I've mentioned the two-bracket system before: my "fantasy" bracket wherein Kentucky always wins the NCAA Tournament, and my "real" bracket wherein I know better. There have been a few exceptions to this system (1996-1998, where U.K. seemed invincible), but more often than not it's gotten me through the tourney season.
This brings us to the pairings for the SEC Tournament and my "real" bracket. Remember how I said 'Bama or Vandy should win the whole thing to make their cases for Selection Sunday? We can throw 'Bama out the window right now, as far as I'm concerned. The pairings (with conference divisions and seeds):
Day 1
[W5] Alabama vs. [E4] Kentucky
[E6] South Carolina vs. [W3] Arkansas
[E5] Georgia vs. [W4] Auburn
[W6] LSU vs. [E3] Tennessee
Day 1 Picks
Yeah, it'd figure I'd have to choose one over the other so soon. Kentucky over Alabama: Good defenses can stop Alabama, and Tubby Smith builds defenses. That's my story, at least. So, Alabama's out early and probably won't make it into the NCAA Tournament.
Arkansas over South Carolina. Their best win was against Vandy, and they have a somewhat decent RPI (60 vs. SoCar's 83, even though I don't like comparing RPIs that low). Stan Heath's squad had a down season after last year's 22-win campaign, but he should've learned a bit from Tom Izzo. It'll be a grind, it'll be ugly, but it should be a win.
Georgia over Auburn. Not a lot to say here. Both teams were horrible on the road, but Georgia should have somewhat of a homecourt advantage. They've beat a few good (or possibly overranked) teams, and should dispatch Auburn.
Tennsee over LSU. LSU dropped fast, and don't look to have much good in them now. Both teams have recently beaten Florida, but Tennessee seems to have done more in the past five or so games. Bruce, can you wear something other than the Dreamsicle blazer for the Big Dance? The reds on my TV are starting to oversaturate.
Day 2 predictions after all of Day 1's games are done, meaning I'll have ample opportunity to eat crow. Later today/tonight, the ACC.
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3 comments:
As a Missouri State student, I'm going to go ahead and root for Kentucky (more Ashley Judd please), South Carolina, Auburn, and Tenn.
We could all do with more Ashley Judd. The thing that bothers me is, if I even mention her in a post I know somewhere, somehow Pat Forde will feel I'm horning in on his shtick. Forde Minutes of Hell, indeed.
Screw Forde. He went to Missouri, not Kentucky. He has no claim to Judd.
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