South Region Breakdown

Down in the South region the Big 12 champ Kansas sits at the 1-seed.  The Jayhawks won a lot of this year but had a three game slide which included the biggest upset of the year, a loss at TCU.  They seem to be on track after winning their conference tournament by an average of 19.6 points a game.  Georgetown was one of the hottest teams in the country down the stretch and Otto Porter Jr. started making his case for national POY.  The Florida Gators might be the team to keep your eye on though as they rank #1 in Ken Pomeroy's rankings.  As for Michigan, there's a lot of people that think this team is overrated, like Yahoo! Sports who consider the Wolverines to be the biggest of their bracket lames.

Top Seeds
1. Kansas
2. Georgetown
3. Florida
4. Michigan

Sleepers
Is VCU still considered a sleeper? No? OK, then Minnesota.  The Golden Gophers are a tough team to figure out.  They started the year 15-1 but finished 5-11.  They've beaten the likes of Indiana, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Memphis.  The biggest problem they have is inconsistent scoring.  If Andre and Austin Hollins can shoot better than their 40% averages this team has a chance to win a few games.  They play good defense and Trevor Mbakwe and Rodney Williams like to pound the glass.

First Round Upset Alerts
4 Michigan vs 13 South Dakota State - This seems to be eerily similar to last years NCAA tournament for Michigan.  Ranked a 4-seed and going up against a team with a star guard.  Last time it was Ohio and D.J. Cooper (the only player ever with 2,000 points, 900 assists, 500 rebounds and 300 steals) who upset the Wolverines, this year Nate Wolters and South Dakota State will get their shot.  And shoot is what Wolters will do as he pours in 22.7 a game.  Michigan has struggled on defense all year, but the good thing for them is they are basically playing a home game at the Palace of Auburn Hills.  Oh yeah, and they have Trey Burke.

6 UCLA vs 11 Minnesota - The clear pick for an upset, not only by my standards but Las Vegas as well.  The sportsbooks opened this game with Minnesota as a 2.5 point favorite.  The 11 favored over the 6?  When you see things like that, it usually means the professional handicappers know something.  The biggest reason is UCLA's second leading scorer, Jordan Adams, suffered a broken foot in the Pac-12 tournament.  Look for the Gophers to take this game.

Possible Matchups
Kansas vs North Carolina - A second round matchup that looks a like a championship game.  Roy Williams going up against his old team Kansas for the third time.  So far the Jayhawks and Bill Self has gotten the best of Roy's Heels in the first two showdowns.  Even though they are an 8-seed UNC still has some quality players in James Michael McAdoo and Reggie Bullock.  But they will have a hard time containing Ben McLemore on the perimeter (16.4 ppg) and Jeff Withey inside (8.4 rpg, 3.8 bpg).

Georgetown vs Florida - This game was scheduled for the season opener on a ship but was called at halftime.  Florida is a team that scores and plays defense, but played in the SEC, the worst of the power 6 conferences.  All 26 of their wins were by double-digits, which is a good and bad thing.  Good for obvious reasons, bad because that means when this team plays close games they can't seem to finish (see the Arizona game).  Georgetown fell short to Indiana in OT in November and lost only one more game against a ranked team the rest of the year, in the Big East semis to Syracuse in OT.  The winner of this game will most likely represent the South in Atlanta and it should be a doosy.

My Pick
This is tough but...Georgetown.  Kansas will have a difficult time finding points against the Hoyas and Withey will get lost trying to defend their Princeton style offense.  As for Florida, it's for the sole reason of the Gators not being able to win close games.  At some point in the tournament every team is faced with adversity and need to either come back or hold on late in games.  Florida is great when they blow teams out but in crunch time they wilt.  Otto Porter on the other hand seems to thrive in those situations and will be the difference maker as Florida has nobody that can matchup with the Big East player of the year.



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East Region Breakdown

The Indiana Hoosiers are the top seed in the South region, the only 1-seed to not win their conference tournament.  IU was the preseason #1 and spent the most time atop the rankings.  The ACC champ Miami Hurricanes are a team that's proven itself throughout the season and should be expected to make some noise.  But other than that there isn't too much Indiana should fear.  Syracuse and Marquette are decent but not on the level of the top two seeds.  Of course we always have to keep an eye on everybody's favorite Cinderella, Butler, as Brad Stevens knows how to coach in March. 

