Ty's 2022 - 2023 College Basketball Preview

Wrapping up all of my basketball previews, today I am coming to you all with my men's NCAA basketball preview. Full disclosure, I do not really pay attention to college basketball until the college football season is over. I will watch games on nights that college football is not on, but I do not focus on any team except Michigan. So take this preview with a humongous grain of salt. I did look at the preseason polls, which are totally useless, but that is what I'm going to go off of to do this preview.

With all that, UNC is preseason number 1. They have a ton of returning talent. They were in the title game last year, they maybe should have won it and they appear to be absolutely loaded. They have a very, very good team with great experience.

Gonzaga is number 2, but I am done with that team. They are always ranked in the top 5, they always win a ton of regular season games, they get a 1 seed in the tourney and they get beat much earlier than they should. I wrote about it a while ago, but I'm done with Gonzaga. They are paper champs.

Rounding out the top 5 we have Houston, who will play tremendous defense, Kentucky, who has reloaded, has a great returning star in Oscar Tishbiwe and will be much better this season than last and Baylor is 5. They play very good defense, they have shooters and they have experience.

From there on out in the top 25 we have a ton of blue bloods. KU is in the top 10. They are always great. Duke has a new coach, but it is much the same. They have a great group of freshmen coming in and they are extremely talented. UCLA may not have Johnny Juzang, they still have a great core of dudes that have played together for more than two years now. Creighton is in the top 10 and I cannot name one single player. But this seems to be the case every year. There is always one team in the non power 5 other than Gonzaga that are always highly rated. It must be due to the camaraderie and the years of playing together. Teams like Creighton have so much depth and familiarity with each other and that pays dividends in the long run. Creighton will win a game in the tourney against a much more talented team simply due to the fact that they know how to play off one another. And then there is Arkansas. Arkansas is fast, athletic, plays awesome defense and I'm sure they have some dope transfers coming in. Then we have teams like Tennessee, who is getting great recruits every year, Texas, who recruits college basketball transfers like USC does with college football transfers, TCU, who is loaded with experience and Auburn, who gets elite talent seemingly every season now.

From the Big Ten we have Indiana, loaded with depth, experience, a great coach and solid recruits, Illinois, who has a tough coach and tough players, Michigan State, who play an elite style of basketball and always peak at the right time, The University of Ohio State, who is a solid 20 win team and Michigan, who has Hunter Dickinson, an elite point guard transfer and a solid recruiting class coming in. The Big Ten should be a bloodbath yet again.

Rounding it out we have teams like Oregon, always a threat, San Diego State, maybe the best defense in college basketball, Arizona, who is getting better and better every season lately, Villanova, who has some elite recruits coming in, Texas Tech, who play an old school style of basketball and Dayton, who has Obi Toppin's little brother and an up and coming head coach.

Men's college basketball is very wide open this season. Last year we did have UNC and KU in the title game, which is as blue blood as it gets, but it was still a surprise, a fun one at that, to get a title game like that. It was a blast.

As for my picks for the Final Four this year, I do not know. What I do know, I'm not picking Gonzaga again. Never, ever again. If I had to pick a Final Four right at this moment I'd say, UNC, Houston, Kentucky and Creighton. I'd put UNC and Houston in the title game. And I'm picking UNC to win it all this year. They are stacked. I do think Tishbiwe from Kentucky is going to win Player of the Year. As for the top pick in the NBA draft, well he will not be playing in college this season. Victor Webayama will be the first pick and he is playing professionally in France. And the second pick, Scoot Henderson will be playing in the G League. So who knows who will be the stud from college basketball. But I'm sure there are some incoming freshmen who will blow up this season and I will learn about them halfway through the season.

Okay there it is, there is my men's NCAA basketball preview for the 2022-23 season. And that wraps up all of my 22-23 basketball previews. Enjoy the season everyone.

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 2022 Mens College Basketball Championship

The men's NCAA title game was quite the event last night. It was played in a football stadium, it was filled to the brim, there were a ton of famous people and alums of each school and the game itself was pretty gratifying, especially for this viewer who had no skin in the game.

I hoped for a good, close game, and when that second half started, that is exactly what I got. The first half was pretty one sided. Kansas came out and scored the first seven points, but then UNC took over. They calmed down, hit some shots, and before I knew it they were up 16, at 38-22. They went on an incredible scoring run. They went 38-15 after being shut out for the first few minutes. And they looked like they could not be stopped. While KU settled, UNC attacked. They went inside, which opened up the outside, and UNC feasted. At one point they scored 16 unanswered points. When it went to half, UNC was up 40-25.

I thought we might be in for a blowout, but I still wanted to see the start of the second half. Basketball is a game of runs, and KU has shown all tourney long that they seem to rev it up after halftime. That is precisely what happened. KU came out and attacked. They became the aggressors. They got to the rim seemingly at will. The layups they missed in the first half were falling. UNC was fouling. Things started to turn around. The lead was cut to 12, then 10, then 7, then 4. Before too long KU cut the lead to 1. UNC would answer each run though. KU would cut it to 1, UNC would follow with a dunk or a 3 to stretch it to two possessions. But KU kept going. They stopped settling and kept attacking. They were passing up threes for layups and dunks. The attacking nature in the second half then opened up the outside shot. This was where super transfer Remy Martin showed up. He nailed three big time 3 pointers in the second half. He made big shot after big shot. Ochi Agbaji started to hit shots as well. He stopped shooting mid range shots and threes, and went to the rim. He was making shots and getting fouled. He was getting 3 points the old fashioned way. KU's big man, Tim McCormack, started to own the paint. Armando Bacot played a hell of a game too. That kid was everywhere for UNC last night. But he could not stop McCormack. He was playing hurt, and the second half showed that. He also got far less touches. Brady Manek was not making his usual shots either. He played great defense, but he just couldn't put the ball in the bucket. Caleb Love, who has been sensational all tourney, had a very poor and unfortunate shooting night. RJ Davis kept UNC in it, but he had to put up a ton of shots. And Puff Johnson, even though he hurled during the game, played one hell of a game off the bench. But KU kept grinding and getting to the basket and playing world class defense. Their defense in the second half was a thing of beauty to a basketball nerd such as myself. They played tight defense up and down the floor. KU's guards were making life miserable for UNC's guards. UNC kept trying to pick and roll, but KU's guards were jumping screens and fighting every time. McCormack would not let Bacot get his touches. They flustered UNC in that second half. It was a clinic.

All in all this was a very well played, hard fought title game. I was glad I stayed up to watch the whole thing. I feel for the UNC fans and players and coaches. But I am also happy for the KU players and fans, not so much their coaches. But I want to extend a big thank you to UNC and KU for putting up a wonderful, down to the wire title game. I love it when they are close like this. A blowout is not fun. Last night was fun. A well played game won by a very deserving Jayhawks team. Congrats.

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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In the End Coach K Will Always Be Coach K

I figured I was done talking about Duke after I stated that they would win the title no matter what. I am glad to say that I am wrong. I have to eat a lot of crow on this site, but this time it doesn't taste as bad as it usually does. I loathe Duke. I love to hate them and hate on them. I have never ever liked that school, the majority of their star players and, obviously, their head coach.

Which leads me to my point today. I was so, so, so happy that UNC beat Duke Saturday night. It ruled. I was so happy that I was wrong. I was stoked to see UNC not only beat Coach K in his last game in Cameron, but even more happy to see them beat Duke in the tourney, and end Coach K's career without another title. It was akin, I kid you not, for me, when Michigan beat the university of Ohio State in football this year after Ryan Day said he was going to hang 100 points on them. I was almost as excited by what UNC did.

Yet that still did not stop Coach K from revealing the slimy asshole he has always been and will be until the day he passes. He, during a presser on his last game as a head coach in college basketball, managed to throw an 18 year old under the bus. He still found the time to blame someone else for a loss. He may have said some nonsense about how "other factors led to us being beat tonight", but that does not change the fact that he did not take any blame for his much, much better team getting beat in a game where they had the refs, most of the media and a good amount of fans on their side. A player on his team, a freshman, who has had a really good year by the way, missed two late free throws. That stinks. I did feel bad for the kid afterward. That is not something anyone that has ever played basketball wants it to go down. You dream of being the hero, not the goat. But, even at the lowest level of basketball, you never expect your coach, on live TV with millions upon millions of people watching, to openly blame you for the loss. That is just unspeakable petty. I would have lost my goddamn mind if I was that kid. That kid came to play for Coach K when he could have gone anywhere. He did everything that was asked of him. He probably put in as much extra effort as anyone else on the team. I'm sure he gave it his all. And what thanks does he get from the "might Coach K"? He gets completely and utterly run over by a bus followed by a mack truck ending with a semi rolled over him.

