UK’s to Lose

Last week I made my predictions on the Kentucky High School State Basketball Tournament and correctly picked the winner and runner-up along with three of the final four teams.

Now that the NCAA is down to its “Sweet 16” I am going to make another attempt.

FINAL FOUR

 Kentucky: The Wildcats have been solid in beating Western Kentucky and Iowa State. It will be hard to go against the Wildcats at this point of the tournament.

Michigan State: As much as I would like to say Louisville, the Spartans are playing as well as any team in the field. Michigan State got an easy win over LIU Brooklyn then beat a good Saint Louis team. They will have to get past two Big East teams to get to the Final Four however.

Ohio State: After winning the battle of Ohio against another Big East team, Cincinnati, it looks like the Buckeyes will have to beat Syracuse to get into the Final Four. I don’t think the Orange can go as deep in the tournament without one of their stars.

North Carolina: The Tar Heels will get past Ohio University, but beating the Kansas Jayhawks will not be an easy task. This will be the best nail-biter of the Elite Eight. But, I am sticking with North Carolina.

NATIONAL CHAMPION

 Kentucky: The Wildcats have it all going for them. Coach John Calipari has the ‘Cats ready to take down the nets as the national champions. This is Kentucky’s tournament to win despite all the one-and-done players on the team. When you land the big name players from the top recruiting list, this is what you’re supposed to do…win national titles.

UPSET SPECIALS

 Are there any big upsets left in this year’s tournament? Maybe #10 Xavier for Baylor or #13 Ohio over North Carolina. I would like to see the Louisville Cardinals take it one step farther and upset the Spartans of Michigan State. A number four seed over a number one, it would be a mild upset.

CINDERELLA

 Ohio University is wearing the slipper right now. Ohio has beaten #4 Michigan 65-60, South Florida 62-56 and they will take on North Carolina later this week. If they cannot pull off the upset, the honor will go to Xavier. Those are the only two surprises left.

KENTUCKY CONNECTION

 Kentucky: They have been number one most of the season and it looks like Calipari is four games away from collecting that championship ring and another national banner for the state of Kentucky. Big Blue will rule!

Louisville: I just don’t think the Cardinals have the horses to take another national title, but don’t count out the redbirds until the fat lady sings. Winning the Big East was a sweet ending to a frustrating season to me. They struggled to beat Davidson and New Mexico and that left me thinking how can they beat Michigan State. But, then the experts did pick Missouri to reach the Final Four.

BIG EAST

Four teams are left from the Big East, my favorite conference, Louisville, Marquette, Syracuse and Cincinnati.  I look for them to go down this weekend, but with a few breaks here or there, two could find themselves in the Final Four. Louisville has to beat Michigan State and Marquette has to beat Florida and the Big East would be assured a spot in the final week of play. Syracuse and Cincinnati could do the same in the East Region with wins over Wisconsin and Ohio State. I would be a happy camper if Kentucky, Louisville, Cincinnati and Ohio University made it to the Final Four. I know, that’s a lot of dreaming.