Gonzaga Once Again Proved That They Are Overrated

I think we are at a point where we can consider Gonzaga’s men’s basketball team a bit overrated.

I watched the games last night, obviously I focused mostly on the Villanova-Michigan game, but I flipped back and forth to the other games. Gonzaga-Arkansas started about a half an hour earlier than Michigan, so the later it got it that game, I paid a little closer attention. Gonzaga never seemed energized last night. From what I saw, I told my dad this, they looked like they thought they could just walk in the gym and win. Arkansas clearly had other plans. Arkansas looked ready to pounce. They also played like they had nothing to lose, which was true. Had they gotten beaten, people would have said of course. But, now that they won, they are the talk of the tournament. They earned the praise.

This seems to happen every single year with Gonzaga. They have wonderful teams that win in the high 20’s and only get beat once or twice during the regular season. They pull in top recruits every year. With the transfer portal as big as it is, they always seem to pull a few good dudes from there too. I’ve said it many times, Gonzaga is not Cinderella. They are a blue blood. They are a college basketball powerhouse. But they cannot find a way to win on the biggest stage. I assumed they had everything they needed to finally win a title this year. They got the top recruit. They got one of the top transfers. They had depth and experience. They played a tough non conference schedule. They played fast, good defense and could shoot from all five positions. But, again, they faltered on a big stage. This happened last season. They needed a miracle from Jalen Suggs in their final four game against UCLA just to make it to the title game. They then proceeded to get crushed by Baylor. But we can go all the way back to 2009 if you really want to take a deep dive. That year they made it to the Elite Eight, only to get beat by 21 to UNC. In 2010, Syracuse beat them by 22 in the Sweet Sixteen. 2011, BYU beat them in the second round by 22. In 2014 Arizona beat them by 23 in the second round. They got back to the Elite Eight in 2015, only to have Duke beat them by 13. In 2017 they made the title game for the first time, but UNC beat them by 6. They also barely beat a low seeded South Carolina team to make it to the title game. Then in 2018 FSU manhandled in the Sweet Sixteen. And Texas Tech took care of them in the Final Four in 2019.

This seems to be the way it is for Gonzaga. They have these great regular season teams, but they always find someway to fall short. And it’s not like they are losing close, heartbreaking games. They usually get destroyed on their way out. Even last night, while the Arkansas win was only by 6 on paper, it may as well have been 10-15. They just had no oomph. And I kind of like Gonzaga. I think Mark Few is a good coach. I grew my hair out like Adam Morrison back when I had hair. I loved Jalen Suggs’ one season there. That Nembhard kid is legit. Chet Holmgren is going to be a top 3 pick. But this team always finds a way to disappoint during March Madness. If I were a true fan, if this was how Michigan basketball performed every season, it would be so maddening.

I’m sure Gonzaga will be highly regarded again next season. I’m sure they’ll be a preseason top 5 team. I’m sure they’ll get top recruits and transfers. But I will not let them fool me again when I fill out my bracket. I promise that. It’s a bummer, but that’s the way it is. Until next season for Gonzaga yet again. Oh boy.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Baylor Showed Up and Dominated, That is Why They are the Champs

Yesterday I touted how great the Gonzaga-UCLA game was on Saturday, and it was a classic, and I was hoping that the title game was going to be half as good last night.

Well, it was not.

The basketball was good, and Baylor came more than prepared, but Gonzaga was bad. Real bad. Baylor came out like their heads were on fire, they were everywhere defensively and it seemed like they could not miss any shots. They came into the game with a great plan and executed it to absolute perfection. This was one of the best, and most dominant performances I have ever seen. When they pushed their lead at the beginning to 9-0, I already started to see Gonzaga looking like they realized they had no chance in the game. Gonzaga came out slow and stiff. They played scared. They played to not lose. They didn’t have the giddy up, the oomph they’ve shown all season. They got beat like a drum defensively. They turned the ball over far too many times. They got into very early foul trouble. They couldn’t hit the three. They couldn’t regularly get the ball in the post. It was bad.

I don’t think it was the Bulldogs poor performance that gave Baylor the win. I think Baylor dictated every aspect of the game. Baylor controlled tempo. They forced the turnovers. They made shots. When Gonzaga switched to a zone, Baylor attacked the middle and outside with abundant success. Baylor hounded the ball handlers all night. Even when Gonzaga cut the lead to 9 early in the second half, Baylor didn’t clam up. They went on a 7-0 run to push their lead back up to 16. It was so much of a blowout that Gonzaga players did something I am not a fan of. Some of their players, stars like Timme and Suggs, started to move around like they were hurt. Timme was getting his hip worked on in the middle of the second half. During that time, Baylor kept hitting shots and forcing turnovers. They needed him on the floor, but he was “injured”. I just think he was tired. This was as big a blowout as I have witnessed between two teams that seemed evenly matched. These were the two best teams all year, but Baylor made very quick, and easy work of Gonzaga. Baylor owned this game. They were ready to play and Gonzaga was scared.

My hat goes off to Baylor. I was so very wrong about them in this tournament. I thought their late season COVID pause was going to crush them. It did not. At all. Baylor deserved to win this game too. They took the refs out of it, they took Gonzaga’s stars out of it and everyone on Baylor played their role to a T. I was very impressed with their overall performance last night. They are a much deserving champion.

I was so happy to have the tournament back. There were some great games and great individual performances. There were some humongous upsets and the correct team, the best team, won it all. Congrats Baylor. You deserve it.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Ty Watches the 2021 Men's Final Four

Saturday night I watched the Final Four like I assume most sports fans did. I missed it last year, and this year I think we had three of the four best teams in the country, and the hottest team in the tourney, and I wanted to watch Gonzaga, who I have not seen an entire game of all year.

The first game was a blowout, and I did not see it coming. I figured Baylor would win. They have looked really good this whole tournament, and clearly I underestimated them. Houston has been great defensively, and they have done just enough on offense to get by. But they played all double digit seeds up to that point, they had blown large leads late only to pull away at the end, and they just seemed overmatched going into the Baylor game. That was all true. Baylor came out like gangbusters, they hit way more threes than they had all tourney, they locked down Houston's best offensive player right off the bat and rolled. The closest they got was 12, I believe. Baylor dominated, proved why they were a top two team all year and more than deserve to be in the title game.

The UCLA-Gonzaga game, at least I thought going into it, was going to be the same. I was very, very wrong. UCLA proved me very, very wrong in this game. They hung in the whole time. They probably should have won that game. They played the best they have offensively maybe all year. They slowed down two of the three stars Gonzaga has on their team. They never let Gonzaga pull away. They held the lead for most of the game. They looked like they more than belonged. This was one of the best college games I have ever seen, all time for me. This is how the final four games should be. This is what I look for during March Madness. I want these games to be back and forth. I like feeling invested even when I do not care who wins. This, this type of game, is what I missed so much last season when they rightfully canceled the tournament. It was back and forth. UCLA would build their lead, then Gonzaga would go on a run and take a lead of their own. And vice versa. When the best players on both teams needed to step up, they most certainly did. Johnny Juzang and Tyger Capmbell played amazingly. Jaime Jaquez was a key cog. UCLA let its stars shine their brightest, and they played up to the Zags level. And while Jalen Suggs, more on him in a minute, and Corey Kispert didn't have a great game, Drew Timme absolutely dominated in the low post. That kid has some of the best footwork in the post that I have ever seen. He looked like a mix of Tim Duncan and a slower Hakeem Olajuwon. He is going to have a long, productive NBA career based solely on his footwork. And he did everything he needed to for the Zags, which was almost everything. And as much as I dislike the charge/blocking call in every level of basketball, he took that charge near the end of the game, and it was rightfully called. He was outstanding.

The regulation 40 minutes wasn't enough, so this epic game got to go into overtime. Overtime was classic. Timme scored 6 quick points, but UCLA kept answering. Juzang was pulling up from everywhere, and it seemed to fall almost every single time. I even threw my hands up at one moment and asked my dad if he had missed at all during the game. Neither of us knew. Gonzaga led by 2 with 30 seconds left and UCLA had the ball. Everyone knew Juzang was going to shoot it. He got the ball, dribbled the clock down to about 12 seconds and drove. He took a contested floater, a shot I did not like at all, and he did miss it. But, Gonzaga didn't block out and he got his own rebound, extremely sound basketball, and made an uncontested layup to tie it with 3 seconds left. I assumed Gonzaga would call a timeout, try to heave a pass and we would go to double overtime. They didn't, and the rest is history. Timme took it out before UCLA could get ready and passed it in to Suggs. Suggs raced up past half court and put up what looked like a decent three. It was in Dame and Steph's range. And that ball banked in and Gonzaga won. I jumped off my parents couch, my dad was aghast, even my wife was pretty amazed by what just happened. I applaud Gonzaga for just going with the ball instead of slowing anything down. That was their best option all game, and when they needed it most, they used it and it worked. That shot by Suggs looked so pure and looked good the moment it left his hands. I believed Mark Few when he said he wasn't surprised when it went in because apparently Suggs does that in practice all the time. It was truly a once in a lifetime shot. It will be on replays and classic game showings for the rest of time. This was just an amazing ending to, by far, the best game of the tournament. This game truly had it all.

When that game ended, we were left with the title game, which is tonight, between Baylor and Gonzaga. This is the way it should be. They were the two best teams all year, their earlier game this season was wiped out due to COVID and now one of these schools will win their first ever college basketball title. I still think Gonzaga will win, but I wouldn't be surprised if Baylor finds a way to pull it out. In the end though, I hope it is half as good as what UCLA and Gonzaga gave us two nights ago.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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Ty Talks 2021 Final Four

The Final Four is set, in both the men's and women's tournament. I have not watched the women's tournament, but I saw UCONN won, with a little controversy, but when they get this far, I just assume that they are going to win. That is my pick in the women's tournament. As for the men's tourney, I have watched a good amount of it. I have been really involved. I like that some players are speaking out against the NCAA, but that has not stopped me from watching this tournament endlessly. So, I have some takes going into the two games this weekend, and who I think will win it all.

