MVB Bracketology - East

March has begun and with it the madness has come.

Yesterday, the Brackets for the 2008 NCAA tournament were released. Now, people all over the country are frantically scribbling names on a bracket like they are insane. It’s funny what college basketball can do you to.

For the next three days, its going to be hard to sleep. It’s going to be hard to watch television, to go to work or to take a shower. It’s going to be hard to do all of the things I do on a daily basis because all that will be on my mind is the thought of Thursday’s basketball-fest.

The NCAA tournament takes over your life. Establishments have banned the tournament because they know their workers will ruin the internet connection at the office (All the games are available on-line for FREE!). It’s ridiculous.

So, while I am awaiting Thursday, I will provide an analysis of the tournament from my perspective. I’ll break down each individual bracket and let you know who will rise and who will fall. Who isn’t as good as advertised and who is much better then advertised. I’ve got it all.

I’m the same guy that predicted the Giants to win every game in the playoffs. Take my word.

THE EAST

Games you must watch : First off, any game that Louisville plays in this tournament is one to watch. When they play against Boise State and whoever they end up playing in the 2nd round, look for them to absolutely dominate. They play solid defense and played a tough schedule. They have lost their last two games and will surely come into Thursday hungry for an impressive win.

Another very interesting game to look out for is the potential 2nd round match-up of Butler and Tennessee. Butler is the kind of team that nobody really knows about. They don’t ever lose and when they do, it’s very close. They have a solid core of seniors who have played in the tournament before and play with a toughness that head basketball coaches around the nation have to be jealous of.

Overrated : Oklahoma. Something about this team just doesn’t sit well with me. They don’t have any stars good enough to carry the team, they don’t have ANY quality wins this season and have gotten completely dismantled on several occasions. They were given a 6th seed and I honestly don’t think they will make it out of the first round. There’s the first big upset, St. Joseph’s over Oklahoma.

Underrated : Butler. They were given the 7th seed, worse than Oklahoma and Notre Dame. Notre Dame is without question a fantastic team who played a very tough schedule but they still lost seven games. Oklahoma lost eleven games. Butler lost three. Their schedule is weaker than most but they have proven over and over again that they can compete with the top-tier teams.


Tyler Hansbrough

The winner : The Eastern Bracket of the tournament is home to North Carolina, literally. The games for the eastern bracket will all be played inside the state of North Carolina, making the probability that the tar heels are playing amidst a large number of their fans very high. For that reason, they are my favorites to make it out of this bracket. If their team is healthy, they are almost impossible to beat. Tyler Hansbrough could be the player of the year this season and Ty Lawson plays like he has rockets attached to his shoes. They are an unbelievable basketball team.

The Bracket :


P.S: Everyone join in on my yahoo bracket league. Leagueid #: 120955 Password: themvb