Again, how petty does Coach K have to truly be? I mean deep down, what is this soulless person really like behind closed doors? But it just shows who he really is to people who do not know him. I have never liked the guy, and this only reaffirmed my dislike. It is about as classless as one can be. He even said some garbage about how "this was all for the team" and he "really loves and cares about these kids". Well, he may love and care about a few of them, but not the kid who tried really hard to make some free throws and came up a bit short unfortunately.

I do now get it now why he wouldn't have been able to hack it in the NBA. I understand why he stayed at Duke and never gave it a real try with the pros. You can tell me he coached Team USA, but he was a figurehead coaching a bunch of super duper stars, just like he had done at Duke. If he had tried, like really tried for an NBA job, it would have been similar to Rick Pitino and John Calipari. Hell, he may have been closer to John Beilien. But, truly, he is a less successful Nick Saban. Saban could not hack it in the NFL and cowardly left Miami without telling any of his players for Alabama. And he has turned into the greatest college football coach of all time. But a vast majority of people despise Saban. That is Coach K, minus the trying at the highest level. And he is not nearly as dominant in basketball as Saban is in football.

Coach K is a bum. I'm so happy he is retired. I am so happy UNC beat him again. I'm so glad that, even with all the extra help, he still could not get it done. And I am incredibly disappointed, but not at all surprised that he would blame an 18 year old for the defeat. That is the man that he really is. Inside and out.

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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Some Praise for the College Transfer Portal

Following college sports means I read a lot about the transfer portal. It has been on fire the past couple years. In the past I used to get mad about players transferring all the time, but then I grew up. If a kid wants to go somewhere they can get more playing time, so be it. They deserve that choice. If they are promised time somewhere else, go play somewhere else. Coaches can leave whenever they want, so why cannot players do the same? Coaches leave for bigger and better opportunities, players should be able to as well. The same goes for fired coaches. If a player is recruited by a certain coach, and that coach gets fired, why wouldn't they want to go play elsewhere?

This leads me to LSU men's basketball. They have lost, at last count, seven players to the transfer portal this offseason. Will Wade was fired, and for cause. That dude cheated incessantly. He did so many wrong things, and he was horrific at hiding it. Coaches like Coach K, John Calipari, Bill Self, they all know how to, or how to get away, with illegal recruiting. And now with NIL, it is even easier to cheat. But Will Wade found a way to get caught and was let go. Now LSU men's basketball is paying the price. Will Wade cheated, got caught and now players are making a mass exodus. Again, seven players are gone. A few of their top recruits have decommitted and I would not be surprised if a few more decide to leave.

I ask yet again, why are fans and other people mad at these kids? They did nothing wrong. I have told my kids that if they become big time recruits, and someone offers them an ungodly amount of money, take it. They may not have another chance at that kind of money. I have also let them know that if they go to play sports at a school, and the coach gets fired or leaves, they should look elsewhere to finish their college careers. So I have no problem with what these kids at LSU are doing right now. I would love it if some of them were to choose Michigan to finish their college careers. I hope most of them go to another school and thrive. I would love to see a few of them head overseas or go play in the G League if they have the skill. I think the high school kids that decommitted have made the absolute right choice. Now they can reopen their recruitment and find a much, much better fit for their ability.

The transfer portal is there for a reason, and LSU men's basketball is a prime example of why the portal is a good thing. These kids have many better and newer options. They can find places that will hone their skills and help them get better and possibly play at the next level. What has happened at LSU makes me like the transfer portal that much more and makes me believe that it is a great thing for college sports. A lot of people may disagree with me, but hey, I am all for these kids finding the best possible situation for them and their families.

The portal works.

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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Duke is Going to Win and That Makes Me Sick

I'd really like to do a deep dive into the men's final four today. I would love to break down each team, give reasons as to why I think each could win, what it would take for some upsets, how we got to where we are today and why I think Kansas should be the odds on favorite. I wish that were the case. I wish it were that easy. It is not that easy.

After another weekend of watching games and listening to talking heads and seeing how everything is being called, I think we all know what the outcome is going to be. I mean, CBS, the NCAA, the powers that be in men's college basketball, and a big chunk of the viewing audience wants to see Coach K and Duke win it all. It is his last season. He has been doing a season-long curtain call. The moment he announced he was retiring at the end of this season, I think we all could have foreseen what was going to come. Add on the fact that Duke has yet another great group of five star players on the team, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that they are going to win it all this year.

Also they have the refs completely in their pocket. It is more clear this tournament than in any previous tournament. I watched the Duke-Texas Tech game. I saw Tech jump out to a big double digit lead, only to see it fall off after Duke got every call they could ever want. When that game ended Duke had shot 18 free throws to Tech's 8. So do not tell me that the refs are not doing what they can to make sure Coach K gets this chip. And just doing a bit of a dive on the free throw disparity for Duke, they shot 18 to Arkansas' 11. Against Michigan State, Duke had 21 free throw attempts to MSU's 12. Round 1 was the only close one, Duke had 9 to Cal State Fullerton's 8, but that game was done long before the refs needed to get involved. For those of you doing some quick math, Duke has shot 66 free throws. Their opponents have shot 29. They have double the attempts. I do not care what anyone says, that helps Duke way, way more than their opponents. We also have video evidence of Coach K yukking it up with officials on the sideline and the refs are right there laughing with him. They could not be more overt with their showing of love towards him.

Regardless of what you hear all the time, Coach K is not some kind of pillar of college sports. I have said many times he is a more successful John Calipari. He is just as smarmy and gross. He is a salesman. He is doing things under the table. He chides other teams players when Duke gets beat. He constantly gripes. He, for sure, gave Zion Williamson a good chunk of money to go to Duke. He griped about "one and done", and they became the master of "one and done". I loathe Coach K. And I know that I am not alone. Duke is a great college basketball team, but they are also so easy to root against. They are the Yankees and Patriots of men's college basketball. No one takes anyone that lives outside of North Carolina seriously if they say they are a Duke fan. I know a TON of people who claim to be Duke fans, but only one, a former neighbor of mine, is a true Duke fan. The rest are bandwagon fans. My son is the definition of a Duke fan. He did not care one bit about basketball a year ago. Now he is fully in, and he loves Duke. That is because every time he watches a game all the talking heads talk about what a "great program" they have and how "Coach K is a molder of young men". It drives me nuts. And you better believe I have let my son know how much I despise Duke.

With all this being said, and me going full vitriol and anger this morning, this is my men's final four preview. Duke will win. They will win with ease. If they are ever down in crunch time, the refs and the NCAA will find a way to make it look like they are making a "miraculous" comeback. The tournament is a TV show. Don't forget that. And if this TV show can get Duke to win it all in Coach K's final year, you better damn well believe they will pull out all the stops to make sure that is what will happen. So good job to Villanova, Kansas and UNC for getting this far. But Duke is going to win. I just feel it in my bones.

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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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The Big 10 is Doing Just Fine in this Year's Tournament

I spent the last four days watching college basketball, like many other people did. And it was great. There were a ton of close games, there were some blowouts and there were a ton of upsets. I feel like this tournament has had the most upsets ever. It has been crazy. And fun. I've loved watching it. I usually get bored by the middle of day four, but I was all in last night watching TCU and Arizona play a hell of a game.

When I woke up this morning to update my bracket and check the times for the Sweet Sixteen games I was met with an abundance of stories about how poorly the Big 10 has played in the tourney. Everyone is shitting on the Big 10 in fact. I went to SI.com, Bleacher Report, ESPN, all the big publications, and every headline had the Big 10 as the biggest "flop". Journalists and talking heads were destroying the conference. They were having a field day. And when I checked the bracket, only two of the nine teams were left, Purdue and Michigan. So yeah, that is a bummer. But I also took a closer look this morning at matchups and how I personally thought this was going to go.

First off, I am a believer in Purdue. I have them in the final four. I like that team. So to see them here was not a surprise. Michigan, on the other hand, that one has shocked me. That is my team, but I did not expect them to be here. I picked them to beat Colorado State, but I was high on Tennessee. I assumed they would eat their lunch. I had Tennessee in it until they met up with Houston. I am surprised, but also very happy Michigan is here.