I'm going to start with my team, Michigan. They blew it last night. They went ice cold at the absolute worst time. Mike Smith, who I love, was not even playable at moments. Franz Wagner picked a terrible time to have his worst game as a Wolverine. Hunter Dickinson did not wake up until early in the second half, and they needed him fully engaged all game. Eli Brooks didn't get enough touches. I wish Chaundee Brown played more. But I have to give UCLA a ton of credit. They locked Michigan down. They swarmed all night. They may be smaller, but that did not matter in the grand scheme of things. And that Johnny Juzang kid was the only player that could hit a shot. He played lights out, and he did it when they needed someone to. Even after he rolled his ankle, he came back and Michigan still could not stop him. Michigan blew it. They had multiple chances, ten to be exact, and they missed every single one of those shots. This was a rock fight, save for Juzang, it was a messy and sloppy and gross game to watch and the deserving team won last night. The Big 10 fell on its face, they couldn't get it done and this season will go down as a wash. Maybe the Big 10 is overrated. But again, kudos to UCLA for what they did last night, and for this run that they have been on since making the tournament.

The Bruins reward for winning last night, they now get to face Gonzaga. Gonzaga has looked absolutely dominant. They have looked amazing on both ends of the floor. No game has been that close. They have come out and steamrolled their way to the Final Four. When Oklahoma got an early lead on them in round two, I thought here is where they choke. That did not happen. They easily turned that deficit into a double digit win with ease. Then I thought USC was going to give them a real problem last night. They have length and size everywhere. They have players that looked like they could lock down some of Gonzaga's stars. That did not happen. Gonzaga did not trail for one second of that game. They won 85-66, and it was not that close. They are such a good team. Maybe this is the year where they finally live up to the hype.

The other two elite eight games were pretty solid. Baylor raced out to a big lead over Arkansas, but Arkansas cut it to single digits before the half. They looked like they may have figured Baylor out. Then Baylor realized how athletic they are, and how great defensively they are, and took control back with ease. The game felt kind of back and forth, but Baylor was never not in control. They won by 9, but some of Arkansas' points came at the end. They were hollow. It was like when a football team wins a game 24-14, but they led 24-7 up until there were three minutes left in the game and they put in their backups. Baylor has proven me dead wrong in this tourney. I thought their COVID pause was going to hurt them. It has not.

As for Houston and Oregon State, that game ended up being much closer than it should have. Houston led by 19 in the middle of the second half, but then Oregon State started to hit some shots. They came all the way back and tied the game at 55. Then Houston woke back up, locked Oregon State down, made some free throws and walked away with, I believe, an 8 point win. Houston is really, really good on defense, they just have these little lapses that could kill them in the Final Four.

On Saturday we will get the two Final Four games, with Houston facing Baylor first, and the night cap will be Gonzaga and UCLA. I think Baylor is way too good to let Houston's defense, as elite as it is, slow them down. Baylor is playing with swag, they look loose and free, they play almost equally as good defense as Hosuton, and they just seemed destined to be in the title game. There is a reason they were the number two team for most of the year. Baylor should beat Houston.

As for UCLA and Gonzaga, the Zags should cruise. They should score upwards of 90 points, if they want. They should be able to easily stop UCLA. UCLA wants to slow the game down to a grind, but I do not think that matters to Gonzaga. Gonzaga is loaded everywhere on the floor. They are the better team. They are the best team in college basketball this year. I think at this point the only thing that can stop Gonzaga is if someone on their team gets COVID and they have to forfeit. They should cruise by UCLA.

That means I have Gonzaga and Baylor in the title game. And surprise, surprise, I am picking Gonzaga. Baylor will be the best team they will face all year, but Gonzaga is a different breed this year. They are too loaded, too good, too fast, can play any pace, can beat any team. Gonzaga is the best team and they should easily win the title. We now will have to wait a week to see.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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The 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Final Sucked for so Many Reasons

Only six short months until we can see the superstar refs again.

Last night was one of the worst NCAA championship games that I have ever witnessed. Last year's game was going to be impossible to match, or even top, but last night was an absolute disaster. I figured that we had the 2 best teams playing each other in UNC and Gonzaga. They both were one seeds, they both spent the whole season in the top ten of every poll, they both have first team All Americans, I mean, both teams had it all. They even have guys that will most definitely play at the next level. But what was put on that court last night was hot stinky garbage.

Now, I am nowhere near the players that all these kids are, but boy oh boy did they play dreadful for as good as they should have been. UNC could not make an open three to save their lives. When all was said and done, I think they went something like 5 of 26 from three. Gonzaga, on the other hand, could not make an inside shot with the exception of Nigel Williams-Goss. Their big guy from Poland missed one lay up and close range hook shot after another. Near the end of the game he looked scared and completely out of the flow of the game. There were maybe one or two good plays, but for the most part, this was probably the sloppiest title game I've seen, and I'm including when UConn beat Kentucky in 2011. That game was bad, but last night was much, much worse.

To compound how horrific this game was, the refs must have had a meeting before hand and said that they were the stars of the night and the crowd was there to see them because they called one of the worst games in the history of college basketball. During the second half, neither team could get into any flow, if they were ever able to, because the refs seemingly called a foul on every play. During the broadcast I heard Grant Hill say, with about 10 minutes left in the second half, that the refs had called 21 fouls in the half alone. 21 fouls in 10 minutes of basketball is an absolute joke. Refs are starting to get way too big headed, thinking that they are just as big of stars as the kids playing. No one, I repeat, no one likes refs and we do not want to see you guys control the flow of the game. The way they called the game last night was fishy and terrible. These are supposed to be the best of the best in the men's college game. These refs get vetted all season long and at the end of the year the NCAA picks who they deem the 3 best refs for the Final Four and the title game. Well, this must be the worst class of refs they have ever had because if these were the best, we are in trouble. Refs should never ever be what people are talking about most after a title game.

The refs were not one sided bad either. Both teams have legitimate complaints about bad calls, non calls and way too many video reviews. I am not a fan of either team, but for all the Gonzaga people out there focusing on when Kennedy Meeks had his left hand on the ball and his right hand out of bounds, he was 100 percent out of bounds and Gonzaga should have gotten the ball, UNC got just as screwed in an earlier possession. One of Gonzaga's guards threw up an air balled three that went directly out of bounds and the refs said it was blocked by the UNC defender. Well, when CBS ran the replay, the UNC kid was nowhere near the ball. The refs didn't even review this even though they reviewed almost every other play last night. Gonzaga got the ball back and hit a three to take the lead on the very next possession. It was equally crummy on both sides. The refs were absolutely atrocious last night. I'm talking Tim Donaghy, Kings-Lakers early 2000's bad last night.

In what seemed like the cherry on the terrible sundae last night was Joel Berry being named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. I know he hit one big three late in the title game, but he missed so many more easy shots ever since UNC's game against Arkansas in the second round. I know he got hurt, but he was still out there playing and playing very poorly. On a very odd flagrant one call against Gonzaga last night, Berry went to the line for 2 free throws with no one around him and he bricked both of them. He did not play well. I do not care that he scored in double figures in the last three games, he had to take copious amounts of bad shots to get to his 16, 17 and 18 points, and he was dreadful all over the floor. I'm still a bit shocked that he won MOP. I would have given it to Kennedy Meeks for his Final Four game. Berry winning MOP was almost fitting for how bad this game was.

Finally, I do not think this banner will be hanging in Chapel Hill that long anyway. They have 20 plus years of academic fraud, or as Jim Nantz would say, "swirling innuendo", that they are going to get sanctioned to high hell for soon. RD beat me to the tweet last night, but I will say it again for him today, congrats on your soon to be vacated title UNC.

This was an epically bad title game and it should have been so much better. Where last year's game had me excited for college basketball, this year's game just made me realize why men's college basketball is going further and further in the toilet. What a sorry excuse of a title game. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He had to write about the title game because the head editor was so disgusted with the crappy basketball that he switched over and watched Deadpool for the tenth time.

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The Men's Final Four was Sloppy, the Women's Final Four was Historic

The men's NCAA title game is tonight. The 2 Final Four games had the outcomes that I thought, but they did not play out like I thought.

South Carolina made their game very interesting in the last 8 minutes when they went on a 16-0 run to take a lead. But, Gonzaga prevailed and they got away with a 4 point win to advance to tonight's title game. Great run by South Carolina, but the better team won, and won rightfully so. There were no questionable calls on either team and the right team won.

UNC won, but I thought they were going to blow out Oregon. That was not the case, but this was not as good a game as some may have said or written about since Saturday. This was a sloppy game by both teams, with the lone exception being Kennedy Meeks. Meeks was incredible in this game, even with the 2 late missed free throws. But, UNC tried everything to blow this game, Oregon just never really took advantage of their many chances. I thought these were the 2 better teams, but South Carolina-Gonzaga was a much better played game.

Also, Jim Nantz and the CBS crew continues to make one dumb comment after another. By now you all know what I'm talking about. Nantz said during the telecast that he was pleased at how UNC was playing despite all the "swirling innuendo about academic fraud" that is going on right now. For the record, this is not "swirling innuendo". There is a full blown investigation going on by the NCAA right now, and if I had to guess, they will get this title taken away if they win. They have committed some kind of serious academic fraud, I believe their football program is involved as well, and I wouldn't be shocked if in a year or two the NCAA puts the hammer down on UNC.

All this being said, this was the title game I predicted in last Monday's blog, and I'm not changing my mind now. I still think UNC will win a close game. They got beat in brutal fashion last year, and I see them redeeming themselves this year. Justin Jackson or Kennedy Meeks will win Most Outstanding Player as well.

