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I know a lot about college basketball. My girlfriend knows a lot about shoes.
I know this because last year she dragged me to Discount Shoe Warehouse so she could she spend her NCAA Tournament pool winnings. I have since recouped the financial damage, but the mental scars may never heal.
Even for experts, picking a winning bracket is a crap shoot. John Wooden couldn't pick a perfect bracket even if he had Miss Cleo on speed dial. You could pour over statistics, RPI ratings and geographical considerations for days and still be defeated by your mother who picked all the teams with blue uniforms, giving the edge to the Catholic schools.
I already hate my bracket. It's preposterous. I have at least five picks that are almost certain to doom me to another year of shoe shopping, but I'm going to stick with them and below I'll tell you why.
I'll keep you all updated as this catastrophe unfolds in the comments section below, but first here is the thinking behind my top four upsets … and the counterpoints that make me think these will be the final four nails in my bracket's coffin.
Drake over Connecticut
At the end of February, UConn looked like a Final Four contender. Then they lost to Providence (again) and fell in their first Big East Tournament game to West Virginia. Against the Mountaineers, UConn did not contest shots and did not rebound. West Virginia, particularly Joe Alexander (34 points), got great looks at the hoop and converted them.
If there's one thing that Drake does well, it's shoot. The Huskies can cause some chaos with their press, but in their half-court defensive sets they've relied a lot on center Hasheem Thabeet's shot-blocking capability. I think Drake can neutralize Thabeet with their perimeter shooting and get him to the bench. That's a necessity though, since the Bulldogs (whose tallest player is 6-foot-8) have no one who can match up against Thabeet inside.

fcnp.com

“All of our work and training is pointed toward the National Championships,” Bono said. “This is why we schedule like we do. We try to qualify as many guys as we can and then try to make some noise at Nationals. We have several guys who get to that All-America level. It is going to take total concentration and focus, but we are certainly capable. We are looking forward to getting on the mat and testing the best wrestlers in the nation.”

gomocs.com

Greetings all, I must say it is on a sad note that I bring you this blog today. Yes, like most of you, I’ve spent most of my day not at work or spending time with my significant other. That’s right, I wasted my whole day filling out multiple brackets, on multiple web-sites, hoping against hope that I came up with the perfect Bracket. Sporting News, Bodog, E$PN, Yahoo, Bob’s Bracket Site, and so on..I’ve been to them all, and have a variant bracket on each of them.
As I wasted my day away debating on whether to pick UT Arlington over Memphis, I couldn’t help but think about what the poor Bracketologist’s will do with their sad lives now that the brackets are actually set? I presume some will resume their janitorial duties at the local junior high school, while others might continue their progress towards a GED, while sadly some will just move back into Mom’s basement and call it a season.
What is a Bracketologist in the first place? Apparently it is a profession Joe Lunardi invented one day when he realized that he would never get laid, so he should probably just feed all of his sexual aggression towards sports. However, sports in general was like screwing the ugly chick down the block, everyone had been there and done that. No No No, that was not good enough for Joe, he was looking for a new angle. He needed the hottest girl in school, that’s right, Joe focused his sights on the NCAA Tournament and the Field of Sixty-Four, the proverbial “Hawtest Chick In School!”
So now Joe has a mission, and he figures if he can accurately predict who and who will not make the tournament days before the selection committee makes their own official selection, E$PN will pay him scad of money for this negligible “skill”.

sportingnews.com

It’s time now to enter your selection in the 2008 TriCitiesSports.com March Madness contest. There are a number of way to enter.
1. BY FAX or BY MAIL - Download the printable .pdf file below or any other bracket file/picture, complete and either FAX [423-245-3203] or MAIL [153 Walton Court - Kingsport, TN 37663].
2. BY E-MAIL as follows:
Note: Contestants will receive one point for each correct pick. The tiebreaker will be as follows:
First Tiebreaker, National Champion.
Second Tiebreaker: Teams to Championship game.
Third Tiebreaker: Teams to Final Four
If still tied, Teams to Final Eight.
If submitting via written e-mail, your picks would look something like this:

tricitiessports.com

When ESPN analyst Jay Bilas was asked about the importance of matchups in the tournament, he said, "It's the whole thing. Who can explain why one team wins all their games but against one opponent? Some teams match up well with other teams and some don't. It's based on style of play and it's always been that way."
The Badgers found out Sunday they are seeded third in the Midwest Regional and will open with 14th-seeded Cal State-Fullerton (24-8), which tied for first in the Big West, then won its conference title as the third seed by beating UC Irvine in the title game. The Titans are making their first NCAA appearance in 30 years.
If UW wins that game, it could face sixth-seeded Southern California (21-11) and heralded freshman O.J. Mayo in the second round.
It's dangerous to look much further down the road than that — remember UW's upset loss as the second seed to seventh-seeded UNLV last year in the second round? — but second-seeded Georgetown (27-5) could be waiting in the Sweet Sixteen and top-seeded Kansas (31-3) in the Elite Eight.
Kelley, who works as an analyst for ESPN, thinks the Badgers have the makings of a tough out in the tournament, thanks to their consistency and style of play under coach Bo Ryan.

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BracketBrains.com helps college basketball fans identify likely upsets, make better bracket pool picks for 2008 NCAA basketball tournament.
Palo Alto, CA (PRWEB) March 14, 2008 — TeamRankings.com today announced BracketBrains 2008, a web-based service that uses powerful statistical technology to help NCAA basketball fans make smarter 2008 March Madness bracket pool picks. A free demonstration of BracketBrains is available now at http://teamrankings.com/ncbtp/index.php?aff=100000005.
"Conventional wisdom regarding how to make good NCAA bracket picks is often disproved by analyzing historical data," said Mike Greenfield, a Stanford-trained computational scientist and co-founder of TeamRankings.com. "For example, sportscasters from media outlets such as ESPN and CBS Sportsline love to discuss how teams with strong end-of-season momentum are well positioned for success in the NCAA tournament. In fact, 'streaking' tournament teams have generally underperformed expectations when one considers the historical performance of similarly seeded teams."
"Unfortunately," adds Greenfield, "when it comes to making March Madness picks, very few college basketball fans have the technical aptitude, data, or free time to perform a detailed statistical analysis of every possible NCAA tournament bracket game."
To help NCAA basketball fans make more educated bracket choices, TeamRankings.com created BracketBrains. The web site touched a nerve with guessing-weary office pool entrants last year, attracting hundreds of thousands of March Madness fans in the days after the 2007 NCAA tournament bracket was announced by the NCAA Selection Committee.

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We hear it every day: You’re smarter than us clueless sportswriters. OK, prove it, tough guy/gal. The Mercury News’ online Hoops Hysteria contest will be open today.
As soon as the brackets are revealed - or as soon as technologically possible thereafter - visit MercuryNews.com to register for our free bracket pool. In addition to allowing groups - for co-workers, friends and that great-aunt who picks winners based on the fear factor of their mascots - you’ll be part of an overall contest. Prizes range from a high-definition TV to a Sony PlayStation 3 to, if you’re truly fortunate, lunch with the sportswriter of your choice.
Buzz will play along, as will Mercury News columnists Mark Purdy, Ann Killion and Tim Kawakami and colleges guru Jon Wilner. We make no guarantees about our predictions - but based on our previous bracket showings, that ferocious-mascot idea might not be so bad.

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Thetime has come for everyone to get their 2008 NCAA March Madnessbrackets ready, pools entered and watch. For those who are justjoining in and are looking to get their free March Madnessbrackets online, we have a couple of options for you. You canget a free printable 2008 NCAA March Madness bracket from ESPNor you can fill in your own bracket at the online sportsbook BodogLife . No, it's not MarchMadness betting - the bookie is offering players to join theirfree March Madness 2008 Bracket Buster contest. You play yourMarch Madness bracket for free and stand the chance to winthousands of cool prizes, including the top price of $1 millionfor the perfect bracket!
As per BodogLife's terms and conditions,you can enter the March Madness brackets contest if you are inthe United States, of legal age and register for the contest andmake all required selections during the entry period. Also, yourMarch Madness brackets selections may be changed up until theend of the entry period. You will select the outcome for each ofthe 63 March Madness games and points will be awarded for eachcorrect selection. One of the players who correctly predicts theoutcome of all March Madness games in their bracket will win thegrand prize of $1 million, with thousands of dollars inadditional prizes for those who qualify. Remember, the 2008 NCAAMarch Madness bracket contest at BodogLife is absolutely free.Visit their website to read all terms and conditions, as well asto play the March Madness brackets challenge. Alternatively, youcan visit ESPN.com to print your own March Madness brackets.

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