Top Seeds
1. Indiana
2. Miami FL
3. Marquette
4. Syracuse

Sleepers
This region isn't very deep and picking a 5-seed doesn't really count as a sleeper but UNLV might surprise people.  When you have a player like freshman Anthony Bennett, who averages 16.2 points and 8 boards, your team can make a run.  Add senior point guard Anthony Marshall (10 ppg, 4 rpg, 6 apg) to the mix and that's a recipe for success in March.

First Round Upset Alerts
5 UNLV vs 12 California - So I mention a sleeper, then talk about them being upset in the first round.  This is a rematch of a game UNLV won 76-75 in Berkeley.  But aren't teams with higher seeds supposed to be playing closer to home?  Then how is this game being played in San Jose?  I understand that's not too far from Las Vegas either but that smells like some home cooking for Cal.  Both teams have NBA talent in the aforementioned Bennett for the Rebels and Alan Crabbe for the Bears.  Bennett will be a high lottery pick if he comes out this year.  Crabbe was the Pac-12 player of the year and puts up 18.7 points and 6 rebounds.

6 Butler vs 11 Bucknell - Yes, the upset specialists need to worry about getting upset.  The main reason is the Bison's Mike Muscala.  A 6'11 NBA ready center that posts 19 points and 11 rebounds a game.  Butler has huge wins over Indiana and Gonzaga this year but when going up against a player like Muscala if you don't come to play you'll be going home early.

7 Illinois vs 10 Colorado - Illinois started the season fast at 12-0 with wins over Butler and Gonzaga but had a hard time in the Big Ten only going 8-10 in conference play.  Brandon Paul can light it up but they are one of the worst shooting teams in the country at 41%.  Colorado isn't the best shooting team either (43%) but the combination of Spencer Dinwiddie (15.6 ppg) and Andre Roberson (11 ppg, 11 rpg) will be tough for the Illini to handle.  This could be one of the ugliest games of the first round if nobody is hitting their shots.

Possible Matchups 
Indiana vs Butler - Who wouldn't want to see this game again after the two played an overtime thriller back on December 15th that Butler won 88-86.  That was Indiana's first loss of the year and this would be great for the state of Indiana to start a new rivalry between these teams.

Miami FL vs Syracuse - Miami just took control of ACC basketball and Syracuse will be joining the conference next year.  What better way to welcome the Orange to the league than by meeting for a Final Four bid.

My Pick
It's either Indiana or Miami and it would be a great game.  Both teams matchup well in size while the Hoosiers are strong on offense and the Canes are strong on defense.  The difference is that Indiana has two national player of the year candidates in Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller.  I see Oladipo, the best all-around player in the country, leading this team to Atlanta and a Final Four birth.



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Does Winning Your Conference Tournament Help Your NCAA Chances?

Every conference has one (except the Ivy League) and whoever wins gets a free ticket to the national tournament (except the Great West).  I'm talking about conference tournaments.  In an earlier posting I shared my excitement for championship week.  But come bracket time, I never shared that excitement with picking teams that won their conference tournament to win the national tournament.  My reasoning was that I felt it's very difficult for a team, even the best in the country, to show up roughly ten straight games in win or go home situations and come out the victor.  Especially when going up against the top competition in the nation.  Boy was I wrong, no wonder why I can never win a bracket challenge.

Since some of the power conferences didn't have tournaments prior to 1998 (Big 12 1997, Big Ten 1998, Pac-12 2002) so I went back 15 years.  But the numbers are staggering.  Of teams that won their conference tournament 26 of 60 (43%) were Final Four teams, 16 of 30 (53%) made the Finals, and 10 of 15 (67%) were National Champions.

To some it seems obvious, partly because only two (2011 UConn and 2006 Florida) were not a 1-seed.  But there are only six teams that win a title in power conferences (no team outside power six has won national title), which means there are far more quality teams that don't.  You hear it every year from big time coaches like Tom Izzo and Mike Krzyzewski, they are almost happy for losing early in the conference tourney because it gives their team a chance to rest.  But we know now that's actually a bad thing.  How much rest do their teams need anyway?  We have to remember these are 19-21 year olds, not 30 year old season vets with bad knees.  So the rest thing really shouldn't be much of a factor.

