Tmac (tim Macmahon) Ncaa Chat From Dmn

[GreenBat]

Tim MacMahon on the NCAA Tournament (3/12)

12:35 PM CDT on Monday, March 12, 2007

SportsDay writer Tim MacMahon answered questions about the NCAA Tournament on Monday, March 12.

Tim MacMahon: Got my brackets filled out, plane ticket purchased and am ready to roll. Let's talk March Madness.

From e-mail: Texas a 4 seed? So Wazzu is a better team than Texas? They also have to go from Austin, to Spokane, Wash., back to Austin, then to New Jersey (if they make it that far). That's a pretty tough gauntlet to run for a very young team, and their present is UNC. Did Texas get a raw deal?

Russ

Tim MacMahon: I think a four seed is fine for Texas. Washington State is No. 12 in the final AP poll and went 13-5 in the Pac-10, which is a better record than the Horns had in the Big 12. The travel is certainly a tough deal, but it's not like they're playing back-to-backs. This might be Big 12 homerism, but I'm taking Texas all the way to Atlanta. Kevin Durant is hands down the best player in the country, and he showed signs in the Big 12 tourney of a willingness to put his team on his shoulders. The Horns' only losses in the last months were a couple of games against Kansas that could have gone either way. KU is better than North Carolina, the top seed in UT's East region, especially with Tyler Hansbrough struggling to score with that mask on his face.

From e-mail: How does Texas Tech match up with BC? Did BC limp into the tournament or run into an ACC buzzsaw?

Darryl

Tim MacMahon: BC power forward Jared Dudley, the ACC player of the year, will give Tech major trouble on the block. Darryl Dora needs to poke his head out of the doghouse, because the Red Raiders need all their big bangers to contribute. But BC has really struggled down the stretch. The Eagles are a .500 team since C Sean Williams, a talented but troubled Mansfield product, got kicked off the team. They lost their last five games against tournament teams, and I'll take Tech to get the honor of being spanked by Georgetown in the second round.

CatFan: Is this the worst job by a selection committee in history? So much about this bracket doesn't make sense. Arkansas gets in with a 7-9 conference record because of a good championship run. K-State beats Texas Tech by 21; Tech gets in, K-State doesn't. Stanford gets in, Syracuse doesn't.

Tim MacMahon: K-State fans have the right to complain, but "worst job by a selection committee in history" is a wee bit strong. Having said that, K-State deserved to get a bid before Arkansas. They had three common opponents: Texas, Missouri and Tech. K-State went 3-1 against those teams, whipping Tech last week. Arkansas went 0-3, getting hammered by Tech and Mizzou. K-State's weak nonconference schedule was a problem. A 5-5 finish might have been as well, but three of those losses were to Kansas.

moderator: Who would you consider darkhorse teams capable of making a run in the tournament?

Tim MacMahon: Texas is my lowest seed in the Final Four. My double-digit seed sleeper is Oral Roberts, which I'm taking to the Sweet 16. ORU, the 14 seed in the East, is a veteran squad that has proven it can beat elite teams. See the nonconference win over Kansas. SG Ken Tutt (South Garland) and PF Caleb Green are the seventh teammates in NCAA history with 2,000 career points. And ORU has NCAA tourney experience, having scared Memphis as a 16 seed last season. Washington State, ORU's first-round opponent, snapped a streak of 10 straight losing seasons. Vanderbilt, the likely second-round opponent, is a so-so six seed.

From e-mail: What do you think of A&M's chances now that the brackets are out? I hesitate filling out my bracket since we'll probably end up playing Louisville in a virtual home game in the second round.

Julie

Tim MacMahon: You're right to be nervous about the second round. A six seed shouldn't have that strong home-court advantage, but oh well. I'm still going to take A&M there, because I believe in Acie Law and Billy Gillispie. The Aggies' D will make the game ugly and take a little oomph out of the Louisville fans. Assuming A&M can upset North Texas in the Sweet 16 – kidding, I'm a UNT alum – why shouldn't A&M come out of San Antonio. I really don't think Memphis will make it there. I'm taking Nevada to knock off the Tigers in the second round. Ohio State is extremely talented, but the Buckeyes are also very young and will be in enemy territory. Anyone up for an A&M-UT rematch in Atlanta?

From e-mail: Why does the NCAA use two teams that won their conference tournaments for the play-in game? If that game is really for the last two teams in, why isn't Stanford or Illinois playing in that game?

Julie

Tim MacMahon: Because Stanford and Illinois have more than 174 fans that will buy tickets or watch the game on TV. Seriously, the play-in game was designed to get another big-money team in the tournament. So a couple of little fellas get the raw end of the deal. When in doubt with the NCAA, follow the money. … But now that I think about it, your idea might actually make more money. The ratings would probably be pretty good if a 12 seed was on the line in the play-in game instead of the right to get humiliated by the nation's No. 1 team. On a related note, Bill Self is in big trouble if Kansas loses in the first round again.

From e-mail: Which is the toughest region? How about the weakest?

Tim MacMahon: I actually think the selection committee did a good job of balancing the brackets. The West has a bunch of bluebloods – Kansas, UCLA, Duke, Indiana, Kentucky – but I don't think it's tougher than the other regions. The East looks soft in the middle, but North Carolina, Georgetown and Texas are all legitimate Final Four contenders. A&M is an awfully strong 3 seed in the South, while Memphis is a weak 2. Florida probably has the easiest road of a 1 seed, but beating Wisconsin in the Elite Eight won't be easy.

BigAG98: Any chance Stanford upsets Louisville? If not, how do you see an A&M-Louisville matchup?

Tim MacMahon: Stanford certainly has a chance. This is a team with wins over UCLA and Washington State. Freshman 7-footers Robin and Brook Lopez will have to dominate for the Cardinal to win what is basically a road game. See an earlier question for my thoughts on A&M-Louisville.

moderator: Do you give your Mean Green any chance of knocking off Memphis?

Tim MacMahon: I'd like to say UNT will be this season's version of George Mason, but I don't believe in the Mean Green that much. UNT likes to run, and that plays right into the Tigers' hands. I will take this opportunity to mention that UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said that Memphis made a mistake by letting Johnny Jones go after Jones was hired at UNT. Jones went 15-16 as Memphis' interim coach in 1999-2000. Memphis decided to go with a proven commodity and hired John Calipari.

moderator: Do you think there's any chance Kevin Durant could come back and play another year for Texas?

Tim MacMahon: I doubt it. He certainly doesn't need to. I think he can step into the NBA and average 22 points and eight rebounds while playing three positions right away. He's a cross between Tracy McGrady (perimeter skills) and Chris Bosh (skinny rebounder). I'd strongly advise UT fans not to miss a second of the tournament, because the Horns probably won't ever have a player like Durant again. He's the best in Big 12 history, no matter that my colleagues insisted on naming Acie Law the player of the year.

Tim MacMahon: Thanks for the questions. Feel free to e-mail me if you need help coming up with excuses to play hooky later this week. If you are stuck at work, we'll be blogging away from the tournament. Matter of fact, we'll start getting our NCAA Tournament blog on today, so I strongly encourage you to slack off at work and log on with us.