When you’re mean and your green you’re usually Shrek but when the discussion is about the 2010 NCAA tournament, you have to think North Texas.  Sun-Belt regular season and conference champion, the Mean Green will be taking on the Big-12 Kansas State Wildcats in Oklahoma City.  Kansas State was a surprise team in the Big-12, not only making the NCAA tournament but doing it by dominating teams outside of their own state both in and out of conference.  Frank Martin was not expected to make an impact as fast as he did but the head coach of the Wildcats has his team on a final four run.  The second round of the 2/15 matchups, as much as North Texas thinks they can win this game, they simply can’t.

(2) Kansas State Wildcats (26-7)  vs. (15) North Texas Mean Green (24-8)
Game Time 2:40 ET Thursday, March 18th 2010

The Wildcats of Kansas State started the season well, played great in the middle and tapered off every so slightly toward the end.  Kansas State racked up three losses against Kansas and handled everyone else with conviction so playing against a team from Texas should be right of their alley.  The back-court one-two combo of Dennis Clemente and Jacob Pullen is arguably the best in the country and when KSU crashes the boards, there as good as anyone.  The problem with Kansas State, especially during tournament time is going to be their free-throw shooting.  One of the worst teams in the country shooting from the stripe, the Wildcats will have a hard time closing out games at 66% from the foul line and unless they can get their act together, you can bet it’s going to cost them.

North Texas has been on the college basketball map for the past few seasons now but when you have Western Kentucky regularly coming out of the Sun Belt conference you tend to lose sight of everyone else.  The Mean Green finished the season on an 11 game winning streak which concluded with a skin of their teeth victory over Troy in the Sun Belt conference championship game.  If you think the guard play of Kansas State will dominate, think again because the UNT guards are just as capable.  Led by Josh White and Tristan Thompson, North Texas scores just a shade under the KSU average point total and their defense output is identical to that of the Wildcats.  The big drawback to this green team is that they can play undisciplined at any given moment and a home lost to FIU mid-season says that better than anything else.

The size of Kansas State will simply be too much for North Texas to handle.  While George Oduwufa is very capable underneath, he’ll be in foul trouble almost immediately and once the Wildcats get going, even free-throws won’t stop them.  Early and often … KSU will shine.

Final Score Prediction: Kansas State Wildcats 81 – North Texas 59

In the second slate of games on Thursday afternoon, the fourth seeded Vanderbilt Commodores and thirteenth seeded Murray State Racers play no where near each others home towns.  With the game in San Jose CA, expect a small number of Vandy and Murray supporters but a large number of upset minded people. According to Vegas, Murray State is only a 3 point underdog, making them a fan favorite for a first round upset. Rule of thumb always seems to be if the public loves the underdog, go with the favorite but that may be a very unwise move.  Murray State has made thirteen tournament appearances and while they’ve only won one of those games, I fully expect them to win this and perhaps their next game.  Lets take a look at an overrated four seed vs an extremely underrated thirteen seed.

(4) Vanderbilt Commodores (24-8)  vs. (13) Murray State Racers (30-4)

Game Time 2:30 ET Thursday, March 18th 2010

The Vanderbilt Commodores exceeded beyond expectations in the SEC conference this year, compiling a 12-4 conference record.  The SEC was one of many conferences having a down year and while a 12 win campaign is usually a sign of great things to come, anyone could see it was only impressive on the surface.  Even with all of the negatives, Vanderbilt did manage to finish the season on a somewhat strong note, although they were bounced from the SEC conference tourney on their home floor against snubbed Mississippi State.  The Commodores are led by a trio of quality players that all average around 14 ppg.  Guard Jermaine Beal, forward Jeffrey Taylor and center AJ Ogilvy can all take command of the court and if Vanderbilt wants to move on to the next round, all three will need stellar performances.

Coming out of the Ohio Valley conference, the Murray State Racers compiled a 30-4 record and should they have lost their conference tournament, they would not have sniffed the chance of an at-large bid.  Strangely enough, even though the Racers absolutely plowed through their schedule, they do not have a single go to guy on the roster.  Five players average double figures but none of them more than 10.5 points!  Murray State plays an NBA line-up with Tony Easley at a true center position which matches up perfectly with the big men of Vandy.  The pace of Murray State morphs from game to game depending on their competition and with the up and down that Vandy plays, expect a high scoring affair.

