gw67
03-13-2007, 09:23 AM
Every year, I enter two brackets in our office pool. One is based on my best judgment (guess!) while the other is based on the teams that I would like to win (ACC teams, GWU, local teams like Georgetown, Gonzaga and a few others). I generally do poorly on both although I can usually count on the ACC teams doing well in the early rounds. This year the ACC has seven teams in the tournament and although they are all fine teams, I am not sure many will survive beyond the first weekend. My brief thoughts on the 1st round games are as follows:
Duke – VCU VCU is small, quick and a good shooting team. They start three guards and protect the ball well but their number of assists per game is not that high leading me to conclude that they have a lot of one-on-one in their game. The brief highlights I have seen showed their guards stealing the ball off the opposition dribble. Based on the quickness and size of VCU, I expect the Devils to play four guards for some of the game with Henderson playing forward. The keys for the Devils, IMO, will be for the guards and wing players to value the ball (dribble less and pass more?) and for the big men to take advantage of their size/skill advantage. I expect the Devils to win but VCU is the type of team that should keep the game close.
UNC – Eastern Kentucky The Heels should win easily but Hansbrough needs to get back to his normal playing level for them to go far in the tournament.
Virginia – Albany Albany is a typical mid-major in that they shoot well and are not big (although larger than VCU). Under normal circumstances, a #4 seed would be expected to run them off the court but Virginia is not your typical 4 seed. By almost any rating system (RPI 55), they don’t deserve a 4 seed. They are a terrific team on their home court but have been less than stellar on the road and at neutral sites. They rely on their excellent backcourt for scoring and much will depend on their combined performance. I will not be surprised if the Hoos don’t survive the first weekend.
Maryland – Davidson Davidson is a young team that relies on the three-point shot (about 26 per game). They are well coached and should be a handful for the Terps. The keys will be how well Davidson shoots the threes and whether Strawberry and Ibekwe play well. If the Terps win this game, I expect them to reach the Sweet Sixteen but if the play like they did in games against Miami, Notre Dame and Virginia, they will go home early.
Virginia Tech - Illinois Illinois is big and a good rebounding and defensive team; however, they can’t shoot straight. I expect a low scoring, ugly game. If Tech can keep them off the offensive boards then they have a chance to advance. At times, Tech looks unbeatable but they have lost to several inferior opponents and Illinois is better than most of them. I expect Illinois to win this one.
BC – Texas Tech I’ve not seen Tech play but I expect that they are well coached. They are also an excellent three-point shooting team. At one point during the season they lost five straight games and they were run off the court by Kansas State in their tournament. I think Skinner will have Dudley and Rice ready to play but, IMO, it is 50-50 whether they advance.
Georgia Tech – UNLV UNLV is not the Running Rebels of the early 90’s but they are 28-6 and beat out BYU and Air Force in the MWC. They are small, quick and take care of the ball. It is not very often that a 10 seed boasts two, NBA first rounders but Tech has a lot of talent on their team. IMO, Tech has underachieved this year and they probably feel that the tournament offers them a second chance. It will be interesting whether they can take advantage. I expect a close game with Tech advancing.
gw67
Duke – VCU VCU is small, quick and a good shooting team. They start three guards and protect the ball well but their number of assists per game is not that high leading me to conclude that they have a lot of one-on-one in their game. The brief highlights I have seen showed their guards stealing the ball off the opposition dribble. Based on the quickness and size of VCU, I expect the Devils to play four guards for some of the game with Henderson playing forward. The keys for the Devils, IMO, will be for the guards and wing players to value the ball (dribble less and pass more?) and for the big men to take advantage of their size/skill advantage. I expect the Devils to win but VCU is the type of team that should keep the game close.
UNC – Eastern Kentucky The Heels should win easily but Hansbrough needs to get back to his normal playing level for them to go far in the tournament.
Virginia – Albany Albany is a typical mid-major in that they shoot well and are not big (although larger than VCU). Under normal circumstances, a #4 seed would be expected to run them off the court but Virginia is not your typical 4 seed. By almost any rating system (RPI 55), they don’t deserve a 4 seed. They are a terrific team on their home court but have been less than stellar on the road and at neutral sites. They rely on their excellent backcourt for scoring and much will depend on their combined performance. I will not be surprised if the Hoos don’t survive the first weekend.
Maryland – Davidson Davidson is a young team that relies on the three-point shot (about 26 per game). They are well coached and should be a handful for the Terps. The keys will be how well Davidson shoots the threes and whether Strawberry and Ibekwe play well. If the Terps win this game, I expect them to reach the Sweet Sixteen but if the play like they did in games against Miami, Notre Dame and Virginia, they will go home early.
Virginia Tech - Illinois Illinois is big and a good rebounding and defensive team; however, they can’t shoot straight. I expect a low scoring, ugly game. If Tech can keep them off the offensive boards then they have a chance to advance. At times, Tech looks unbeatable but they have lost to several inferior opponents and Illinois is better than most of them. I expect Illinois to win this one.
BC – Texas Tech I’ve not seen Tech play but I expect that they are well coached. They are also an excellent three-point shooting team. At one point during the season they lost five straight games and they were run off the court by Kansas State in their tournament. I think Skinner will have Dudley and Rice ready to play but, IMO, it is 50-50 whether they advance.
Georgia Tech – UNLV UNLV is not the Running Rebels of the early 90’s but they are 28-6 and beat out BYU and Air Force in the MWC. They are small, quick and take care of the ball. It is not very often that a 10 seed boasts two, NBA first rounders but Tech has a lot of talent on their team. IMO, Tech has underachieved this year and they probably feel that the tournament offers them a second chance. It will be interesting whether they can take advantage. I expect a close game with Tech advancing.
gw67