Hello my Friends - Again (also with Sweet 16 picks)

Hello. I'd love to lie to you and tell you I'm not drunk right now, but that would be lying. And don't you, constant reader, deserve better? I think you do. So you deserve to know that I'm drunk to quite drunk right now. Please pay zero attention to what may follow.

- If it seems like the spelling here is good to quite good, thank firefox and their built in spellcheck. Also, if you're not using firefox, you're not really living.

- My new favorite "guy" at the hotel bar was the guy who I heard saying to someone on the phone, "I can't wait for that Spartans game. Yeah, I'm so amped up. They play at nine. No, I don't know who they're playing." I swear to god that's verbatim.

- Have you ever heard of Gaby Sanchez, 1b, florida? I hadn't really either, but then I did some digging and this guy could be huge. He was stuck behind Mike Jacobs last year. You can say who all you want, but Jacobs hit 32 homers for the Marlins last year. The rest of his stats were pretty underwhelming, but still, it's tough to take a guy like that out of the lineup. Well, Sanchez could be a real stud this year. Last year at AA he hit .314/.404/.513 with 17 homers and 17 steals, following up a year at A+ ball where he hit .279/.369/.433 with 9 homers and six steals. Not overwhelming numbers, but solid, and for a kid who is just 24 a 1-1 walk to strikeout ratio with some power is very impressive. Remember the name. Also I just picked him in the 25th round of a fantasy draft, and I have no idea if he's starting the year in the majors or not. Remember him anyway.

- Speaking of baseball stats, I had an interesting discussion on them with Dawg and Snake in Chicago last weekend. They were under the impression that OPS+, the jesus of statistics, was subjective in someway. They thought the fact that it takes ballpark into account was some guys guess of how many more runs and what not were scored in a given park.

I'm not here to scorn those dipshits, I'm here to educate. No, there is no subjectivity to OPS+. It is simply taking a players SLG + OPB, and comparing to the league average - where the league average is adjusted not only for the "average" of the league, but also for what players do in certain parks, based on that parks comparison to a league average. Is it perfect? Of course not, there are all kinds of variables you can't account for, but it's so much better than using batting average, which brings in all kinds of luck - which OPS minimizes as much as possible.

There is no subjectivity, and there is less randomness than batting average. Please, I beg of you, read up on it. Learn what it really means. And also stop being so stupid and thinking that batting average is superior as an evaluator to on base percentage, when one fluctuates so much from year to year based on luck and the other is fairly consistent. Please. Please, Dawger, please. Bear - back me up here.

- Patrick Mills is very good at basketball.

= Speaking of baseball, I'm sure nobody watch the final of the World Baseball Classic (or any of the games, actually) but stupid Japan won for a stupid second straight time. Their closer, whose name I'm too lazy to look up but I will assume it's something like Chiang Kai-Shek, looked really, really good. I'm fully expecting to see Kai-Shek over in the US in a year or two - but definitely not on the Twins, that would cost money.

- Today's post is brought to you by Bridget Regan:


- And also whoever this girl is:

Who, it would seem, hearts baseball.

- If you're wondering what happened to Luis Flores, the basketball jesus, formerly of the college of Manhattan, he is currently dominating and is an absolute Arriel McDonald of the Israel league, which I think is where McDonald was before anyway so I guess he's the next Arriel Mcdonald. Yeah, that's right. 18 points per game while his team wins the championship? MVP baby, MVP.

- I was going to write about something else, but since I went down to get more beer now I can't remember, and Snacks texted me that I should preview the sweet 16 games. It seems appropriate, since they start tomorrrow, I think, so here you go.

- Louisville vs. Arizona. Wow, really. This is a game? This is going to be a slaughter. I've clearly underestimated Zona in their first two games, but that's because they actually suck. Yet, they still managed to beat Utah and Cleveland State. What do those two teams have in common? Not athletic. You know who is athletic? Yep, the ville. This one is going to be a slaughter. Need more? I'm sure you do, queer. Well how about the Ville ranking #2 in defensive efficiency while Arizona is #119. Yeah, that aught to do it. Louisville 83, Arizona 65.