Murray State has been plagued with the turnover bug for a good part of the end of their season and if they turn the ball over as much as they have, there’s no way they are going to advance past the Commodores.  With that said, this game will most certainly go down to the wire and even though Vanderbilt has the better seed, expect the Racers to come through in the clutch.

Final Score Prediction: Vanderbilt Commodores 72 – Murray State Racers 76

The first official game of the 2010 NCAA Men’s College Basketball tournament pits the fifth seeded BYU Cougars against the 10th seeded Florida Gators.  Some of you might be wondering how a team like BYU was ranked seventh and even more mind-boggling is that Florida, a team that had no business making the tournament, received a 10 seed.  Is this game as close as the seeds would lead you to believe?

(7) BYU Cougars (29-5)  vs. (10) Florida Gators (21-12)

Game Time 12:20 ET Thursday, March 18th 2010

In this bloggers opinion, Brigham Young has had the most underrated team in college basketball for as long as I can remember.  In what was expected to be somewhat of a down year for the Cougars due to the loss of Lee Cummard, BYU came out of the gates blazing.  It took 22 games for the Cougars to lose their 2nd game of the season and the good fortune can be attributed to the MVP play of guard Jimmer Fredette.  Averaging 21.7 points per game, Fredette is the floor general for BYU and when you have a supporting cast that includes Tyler Haws and Jonathan Tavernari, BYU should have done much better than a seven seed.  The pace is extremely fast for these guys and when their hitting their treys, they are as close to invincible as any other team in this tournament.  BYU tanked in last years tournament with an opening round loss to Texas A&M but I expect better things from them this year.

Thanks to an extremely favorable NCAA committee, the Florida Gators were blessed with a tournament birth.  representing the SEC, Florida was impressive at times but overall the team showed an inconsistency common with youth.  Every starter averages double figures, so the one thing Florida has going for itself is unpredictability.  At any given time, a different Gator can catch fire and carry the team.  The offense usually revolved around the post play of big man Vernon Macklin, and Florida can also play a fast paced style.  After winning back to back NCAA championships, Florida had missed the NCAA tournament in 2008 and 2009 and without a senior on the starting squad, the team lacks big game experience because of it.

Previous NCAA tournaments have shown that teams undeserving of an NCAA bid usually prove why they received one, but any sane minded soul should see how much better the BYU Cougars are from the counterpart.  Florida may be a team to reckon with next  year, as everyone is returning, but expect BYU to start the game off with some hot shooting, never allowing Florida a chance to breath.

Final Score Prediction: BYU Cougars 84 – Florida Gators 66

Who’s excited for the 2010 NCAA tournament?  If you’re hand isn’t raised high in the air right now, you are no friend of mine. Over the next few weeks we will cover every single game that this tournament has to offer.  That means sixty four previews, most of which will come in the first four days of the tournament.  I can feel the carpel tunnel coming!

We start with the Tuesday night play in game between the 16th seeded Winthrop Eagles and the 16th seeded Arkansas Pine-Bluff Golden Lions.

(16) Winthrop Eagles (19-13)  vs. (16) Arkansas Pine-Bluff Golden Lions (17-15)
Game Time 7:30 ET Tuesday, March 16th 2010

A few years ago, the tournament had a brainiac idea to expand the field from 64 teams to 65, allowing for one more “bubble” team to make the cut.  This meant that the two least qualified automatic bids would have to play each other for the right to get crushed in the first round of the NCAA tournament.  This year, those teams are Winthrop and Arkansas Pine-Bluff.

Winthrop comes in out of the Big South Conference, where year in and year out, they seem to get the job done.  For the past few years, they have entered the conference tournament without the number one seed, but it seems seeding doesn’t matter in the Big South, just count Winthrop in.  The team isn’t as talented as years past and in order to win, Winthrop has had to develop a defensive minded game-plan.  With only one double digit scorer on the squad (Reggie Middleton), you won’t find any explosive outbursts from the Eagles, but rather a slow and methodical pace.  Limit the possessions, limit the gap in athleticism.

