Stomp The Lunatic

9:20 pm EST – #1 Kansas (-4) vs #8 North Carolina (O/U: 152)

LUNATIC’S PICKS: Kansas, Over

KANSAS STARTING LINE-UP

• G – #3 Dajuan Harris, Jr (5.5 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 4.2 APG) – 6’1″ SO
• G – #30 Ochai Agbaji (18.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.6 APG) – 6’5″ SR
• G – #2 Christian Braun (14.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.8 APG) – 6’6″ JR
• F – #10 Jalen Wilson (11.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.8 APG) – 6’8″ SO
• F – #33 David McCormack (10.5 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 0.9 APG) – 6’10” SR

NORTH CAROLINA STARTING LINE-UP

• G – #4 R.J Davis (13.5 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.7 APG) – 6’0″ SO
• G – #2 Caleb Love (16.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.6 APG) – 6’4″ SO
• G – #1 Leaky Black (5.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.8 APG) – 6’8″ SR
• F – #45 Brady Manek (15.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.8 APG) – 6’9″ SR
• F – #5 Armando Bacot (16.3 PPG, 13.1 RPG, 1.5 APG) – 6’10” JR

Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji is the Jayhawks leading scorer, and as was shown in the game against Villanova, he can light it up from outside. Christian Braun also can drive to the basket to score, and the two Jayhawks big-men (David McCormack and Jalen Wilson) work well with each other in the paint. In the Villanova game, McCormack went 10-12 from the field to score 25 points – he was unstoppable.

North Carolina’s leading scorer and rebounder is Armando Bacot. He plays with a tremendous amount of intensity, and is really good at drawing fouls – as both of Duke’s centers played with 4 fouls throughout the game. R.J. Davis is lightning fast when he drives to the lane, and Caleb Love is the type of guard who can totally take over a game. The best outside shooter is forward Brady Manek – which can help free up space drawing one of the other team’s forward away from the lane.

Much is made about the fast pace that North Carolina plays, but Kansas actually averages more points per game than UNC (Kansas averages 78.6 pts vs. UNC’s 77.5 pts). As we saw in the UNC / Duke game, fast-paced games can be highly entertaining, so I have high hopes for this game as both teams like to play fast.

Kansas is a little bit deeper and more willing to use their bench – with Remy Martin and Mitch Lightfoot. North Carolina’s bench played 13 minutes in the game against Duke (for perspective, Martin and Lightfoot played 30 against Villanova). The Tar Heels first substitution in the Duke game in the second half was with 5 minutes left because Bacot had to come off the court with an ankle injury. Don’t be surprised if North Carolina basically goes with their starters the whole game – if Bacot’s injury becomes a problem, or someone gets into foul trouble, UNC depth could create a problem for them.

North Carolina is a great feel-good story. At 12-6 and struggling in the start of the ACC season, it was believed that the Tar Heels would not even make it to the tournament. They are now 17-3 and look like a completely different team. That slow start is why they were an 8 seed – but they are clearly much more dangerous than an 8 seed. Caleb Love and RJ Davis are explosive guards who can get to the basket, and Armando Bacot has been a force inside. But as with Villanova, Kansas might have caught a huge break. Bacot injured his ankle late in the victory against Duke. I am sure he is going to play – but I am not sure he is going to be 100%. And he will need to be 100% against Kansas’s David McCormack. And the Jayhawks have two guards, Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun, who also can score.

If Bacot isn’t at 100%, I don’t see how they stop McCormack. Sometimes, teams struggle because of pace. UNC plays a high-tempo game that leads to large fast runs where a couple of misses leads to a 6-8 point swing in just a minute. But Kansas seems to be a team that can play at any pace – so I don’t think UNC’s style of play will phase them. I expect this to be a high scoring game, no matter who wins.

At the end of the day, there are four things that lean me towards Kansas.