But, I want to get to what I really want to talk about today. I was channel surfing Friday night. I watched the majority of the OKC-San Antonio game and was waiting for the Golden State-Houston game. During these 2 games the women's Final Four was going on. South Carolina pretty easily advanced against Stanford, and ESPN2 had the perfect time slot for UCONN-Mississippi State game, right around a 7:30pm tip time. I did not watch any of the first half, but my phone buzzed when the game went into halftime and UCONN was down 8. My interest was piqued, but I figured the Huskies would come out in the second half and dominate. It is UCONN women's basketball and they are the greatest college sports program ever.

I had kind of spaced about the game while watching OKC blow a 20 point lead, but with about 5 minutes left in the third quarter, I saw that UCONN had tied it up at 40. I thought they'd go on their run from there and blow this team away that they beat by 60 points in last year's tournament. So I put my focus back on OKC-San Antonio. 

About 10 minutes later my phone buzzed again and said that UCONN was trailing by 3 with about 4 minutes left in the game. At this point I gave up on OKC-San Antonio, the Spurs were putting the finishing touches on their comeback, and I flipped over for the last 4 minutes of UCONN-MSU. This was the first women's game I have watched in over 2 years. I was in shock at how well MSU was playing this seemingly indestructible UCONN team. MSU's point guard was running their offense to perfection. They kept letting the shot clock get down to 5 seconds before even attempting a shot. They also have a center on their team that is 6'7. UCONN's biggest player is only 5'11. I do not care how tenacious or tough a defender you are, an 8 inch height difference is nearly impossible to overcome. To make matters worse for UCONN, all their forwards and centers were in foul trouble from trying to stop the 6'7 girl (her name is Teaira McCowan), so they had to resort to going for steals on entry passes. It worked a few times, but more times than naught, they missed and McCowan had an easy layup.

During the final four minutes it was all back and forth. UCONN at one point went up 3 with about 2 minutes left, and for the third time I assumed they'd pull away and win. Well, MSU responded with their own 4-0 run to retake the lead. During the last few seconds of the fourth quarter MSU had a lead but there was an odd flagrant one called on MSU that let UCONN tie the game. MSU had the ball with a chance to win, but the pass in the post was stolen and the game went into overtime.

For the fourth, and final time, I assumed UCONN would pull away on overtime. Well, MSU had other plans. They kept playing slow, stilted offense and it completely threw UCONN off their game. With about 18 seconds left UCONN had the ball with the game tied at 64. I assumed, as did the 3 announcers, that they would hold the ball for the final shot. Well, one of their new star players decided to drive and was out of control trying to draw a foul and lost the ball out of bounds. No foul was called because there was none and MSU got the ball back with 12 seconds left. As the point guard for MSU dribbled down the floor, she was the smallest player on the court by far, I sat and waited to see what she would do. With less than 2 seconds on the clock she pulled up from the elbow and hit all net as the buzzer sounded. Her name is Morgan William. 

With that UCONN's 111 game win streak was over. They hadn't been beaten in 865 days. They had won four straight national titles. This was their 10th straight Final Four. It all ended on a beautiful mid range jumper from the smallest, yet most determined player on the floor. I was in shock. I sat there in awe with my mouth wide open. I know all streaks must end, but this was a team that hadn't lost a game in almost 3 years. It was an incredible run, and if they had to lose a game, this was probably the only way it was going to happen. MSU played brilliantly, UCONN did not play well, and it still took an overtime buzzer beater for UCONN to get taken down.

Unfortunately for MSU they got beat in the women's title game last night by South Carolina, but they did something historic just 2 days before that. I wish they won the national title to make it fully complete. But, they will always go down as the team that beat the greatest college sports program ever.

What UCONN women's basketball has done, and did, is unequaled in any other college sport, be it men's or women's. Their streak was more impressive than UCLA's 88 game win streak, Oklahoma football's 48 game win streak, anything Kentucky or UNC has done in college basketball, anything Texas, Michigan, Notre Dame, Miami, Florida, all the big time college football programs have ever done.

This is also the greatest upset of all time. I said in our men's tournament preview that if UCONN got beat by anyone in the women's tournament I'd be shocked, and I am still a little shook by what happened Friday night. MSU beating UCONN was bigger than Appalachian State beating Michigan in football or Clemson beating Alabama in football this year or when Villanova beat the Pat Ewing led Georgetown Hoyas or when NC State beat Houston. Name any upset and this one is bigger than all of them by a wide, wide margin. 

So even though they did not win the national title, I still want to congratulate MSU on their historic win last Friday night. I will never ever forget the buzzer beater that I witnessed in real time. It was incredible.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. If the Men's college game continues to suck, he is switching over to Women's basketball. Miss St center Teaira McCowan is only a sophomore. No one and done in Women's basketball, so we get to see her tall magnificence for a few more years.

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Ty Gets Ready to Watch the Final Four

The 2017 Final Four is set. We have UNC and Gonzaga, the 1 seeds, Oregon, the 3 seed that hasn't been this far since 1939, and the Cinderella 7 seed, South Carolina. I don't think a lot of people predicted this. In fact, on my Tournament Challenge app, a stat popped up that said only 657 out of 17 million plus entries correctly predicted the Final Four. That comes out to 0.003 percent of entrants that got it right. That is crazy.

With all this being said, I do like the matchups and the teams. But, before I jump into my predictions I want to touch on the last 4 days of the tournament. All the crazy things that led to these teams being the teams left standing.

The tournament picked back up last Thursday. As you all know by now, Oregon beat Michigan in a great game. Gonzaga and West Virginia played one of the sloppiest, foul ridden, terribly run offensive games that I have witnessed. There were 50 plus fouls called, a combined 61 free throws shot and missed after missed opportunity by both teams. In the end Gonzaga won late when WVU ran the worst 3 offensive plays to close out a game ever. Later that evening, KU demolished Purdue. Purdue kept it close for a half, then KU bulldozed them. Frank Mason, Devonte Graham and Josh Jackson looked unbeatable. The last game of the evening was incredible, and in a pretty big upset, Xavier beat Arizona in the final minute. Arizona showed its youth and Sean Miller reared his ugly head, and Xavier just kept plugging away until it took the lead for good with 40 seconds left. Xavier played with so much more heart and they deserved that win.

The next night had some marquee matchups, and only one of the games really lived up to the hype. Earlier in the evening, South Carolina laid waste to Baylor. Baylor looked like Baylor and South Carolina took advantage. Is Scott Drew a good coach? Maybe, but this team always chokes in March. The UNC-Butler game had potential to be close, especially with how UNC played against Arkansas, but UNC came out scorching hot, and rode a great first half to an easy 12 point win. The game that was supposed to be the game of the night, UCLA-Kentucky, was good, but not great. Kentucky played incredible defense. De'Aaron Fox was ridiculously great. Malik Monk did his thing. I was shocked at how nonchalant, and seemingly uninterested both UCLA and Lonzo Ball looked in this game. TJ Leaf also played really bad. These are 2 projected first round picks, with Ball being considered number 1 or 2 overall. He showed little to no effort, and Fox absolutely crushed him all night long. To no one's surprise, Ball immediately declared for the draft, but man oh man did he look really terrible. And TJ Leaf, he was a complete no show. He couldn't keep up with Kentucky's big men and they destroyed him all night long. The game was good for awhile, but with about 11 minutes left in the second half, there was no doubt that Kentucky was moving on. The game of the night was Wisconsin-Florida. Florida seemed to have the game put away, but Wisconsin came up with big plays and an incredible shot at the end of the game to tie it up and push it to overtime. But, after making that shot, the Wisconsin kid showboated, and I said to my television, with no one else in the room, you will regret that. Well, with under 10 seconds left, one of Florida's guards went the length of the floor with his team down 2, and took almost the exact same shot as the Wisconsin kid, but this time, it was a game winner. The Florida kid hit all net. That game was truly great, especially the last 5 minutes of regulation and all of overtime.

Then we had 8. 

On Saturday we had KU-Oregon and Gonzaga-Xavier. Gonzaga-Xavier was a blowout from the tap. They crushed them the whole time. Gonzaga actually looked like the team that only got beat once all year. People may say that they got to play an 11 seed, but Xavier blew away FSU, a 3 seed, and beat Arizona, a 2 seed, and Gonzaga absolutely destroyed them. They won by 24 points, and it wasn't that close. I thought this would happen. What happened in the KU-Oregon game though, I did not expect. With the way KU hammered Purdue, and how Oregon had to come back against Michigan, I just naturally assumed that KU would continue their destruction. Well, Frank Mason did his thing, but no one else showed up for KU. Graham was an 0 fer from the filed. Josh Jackson was very mediocre. The Myhkulik kid was non existent. Bill Self was out coached. They just played terribly, and Oregon played great, especially their big men. They had one forward that had 11 points, 12 rebounds and 8 blocks. That is a phenomenal stat line. He single handily shut down everyone but Frank Mason. Oregon looked very, very good in this game.

So Saturday's games were both blowouts and gave us half of the Final Four. Sunday's games were much better. We started off with South Carolina-Florida. Florida looked like the better team in the first half, holding a 7 point lead, but South Carolina came out firing away and hitting shots in the second half. Sindarius Thornwell is a tremendous college basketball player. He is awesome and he kept this run going for South Carolina. They had a 4 point lead for pretty much the last 4 minutes, and they pulled away at the very end and won by 7 points. I'm still in shock that South Carolina, a team that has never been to the Final Four, is there. It's crazy. Congrats to them. To finish out the weekend, we had a great, great game between Kentucky and UNC. UNC looked like they had control in the first half, putting Kentucky's young stars in early foul trouble. But, Kentucky fought its way back, took a five point lead with about 3 and a half minutes left, but then UNC went on a 10-0 run to take a 5 point lead themselves. Then things that crazy. UNC pushed the lead to 7, but then Kentucky started to finally hit threes and with about 14 seconds left Malik Monk hit an incredible three to tie the game. The shot was awesome. But, instead of taking a timeout, UNC pushed the ball up the court and passed to this bench guy who hit a jumper with 0.3 seconds left. Kentucky never got another shot off. This was a great way to end the weekend. This game was flat out awesome. It had everything you could want out of an NCAA tournament game.

