Down But Not Out

I doubted the Jazz. I didn't give them much of a chance to win game two, or to win a game at all with the injuries piling up, but they proved me wrong. Let's hope DWill can go for 30 and 10 again and help the Jazz win a pair at home.

NBA Playoff Picture

The seeds in the western conference (besides 1 and 8) are still undecided as of the last day of the regular season. The race is so close that the Jazz could end up in 2nd or down in 5th depending on the outcomes tonight, crazy!

My predictions:

1. Lakers

2. Mavs

3. Jazz

4. Suns

5. Nuggets

6. Blazers

7. Spurs

8. Thunder

So Close

What a great way to finish the college basketball season. If only Butler could have pulled it off. The game was intense the whole way through, much better than recent championship blowouts. I think I was more nervous than the Butler faithful, and I'm not even associated with the school. It seemed most of America was rooting for the underdog bulldogs. None of the ESPN guys gave Butler much of a chance though, saying Duke would win by double digits. Well, they were wrong. Butler hung around and came inches away from a hoosiers-like celebration. I, unlike the experts, thought the game would be close and that Butler really did have a chance. They just came up a few inches short. So now the dance is over and I'm left to wait till next year. If Hayward stays, Butler should be back making noise in the tournament next year. Only 346 days to go.

Tournament Expansion

It looks like the expansion to 96 teams is going to happen. Initially I was all for the expansion but I've got mixed feelings now. This is all happening so fast. I think the NCAA should first focus on what isn't working - college football post-season - and change that before messing with a great thing. Maybe one positive that will come from this is the elimination of the silly tournaments like the CBI and CIT.

Final Four

I correctly picked zero teams in the final four this year. That's right - zero! And I only had three correct in the Elite 8. For someone who follows college basketball as much as I do, that is embarrassing. Even more embarrassing is the fact that I'm in last place in my family bracket group (no offense to any family members). At least I still have a team to root for. I've been a casual fan of Butler for a couple of years but after seeing them in person last weekend, I'm tempted to buy some Butler gear and proudly sport it on Saturday. I can't stand Michigan St. and Duke and I wouldn't really mind seeing West Virginia win it all, but I'll definitely be cheering for Butler. Here's hoping the home-town advantage works. Let's go bulldogs!