It's the Most Wonderful time of the Year

It's finally here again, the NCAA Tournament. to me, this is the most exciting annual sporting event in the country. While realistically about only 8-10 teams have a real shot of winning the national title, the other teams in the tournament provide a plethora of excitement and entertainment.

Since the field was expanded to 64 teams back in 1985, there have been several buzzer beaters, a few low seeds toppling the giants of the game, and great individual performances. This year will be no exception. My favorite part of the tournament is seeing a 13, 14, and sometimes even a 15th seed knock off a 4, 3, or 2 seed in the first round. I route for a lower seeded team to go further, like UT-Chattanooga did back in 1997 when the beat 3 seeded Georgia in the first round and then Illinois in the second round. The Mocs lost to God Shamgod and the Providence Friars in the Sweet 16, but it was still a great run for UTC.

George Mason, an 11 seed, shocked the nation by making it all the way to the Final Four back in 2006. I don't see anyone Mid-Major doing that this year, but I would love for it to happen. I think the Panthers of Northern Iowa can get by UNLV. The have great guard play, a good inside game and they play great defense limiting their opponents to around 60 points a game. San Diego St., an 11 seed, has a good chance to knock off the 6 seeded Vols of Tennessee. They have one of the best scorers and rebounders in the country in Freshman forward Kawhi Leonard. Houston is making its first appearance in the Big Dance since 1992. This is a program that has been irrelevant for the past 25 years. However, back in the early 80s, they were in the Final Four three years in a row and losing in that epic championship game to Jimmy V's NC. St. team on a last second dunk by Lorenzo Charles. Ironically, Houston was known as Phi Slama Jama due to their prowess with the slam dunk. Clyde "The Glide" Drexler, Hakeem "The Dream" Alojouan were the stars. The Cougars play Maryland in the first round. Houston can put up points. They are won of the highest scoring teams in the country. However, they are also one of the worst defensive teams. They may be a tough out for Maryland, but I think the Terps will prevail.

As for my Final Four picks, I have Kansas, Kansas St., Duke and Kentucky. Yes, you heard me right. The Sunflower State rivalry on the biggest stage of the game, the Final Four. The Jayhawks will prevail again though and will move on to the national championship where they will beat Kentucky and cut down the nets Monday Night April 5. I have filled out my bracket. In fact, I have filled out several. The first day of the tournament (not counting the Tuesday play in game), Thursday, is like Christmas Day to me. It's the most wonderful time of the year.