OK, I know the late games aren't over yet. But, I nailed it on Butler winning, not so much with Washington, their cinderella dreams have disappeared like fairy dust in the wind. Butler is continuing to prove that it's not necessarily a "mid-major" because it beat Syracuse, granted it was without Onuaku, but it was still a quality victory over a number one seed.
West Virginia then destroyed Washington with a strong performance by hurt guard Da'Sean Butler, who was playing hurt with a hand injury and he put up 14 points along with 7 rebounds. West Virginia mainly destroyed Washington in the second half, when they exploded for 42 points compared to Washington's 27.
Friday's Sweet 16 matchups look to be fairly competitive, with a possibility of all four lower seeded teams advancing.
Starting off with the early games, Ohio State/Tennessee looks to be a good one, as Tennessee really has come together after star guard Tyler Smith was kicked off the team in January and is looking for it's first ever final four appearance. Ohio State though, does have their own star guard in Evan Turner, who leads them in all three categories. rebounds, assists and scoring. The guy is probably better than John Wall, who many consider to be the freshman of the year. So, Ohio State is going to roll with Turner at the helm.
Saint Mary's/Baylor: Baylor seems to have the poise and play of a champion thus far, as they have won both games by single digits, and they are just continuing to play as a team, no star player emerging from the starting five. While Saint Mary's has busted some folks brackets to shreds as they have beaten Richmond and final four contender Villanova, again by single digits. St. Mary's is also coming out of the shadow of Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference and they are going to continue to be like Gonzaga by winning again.
Northern Iowa/Michigan State: Without Kalin Lucas, Michigan State is done, and I just want to continue to say Ali Farokhmanesh for another round.
Purdue/Duke: I've picked Purdue to lose an each round thus far, because they don't have Robbie Hummel, and will continue to do so, not only because Duke is better, but also because hoping reverse psychology works. Duke is too talented and skilled and experienced to not win this game and go on to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2004, when they went on to the Final Four.
Look out for my Elite Eight predictions on Friday night/Saturday.
I am not a huge college b-ball fan, but is Tom Izzo just the best coach out there? It seems like every year, no matter what Michigan State enters the tournament ranked, they end up in the sweet 16 or elite 8. They never go out early and usually go farther than their ranking says they should. Am I way off in this?
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