Now we have the four. Next Saturday Gonzaga will face South Carolina and UNC will face Oregon. South Carolina is on a magical run, but Gonzaga finally looked like the team we have all been waiting to see. I think this game will be very competitive, but I see Gonzaga ending South Carolina's magical run. I remember about 10 or 11 years back when George Mason was an 11 seed and on a similar run all the way to the Final Four, and it all came crashing down in their matchup. That is what I see happening here. It will be highly contested, but I just think that Gonzaga is a better team, and they should win. Oregon-UNC will be a blowout. I know that a lot of people are saying that Oregon is the team that no one wants to play, but UNC is a much, much better team with much better depth and equal size and skill from their big men. I think UNC will demolish them. Great for Oregon that they beat KU, but UNC is, I just have a feeling, going to throttle them. They passed their toughest test and came out of the South region as the Final Four recipient. I just do not see how they don't hammer Oregon.

That will give us a Gonzaga-UNC title game, and I think UNC will make up for what happened last year and win the title. It may be taken away in a few years, what with all the allegations coming at UNC athletics, but I see them beating Gonzaga in a very good, not as good as last year, but still highly contested game. It will come down to the final couple of minutes, but I see UNC winning it in the end. I think Justin Jackson will win MOP because he is the guy that most people know of on UNC. He has also had a very solid tournament run.

This is how I saw the past weekend, and how I see the Final Four playing out. I'm excited for next Saturday. This has been an entertaining tournament thus far. Hopefully that continues this weekend.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Where is Ty's sense of loyalty? He picked Oregon at the beginning of the season. Why bail on the Ducks when they are closer than most people imagined. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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The SeedSing 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Preview

The courts are ready.

For my men's NCAA tournament preview this year, I'm going to do something a little different.

First off, there is no women's preview because UCONN should, and will, win it again. They are far and away the most dominant team to ever set foot on a basketball court. What they have done is nothing short of spectacular, and they should be the favorites every year no matter what the circumstance is. UCONN women's basketball is unmatched in their greatness.

For the men's tournament, last year I did a "Five Crazy Things That Will Happen". This year, I'll go region by region, pick who I think will meet up in each regional final, which team will represent said region in the Final Four, a surprise team from each region, then my Final Four, my title game matchup and my winner. I will also do Most Outstanding Player for the whole tournament. Here it goes.

Let's start with the East Region first. The overall number one seeded Villanova Wildcats are the team to beat in the East. They lost a few players from last year's title team, but they have Josh Hart back, some good younger players and Jay Wright is still their head coach. Unfortunately for Villanova, they are the one seed in the same region as the second seeded Duke Blue Devils. Duke looks excellent right now, the committee clearly wants them to win and they will get every and any call, as they always do. Wisconsin is the 8 seed in this region, and I wrote yesterday how terrible that is. The other decent seeded teams(3,4 and 5) in this region are very blah. Baylor is the 3 and they peaked too early. Florida is the 4 and while they could shock and have a deep run, I expect them to flounder, and the 5 seed is Virginia. Virginia is not a fun team, or really, a good team. The one team that I think could surprise someone in this region is SMU. They play slow basketball, but they get buckets when needed, and they have a few great players on their team. They play tough, hard nosed defense, and can win low scoring games, which they force teams to play. I inevitably see the East coming down to Duke and Villanova, and as much as I hate to pick them, Duke will be the East's representative in the Final Four. The lay out is way too beneficial and easy for them to almost walk to the Final Four.

Next we will look to the West. The West's number one seed is Gonzaga. I LOVE Gonzaga this year, but they always choke in the tournament. I hope they don't this year, but I never know with that team. Maybe Nigel Williams-Goss will propel this team to the Final Four. Arizona is the 2 and they have a chance to play in their home state if they make the Final Four. They have a very good team this year too. They also have Sean Miller as their coach. That could be their downfall. FSU is the 3, and while I like them, I feel about them like I feel about Baylor. They already balled out too soon. West Virginia is the 4 and Notre Dame is the 5. Both teams are fine, but they are susceptible to decent teams as well. Northwestern is making their first trip ever to the tournament in the West region. I see that lasting one, maybe 2 games for them. As far as my surprise team in this region, I like Xavier, finally not having expectations, to be a team that can make noise. They should easily beat Maryland in round one, I could see them easily beating the winner of FSU-Florida Gulf Coast, to make a trip to the Sweet Sixteen. In the long run, I see Gonzaga facing up against Arizona, and Gonzaga finally breaking through and making the Final Four out of the West. Don't let me down Gonzaga.

Moving over to the Midwest, Kansas is the one seed. Kansas is great. The have a great group of players, led by the presumptive player of the year in Frank Mason. But, it is still a Bill Self led Kansas team. They could just as easily go out in round 2 as they can of making it to the title game. Louisville is the 2, and while they have the goods, they looked bad at the end of the season. They blew some games late and had a very early exit from the ACC tournament. Who knows with them. Oregon is the 3, but one of their best players just tore his ACL, and Dillon Brooks cannot do it alone, try as he might. Purdue is the 4, but I have no faith in Purdue. I love their size and I think Caleb Swanigan is great, but they are so up and down, and I do not trust their outside shooting. Iowa State is the 5, and with Iowa State, I say so what. Probably the hottest team coming into the tournament, Michigan, got the 7 seed, but they have to face a very good Oklahoma State team. In fact, Oklahoma State is the one team from the Midwest that I think could make a run to the Sweet Sixteen, possibly further. They play great, extended defense and they have scorers all over the floor. I'm so pissed that Michigan has to play them in the first round. I could see Oklahoma State beating Michigan, Louisville, then either Creighton, Rhode Island or Oregon, whoever they may face in the Sweet Sixteen. That's where they'd run into a KU, who I think they will play in the Elite Eight, and KU will crush them. KU, even though they had an early exit from the Big 12 tournament and are still coached by Bill Self, will represent the Midwest in the Final Four. They remind me a lot of Villanova from last year, but with better freshman.

Finally we have the South. This is, far and away, the best and toughest region. The one is North Carolina. UNC is great. they have everything you want in a college basketball team. They can go inside and outside and they play respectable defense. Kentucky is the 2. Kentucky is LOADED with talent, albeit very young. But, John Calipari has won with young talent, and continues to win with young talent. UCLA is the 3. I mean Jesus Christ, this is a tough region. UCLA does not play a whole lot of defense, but they score a whole lot of points. They can put the ball in the basket very much. Lonzo Ball is so god damn good. I think Steve Alford has gotten a bit too much credit for this team's success, but UCLA is very good. Butler is a very underrated 4 seed. They play very sound and very strong basketball. They can beat anyone, anytime on any floor. Minnesota is too highly seeded, at 5, but they will be done after one game. Middle Tennessee will beat them. Cincinnati is the 6, and they could make a run. But, my surprise team is Wichita State. I wrote about them yesterday as well. They won 30 games this year, yet they are a 10 seed for some unknown, asinine reason. But, I could see them beating Dayton, who is also a very good team, then beating Kentucky to push to the Sweet Sixteen. In the long run, I see UNC and UCLA facing off to go to the Final Four, and UCLA to represent the hellish South region.

My Final Four is Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas and UCLA. In the Duke-Gonzaga matchup, I'm riding with Gonzaga. Part of it is my incredible hatred for Duke and the other part is that I think Gonzaga will finally break through. In the other matchup, KU-UCLA, I'm going to go with KU. I love this team, and I think Frank Mason wants to go out as a champion. That being said, I'm picking the Kansas Jayhawks to win the national title. I love the makeup of this team and Frank Mason is absolutely the best college basketball player in the country. He is on a mission. Now that I'm picking them I'm sure they will get bounced early, but I have faith in this KU team. As far as Most Outstanding Player, I have Frank Mason, of course. He is the best, and most important player on the best team. He will carry this team, a la Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier, to a title. So, Rock Chalk Jayhawk to win it all this year.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. This year marks 20 straight years of Ty picking KU in the Final Four. KU has a history of dissapointing Ty. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Midseason NCAA Men's Basketball Checkup

As I did with the NBA last week, today I will look at where men's college basketball is at the half way, or more so the 3/4 mark of the season. I know I trash men's college basketball, and while I still think it is very low quality, this season has been a bit better. At least the good teams are playing each other during the regular season as opposed to only facing off during the tournament. With that being said, my conference, the Big Ten, has been an absolute shit show. The Big Ten is, by a wide margin, the worst major conference in all of men's college basketball. But, I will talk about that conference more a little later. Let's take a look at the season so far.

I am going to start with the Pac 12. The Pac 12 is very top heavy. Oregon, UCLA and Arizona are far and away the three top teams. Arizona just beat up on UCLA, and while it was a throwback to see UCLA at number 2 in the polls a few weeks ago, they are kind of crashing back down to Earth, and it all started with Arizona beating them up. Lonzo Ball is one freshman worth watching, but UCLA is a run and gun team that does not play much defense. They may make it to the second day, or even the Sweet Sixteen, but anything beyond that would surprise me. Oregon, my preseason guess to win the title, started off very poorly, won 17 in a row, then just recently got beat by Colorado. They are a very inconsistent team. I still would not be surprised if they won the whole thing, but it would not surprise me if they got beat in the first round of the tournament as well. Also, Dillon Brooks has the flop of the century. Go check it out, it is a thing of beautiful hilarity. Arizona, now at full strength, is the team to beat in the Pac 12. They looked really good against UCLA, and if they can keep it up, they are a real threat to go to the final four. They have a very, very good team. One other player from the Pac 12 I want to point out is Markelle Fultz from Washington. Washington is terrible, but Fultz is really, really good. He is a better version of Ben Simmons, in my personal opinion. If you happen upon a Washington game, do not watch for the Huskies, but watch for Fultz, he is incredible.

