ncaa picks

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SoCalHoops NCAA Tourney News

NCAA Tourney: First Day, Second
Eight Game Results--(Mar. 14, 2002)

Ok, we suck. We're just no good at predicting games. And USC is a bracket-killer. No doubt about it. Who would have really expected that....c'mon, who? And Gonzaga? We should have gone with our instincts and stuck with the high-altitude theory. So what's our score for the first 16 games? We were 5-3 in the morning-afternoon session of the first 8 games, and in the 8 evening games, we went 6-2, so we're 11-5 overall, but with the USC loss, our bracket is just shot. Hey, coming back from being 19 points down is a major accomplishment in and of itself. But you've just got to wonder how they got that far down to begin with.

Game 9 --No. 11 Wyoming v. No. 6 Gonzaga 4:40 p.m. PST--West Region

Result: Wyoming 73, Gonzaga 66

Our pre-game pick: We'd love to go with Gonzaga, and they will probably win it, but the laws of conditioning and physics tell us that Wyoming has at least an even shot at this game. Wyoming plays, works and lives at 7,000 feet above sea-level. The Zags work, live and play at 0 feet above sea-level in Eastern Washington. This game is going to be played at 5,000 feet above sea-level in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and as anyone who has ever visited the mountains to ski, mountain bike or hike knows, you can't perform at high altitudes well for at least several days. Unless the Zags got there about three or four days ahead of schedule, they will likely run out of gas sometime about midway through the third quarter. Sure the Zags have Dan Dickau and Blake Stepp, and a bunch of guys who can really play. And they should be justifiably pissed that they only got a No. 6 seed. But we really like Wyoming to pull off the big upset this time. Watch Marcus Bailey and Ronnell Mingo, as well as Ugo Udeze. On second thought, forget the laws of physics, conditioning and the rest. We're going with Gonzaga.

Post game analysis: Did we say Gonzaga was going to win? Gotta love the Cowboys. Another game that didn't get seen alot here on the west coast because of the USC v. UNC-Wilmington game. Dickau has a ton of points, but he can't get it done and the Zags fall. See, they deserved a better seed.

Next game: (11) Wyoming vs. (3) Arizona Sat. Mar 16, 2:50 PM

Game 10-- No. 9 Charlotte v. No. 8 Notre Dame 4:40 p.m. PST--South Region

Result: Notre Dame 82, Charlotte 63

Our pre-game pick: Notre Dame. We've been reading that it's a real statistical anomaly about these 8 vs. 9 matchups and that in the last few years, more 9's win, but we still like Notre Dame to pull this one off. Charlotte has lost a lot of games to some really good teams, but they don't really bring to the table a lot that does it for us. Sure Jobey Thomas is a great shooter, but this is a team that's lost to Indiana, Temple, Florida and Miami this year as well as Cinncinnati. They did beat Memphis, but we don't see Memphis here.... Notre Dame on the other hand has Chris Thomas, and he's the sparkplug who led them to wins over Pittsburgh (twice), St. John's and Georgetown in quadruple OT, and they still have Ryan Humphrey.....

Post game analysis: This was a game that CBS barely showed here on the West Coast, so other than studying the stats and the box score, it's hard to tell what really happend. Hey, at least we picked this one correctly.

Next game: (1) Duke vs. (8) Notre Dame Sat. Mar 16, 10:10 AM

Game 11--No. 16 Holy Cross v. No. 1 Kansas 4:50 p.m. PST--Midwest Region

Result: Kansas 70, Holy Cross 59

Our pre-game pick: Kansas. Holy Cross is a nice team, but they're done. How they beat American is a mystery to us, but they're finished now. Look for Drew Gooden to dominate.

Post game analysis: Kansas looked like they were going to stumble early in the game, but then took over, as we knew they would. Not a real shocker. Maybe the jinx is gone for Williams.

