There are many things that I am not good at in life. Directions, foreign languages, cooking, sitting still and art to name a few. But God has given my one useful ability, and it is constantly winning NCAA tournament pools. I'm not kidding. I usually enter 3 pools a year, and not a year in the past 7 has gone by that i haven't won at least won. I usually win two. How do I do it? Not really sure. Well there actually is some kind of science behind it, and I usually begin it in January. You see, by January, you can already spot to certain degree what teams are for real, what teams are posers, and who has the potential to be a Cinderella. I've already shared my theory with Bracketology's Joe Lunadri (who I've worked with before) and he buys it. And that i have my own blog, I figured I would share it with everyone. I'm listing 8 to 10 teams in each category, because when it comes down to it, it's all about match-ups come March. Use this as a basic guide for what to look for in teams when the brackets comes out, then go by the match-ups. Trust me it works.
Here is the Breakdown of Teams
THE TOP TIER
These are teams that have a realistically good shot at the National Championship come March
Examples: North Carolina '05, Connecticut '04, Maryland '02, Duke '01
North Carolina
Florida
Ohio State
Kansas
UCLA
Wisconsin
Arizona
Pittsburgh
THE SECOND TIER
If these teams get hot and have the right match-ups, you can see them in the Final Four or even the National Championship
Examples: Syracuse '03, Arizona '97, Marquette '03, LSU '06
LSU
Texas A&M
Oklahoma State
Oregon
Air Force
Nevada
Duke
Butler
OVERRATED
These teams will kill you come March. Don't trust them, even if they are a household name
Example: Gonzaga '05, Kentucky '05 North Carolina '99
Michigan State
Alabama
Connecticut
Marquette
Illinois
Gonzaga
Washington
Villanova
Show Me Something
Have nice records, but have yet to prove anything. Need conference play to shake them out.
The Good Examples: Florida '06, St, Joseph's '04, Memphis '06
The Bad Examples: George Washington '06, Stanford '04
Clemson
Missouri
Memphis
Dayton
Michigan
Nebraska
Colorado State
Don't Play Them in March
Have at Least one of three things: A Star Player, A Great Coach, Different Offense or Defense. Picking these teams to advance is where you can win your bracket.
Examples: West Virginia '05, Vanderbilt '04, Wisconsin '00, Xavier '04
Tennessee
Virginia
Drexel
Washington State
Notre Dame
Texas
Northern Iowa
Missouri State
Underrated
Similar to teams you don't want to play, these are teams that have been ignored thus far and can make you look smart at the water cooler come March
Examples: Georgia Tech '04, Wisconsin '05, Missouri '02
USC
West Virginia
Arkansas
UNLV
Providence
Ohio
Purdue
Top Mid-Majors (Excluding Drexel, Butler, N. Iowa and Missouri State)
You know the drill, these are your Cinderella stories who not only pull off the first round upset, but might even advance to the Sweet 16
Examples: George Mason '06, Gonzaga '99, Southern Illinois '02, Bucknell '05, Wisconsin-Milwaukee '05
Wichita State
Marist
Holy Cross
Winthrop
Western Kentucky
Southern Illinois
Oral Roberts
Davidson
Jekyll and Hyde Teams
Teams that have had such puzzling results thus far, I've got no read and need conference play to figure them out.
Syracuse
Maryland
Creighton
Indiana
Kentucky
Xavier
Boston College
4 comments:
Syracuse will be good be season's end
Marquette??? Overrated????
Solid review
I don't see Georgetown anywhere on the list. They are a number 2 seed and a lot of people are picking them to win it all. Some genius here. I think I'll just do my own research and pick 'em myself. I've won pools too.
--JacquesG
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