Sporting Press

Brick's Bracket: Round Two/Day One

Brick Stevens

SportingPress.com Basketball Beat Writer

Apparently President Obama went 8 for 8 yesterday. The Brickster managed only a 6-2 record, thanks to Illinois' early departure and Texas' inability to pull the Duke upset.

Similar problems await me in today's games with early outs by Wake and Florida State. I have to be honest, I'm still scratching my head and wondering why I flirted with a Leonard Hamilton team. I also need a Dayton win over Kansas to do well today. Seems unlikely.

Still, like most Americans who went with the faves and near faves, my Final Four remains intact. Although after a couple games, I'm now wondering why I picked Memphis over UConn and UNC to win it all. 

If I were to shuffle things after the first round, I'd take Oklahoma to beat the Tar Heels and Connecticut over the Tigers.

Today's Most Interesting Game? Oklahoma State vs Pitt. If Oklahoma State hits threes, they're in any game. Pitt was underwhelming in its opener. 

Today's Least Interesting Game? Arizona and Cleveland State, an unlikely battle of 12 and 13 seeds, the winner of which has absolutely no chance to win its next game.

Brick's Bracket: Round One/Day Two

By Brick Stevens
SportingPress.com Basketball Intern

Bloodbath. The Brickster played it conservative on a day when the favorites were about as safe as a Twinkie in Byron Eaton's locker.

10-6 on Friday for a two day total of 23-9.

Cleveland State over Wake Forest? Please. No one saw that coming. Tell me one non-Viking alum, who picked CleSt over Wake Forest?

Instead of a halftime speech, Leonard Hamilton apparently turned on the locker room TV so that his Florida State players could hear the CBS halftime show declare it would take a miracle for the Badgers to overcome the 12-point halftime deficit.

I head into Saturday's second round with one loss already on the books, as Illinois is not around to beat Gonzaga. Need upsets from Texas and (!) Dayton.

SPORTINGPRESS.COM EXTRA:

BLAKE GRIFFIN ASSAULT PREDICTION

Oklahoma's national player of the year candidate has been tackled, kicked, punched in the groin, elbowed in the face, knocked out and judo tossed. The Brickster predicts the martial arts action will continue today when a Michigan player today will pull a set of nunchakas from the back of his waistband and wave them around, Bruce Lee-style. Sadly, he winds up hitting himself in the head and knocking himself out.

Ali! Ali! Ali!

KANSAS CITY (SP) -- Would you like a little Aikido with your basketball?

Brick's Bracket: Round One/Day One

By Brick Stevens
SportingPress.com Basketball Editor

The Leader of the Free World went 11-5 on his first day of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.  The Brickster? 13-3 -- and I was one Eric Maynor 17-foot jumper from 14-2. 

That one hurt. I like VCU and have a general disdain for all things Pac-10 (I also picked Washington to lose ... that game wasn't close).

Today? I like Travis F*** and his Effin' Cowboys over that wacky funster, Bruce Pearl, and his Volunteers.

Best games tomorrow are in the East, where TEXAS plays Duke, and in the South, where OKLAHOMA meets upset-minded Michigan (Brick's Picks in CAPS).

Brick's Bracket

By Brick Stevens

Sporting Press Basketball Writer

Opening round ... Advance the No 1, 2 and 3 seeds. I'll take Mississippi State over Washington,  Michigan over Clemson, Butler over LSU, Texas A&M over BYU, Oklahoma State over Tennessee, and VCU over UCLA. 

Second round ... Advance the No. 1 and 2 (except Duke) and 3 seeds (except Kansas). In the other games in each regional, I like Florida State over Xavier, Illinois over Gonzaga, Purdue over Miss. State and Wake Forest over Utah.

Sweet 16 ... Advance the No. 1 seeds. Advance two-seeds Oklahoma, Michigan State and Memphis. Texas beats Villanova for the final slot.

Final Four ... Louisville, Pitt, UNC and Memphis. 

Finals ... Louisville and N. Carolina

National Champs ... Tar Heels.