- Kansas vs. Michigan State. You know who I want to win? Michigan State. Because they're in the big ten and also because I'm pretty sure Cole Aldrich likes the cock. I can't prove it, but I'm suspect. Look, Kansas is basically a two man team with your guy Aldrich and Sherron Collins. They have plenty of nice complementary guys (Taylor is actually looking pretty good) but don't you think Kalin Lucas and/or Travis Walton - the worst shooter since Jacque Vaughn - can keep him in check? And the eighty hundred big guys MSU trots out can handle Aldrich? Michigan State 71, Kansas 68.

- UCONN vs. Purdue. On one hand, I really like Purdue these days. Since Hummel came back, they've playing some great ball. Also JaJuan Johnson (the college KG) is probably the best player in college ball. On the other hand, UCONN is really very, very good at the hoops. AJ Price may be playing the best ball of anybody right now. And how do the Boilers deal with Thabeet? Conventional wisdom says KG can't handle him, but I'm a believer. KG dominates Thabeet, somehow the Boiler guards slow down Price. My head says UCONN, but my heart says Purdue. Boilers 70, UCONN 66.

- Memphis vs. Missouri. I cannot wait to watch this game. Even though this year Memphis actually plays a pretty average paced game, can you really see them sticking too it against an uptempo team like Mizzou? I can't. And let's not pretend Calipari is a real good game coach here. The dude is great at recruiting, skirting the rules, and managing egos (except apparently in the NBA) but his game skills are lacking. Add in the fact that the Memphis point guard is a freshman, and this is going to turn into a track meet, which favors Mizzou. Missouri 88, Memphis 80.

- Pitt vs. Xavier. The Mustketeers are the kind of team who has been in this position before, and always seems to exceed expectations. Pitt is the kind of team that chokes every year. Plus, I heard from a very reliable, confidential source that LaVance Fields was caught making out with Carl Krauser last night, and the team is in turmoil. Plus, DeJuan Blair got caught taking roids. Xavier 72, Pitt 66.

- Villanova vs. Duke. Pardon my french, but this game is gays central. I'm assuming I don't have to tell you how gay Duke is as a program, but if you're one of those weirdos who likes them and consistently mispronounces Laettner I can't help you. Villanova is gay because in all honesty Scottie Reynolds might be the worst college basketball player who people love not named Curry. Also if you think curry could be good in the pros you should probably go to the gas station and buy a lighter and light yourself on fire. Watching nova against UCLA, they just shredded them. How much of that was Nova people not named Reynolds since he sucked all game, and how much was the soft Pac-10? You know who else is soft? Again? Duke. Kyle Singler is their only good "post" player and he's more of a Rickert. This is more a Big East vs. soft defense pick than anything else. Villanova 83, Duke 72.

- North Carolina vs. Gonzaga. I bet you love UNC. I'd bet anything you do. Everybody does. Plus they have that whole stupid story about Lawson going for them. Wrong again Liberal media. Guess who was the team you wanted to make out with for about ten years and always disappointed but lost twenty pounds and got a boob job (to steal a Simmons bit)? Zags baby. Inside, outside, offense, defense, this team haas got it all. I beg of you to pay atttention to Austin Daye. Gonzaga 90, UNC 71.

- Syracuse vs. Oklahoma. Toughest game to pick. You know the Sooners will toss it in to Griffin all day long, and although the Cuse are deep, the have no one single individual who can handle Griffin. Good news - Jimmy Boeheim is a hell of a coach and will find a way. Syracuse 90, Oklahoma 86.

So that will do it. I'm sure I had a lot more to say but damn beer. I will leave you with the latest picture of wonderbaby, since I am pretty sure that's the only reason you show up here anyway. I asked her to pose for DWG, and I'm pretty sure this look says, "Holy crap, you are all idiots."


Pretty accurate, no?

Weekend Review

I'll be back over the next few days, and maybe even later today, to break down my picks region by region so you can steal them and win your office pools. For now, I'm going to go ahead and do a regular Weekend Review, but with a heavy NCAA tournament skew. I didn't figure out a way to fit this in, but I really don't understand why Arizona gets in over St. Mary's. Whatever. At least the Gophers are in and that's all that matters.


WHO WAS AWESOME

1. Gopher basketball. First of all for getting into the tournament. They may have faded down the stretch, and I still don't think the Louisville win was as impressive as it's now given credit for being, but at the start of the year I pegged a successful season as getting a bid to the tournament, and they did it. Not only that, but a #10 seed means they were about two spots better than hated Wisconsin, more on that later. The other awesome part is the matchup, because I think Texas is pretty bad this year. They were 22-11, and just 9-7 in a not very good Big 12 this year. They did beat UCLA and Villanova, but those were early in the season and the Longhorns faded towards the end, redeeming themselves a bit with a win over Oklahoma, but overall not a very impressive conference run. I'll have a more in depth matchup rundown later in a preview on Wednesday, but for now I'll just say that the Gophers can absolutely win this game.