Now lets look at the ACC. This was supposed to be Duke's year. They had the best returning players and the best class. Things have not gone that way though. Look, I have written so much about what is wrong with Duke, but they still have a loaded team, and if they ever figure it out, they could win. But, they have way, way too many problems and I just do not see them doing much damage. They are not as great as some thought they would be. Florida State on the other hand, I know they have lost 2 straight, looks really good. Their mini losing streak is a fluke and happens to every good team. FSU has a great coach and they look like a legit threat to make a long tournament run. They also have one of those really good freshman as well. They also have the biggest basketball player I have ever seen. I do not know his first name, but his last name is Ojo, and not only is he big, but he is tremendous around the rim. UNC has a really good team, but they are not the same team as last year, and who knows what they will look like come NCAA tournament time. They could make a push, or they could go out on opening weekend. I do like that they have a bunch of upperclassmen though. After these teams, it is kind of a jumble. Notre Dame, Virginia, NC State and Louisville are all good, but I do not know what they bring to the table as a real threat. The only team on that short list that I think could unseat one of the three teams I mentioned is Louisville, but their offense is very mediocre. NC State has a great freshman, Dennis Smith Jr, but that's it. Notre Dame is just average everywhere, and so is Virginia. I think, at this moment in time, that FSU will win the ACC.

Next, the Big 12. Baylor, Kansas and West Virginia are the only teams worth mentioning. Baylor is a ton of fun to watch, but when they run into a team with similar athleticism, they just cannot keep up. They are currently the number 2 team in the country, but I do not see that lasting too long. While a ton of fun visually, I just do not see them as a real threat. WVU runs that suffocating press, but where does the scoring come from? sure, they just beat KU for the third straight year, but when they play in Allen Fieldhouse later this season, I'm sure KU will demolish them. This team is also coached by Bobby Huggins, so they are bound for an early tournament exit. KU is KU. This KU team feels a bit different to me though. Sure, they have super freshman Josh Jackson, but Frank Mason is the engine that runs this team, and Frank Mason is so damn good at basketball. The Jayhawks also have a swagger that some older KU teams did not have. KU is typically a heart-breaker in the tournament, but this team kind of reminds me of the team with Mario Chalmers that won the title a long time ago. I really like this KU team, especially after they beat Kentucky in Rupp Arena. Look for KU to be the Big 12 champ for the 13th straight year.

The predictable SEC is Kentucky and everyone else. People may say, well Florida and South Carolina are top 25 teams, I say, who cares. Kentucky is so much better than any team in the SEC, it is not fair. I don't think, nor they should, Kentucky fears any team in their conference. They will destroy those teams at will. Malik Monk and D'Aaron Fox and Bam Adebayo are great, great basketball players that play beyond their years. They all know their roles perfectly and they play them very well. Kentucky's kryptonite is teams like KU, Louisville and UNC. Those teams have upperclassmen that are not fazed by player rankings ad have been around for awhile. These are the types of teams that can beat Kentucky. Kentucky will win the SEC with ease though.

Now, lets tackle the awful Big 10. I had high hopes coming into this season for the Big Ten. I thought it would highly competitive. Unfortunately, it has been an absolute bore and a showcase for how not to play high level college basketball. Wisconsin is the "best" team in the Big Ten, but they have had recent struggles against both Rutgers and Michigan. Wisconsin is slow and shoots way too many threes and they don't utilize their best player, Nigel Hayes, nearly enough. After that, you have teams like Purdue and Northwestern that are top 25 teams. Purdue has a glut of supposed good big men, but they have not really shown out this year. Purdue's guard play has been suspect as well. They are a first round out in the tournament for sure. Northwestern is ranked! Good for you guys. You may even make your first tournament ever. That's right, they have never, not once, been in the NCAA tournament. I'm sure they'll make it this year and I'm sure they'll get bounced in the first round. But yeah, you guys are ranked. After that, the rest of the Big Ten is just bad. Michigan State has been an absolute disappointment. Michigan plays no defense and hasn't been making the three like they thought they would. Ohio State has played well below their expected level and people now want Thad Matta fired. Nebraska has been abysmal after an okay start. Maryland is ranked, but who have they played, and they look like they are struggling at all times, even when they are winning. After that, who cares. Wisconsin will probably win, but so what. The Big Ten is bad and not one team will get to the Sweet Sixteen, mark it down.

The Big East is still a conference, but the only teams worth mentioning are Villanova and Creighton. Xavier was once ranked highly too, but they have fallen off a cliff as of late.  Villanova is exactly who I thought they would be, a well disciplined, three point shooting machine. Josh Hart is awesome and they have replaced the players they lost from last years title team with ease. Maybe this is the new normal for Villanova. Creighton is okay. They beat the teams they should and get beaten by the teams they should. They are a first round out for sure. I miss the days of Georgetown being good, but things are cyclical and they will be good once again. But, for now, it is Villanova's conference to lose.

Outside of these conferences, the only other teams worth mentioning are St. Mary's and Gonzaga. St. Mary's is okay, they may win a game or 2 in the tournament, but that is about it. Then we have Gonzaga. They are undefeated and crushing each opponent with ease. With that being said, they do not have a tough schedule. So, they are doing what they're supposed to be doing, but they are not playing many tough teams. Some of that is their fault, some is other top teams not willing to play them. I think this will hurt them come tournament time, but I do think they will enter the tournament undefeated. They are this generation's St. Joe's.

As far as my final four picks, I'll go with KU, Arizona, Villanova and, what the hell, Gonzaga. The title will be KU and, what the hell again, Gonzaga, and I am picking KU to win, in a landslide. My player of the year is Frank Mason. He is the best player on the best team.

That is my midseason men's college basketball update. Take it with a grain of salt.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man. He works really hard on these college basketball articles. The pieces usually start with "College basketball sucks" and ends with "screw Flanders". Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Ty Musters up Enough Energy to Make Wild Guesses About Men's College Basketball

Artist depiction of Ty watching college basketball

To wrap up all my preseason basketball previews, I will finish off today with men's college basketball. Before I get into it, I do want to say, and I believe I said the same thing last year, but men's college basketball is becoming unwatchable. It is so watered down. The competition is so low rent, I might as well watch high school basketball. I don't want to do that.

The only thing that saved that dismal season last year was the incredible championship game. You know why that game was great, besides those 2 incredible game ending shots? Both UNC and Villanova were senior laden teams. Their best players were all seniors that had been playing together for four years. I'm over the whole "one and done" thing. I don't know who any of these new players are because they come into school for one season, then go pro. Skal Labiessere and Ben Simmons were supposed to be must watch TV last season. Labiessere and Simmons did not live up to the hype. Labiessere never asserted himself and became an after thought and Simmons seemed bored and disinterested. These were supposed to be the guys. There were also guys like Cheick Diallo, wasn't eligible until late in the season, and barely played after that. Brandon Ingram was fine, but never blew me away. Jaylen Brown led a floundering Cal team that got bounced in the first round of the tournament. I could go on and on.

All those guys are now gone to the NBA, so it doesn't matter anymore. That is my main problem with NCAA men's college basketball. The game has become a terrible version of posturing for NBA scouts amongst 18 and 19 year olds. It is a gloried McDonald's All American game. I'd much rather watch the D League anytime over men's college basketball now? That is a sad state of affairs. My advise, watch your team, because you should know the players on your team, but what is the point of watching all these freshman laden teams? The men's game has become dreadful.

Before I dig in, I got the majority of my information from cbssports.com, because when I went to do research, I literally had no idea who was supposed to win the title this year. I also do not know anything about this incoming crop of freshman. Every year I hear that this is the best class of freshman ever, but I'm sick of hearing that. Until we get a freshman as NBA ready as KD, I am not going to pay attention to any of these teams filled with "one and done" players because it is not good basketball, it's an all star game. All this from a guy who prefers college football way, way more than the NFL. I truly hate what men's college basketball has become.

Anyway, here is my preview of the upcoming season. As far as the ACC goes, I'm pretty sure that Duke is going to win the conference. They lost Ingram to the draft, but they return that prick Grayson Allen and I'm sure they have a slew of 5 star freshman coming in. Virginia, Miami and UNC will probably challenge, but they won't put up much of a threat, as Duke gets all the help from officials and they play a million home games. Duke will win the conference.

As far as the Big 12 goes, hasn't KU won it for a decade straight? They keep going after "one and done" players, and they keep winning the conference every year. Five new starters, but it doesn't matter, they will win the conference and I'm sure they will choke in the tournament. As far as teams that will challenge, I'm sure Oklahoma will take a step back since Buddy Hield is gone, Oklahoma State hasn't been relevant since Marcus Smart left, Kansas State is a joke, I guess Baylor is their only real challenger, but they probably have as many problems as their football program, so who knows what's coming to them, as far as sanctions and the like. KU is, once again, the Big 12 champs.

In the SEC, is there any other team that is any good other than Kentucky? Kentucky gets a new set of starters every year, they are all rated very high, and they have a great regular season, but since Anthony Davis left, they blow big games in the tournament. I'm sure that will happen again. Maybe Vanderbilt, LSU or even a team like Auburn challenge them, but I do not think it is very likely. Kentucky wins the SEC in a run away.

The Pac 12 is going to be Oregon's to lose. While they stink in college football, they have a good basketball team, or at least they did last year when they crushed Duke in the tournament and Coach K felt it was his place to yell at an Oregon player. They have a good team with bombers, and they do have some experience on their roster. Arizona and Washington could challenge, but Oregon should win the Pac 12. But, in all seriousness, I do not watch a lot of Pac 12 basketball because it is on way too late.

