News Archive on Maryland University

Friday Night Analysis

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Tonight’s matchups in the NCAA tournament has some intriguing games and are worth taking a closer look. Here is the way I see these four games playing out…

Midwest Region

Can Northern Iowa keep their Cinderella story going?

Tennessee vs. Ohio State

This game comes down to who  has the most dominant player between the two. Ohio St. has possibly the best player in the tournament in Evan Turner.  Turner is the type of player that can carry his team on his back. The Buckeyes have taken care of business so far and is a team focused on the Final Four with Kansas being knocked out of their region. Both teams have a lot of talent, but the Buckeyes have the outside shooting along with Turner that will be the difference in this game.

Prediction: Ohio State

Northern Iowa vs. Michigan State

Northern Iowa is becoming the Cinderella story of this tournament with their recent victory over the top seeded Kansas Jayhawks. They have all the ingredients that it takes to win this game and get to the Final Four ala George Mason a couple of years ago. They have a lot of momentum and confidence that should carry them to victory. The Spartans showed some resiliency in their victory over Maryland inspite losing their best player Kalin Lucas. No Lucas and a couple of more beat up players spells a loss. Northern Iowa keeps the slipper on.

Prediction: Northern Iowa

South Region

St. Mary’s vs. Baylor

St. Mary’s is another intriguing story in this tourney and  are coming off a impressive victory over Villanova. They are a patient, good shooting team that make good decisions on offense.. They will need to play their offensive best against a very good and athletic defensive team in the Baylor Bears. Baylor has won their first tournament games in 60 years. Baylor came in as a number three seed and are playing near home in Houston. The combination of being near home and hunger will propel them to victory.

Prediction: Baylor

Duke vs. Purdue

Duke has looked impressive on the defensive side so far and will pair up against another stellar defensive team in Purdue. Purdue is another team that has showed resiliency in their two close victories including their last one against Texas A+ M  in overtime.They have advanced without their star Robbie Hummel. Duke will make it too hard on Purdue to score, and Hummel will be sorely missed in this one. Duke should roll in this one.

Prediction: Duke

Hopefully these games are both exciting and competitive. These type of matchups make March Madness live up to the hype year after year.

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Posted in Baylor University, College Basketball, Duke University, Kansas University, Maryland University, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, Purdue University, Tennessee University, Texas A&M University, Villanova University | No Comments »

NCAA Tournament Analysis: The #1 Seeds

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Looking at the #1 seeds in this years NCAA Basketball Tournament leaves me with the question on what the committee was thinking when they put together the brackets. Kansas is the #1 overall team in the nation but was not treated as such. Here is the way I see how the #1 seeds have it in fashion with difficultly…

How do the #1 seeds have it in March Madness?

The fore mentioned Kansas Jayhawks have the hardest road even though they were the #1 ranked team to end the season. Kansas, in the MIDWEST bracket, will have to go through Maryland to get to the elite Eight and will then in probability take on the Georgetown/Ohio State winner. Those two teams are among the best teams playing right now and will give Kansas a tough run to the Final Four.

The West bracket has the Syracuse Orangemen as the #1 seed and they have it pretty good. They should cruise to the Elite Eight where they will probably take on Kansas St. or Pittsburgh. This is a easier matchup than what Kansas has to deal with. Syracuse was lucky to be a #1 seed as they limped into the tournament, but they seemed to get rewarded for it.

The East bracket has the Kentucky Wildcats as the #1 seed. Kentucky is the hottest team in the NCAA right now but have a tough road to the Final Four. They will probably have to face a talented and underachieved Texas team along with Temple on their way to the Elite Eight. If they are fortunate to get there, they will probably face either West Virginia or New Mexico on their way to the Final Four. A tough draw for the red hot Wildcats.

The South bracket has the Duke Blue Devils as the #1 seed. Duke has the easiest road to the elite eight and should make it with not much of a problem. There, they will probably face either Villanova or Baylor. Not a bad draw by any means. If Duke can get there, they should be the freshest team in the Final Four.

While all this is speculation and prediction, I see Duke having the easiest road to the Final Four followed by Syracuse, Kentucky and Kansas. We will have to see how this all plays out, but I am ready to see it. MARCH MADNESS is only a couple of days away.

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Posted in Baylor University, College Basketball, Duke University, Georgetown University, Kansas State University, Kansas University, Kentucky University, Maryland University, New Mexico University, Ohio State University, Pittsburgh University, Syracuse University, Temple University, Texas University, Villanova University, West Virginia University | 1 Comment »

Six first-weekend Upsets…please let me get at least one

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

You may not have heard these here first, but you still heard them here.  Upsets and the Little Guy are two of the most gripping things about March Madness so here are six games in the first weekend that will go to the underdog…in no specific order:

Houston (13) over Maryland (4)- Midwest Region first round

Murry State (13) over Vanderbilt (4)- West Region first round

Washington (11) over Marquette (6)- East Region first round

Siena (13) over Purdue (4)- South Region first round

St. Mary’s (10) over Richmond (7)- South Region first round

Cal (8) over Duke (1)- South Region second round

Siena (13) over Texas A&M (5)- South Region second round

The theme here is the 13s over 4 seeds, and no 12s beating any of the number 5 seeds.  The five seeds always look strong then get caught and while I know I am missing at least one but this could be the year of the 13 seed and doesn’t just about everyone outside of West Lafayette have Purdue going down to Siena?

Riding the Siena bandwagon into the Sweet 16 is a stretch but 4 guys in double figures and Ryan Rossiter’s 13.9 ppg and 11 rpg combined with 17-1 in the Metro Atlantic have me believing in these Saints.

Cal over Duke is already getting a little buzz and you have got to like a group of seniors like Cal has who can score from inside and shoot the 3-ball like they have in Jerome Randle, Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson.

Washington is underseeded and they should be able to expose Marquette in the backcourt.  Quincy Pondexter and Lazar Hayward should be an interesting matchup to watch within this one with their athleticism and length.

St. Mary’s just looks like  team that isn’t going to allow anyone to take them out of their game and they won’t be disheartened if they fall behind.  They have shooters and Ben Allen is going to be a tournament favorite especially for people who haven’t seen St. Mary’s.

Murry State is just a gut-feeling and Houston over Maryland is more of a shot at the ACC than anything else and don’t be surprised if only one ACC team is standing after the first round.

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Posted in California Cal University, College Basketball, Duke University, Houston University, Marquette University, Maryland University, Purdue University, Richmond University, Siena University, Washington University | 1 Comment »