2. USC. Obviously going into a conference tournament when you don't have a bid and then winning the whole thing is great, but the Trojans did it in impressive enough fashion that they likely would have been in even if they lost in the final, as shown by the committee giving them a 10 seed. After a fairly nondescript season that saw the Trojans go 9-9 in the Pac 10, they beat some very good teams in winning the Pac 10 tournament, knocking off three tournament bound teams in Cal, #15 UCLA, and then #23 Arizona State in the final. With a nice matchup - they play BC and then get Michigan State - the Trojans have a legit shot at the sweet 16. Demar Derozan and Taj Gibson are an excellent pair of weapons down low, and Daniel Hackett is an excellent scoring point guard. USC has battled themselves all year (Hackett and another guard almost got in a fight earlier this year) but if they can put it all behind them they could see themselves in the sweet 16.

3. Temple. They were probably good enough that they should have gotten an at-large, but probably didn't have the resume and needed to win the A-10 tournament to get in (although with an 11 seed they have made it anyway). And they did, beating top seed Xavier in the process and suddenly hot Duquesne in the final. Arizona State in the first round is a tough matchup for the Owls, but with Dionte Christmas averaging 19 a game, anything is possible (and if they win expect a slew of Christmas related puns). He's hot right now, scoring 20 against Xavier and 29 against Duquense in the A-10 final. I don't expect Temple to win, but it's going to be a hell of a game.

4. Utah State. Another team that might have gotten an invite either way, but probably needed to win their conference tournament to get in, the Aggies went ahead and did just that, beating Nevada by 10 on their home court to capture the WAC crown and get an 11 seed. I really like the matchup for Utah State against Marquette. The Eagles have been struggling since they lost point guard Dominic James for the year, and their weakness is against bigger and stronger teams. Utah State has some serious bulk and quality post players, so they will probably give the Eagles fits. They also some dead-eye three point shooters, so if Marquette doesn't play good perimeter defense they could get lit up. The Eagles have plenty of firepower on their own even without James, so this should be a pretty good first round matchup.

5. March Madness. It's been great so far, and now the big tournament gets going on Tuesday. I couldn't be happier.


WHO SUCKED

1. The East Region. Ugh, what a nightmare. I have no idea who to take out of this region, and not in a good way. #1 seed is Pitt, and Pitt sucks due to the curse of Brandin Knight. They pretty much choke every year, and I hate them, so I clearly cannot pick the Panthers. The second seed is Duke, and anybody who picks Duke to make the final four is clearly a communist. The third seed is Villanova, and they have Scottie Reynolds who will clearly and obviously shoot them right out of the tournament. My three least favorite college hoops programs are seriously Pitt, Duke, and Villanova, and now they're the top three seeds in a region. I hate to say it, but I might end up having to put Xavier in the Final Four, and that will feel weird. But, I must do what I must do. Stay tuned.

2. The SEC. I knew it was a down year, but holy cow it's bad in SEC land right now. LSU managed a 13-3 regular season record, but still only snagged a eight seed. The only other at-large from the conference was Tennessee, and they got a nine seed. The teams were so awful that they let a pretty horrible Mississippi State team win their tournament and steal a bid from San Diego State, and still only managed a 13 seed. Neither South Carolina at 10-6 or Florida at 9-7 didn't get in, mainly because despite all those conference wins neither team had a win over a top 50 RPI team. There's a reason Ken Pomeroy has this as the worst of the power conferences. And the team with the two of the most impressive non-conference victories, Arkansas with wins over Oklahoma and Texas, somehow managed to go 2-14 in the conference.

3. Teams chasing a #1 seed. Going into the conference tournaments North Carolina, Louisville, Pitt, UCONN, Memphis, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Michigan State were all possible number 1 seeds. Then they almost all dropped the ball, with only Memphis and Louisville winning their conference tournaments, and nobody else even made the conference final. North Carolina lost to Florida State, Pitt to West Virginia, UCONN to Syracuse, Kansas to Baylor, Oklahoma to Oklahoma State, and Michigan State to Ohio State. With all the carnage, it didn't matter much as UCONN, Pitt, and UNC all still grabbed #1s thanks to the losses, and apparently Memphis wasn't quite in line to get a 1 seed since they got a 2 even after winning C-USA - although it is the top #2, so they were close.