This is just some food for thought while you are filling out the all important bracket.  Before you get too high on certain teams here's a list of top 4-seed teams that did not bring home a conference tournament championship

Indiana, Duke, Georgetown, Florida, Michigan State, Marquette, Michigan, Kansas State, Syracuse

Here's a list of teams that won a title to keep an eye on

Louisville (Big East), Kansas (Big 12), Gonzaga (West Coast), Ohio State (Big Ten), Miami FL (ACC), New Mexico (Mountain West), Saint Louis (A-10), Ole Miss (SEC), Oregon (Pac-12)

And, here's the list of Final Four teams from the last 15 yeaers.

Teams in parenthesis won their conference tournament. Underlined teams won championship. Bold teams were in the finals.

2012 – Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio State, (Louisville)

2011 – (UConn), (Butler), (Kentucky), VCU

2010 – (Duke), (Butler), (West Virginia), Michigan State

2009 – UNC, Michigan State, UConn, Villanova

2008 – (Kansas), Memphis, (UNC), (UCLA)

2007 – (Florida), (Ohio State), (Georgetown), UCLA

2006 – (Florida), (UCLA), LSU, George Mason

2005 – UNC, (Illinois), Louisville, Michigan State

2004 – (UConn), Georgia Tech, Duke, (Oklahoma State)

2003 – Syracuse, Kansas, Texas, Marquette

2002 – Maryland, Indiana, Kansas, (Oklahoma)

2001 – (Duke), Arizona, Michigan State, Maryland

2000 – (Michigan State), Florida, UNC, Wisconsin

1999 – (UConn), (Duke), (Michigan State), Ohio State

1998 – (Kentucky), Utah, (UNC), Stanford

National Champions – 10 of 15

Finals appearances – 16 of 30

Final Four appearances – 26 of 60

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West Region Breakdown

In the West region we have the controversial 1-seed Gonzaga.  The biggest knock on the Bulldogs is they didn't beat anybody to deserve a top seed as their 96th ranked strength of schedule proves that.  In my opinion this is the weakest bracket as far as top seeds, which then makes this the most difficult to choose.  Ohio State will likely get the bulk of the picks to come out because they seem to be hitting their stride and Aaron Craft is giving Deshaun Thomas the scoring help he needs.  But, don't be surprised to see a lot of teams crossed out on this side of your bracket once we reach the Final Four.

Top Seeds
1. Gonzaga
2. Ohio State
3. New Mexico
4. Kansas State

Sleepers
Like I said, anything can happen in this bracket so of course there's going to be sleepers.  Analysts have mentioned Belmont and Iowa State but the biggest is Pittsburgh.  Ranked seventh in Ken Pomeroy's overall rankings, the Panthers have size and athleticism to compete with anybody in their region.  Offensively they rank 18th in FG% and defensively they hold opponents to only 55.4 points per game.  Tray Woodall is the type of senior leader that can guide this team to a deep run in the tournament.

First Round Upset Alerts
4 Kansas State vs 13 LaSalle/Boise State - K-State better not take its play-in opponent lightly.  Depending if LaSalle or Boise State win, they both have potential to upset the Wildcats.  The Explorers have wins over Butler, VCU and Villanova and Ramon Galloway can go off on any night.  As for the Broncos, they pushed MSU at the Breslin only losing by four and beat Creighton on the road by 13.  Anthony Drmic and Derrick Marks both average over 16 points.

5 Wisconsin vs 12 Ole Miss - Wisconsin was the surprise of the Big Ten but that's typical for Bo Ryan to produce with players we've never heard of.  Another thing that's typical are his teams going out early in the tournament.  It almost seems when the Badgers are expected to do well, they disappoint.  Marshall Henderson of Ole Miss can really fill it up as he's scoring 20 a game but his mouth gets him just as much publicity.  He did say he's taking after Jalen Rose and the Fab Five so I can't hate the guy too much.  But, the player to watch is Murphy Holloway.  A 6'7" bruiser that averages 14.6 points and 9.6 rebounds.  Bo's team plays good D and they will need it in this game.

6 Arizona vs 11 Belmont - The Belmont Bruins are a great shooting team led by Ian Clark who averages 18.1 ppg while shooting 54% from the field and 46% from deep.  He's hit nine 3's in a game this year so watch out if he gets hot.  The Wildcats started 17-1 but struggled against the top teams in the Pac-12.  This team has been susceptible to upsets the second half of the season so they need to be on watch.

7 Notre Dame vs 10 Iowa State - Jack Cooley is a double-double machine for the Irish but Iowa State has the ability to shoot anybody out of the tournament.  The Cyclones are the prototypical team that can pull off upsets because they lead the nation in made 3's at 9.8 per game.  Tyrus McGee, Korie Lucious and Chris Babb all have made more than 60 3-pointers this year but it's Will Clyburn that does a little bit of everything for this team.  If ISU is on from long range they can do damage.

