NCAA Tournament: Day 1

Well…with Day 1 of tournament play in the books, there weren’t a whole lot of surprises. Some people might call Kansas St. taking down USC an upset (#11 beating #6) but I think that several people anticipated it. If Bill Walker and the rest of the Kats give Beasley this type of support the rest of the tournament, K-State could be a very dangerous team.

How about the 29 spot that Mississippi Valley St. put up against UCLA? One of my friends said something after our book study about MVSU having one of the worst defenses in the nation. I think it is safe to say that they also showed us one of the worst offenses as well. But hey, it’s not completely their fault. They were extremely over matched against the Bru crew. I have the Bruins going to the finals where they will meet North Carolina. In that game, I predict that Psycho T is going to put the hammer down on K-Love.

Speaking of Bruins, I must give a shout out to one of the local underdogs for a fantastic game last night. Belmont nearly pulled the rug right out from under the Dukies feet. I was only able to catch the first half, but it was one of the best halves of basketball that I have seen in a while. Belmont was bombing from the outside. Both teams were playing at a frantic pace and applying pressure defense the full length of the court. It was simply a fun game to watch. In the end, Duke pulled out the victory. However, we learned two things from this game. First, Belmont is continuing to solidify its program and assert itself as a top tier, small time Division I school. Second, Duke is extremely overrated and poses no threat to win the national championship. The lack of an inside game will eventually be too much to overcome. I have them going down to West Virginia.

All in all, Day 1 leaves us with a satisfied feeling. There were no huge upsets, just a couple of close calls. It will only get better from here. There is no better time than March Madness.