Tournament Time!

Who got burned? Who got the sweet seeds? The CEO said it best - we all got burned.

What that means is that there is actually some parity going into the NCAA Tournament, and earlier projections of Jutdog sweeping this contest can now be retracted.

The Top 6 (Bottom 6 coming later)

Jutdog goes into the tournament with a 28 point lead but can he hang on? His best four teams (Louisville, Wake Forest, Ohio State, Utah) are all in the top half of the Midwest bracket, meaning no more than 2 Sweet 16 teams for Jut, and only one Elite 8 at most. SF Austin, Cornell and Temple all drew tough match ups and won't last long although Temple might give Arizona State a run if not an upset. In the NIT, Rhode Island got a good draw but Weber St faces top seed San Diego State for a quick defeat.

Akaoni can complain about 3 of his 5 teams being in the same bracket as well, one that will likely see UCONN emerge into the Elite 8 so a tough row for Washington, Purdue, and Texas A&M. Dayton could give West Virginia fits, and Akaoni needs Michigan to upset Clemson and Oklahoma in the South. Prospects are dim for Akaoni. However he does have three teams in the NIT (Florida, New Mexico, South Carolina) with Florida a clear favorite to make it far.

Babblemur only got four teams in, but they are good teams with pretty good seedings. Michigan State & West Virginia will have some tough games to get to the Sweet 16 but face each other if they do. Arizona State & Syracuse will face off in the second round assuming they beat up Jut's teams in the first. Either can hold their own against Oklahoma. Overall weak prospects for Babs given that only 3 teams can reach the Sweet 16, and might not make it much further. However with a league leading 4 teams in the NIT (San Diego St, Tulsa, Creighton, Jacksonville) he could get an edge with the bonus points.

Boaris got himself back on track with a good week and four teams in the NCAA. Top seed Pitt is a Final Four favorite in the East, Oklahoma a 2 seed in the South will have to fight their way to the Elite 8. Butler got a good draw against LSU and could face UNC in round 2. Miss St faces Washington and ought to be eliminated but they could win this one. Pitt & Oklahoma have the potential to catapult Boaris back into first place and contend for the championship. 3 NIT teams (Kentucky, Providence, V-Tech) might help.

Jaybird has a chance as long as North Carolina stays alive. UNC got a good draw and should easily handle LSU, Illinois, or Gonzaga should they match up, and Oklahoma might be all that stands between UNC and the Final Four. Marquette's recent decline will probably continue with an early out, if not against Utah St then Missouri. One round one win to count on is the North Dakota St-Kansas game, Jaybird will win even when he loses. Kansas will face tough competition to get out of that bracket alive. Kansas-West Virginia could be a great game to watch. Lets not forget Alabama State in the "play-in" game - if they win (2 points) they face Louisville. Could they...? Nah.

The CEO got six good teams into the Tournament, which gives him more room for more points but will any of them reach the Final Four? Duke & Villanova got good draws but will have to face off in the Sweet 16 if they both make it. VCU gets to wear down UCLA before Villanova (likely) takes them on. LSU got burned and not only face a scrappy Butler team in round one but take on North Carolina in round two if they beat Butler. Siena drew Ohio State, and even if they win they face Louisville. Northern Iowa drew Purdue as a 12 seed, and could surprise some people and wind up in the Sweet 16. The CEO has a shot if Duke or Villanova get to the Final Four and he gets some wins from Siena & UNI.

By the way, join the Babblemur Group on ESPN with your tournament predictions!

The Bottom Six

The Bottom Six have a much taller order to win it all, with Progress Media and Phunmunki starting 70 points down and last place HippieD over 130 points down. Are they out? Consider this - The NCAA Champion will likely finish with 78 points, the runner up will finish with 55. Making it to the Sweet 16 alone is worth 11 points (I'm including 2 points for each round assuming it is against another player's team). So do they have a chance?

Progress Media has six teams in but none of them are stellar. He will need a series of upsets to wrack up points: Utah State over Marquette is doable but Morgan St, E. Tenn St. and American have tough draws and little hope. Texas and Arizona are the best PM has, and Texas would face Duke in round 2 and Arizona has to fight past Utah and Wake to be competitive. Progress is done.

Phunmunki has seven teams in and several of them are certainly Sweet 16 material but Final Four? 4 seeds Gonzaga and Xavier will have to earn their way to the Elite 8 and at least one must make the Final Four to give Phun a shot. California & Maryland are both good teams but face off in round one with the winner taking on Memphis. If California or Maryland can take the West Phun will be competing for the top.

Gunz has 1 great team (Memphis) and 3 pretty good ones (Missouri, Minnesota, Boston College) and he needs all four in the Sweet 16. Memphis is favored and has a chip on their shoulder, Missouri is hot but will face Memphis in the regionals if they get past Marquette. Boston College could upset Michigan State in round 2 and run deep, Minnesota however will be lucky to beat Texas in the first round.

NotaTurtle needs UCLA & Illinois in the final four. UCLA has tough match ups against potentially Villanova and Duke. Illinois got a good draw if they can get past the Hilltoppers and take down Gonzaga. Northridge vs Memphis = upset? Cleveland St vs Wake Forest = blowout. Baylor and Miami should go far in the NIT.

Musashisan needs a miracle, and they don't have one. 9 seed Tennessee faces Pitt in round 2, 5 seed Florida St could fall to Pitt as well in round 3 if they get that far. Western Kentucky will be trying to repeat last year's amazing run (and could do it), and 7 seed Clemson could make it into the Elite 8 but it won't be easy. NIT teams Penn St and Wash St should fall fast.

HippieD is in the dubious position of having one of the best teams (UCONN) and the worst position (last place). UCONN could easily win the national championship, netting HippieD 78 points and still fall far short of first place. With only USC and Oklahoma St joining UCONN in the Big Dance, it isn't looking good. USC could make a good run, they are capable of beating both Boston College and Michigan St, and if they make it that far they could beat West Virginia or Kansas as well. Louisville? Doubt it. HippieD has the potential to win both the NCAA Tourney and the NIT Tourney and still lose.

By the way, join the Babblemur Group on ESPN with your tournament predictions!