Category: College

Folks,,, it’s March Madness time. Crazy how it happens around the same time every year. The first weekend is my favorite four day stretch of the year, it’s your favorite four days of the year, it’s everyone’s favorite four days of the year. It’s a time to eat infinite amounts of pizza, wings, and snacks, drink as much beer as you want, and let your brain and body turn to mush as you watch a million consecutive hours of college basketball. The comedown from this high is something I imagine heroin users deal with when trying to get clean. Maybe not that bad, but still.

I’ve made it a tradition over the last couple years to give one-sentence primers for every team in the field to help with your brackets. I’ll do the same here, obviously, but there’s one problem: I’m so out of the loop with college basketball this year. I’ve hardly watched any. I’m busy most nights and then the NBA is more interesting and UConn is the worst team in D1 and there are a million other factors, but I’m the guy that’s tuning in for his first extended run of college b-ball watching this weekend. Only difference between me and the other casual Johnny-Come-Latelys is that my brain is big enough to put together a perfect preview without the full knowledge. I can always see the full board, and I know these teams better than they know themselves even though I don’t know them at all. Just think about how impressive that is. So don’t worry. You’re still in good hands. Yearly reminder that if you’re making earnest “Where’s TruTV?” jokes or legitimately can’t find a television channel in the year of our Lord 2019, you don’t deserve to live anymore.

East Region

1. Duke– Zion Williamson, am I right?
2. Michigan State– Every single player on their team is hurt so don’t expect much.
3. LSU– Their coach is being investigated by the FBI and is suspended, so things are going great.
4. Virginia Tech– Buzz Williams coached Jimmy Butler, people forget that.
5. Mississippi State– Alright, like, come on, Mississippi State is the worst 5 seed in history.
6. Maryland– One of the youngest teams in the field so they’ll make you feel really good about your life.
7. Louisville– Feel like they’re due for a run (#analysis).
8. VCU– VCU will always be somewhere between an 8-10 seed and always run the same full-court press regardless of roster or coach.
9. UCF– Tacko Fall is 7’6″, which my sources are confirming is quite tall.
10. Minnesota– No word on if Richard Pitino reaches climax as quickly as his father.
11. Belmont– Belmont should have been in the regular field without dealing with play-in game antics.
12. Liberty– People forget Seth Curry went to Liberty his freshman year and averaged 20 a game.
13. Saint Louis– Remember a few years ago when Saint Louis was randomly good for a few seasons? What was up with that?
14. Yale– I will die fighting against people who frame Ivy League teams as plucky underdogs.
15. Bradley– I respect the delusion it takes to strip a reporter of his press pass for not advancing the Bradley brand enough.
16. N.C. Central/North Dakota State– Why are there two play-in games in the same bracket and why is there a Midwest region instead of a North region and why does no one but me care?

Midwest Region

1. North Carolina– I know they’ve got a few NBA guys on the team, but when did UNC lose all its star power? They haven’t had any must-watch guys in years.
2. Kentucky– Please let Tyler Herro hit a game-winning shot so we can have a pun-pocalypse.
3. Houston– I know they’re a fellow AAC team but if you actually believe they can do anything in the tournament I’ve got a few bridges to sell you.
4. Kansas– Kansas STINKS this year but they’re still somehow the last team I’d want to play.
5. Auburn– Their strategy is “shoot a billion 3s,” which I respect on a deep level.
6. Iowa State– Somehow three guys from this team will be in the NBA in four years.
7. Wofford– They’ll be the trendy upset pick because people like college teams with a bunch of white guys who can shoot.
8. Utah State– I’m kind of feeling them this year even though I don’t love their draw.
9. Washington– I assume they’re still handsomely paying elite athletes under-the-table (or over-the-table, I don’t think they really care) to put on the purple and gold.
10. Seton Hall– Seton Hall sounds like an English soccer stadium name.
11. Ohio State– It’s always kind of stupid when teams like Ohio State get seeded so low because, like, they’ve gotta have better players than Utah State.
12. New Mexico State– Pascal Siakam went to New Mexico State, bet not many people knew that.
13. Northeastern– I took a tour of Northeastern when either my sister or I was touring colleges so there’s that.
14. Georgia State– Still got R.J. Hunter, right?
15. Abilene Christian– Abilene Christian always pops up every few years and does absolutely nothing in the tournament.
16. Iona– They’re my local team, now.