As for the seven teams that are done now, there is only one, maybe two teams, I would consider it a "flop". Wisconsin is the main team in this category. They should be in the Sweet Sixteen. They struggled, but ended up pulling away from Colgate in round one. They were gifted Iowa State in round two, but Iowa State showed up and Wisconsin did not. They did not have the refs in their pocket, they missed too many shots and they reverted to the team I thought they would be in the preseason. And Iowa is the other "flop" from the Big 10. They were red hot coming into the tourney, they have a lottery pick on their team and they looked like they could make a deep run. They were a very popular final four pick from their region. But they blew it, and the refs missed a big time call. They never seemed into the game against Richmond, and it cost them. They blew a golden opportunity this season. Outside those teams though, none of the other losses are all that surprising. Indiana won their first four game to play Saint Mary's. But Saint Mary's is a better and deeper team. They won that game with ease, as expected. Michigan State won a close game against Davidson, and then got beat by second seeded Duke in Coach K's last tournament. Illinois got by a very good Chattanooga team, but they were stifled by a much better, and older, Houston team. That Houston team is legit. The University of Ohio State beat everyone's favorite recent Cinderella, Loyola-Chicago in round one, but were downed by a very good Villanova team. They are a two seed. I mean, I get that every Big Ten team that played yesterday, with Purdue being the lone exception, got beat, but it wasn't shocking, outside of Wisconsin. In fact, it was expected. The same thing happened on Saturday as well, except Michigan seemed to stun everyone, including me.

I would think, if the "experts" want to go after a power five conference, and call it a "flop", why not put that on the SEC. They got five teams in, most of them seeded 4 or higher, and they only have one team left. LSU fired their coach right before the tourney, then got beat by Iowa State. Alabama got trounced by Notre Dame. Auburn was absolutely manhandled by Miami last night. That game was never really close. Tennessee, everyone's darling, including mine, was beat by Michigan. People were arguing that Tennessee could be a number 1 seed. And then we have the Kentucky game in round one. I had them in the final four. So did my dad. I know a ton of people who had them in the championship. They were beaten by Saint Peter's, a 15 seed, who is now in the Sweet Sixteen. The only SEC team that is still alive is Arkansas, and they looked real ragged against New Mexico State. That was only one game, but it was a slop fest.

I guess people like to rag on the Big 10 because it is easy and they have not won a men's college basketball title in forever. But I would also think these "experts" would do some research before declaring them a "fraud" or a "flop" of a conference. The Big 10 is tough. There is a reason they got nine teams in the field this year. It is, by no means, a bad conference. The matchups were weird, they favored some other teams and what happened was what a ton of people figured would happen. The simple fact is, the Big 10 has as many teams left as the Pac 12 and Big East. They only have one less than the ACC and Big 12. And they have one more team left than the "mighty" SEC. The bad talk on the Big 10 is just a bit overblown at this point. Maybe all these "hot takes" need to stop and some research needs to be done. That is all I ask as a fan of a Big 10 team. Just put a little time into something before blurting it out of typing it into Twitter or Facebook. Just calm down a bit.

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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Watches Day One of the Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament

I spent the majority of my day watching the men's NCAA basketball tournament opening round, and it was glorious. I do not have some kind of list, or a group of losers and winners, or who upped their draft value for you all today. Quite the opposite in fact. I want to talk about the pure joy and agony and fun I had watching games, and seeing the return of fans to March Madness.

The day started at 11:15am for me, as that was when Michigan tipped off. They struggled in the first half, turned it on in the second half and pulled away for a 12 point win to advance. I was stoked. I was also surprised to continuously hear how the tourney started off with an upset. All the stuff I read favored Michigan, and most pundits picked Michigan. But where the seeding landed, it was, technically, an upset. Michigan was an 11 and Colorado State was a 6. This is one of the things I love most about March Madness, the upsets, and there were plenty yesterday.

After the Michigan game I went on a run and recorded a podcast, but all the while I was checking scores. I kept looking in on Boise State and Memphis. I like Memphis and Penny Hardaway, so I was pulling for them, and they won. Baylor had no problem with the 16 seed they played. I was big on South Dakota State, but Providence proved why they were the Big East regular season champs, and locked the Jackrabbits up. Michigan's next opponent, Tennessee, cruised to a win in round one. I suggest people go look up the highlight reel play by their point guard as well.

During the Tennessee game we had our first big time upset of the day. Richmond beat Iowa. Iowa came in red hot, winning the Big 10 tourney, but Richmond scrapped and clawed, and with a little help from the officials, they pulled off the win. Being a fan of a Big 10 team I was bummed for the conference. But, I despise Iowa, so it wasn't all bad. And that video of the Richmond head coach's son in awe, that was incredible. That is what makes March Madness so wonderful and fun and agonizing.

In other games, Gonzaga struggled for a half, but woke up and won with ease. UNC demolished Marquette. It was dope to see a blue blood like UNC win that big in the tourney.

The night games were the best of the day. I had a track club meeting, but as soon as I got home I turned on the TV and watched games until I went to bed. Saint Mary's-Indiana was the only blowout too, making the games even better. New Mexico State beat UCONN. Their two guard scored 37 and was letting UCONN know it. This was a classic 12 over 5 upset we get every year in the tourney. Creighton made a big comeback and won in OT. They had a big run to tie it in the first half, and a big run to close it out in OT. Vermont and Arkansas went back and forth. That was a fun, up and down the floor game. Murray State and San Francisco was a joy to behold. This was, probably, the best offensive game of the day. Both teams were hitting tough shot after tough shot. It was dope. KU did what they were supposed to do. Akron gave UCLA all they could handle. UCLA did not look loose like they did last year, and Akron struck, they just could not hold on in the end.

The game of the night, and the whole day for that matter, was St Peter's and Kentucky. This was back and forth. There were a tremendous amount of lead changes. I do not think any team held a double digit lead. The stars for each team showed out. But in the end, due to Kentucky's lack of making free throws, St Peter's pulled the upset. A 15 seed beat a 2. It barely happens, but it did last night. And while it crushed my bracket, I do not care one bit. This is what I love about March Madness. These teams going out there and giving it their all. Both teams left it all on the floor. And seeing the fans reaction, that was priceless. The camera would cut to Kentucky fans and they were crying. Then they'd cut to St Peter's fans and they were euphoric. This is what makes this tournament the absolute best.

College sports has its problems, but they got this one right. March Madness is a perfect sporting event. It has everything a sports fan could ever want. It is the purest form of competition and it is a total blast to watch. I will jump up and down and yell at the TV, and the teams playing, I have zero allegiance to whatsoever. That is why I love the tourney so much. And after two years of no fans, it is kind of cool to see people cheering their teams on in person. It adds so much. I hope the rest of the tourney lives up to day one. It will be tough to do, but if any sporting competition can do it, this is the one. I love March Madness. This truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

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's 2022 Men's College Basketball Tournament Preview

The men's and women's NCAA basketball brackets are out now. I am going to do my men's preview today, but I do want it to be known that I am super stoked and ready to root for Michigan's women's team, who got a 3 seed and host two games. Go Blue! But how I will do my preview today, I will pick the four winners of each region, a surprise team in each region, the title game matchup, winner and the player of the tournament. As for "snubs" or whatever, I do think Texas A&M deserved to get in after they made a run to the SEC title game and I do think Tennessee should have been a 2 and not a 3. Other than that, it seems like the committee got something right for once in their lives. You can disagree with me, but this definitely seems like the proper 68 teams to have in the tourney this season. Anyway, let's get to it.

I'll start in the West, which has the overall number 1 seed, Gonzaga. The Zags are no longer Cinderella. They are the best team in college basketball. They have been all year. They have two guys that could win player of the year. They played a tougher out of conference schedule. They are built for March. And I do think they will roll to the final four in this region. The only real threat I could see is maybe Duke or Texas Tech. Duke is very good, they have beaten Gonzaga once already this year, but they are young and they have yet to put together a real full game. Tech is old and rugged, but they will not be able to slow down the Zgas, or even if they do, the Zags can run their offense in the half court through Drew Timme, and they will be just fine. The Zags will also have a tough second round matchup with either Boise State or Memphis, but they should get through that pretty unscathed. As far as my "sleeper" team, I have to go with Davidson. They can score in bunches, are older and are a pretty well oiled machine. I think they will get by Michigan State in round one, give Duke a scare, and if they win that game, I could see them play Gonzaga in the Elite Eight before their season ends.