• The polls give you a view of how the college basketball world view the talent on the top teams. Kansas started the season in the pre-season poll at 3rd behind only Gonzaga and UCLA. Kansas never dropped out of the top 10, and finished the season back in 3rd – behind only Gonzaga and Arizona. UNC never at any point in the season broke into the top 10. They started at 19th, moved up to 18th in the first week before eventually dropping out of the polls. They did sneak back into the polls at 25th after beating Duke, but dropped to 32nd in the final rankings after losing early in the ACC tournament. From a simple talent perspective, Kansas is believed to be the better team by the polls. Of course, we all know games aren’t played on paper – otherwise, we would have Gonzaga and Arizona playing for the title. But from a prediction perspective, the polls pick Kansas.
• I am very nervous about Bacot’s ankle injury. He was a warrior in the Duke game and played through the pain of the injury – but he also didn’t look the same once he came back in. UNC won at that point because Caleb Love took over the game. Kansas is a very talented team in the paint, and if Bacot isn’t 100%, the Jayhawks are going to dominate here.
• Normally, at some point in the pool, I mention the fact that champions win championships. Almost inevitably, teams that have won either a share of their conference regular season championship or a conference tournament championship advance to the finals. There have been 36 tournaments starting in 1985 since the field moved to 64+ teams. Assuming I did my research correctly, only 6 of those tournaments saw a team that had not won either of those championships take home the national championship (1985 Villanova, 1988 Kansas, 1989 Michigan, 1997 Arizona, 2014 Connecticut, and 2015 Duke). Kansas won a share of the Big 12 regular season championship and followed it up by winning the tournament as well. UNC was the runner-up in the ACC and did not make it to the finals of the ACC tournament. Considering many view the Big 12 as the best conference this year, it only makes sense to pick the team that won that conference’s championship.
• I really don’t like Kansas. I have never been a fan of the Big 12 – probably because of being burned whenever I pick them to do well. But Kansas bothers me more – and that is because of the NCAA pay-to-play scandal. Kansas was prominently featured in the FBI investigation regarding a pay-to-play scandal with Adidas (along with Arizona, Auburn, Louisville and LSU). Because of this, in September 2019, the NCAA notified the school of 5 Level I allegations against the program, including one against Bill Self. While the schools obviously all have fought the allegations, Louisville, Arizona and LSU have since parted ways with their coaches responsible for the scandal. Kansas’ response was to offer Bill Self a lifetime contract in April 2021, that will guarantee him $5.41 million per year and has a clause in it that states that Self can not be fired by the school for infractions that were known before the signing of the contract. So, there is overwhelming evidence that he cheated, and his reward is to coach at the school for a guaranteed $5.41 million for as long as he wants to coach. Meanwhile, it is well-known that my family roots for the Tar Heels. For full disclosure, UNC isn’t innocent in scandals – still not sure how they survived the academic scandals they were involved with. But with my father-in-law being a UNC alum, Elizabeth, the kids and I always cheer on the Tar Heels. And we all know what happens when I cheer for a team. I can’t even act like I want Kansas to win – the Lunatic Curse sees right through this. How else can we explain that all my Final 4 picks lost in the Sweet 16 (one of them to a 15 seed) except for one team. And that team keeps winning…….. As my wife says, “Stay classy, Kansas!!!”

With all these things in Kansas’ favor, and the Jayhawks only need to win by 4 points to cover, the obvious thing is to pick them to win. Whether you believe in historical facts like 30 of 36 championships are won by a conference champion, teams at the top of the polls tend to win, if it is a 50/50 coin flip when both teams are healthy, the odds change if one of the team has their leading scorer injured, or you simply believe in the fact that the Lunatic can’t cheer for a team that is going to win, the bet still ends up the same. If nothing can stop them, it only makes sense to pick them. You can’t even believe that Karma is eventually going to come and knock off the Jayhawks. To be fair, it is only fitting that since the NCAA hasn’t been able to wrap up their investigation in over 2 1/2 years, the NCAA chairman will have to stand on that stage and shake hands with Bill Self and hand him the trophy. So, it is a 50/50 chance on whether Karma is using this opportunity to sting Kansas or sting the NCAA.