South Region

1. Virginia– Can’t really get worse, can it?
2. Tennessee– Grant Williams is giving me major “Derrick Williams in 2011” vibes (that’s a good thing).
3. Purdue– First Man came out just before the season, which should propel Purdue to their typical second-round exit.
4. Kansas State– Super boring. That’s really all you need to know.
5. Wisconsin– The year is 2187, and Wisconsin basketball is led by two white guys with buzzcuts who like to take charges.
6. Villanova– Spent long stretches of the season being absolutely awful but count them out at your own risk.
7. Cincinnati– If it wasn’t reckless libel, I would probably imply that Mick Cronin’s absurd outbursts of anger and violence on the sidelines likely follow him home.
8. Ole Miss– If you told me Ole Miss didn’t play one basketball game this season I would have believed you.
9. Oklahoma– If you told me Oklahoma didn’t play one basketball game this season I would have believed you.
10. Iowa– What’s the post-WWII record for most white guys in one region?
11. St. Mary’s– St. Mary’s has never been anything other than an 11 seed.
12. Oregon– Bol Bol won’t be playing, so the one guy you might have known is out the window.
13. UC Irvine– Doc Rivers and Caron Butler both have kids on this team, how about that?
14. Old Dominion– Love coach Jeff Jones. Who? Jeff Jones. Who? Jeff Jones. Who? Haha, no, we have fun here.
15. Colgate– You have my permission to slap anyone who makes toothpaste jokes.
16. Garnder-Webb– I don’t know, man. They’re gonna lose, who cares?

West Region

1. Gonzaga– They have the most high-level players in the country, so expect them to lose before the Elite Eight because that’s how the Tournament works.
2. Michigan– I’m pretty sure I’d be like, the third best scorer on this Michigan team.
3. Texas Tech– Veteran team with at least one NBA guy= Elite Eight.
4. Florida State– No idea how Florida State always has ten 7’2″ guys but they do.
5. Marquette– Markus Howard is going to be your new favorite player (assuming he gets hot and they win).
6. Buffalo– How do you convince a bunch of good basketball players to go to school in Buffalo? Just money?
7. Nevada– Nevada was supposed to be super nasty this year. They weren’t.
8. Syracuse– Sources have yet to confirm if Tony Stewart will be behind the Orange bench.
9. Baylor– Teams that win nineteen games shouldn’t be in the Tournament.
10. Florida– Teams that win nineteen games shouldn’t be in the Tournament.
11. Arizona State/St. John’s– Does Arizona State just have a permanent spot in the First Four?
12. Murray State– Ja Morant is good.
13. Vermont– Committee screwed my Cats with this matchup. Trying to keep the Blue Bloods down smh.
14. Northern Kentucky– Northern Kentucky is nicknamed the Norse after the famed Norse from Northern Kentucky.
15. Montana– I bet Montana is a nice place to live.
16. Fairleigh Dickinson– Really dislike the way Fairleigh is spelled.

Here we are at the end of another college basketball season. Or the start, depending on your level of commitment. I won’t judge. Not too hard, at least. Either way, the NCAA Tournament is starting tonight. Yes, the play-in games count. What better way to warm up? Diving in to the deep end of basketball heaven on Thursday without whetting your appetite first is dangerous to your health. Without prior exposure, getting hit with the same four commercials all day can bury you. You can get used to tuning in to TruTV, even though Tournament games have been on TruTV for at least six years now, so you’re really a giant idiot if you have to ask what TruTV is in 2018 (instances like this make me wonder if I’m the weirdo for retaining information and knowing every channel I’ve ever tuned into). You can slowly expose your body to the terrible food and drinks you’ll endlessly consume over the long weekend. The First Four are a necessary step in the March Madness process, regardless of how bad the games wind up being.

Last year, I gave you a rundown of all 68 teams in the field. Everything you needed to know in one sentence. Why change anything now? Unlike the selection show executives, I see no point in messing with a winning formula. I’m here to guide you in your bracket creation. Need a refresher on who’s in the field? Forget who’s good? Stuck on a pick and need some inspiration? Look no further. With UConn sitting at home for a second straight year, my thoughts on this year’s field are unclouded by bias. It’s time to attack the bracket with a zeal unknown to mankind in pursuit of perfection. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.

East Region

1. Villanova– If Big East games weren’t stuck on FS1 I bet more people would respect Nova.
2. Purdue– Imagine thinking Purdue was going to do anything in the tournament?
3. Texas Tech– They’re my annual “All-In on a random team” team, which means they’re out in the first round.
4. Wichita State– In 2018 PC culture, the fact that Wichita State is able to remain the Shockers is absolutely astounding.
5. West Virginia– Huggins is making the Final Four this year, I can feel it in my bones.
6. Florida– Honestly don’t think I watched one second of Florida hoops this season.
7. Arkansas– Honestly don’t think I watched one second of Arkansas hoops this season.
8. Virginia Tech– It’s divine March Madness law that Virginia Tech play in the 8-9 game every year.
9. Alabama– This bracket is a little too SEC heavy for my taste.
10. Butler– People forget Gordon Hayward almost hit that half-court shot that one time.
11. St. Bonaventure/UCLA– Not enough colleges have brown jerseys.
12. Murray State– I still remember being in a random Applebee’s in New York City that time they won on a buzzer beater in the first round.
13. Marshall– If McConaughey’s there, look out.
14. Stephen F. Austin– Hey, kind of like Stone Cold Steve Austin, right? Get it?
15. Cal State Fullerton– How many state universities does California have, 10,000?
16. LIU Brooklyn/Radford– There are four play-in games. Two of them are in this bracket. This annoys me.

