March 11, 2009

Already things to talk about again today...as last night championship week deals a huge blow to the mid-majors on the bubble...let's talk about it today

HEADLINES:

1. Championship week continues as we get our first big upset this week with Cleveland State knocking off Butler last night 57-54. The Vikings earn the automatic bid given out from Horizon League last night now has huge implications on the bubble teams. First, Butler is going to get into the NCAA tournament, they have a solid RPI and how 8 wins over the RPI top 100. What this means now that Creighton most likely has all but been assured an NIT bid. It's rightfully so, Creighton's only decent win in it's resume is beating Dayton on the road..they have that lovely loss to Nebraska and got trounced by Illinois State in the semifinals of the MVC tournament. I think teams like Arizona, Rhode Island, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and Maryland can all make better cases to get into the big dance then "d-bag U". Sorry guys, you learned the hard way, schedule harder games on the road if you want to be considered in the field of 64. See you b's in the NIT.

2. Things are getting interestingly tense in the land of the Denver Bronco's. Since my Chiefs went out and acquired Cassel, Denver need to resolve this situation with Jay Cutler. Sources have said that he is becoming increasingly unhappy and wants out of Denver via by a trade. The problem with this is that Denver really doesn’t have anything better to replace a rising stud in at quarterback. No question Cutler is a gem for them and if they don't find a way to keep him happy it could be long long long season for them. I hope they do trade him, because that is just one more team I don’t have to worry about beating up on my Chiefs. In reality, they'll keep him and force him to play like Chad Johnson had to do last season, because what makes the NFL go...money and if you threaten to with-hold it from a player...eventually he'll cave and play. Keep your eyes on that...should get more interesting before it's resolved.

3. The Big East tournament started last night and man a few HUGE upsets as Georgetown was beaten by St. John's and winless DePaul in the regular season upset Cincinnati. It just comes to show that if you don't bring your "A" game every night, somebody will come and beat you. This about ends the hopes of Georgetown and Cincinnati making the NCAA tournament. The match ups get even sweeter today as DePaul play Providence, Marquette plays St. John's, Norte Dame takes on West Virginia, and Seton Hall battles Syracuse. I've always enjoyed watching this tournament and with the Big East being the #1 conference this season I expect good games and some upsets...It'll be interesting to see who wins tonight and takes on the big dogs of Louisville, Pitt, Villanova, and UConn. Picks tonight: Providence, Marquette, The Cuse, Norte Dame

4. The big 12 tournament is under-way with Nebraska down 30-27 at half right now, I love how the team wiped a 10 point Baylor lead to 1 in about 30 seconds. If they can keep playing good D and get their close range shots to fall, they should be in good shape. They'll need to stop Baylor's big two from scoring easy open 3's. Picks tonight: Baylor, Texas, OSU, and Texas A&M. Sorry no love for the North teams tonight as a I feel Nebraska will lose close to Baylor, Colorado will get worked by Texas, A&M will dominate Tech, and OSU will easily handle ISU.
Matchups tomorrow (projecting): KU taking on Baylor, K-State battling Texas, Missouri vs. Texas A&M, and Oklahoma getting the Bedlam showdown with OSU. It should be interesting to see who win's the Big 12 tournament. Go Sker's in the second half.

5. Steve Sipple of the Lincoln Journal Star writes that Nebraska may have hinder it's national exposure by not airing it's Spring Game on April 18th. I disagree with that because anyone who is a Husker Fan knows that their is some huge buzz around the team and the program. 70,000 tickets have been sold already and I expect us to sell out our spring game. I like that we aren't showing the world we pack our house for the Spring Game, this will make recruits who are serious about our program actually want to come visit instead of just trying to catch it on the tube. The team will take next week off for Spring Break and start spring practice on March 23rd. I can't freaking wait to be breaking down practice daily. All in all I do feel that more people will go out and watch the game this year, and we all should go...I'll be there :)