It should be a fun game. Both teams are playing amazing at the moment and have had stretches where it looks like no one can beat them. It should be a fast-paced game with lots of offense. And while in the Lunatic’s preview, he has to give a pick, the truth is that games are not played on paper, they are won on the court. It should be a lot of fun to watch the Jayhawks and Tar Heels compete for the national championship.

South Carolina won this game with defense, and one unstoppable scorer. South Carolina beat Connecticut 64-49 to win the 2022 women’s national championship.

Connecticut scored 70 or more points in 24 of their 35 games. Only 4 times, did they score under 60. The suffocating South Carolina defense held the Huskies to under 50 points!!!!

Then, there was Destanni Henderson who scored 26 points to lead South Carolina. They jumped out to an early 22-8 first quarter lead, watched as Connecticut fought back to as many as 6 points late in the 3rd quarter. Then, Henderson would score 7 of the next 9 points in the game to extend the lead back to 11. Any time that UConn would try to make a run, Henderson would have the answer.

But while Henderson was dominating on the offensive side of the court, the real story is on the defensive side. Connecticut could not get going from outside, only hitting 4-16 from three-point range. The Huskies shot 48.9% on the season from the field – but tonight, they could only make 40.7% against the Gamecocks. Add into it that South Carolina forced 15 turnovers, and it led to the Huskies only scoring 49 points when they normally average 74.8.

Congratulations to the South Carolina women’s basketball team – they have been a dominating force all season, and their defense has now led them to a national championship.

Turn your TV to ESPN as the women’s championship is about to tip off. South Carolina has been the #1 team in the country this year. 5th ranked Connecticut seems to always be in the Final 4.

It should be a great battle – tune in and support these amazing athletes compete for a national championship!!!

What a crazy second half. What a crazy game. And at the end of the madness, it was North Carolina pulling the upset to win 81-77 and join Kansas in the championship game.

Duke started the half off to extend their lead to 7 off two dunks by Mark Williams and Paolo Banchero. Then, Caleb Love hit two three-pointers and led the Tar Heels on a 14-0 run. Then, Trevor Keels hit a three-pointer to start off a 10-2 run for the Blue Devils, finished up by one of multiple steals by Wendell Moore, Jr. that watched Moore drive to the basket and lay it in.

With about 10 minutes left in the game, Mark Williams picked up his 4th foul and had to deal with foul trouble. With about 7 minutes left, UNC guard RJ Davis picked up his 4th foul and had to deal with foul trouble. With about 5 minutes left, UNC forward Armando Bacot twisted his ankle after stepping on his teammate’s foot trying to block a shot. He had to leave the game, but he walked it off and somehow managed to come back in the game. There would be 18 lead changes throughout the game as one team would score just to watch the other team answer.

With 2:30 left in the game, UNC’s Brady Manek gives the Tar Heels a 2 point lead by hitting a free throw. Duke came down the court, and Paolo Banchero passed the ball to super-sub Trevor Keels who drilled the three pointer and the Blue Devils re-took the lead. But not for long…UNC’s Leaky Black found Manek outside for three, and after Manek had missed a wide-open three pointer and 3 of 4 free throws, he answers Keels with a three-pointer with a Duke player right in his face. Then, Keels missed a three pointer, but Paolo Banchero jumped high above everyone to get the offensive rebound and get the ball out to Wendell Moore Jr – who drains the three-pointer to give Duke the lead again.

RJ Davis drove to the basket and drew a blocking foul on Jeremy Roach. Davis’s two free throws made it 75-74 Tar Heels. Duke went down low to Mark Williams, and he got fouled by Armando Bacot. An ankle injury couldn’t stop Bacot from getting 11 points and 21 rebounds. But this shove into Williams’ back was his 5th foul – his incredible night was over.

