March Madness Extravaganza Part Two

On to the second round matchups. And might I say, we picked Niagara right, so if these trends continue, 100% of our picks will be right.

We will start with the Midwest again.

Florida vs. Zona

JJ: I think a gator could take a wildcat in real life. No reason not to use this logic for this game.
LH: Zona's magical run will end here. The defending national champs, are too big, well rounded, deep and experienced.
JJ: If this were a dance off though, my money is on Zona. Actually, if Florida magically loses Noah, they win the dance off as well.
LH: Noah and Horford down low will be the difference, the Gators' twin towers will force Arizona to settle for outside shots which is not their forte. The Wildcats only shot 34% on the year from the land of three.

Terps vs. Old Dominion

JJ: In the first round my partner and I debated who would win between Old Dominion and Butler, but it's really just semantics, because neither will beat Maryland.
LH: Not so fast. It's all about the power of Valdas Vasylius!!!! OD continues their magical ride. Drew Williamson, OD's senior PG, has led the CAA in assist-to-turnover ratio two of the last three seasons -- you can't make stats like that up! Greivis Vasquez, Maryland's freshman PG, was good in high school because all he had to do was pass to Kevin Durant. I'll take the grizzled senior lead team to play smart, aggressive D, force turnovers and keep it close enough so that the Australian Giant can score on a put-back at the buzzer.
JJ: Wow, our first uset special, and only 2 games in.

Oregon vs. Winthrop

LH: Oregon is a wide open, free wheeling, undisciplined team that will meet its match against the Garnet and Gold. Winthrop is a well coached, scrappy team filled with a bunch of guys who won't be NBA superstars but are just good players. Oregon doesn't have the size down low (lol) to dominate the game. Random note: part of The Rage: Carrie 2 was filmed at Winthrop
JJ: I too have Oregon going down, but to Notre Dame. But with that Carrie 2 fact, I suppose I can jump on the Winthrop magical mystery tour.

Wisconsin vs. Georgia Tech

JJ: Badger Badger Badger Badger Badger
LH: Mushroom Mushroom
JJ: Close game. Tucker is too much though.
LH: 'Sconsin beats the fiesty GT squad with more consistant, cohesive play. Thaddeus Young v Alando Tucker will be a very interesting 1 on 1 matchup but I'm going with the senior All-American to win that battle and his team to win the war.

On to the west.


Kansas vs. Nova

LH: Kansas had a scoring margin of +17 this year, in a very underrated Big 12. Nova is a nice team, but the Jayhawks are the real deal, they may not win by 17 but they will advance. Nova's D hasn't been as good this year as in years past, allowing .410 FG and .355 3PT, and this Kansas team put the ball in the hoop, 78 ppg.
JJ: Kansas also has the depth and athletic ability at the guard spot to contain Nova's unique 4-guard attack.

Va Tech vs. Salukis

JJ: As talented as the Hookies are, I think SIU is that much better. Take a look at Va Tech's ACC record and you see agaisnt tuff oponets, they are not as impressive.
LH: Wikipedia defines Southern Illinois University as "a university in southern Illinois." Also of note, Playmate of the Year 1977, Patti McGuire attended SIU.

Pitt vs. VCU

LH: Pitt has really good 3 point D, allowing only 31%, which should be good enough to shut down Bad Ass Walker and the Rams.
JJ: VCU's Black Awakening Choir won 1st place in the 2005 Baptist Student Union National Choir Competition in Atlanta, GA. This is such a tuff pick.

UCLA vs. Zags

JJ: Zags big men only get them so far. The Bruins make pretty easy work of a team that was far better last year than they are this year.
LH: I'm going with UCLA for one very important reason, and one reason only. I want to hear Dick Vitale say, "Luc Richard Mbah a Moute" [UCLA's power forward] as long as possible. These things are the reason I love March.

Onto the East region.

Tarheels vs. Spartans

LH: UNC had a scoring margin of +17.9 per game, best in the country while playing in the best conference in the country.
JJ: Hansbrough is an absolute beast. His play far outweighs Nietzel's.