Onto the East. Baylor is the number 1 seed here. While not the elite level team they were last year, they are still very good and play very good defense. Unfortunately their lack of outside shooting will be the downfall in their effort to win back to back titles. I love Saint Mary's here. They are so solid, play very well on both ends of the floor and beat Gonzaga once and took them to the wire a second time. I also really like Kentucky. John Calipari has a great collection of older and younger talent. Oscar Tshibewe is going to win player of the year, and he deserves it. TyTy Washington is a very good floor general. They have shooting and play good defense. But I think this is where the Big 10 gets a final four team. I have faith, maybe too much, in Purdue. They seemingly have everything you could want in a college team. Depth, size, scoring from everywhere. Purdue is good, and I have them making it out of the East. As for my "sleeper", I like Murray State to win their opener, and put a very real scare into Kentucky before bowing out.

Now let's go to the Midwest. Kansas is the 1, and they should get to the final four with almost as much ease as I expect Gonzaga to out West. Kansas is so good, so deep, so talented, they have it all. They also have an awesome coaching staff. This KU team, on paper, is too good to sabotage itself. I do like Auburn, although I despise their coach. Jabari Smith could be the number one pick in the upcoming draft, and Walker Kessler may be the best transfer in the nation. They also have good guards on this team. Iowa is red hot coming into the tourney, and Keegan Murray is playing like a lottery pick. Wisconsin has kind of fluttered near the end, but Johnny Davis is amazing. And USC has size and length everywhere on the floor. But KU is the team to beat here. They should coast to the final four. As for my "sleeper" here, I have South Dakota State. They lead the country in scoring, they make a ton of threes and they have incredible camaraderie. They are a very, very good mid-major, and they can make a push to the Sweet Sixteen and it would not surprise me.

Finally, we have the South. Arizona is the 1 here, and they have come out of nowhere to win 31 games and coast into the tournament. They also won the Pac 12 tourney. They also have a few pros on their team. They are really, really good. They also got a very tough draw. Villanova is the 2, and they are as solid as they come. Tennessee is the 3, and they had a shot to be a number 1 seed in some brackets. Illinois is the 4 and they have one of the biggest, and most skilled big men I have ever watched. And Houston is a 5, and they are so, so, so good. I'd love to pick another Big 10 team, but I do not have that much faith in Illinois unfortunately. But, kind of out of the box, but not really, I like Houston to make a run to the final four. They just seem due. Kelvin Sampson has rebuilt that program and they have been knocking on the door the past couple of years. As for my "sleeper", I have Chattanooga. They are built like a power 5 team that just happens to play in a mid-major conference. I do think they will beat Illinois in round one and they will be the only real scare Houston gets before they make their run. And, I would be remiss if I did not talk about Michigan getting the 11 seed here. I am stunned they got in. I am even more shocked they do not have to play a first four game. They have been wildly consistent all season, yet they are in the dance. And I could even see them winning their first game against Colorado State. They actually kind of matchup well with that team. I think they will get hammered by Tennessee if they win that first game. But it would be exactly how their up and down season should, and most likely will end.

So, my final four is Gonzaga, Purdue, Kansas and Houston. That is two power 5 teams and two mid-majors, although I think we all can agree that Gonzaga is a legit title contender. They should be the favorites. As for my title game, I am going with Gonzaga and Kansas. They have just looked and felt like the two best teams all year. As for the winner, this is the year that the Zags will finally break through and win it all. They are too talented and too well coached not to. I also think they learned a lot from getting annihilated by Baylor last season. As for the player of the tournament, I will go with presumed number 1 pick Chet Holmgen. I have a feeling he will bust out in a big way.

There you have it, my NCAA men's basketball tournament preview. As I say every year, take this with a big grain of salt. The games start in a few days, and I cannot wait. Happy March Madness everyone.

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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What the Heck is Going On With Michigan Basketball?

I need to eat some crow today. I was super high on Michigan basketball going into the season. The women's team has been great. That one I was right on. They have looked every bit the part of a team that made the Sweet Sixteen last year and are building off that success. The men's team has not been great. What happened?

I was stoked going into this season. They were coming off an Elite Eight appearance, they were a number 1 seed and they had a wonderful group of freshmen coming in. They were a preseason top 10 team, they were picked to win the Big 10, Hunter Dickinson was a national player of the year candidate and Caleb Houstan was going to be a lottery pick. It all looked so good.

Well things have not gone as planned. They lost an early game to Seton Hall. Seton Hall is good, that game seemed like an aberration and stuff like that happens in college basketball all the time. But they struggled to put away a below .500 team after that game. It seemed like they were going to go on a run, and then Arizona demolished them. Again, Arizona was underrated at the time, but they beat the brakes off of Michigan. That game wasn't close. They also got destroyed by UNC in the Big 10/ACC challenge. UNC is also not very good. Minnesota came into Crisler, with the Wolverines riding a two game win streak, and crushed them. Then UCF crushed them. And, most recently, Rutgers got their first ever win in basketball over Michigan the other night. They play MSU tomorrow, and I am not very hopeful for that game, causing me to rethink my 2022 resolution.

This team is not good right now. They play too much individual basketball. They rely too heavily on Hunter Dickinson. Caleb Houstan has not played very well to this point. Eli Brooks can't hit the ocean. Moussa Diabate got hurt. Kobe Bufkin got COVID. Brandon Johns has regressed. Frankie Collins is too inconsistent. They just do not play as a team. They also find some way to melt down after halftime too. They have held leads, or the games have been close at the half in most. Then they get extremely cold from the field and they cannot play defense. UNC throttled Michigan in the second half of that game. Minnesota did the same. They could not stop Geo Baker against Rutgers. It has been a constant downfall in the second half all year. Even the games they won, minus a few, they have really struggled. They have been missing far too many free throws, blowing leads, falling behind by double figures, blowing defensive assignments and just letting one bad thing snowball into many bad things. It has been a struggle. They are not a top 25 team. They are not even a NCAA tournament team right now. They have a lot of work to do.

I do believe they have time to turn it around, or at least become more competitive. The game tomorrow is going to speak volumes to me going forward. Win or lose, hopefully they win, how they perform is going to shape the rest of the season. They have the talent to turn it around. Juwan Howard is an excellent coach. The players are good enough to put it together, they just have to find a way. But this is not the team I was expecting this season. I do not think it was the team they were expecting. They are bad. They have things to figure out. They have to put in more work. But they can do it. I do have hope they can turn it around. I feel like they just need to tweak a few things and put together a full game to get their confidence back. I think they may have been feeling themselves before the season, buying into the preseason hype. Well they have fallen flat on their faces. Now they can try and fix it, or just go deeper into a hole.

Hopefully they figure it out. They are no longer a top seed, a national title contender, a team to fear. But, they can maybe become a solid tournament team. Time will tell.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty's 2021 - 2022 NCAA Men's College Basketball Preview

Since my son starts basketball practice tonight, since I kept seeing commercials for college basketball games all Saturday afternoon while watching football and since I am kind of tired after getting my booster shot, I am going to give you all the NCAA men's college basketball preview I have promised.

I am going blind because of the ever changing college basketball landscape. I truly only know who is on the Michigan Wolverines team since I actually follow them. I was stunned to see KU was the third ranked team in the country. I was equally stunned when I saw Michigan State was unranked. I do not know who these top players are, sans for the freshman on Michigan. I am going in blind like I have for seemingly the past decade with men's college basketball. And instead of doing a conference breakdown for everyone, I'm going to go off the preseason rankings, and add a few teams I think could make some noise. Let's do it.

The AP has Gonzaga at number one. I'm pretty sure they have almost everyone back from a team that made the title game last year. Suggs and the other guard, Joe Ayayi, are gone, but they have guys that will take their place. Gonzaga is a reload team. They do have Drew Timme back, and from what I have read, they signed the number one recruit, Chet Holmgren, who plays like KD. Gonzaga is a basketball powerhouse. They are no longer Cinderella. They, save for the championships, are Alabama in college football. If they do not win it all this year though, that would be a bummer for their fans.

UCLA is two and they have everyone back from the 11 seeded team that made the Final Four. This is a team that had zero expectations last year, but now they have all the expectations. They are one of the older teams in the NCAA, they have scoring and defense and a good coach. UCLA is back. Now it is time to see how they play with everyone watching them again. They are not going to sneak up on anyone.

The aforementioned Kansas Jayhawks are next. They have a loaded team, with super talented freshmen, and doing some research, they got the best transfer in Remy Martin. The Jayhawks will be at the top all year, and they could make some noise. I do think Bill Self may consider leaving if the Jayhawks have a really good year for the NBA.