But Mark Williams, a 75% free throw shooter, would miss the first free throw long off the back of the rim, and then miss the second free throw short off the front of the rim. The Blue Devils would need to get a stop. Caleb Love took the shot clock down as he waited at half court, dribbled toward the top of the key, suddenly stopped and drained a three-pointer to give UNC a commanding 4 point lead.

Jeremy Roach quickly drove down the court to cut the lead to 2 with a drive to the basket. But at this point, the Blue Devils have to foul. Caleb Love got the ball and hit one of two free throws to send the lead back to 3.

Trevor Keels got the ball outside but couldn’t get a clean three-pointer off, so he drove to the basket. He gets fouled driving to the basket, and he quickly throws the ball up with his right hand and it looks like he might be able to tie the game from the free throw line. But the refs judged that he was fouled before the shot. Keels, who scored 19 points from the Duke bench, hit the first free throw but missed the second. Somehow, Caleb Love managed to get the rebound over a leaping Banchero, and the Blue Devils would have to foul again.

This time, Love calmly sinks both free throws. Duke’s Keels put up a desperate three-pointer to try to cut the lead to 1 and give the Blue Devils one last time. But the three-pointer missed, RJ Davis would grab the rebound and dribble out the clock.

Coach K’s final season would have to settle for just one last Final Four. There would be no storybook ending to give the legend one last championship. Instead, the school that gave Coach K his first ever loss at Duke on December 5th, 1980 by a score of 78-76 would be the same arch-rivals who would give him the final loss of his career on April 2nd, 2022 by a score of 81-77. In between, Mike Kryzewski would coach the Blue Devils to 1,202 wins, 13 ACC regular season championships, 15 ACC tournament championships, 13 Final Fours, and 5 National Championships.

The North Carolina Tar Heels remarkable season continues on. Hubert Davis’s first season has been a roller-coaster. While starting 9-3 through December, the key games against Purdue, Tennessee and Kentucky all ended in losses, the last one to Kentucky by 29 points. The conversation started that UNC might not even make the tournament this year. On February 16th, UNC lost to Pittsburgh to fall to 18-8. The Tar Heels would go on to win the last 5 games of the regular season, including the game at Duke that gave them their big resume victory.

But the Tar Heels did not plan to go quietly. They destroyed Marquette to advance. They would beat #1 Baylor in overtime. They would end UCLA’s attempt to return to the Final Four. They made the clock strike midnight on Cinderella St. Peter’s. And now, they have ended Duke’s season to advance to the championship game.

So, we will have #1 seed Kansas against #8 seed North Carolina for the National Championship on Monday. And with the Tar Heels liking to run, and Kansas not being afraid of that high-paced game, it should be really entertaining! Congratulations to the North Carolina Tar Heels – they will join the Jayhawks Monday night to play for the title!

Would you expect anything more than the first half of Duke and UNC.

Carolina’s RJ Davis is so explosive and fast, as he leads the Tar Heels with 14 points.

Duke’s Paolo Banchero looks like no one can stop him when he goes to the basket, as he had 10 points.

Both teams started out a little tight but it still has been a fun, fast paced game. Big story might be the foul trouble for Duke’s big men. Mark Williams has only played the first 4 minutes of the game because he got 2 quick fouls.

Theo John came off the bench and gave Duke an instant spark. He scored 6 points of some big dunks, and added an amazing save that led to a layup. But he also ended up getting four fouls trying to stop UNC big man Armando Bacot, as Coach K left John in to avoid his starter picking up his third foul.

So that could be a huge story in the second half. Williams is rested having only played 4 minutes – but can he avoid fouls in the second half, because his backup only has 1 foul left.

It looked like we would go into the half tied, but Jeremy Roach made a great drive to the basket to score and get fouled. Roach hit the free throw and gave the Blue Devils a 37-34 lead.

Should be a great second half.

