Cliched Tournament Preview

It may come as a surprise, but in the 4 brackets I've filled out (ESPN, Dean Loves You and Sierra Club at CBSSports and Baseball America) I have Carolina - that's North Carolina - winning the national championship each time!

What a difference a year makes. On the eve of the 2015 tournament I typed a rather negative blog about the state of college athletics and the hypocrisy of the NCAA tournament in particular.  Speaking of hypocrisy, the official bracket of the official website of the official broadcast partner of the NCAA (CBSSports.com) actually says "Don't Bet On It!"  In keeping with that admonition, I regret to inform my employer and my brother's employer that I therefore can not pay the $5 or $10 entrance fee for the Sierra Club or BA pools. 

Of course, my negativity was in part based on the residue of a lackluster regular season for the Heels, even though they made the sweet 16 and played in the ACC tournament final, but more to the point the lingering academic scandal at the University of the People. Also a year ago Kentucky entered the tournament with another team, an undefeated one at that, loaded with rent-a-players biding their time between their senior year of high school and the NBA Rising Stars game.  It seemed that college basketball had sullied both the bad programs and even the good ones like my alma mater.

Instead of being negative on the eve of this tourney I'm more of a hypocrit.  Forget the scandal for now and the big money polluting college hoops; this year I love our team and the Heels' chances! Some of that is due to my deepening love for Marcus Paige and his epitomization of Dean's Carolina Way. But most of it is due to the recent play of Carolina. The Heels have won 7 of their last 8, and the one game they lost they avenged in the ACC tournament final. Their last 4 wins have been at Duke, two blow outs over Pitt and Notre Dame, and the tough win over the Cavaliers for the ACC championship.  That's a big-time winning streak.

The extra ingredient that has wratcheted up my enthusiasm (and thus the hypocrisy) has been the return of the trademark Carolina poise. Poise and grace under pressure, playing smart, have been central parts of the Carolina Way.  The Heels had that as recently as 2012, when Kendall Marshall looked poised to lead the Heels to another national championship until he broke his wrist in the closing seconds of our second round win over Creighton.  But this team, even with Paige, lacked that Dean-inspired, George Lynch-like poise.

Ironicly, the home loss to the devils may have triggered some growth and development from this year's team. After the Duke loss Carolina had to turn around and host number 11 Miami.  The Heels could have felt sorry for themselves and mailed it in, but instead ol' Roy helped Carolina get their heads straight and UNC blew the Canes out by 25 points.

They were poised in Durham in getting their revenge, with Brice Johnson and Joel Berry having big games - with Paige making the play of the game AND the clinching free throws.  

In the ACC tournament final Paige, Johnson and Berry again led the charge, but don't forget about Isaiah Hicks calmly making a 12 foot jumper in the lane with the shot clock winding down and the Heels clinging to a 3-point lead with less than 30 second left in the championship game.  Hicks was not intimidated by the situation. He was poised. He is a Tar Heel and plays the Carolina Way.

Anyway, add that up and I love our chances.  Go Heels!

Here is my quick look at the other 67 teams and the rest of the tournament:

• My brackets are almost all chalk. My elite 8 is Kansas (1) v. Miami (3); Oregon vs. Oklahoma (1 & 2); Virginia vs. Michigan State (1 & 2); and of course UNC v. Xavier (2).
• My Final Four is all ACC and Big 12. I have us beating the Wahoos in another nail-biter, Kansas beating Oklahoma, then the Heels smithing what ever demons ol' Roy has left by beating the Jayhawks.
• Overall I think Oregon has the easiest draw while Kansas has the hardest.  Virginia may finally slay their nemesis in the Spartans. 
• Carolina's toughest game will likely be against Kentucky, but I don't see the Wildcats having enough  to stop both our frontcourt AND our backcourt.
• I do not predict many upsets, and most of those are mild ones: Iowa over 'Nova; Notre Dame over WV; Cal over Maryland; Cuse over Dayton, but that's about it.
• My one exception of course is UNC-Wilmington beating the devils, and I would not be surprised if St. Joe's beats Oregon and goes to the sweet 16.
• But remember - don't bet on it!