State has shown that that may not have been a fluke. However, the previous result will also provide additional focus and motivation to Rick Pitino and his squad. Pitino is pretty good even without additional help, especially in March. 

(5) Utah +6 vs (1) Duke, 9:45PM, Houston, TX, CBS

Duke is one of those "public teams" that gets a lot of support in Vegas no matter who they're playing. That said, this Blue Devils squad is legit and are the objective favorite to get to the Final Four out of the South region. They looked spectacular in their win over San Diego State last weekend, but Utah will be a different beast. The Utes, too, looked great last weekend, beating Georgetown. Utah has the size to bother Jahlil Okafor and the team defensive prowess to slow down Duke's perimeter attack. I think Duke just sneaks by here. 

(3) Oklahoma +2 vs (7) Michigan State, 10:07PM, Syracuse, NY, TBS

Hey, I know the Spartans are playing terrific basketball of late and Tom Izzo is great and you should never pick against him. But I like the firepower that the Sooners can throw at them with Buddy Hield, Isaiah Cousins, TaShawn Thomas & company. It should be a defensive battle, but Oklahoma has proven they have the ability to win in a variety of ways. Look for Lon Kruger to move on.

Bubble Wrap - Thursday, March 5th

Ok, so we're ten days from Selection Sunday.

These games matter.

All games matter, of course, but these games really matter. Or, at least, they feel like they do.

Either way, this is the last chance for teams to prove they belong in the field of 68.

Last Night's Recap

Miami came away with a huge win at Pittsburgh. Pitt was the team closer to the field going into the game, but the Hurricanes' performance, without their leader, Angel Rodriguez, likely catapults the U ahead of the Panthers and in prime position for further upward movement come ACC Tournament play.

Tulsa had an opportunity to improve their shaky prospects and push Cincinnati close to the brink. But, the Golden Hurricane were again unable to get a much-needed quality win. While Tulsa's RPI remains respectable, there's a reason that is not the case with KenPom, Sagarin, or the BPI.

LSU suffered a very shaky 78-63 home loss to Tennessee, likely erasing all of the goodwill they acquired in their win versus Mississippi over the weekend. The Tigers are easily back in double-digit seed range and cannot afford another bad loss.

Oregon, UCLA, and Illinois all took care of business and avoided bad losses, while Purdue missed a chance to get a resume boosting win at Michigan State.

Tonight's Bubble Games

Temple at East Carolina, 7PM, Greenville, NC, ESPNU - The Owls are one of the tougher teams to evaluate, based on a slew of key absences during the early part of the season. Recently, they have just been plain inconsistent. They cannot afford to lose this game, or they will be on the outside looking in.

Connecticut vs. Memphis, 9PM, Storrs, CT, ESPN - Unbelievably, or believably, UConn is not yet completely out of the picture, though they are close. The Huskies basically have to win out, at least until the AAC Tourney final, in order to have an at-large chance.

Davidson vs. VCU, 9PM, Davidson, NC, ESPNU - This has been a remarkable season for the Wildcats, who are tied for first in the loss column in their first season in the Atlantic 10. They are also currently a tournament team - barely - and a win tonight would likely cement that.

Stanford at Arizona State, 11PM, Tempe, AZ, FS1 - The Cardinal's hopes for an at-large bid were severely damaged due to their home loss to Oregon on Sunday. A loss tonight would almost surely obliterate all hope.


Twitter: @Blacketologist

Bubble Wrap: Last night's winners and losers

It was a busy (and exciting, for all the haters out there) night of college basketball, with much at stake as far as NCAA Tournament hopes and placement are concerned. I'll focus on the hopes for now.

Bubble Up:

Florida - Yes, the Gators are having a very tough season and it seems like they can't get out of their own way, but thank God for that 68 teams have to get in thing. They beat Vandy last night to stay within a couple arms' length.

Davidson - they squeaked out a victory at George Washington last night to stay in the mix. They were last seen in my "next four out," so they still have some work to do.

Miami - it sounds weird to say that a home win over Virginia Tech is big or encouraging, but the Hurricanes have been unimpressive versus subpar competition this season. Last seen in my "first four out," they kept hope alive by blowing out the Hokies last night.

Tulsa - they are a bit off my tournament grid at the moment, despite a nice looking record. They at least didn't hurt themselves (which is equal to helping, this time of year) last night, by beating lowly ECU.

Colorado State - CSU took care of their business at Fresno State to stay uncomfortably comfortable in the 11 seed range.

Boise State - my most recent last team in the field picked up a much-needed solid road win at UNLV, on a night when the Rebels and Vegas paid tribute to Tark the Shark.

Oregon - though the Ducks have plenty of work to do in order to get in the field, they held serve with a home win over Colorado.

Bubble Trouble:

George Washington - essentially off the grid going into last night, they solidified that notion by losing at home to Davidson.

UMass -the Minutemen's slim at-large tournament hopes are almost nonexistent now, after last night's loss to Rhode Island.

Minnesota - see above for the Gophers, thanks to a home loss to Northwestern.

UCLA - previously a member of my last four in club, losing at Arizona State was not a good look for the Bruins.

Twitter: @Blacketologist