When March Madness trickles into April, THAT'S THE GRAVY!! - Homer Simpson
Yesterday was "Selection Sunday" and that brought good news to three of our in-state teams....
- Marquette is a #3 seed playing in Louisville against #14 seed BYU/Iona play-in winner, 1:45 tip-off.
- Wisconsin is a #4 seed playing in Albuquerque against #13 seed Montana, game time is 1:10.
- Milwaukee is playing at TCU in the CBI Tournament, game time TBD
Here we go...
Milwaukee Panthers
News broken by our own Jimmy Lemke last week, the Panthers have been invited to play in the CBI Tournament. The College Basketball Invitational is a solid 16 team tournament, with teams such as Pittsburgh, Princeton, Oregon State, Washington State and Butler. One thing that is interesting about the CBI, is that the finals are played in a mini-NBA format. Yes, the CBI Finals are a best of three series.
Slated to play at TCU in the first round tomorrow, if the Panthers can pull it off they would take on the winner of the Western Illinois-Oregon State game next week Monday. Here are the CBI Brackets.
The Journal Sentinel's Gary D'Amato has more on the story.
Marquette Golden Eagles
The Big East Tournament loss to Louisville didn't hurt the Golden Eagles seeding spot, Buzz Williams and Co. picked up a #3 seed in the West Region. Waiting until selection Sunday and still not knowing who they will play, sophomore guard Vander Blue described the feeling, "It's like going out on your first date with your first girlfriend. Your hands are sweaty, you're nervous, you're not sure what you should do, what to say or how you should act.... then you get there, and you still don't know what to do, what to say or how to act."
The Golden Eagles do have an idea though, they will play the winner of Tuesday's Iona-BYU game. If they can get through that, Marquette would play the winner of the Murray State-Colorado State game.
Overall I do like the bracket the team is in, as it is very winnable up to the Missouri match-up, but I have to get Irritated about something, right? It is great to be close to home so more of your fans can travel to the game. Makes a difference to have a huge crowd in the stadium. So, let's take a look at the #3 seeds.
- East - Florida State
- Midwest - Georgetown
- South - Baylor
- West - Marquette
Ok, what does that mean? Well, it means when they get through the Pods (which is an entirely different Irritation) that if they win, Marquette would go to Phoenix, Georgetown to St. Louis, Florida State to Boston and Baylor to Atlanta. I know, the #2 seeds are what force it. I am also not a fan of teams playing "too close to home", and on that note, I hate the "Pods". I swear they are designed for one reason, one reason only, and that reason is true to form this year. #1 seed in the Midwest - North Carolina. #2 seed in the South - Duke. Where do they play? Both are in Greensboro. These schools have more advantages than any other school in the country, do we need to give them home games? Why don't they just re-name the Pod System the Duke & UNC get to plat at home system?
Wisconsin Badgers
The Badgers picked up a well deserved #4 seed with their win over Indiana in the Big 10 Tournament. To continue my rant above, the Badgers are in the East region, playing in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Now, no one has ever called me Jimmy "Maquest" Ganzer, but isn't Albuquerque about as far from the East as you can get? If we could get rid of the "Duke & UNC get to play at home system, and go back to the way it was, the Badgers would be playing in Pittsburgh and Bo Ryan would be playing in his home state. Since he won't have any time to squeeze in 18 holes down South, I bet he would prefer Pittsburgh.
Looking at their brackets, the Badgers actually have a solid lineup. Montana is a good team, but the Badgers should prevail. Next up they would have the winner of the Vanderbilt-Harvard game. Ok, let's be honest, they would play Vanderbilt. Vandy is a very dangerous team. They have two NBA 1st round picks, but their record shows they have their meltdowns, so it really is a matter of which Vandy team shows up. Bo Ryan's disciplined structure could give a team like Vandy fits. If they prevail, Syracuse could be waiting in Boston. Wait, Badger fans in Boston? That just sounds like a party situation that would be worth travelling East for.
Preps
On to the prep side of the world... The high school tourney is down to the Final 4 teams in each division, and for that we head to Madison, perhaps for the last time.Troy Sparks takes a look at the Division 1 side of things. Over at WisHoops.net, Mark Miller focuses on the best matchups, teams and players as we head to state. On that note, all of us here at BrewCityBall would like to wish Mark Miller a Happy Birthday!! Here are your brackets....
Troy Sparks will be in Madison for all of the action, and will keep us updated throughout the week.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks are on a roll, winning their last two games. Can you tell that Ersan Ilysova is in a free agent year? He es en fuego. Steve Van Horn from BrewHoop has a great recap of the win over Toronto.
The Bucks have a full slate this week, playing tonight in New Jersey, and returning home Wednesday to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Enjoy the greatest week of sports the world has ever known, and if you are heading to Madison for the state tournament, Louisville to see Marquette, Dallas/Ft. Worth to see the Panthers or Albuquerque to see the Badgers, please travel safe!!
Photo of the day: Ok, photo of the day is usually something funny, or a piping hot babe, but today it is a jagoff. I despise all of the conference movement in college ball. It sucks, and hurts the game, rivalries and traditions. Kim English is a senior at Missouri. Played all four years in the Big XII. Missouri won the Big XII tournament, but heads to the SEC next year. So what does English do? Poses with the Big XII trophy in an SEC shirt. I felt Mizzou was robbed of a #1 seed, now I am glad the didn't get it. Mr. English.... "Kim".....you are a dick.
Video of the day: Bracketman - Now this is a classic!