4. Team USA. In the World Baseball Classic, the US beat the Netherlands 9-3 on Sunday to avoid elimination, but that can't possibly begin to redeem them for their stinker on Saturday. Against Puerto Rico, they got absolutely destroyed 11-1, with the game ending after just seven innings because of the ten rule (yes they have that), and embarrassment of epic proportions. Jake Peavy went out and got absolutely rocked, giving up six hits and six runs in just two innings of work to put the US behind right away, although it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway. Javier Vazquez (!) completely shut the US down, including holding the first four hitters in the lineup (Shane Victorino, Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, and Kevin Youkilis) to an 0-12 night. In relief, someone named Matt Thornton tried to close the door and attempted to pitch the seventh inning, but gave up four hits and four runs while recording just 2 outs to end the game thanks to the mercy rule. If the US can recover and end up winning this thing, all will be forgotten, but if they falter again you can bet this game will be the poster child for what went wrong.

5. Andy Glockner. SI.com's bubble watch writer, he managed to really tick Snacks off by saying the Gophers should be out of the tournament, and that Wisconsin was safely in. Clearly this all turned out to not be true, but here is an email exchange between Snacks and Glockner, that shows just how wacked Glockner really is. I have bolded my favorite parts.

First, Snacks writes to Glockner:
Mr. Glockner,

Are you kidding me? Please justify how Wisconsin is safe and Minnesota
is out. Minnesota has Wisconsin beat in almost every way - higher RPI,
better record against the top 50, better record against the top 100
AND they swept them. Oh, and Wisconsin beat no one in non-conference
and Minnesota beat Louisville. The only thing Wisconsin has is one
more league win (and they played Iowa twice, Minnesota only once).
There is honestly no justification for putting Wisconsin ahead of
Minnesota. Please look at the numbers and not just the name of the
team. Also, it is laughable to say that Minnesota and Penn State's
resumes couldn't be more the same. 30 spots in the RPI means nothing?
Please. I'd love to hear a response, I don't understand how you have a job doing this with these ridiculous decsions.

Thanks.

And Glockner's response, please pay attention to the ridiculousness:

You got me, man. I just throw darts. :)

I broke down the Big Ten bubble on Monday, after the regular season was complete. Wisconsin has played a much harder schedule overall, played a schedule that at the time was judged to be more difficult in the Big Ten (although including Indiana again seems to have changed that), finished ahead of Minnesota in the league standings (despite being swept, so they were three games better over the other 15 games), and had a better record against the "peer bubble teams" in the league and finished stronger down the stretch.

I'm not 100 percent comfortable with having Wisconsin as high in the bracket as they are, but I do think they're ahead of Penn State and Minnesota. I had them ahead going into the postseason and a win over Northwestern doesn't put Minnesota past them.

Now if you want to debate Minnesota vs. Penn State ...

It would appear they are willing to let pretty much anybody write anything these days. With Minnesota getting a 10 and Wisconsin a 12, it's pretty clear that Glockner is the new Pat Reusse.

Weekend Review

Since I can’t possibly write about the stupid Gophers stupid basketball team right now, I’m just going to skip it. I hope they lose in the first round and end up going to the NIT. A team that finished the season out the way they did not only doesn’t deserve to go to the NCAA tournament, but also would most likely get absolutely embarrassed. I would hate to lose Royce and/or Rodney after seeing the Gophers get beat by 40 against like, Boston College in the first round. Ugh. Let’s just move on before I jump out a window.

WHO WAS AWESOME

1. The Netherlands. I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be some fancy scientist who actually knows where the Netherlands are, but I know a pretty huge baseball win when I see one, and the they picked one up this weekend by beating the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic. The Dutch, which is what you call people from the Netherlands, which is also called Holland (really, three names?), are not exactly a baseball powerhouse, with just Sidney Ponson as a recognizable name and just one other major league player (pitcher Rick VandenHurk, who didn’t even play in the game).