Possible Matchups
Gonzaga vs Pittsburgh - I'm someone that actually isn't hating on the Zags.  I believe they should be a 1-seed but Pitt poses a big problem for the Bulldogs.  Gonzaga's strength is their big men Kelly Olynyk (7'0) and Elias Harris (6'8) but the Panthers can match that size with Steven Adams (7'0) and Talib Zanna (6'9).  If Pitt is able to slow down the attack of Gonzaga it will make this an interesting one.  But the Zags score 77 points and shoot 50% per game so that is easier said than done.

Ohio State vs New Mexico - I believe that whoever wins this game comes out of this region.  New Mexico can struggle at times on offense but their defense is always present.  The Lobos won a Mountain West regular season and conference title behind Kendall Williams who dropped 46 earlier this year against Colorado St.  Ohio State is on a roll right now winning eight straight and a B1G tournament title along the way.  Deshaun Thomas leads this team in scoring at 19.5 a game but Aaron Craft will be the deciding factor.  If he can continue to contribute offensively they will surely make their way to Atlanta.

My Pick
Again, this region comes down to Ohio State-New Mexico and I'm taking the Buckeyes.  OSU is hot right now and somehow have gotten stronger at the end of a rugged Big Ten season.  Defensively this team can stop anybody and Craft is one of the best on-ball defenders in the country.  To start the year they had difficulty beating ranked teams but won four late in the season over Indiana, Michigan State (twice) and Wisconsin.



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Midwest Region Breakdown

The Midwest region of the NCAA tournament is recognized as the toughest in the bracket and for good reason.  Despite being the #1 overall seed, Louisville has to contend with Duke, Michigan State, and a sneaky good Saint Louis team.  Not only does this region have good teams but great players as well.  Creighton's Doug McDermott is second in the nation in scoring with 23 points per game and is up for player of the year.  While Oklahoma State has a freshman of the year candidate in Marcus Smart.  This side of the bracket will have a lot to watch for.

Top Seeds
1. Louisville
2. Duke
3. Michigan State
4. Saint Louis

Sleepers
I really like Saint Louis.  This team plays great defense and Dwayne Evans is a physical presence inside.  But they are a 4-seed so a sleeper to watch for has to be the Oregon Ducks.  This team was sitting atop the Pac-12 before their point guard Dominic Artis went down in late January and the Ducks lost three of their next four games.  Artis is healthy again and Oregon is back in a groove after winning the Pac-12 tournament.

First Round Upset Alerts
5 Oklahoma State vs 12 Oregon - The 12-5 upset that we see every year.  Obviously, I like Oregon for reasons I stated above but also I'm not sure how they are ranked this low.  With all its players healthy the Ducks have six players that average at least 8.5 points and Arsalan Kazemi cleans up the boards with 9.5 per game.  Oklahoma State likes to play uptempo but if the Ducks control the pace they have a good shot at winning multiple games.

7 Creighton vs 10 Cincinnati - Offense vs Defense.  I mentioned McDermott being a POY candidate and the Bluejays lead the nation in field goal percentage.  As for the Bearcats, they pride themselves on defense.  Cincy ranks 8th in country in rebounding and if they can keep the game in the 60's instead of the 70's they have a great chance of advancing.

Possible Match Ups
Louisville vs Saint Louis - If you like good defense this is the game for you as both teams only give up around 58 points per game.  Louisville ranks #1 in adjusted defense in Ken Pomeroy's rankings while Saint Louis might be the most physical team in the country.  The Billikens were 5-1 against ranked teams and won the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament championships, a conference that sent five teams to the NCAA tournament.

Louisville vs Duke - A rematch of a game earlier this season that Duke won 76-71.  However, this time the Cardinals have Gorgui Dieng who will look to neutralize Mason Plumlee down low.  Duke received a boost when they got Ryan Kelly back from a foot injury and he poses match-up problems for other teams bigs.

My Pick
This is a tough bracket to pick because of the threat from so many teams but I'm going with Louisville.  The best defense and the hottest team in the nation after plowing through the Big East tournament.  I turned their championship game against Syracuse on with just under 16 minutes in the second half with the Orange up 16.  Louisville proceeded to close the game on a 49-16, enough said.  Coach Rick Pitino better bust out his white suit when the reach the Final Four.