On the other side of the coin, the Golden Lions of Arkansas Pine Bluff were granted access to the 2010 NCAA tournament with a SWAC conference championship win over Texas Southern.  In what could only be described as a “brutal” game, Pine-Bluff won the SWAC with a 50-38 score on Saturday night, giving them their first ever NCAA tournament appearance.  Early in the season, Arkansas Pine-Bluff traveled everywhere and appropriately lost everywhere.  The team has two scorers in double digits (Terrance Calvin (10.4ppg) and Savalance Townsend (10.2 ppg)) who play at the same methodical pace Winthrop does.

The winner of this content gets to square off against the Duke Blue Devils on Friday and while both teams will be thrilled to play in this game, it would be a big disappointment not to make it to the official first round.  With zero out of conference wins, the Golden Lions of Arkansas Pine-Bluff will be out-played, out-coached and totally out-manned for the majority of this game.  The game will be extremely slow, which will keep APB in it, but look for Winthrop to be obliterated by Duke on Friday.

Final Score Prediction: Winthrop Eagles 61 – Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Eagles 49

A perennial powerhouse from the Big East meets an unknown star from the Northeast conference when the Villanova Wildcats take on the Robert Morris Colonials.  Villanova faltered toward the end of the season, losing five of their last seven games while Robert Morris won five of their last seven, including the NEC conference tournament.  With the game being played in Providence, Rhode Island, Villanova should have a high number of fans in attendance and that’s just another reason why Robert Morris will stand little chance in this matchup.

(2) Villanova Wildcats (24-7)  vs. (15) Robert Morris Colonials (23-11)

Game Time 12:30 ET Thursday, March 18th 2010

The Villanova Wildcats finished the season in a tie for second place in the Big East conference and considering they were once 20-1 on the season, the end result can only be looked at as a disappointment.  Grabbing a two seed in the tournament was a bit of a blessing as many (including myself) didn’t think the kids from Philly deserved such a high seed.  The Wildcats play a sloppy fast paced game that is usually filled with a lot of turnovers, fouls and free-throws and if you blink at the wrong moment, they can put 10 points up on you just like that.  Experience in the back-court and inexperience in the front court is the story of Villanova with senior guard Scottie Reynolds leading the way.   Reynolds is having his best year ever as a Wildcat, averaging 18+ points per game on a very impressive 48% field goal average.  The rest of the squad is made up of underclassmen, and unlike Syracuse, Villanova is not shy about playing everyone.  You’ll find 10+ in every Villanova box-score and Jay Wright is hoping that giving the freshman a lot of playing time during the season, keeps the team fresh for a long tournament run.

On the other side of the coin stands the Robert Morris Colonials who edged Qunnipiac in the NEC championship 52-50.  The Colonials have played two Big East teams this season, both on the road, and the end result were two losses by a combined 64 points.  Ouch.  Karon Abraham is the teams leading scorer at just under 14 points per game and while Villanova will be looking to run the tempo, you can bet Robert Morris will try their best to slow the game down to half-court.  The NEC has never produced a victory in the NCAA tournament since expanding to 64 teams and Robert Morris hopes to make an 0-25 record or at least a 1-25 record.

Two seeds rarely lose opening round games and considering that the NEC has never won a tournament game, only a fool would bet against the Wildcats.  I do expect Robert Morris to keep this game relatively close from start to finish but Villanova should not be sweating this first round match-up like they have in years past.

Final Score Prediction: Villanova Wildcats 74 – Robert Morris Colonials 64

Just a few weeks ago, Notre Dame had little to no chance in making the final 65.  With the loss of their big man, Luke Harangody, the Irish were coming off of a three game losing streak and it appeared that streak would continue to grow.  Somehow, someway, Notre Dame finished the regular season on a four game winning streak and made a deep run in the Big East tournament.  Rewarded with a six seed, the Fighting Irish will square off against the Monarchs of Old Dominion in the first round.