I am sitting here with my Cherry Vanilla ice cream from Gelati Celesti, they have just announced the starting lineups, mentioned that UNC’s Hubert Davis is coaching in his first Final 4 in his first year with the Tar Heels. And then mentioned that Coach K is coaching in his 132nd NCAA tournament game.

The greatest rivalry in college basketball is ready tip-off for the first time in the tournament, and the prize is a trip to the national championship.

Let go!!!!!!

As we know, I always do horrible with the seeding in my prediction of what the bracket will be. I was so bad that almost everyone on the Bracket Matrix beat my predictions. But in this part of the Selection Committee / Bracketology, we truly allow hindsight and the performances of the teams to grade both the Selection Committee and the Crazed Lunatic.

It is important to say that part of this is a little unfair – matchups totally matter. One 9 seed ended up having to play against North Carolina, while one 9 seed ended up going up against San Diego State. Hindsight makes it pretty clear that one team had a tougher matchup than the other.

Also, it is important to realize that performance doesn’t completely mean the seeding was wrong. St. Peter’s was a 15 seed who made it to the Elite 8. Just because they managed to go on a run in the tournament and beat Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue, it certainly doesn’t mean that the Peacocks should have been a 2 seed when their best victory in the regular season was their conference tournament title game against NET #90 Iona.

But the results were stunning to me when I looked at them. so here are the complete details. I have removed all the teams that the Lunatic and Selection Committee agreed on. I also removed Notre Dame and Indiana because it felt unfair to include them when I had Indiana as an 11 seed and Notre Dame as a 12 seed (which in retrospect was so wrong) in the wrong play-in game. That leaves us with 4 groups. Two based on if the Lunatic or the Selection Committee disagreed by 1 seed line, and two based on if we disagreed by 2 or more seed lines. These groups don’t end up being equal because if I am off by 2 or more seeds, it creates a lot of ways the other seeds could fall…..

Also, we can quickly talk about the teams I missed. Wyoming and Rutgers were the teams that I missed. Both of them ended up in the two play-in games and lost. I had Oklahoma in the play-in game and Texas A&M as a 10 seed. Oklahoma beat Missouri St and lost to St. Bonaventure in the NIT. The Aggies beat Alcorn State, Oregon, Wake Forest, and St. Bonaventure before losing to Xavier at the last second in the NIT championship. But you can’t figure out if making the NIT championship would correspond to winning a NCAA tourney game.

Also – so we have a performance measure – we will predict their performance based on assuming they should go as far as their seed……

Selection Committee put 2+ seed ahead of the Lunatic

There are 6 teams that based on seed would have gone 4-6. Miami FL’s run to the Elite 8 saved this group to make them even with expectations. But what was stunning to me was some of the sizes of the losses. All these teams were off by 2 with the exception of Seton Hall, where I thought the Pirates should have been an 11 seed instead of an 8 seed.

• 6 – LSU (-1) – Lost to Iowa State (5)
• 7 – Michigan State (EVEN) – Beat Davidson (1), Lost to Duke by 5
• 8 – Seton Hall (-1) – Lost to TCU (27) – That is right – they lost by 27 points.
• 8 – San Diego St (-1) – Lost to Creighton (3)
• 9 – Marquette (EVEN) – Lost to UNC (32) – That is right – they lost by 32 points!!! They weren’t supposed to win as a 9 seed, but I feel they should be -1 on principle of losing by more than 30….
• 10 – Miami FL (+3) – Beat USC (2), Auburn (18), Iowa St (14), Lost to Kansas (26). We will give the SC credit here. But should be mentioned that this is +2 only because I put the Hurricanes in the wrong play-in game. And it is a little awkward, since technically, the 10 seed should beat the 11 seed in Iowa State…. But still, the Lunatic can be generous – this puts the SC even.

