NCAA Championship Weekend: Don’t Call it a Preview
__________________________________________________________________________The Men’s Hoops regular season (mercifully) comes to an end with the annual home-stretch spectacular known as Conference Championship weekend. This is the weekend where the big boy conferences decide who punches their proverbial tickets to the proverbial big dance, while proverbial bubbles bust for teams on the cusp. Proverbially.
It All Comes Down To…
ACC Tournament
Who’s supposed to win? Duke
Who can win: Georgia Tech
Main storyline in play: In order to secure a #1 seed, Duke needs to win this tournament. Otherwise, their fate goes to the tables.
Atlantic Tournament
Who’s supposed to win? Xavier
Who can win? Temple, Rhode Island, Richmond
Main storyline in play: If there’s a such thing as a Cinderella Conference, you’re looking at it. At one point in the season, The Atlantic 10 was expected to send up to 5 teams to the tournament, and still may send as many as 3.
Big 12 Tournament
The Big 12 Conference Championship will pit Kansas against Kansas State. FYI Kansas State is very overrated. Don’t buy the hype. Hell, maybe my Gauchos (UCSB) will take care of them in the first round. You’ve been warned.
The Big East Tournament
The Big East Championship pits Georgetown against West Virginia as Syracuse decided to take the tournament off in order to prepare for the tournament that actually matters. WVU will be a tough out. Georgetown? Not so much.
The SEC Tournament:
Who’s Supposed to win? Kentucky
Who Can Win? Mississippi State
Main storylines in play: In our interview with Brian Edwards of Vegasinsider.com, one of the key topics that stood out was the immaturity of Kentucky. Edwards, an expert handicapper who specializes in SEC sports, warned us to stay away from Kentucky as a possible NCAA Championship contender. Mississippi State has been pesky, and they will put everything they have in trying to win this tournament. We will learn a lot about The SEC during this brief stretch.
The Abominable Pac 10 Tournament
As a blog based in the Los Angeles area, we would like to publicly apologize for the abomination that has been Pac-10 basketball in 2010. This tournament will mirror the process of picking out the best looking cow so it can be slaughtered in its immediate future. That cow is expected to be Cal.
The Big 10 Tournament
Who’s supposed to win? Ohio State
Who can win? Purdue
Storylines in play: Ohio State can steal a #1 bid away from Duke should they win The Big 10 tournament coupled with Duke faltering and losing ugly in The ACC tourney.
We do not believe that teams from the remaining conferences even have a remote shot at winning The NCAA Tournament so we did not mention them. Period.
Related Stories
Tags: Interview with Brian Edwards, NCAA Championship Week, NCAA March Madness, Pac 10 Conference 2010
