Elite 8

Elite 8 1/2 Analysis

Interesting Saturday games. Texas Tech funtionally owned that game for 37 minutes. An 18-2 run by Florida in the final 3 minutes was a head-shaker. The Gators remind me of the Spartans, they find a way to win even if they haven't earned it throughout the game. Duke continues to be a juggernaut and I will pick them against either Houston or Tennessee to be in the Championship.

I love my Sparties, but unless they play a lot better than their first 3 games in this tourney, they will not beat Auburn. The shot-blocking, fast-break dominance of the Tigers leaves no room for error. Izzo is a wizard, but MSU will have to be flawless.  If there's a more likely upset in the making Sunday, it's Tenneesee taking down Houston. The Vols defense is killer and their offense can be explosive. We'll see if today's #2 seeds can break the #1 seed guantlet.

Mike gambled on some opposite picks against Hunter, and right or wrong, it becomes a two-game swing. That bumps him down to 4th. Quietly making their way up the board, now in 6th is J.R. Miller (that's initials, not "Junior") and Dave Putnam at 7th. Derek has a lock on the Comeback Kid award, clawing his way from 39th to 16th currently, and maybe a few more slots upward still.

As noted previously, we're entering uncharted territory with correct picks this year. Very few upsets and playing the favorites puts the all-time record of 53 Wins within Hunter's reach with 5 games to go. The second-highest win total of 49, set just last year by Ed Peper, is already gone and a slew of competitors will surpass that with 3 or 4 out of 5. 

We'll see next year if 2025 turns out to be a "favorites" statistical anomaly, or the start of a new normal given how NIL and the transfer portal could mean that talent will gravitate toward fewer and fewer schools that have big money. Nick Saban, Tom Izzo and many other coaches are complaining about the money-driven death of true college sports. I concur. Greed can ruin any good thing. Losing parity among college teams could take a lot of the Madness out of March Madness. Let's hope not.