Selection Committee put 1 seed ahead of the Lunatic

The SC had 9 teams which were 1 seed better than the Lunatic’s seed. With the 2 seed supposed to win 3 games, the 3 and 4 seeds to win 2 games, and the two 6 seeds to win 1 game, they are expected to go 9-9. With both 6 seeds losing their first round games, this group fell 1 game below expectations (although I guess I could call them even if Duke beats UNC tonight).

• 2 – Duke (+1) – Beat CS Fullerton (17), Michigan St (5), Texas Tech (5), Arkansas (9) to make it to the Final Four. I mistakenly switched Duke and Tennessee – and then Duke went and won the West regional. Will the Blue Devils be able to win Coach K one last title – only time will tell….
• 3 – Wisconsin (-1) – Beat Colgate (7), Lost to Iowa State (5) – not sure they should get punished more for losing to an 11 seed, but I already set the rules quickly to get this written.
• 4 – Providence (EVEN) – Beat South Dakota St (9), Richmond (28), Lost to Kansas (5). The Fryars had a great Final 4 – they probably should get credit for being the closest to beating Kansas – I was wrong about the Big East here. So, see the rules off-set. Wisconsin should be penalized, Providence should get extra credit – we are all even.
• 6 – Alabama (-1) – Lost to Notre Dame (14) – remember Notre Dame also had to win a game to get to play Alabama and then fly the next morning from Dayton to San Diego to play the Crimson Tide.
• 6 – Colorado State (-1) – Lost to Michigan (12).
• 10 – Davidson (EVEN) – Lost to Michigan State (1)
• 12 – Richmond (+1) – Beat Iowa (4), Lost to Providence (28)
• 14 – Longwood (EVEN) – Lost to Tennessee (32)
• 14 – Yale (EVEN) – Lost to Purdue (22)

Lunatic put 2 seeds ahead of the Selection Committee

The Lunatic only had 3 teams where he felt they were 2 better seed lines than the committee – but 2 of those teams were incredible. Based on seed, the 8 seed should have made them 1-3. Instead, they went 6-3….. So, they performed 5 games above expectations

• 8 – North Carolina (+3) – Beat Marquette (32), Baylor (7), UCLA (7), St. Peter’s (20) to make the Final 4. Since I mentioned it with Miami, technically UNC was favored against St. Peter’s as the 8 seed should also beat the 15 seed. But rules are rules….
• 11 – Iowa State (+2) – Beat LSU (5), Beat Wisconsin (5), Lost to Miami FL (14) – I gave the Cyclones a 9 seed thanks to all their big victories, and they rewarded me with a Sweet 16 performance.
• 11 – Virginia Tech (EVEN) – Lost Texas (8) – surprisingly the only ACC team to not win a game was the Tournament Champion.

Lunatic put 1 seed ahead of the Selection Committee

There were a lot of these teams (14 to be exact) – The 3 and 4 seeds should win 2 games, and the 5 seed, two 7 seeds and 8 seed should have won 1. So, they should have gone 8-14. Instead, they went 15-14 to go 7 games over expectations, including two teams to the Elite 8. Also, want to mention that there were 10 teams based on seed that pulled an upset in the first round. 7 of those 10 teams were ones the Lunatic seeded better than the Selection Committee.