It didn’t matter on Saturday though, as Ponson started and pitched ok, giving up two runs in four innings, but then four relievers with zero big league experience – including Twins minor leaguer Alexander Smit who has pitched in 131 games and never risen above A ball and is the most experienced of the group in terms of the minors – shut down a lineup that included Hanley Ramirez, David Ortiz, Robinson Cano, Miguel Tejada, Jose Reyes, and Willy Aybar amongst several other big leaguers. With The Netherlands able to scratch out three unearned runs off Edinson Volquez in the first thanks to Ramirez’s throwing error, they held on for an improbable 3-2 victory, the biggest in the country’s history.

Bert Blyleven was the team’s pitching coach, so I’m assuming this win was all about him, and it’s very likely we’ll be hearing him bring it up over and over and over again on Twins’ broadcasts this season. But that’s ok, because it’s a huge win for the country, and they should be ecstatic. Plus it gives me an excuse to post those broads up above.

2. USA. If I'm talking World Baseball Classic, I can't possibly not talk about the US in their quest to redeem themselves after their 8th place finish in 2006. They are sitting at 2-0 after squeaking by Canada 6-5 on Saturday and following it up with a 15-6 crushing of Venezuela yesterday. Considering Canada and Venezuela are two of the top contenders this year, this is a very good start. The hero so far has probably been Three-True-Outcomes all star Adam Dunn, who in the two games is 3-4 with 4 walks, 3 rbi, 5 runs scored, and 2 homeruns. The team also isn't missing Joe Mauer much, as catchers Brian McCann and my guy Chris Iannetta have combined to hit 3-5 with 3 walks, 2 runs scored and 7 rbi. USA has already guaranteed their advancement to the second round starting Saturday, but still plays the winner of Canada and Italy on Wednesday. As for bad news, Chipper Jones had to leave yesterday's game with strain in his side, although I don't know how bad of news that really is since he's 0-7 with five strikeouts so far.

3. Texas A&M. In a year when most bubble teams seem to be doing everything they can to NOT get into the tournament, Gophers included, it’s nice to see a team like the Aggies actually take care of business. They went 2-0 this week to push their Big 12 record to 9-7 and a fourth place finish, and set themselves up to get a nice conference tournament victory with a matchup against Texas Tech. A&M has now won six in a row, none more impressive than Saturday’s 96-86 thrashing of #15 Missouri in a game that wasn’t even that close.

The Aggies have a very nice balance, with five players scoring between 9 and 14 points per game and have experienced guards. With their resume they might already be in, and a win over Tex Tech in the conference tournament would all but guarantee it, and they could upset somebody once they get there.

4. Auburn. So here’s a team that is so far off the radar I don’t think anybody has noticed them, but suddenly they have played their way into the NCAA conversation. The Tigers won a good SEC road game over Alabama earlier in the week, and then followed it up with a win over SEC top dog LSU 69-53 on Saturday. Auburn has won 8 of its last 9 games, and finished SEC play with a record of 10-6, good enough for second place in the SEC West. The RPI is awful (#72), thanks to a horrendous strength of schedule (non-conf SOS #202), and there is a lack of quality wins (outside the LSU win and a win over Tennessee there’s nothing here) so the Tigers still have a lot of work to do. Auburn has a pretty potent offense, and as weak as the SEC is this year they could easily win a couple of games. With 20+ overall wins, a 10-6 SEC record, and an appearance in the SEC tourney semifinals they might be pretty tough to keep out.

5. Radford, Cornell, Morehead State, East Tennessee State, and Northern Iowa. Welcome to the dance boys, welcome to the dance. Most well known for Gopher fans is probably Cornell, who got here winning the Ivy League’s regular season championship by three games over Yale. Cornell tested themselves this year, playing not only the Gophers, but Syracuse, Siena, and St Joe’s as well. Just one problem – they didn’t beat anybody, and also lost to Indiana. The Big Red will probably be a fourteen or fifteen seed, and have little chance of scoring an upset.

The best chance to get an upset out of this group is from Northern Iowa, who will probably be in the 13 range. I thought the Panthers weren’t very good and wouldn’t get through the Missouri Valley tournament, but they surprised me and outlasted a very good Illinois State team in overtime in the championship – the same Illinois State team that beat Creighton in the quarterfinal. I still don’t think they can pull any kind of upset (they lost to Marquette by 30 and Iowa by 20) but they have a better chance than any of the other teams that have advanced, who will all be 15 seeds at best with a shot at a play-in game.


