Trying to make sense of the Madness!

Okay its now official. I hate the ncaa selection commitee. Most years filling out a tournament bracket is fun and challenging. This year it's just flat frustrating. I have spent the last three hours pouring over box scores and replaying highlight reels and scouting injury reports. But no matter how I break it down the Southeast region just does not make any sense at all. Seriously it's a huge mess. Pitt as the 1 seed is hardly a clear cut favorite. Sure they were the Big East regular season champions but their tournament resume is fairly weak in the modern era. Florida has no business being a 2 seed they were much more deserving of a 4 or 5. I have them packing in the 2nd round. BYU would have been a great pick to dominate this region but since the controversial suspension of Brandon Davies their play has been somewhat erratic and much too dependent upon Jimmer and his scoring super power. Butler is a sentimental favorite having come so close last year. Although the Bulldogs are good, this is not the 2010 squad. Utah State could prove to be a giant killer. Since December they've lost only one game and are, in my opinion, severely under seeded. The whole region is murky at best and leaves one with more questions than answers. I guess I'll have to just make my best guess and wait to see what happens like everyone else.

On the other side of the bracket the East regional is just an absolute minefield. I get so torn anyway because I'm obviously emmotionally involved where North Carolina and Duke are concerned. With any other team I can objectively review scores and performances and pretty well predict how they might fare in the tournament. But when it comes to UNC and Duke I somehow can't bring myself to be objective. I always want UNC to win and I always want Duke to lose. Actually I'd be okay with the Tarheels only winning it all about every 3rd year as long as Duke never wins again. (See I can be unselfish.) Anyway back to my conundrum the East regional is absolutely stacked with talented teams. I naturally want UNC to win but I can be realistic enough to admit that it will be like running the gauntlet for the Tarheels to get to the Final Four this year. Not that it's impossible and not that Carolina is incapable of doing it. It's not going to be a cake walk. That's all.

As for the other 2 regions: In the west I want to see Duke lose early but realistically I have to give them credit. They have talent and experience and loads of confidence as the reigning national champs. Still I can dream and right now my bracket shows San Diego State sending them packing in the Elite 8. Although the prospect of a Duke and UNC rematch in the Final Four is enticing to all basketball fans, I would rather see Duke make an embarrassing early exit. Over in the Southwest the only question that looms is whether or not Ben Hansbrough can capitalize on being the baby brother of Psycho-T. I think Notre Dame is every bit as good a team as Kansas or Purdue, the only question is which of those 3 teams can string together four wins in a row. All of them are certainly talented enough.

The funny thing is that I sit here stressing myself out every year for what? Just to beat my mom.