(6) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (23-11)  vs. (11) Old Dominion Monarchs (26-8)

Game Time 12:25 ET Thursday, March 18th 2010

When you think Notre Dame, the first sport that comes to mind is usually football but for the past few years, it’s been the basketball team making headlines for good play.  Earlier this year, ND was known for their high flying offense, never taking more than 10 seconds on an offensive possession but poor performances have led Mike Brey to slow the game down to the point where reaching 60 is nearly impossible.  Only going seven deep, the Fighting Irish still count on Harangody’s inside presence as well as the outside sharpshooting of Ben Hansbrough and Tim Abromatis.  Unfortunately, if there was one eleven seed the Irish did not match-up well against, it was the Old Dominion Monarchs.

Old Dominion comes out of the Colonial Athletic Association and are winners of both the CAA regular season and conference tournament titles.  The Monarchs are no strangers to March Madness, having appeared nine times prior to this year and with two prior NCAA tournament wins, ODU looks primed to surprise the non-believers.  Old Dominion’s winning ways can be attributed to their play on the defensive end, holding opponents to 57 points per game and on the offensive end, Gerald Lee runs the show.  Averaging 14.6 points per game, Lee touches the ball on every possession and ODU finds a way to generate high quality shots each and every time.  Put on the map with a road win at Georgetown, the Monarchs were consistent all season and were invincible on their home floor.

Notre Dame holds the advantage on talent but that’s about it in this match-up.  They exhausted a lot of energy just making sure they had a place in this tournament and I expect an experienced Old Dominion squad to squeak through.  Mark this on your bracket as the first upset of the tournament.

Final Score Prediction:Notre Dame Fighting Irish 57 – Old Dominion Monarchs 59

If you’re just tuning in, the Mississippi State Bulldogs are lobbying Congress to change the value of a minute to 59.9 seconds instead of 60.  If  it goes anything like the SEC championship game earlier today, MS State will once again, come up empty.

The poor Bulldogs were literally one-tenth of a second away from securing their second consecutive SEC tournament championship, when DeMarcus Cousins put back a John Wall miss that tied the game as time expired.  You could tell that after that shot, Mississippi State had less than a 0% chance of pulling the game out in OT as every player was emotionally and physically exhausted.  Without debating the logistics of the game, (Mississippi State should not have fouled in the end) I ask you, is one-tenth of a second enough reason to keep a team from the 2010 NCAA tournament?

To be fair … it’s a pretty loaded question.  Should Mississippi State have won that game, they would have made the NCAA tournament as a 9 or 10 seed but the NCAA committee decided that one-tenth of a second was enough to keep them out of the tournament completely. In addition to the Bulldogs, Illinois and Virginia Tech probably feel a bit snubbed too, but I think their cases are slightly different.  Let’s dive right into why I feel Mississippi State deserved in.

First, in order to put Mississippi State into the field, one team has to come out.  Do me a favor and make a chomping motion with your hands … FLORIDA had no business of making the NCAA tournament, let alone getting in as a 10 seed.  Baffles my mind that Florida could get such a high seed, meaning the committee respected the SEC but the team that beat Florida two days ago on a neutral court, THEN beat Vanderbilt the day after that gets left out.  It’s not like this team was bad to begin with, they had the same conference record, better overall record and better SEC tournament seeding than Florida too.

Second, Mississippi State had a stronger non-conference schedule. (143rd vs. 184th) It’s not the greatest in the world but its one of the factors that the committee looks into and it favors the bulldogs (Of course I’m going to pick things that favor my argument!).

Third, Mississippi State finished the season with 6 wins in 10 games.  Two of those games were OT losses to Kentucky, so again, while it’s not super impressive, it’s better than Florida.  The Gators finished with 4 wins in 10 games, two of which were wins against Auburn.  What else do you want?

In fairness to Florida, their argument would be that they won the high profile games, early in the season against Florida State and Michigan State but other than that, I truly do not understand the decision.  Mississippi State came into the season as a ranked team and it appears that an opening game loss to Rider actually cost them a tournament birth.  They always say you can’t lose your season in the first game but Mississippi State knows better.  If sports teaches us anything, it’s that the better team doesn’t always win … and Mississippi State was clearly the better team.