At four we have Villanova. They have tons of talent returning, they have some stud freshmen, they have always been good and they have the best coach in college basketball.

Texas is five, and I think that is all due to them hiring Chris Beard. Beard is a good coach, a good recruiter, but this seems kind of high to me. I do not know anyone on their team, maybe Beard got some good players to commit, but Texas always seems to dissipate when they are looked at as a preseason darling.

Michigan is six. I know a ton about this team. I love that Eli Brooks, Hunter Dickinson and Brandon Johns Jr came back. The freshmen, mainly Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate, are going to play and be heavily involved. Juwan Howard is not only proving to be a great recruiter, but he is also an excellent coach. I love this team, I cannot wait to watch them play on Wednesday and my expectations are sky high with this team.

Purdue comes in at seven. They have one of the best front courts in the country. They are big and mean and nasty. They can shoot. They are good.

Reigning champs, Baylor, check in at eight. They lost a ton, but they are also a very good team. They do have some returning talent, and that staff can recruit and coach. Baylor will always be a contender.

At nine and ten we have two teams that really stunk last year. Duke is nine. This is Coach K's last year as the head man. He brought in a great class. And I feel like the refs and TV people will do everything in their power to prolong their season as long as possible. Kentucky is ten. They have a great class of freshmen, as they always do. But this group feels a little different. They will be fun to watch, they will put up a ton of points and they will return to the tourney, and most likely be a pretty high seed.

Outside of the top 10, there are a few teams that I am interested in seeing. The Big Ten has a ton of teams ranked. I already mentioned Purdue and Michigan at seven and six. The Big Ten also has Illinois at eleven, the university of Ohio State at seventeen and Maryland at twenty-one. I could have also seen Michigan State, Rutgers and Indiana being ranked at some point. The Big Ten is the best conference in college basketball. The university of Ohio State has one of the best bigs in the country in EJ Liddell. Illinois has Kofi Cockburn who is a preseason All American. Maryland has scoring for days. MSU is always good. Rutgers returns pretty much everyone from a team that made the tourney last year. Indiana has a new coach and some young stars. This conference is amazing.

Alabama is now becoming a basketball power, which is kind of annoying. They are preseason number fourteen, and they will push Kentucky in the SEC.

Memphis has a monstrous recruiting class coming in, Penny Hardaway is a better coach, and if the NCAA lets these kids play, they will make noise.

Oregon, at thirteen, is only behind UCLA in the Pac 12. They are always good and always competitive.

UNC, at nineteen, and FSU, at twenty, will make the ACC highly competitive. They will push Duke to the brink, much to the chagrin of the ESPN's of the world.

UConn will be repping the Big East all year in the rankings. And Virginia feels super low to me at 25. They are a very good program.

As for the mid major teams, Houston is lethal. That is why they are ranked 15th. And St Bonaventure, at twenty-three, is loaded with experience. There are always some other mid-major programs, but they end up becoming big time later in the season. I am curious to see SLU because they are local and they seem to have a pretty solid roster.

For me, as I have said many times, the Big Ten is the conference. They will not get all four Final Four spots, but I could see two teams making there with ease. I also think, with Gonzaga and UCLA being the only two other teams, that the Big Ten will win the most postseason awards. I also think the Big Ten will finally, after two decades, bring home a title.

With that, my Final Four picks right now, on November 8th, I have Michigan, Gonzaga, Purdue and Kansas. That is very chalk, I know. I think Michigan and KU will face off in the title game. And, what the hell, I'm going with Michigan to win it all. Their football team continues to disappoint me, so I'm going to fanboy out on their basketball team. But this isn't also simply a fanboy pick. They have experience, depth, talent, great coaching and scoring from every position. They also play defense and they go hard every night. As for player of the year, I'll take Johnny Juzang from UCLA. He is older, he hits clutch shots and I think he will have a monster season. Freshman of the Year is going to be the Holmgren kid from Gonzaga. They have already written that one in ink I bet. Coach of the Year will be Juwan Howard. And my "surprise" team is going to be Michigan State. They will have a deep tourney run and I think they will be ranked inside of the top ten at some point after being left out of the preseason rankings. And my "surprise" player is going to be Patrcik Baldwin Jr from UW-Milwaukee. He was a top recruit, but he chose to go play for his dad instead of going to a major power five school. That kid is going to put up massive number.

Okay, there is my men's NCAA basketball preview. As I saw every year, take it with a big time grain of salt.

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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Thoughts on Hunter Dickinson Declaring for the NBA Draft

Yesterday, as a little bit of a shock to me, Hunter Dickinson, Michigan's true freshman big man, who was a second team all American, declared for the NBA draft. He did leave the door open to returning to Michigan, and I do like that rule, but still I was a bit stunned.

I sat on the news for a little bit, and I realized how ridiculous it was of me to be "shocked" by this. He had a very good season for a very good team. Michigan was a one seed, they won the regular season Big Ten, they were ranked as high as number two during the year and Dickinson was the one who kind of got them rolling. This decision of his shouldn't be looked at as a shock, but as a right of passage. He led the team in scoring and rebounding. When he finally started, that was when they really took off. I would watch their games and be marveled at how well he played in the interior as a true freshman. I looked to him to get this team going behind only Isaiah Livers, who was a senior. And even when Livers got hurt, and people said that was it for this team, I had faith enough to pick them to make the Final Four, which they did not, they made the Elite Eight, due to the play of Dickinson all year. He should declare. He should see what teams have to say about him. He should get a draft grade. He should stay in the draft if some team guarantees that they will take him in the first round. He earned that. I don't know why us Michigan fans think he shouldn't do this.

The fact is that freshman at every other school do this every year. Kentucky constantly has kids leave after one season and no one bats an eye. The same thing happens at Duke now. Georgia had this same deal with Anthony Edwards. Washington too, with Markelle Fultz. This is the new era of college basketball. Until the NCAA does the right thing, and I will not hold my breath waiting for that, these kids will go pro ASAP, and they should. But, one of the very things the NCAA has done right in recent years is allowing these kids to test the waters as they say while still retaining college eligibility. There are "NCAA agents" that these kids can "hire" to help them gather intel and set up private workouts. These players that declare early can also go to the combine if they get invited. But they have a set time to decide if they are going to stay in the draft or return. I think that is exactly what Dickinson is doing. I think he wants to see if some team will take him in round one. I also think he wants to know what he has to work on to get in better position to be a lock first round pick, or even a lottery pick.

If you were to ask me point blank right now what I think he will do, I think he is a near lock to return. He just wants the info, he wants to get better and he wants to see how he stacks up against elite NBA talent. Dickinson is great, but he does have flaws in his game, as any true freshman would. He is not a great outside shooter, and he didn't show a willingness to do that when presented with the opportunity last season. He took four total threes, missed them all, and very few jumpers. He also gets winded pretty quickly. There would be times he would work real hard on one end of the floor, but then he would be slow to get to the other end. It also takes him a while, and a good amount of touches, to get comfortable. In their game against UCLA in the tournament, he didn't really go hard until the second half, but when he did, he looked dominant. But then he got very tired and started to make typical freshman mistakes. He has a good amount of stuff to work on, and I personally think another season working with Juwan Howard and the Michigan staff will do him wonders. He also isn't listed on any mock drafts, and he isn't inside that golden goose that is the ESPN Top 100 prospect list. Look, guys do this all the time, hell Isaiah Livers did it after his junior year. But they can come back. And I think Dickinson will. But if he doesn't, if he gets a great grade, or has a phenomenal work out, he should stay in the draft. As he said in his letter, that is his dream. Right now, at this very moment, I just do not see it. He isn't up there with players like Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Jalen Johnson, any one of Kentucky's freshmen that have already declared, Kofi Cockburn, Makur Maker and even his own teammate Franz Wagner. Those players are ready. They have the pedigree and the talent right now. They are NBA ready.

Hunter Dickinson is really, really good, but I do not think he is ready for the NBA. Not yet at least.

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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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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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Happy Retirement Coach Williams, One of the All Time Greats

I wanted to wait until today before I wrote about Roy Williams, in case it was some wild April's Fools joke, a "holiday" which I despise, especially with two young kids who are way too into pranks. But it was confirmed after his press conference he had last night, assuring everyone that this was real.