Texas vs. Arkansas

JJ: Ahh, a battle of traditional enemies from the Southwest conference days.
LH: Woooooooooooooo, Pig! Sooie!
JJ: KEVIN DURANT!!
LH: Woooooooooooooo, Pig! Sooie!
JJ: KEVIN DURANT!!
LH: Woooooooooooooo, Pig! Sooie!
Continues for eternity...

Washington State vs. G-Dub

LH: I like GW in this one. WSU has struggled at the 1 guard position all year, and is a bad rebounding team -- two things that kill in March. GW, however, gets strong consistant play from Maureece Rice, PG, and has two guys, Regis Koundjia and Dokun Akingbade (and no I didn't make those names up), who are monsters on the offensive glass.
JJ: Can you use Akingbade in a sentence please?
LH: Akingbade a new law allowing for the legalization of marijuana?
JJ: Country of origin?
LH: Nigeria.
JJ: Part of speech.
LH: ...

G'town vs. BC

JJ: So by how much does G'town crush the Eagles is the question. 10, 15, 25... Only time will tell.
LH: Georgetown is really, really good and they will be facing a not really, really good team (BC not TTU). The '84 national champs may have the most dominate inside game in the country (including THE Ohio State). Roy Hibbert is a big giant of a man, 7'2'' 278lbs, and he's teamed with Jeff Green the Big East POY who reminds me a bit of Josh Howard.
JJ: Yeah, Hibbert, son of the famous doctor from the Simpsons, is a man-child that eats whole teams for lunch. Next on the menu, fried eagle.
LH: Aren't those an endangered species.
JJ: They are now.

Once again we end with the South region.

Ohio State vs. BYU

JJ: BYU vs. The Program. Who to pick. Mormans or Polished man-beasts.
LH: The program, wasn't that a football movie with James Caan and Halle Berry?
JJ: Touche.
LH: THE Ohio State should win comfortably, Oden scares all opposing players from coming in the lane and the rest of the team has held opponents to just 31% 3PT. BYU's best player, Keena Young, is a low post player which means he will be dominated in this game.
JJ: Can't argue with that.

Tennessee vs. Albany

LH: This Tennessee ballclub will be involved in a shootout with Albany in the round of 32. Chris Lofton, Kenny's son, will go shot for shot with Jamar Wilson. This game comes down to who's teammates will collect more of the missed shots and get 2nd chances for their stud scorer. Despite the fact that the Vols are smaller than the Great Danes, they are a superior rebounding club. Wayne Chism and Duke Crews, the 2 headed-center for Tennessee, will get the ball back in Lofton's hands and let him win the game.
JJ: And the great motivator will buy icecream for the whole team if they win.
LH: As long as he keeps his orange jacket on...


Aggies vs. Louisville

JJ: Acie Law IV will single handedly take over this game. And I mean literally. He is going to tie one hand behind his back and score 30+ pts, he's that good.
LH: Aggies will beat the Cardinals because they will force Louisville to slow down and play a half-court game, which has been an Achilles' heel of the Cardinal squad this year. Acie Law IV will dominate Edgar Sosa, Louisville's freshman PG, forcing turnovers, creating easy buckets for Jost Carter, Joseph Jones and Antanas Kavaliaskas -- which is very fun to say.

Memphis vs. Nevada

LH:Joey Dorsey, Memphis' starting center, is a good shot blocker and rebounder, but he doesn't have the size or depth of skill to stay with Nick Fazekas. Memphis rolled through a bad Conference USA this year putting up big wins over bad teams. Nevada's stength is the Tiger's weakness, post play. The Wolfpack are also one of the most vertern teams in the country, starting three seniors and two juniors.
JJ: I don't know how to respond to that. That's impressive. I'm not even mad.
LH: Sports Bully.
JJ: In the truest sense of the word.
LH: Random note about Albany: Their school motto is "Sapientia et sua et docendi causa."
JJ: And it means?
LH: I think most of our readers speak Latin. I know for a fact the Pope has us as his homepage.
JJ: Good to see we are spreading valuable knowledge to the world.

Tomorrow it's on to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, with the final article covering the Final Four and the Championship.