Next game: (1) Kansas vs. (8) Stanford Sat. Mar 16, 2:25 PM

Game 12-- No. 13 UNC-Wilmington v. No. 4 USC 4:55 p.m. PST--South Region

Result: UNC Wilmington 93, USC 89

Our pre-game pick: USC. Are you kidding? You really need to ask. Only if the USC bus doesn't make it to the arena will UNC Wilmington win this one. We don't care about hearing that UNC-Wilmington is "dangerous" or that the Trojans will need to "bring it." Even if Brandon Granville breaks his leg, the Trojans won't lose this one. Brett Blizzard may have been the player of the year in the Colonial Athletic Association, but their season is about to end. And if we're wrong... well, we'll blow our brains out.

Post game analysis: Enough said already. UNC Wilmington is for real and we just didn't know it....and evidently neither did the Trojans.

Next game: (5) Indiana vs. (13) UNC-Wilmington Sat. Mar 16, 4:56 PM

Game 13--No. 14 UCSB v. No. 3 Arizona 7:05 p.m. PST--West Region

Result: Arizona 86, UCSB 81

Our pre-game pick: Branduinn Fullove, Jacoby Atako, Nick Jones, and Coach Bob Williams are on the rise, and they might have a better chance than most think to knock off the Wildcats, but it's not going to happen, at least not this year. The Wildcats should not take the Gauchos for granted, but this will be the biggest upset of the tournament, bigger than Winthrop beating Duke in our view, if it happens. UCSB is a sentimental favorite, but it's not their year to beat the Pac-10 champion. Not with Jason Gardner and Luke Walton. It's going to be a great game however it comes out, but we're picking Arizona.

Post game analysis: This was a lot closer than anyone thought, including us. UCSB came close, but with Jacoby Atako fouling out as early as he did, and a few shots not dropping late in the game, it was lights out for the Gauchos, which was a shame because they are a sentimental favorite. We actually like the players on both teams a lot, and like we've said about a lot of the high school playoff games, the really bad thing about this game is that someone had to lose it.

Next game: (11) Wyoming vs. (3) Arizona Sat. Mar 16, 2:50 PM

Game 14--No. 16 Winthrop v. No. 1 Duke 7:10 p.m. PST--South Region

Result: Duke 84, Winthrop 37

Our pre-game pick: Duke. Period.

Post game analysis: Because they're Duke. Don't be silly.

Next victim: (1) Duke vs. (8) Notre Dame Sat. Mar 16, 10:10 AM

Game 15--No. 12 Utah v. No. 5 Indiana 7:20 p.m. PST--South Region

Result: Indiana 75, Utah 56

Our pre-game pick: This is a very interesting game, perhaps one of the most interesting matchups of the entire day. Indiana is 20-11 coming off the best season they've had in a while under new coach Mike Davis and they have the Big Ten POY in Jared Jeffries, who is still great even if he's bothered by a bum ankle. Utah played in the NIT last year but Rick Majerus has got his guys back to some semblance of winning, but we're not sure they have the horses this season to get it done. Britton Johnson is good, but not Jared Jeffries-good. Maybe next year with Richard Chaney, Tim Drisdom and Bryant Markson, but probably not this year. We're going with Indiana.

Post game analysis: Actually, this game turned out not to be nearly as interesting as we thought it would and Utha never threatened the Hoosiers. Nice win for Mike Davis.

Next game: (5) Indiana vs. (13) UNC-Wilmington Sat. Mar 16, 4:56 PM

Game 16--No. 9 Western Kentucky v. No. 8 Stanford 7:20 p.m. PST--Midwest Region

Result: Stanford 84, Western Kentucky 68

Our pre-game pick: Stanford will will this one. Casey Jacobsen is their leader, and while they haven't set the world on fire this year, the Hilltoppers haven't either. Sure they beat Kentucky, but didn't everyone else? The Cardinal beat Arizona on the road but we think they'll pull this one out. The odds say to favor a No. 9 over a No. 8, but we're going with the Farm.

Post game analysis: Western Kentucky looked crushed on TV at the end of the game, and while it's always an emotional end to a year to lose your last game in a tournament, some of these guys looked like they thought they really had a chance against the Cardinal.

Next game: (1) Kansas vs. (8) Stanford Sat. Mar 16, 2:25 PM