• 3 – Tennessee (-1) – Beat Longwood (32), Lost to Michigan (8) – my rewarding the Vols for the SEC tournament championship was actually one of my seeding mistakes. I can’t be perfect.
• 4 – UCLA (EVEN) – Beat Akron (4), St. Mary’s (16), Lost to North Carolina (7) – have to thank my rules since a 4 seed should beat an 8 seed – but a 4 seed as the committee made them or a 3 seed as I suggested losing in the Sweet 16 is the right ending from a seed expectation.
• 5 – Houston (+2) – Beat UAB (14), Illinois (15), Arizona (12), Lost to Villanova (6) – the Cougars upset on #1 Arizona was one of the great stories of the tournament.
• 7 – Murray State (EVEN) – Beat San Francisco (5), Lost to St. Peter’s (10) – in retrospect, I wish they had knocked Cinderella out of the tournament so that they didn’t beat Purdue.
• 7 – USC (-1) – Lost to Miami FL (2) – this is a double whammy for me since Miami was one of the teams I seeded worst than the SC and was totally wrong.
• 8 – Boise St (-1) – Lost to Memphis (11) – this is going to turn into a wash for me, because while I thought Boise State should have been a 7 seed, I also…..
• 9 – Memphis (+1) – Beat Boise State (11), Lost to Gonzaga (4). I also thought Memphis should have been an 8 seed. And they almost knocked the Zags out of the tournament.
• 9 – TCU (+1) – Beat Seton Hall (27), Lost to Arizona (5). As with Memphis, TCU almost took out a #1 seed, losing in OT.
• 9 – Creighton (+1) – Beat San Diego State (3). Lost to Kansas (7). The Blue Jays were my third 9 seed that won after I thought they should be an 8 seed.
• 10 – Loyola IL (EVEN) – Lost to Ohio State (13). Willing to admit I was wrong here – although I would have loved the Missouri Valley tourney champ to do well
• 11 – Michigan (+2) – Beat Colorado State (12), Tennessee (8), Lost to Villanova (8) – the Wolverines make my second team to be happy the committee seeded them instead of me (since a 9 seed would have put them against a 1 seed in the second round).
• 13 – Chattanooga (EVEN) – Lost to Illinois (1). The Mocs almost pulled off the 4/13 upset against the Big 10 regular season co-champ.
• 15 – Jacksonville State (EVEN) – Lost to Auburn (19). Lets be fair, the 14 and 15 seeds typically lose these games by double digits – but I would have liked to see them do better than this.
• 15 – St. Peter’s (+3) – Beat Kentucky (6). Murray State (10), Purdue (3), Lost to North Carolina (20). Makes sense that the last team on this list was the Cinderella team of the tournament as the first 15 seed to make the Elite 8. Just wish it wasn’t through my Boilermakers.

So, lets summarize. For teams that the Selection Committee seeded better than the Lunatic, those teams finished overall with a record of 1 game below expectations. But only 3 of the 15 teams won more games than they were supposed to, and 6 of the teams lost before they were supposed to (and only 6 of the 15 teams managed to win 1 game in the tournament).

For teams that the Lunatic seeded better than the Selection committee, those 17 teams finished overall with a record of 12 games above expectations. 8 of the 17 teams won more games than they were supposed to while only 3 lost before they were supposed to. 11 of the 17 teams won their first game in the tournament.

So, maybe the Crazed Lunatic does a horrible job of predicting where the Selection Committee will seed all the teams in the tournament. But based on how the teams did this year, maybe the Crazed Lunatic should be the one doing the seeding…..

Villanova tried to make it interesting. They cut the lead at one point to 6 points. But every time the Wildcats got close, the Jayhawks had an answer.

The Jayhawks went 13-24 from three point range to win the game on the outside, and David McCormack continued his dominance in the paint with 25 points.

So Kansas led wire to wire as they jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never looked back. Congratulations to the Jayhawks – the Big 12 champs will be playing for the national championship on Monday

The Jayhawks are up 40-29, but to be honest, I am not sure the game is that close. David McCormack had 13 points and dominated the paint before heading to the bench with 2 fouls. Ochai Agbali added 12 points by hitting all 4 of his three pointers.

Collin Gillepsie is doing all he can for the Wildcats with 11 points. But the rest of the Wildcats are 6-24 from the field.

At least this is letting me type more of my other blog posts – but Katie is not thrilled that she has to watch basketball all night and the game isn’t even close. As she said, “If you are going to make me watch a game, at least let it be fun!”

Lets see if the Wildcats can help Katie out in the second half. Obviously, the Jayhawks probably will have something to say about it.

Just in case you are like me and just assumed the games are on CBS, apparently, they are on TBS this year.

Figure that if anyone is reading the blog right now, I can at least lead them to the right channel.