I'm convinced that I have lost my touch with picking college basketball winners. When I was a child, I used to dominate NCAA pools. I'd fill them out at school, at work, for my friends, parents ... anyone who asked. And they'd be good. I'd pick upstart stars and Cinderellas and I'd be proud. And people came to expect it from me.
But now, I can't. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I see all these college basketball games and I think rationally. I go out of my way to break down all these numbers, look up these teams, coaches and pedigree, etc. And even though I'm a college basketball beat writer (though my college hoops season is over), I've totally lost my touch.
I'd like to give a major shout out to my main man, Jeff Teague. Thanks for making me look like a genius. Not! For the first time all year, Teague, who averaged nearly 20 points per game for Wake Forest, picked a great time to lay an absolute egg by scoring under double figures. Six points and six turnoversin a blowout loss against No. 13 seed Cleveland State.
This comes days after I crown him the tournament's next Stephen Curry.
FACT: The Wisconsin Badgers are the biggest pain-in-the-ass team to play against. Wisconsin is so painfully boring, especially offensively. On the other hand, it's difficult to find a more hardened 'D' in the nation.
Did you know the term 'March Madness' was originally coined in Illinois.
Henry V. Porter, assistant executive secretary of the Illinois High School Association, was so impressed by the phenomenon that he wrote an essay to commemorate it. Entitled "March Madness," it first appeared in the Illinois Interscholastic, the IHSA's magazine, in 1939. The term struck a chord with newspapermen, who used it throughout their pages. During the tournament's "Golden Era" of the 1940's and 1950's, "March Madness" became the popular name of the event.
Speaking of high school hoops, I can't believe North Lawndale lost ... thanks in part to a technical foul assessed at the beginning of the game. I'm just saying, if a team wears the same jerseys all year and then it becomes an issue in the state championship tournament, something is up.
And finally ... congrats to David Holston who was awarded the Independent Player of the Year award. Holston averaged 25.9 points and 6.4 assists per game this year for Chicago State ... a school I kind of ignored my "State of Illinois Hoops" post.
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