North Carolina, Connecticut, Michigan State and Villanova are the only four teams that remain in this years NCAA Tournament. Some had easier roads than others to get here but no matter the path that was taken, only one team will emerge as the 2009 College Basketball Champion. Continuing our stellar selections over the past few weeks, That’s-All-Folks.com has turned in our picks for the championship game below. Enjoy.

(2) Michigan State (30-6) vs. (1) UCONN (31-4) 6:07pm ET Tip

The Michigan State Spartans will have the home crowd of Detroit on their side when they square off against the Huskies of UCONN at Ford Field in Detroit Michigan. Both sides have had unlikely leaders throughout the tournament; Michigan State relying on the hot hand of Goran Suton and UCONN finding an inside presence with Stanley Robinson. The Spartans are certainly a deeper team than UCONN but that might not matter if UCONN can dominate the low post. The Huskies won’t be able to skate away with an easy win unless their guards play better than they have in previous tourney games. A.J. Price has not been impressive lately, so look for Michigan State to slow the game down and put pressure on Price late in the shot-clock. With the roar of the crowd and a little bit of luck, expect Michigan State to make the Big Dance once again.

PREDICTION: Michigan State 65 – UCONN 60

(3) Villanova (30-7) vs. (1) North Carolina (32-4) 8:47pm ET Tip

Although North Carolina is a collection of stars, Villanova is looked at more as a team. None of those players are being projected as having big NBA futures. Guard Scottie Reynolds, of course, is already a college star, courtesy of his floor-length dash and layup for the winning basket against Pittsburgh last weekend. He will need to have a HUGE game in order to take down the Tar-Heels tonight. On the other side, Ty Lawson has looked 100% in North Carolinas last few games, as he is torching opponents for 20+ points. Back when Lawson was seven years old, he and Villanova leading scorer Dante Cunningham were teammates on a Rec basketball team. Undoubtedly, Cunningham will not be rooting for his long-life friend in this one, but sadly I don’t think it will matter. North Carolina has size, speed, strength and almost every intangible known to man. Villanova has Jay Wright. Although it’s a pretty even split, go with North Carolina in this one, and expect Tyler Hansbrough to put together a monster.

PREDICTION: North Carolina 79 – Villanova 71

Here at That’s-All-Folks.com, we really don’t like to brag but after a perfect four for four night, we’re gonna.

Not only were all four selections correct, it’s almost as if each games write-up was perfect too. Even the predictions of margin of victory were near exact for three out of four games! I would suggest if you want to know who will win tonight’s games, just read below!

(12) Arizona (21-13) vs. (1) Louisville (29-4) 7:10ET Tip

The Louisville Cardinals pulled off a rare feat for the Big East this year, winning the Regular Season crown, Big East Tournament, and capturing the number 1 overall seed in the tournament. Arizona pulled off a rare feat by making this tournament when they should not have been considered. Whether you agree with their selection or not, they have played well enough to advance to the Sweet 16. Unfortunately, the party stops here. Louisville has what I consider to be the deepest team remaining in the tournament, and should have little trouble dispensing an over-achieving Wildcats team. From Tip-Off to final horn, this one will be an annihilation.

PREDICTION: Louisville Cardinals by 19

(3) Syracuse (28-9) vs. (2) Oklahoma (29-5) 7:25ET Tip

Player of the year Blake Griffin takes on the Orange of Syracuse in what proves to be the most even of the Sweet 16 games. (At least on paper) Syracuse has had a few memorable games of late, specifically in the Big East tournament where they outlasted UCONN in six overtimes. The Sooners have played well enough not to sweat the last few minutes but you can guarantee this one won’t be as easy for them. If Jackson and Onuaku can stay out of foul trouble, (Hard to do against Griffin) expect the Orange to find their way into the Elite 8.