I am still kind of in shock. Williams just seemed like a guy who was going to be coaching college basketball forever. He has been around, and relevant, since I was a little kid. I remember watching him as the KU head coach. I remember being upset when he left for UNC because, outside of Michigan, I used to like KU basketball as well. Georgetown has now taken that spot. I remember when I realized why he left KU for UNC and finally getting it. I remember him winning titles and being a force almost every year while at KU and UNC. I remember the scandals, which looking at what is going on elsewhere now, seem so tame. And I remember his painful white boy dancing, that he did unapologetically. All in all though, the thing I remember most is the winning.

In Williams two stops as a head coach, the guy won. He has won three national titles. He has been to nine final fours. He won the ACC regular season title nine times, and the tournament three times. At KU he won four Big 12 regular season titles and three tournament titles. He won the Big 8 five times. He's a two time national coach of the year winner, a two time ACC coach of the year winner, a three time Big 12 coach of the year winner and a four time Big 8 coach of the year. And he has been inducted in both the college and pro basketball hall of fame. That is one hell of a resume. I think anyone would happily take that as their record. He's one of a very few college coaches that have won over 900 games. He has a career winning percentage of .774. His tournament record is astonishing as well. He is 79-27 in the tourney. That means deep runs most years his teams made it.

Roy Williams is a Mount Rushmore college coach. He is just as successful and important to the game as Coach K or John Calipari or John Chaney. There are very few coaches I would have ahead of him. Hell, it may be just a few of the classics, guys like John Wooden and John Thompson. But Williams is, for the modern day, an important and famous coach. He has coached a TON of guys that have had solid NBA careers. At KU he coached Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich, Drew Gooden, Jacque Vaughn and Paul Pierce, among others. Those guys all had solid careers, and are now all somehow involved in the game. At UNC he got some more big time players. Guys like Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock, Ray Felton, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green, Tyler Hansborough, Justin Jackson, Cam Johnson, Ty Lawson, Nassir Little, Coby White, Cole Anthony and Marvin Williams. That list has current players, former champs and guys that are still giving back to the game. The fact that he has been around so many stellar basketball players is amazing. Add on that he got the best out of them, that is one hell of an accomplishment. I watched a video from last NBA season where Coby White was being interviewed, and to hear the way he talked about Williams, it just showed the love and the respect he has as a head coach. Roy Williams is respected in every basketball corner of the world.

As I sit on the news of his retirement, and what went into his decision, I think of kind of get it. UNC is still a very good school, just not like they used to be. The whole ACC has been down the past couple of years, and UNC is not immune. The college game has changed drastically too. I think more change is needed, and hopefully we are headed in that direction, but for a guy like Roy Williams, I can kind of see why he walked away now. One and done is the way of the game. The G League has created a team that will pay the top high school players, so a lot of kids will choose that route now, rightfully so. And overseas is yet another option for some of the top talent. Then you take into account the new transfer rules, I am sure Roy Williams was just fed up. UNC was coming off a year where they were okay. They made the tourney as a 9 seed and got blown out by Wisconsin in round one. Then his best freshman, a kid that played a ton of basketball for them, decided to transfer, citing "better competition". I mean, that is kind of crazy to me. Again, I do not fault these kids for going out and getting theirs, especially when coaches do it all the time and are praised for such moves. But this was not some kid who rode the bench all year. He played and played big minutes for them. I just think he did not like the fit, and nowadays that is more than enough for kids to make a move. Apparently this was the last straw for Williams. And I kind of get it from his point of view. That has to be frustrating for an old school guy like him, and a guy that likes to develop talent rather than just put all 5 star players on the floor.

Roy Williams has earned the myriad of accolades he achieved over his long coaching career, and I think he will take to retirement quite well. He had earned it. I just want to say congrats to him on a wonderful and memorable coaching run at two college basketball powerhouses. Roy Williams is an all time great.

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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Thoughts on the First Weekend of the Men's NCAA Tournament

The first two rounds of the men's NCAA basketball tournament are in the books, and I have some takes.

Right off the bat, my bracket is busted, and I am sure pretty much everyone else's is also. This has been a wacky tournament filled with upsets. It was kind of stunning to turn on the TV the past couple of days and see that there was another upset. So many teams, teams with real promise, are out. Their seasons are over. And some lower seeded teams, some that some people would call "Cinderella", a term I am not a big fan of, have made their way to the Sweet Sixteen, and done it with relative ease. I do want to point out that three of the number one seeds are still in the tournament. Illinois, more on them in a second, is the only one that got knocked out. But the other three have taken care of business to this point. Also, the Sweet Sixteen is filled with teams from power five conferences. 11 of the 16 come from power conferences, and Gonzaga is not a "Cinderella" anymore. They haven't been for years. They are legit. Hell, I'd go as far to say that Loyola Chicago isn't really a "Cinderella" either. Two of their five starters were on the same team that made the Final Four a few years back. I guess what I'm getting at is, some of these teams may be seeded as underdogs, but they have played top notch competition all year. They are solid teams.

As for the Big Ten, this tournament has been a major disappointment. They looked like the best conference in college basketball all regular season. They had three and four teams ranked inside the top ten all year. They had two number one seeds. Their conference tournament was pretty great. Now Michigan is the only team left, and they barely beat LSU. I love my Wolverines, but they are on very thin ice. Their play has left a lot to be desired. They are still here, but barely. The eight other Big 10 teams, what a bummer. Illinois looked like one of the big favorites, and they got owned by Loyola. I know Loyola is good, and they were under seeded, but Illinois is a much better team. They just laid an egg at a horrible time. Michigan State couldn't hold a big lead, the players and their coach were openly fighting going into halftime and they blew their game. Rutgers and Maryland each won one game, but they both bowed out in round two. Iowa got crushed by Oregon, who got a free pass to the second round. The university of Ohio State was the ninth 2 seed ever, in the history of the tournament, to lose to a 15. The online aftermath of that has been disgusting by the way. No player deserves what that kid had to deal with. Wisconsin smoked UNC, and then got their asses blown out of the water by Baylor. And Purdue, they let North Texas win their first tournament game ever. This has been a bad tournament for the Big Ten.

The Big 12 hasn't fared much better. Kansas got thumped by USC last night. Texas was beat by Abilene Christian. Oklahoma ran into the Gonzaga buzzsaw. Oklahoma State, my pick to win it all, was destroyed by Oregon State. And Texas Tech blew a humongous opportunity against Arkansas. All the Big 12 has left is Baylor. They are just like the Big 10.

The ACC has done okay. Outside UNC getting throttled in round one and Virginia being upset, they are fine. Florida State looks really good right now, especially on defense.

The SEC is also doing okay. Alabama looks good and Arkansas can run up and down the floor with the best of them. The only true "upset" was Oral Roberts beating Florida.

The Pac 12, on the other hand, that conference has looked awesome. They got five teams in and four are in the Sweet Sixteen. Oregon, who got the free pass because VCU had a COVID issue, looked like world beaters in their game against Iowa. USC dismantled KU. That game was over at the half. They looked so much bigger, stronger and better coached. UCLA has taken their comeback win in the First Four, and they have rolled since then. And Oregon State, the Pac 12 tourney winner, smoked Tennessee, and then did the exact same thing to Oklahoma State. They look legit.

The non power 5 teams left are very worthy. Loyola Chicago is under seeded, but they have done what they do in the tourney. They play a solid team game, and their defense is so, so, so good. Houston has always been able to score, and now they are playing sound defense. They will be a problem. Oral Roberts may be a 15 seed, but they have the top scorer in the country, they won 20 plus games this year and they are playing great basketball right now. And Gonzaga has looked every bit as good as advertised. The other teams, Creigthon and Villanova, they don't do much for me. Creighton has to play Gonzaga and Villanova gets Baylor. Those would be humongous upsets, and this tournament has shown us that that is a real possibility, but I would not bet against either Baylor or Gonzaga. Those were the favorites coming in, and I think they still are. I'm also surprised they only had one game canceled due to COVID to be honest. I figured we'd have a few more.

So far this has been a crazy tournament, filled with wild upsets, but it has also been fun as hell to watch. My bracket died on day one and I couldn't have cared less. This is what the tournament should be like, and after it was canceled last year, for all the right reasons, it is so nice to be watching the tournament once again. I am so happy to have it back. Let's hope the rest is as wild and crazy and fun as the first weekend.

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 Picks the 2021 Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament

The men's NCAA basketball tournament bracket was released last night. Last year this did not happen for the first time ever. COVID took it away. At the time I was upset, but it was the right decision. We did not know anything, and still are learning new things, about this virus, and to have had these kids play would have been a disaster. And while I still think this is not as safe as it could be, at least they are doing it bubble style and it is all in one place in a few different gyms. They are doing it safer, but it is still kind of tearing me up knowing that I am going to watch this and not feel so good about it. That has been my experience the last year watching sports, specifically college sports. But I will watch, and watch as much as possible, so that means I have a prediction for everyone.