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6 Teams That Have Something To Prove In Conference Tournaments

For teams on the bubble, conference tournaments are their last chance to state their case on why they should be invited to the NCAA tournament.  However, for Final Four contenders it's their time to show they aren't getting the respect they deserve.  A lot can be said about a team that wins their conference tourney and the momentum that it provides into the national tournament.  The 2011 Connecticut team is a prime example.  They lost four of their last six to end the season then proceeded to win four games in four days for the Big East title.  That led to a run for the national championship, thanks in large part to Kemba Walker.  These teams need to show us what they got during Championship Week.


ACC

Miami FL

The Hurricanes won the ACC regular season title for the first time since joining the league in 2004.  A month ago this team was ranked #2 in the nation and started 13-0 in the ACC with blowouts over Duke and North Carolina.  However, they lost three (Wake Forest, Duke, Georgia Tech) of their last five games and some doubters are starting to creep up on The U.  The biggest reason is all the love that Duke is getting since Ryan Kelly came back.  All of a sudden people are forgetting the fact that Miami routed the Blue Devils 90-63 at home.  Or that if Ryan Kelly didn't have the game of his life (36 pts, 7-9 3FG) Duke might not have got their 79-76 win at Cameron Indoor.  Miami has quality players in Shane Larkin, Kenny Kadji, and Durand Scott but has some head scratching losses.  However, when big games arrive Miami has came to play.  Along with huge wins over Duke, UNC, and NC State, they've also taken down Michigan State 67-59.  If they are able to win the ACC tournament and beat Duke again in the championship game, this team will be riding high into the big dance.


Big 12

Kansas State

Kansas State has always been the red-headed step child in the Big 12, mostly because of the dominance their rival Kansas has had over the league.  Even though they won its first ever conference title this year (albeit shared with Kansas), again this team is forgotten.  All the talk for the Big 12 making noise in the post season is for KU and Oklahoma State, nothing at all for the Wildcats.  It shows in the picks made by ESPN's college basketball writers for the conference tournament champion.  Baylor was even shown some love!  K-State is the Big 12's second highest ranked team in the top 25 but there's no faith in them.  It is understandable in the fact that they were only 2-5 against ranked teams.  One player to watch for is Rodney McGruder.  This is a guy that can carry a team in tournament play and will have to if the Wildcats want to succeed.  If there's a team on this list similar to the 2011 UConn team, this is the one.  A run in the Big 12 tournament with wins over Baylor/Oklahoma State and Kansas, anything is possible.


Big East

Marquette

Louisville and Georgetown shared a Big East title with another team can you guess who?  Syracuse?  No.  Pittsburgh?  No.  Connecticut?  No.  It was Marquette, yes, Marquette.  Their first title since a guy named Dwyane Wade won one in 2003 when they were still in Conference USA.  This team probably doesn't have one player that will make the NBA but it epitomizes the word TEAM.  How else can you beat the likes of Georgetown, Syracuse and Pittsburgh with inferior talent.  Another component is their coach, Buzz Williams.  I love coaches that are intense and this guy is crazy, but he knows how to get a team to play together.  They've won low scoring games (49-48), high scoring games (89-78) and three games in overtime.  With a share in the Big East and a 23-7 record, some how this team is still under the radar.  The Big East tournament is always grueling for any team.  If the Golden Eagles are able to make the championship game or better yet, win the title, the country will have no choice but to give them the respect they deserve.


Big Ten

Michigan

Oh Michigan.  How you frustrate me.  For the first time since the Fab Five in 1993, the Wolverines reached #1 in the country.  But they inexcusably lost at Penn State (winless in the Big Ten), Wisconsin's Ben Brust will forever be remembered with Evan Turner for hitting a half court shot, and the Indiana game reminds us of the importance of free throws.  The IU game not only lost Michigan a share of the Big Ten regular season title, but also dropped them to a fifth seed in the Big Ten tournament.  That's not a good thing because that means no bye and having to go through three of the top four teams instead of two.  The one thing Michigan has though is Trey Burke.  The B1G player of the year and currently still the front runner for national POY.  With a guy like him on your team you are never out of it.  The Wolverines are one of the best offensive teams in the country with four guys that can go off for 20+ on any given night.  Their problem is defense.  With no real lockdown defender on the perimeter or in the post, their best bet it to outscore the other team.  They have the talent to beat any team in the country, especially if they are hitting their 3's.  A Big Ten tournament title could lead to another trip to the Final Four, also a place the Wolverines haven't been since the Fab Five.  Oh wait, that never happened, right?


