Even the president fills out a bracket.
Welcome to the least productive three weeks of the year! That's right, March Madness has officially arrived, so blow off the assignment that your boss just dropped off on your desk, and start filling out those brackets. For the first time in more than a decade, St. Louis University, Missouri, and Illinois are all in the NCAA tournament. So unless you had a beef with the seeding, Selection Sunday was a good one for many local fans. How will the Billikens, Tigers, and Illini fair? Let's take a look at the matchups.
But first, a few words of bracket wisdom: Don't fill out so many different brackets that you end up half cheering for both teams in every game. Put your alma mater one line further than you think they'll actually make it—it's a crapshoot anyway, so why not pull for your favorite team? Pick a few upsets early, but go with the established powers in the later rounds, though the No. 1 seeds do seem more vulnerable this year than ever before. Still, a No. 16 ain't gonna win it all.
No. 4 SLU vs. No. 13 New Mexico State (1:10 p.m. Thursday, TNT)
Over the Weekend: The Billikens followed their regular season championship in the Atlantic 10 (their first outright title since 1957) by winning the conference tournament on Sunday (their second such victory ever). In the championship game, they took a big lead, then lost most of it when Virginia Commonwealth's full-court press started wreaking havoc. But SLU held on for dear life, squeaking out a 62-56 victory, their third in three days, thanks to some timely perimeter shooting. After cutting down the nets, the Bills got stuck in traffic, and ended up watching the Selection Show from a Best Buy in New Jersey. It was just another memorable moment for this seemingly charmed team. The No. 4 seed is the highest in program history.
Matchup: In the round of 64, the Billikens will take on the New Mexico State Aggies, who finished the year 24-10 and earned an automatic bid to the tournament by winning the Western Athletic Conference Championship. Like SLU, New Mexico State's roster has a distinct international flavor. Three of the team's starters are from Canada, and a fourth is from France. The Aggies' leading scorer is Daniel Mullings, 6-foot-2 sophomore guard, while SLU center Rob Loe will have to contend with Sim Bhullar, a 7-foot-5 freshman.
Prediction: SLU rolls. The more I watch them, the more convinced I become that the Bills are built for a deep tournament run. Dwayne Evans has emerged as the team's go-to guy, a relentless interior scorer and rebounder. Then you've got a senior leader at the point in Kwamain Mitchell, a capable wing scorer in Mike McCall, an energetic scorer and defender off the bench in Jordair Jett, size in Rob Loe and Cory Remekun, and shooters in Cody Ellis (who seems ready to break out of his slump) and Jake Barnett. There aren't any big stars, but there aren't any holes, either.
Up Next (If They Win): No. 5 Oklahoma State or No. 12 Oregon. Both teams are loaded with high-flying athletes, and many experts thought Oregon deserved a better seed.
No. 9 Missouri vs. No. 8 Colorado State (8:20 p.m. Thursday, TBS)
Over the Weekend: In the SEC tournament, Missouri suffered yet another heartbreaking loss, falling 64-62 to Ole Miss while squandering a 14-point lead. This time it was Laurence Bowers' turn to play the goat. With the game tied and less than a minute left, he threw away an inbounds pass, giving the ball back to the Rebels and setting up the winning basket.
Matchup: The Tigers will take on the Colorado State Rams, who went 25-8 and finished second in the Mountain West. The Rams played a difficult schedule, going 3-7 against the top 50 teams in the RPI. Colorado State's best player is 6-foot-10 senior Colton Iverson, a South Dakota native who transferred from Minnesota and averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds this season.
Prediction: Mizzou wins. The Tigers have the size to match the Rams inside (with Bowers and Alex Oriakhi), and more perimeter scoring and depth (Phil Pressey, Keon Bell, Jabari Brown, Earnest Ross). Missouri is the only team in the country with six players averaging in double figures. But as we've seen this year, Mizzou's performance level is wildly inconsistent. NCAA tournament games are always unpredictable, but that applies double for the Tigers.
Up Next (If They Win): Overall No. 1 seed Louisville. Good luck with that.
No. 7 Illinois vs. No. 10 Colorado (3:40 p.m. Friday, TNT)
Over the Weekend: On Friday night, Illinois lost to Indiana in the quarterfinals of the Big 10 tournament, after beating Minnesota in the first round on a game-winning shot by Brandon Paul. The Illini upset the Hoosiers earlier in the year, but didn't have a chance in this one, falling 80-64. Illinois had a losing record in conference play, but got in on the strength of its many big wins. In addition to that upset of Indiana, the Illini beat the likes of Butler, Gonzaga, and Ohio State.
Matchup: Colorado is making its second straight NCAA tournament appearance, something that hasn't happened since the 1950s. Last year, as a No. 11 seed, the Buffaloes upset UNLV. Their leading scorer is the unfortunately named Spencer Dinwiddie. Colorado finished fifth in the Pac-12 this season, but ended the year on a bit of a skid, going 2-3 so far in March.
Prediction: This one feels like more of a toss-up, but let's make it three-for-three and pick Illinois. Brandon Paul should be the best player on the floor.
Up Next (If They Win): No. 2 Miami or No. 15 Pacific. It's hard to see the Illini pulling the upset over the ACC champion Hurricanes.