Midwest Bracket (I don’t care if you have it in the same podunk midwest arena, for the love of God call it the North region)

1. Kansas– Think I could suit up for Kansas and they’d still win the Big 12.
2. Duke– *sigh* Duke’s probably winning the title this year.
3. Michigan State– Might have two future NBA All Stars and might lose first round.
4. Auburn– Auburn stiiiiiiiinks.
5. Clemson– Trying to figure out the reasoning behind Clemson and Kentucky being the same seed.
6. TCU– Such a nondescript team.
7. Rhode Island– Everyone saying Dan Hurley is the next UConn head coach so I’m rooting for whatever result will prevent that from happening.
8. Seton Hall– Love me some pirate mascots and also Sam Dalembert.
9. N.C. State– They won the title in ’83, so you know they’ve got the mental makeup to go deep.
10. Oklahoma– Quite possibly the most fixed selection of all time.
11. Arizona State/Syracuse– I already know Syracuse will somehow win a couple games purely because they have absolutely no business being in the field whatsoever.
12. New Mexico State– A popular upset pick, which means they’ll lose by 25.
13. Charleston– I’m just gonna come out and say it- there’s too much maroon in the bottom of this bracket.
14. Bucknell– Bison are one of the great American animals, they need more mascot representation.
15. Iona– I don’t know why, but I always picture Iona’s campus as a big cathedral but they worship Satan instead of God.
16. Penn– I’m just glad Harvard didn’t make it.

South Region

1. Virginia– So, so, so boring, but also good.
2. Cincinnati– If you win the American Conference tournament but no one watches, did it really happen?
3. Tennessee– I can’t be the only one surprised that they were randomly good this year.
4. Arizona– Haven’t seen anything this under-seeded since the first time I tried playing Farming Simulator. Bada-bing!
5. Kentucky– “I know I only recruit highly touted one-and-done guys so we’re young by design, but you can’t blame me, we’re a young team!”- John Calipari after they lose.
6. Miami– If The Rock has eligibility left, they might make a run.
7. Nevada– As Greg Gumbel would say, you gotta watch out for all the Wolfpacks out there.
8. Creighton– Just assume they have a white senior with 2,000 career points.
9. Kansas State– Starting to feel like I didn’t watch enough college basketball this year because I have literally no opinion on so many teams.
10. Texas– If they make a run, is Texas Officially Back?
11. Loyola-Chicago– My sources tell me they play stifling D, which is the first step towards a Cinderella run.
12. Davidson– Wish college Steph was still around.
13. Buffalo– Western New York needs something good to happen, just once.
14. Wright State– Hey, uhh, more like Wrong State, amirite?
15. Georgia State– Ludacris went to Georgia State.
16. UMBC– I’m salty they beat UVM, but they also have a fellow Curran on the roster, so I think I’m on-board.

West Region

1. Xavier– The least-confident one seed in recent memory, which means they’ll win the title.
2. North Carolina– Kind of forgot they won last year.
3. Michigan– B1G playing in NYC a week early is the worst thing to ever happen to college basketball.
4. Gonzaga– The Official Brian’s Den 2018 Champion Pick.
5. Ohio State– It’d be funny if they played Michigan in the Elite 8. Because they’re rivals, you see.
6. Houston– Is Houston Street (the New York street, not the closer) being pronounced differently than the city of Houston the most needlessly New York thing of all time?
7. Texas A&M– Ampersands need to make a comeback.
8. Missouri– If Mike Porter, Jr. is really all that, Xavier’s getting screwed 2nd round.
9. Florida State– Always underwhelming in the tournament.
10. Providence– SMH, the FBI’s investigating the NCAA and aren’t indicting the headquarters of the- BRIAN’S LAWYER HAS ADVISED HIS CLIENT TO REFRAIN FROM MAKING ANY INFLAMMATORY REMARKS FOR HIS OWN SAFETY.
11. San Diego State– Is San Diego State guilty of appropriating Aztec culture?
12. South Dakota State– I, for one, am tired of the stranglehold the Dakotas have over American athletics.
13. UNC-Greensboro– They’ve got a pretty cool logo.
14. Montana– Have to imagine Montana is a fertile basketball recruiting ground.
15. Lipscomb– Apparently Lipscomb is in Nashville? Who knew?
16. NC Central/Texas Southern– Calling it right now- Texas Southern’s making the Final Four.