WHO SUCKED (other than the Gophers)

1. Penn State. As awesome as their win over Illinois was on Thursday, the Nittany Lions completely undid that by dropping a game to Iowa on Saturday. It took double overtime for the Hawkeyes to kill the Penn State dreams, which tells me it was a tough game but which also tells me Penn State had chances to win and couldn’t get the job done.

They allowed Iowa to shoot 47% while they shot just 38% themselves, and were outrebounded 39-25. Looking at those numbers, they were pretty lucky to even be close to winning this game. Pringle and Battle had their shooting touch desert them once again, going just a combined 3-16 from three point land in this one.

It seems unthinkable that a team could go 10-8 in the Big Ten and not get into the big dance, but that’s what happens when you have such a soft non-conference schedule – particularly when you lose to the only two things resembling real teams (Rhode Island and Temple) on it. PSU’s non-conference strength of schedule is #303, and the best NC win they picked up was #118 Mount St. Mary’s, one of only two RPI top 200 teams they beat in the NC. Read that again. Save the MSM’s game and Sacred Heart at #180, they didn’t beat another team in the top 200 until Big Ten play. All that results in an RPI of 59, and when your fellow conference bubble teams have RPIs of 30 (Wisconsin), 32 (Minnesota), and 45 (Michigan) and have more marquee NC wins, you aren’t looking too good.

2. Maryland. Probably the poster child for bubble teams destroying themselves, the Terrapins have likely doomed themselves to the NIT with an 0-2 week. They lost a home game to Wake Forest that would have greatly helped their bubble chances, and then put their own nail in their own coffin by losing to ACC bottom dweller Virginia. The highly overrated Greivis Vasquez didn’t help, shooting a Stephen Curry-like 15-44 in the two games, including 3-14 from three. Vazquez started getting way too much press after his triple-double in the Terps’ upset of North Carolina, but if you look at the numbers he shoots just 43% from the floor and 32% from three, and turns it over almost three times a game. Even so, Maryland’s problems aren’t really his fault, since he has pretty much zero help. Although it’s probably due to those god awful yellow jerseys they’ve started wearing.

3. Cincinnati. Much like Maryland, the Bearcats managed to completely sabotage any hopes they had of getting into the tournament this week by losing to two bottom feeders in the league. They lost to South Florida on Wednesday 70-59 which probably knocked them off the bubble, but just in case there was any doubt they went ahead and removed it by losing at home to Seton Hall, 67-63. Their record in the conference dropped to 8-10, and with only a win over UNLV to point to in the non-conference season and an RPI of 63, they’ll need to win the Big East tournament to get in.

There is reason for optimism in Cincy, however, as the team played above their projections this year and are losing nothing except a walk-on going into next season (assuming Deonta Vaughn doesn’t do something stupid and try to go pro). Vaughn is their leading scorer and one of the top returning guards in the Big East. Junior Mike Williams (a transfer from Texas) gives Vaughn a nice inside compliment to his outside game. Freshman Yancy Gates was the #22 prospect on Rivals Top 150 and lived up to it, averaging 11 points and 6 rebounds per game this year. And the Bearcasts will get another talent infusion when two redshirt freshmen, point guard Cashmere Wright (the #82 prospect) and 7-1 center John Riek (the #13 center) start playing next season.

4. Davidson. Uh oh, looks like we’re going to have a big dance without it’s precious Cinderella, and I’m guessing there are a lot of “objective analysts” crying themselves to sleep after Davidson lost in the semifinals of the SoCon tournament 59-52 to Charleston. I wish I could say I was surprised, but Stephen Curry’s continual struggles this season against good teams (well documented here) I’m not. And, to continue the pattern, Curry struggled once again against a good team, not to take anything away from Charleston who did a great job. Super Stephen hit just 5 of 18 shots, including just 2-11 from three and put up just 3 assists to go with 3 turnovers. Granted, the rest of the team didn’t fare much better as they shot just 31% overall, but then again they aren’t supposed to – they haven’t been anointed the chosen one by ESPN and every other media type. Good luck in the NIT Curry, I’m sure you’ll rip right through it – at least the first few rounds while you get easy matchups.

5. Scarface. Yes, the movie. I hadn't seen it before and we watched this weekend and holy crap, how the hell does this movie continue to show up on Greatest Movies Ever lists? I'm guessing it's like a Citizen Kane kind of thing, where the movie was so groundbreaking at the time that even though it doesn't hold up anymore movie snobs continue to sing it's praises because of it's relevance when it was released.