PREDICTION: Syracuse Orangemen by 5

(3) Kansas (27-7) vs. (2) Michigan St (28-6) 9:35ET Tip

The rebuilding year that Kansas was supposed to have just won’t end as tonight they face-off against #2 seed Michigan St. The Spartans come into this match-up winning the Big Ten regular season title, which was no major accomplishment yet again. Summers and Lucas have provided sparks for the Spartans this year but the team lacks consistent shooting throughout a game, making them a shaky selection for the next round. Kansas has certainly over-performed this year, and unless Aldrich has another triple-double, expect Michigan St. to squeak by in a terribly sloppy game.

PREDICTION: Michigan St Spartans by 2

(4) Gonzaga (28-5) vs. (1) North Carolina (30-4) 9:55ET Tip

The North Carolina Tar Heels playing only a few miles from home take on the Bracket Busters of years ago Gonzaga Bulldogs for what should be the game that wraps up the Sweet 16. Gonzaga had a cake-walk first two games, beating Akron and Western Kentucky (Not convincingly) and North Carolina should be able to take advantage. Although Gonzaga played a tough non-conference schedule, they haven’t faced a top quality team in months. With Lawson back to 90+%, expect this game to be a romp like the first, regardless of what Heytvelt and Daye can do for Gonzaga.

PREDICTION: North Carolina Tarheels by 20

Later this evening, the first half of Sweet 16 action in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will begin. Let’s take a look at the game-by-game match-ups and predict who will make it to the Elite Eight. (A post will follow Friday, Saturday and Sunday for those games)

(5) Purdue (27-9) vs. (1) UCONN (29-4) 7:10ET Tip

The Huskies of UCONN come into this match-up without being tested in either of the first two rounds, while the Boilermakers of Purdue struggled in both of their previous rounds to get this far. Few would argue that the Big East was a stronger conference this year than the Big Ten and even though UCONN will be playing yet again without Jerome Dyson, they should have little trouble getting past a scrappy Purdue bunch. Expect the bigs from UCONN (Thabeet, Adrien, Robinson) to dominate the Boilermakers down low, and UCONN to be firing on all cylinders, on what should be another easy Husky win.

PREDICTION: UCONN Huskies by 13

(4) Xavier (27-7) vs. (1) Pittsburgh (30-4) 7:25ET Tip

The reverse of the match-up above, it is the #1 seed Pittsburgh that has struggled to reach the sweet 16, while the Musketeers of Xavier have cruised to another Sweet 16 berth. Xavier is a very deep team that has a different high scorer every night, where as you can always expect to see Sam Young or Dejuan Blair at the top of the box score for the Panthers. The depth of the Musketeers will certainly cause problems for Pitt late in the game, so expect this game to come down to the wire. Even though Pitt has always fizzled early in the tournament before they should have, don’t expect it this time around.

PREDICTION: Pittsburgh Panthers by 4

(3) Missouri (30-6) vs. (2) Memphis (33-3) 9:35ET Tip

The symbol of C-USA squares off against the Missouri Tigers in what figures to be a back and forth game from start to finish. Missouri loves to run the tempo, and Memphis doesn’t mind following suit, so I see this game finishing in the 80’s for both teams. Leo Lyons and DeMarre Carroll are the 1-2 punch for Missouri, while Evans and Dozier are Memphis’ go to guys. If the supporting cast for Memphis doesn’t have a spectacular game, I expect to see Missouri pull away late. Memphis is an excellent team but lack of tournament experience for their guards will send them out early this year.

PREDICTION: Tigers by 7 … more specifically, the Missouri Tigers by 7

(3) Villanova (28-7) vs. (2) Duke (30-6) 9:55ET Tip

Villanova looked every bit a Final Four team in their last match-up, running UCLA out of the gym. Their opponent Duke was able to fend off a tough Texas team with the luck of a few missed chippies and some timely rebounds. Both teams had the luxury of playing at home for the first two rounds, so the atmosphere should be a little different this time around. Duke is still a very young team, and I have to say I am very impressed with the development by Coach K thus far. However, if Scottie Reyonlds finally shows up for Villanova, expect Duke to look like a bunch of underclassmen, and Villanova to advance to the Elite 8.

PREDICTION: Villanova Wildcats by 11