Villanova, the defending champs, should win what was formerly a great conference, but is now a shell of its self, the Big East. I don't see any real challengers, maybe Georgetown, but Villanova should dominate that conference all season. They did lose a few starters, but they have a good portion of the team back that won it all last year.

Now for the Big 10, the only conference I will watch. Michigan State or Indiana will probably win it once again. MSU is the perennial favorite, and I'm sure they have some blue chip guys coming in. Indiana is loaded with talent, but it is young, and they did lose Yogi Ferrell to graduation. He was the heart and soul of that team. Maryland has their star point guard back, but they lost a few big men and some older vets from a team that completely underachieved last year. I picked them to win it all last year, but they barely got out of the first round of the tournament. My team, Michigan, has a lot of guys back, but they went 21-13 last year. That is not a great record. They did make the tournament, but they played a terrible round one game, which they won, and then they blew a huge lead in their round 2 game. They have Zak Irvin back, but he hasn't been nearly as good as he was as a freshman. Derrick Walton is back, and he is tough and gritty, but I like Abdur Rahkman as a point guard better than Walton. He attacks the basket and finds the open guy better than Walton does. Michigan will infuriate me, but they will hover around the same record as last year, and hopefully, they can make the tournament again. Other than those teams, I do not know much about Big 10 basketball. Rutgers, Minnesota, Northwestern and Nebraska, amongst others, are all very average. I'm going to go with MSU because Tom Izzo is a much, much better coach than Tom Crean.

As far as some other teams that are outside of the power 5 conferences that should be good, we have teams like Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Rhode Island, VCU and Wichita State. Gonzaga is always good, even when they lose half of their starters. St. Mary's is supposed to be the best mid major team this year. They have a bunch of good players, and everything I read about them says they are supposed to be good. Rhode Island hasn't been good since Lamar Odom was there, but again, everything I read says that they will be good. VCU and Wichita State did lose a lot of vets, but they always have some other guys, that have been waiting their turn, that will produce.

As far as final four teams and the title game, I'm just going to take some shots in the dark. I'll say that Oregon, Villanova, Kentucky and MSU are the final four, but those are wild guesses. The title game will pit Oregon and MSU, and Oregon will win it all for the Pac 12, again, a wild guess.

The player of the year will be some random freshman that I have never heard of, or a senior that comes out of nowhere to have a great year, a la Buddy Hield last year. I honestly don't know.

Look, I think it is obvious how I feel about men's college basketball. It has become terrible, and nearly unwatchable. I wanted to do a preview because I love basketball that much, but I have little to no love for men's college basketball. It has become a meat market and a one on one game for 19 year olds to showcase their talents to scouts. No one wants to be Buddy Hield or Marcus Paige or Denzel Valentine anymore, and that is sad. All these young kids would rather be Brandon Ingram or Jakob Poertl, and that is truly upsetting. Men's college basketball is a joke, but hey, I will still watch Michigan and other games here and there. But, do yourselves a favor and just watch the NBA, it is so, so, so much better.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. His lack of enthusiasm for his college basketball is no excuse to forget about the Head Editors dark horse final four team. Go Mizzou. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Predicting the Rest of an Unpredictable Men's College Basketball Tournament

The current state of everyone's brackets

As I've done with my NBA preview, my NFL preview and my college basketball preview, I'm going to look back at what was right and wrong since the first weekend of the madness that is March is through. You can go back and read my five things I thought would happen before the tournament started and you can listen to our mini episode of the podcast to hear my initial thoughts.

Right out of the gate, I was way off about Michigan State, as was almost everyone else. They really laid an incredible egg against Middle Tennessee State. I don't want to hear about other reporters saying that MTSU was wrongly seeded and that they are a really good team either. Sure, they won 20 plus games, but just look at what happened against a very mediocre Syracuse team yesterday. Michigan State would have dismantled that same Syracuse team had they taken care of business on Friday, but they didn't. MSU got out played, out hustled and out coached by a very inferior team. This has to be the biggest upset in the history of the tournament. Sure, NC State had no business beating Houston when they had Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler and Norfolk State beat a much better Missouri team in 2012, but this win by MTSU was, at least in my lifetime, the biggest upset ever. MSU didn't even choke away this game, MTSU just straight up beat them, never trailing. I assumed that MSU's size and experience would make, not only this game a walk through, but that they'd coast to the title. I was way wrong, but so was pretty much everyone else. MSU blew it and they lose a ton of players to graduation. This was a major shake up that busted millions of brackets all over the country.

Then, there were my thoughts on the ACC that I was way off base on as well. Of the 16 teams remaining, 6 are from the ACC. That's impressive. Miami beat Wichita State with relative ease. Sure, WSU made it close, even taking a one point lead in the second half, but Miami started and finished that game strong and they deserved to win. Notre Dame, on the other hand, has been incredibly luck in their run to the sweet sixteen. They were down 12 at halftime to Michigan, then Michigan went ice cold and they started to make some clutch shots and Michigan still had a chance at the end until Zak Irvin took a terrible three. Also, Michigan wasn't even supposed to make that a game. Then, yesterday against Stephen F Austin, they needed a miracle tip in with one second left. SFA should have won that game and all they needed to do was box a guy out and they'd still be in it. I still don't trust Notre Dame. Syracuse got lucky with their draw. They were bigger than Dayton, then they got to play MTSU. They don't impress me at all. Duke was down at halftime against UNC Wilmington and it took the refs giving them every single call in the second half for them to win in round one. Then, they come out and shot a ridiculous percentage from three against Yale, push their lead all the way up to 27 at one point in the second half, then let Yale get back in it, getting as close as four points. Duke can't rebound and they will lose soon. Virginia has looked good. They play a slower style of basketball and they play suffocating defense. They've had an easy draw, but they have looked pretty good in their two wins. They could make final four noise if they keep this play up.

The team I was hardest on, UNC, has looked really, really good. They look like the team that was the preseason number one pick and a lot of people's pick to win the title. They cruised in round one and then they absolutely throttled Providence in round two. They look scary good right now, especially since Marcus Paige is making shots. I regret not having more respect for them. They could get to the title game if they keep it up.

My two play in 11 seeds really let me down. Michigan looked sloppy against Tulsa, but they won. Then, they came out on fire in the first half against Notre Dame, but fizzled in the second half. They should have won, but they couldn't finish, that was their problem all year long. Wichita State looked really good against Vanderbilt in their play in win, but they came out completely flat and ice cold against Miami. They put themselves in too big a hole and they could never get out of it. I was let down by both these teams. Northern Iowa also had a huge choke last night when they let Texas A&M make up a 12 point deficit in 40 seconds. I said, on the podcast, I thought they could make a run, but they really blew it last night. That was probably the biggest choke job I've ever witnessed. At least Gonzaga, another double digit seed I liked, has looked pretty good. They've won both their games handily and now they get to face an inferior Syracuse team for a shot at the elite eight.

The Big 12 has been a let down for me. I thought that they'd represent 75 percent of the final four. Sure, Kansas and Oklahoma are still there and they look good too. KU has had no problem with their first two games and they should coast to the final four. And Oklahoma, while VCU put a scare in them, made in on the heels of Buddy Hield. He has to be the player of the year now after MSU and Denzel Valentine's shocking and embarrassing loss. Without Hield yesterday, Oklahoma doesn't win that game. He is a scoring machine. But, the Baylor's and West Virginia's of the world really blew it. Baylor got outplayed by Yale. Baylor was bigger, but Yale out rebounded them. Side note, if you want to see something truly great, go back and watch the Baylor postgame conference when a reporter asked a Baylor player how they got out rebounded by Yale. This player's response is priceless and hilarious. Baylor would have crushed Duke had they taken care of business, but now we will never know. West Virginia looked bad in their opener. SFA did anything it wanted at anytime against WVU. I thought WVU had final four potential, but has Bob Huggins ever really done anything of note since leaving Cincinnati except for blowing winnable games. That game was a joke and WVU looked pretty terrible.

I was also wrong about a Big Ten team winning the title. I thought it would be MSU in a cake walk. I was wrong and so was the majority of everyone else. The Big Ten still has three teams left, but who really believes Maryland or Wisconsin will win the title? I know in my preseason preview I picked Maryland, but that was a straight up guess and after watching them this past weekend, there is no way they are a championship level team. And Wisconsin got very lucky in both games. They were ice cold against Pitt, but Pitt was even colder. Then, they hit a buzzer beater to beat Xavier. That play was beautiful, but it should have never happened. That charge that was called on Xavier was one of the worst calls in a basketball game at any level. That ref wanted to determine the outcome of the game and that should never be the case. But, that terrible call let us witness one of the best in bounds plays of all time. There is no way either of Maryland or Wisconsin wins the title. Indiana, on the other hand, I do believe in. I had them picked to beat Kentucky and they looked decent doing it. They made big plays when they needed to and got stops when they needed to. They are the Big Ten's best shot at a title this year. 

Where we stand now, we have 6 ACC teams, 3 Big Ten Teams, 3 Big 12 teams, 1 Big East team, 1 SEC team, 1 Pac 12 team and 1 mid major. The way I see it now, the Big 12 is not getting all three in, but they have an excellent shot at 2. Iowa State will probably lose to Virginia later this week, KU should have no problem with Maryland, then they will get the winner of Miami-Villanova, which should be another cake walk for them. Oklahoma gets a very young and inexperienced Texas A&M team they should beat, then the winner of Oregon, the most overrated one seed of all time perhaps, and Duke, who I have ZERO trust in. They can win their next two games with ease. Unfortunately for the Big Ten, Maryland will probably lose to KU, Wisconsin can and should beat Notre Dame, but then they get the winner of Indiana-UNC who would crush them, and that leaves Indiana, and they have to face a red hot UNC team right now and I just don't see them beating UNC. The ACC's best shot, of the 6 remaining teams they have left, is either UNC or Virginia. I think Miami will have it's hands full with Villanova. Duke will probably lose to Oregon. Syracuse is going to get destroyed by Gonzaga. But, Virginia should beat Iowa State, setting up a showdown with Gonzaga, in what would be a great game. And UNC, if they beat Indiana, will coast over either Notre Dame or Wisconsin. UNC has the easiest and most likely path for an ACC team. Sorry Pac 12, Oregon will not represent your conference in the final four. St, Joe's should have won last night, but either Duke or the winner of Texas A&M-Oklahoma will end your season. Same thing for the SEC. A&M is too young and too inexperienced and they also got incredibly lucky to still be in this tournament, their season will end soon enough. Villanova will be its usual choking self soon, probably against Miami. They will find a way to lose because that is what they do. Which leaves me with Gonzaga. I love Gonzaga this year and they have been very impressive thus far. They will beat Syracuse which will most likely set them up against Virginia. I think they can easily win that game and go to the final four. They are playing top notch basketball at the right time.