First of all, at two hours and fifty minutes it's WAY too long. The only movies that were any good that are that long are the Lord of the Rings movies, and that's because I'm a retard for that kind of thing and I loved the books. Secondly, it's just plain boring. You wouldn't think a movie about a drug lord that involved chainsawing someones head off would be boring, but yet, here we are. I think the fact that this is the favorite movie of the rap/hip-hop culture backs up my point that it sucks. Take your three hours and rent two good movies instead. I'd rather spend three hours watching the Gophers.

Wednesday Hoop Action

Before I get into today's basketball, a couple of quick things:

1. The World Baseball Classic gets underway on Saturday with the US taking on Canada. A lot of people think this thing is pretty gay, but I am of the opinion that it's competitive baseball at a high level, and you can never get to much of that. Anyway, I was going to do up a nice fancy preview, but The Fourth Strike, a newish Gopher & Twins blog that I am really enjoying, beat me to it. You can see which Twins' players and prospects are involved here and check out previews of the top 8 teams in part 1 and part 2 of his preview here. I'll save you some suspense, he picks the USA as the best team. Homer alert. Dude probably loves Travis Busch, too.

2. A couple of very quick reviews.
- first up, the book Freakonomics. I never really knew what it was all about, but I had heard of it before and figured it was stupid. Then I found out it was by an economist who applied economic analysis principles to interesting things like, "Why do so many drug dealers live with their mothers?" and "How are real estate agents like the Ku Klux Klan?" It was actually pretty interesting and entertaining. I bit disjointed, it reads like a series of magazine articles rather than a coherent book, but I would recommend it nonetheless.
- Also recommended are a couple of movies that I figured I'd like. Zack and Miri Make a Porno I expected to be good, and it is, as was Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Both are basically romantic comedies dressed up as guy movies, or guy movies dressed up as romantic comedies. Kind of like Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Entertaining and hilarious, with just a touch of sweetness and romance to keep the chicks involved. Recommend both as highly as possible.
- Not quite to that level of recommendation, but worth a mention because we rented both for free thinking they were going to be garbage but actually enjoyed them are Sex Drive and The Rocker. Sex Drive is basically a sex comedy/road trip movie (think American Pie meets Road Trip) which is usually a recipe for disaster (see: Any National Lampoon movie since Van Wilder), but the boy/girl best friend pair who are obviously going to end up together at the end are touching enough, real enough, and funny enough to make that end believable, and Seth Green and that one kid from the TV Show Greek are absolutely hilarious. It kind of falls apart at the end, but for the majority of the show it's very good. The Rocker, on the other hand, was probably no better than a C+, but considering a movie where Dwight from the Office plays a washed up drummer who joins a teenage band, I figured we'd get no further than fifteen minutes into it. Instead, it was a solid OK. I guess that's not really a recommendation, but it's not a non-recommendation either.
- If you want a non-recommendation, I completely and totally don't recommend City of Ember. It's a kids type fantasy movie, but it jumps into the middle of nowhere with no backstory and you are instantly confused - and then it gets weirder and starts to make less sense. It was kind of like being given a book with the first two chapters missing, and then every other page torn out after that. We lasted about half an hour.

Alright, enough already, this is supposedly a sports blog. The Gophers got some help with teams falling off the bubble, as Cincinnati, Georgetown, and Kansas State all lost and probably killed their respective chances, and Maryland is now on life support and will need a deep ACC tournament run after failing to grab a marquee win over Wake Forest at home. As far as bad news, Ohio State squeaked out a win at Iowa that, with just a home game against Northwestern remaining, probably puts them in.

As good as it is that four bubble teams may have killed their chances, the fact that the one who helped itself is from the Big Ten - although that isn't supposed to matter according to the committee - is a bit of a buzzkill (although having split with them helps). Then again, if the Gophers just take care of business and win their two remaining home games, there shouldn't be much to worry about come Selection Sunday.

Anyway, on to your small conference tournament previews. I know a lot of readers are probably bored by this, but keep in mind not even ESPN is doing this, so that proves that I'm awesome and you all suck.