Before I get into it, know that I have not won a bracket challenge in about five years, and I am really, really going out on a limb this year. I think this is going to be a chaotic tournament, but not until the second round. I think, for the most part, the first round will be chalk, with an upset here and there. But when we get a little deeper, it will be pretty wild. I have a total outcast pick as my title winner too. I just wanted you all to know that up front. Now let's get to it.

As I said, the first round is mostly chalk. I have all the 1 and 2 seeds advancing, I only picked one 12 seed to beat a 5, and I do not think any teams that play in the first four will win more than one game, the first four game. I have every Big Ten team, except Wisconsin and Maryland, winning at least their first game, with most making deep runs. I picked Rutgers to win in round one, and this is their first tourney appearance since 1991. I think the rigors of playing in the Big Ten is going to help these teams in the tourney. I'm also very, very high on UCONN and I love Oklahoma State, more on them later. But yeah, I am pretty much chalk.

Then it gets a little wonky in round 2. I have UNC beating Baylor. UNC is not as good as them, they did not end the ACC tournament as well as I thought they would, but I just have a feeling. Maybe it is because Baylor has kind of fizzled at the end here, and they may still be recovering from their COVID pause. I just do not trust them. This probably means they will crush and cruise to the Final Four. But where we stand right now, I think UNC will beat them. I also have Georgetown making a run to the Sweet Sixteen. They are rolling right now, they got a nice draw in opening with Colorado, and I have them facing UNC Greensboro, who I do have upsetting Florida State in round one. Winning these conference tourneys usually leads to some kind of success in the NCAA tournament, and I think a run to the Sweet Sixteen would be a huge win for Georgetown and Patrick Ewing right now. I have UCONN beating Alabama also. That kid Bouknight is so good, and such a good scorer. He reminds me of Kemba Walker when he was at UCONN. And I like San Diego State to knock off West Virginia and push to the Sweet Sixteen.

My Elite Eight is mostly high seeds, but I think some will have to fight to get there. I think Michigan is going to have to fight to beat LSU and Georgetown is going to be tough. Add on the possibility, which is very high, of no Isaiah Livers, and that makes it even tougher. But they do have the talent to beat those teams to make a run. Gonzaga and the university of Ohio State will cruise to the Elite Eight. There is no real resistance. I think in Baylor's bracket, since they will go out in round two, Purdue is going to have a fairly easy path to the Elite Eight. I have UCONN pushing their way past Alabama and Texas to make it to the Elite Eight. Again, Bouknight is that dude. Iowa will beat an undermanned Kansas team and make it. And Houston and Oklahoma State will make quick work of their opponents. Houston will cruise by Cleveland State, Rutgers and SDSU. Those teams will not provide much of a challenge. Oklahoma State is awesome, Cade Cunningham is legit and I think this team is going to go very, very far. I think they will crush Liberty and then make light work of Tennessee. That will leave us with a great matchup of Oklahoma State and Illinois. I think that will be a good to great game, and Cunningham is going to do something very memorable to win the game for Oklahoma State.

As for the Final Four, Gonzaga is going to blow out Iowa. Iowa does not play much defense, and they either dump it in the post to Luka Garza, who I find unwatchable, or kick out for three pointers. Gonzaga is going to shut that down with ease. I have Michigan being the team to finally stifle Bouknight and beat UCONN to move to the Final Four. They play great defense, and if Bouknight gets shut down, UCONN does not have enough scoring anywhere else. The university of Ohio State just outlasted Purdue in the Big Ten tourney, and I think they will do the same this time around as well. They have just enough scoring to win. And I have Oklahoma State and Cade Cunnignham doing it again and beating Houston with a great Cunnigham game or play. So we have two Big Ten teams, a Big 12 team and Gonzaga.

As much as it hurts me, Gonzaga is better than Michigan, and that is true even if Livers is healthy. They can out score them, and they will play enough defense to slow Michigan down. As much as I want Michigan to win, and will be rooting hard for them. Gonzaga is too good. In the battle of OSU's, I'm going with Oklahoma State and Cade Cunnigham yet again. He reminds me so much of Carmelo Anthony when he was at Syracuse for one year. He is so good and so crafty and so heady and plays the game like a seasoned vet. I also think the fact that the seeding group put them on the 4 line is going to piss them off and make them play even harder.

That means I have Gonzaga and Oklahoma State in the title game. And guess what? That's right, I have Oklahoma State and Cade Cunningham taking home the title, a la Carmelo yet again. Cunnigham is that good, Oklahoma State has been really good lately and I just have a feeling, in a season this weird, that a team we did not think about until very recently will win it all. I'm happy that the tourney is back. I will feel gross watching it, but I will watch it. And as good as the Big Ten has been this year, I still don't have one of the eight teams that made it winning it all. That is a bummer. But hey, at least I will get to watch Cade Cunningham even more, which is great. That kid is good, and if my bracket is right, he will win the title in his lone college season. That would be pretty cool.

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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Men's College Basketball is Unwatchable

I don't know, or remember if I have done a men's NCAA college midseason redo, and I want to talk about why I haven't today.

I have been quite critical of men's college basketball for some time. I am not a fan of the whole "one and done" era. I feel like it has made the sport nearly unwatchable. I also think, if a kid feels like they are good enough to go straight from high school to the pros, let them. Also, if they don't get drafted, let them go to school for a couple of years to hone their skills. While the college game isn't in a good spot right now, it is better than the G League. I also have zero problem with star high school players going overseas for a year. At least then they are getting paid to play, and as you all know, I love the whole pay to play idea being floated right now.

Lets get back to why I didn't do a midseason redo. I didn't do one because this particular season of men's college basketball has been a very, very bad season. I don't know most of the top players because, as is the case with "one and done", I have had no time getting to know these kids. I know who is on Michigan's team because they are my team. But, if someone told me they would give me 100 dollars to name just one single player on Baylor's team, the current number one team in the nation mind you, I couldn't do it. Hell, I can't name a single player on Gonzaga, and they are the number 2 ranked team. In fact, of the top 10 teams, I can only name a few of star players on these teams. I know Azubuike from KU because he is a third year player. I went and saw Obi Toppin from Dayton when they came to Saint Louis to play SLU. And I know the names Carey and Stanley and Jones from Duke, but that is because Duke is always on TV. As for the other teams, San Diego State is undefeated, and I can't name a single player. Louisville is a top 5 team, no idea who they have. FSU is ranked highly, and again, I thought Johnathan Issac was still on that team until I saw a Magic game on League Pass the other night. And Maryland, who is inexplicably in the Big Ten, I don't know anyone they have, and I have watched them once or twice this year. Hell, it takes until I get to Kentucky, the 12th ranked team, before I recognize a guy that could go high in the draft in Tyrese Maxey. From there on out, I am totally lost, especially since Michigan State and Michigan aren't ranked.

This is my biggest problem, and I don't know if this year is an anomaly, or if this will become the new normal. Starting next year they are getting rid of "one and done", and while I like that, I think it will water down the college game that much more. There is no continuity. There are no real star players right now, or if there are guys considered "stars" this season, they are hurt or play for bad teams. I see this Edwards kid on the top of most mocks, and he is supposedly great, but he plays for Georgia. They aren't making the NCAA tournament this year. Cole Anthony, who I watched super close this weekend, is on a 10-13 UNC team. Side note, I was very, very wrong about them being a title contender this year. James Wiseman has already left college after the NCAA made it their mission to get him out of Memphis. And the rest of the "top" guys are overseas, hurt or playing for Dayton. This Toppin kid is great, but no one knows who he is. I only heard of him a couple of weeks ago. LaMelo Ball and RJ Hampton are in New Zealand and Australia. And Tyrese Haliburton, from Iowa State, is going to miss extended time with a hand injury. It's such a bummer to see these top guys on bad teams or hurt.