So, if I have to pick a final four with the 16 remaining teams, I will go with KU in the South, Oklahoma in the West, UNC in the East and Gonzaga in the Midwest. I think from those four teams, KU and UNC will play for the title and I think KU wins. That's how I see it now. I will admit that this tournament has been fun to watch. While it may not always be appealing to your eyes, at least there's been buzzer beaters and upsets galore after the first weekend. Hopefully, that continues throughout the rest of this wacky and wild tournament.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He takes gret solace in the fact that not only his, but every realistic person out there, has a busted bracket. It is madness if you are not following Ty on twitter @tykulik.

5 Thoughts on the 2016 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament

Gyms will start to fill up on Tuesday when the madness begins.

Instead of doing a NCAA men's tournament preview, since I've already picked two different winners in two previous blogs, I'm going to give you guys five predictions of things I think will happen in this years tournament. I will not pick a winner, but I will give you 4 or 5 or even 6 possibilities of who could win. I'm also not going to pick the player of the tournament or anything like that, I'm just going to give you five random things I think will happen in the coming weeks of games. On with the countdown.

At number 5, I don't see any ACC team making it to the final four. At first glance you might think, what about UNC or Duke or even Miami, but I think the ACC is very overrated this year. Their best team is UNC, but they've shown time and time again this year that they can choke at any time. Take their home loss against Duke earlier this year. They dominated that game, but they let Duke stick around and they got beat. UNC can't be trusted. Duke won't get out of the first weekend. If they win their first game, they will most likely play a much bigger and more experienced Baylor team that will crush them on the boards and throw around their guards like rag dolls. They will get rolled. And Miami, while they've had a great year, I just don't believe in their team. They'll get bounced quick.

My number 4 prediction, one of the 4 teams playing in the play in games for the 11 seed, be it Michigan, Tulsa, Vanderbilt or Wichita State, will get to the sweet sixteen. I have the most faith in Wichita State because they're experienced and they've gone deep in this tournament in years past. But, Vanderbilt and Michigan, if they win, could make some noise. Michigan has won some big games without their best player for most of the year, and if they're hitting their threes, they can beat almost anyone. Vandy has spent the majority of this year ranked and plays high level offense and, much like Michigan, if they're hitting shots, they will win. Tulsa is the only one of these teams I have no faith in. They don't belong in the tournament and if they beat Michigan, they will get crushed in their first round game. They lost to a very mediocre Memphis team twice this year, so that says everything I need to know about them.

My number 3 prediction, Kentucky doesn't make it out of round 2. They will win their first round game, but that would set up a showdown, most likely, with Indiana. I like Indiana in that game if it happens. Indiana has more experience and more depth and if they catch Kentucky on an off night, they will crush them. I really like Kentucky's point guard Ullis, but Yogi Ferrell is a much better and older and experienced version of him. Indiana's front court is better and could easily dominate Kentucky's young and very thin, in stature, front court. IU had better depth as well. I just don't see Kentucky beating them.

My number 2 prediction, this will be a wild and crazy and fun tournament to watch. I know that I've ragged on men's college basketball, and I still think it's borderline unwatchable, but the fact that this tournament is so wide open, while it may not be pleasing to watch, it will be interesting to see all the upsets that will happen and it will be exciting. I have no faith in a lot of the high seeds, especially Oregon as a number one, but, some lower seeded teams like Yale, Northern Iowa and Gonzaga can make some noise. I especially like Gonzaga as an 11 and I like them a lot in their first round game against Utah. Utah is good, but Gonzaga is bigger and deeper and has more tournament experience. If Northern Iowa can win their first round game, I believe they can make a run to the elite eight. And Yale, these Ivy League teams get in and they're always a tough out. Just ask our editor RD about his Princeton over UCLA pick a million years ago (ed note: Did you know that I picked #13 Princeton to beat #4 UCLA in 1996? I did.) . Or look at what Harvard did last year. Basically, this is a year where literally all 68 teams can win the whole thing if put in the right situation of get hot at the right time. Which will make this an exciting tournament.

Which brings me to my number one prediction, the Big 12 will make up 3/4 of the final four, but a Big 10 team will win. I fully believe that Kansas, Baylor, West Virginia and Oklahoma can get to the final four. KU has been lights out lately and they are the best team in all of men's college basketball. They should coast to the final four. I also believe in Oklahoma and Baylor a lot. They're both big, experienced and just flat out good. Baylor has a bunch of humongous guys in their front court that will punish smaller opponents. Oklahoma has one of, if not the, best players in Buddy Hield. That dude can put up 40 any given night and he will single handily win at least two games for the Sooners. I also like West Virginia's chances too. They play suffocating defense that frustrates teams into critical mistakes. They can do damage in the tournament. But, I believe that Michigan State has the best chance to come away with the title. They got screwed by not getting a one seed, but where they're seeded in their bracket, it's a cake walk for them. They have the best player, Denzel Valentine and they have experience and depth at all five positions. They can crush you inside and outside. They have it all. In a very weird season, they have been the one true consistent team, when at full strength.

Take these predictions as you will, but I fully believe this stuff will happen. Get ready for the tournament, fill out your brackets, and watch the craziness unfold.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The head editor is wondering where Ty put Xavier, and why he did not say the Musketeers will win it all. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Chaos of the College Basketball Season will Extend Well into March

This season has even our ancestors confused

As I've done with the NBA, NFL and MLB seasons, I want to check up on my preseason preview for men's college basketball and see how I did and what I think will happen now that the regular is just about done.

First of all, this season of men's college basketball has been very, very ugly. There is no clear cut best team out there. The talent pool has been incredibly watered down by this new "one and done" culture. These kids don't go to college to learn how to play team basketball anymore, they go to increase their draft position. No one plays team basketball anymore. It's all one on one and let me show you my skills to prove that I can play at the next level. Adam Silver needs to focus more on changing the age limit rule for early entry in the draft and less on the "hack a whoever" problem. Men's college basketball is becoming a joke, and until they do something to remedy the "one and done", it will remain a big, big problem.

I really dislike college basketball at the moment.

With all that being said, I still watch because it is basketball and I love basketball. As I said before, there is no clear cut top five teams. Last year it was almost a foregone conclusion that Duke, Kentucky and Wisconsin would be three fourths of the final four. Michigan State making it was a surprise, but they are also a traditional powerhouse, so was it really that surprising? Nope. This year though, it's a total crapshoot. I bet gamblers hate how wide open it is this season. There is, at least, 10 teams that have a legitimate shot at making the final four and winning the title.

I'll start with the ACC. The ACC has the team that most consider the "best" team in North Carolina, but they just lost to an unranked Duke team at home. Sometimes UNC looks like world beaters, other days they look average. Duke has been wildly inconsistent this year. They were in the top ten, fell out of the rankings completely, then beat Virginia and UNC. They are a team that relies on streaky shooters and freshman and sophomores and their underclassmen are nowhere near as good as their underclassmen last year. Virginia has experience, but they play ugly offensive basketball. Notre Dame is okay, but they will lose an early round game in the tournament. Louisville gave themselves a bogus postseason ban, due to all their sex parties and their sex depraved head coach, but I don't think they would have made much noise in the tournament anyway. Miami may be the second best team in the ACC, but they are classic tournament chokers. everyone else is mediocre. UNC should be the cream of the crop, but I have no faith in them after what happened against Duke.

The Big East has two good teams and that's it. No disrespect to Georgetown, but they peaked early. The Big East is Villanova and Xavier. They played last night and number 5 Xavier knocked off number 1 Villanova. It was a good game, but the problem with these two teams, they always get seeded very high in the tournament and they always lose way earlier than they should. They both have experience, but like I said, that experience is used to getting knocked out of the tournament early. I'd love if they proved me and everyone else wrong and made a deep tournament run because I like both these teams, but I don't think that will happen.

The SEC has been very average this year. Kentucky was supposed to be great, signing another excellent class, but they have been one of, if no the, most inconsistent team in all of men's basketball. They have no go to scorer and their stud freshman have not lived up to the preseason hype. Texas A&M is ranked, but I couldn't tell you the name of one player on that team. LSU was supposed to be awesome since they signed Ben Simmons, the overall number one high school recruit, but they might not even make the NCAA tournament. Arkansas is mediocre, Ole Miss and Mississippi State both stink and so does the rest of the conference. Kentucky will still win the SEC, but they are not the same team that they were last year.