SUN BELT: It's not quite the little conference that could like it was last season, with both Western Kentucky and South Alabama being at large candidates as both were hit by big time players graduating, but there still are two RPI Top 100 teams here in WKU (#57) and Arkansas-Little Rock (#86), although neither has a prayer at an at-large.
FAVORITE: Western Kentucky. Even though WKU and ALRU have the same conference record, the Hilltoppers have to be the favorite given their win over Louisville and sweep of Little-Rock. Three starters are gone, including stars Courtney Lee and Tyrone Brazelton (and round 1 hero Ty Rogers), but WKU boasts a very balanced attack with four players scoring double figures led by AJ Slaughter at 15.7.
SLEEPER: Troy. Just a game back of those two, the Trojans already have a win over WKU this season and come into the tournament haven't won 12 of their last 13 games. They play fast, and they are a very deep team who can hot from three in a hurry.
W's PICK: Troy. Western Kentucky is better, and has more experience in these conditions, but Troy comes in on a roll and their hot streak includes wins over both WKU and Little Rock.

PATRIOT: Former darling Bucknell has fallen out of it's success run, but American and Holy Cross are still going strong in one of the worst conferences in the country.
FAVORITE: American. The Patriots come in with the best record and last year's Patriot Tourny MVP Garrison Carr. They only dropped one game in conference, and were rarely threatened. Also in their favor is that their are no neutral site games in the Patriot tournament, so as long as they're playing they'll be at home.
SLEEPER: Even though Holy Cross is the #2 seed and the only team to beat American in league play this year, I'm giving the nod to Navy as having the best chance to knock off the Pats. They play an uptempo style, which is very different than American (Navy 39th fastest team, American is 330th) and pushed the Patriots to the brink twice with both losses by a combined six points. They boast two of the top three scorers in the conference, and five of the top 32.
W's PICK: I really wanted to pick Navy here, because slow teams are lame, but the stats make it look like a good win for American. Navy is fast but not particularly efficient, and American is easily the best defensive team in the conference. As for Holy Cross, they're basically just a poor man's version of American.

ATLANTIC SUN: The league has been dominated by Belmont over the last few years as they've won the tournament three straight years, but things might be changing. Always a league ranked towards the bottom of the nation, they make things interesting with Belmont, Mercer, and Gardner-Webb (now in the Big South) with major upsets the last few years.
FAVORITE: Jacksonville. The Dolphins snagged the #1 seed by just a game over Belmont and East Tennessee State, and posted a 3-1 record against those two with a sweep of Belmont. Jacksonville doesn't really have much that stands out, but point guard Ben Smith leads the team in points, assists, and steals and they are a very good rebounding team.
SLEEPER: E. Tenn. State. Belmont is obviously a threat, but ETSU beat them by 30 earlier in the year and also boasts a win over Jacksonville. The Bucs don't necessarily do anything particularly well, but they also don't really have any major statistical weaknesses when compared with their peers either. They also have the league's top scorer in Kevin Tiggs who puts up 21 a game on 53% shooting, and the leagues third leading scorer in Courtney Pigram, who scored 38 points in the Bucs' last game.
W's PICK: E. Tenn. State. The Bucs' two pronged inside-outside attack, as well as their overall balance as a team can keep Jacksonville in runner-up status for the second year in a row.

BUBBLE GAMES OF NOTE:
Boston College @ NC State - BC needs at least one win, and probably two with two remaining.
North Carolina @ Virginia Tech - The Hokies don't look good right now, but his is a win that would give their chances a huge boost.
Miami (FL) @ Georgia Tech - A must win for the Canes to finish at .500 in the ACC, an absolute must given their out of conference profile
Georgia @ Kentucky - Must win for the Cats
BYU @ Wyoming - The Cougars are probably in right now, but can't afford to drop a game to a team like Wyoming
Texas A&M @ Colorado - The Aggies somehow got themselves onto the very crowded bubble, and need to keep winning to stay there.
Florida @ Miss State - Because the SEC doesn't have many good teams, the Gators have managed to stay in the conversation but desperately need this win
Air Force @ UNLV - The Rebels have a very impressive profile, but can't afford to drop any more games as they sit in fifth in the Mountain West, a clear example of a team that plays to their competition level makes this game all the more dangerous (4-1 vs. RPI Top 25, but just 8-6 in the MWC)

Wisconsin @ Minnesota - Obviously, we know this is a big one. Here's your preview:



And, just so I don't disappoint,



TOMORROW: Missouri Valley and Northeast Conference kick off their tournaments, with the Atlantic Sun and Big South moving into round 2.