Monday Morning Thoughts

As I sit here this morning mulling over my thoughts for the NCAA tournament, I am struck by several interesting tidbits:

-In so many ways, this really is the funnest three weeks in sports. While I will never condone gambling, filling out brackets and competing against friends is quite a rush. There is nothing like tuning into the last five minutes of the San Diego St./Indiana game on a random Thursday in the Union with the whole middle section of your Oakland bracket on the line.

-I am absolutely convinced that Coach McKillop isn't going anywhere. Last night, I interviewed Matt on my radio show and he said that his father had some pretty strong ties to the town with his son and wife and that he certainly wouldn't leave until Brendan graduated (next year). That being said, Coach is in a great position to retire here. He's getting to a point where starting over again would not be desirable. I also think that despite all of the riffs between the Admissions office and basketball recruiting, Coach loves Davidson's reputation and its personality. He loves the types of players that get in here, and he loves what they go through outside of practice. That's something Kansas State won't offer.

-This bracket is really hard. In many "Guides to the bracket," the experts say to go through it and make gut picks on the spot without analysis. After doing that, I realized that I picked all four 11-seeds to advance (SIU, SDSU, UW-Mil, George Mason). While GMU is a reach, I truly do believe that the other three can win. Am I crazy? What about the 12-5's. I didn't pick any of them to upset. I just don't see one (outside of a possible Montana-Nevada). Finally, I look at all the heavy teams that I have seen and don't like their chances. Duke has had too many close calls. Villanova will miss Ray. Gonzaga hasn't played anyone. Memphis? You need to have more than athleticism. Texas has been extremely beatable and unstoppable. And Connecticut. Well Syracuse found a way. I don't even want to rule in Ohio St. because Davidson will take them down.

-That's all for now. Keep the brackets rolling, and keep giving my blog hits. I love it.