Editor’s Note: This column was written before Thursday’s opening round games. Andy could have already torn up his bracket and cried by now. Just a reminder.
Ah … March Madness. What every college basketball fan waits for all year. Also, what every office, group of friends, company and God knows who else waits for so some person with absolutely no knowledge of the difference between the Blue Devils of Duke or the ones from Central Connecticut State can win because they like the number 11 (See George Mason in 2006).
It’s estimated millions of dollars are lost in productivity each year during March Madness. I’m sure many people save sick days just for the Thursday and Friday of first round action. I remember in high school when the basketball coach called a meeting for a club for the first time in three months just so he could watch some of the tournament instead of sitting in a study hall.
I’m in my fair share of pools this year. I think I’m on six on good ol’ Facebook alone. But one of those is the most important. The Driftwood-Maroon Challenge. It’s a competition between yours truly and the sports columnist at Driftwood, the newspaper of the University of New Orleans. Their columnist, Michael Arvites, and I have been friends for a while and we both are stubborn fools who say we can pick the bracket better than the other.
Therefore we’ve issued a challenge. The columnist with the losing bracket (based on Wins and Losses) will have to take the other one out to dinner. We were going to buy pizza for the entire newspaper, but then we both realized we are broke college students and our universities would not front the cash.
Now for some of my picks… For space purposes, we’re jumping right to the Elite 8. I have Florida facing Oregon, Kansas up against UCLA, Texas (who beats No. 1 seed North Carolina in the Sweet 16) taking on Georgetown, and Ohio State squaring off with Texas A&M.
Florida uses its experience and will return to the Final Four to defend their national title. Kansas, whose bench goes as deep as maybe any other in the country, will take down UCLA, which may not make it past a second round match-up with Gonzaga.
Texas, led by super freshman Kevin Durant, should eke past Georgetown after taking out UNC. And finally, Ohio State, led by their super freshman Greg Oden, will go by Texas A&M setting up a match-up between the likely top two picks in the NBA Draft in June, Durant and Oden.
Kansas and Ohio State’s talent and depth will have them in the national title game and once there, the Buckeyes of Ohio State, with the inside-out combination of Oden and Mike Conley, Jr., will be victorious and take home the national championship.
Feel free to debate folks. It’s what March Madness is all about.