Pac-12

Arizona

The Wildcats were ranked as high as #4 in the country with wins over Florida, Miami, and San Diego State to start the year.  Now, they enter the Pac-12 tournament as the #4 seed behind UCLA, Cal, and Oregon.  Even with that, they are still recognized as the favorite according to Las Vegas books.  But, their national attention has slowly faded throughout the season.  This team has solid players in Xavier transfer Mark Lyons, Solomon Hill, and Nick Johnson so they aren't short on talent.  Last year the Pac-12 only had one team enter the NCAA tournament (Colorado because of an automatic bid) so the nation is still not too keen on these west coast teams.  However, Arizona has shown us they can compete with high quality competition and win.  So, this is not a team that should be taken lightly.  The Wildcats lost to all of the top three teams during conference play  For Arizona to be looked at as a Final Four contender they need to run through the Pac-12 tournament win a vengeance.


Mountain West

New Mexico

Originally, I was going to talk about the SEC but since the Mountain West will have more teams in the NCAA tournament and is a better league top to bottom, they get the mention.  The MWC will likely get four, possibly five, teams in the big dance.  The cream of the crop are the Lobos and Steve Alford's squad is currently ranked #2 in RPI.  They won't beat you with any sort of flash, but will wear you down on defense and make you play at their pace.  The biggest sore spot on their record was a 55-34 loss at San Diego State.  To only score 34 points in a game is embarrassing, which is their problem.  They only shoot 42% from the field, ranking 222nd nationally.  However, Kendall Williams is a player that if he gets hot he's very difficult to stop.  In a game at Colorado State, Williams scored 46 points on 10-13 from three in a 91-82 victory.  As you can see New Mexico has the capability of putting up big numbers but they can also lay an egg.  Taking home a regular season and tournament championship in very good Mountain West conference will tell us that the Lobos are no joke.


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Championship Week Is More Exciting Than The NCAA Tournament

For college basketball junkies March means March Madness.  To many this is their favorite sporting event.  The time where you can't wait to fill out your bracket and show everybody your knowledge, or lack thereof.  The NCAA tournament brings people that will never talk about basketball to the water cooler at work asking "who's in your final four"?  But Championship Week is actually more exciting to watch than the Big Dance.

Think about it.  The NCAA tournament consists of 68 teams playing 67 games spread across three weekends.  Championship Week (March 11-17) sees 16 conference tournaments go from start and finish within one week.  170 teams playing 154 games in ONE week.  The sheer volume of games is impressive.  Of the NCAA tournament, personally, the first weekend is my favorite.  Multiple games on from noon until midnight excites me more than Final Four weekend.  But that's nothing compared to what we get with the conference tournaments.  Now I understand the quality of play is not always as good when watching leagues like the Big Sky and the SWAC but the most important games for these teams are in the conference tournaments.  Their only hope to get some sort of national recognition is to get an automatic bid.  Some teams will only be a 15 or 16 seed, or even worse end up in the play-in games.  But that doesn't matter to them, just as long as they make it.

Not to mention, in conference tournaments you have one more chance against your rival to knock them out in a win or go home situation.  It's rare that a team will play it's rival, or even another team from their conference in the NCAA tournament.  Don't get me wrong, that's part of the beauty of it.  But one more chance to watch Duke-North Carolina, Michigan-Michigan State, or Syracuse-Georgetown is always a good thing.  Especially if you have yet to beat your rival in the regular season but you get them in a tournament.  You can always say your team won when it mattered.

The biggest factor for me though is how much effort teams put into these games.  Even in the major conferences more than half will only get into the NCAA tournament by getting the automatic bid that also comes with a conference tournament title.  I feel this creates a sense of urgency with teams and can cause them to play better than we ever thought they could.  Who can forget the run Gerry McNamara had with Syracuse in the 2006 Big East tournament.  The Orange won four games in four days to capture the Big East title as McNamara hit game-winning three's and led the team to overtime wins and an NCAA birth the only way it could get one.

I look forward to March Madness every year.  I fill out my bracket with great thought and effort, hoping I can out-pick friends and co-workers.  I sit on the edge of my seat during every game with it by my side, hoping I don't have to tear it up before the first weekend is over.  But as a fan of watching games, I'll take Championship Week and watch as many of the 170 games as I can in seven days.



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