When I sit back and try to figure out why the college game is so bad, I keep coming back to the fact that the NCAA is corrupt, and they only care about these kids as long as they go to the Kentucky's and Duke's and KU's of the world. I thought KU was supposed to get hammered with sanctions by the way. What happened to that? Also, Duke isn't as good as they were last year, and Kentucky hasn't been a legit contender since KAT was there. But again, all of this leads me back to the NCAA and how ridiculous they are. What men's college basketball has become is a kind of farm system for the NBA for all the "one and done" guys. This has totally watered the game down. And if you look at the recent champs, with few exceptions, the teams filled with "one and done" guys hasn't won anything of importance. Zion and RJ Barrett at Duke last year only got to the Elite Eight. When Ben Simmons was at LSU they didn't even get in the tournament. The Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid KU team, they got bounced in the second round. In fact, the only two teams filled with "one and done" guys that won were Kentucky, who had an otherworldly talent in Anthony Davis, and a Duke team that had Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow and some other dudes.

Honestly, I don't think the men's game will get any better until they have put pay to play in fully, and let the high school kids who didn't get drafted come back. They need to do what the MLB does. There would be so much more incentive to these kids to stick around, for at least two years, if they are getting paid a stipend, and getting to refine the skills they need to to become better, more NBA ready players. Take a guy like Jahlil Okafor. He is a dinosaur in the modern NBA, and he can barely see the floor. If he had the option to return to Duke, and work on his jumper, maybe he is a sixth man. Or take Andrew Wiggins. He has struggled mightily since being the number one pick a few years back. Say he was able to make some real money while at KU, get info from the NBA on what he needed to work on, and was able to do that at KU for another year or so. What would his career look like now. Or think about all the high draft picks that spent one, maybe 2 years in college. Take a guy like Anthony Bennett. He was total flop. But, he was only at UNLV for like a year, and he needed to go pro to make some money. Say he was getting some cash for jersey sales at UNLV, and he could've stayed and worked, gotten better, and maybe, just maybe he wouldn't be a footnote. Or go back to when high schoolers could still declare. Take someone like Kwame Brown. Say he gets the intel while in the draft process, decides to go to school for a few years, I think he comes out as a much better pro, and imagine how dominant he would've been in college for a few years. It would have been awesome.

I'm very down on men's college basketball. I have been for a few years. But this season has been especially awful, and I feel like it will continue in this direction until we give these student athletes some real compensation, and open up the draft process a little more. I don't know that I necessarily agree with the "draft experts" that this isn't a "good" draft. I just think that the college game is so bogged down with players are filled with "potential", but don't get the adequate time to prepare for life as a pro basketball player, and that is on the NCAA and NBA to change that.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2019-2020 Men's College Basketball Preview

Today I come to you with my 2019-20 men's NCAA basketball preview. I feel like I write this sentence every year when I do this preview, but I simply do not know too terribly much about the upcoming season. There is so much turnover, new players and super duper 5 star players that come over to do the whole "one and done" deal. Also, I know that nothing big has happened to the schools involved in the FBI wiretap ordeal, but that will come sooner rather than later, especially at Kansas.

Anyway, I am going to go about this preview kind of like I do my football preview, highlighting the major conferences top teams, pick a winner, talk about some solid teams outside of power conferences, pick a player of the year, the final four and the champ. With that being said, and again, talk this with a major grain of salt, lets get to it.

Somehow the AAC is a "major" conference when it comes to college basketball. Houston has been a pretty good, perennial top 25 team since Kelvin Sampson has taken over the program. UConn is not what they used to be. Same for Wichita State. Cincinnati is always competitive. But the best team is Memphis. Penny Hardaway has turned into one hell of a recruiter, he got the top kid to commit, and he is the newest coach to adopt the "one and done" era of recruiting, and he is doing it as well as the best of them. Memphis is back, and it is due to Penny. They will win the AAC with relative ease.

The ACC is loaded as always. Duke has one of the best classes in the country, and they just keep bringing in top classes, and see no shade thrown their way like other programs that recruit "one and done" freshman do. But, Duke is good. So is UNC. They have a really solid all around squad. They have great freshman, solid upperclassmen and just win all the time. Louisville has a ton of hype around them, and they look to have a really good team coming into this year. Maybe, just maybe, the Rick Pitino stuff is behind them. Virginia won the title last year, and while they lost a ton of talent, they are a typical rebuild, not reload, type team. They also have a ton of depth just waiting their turn. FSU just got a big time commit, they have a ton of length and they have a good head coach. But when I get down to it, it is going to come down to Duke and UNC, and I, once again, am going with UNC to win the ACC. They have the most talent, depth and experience of any team in the ACC.

The Big 12 is KU's to lose, if they don't get sanctioned to hell. But, the Big 12 is a little more competitive than it has been in the past. KU is good, but so is Kansas State. Oklahoma always seems to put up a fight. Oklahoma State is always a tough spot to play, no matter how good or bad they are. Texas Tech was in the title game last year, and probably should have won. Texas is okay. Same with West Virginia. Hell, even TCU is a 20 win team now. But, until they get sanctioned, KU will win the Big 12. They need to make up for not winning it last year.

The Big East isn’t what it used to be, but there’s some okay squads. Patrick Ewing has Georgetown getting back to respectability. St John’s lost Chris Mullin, but they’re feisty. Creighton seems to put together shockingly good seasons time to time. Marquette has the potential to be really good. Xavier is scrappy as hell. Seton Hall is making a mini comeback. But come on, the Big East is owned by Villanova. Jay Wright is still the coach, and as long as he’s around, Villanova will continue to be dominant. They also have solid experience on their squad.

The Pac 12 is weird in both football and basketball. They have name recognition, but they always blow it it seems. Arizona had an immense amount of talent a few years back, and they blew it. They are also on that FBI list. Arizona State always starts strong and tails off. Oregon gets top flight recruits, and they either fizzle or get hurt. Stanford is not a power anymore. Washington has gotten major recruits, but it hasn’t really translated into on court dominance. UCLA has a new coach again, and they are still rebuilding. I just really don’t know what to make of this conference. I’m going to go with Oregon, they just got another 5 star guy, but this is the pick I’m most leery of.

The SEC is all about Kentucky and Auburn. I know Tennessee was really good last year, but they have a ton to replace. Arkansas plays hard, but they don’t have the talent. The Mississippi schools are blah. Missouri’s best recruits are gone, and didn’t do much when they were there. LSU couldn’t win with Ben Simmons. Florida is good, but not anywhere near the top. I fully believe in Auburn, and that bums me out because their coach is a rat. But, Kentucky has a whole new crop of guys, and while John Calipari can recruit, he’s not a great in game coach. And Auburn has some key guys back, and good players coming in. It’s a changing of the guard in the SEC.

Finishing up with the major conferences, we have the Big Ten, my conference. I mean, and again I hate that i have to say this, Michigan State is easily the preseason favorite. They have a great amount of talent back and they have good freshman coming in. They shouldn’t have a sports program because of their heinous crimes. Until that is fully realized, Michigan State will run the Big Ten this year. But, there are some other good teams. The University of Ohio State will be better, and they were a tournament team last year. Michigan has a new coach, of which I’m very excited for, and a slew of starters back. They won’t be as good as last year, but I still think they’ll be good defensively, and make shots. Maryland has a very solid team, and they are well coached. Illinois has to be better than last year. Their coach is too good to keep being below .500. Nebraska has the talent to be a tournament team. Indiana is going to get back in the conversation soon. Purdue is a very, very good team that does all the little things really well. Minnesota is tough. And Iowa plays muddy basketball that frustrates opponents. But, unfortunately, the Big Ten is MSU’s to lose.

As far as some teams outside major conferences, there is obviously Gonzaga. They’re no longer the lovable Cinderella’s they used to be. They’re a national power. Dayton has a solid team. Campbell College has a ton of undersized scorers. Western Kentucky oddly gets top flight recruits to commit there, and I think the one they got this year is actually going to play. One of the Ivy League schools, most likely Harvard, will scare someone in the tournament. Nevada has the most coveted head coach by power schools right now. And Saint Mary’s always wins 20 games and always scare Gonzaga.

As far as award winners, for freshman of the year, I’m going with the Wiseman kid at Memphis. I’ve heard nothing but good things about him. I also think Memphis will win another award, and that will be Penny Hardaway as coach of the year. As far as player of the year, which is so hard to pair down so many good players, I guess I’ll go with the Winston kid at MSU, everyone else is picking him, and I’m pretty sure he’s a senior, and this is usually an award for longevity in college basketball. My final four is UNC, MSU, Auburn, and my surprise, Memphis. I love Memphis right now. The title game will pit UNC and Auburn, and I’m going with the Tarheels. They are so, so deep and so talented and they are due.

Okay, there’s my men’s college basketball preview. Take it as you will. Basketball is coming people. Time to get pumped up.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.