It is March and time for the one American tournament that generates the most talk around office water coolers across the country.

      Indeed, March Madness is upon us.

   
      Panic has engulfed the streets, grocery stores are low in stock and parking spaces are few as the masses scramble to fill out the perfect bracket by noon Thursday.

      However, it is not tomorrow that I wish to discuss, although eventually this conversation will lead there.  I say conversation because I want the insightful readers of DCMetro yelling at their computers in agreement or disagreement one way or the other at the analysis I confer.  After all, this is not a monologue but an equal partnership between consumer and author.

      ANYWAY, it is “Selection Sunday” where I want to begin.  The hot bubble team that everyone was up in arms over missing the tournament, even more so than Syracuse, was Drexel.
 

      Drexel was “snubbed,” according to the expert analysts.  I love these experts because as of last week they had like 127 teams in the field this year.  There are only 34 at-large slots guys.  Every NIT team from Florida State to Kansas State had “done enough to get in,” as the phrase goes.  Of course, these networks have to drum up enthusiasm from these schools to draw ratings.  They can’t sit there and say, “Forget it, Florida State is out!  Don’t even bother following basketball anymore!”
 

      As far as I’m concerned, Drexel being left on the outside looking in was not all that big a crime.  They were a mid-major that finished fourth in their league, lost twice to Old Dominion (who received a bid rightly so), and their three key road wins the media kept harping on were not as good as one might think.  Syracuse technically missed the tournament, Creighton is a 10 seed, and Villanova (can we even call this a road game?) is a 9 seed.  The Dragons had a very good year and Bruiser Flint deserves all the adulation he receives, but take a look at the facts and realize the Committee did the right thing.
 

      All around, the Committee did a good job of placing teams in the appropriate seeds.  I really thought Arkansas had to win the SEC tournament to find themselves in the field of 65, but I was wrong.  I had been looking forward to watching Air Force play, but they shot themselves in the foot losing the first game of their conference tourney.  It is really hard to justify a Big East team with 20+ wins and 10 conference victories not in this year’s field (Syracuse).
 

Miscellaneous thoughts on the bracket:

-          Pen Ohio State in the final four as long as Greg Oden stays on the court avoiding early personal fouls that slash his minutes.  Team inexperience a worrisome factor. 

-          Colonials of George Washington poised for a sweet 16 run.  Only a 3.5 point dog to Vanderbilt, the lowest spread of the 6-11 games.

-          UCLA all but handed a spot in the West regional final.  Bruins don’t have to leave California until the final four.  Unfortunately, they won’t be making travel plans for Atlanta.

-          Wisconsin very underrated heading into the tournament.  Still a very capable team in the absence of Brian Butch.  Question is can Tucker and Taylor provide enough offense to get the Badgers deep?

-          Wright State is definitely capable of knocking off the Pitt Panthers in a game that may come down to the last shot.  Pittsburgh has been getting a free pass as a first round upset victim.  The lower half of the West bracket is really weak in my opinion. 

-          Biggest Blowout may not come in 1-16 match up, but in Penn-Texas A&M.  Penn finished in lower half of Ivy League in rebounding.  Aggies should own the boards, while Penn needs to shoot about 70% to have a chance.

First-round upsets:

-          Holy Cross knocks off Southern Illinois

-          Wright State bounces Pitt

-          Oral Roberts shocks Washington State

-          George Washington over Vanderbilt

Best first-round games:

-          Kentucky vs. Villanova

-          Vanderbilt vs. George Washington

-          Texas Tech vs. Boston College

-          Davidson vs. Maryland

Players to watch:

-     Jeff Green (Georgetown): ready to become a household (or water cooler) name by the end of this thing.  Don’t be surprised when the Hoyas reach Atlanta.

-     Carl Landry (Purdue): 6-7 senior capable of getting his own shot, averages roughly 19 points and 7 boards a game.  Key to Boilermakers giving Florida a game in second round.

-     Kevin Durant (Texas): when was the last time a freshman had such a dynamic regular season?  Could pull a ‘Melo and take this team the whole way.  Longhorns might be young enough/naïve enough to find themselves in Final Four.

-    Greg Paulus (Duke): Got to mention the Dukies…Paulus worth noting because usually how he goes Duke goes.  A Duke run is contingent on Paulus running the offense efficiently and limiting turnovers.

Final Four and Championship Game:

-  Florida, Kansas, Georgetown, Ohio State