The Big Ten, my conference that I watch, has been very unpredictable. Michigan State is supposed to be the cream of the crop, but they've had to deal with multiple injuries and very inconsistent play. They are still really good, but not as good as I thought they would be. Iowa has come out of nowhere and put themselves into the top ten, but they have lost three straight and one of those losses was to a very bad Penn State team. Maryland, my preseason pick to win the title, has been as inconsistent as Michigan State. They started out on fire this season, climbing all the way up to the number 2 ranking, but they recently lost to a Minnesota team that was winless in Big Ten play. Michigan, my team, has been without Caris Levert for most of the season but, they've beaten the teams they are supposed to beat. But, when they played quality competition, they've been absolutely run out of the gym. Michigan State, Indiana, Iowa and Xavier all beat them by double figures and made it look easy. Indiana, the current leader of the conference, has looked good, but when they have to play on the road, they are not the same team. They get every call at home, but the road, where it's called fairly, they look average. Wisconsin has come on strong lately, but I have zero faith in them and their former coach, Bo Ryan, is a world class scumbag. Even with Indiana sitting atop the conference, Michigan State and Maryland are the two best teams in the Big Ten.

The Big 12 may be the best conference in college basketball this year. Oklahoma, Kansas, West Virginia, Texas and Baylor have spent the majority of the season in the top 25. Oklahoma and Kansas look really good. They are the two teams that may be the only "sure thing" in college basketball this year. The issue is that KU has a tendency to choke, and who knows with Oklahoma, especially since Buddy Hield has been in a mini slump. West Virginia plays suffocating defense, but very poor offense. Baylor seems to be good only when playing at home and Texas is still learning Shaka Smart's system.  KU has proven twice, beating Oklahoma at home and on the road, that they are still the best team in the Big 12.

The mid majors I mentioned in my preseason preview, Witchita State and Gonzaga have been major disappointments. Witchita State had everyone back from a team that almost made the final four last year, but they have been pretty mediocre this year. And Gonzaga has fallen off a cliff. I believe I had them in my preseason final four, but they have been pretty terrible this year. The mid majors are not going to crash the final four at all this year.

Even though it's been a rough year to watch, the major conferences will be well represented in the tournament and make the final four. Like I said, this season is wide open, but I will take a crack at the final four anyway. I guess, and I cannot stress how much of this is literally a guess, UNC, Michigan State, Kansas and Oklahoma will be in the final four and Oklahoma will win it all. Once again, total guess. So, there is my almost end of the regular season wrap up for men's college basketball. The one thing that will be fun, while it will still be a rough watch, at least the tournament will be exciting and all 68 teams that make it will have a shot at the title. Hell, maybe we will finally see a 16 seed beat a 1 seed.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. This college basketball season may provide another big upset, like the Princeton UCLA game that the head editor will not shut up about. It is your duty to follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty takes a few guesses with his Men's College Basketball Preview

Finishing up with all my basketball previews, I'm going to preview the upcoming NCAA season. Now, before I get started. I want to point out how hard this will be for me. I was doing research last night, and during my research, I found out that I don't know many of the new "stars" in college basketball today.

That's a problem.

Men's college basketball is now being defined by this new "one and done" culture, and I hate it. There's no continuity anymore, and players come and go after one season. We don't get any sense of how good a team can truly be because of the rule that you have to be one year removed from high school before you can go pro. I wasn't a fan of the straight from high school to the pros, but the "one and done" culture may be worse. These athletes are basically rentals. A school recruits these kids knowing that they will only be there for one season, and coaches and upperclassmen don't seem to care. Every year it's a revolving door. A five star comes to a school like Duke or Kentucky or Kansas, leaves after the season and a new crop of five star recruits come in. Another thing that blows my mind, pundits and professional broadcasters can't seem to understand how a team like Wichita State or Gonzaga can compete with the blue bloods of college basketball. It's simple dummies, the Wichita State's and Gonzaga's of the world have something that these teams that play mostly freshman don't have, camaraderie. The kids playing at Wichita State or Gonzaga have been playing together for four, or at the very least, three years. They know each other and they know each others tendencies, strengths and weaknesses. The teams led by freshman don't have this and it hurts them when it matters most.

Take last years Final Four game between Wisconsin and Kentucky. Kentucky was undefeated, led by a bunch of All Americans and had just come off their closest game of the year in the Elite Eight against Notre Dame. Wisconsin steamrolled Arizona, another freshman laden team, and they were ready for Kentucky. Wisconsin was also led by a senior(Frank Kaminsky), a junior(Sam Dekker) and a slew of upperclassmen. Wisconsin beat Kentucky up and by the end of the game, the freshman at Kentucky were bruised, battered and physically and emotionally tired. Age won out. Now, that didn't work in the championship game against Duke, another team with mostly freshman, but Coach K is a better coach than Bo Ryan.

Men's college basketball is becoming tough to watch. It's a shit show of, look how high I can jump to dunk this ball, or look at how many threes I can shoot in 10 minutes, or look at the little amount of interest I show in playing defense. It's not very good. The talent is better, but the product has gotten worse. When Geno Auriemma, head coach of UConn's women's team, said that men's college basketball is unwatchable, I, at first, vehemently disagreed with him, but now, I'm coming over to his side. It's not that much fun to watch anymore.

With all this being said, I'm going to give a brief breakdown of the upcoming season and pick who I think, and it will be a flat out guess, is going to win the title. I'll also pick a player of the year as well. When researching, I stumbled upon a great article on cbssports.com, rating every team in division one basketball with a one or two sentence description of the team. I'm going to use this article, but only for the rankings.

They have UNC as their preseason number one. This team actually has one upperclassmen, Marcus Paige, on their roster. He's their point guard, and everything runs through him. If he plays well, UNC will be good, but the rest of his supporting cast are either freshman or sophomores and I know very little about them. Staying in the ACC, other good teams will be Duke, Virginia, Notre Dame and Miami. Duke lost three of their five best players to the draft, but they have a bunch of five stars coming in to take their place. They won't win the title again, but they'll be good, they always are. Virginia and Notre Dame are senior laden teams, but both lost their best players to the draft. They'll still make the tournament, but their runs won't be as deep. Miami should be better this year, they get better every year, and they should challenge UVA and Notre Dame for the third spot in the conference.

CBS's number two team is Kentucky. Yep, the same team that lost 7, I repeat 7, players to the NBA draft is preseason number two. They just did what Calipari does, and out recruited everyone and replace five five stars, with five more. Kentucky is the only SEC team that will do any sort of damage on a major scope this season. LSU does have the top incoming recruit, Ben Simmons, but he won't make them a contender in his one college season. And Vanderbilt may make some noise, but they are very, very far behind Kentucky.

Kansas was their number three team and they will be, once again, the class of the Big 12. They lost Cliff alexander and Kelly Oubre Jr to the pros, but they do get Perry Alexander back and they also have "star" freshman coming into Lawrence. The Jayhawks could, and will be challenged by Iowa State, Baylor and Oklahoma. Iowa State did lose their coach to the pros, but they have most of their starting five back, and that includes Georges Niang. He's one of the anomalies, and decided to stay in school to improve his game. Baylor is always lurking, and they have been for almost a decade now. It's time to take Baylor serious and stop calling them a surprise contender. And Oklahoma may have the best player in all of college basketball in Buddy Hield. He leads that team and he can do great things with the basketball.

The first Big 10 team to crack CBS's poll is Maryland, coming in at number four. Maryland surprised a lot of people last year by how well they played, and they may be the best team in all of college basketball. They did lose Dez Wells to graduation, but they have Jake Layman and Melo Trimble back. Trimble may be Hield's only competition for player of the year. The other Big 10 teams that will fight with Maryland are the usual suspects. Teams like Michigan State, Indiana, Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan will all be tournament teams. Michigan State has a fine recruiting class coming in and Denzel Valentine is back. Indiana has one of the best offenses in the country and they have some serious recruits coming in. Ohio State will be down from where they have been, but they will still be decent. Purdue has a huge frontcourt, and they will be hard to score on in the post. And Michigan, if they can stay healthy, will be lethal from the outside.

The first Big East team to make their poll is Villanova. They're coming off a 30 plus win season and look to be in good shape once again. Georgetown and Providence will be fine, but the Big East is Villanova's to lose.

The Pac 12 should be competitive. Teams like Utah, Arizona, Oregon and California will be good. Utah did lose Delon Wright to the NBA, but Jakob Poeltl is back and he's a beast inside. Arizona replaces McDonalds All Americans with more McDonalds All Americans. Oregon is a fine team, but they're not really a threat nationally. And Cal. How in the hell is Cal in this discussion? I'll tell you how, they snagged three of the best recruits in the nation somehow, and they will be really competitive for one season. I'm sure an investigation will come out in a year or two involving Cal and recruiting violations, because they haven't been relevant since Jason Kidd played point guard for them in the 90's.

The AAC has three good teams in UConn, Cincinnati and SMU. SMU loses respect because of the sanctions just handed down, so they're not relevant. Cincinnati will win a lot of games they shouldn't, make the tournament with a decent seeding, then crap out in the first or second round. UConn is the class of the conference, and they will win it going away. They have a good recruiting class, and the best coach in their league.

Outside of the power conferences, there's only two teams that really warrant a mention. These teams are the afformentioned Wichita State and Gonzaga. Wichita State returns everybody from a team that should've made the Final Four last year, and the same goes for Gonzaga. If they're ever going to finally make the jump to elite status, this is Gonzaga's best, and probably last chance.

These are the teams I wanted to break down today. There's over 300 division one men's college basketball teams, but the ones I wrote about today, in my opinion, are the only real threats to do damage. Tell me why I'm wrong and who I left out in the comment section. For a more in depth look, if that's what you want, I suggest checking out the CBS website I mentioned earlier.

As far as predictions go, my Final Four teams, right now, are Maryland, Wichita State, Gonzaga and UNC. I think the title game will feature Gonzaga and Maryland, and I'm picking Maryland to win the whole thing. Melo Trimble will also take home player of the year. This will be a big, big season for Maryland basketball. I'll revisit this later in the season, but that's how I see things right at this very moment, 2:49pm central time on October 19th. Thanks and leave a comment telling me why I'm right or wrong.

College basketball and the NBA are almost here folks.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. His first big sports heartbreak happened after an ill fated time out call in the NCAA Men's Basketball championship game. I think UNC played in that game. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik