The End of the Road

The End of the Road

The Cast

By The Fillerbuster

18 March 2021

WHY IS IT THE END OF THE ROAD:

Last year, this is when the wheels came off the train.  We are not even close to back to normalcy, but March Madness HAPPENING means we are a step closer.  We might not have brackets to sit with at bars next to people, or get busted printing them at work, or carry around a Sharpie for only the reason of circles and x’s, but the end of the road IS near.  Whatever road we are talking about.  And, CBS says “Road to the Final Four,” so that plays into my theme nicely.  Plus, maybe I like singing End of the Road for karaoke, but that is neither here nor there.  We are at the end of the road for the Cavaliers having the longest defense of the title ever.  I have another game or hopefully six to say “still defending champs.”  We are at the end of the road of using our work Zoom to see anybody, somebody.  We are at the end of a college hoops season that had long breaks for most, cancelled games (even Gonzaga-Baylor if you recall (I had my entire evening set up around that game)), missing players from lineups, misplaced preseason tourneys, semi-bubbles, and many more things that just now seem normal.  And, maybe, just maybe, we are at the end of Gonzaga getting so, so close and being so consistent every year with nothing to show for it but respect.

MY BRACKET METHOD:

• Easiest year I remember for me to find my personal bracket paths.  Not that any of it is right, but I had little problem in getting to the Final Four.  I had announced my four teams earlier, one has an injury, so it was just subbing in another team for that team.
• One path is what I think:  two best teams, by far, are Gonzaga and Baylor.  It is big font, black and white, no argument.
• One path is with bias:  Same exactly as above, but just having UVA run the table.
• The alternate bracket:  I usually stick with the “One-Plus” system as above, but this year I “needed” the third option.  I needed a bracket that did NOT have Gonzaga and Baylor in the title game.  It was sort of fun, and sort of confusing.  I don’t like multiple brackets.  So, I solved the problem by having everything identical again except for advancing the OTHER two teams in my same Final Four.  With the given in the proof that I truly THINK that Gonzaga and Baylor will be in the final, and given that I need a different result to win, I am presenting below the “other” option.  I know.  Very confusing.  NOT three different brackets.  Just the same movie with alternative endings.

WHAT I AM IN:

• Cheap bracket pool, 3 entries per the above.
• The Knockout Pool, the best pool EVER, three entries where you select one team for each round.  Simple, right?  The kicker is that you can’t reuse any team.  So, you are basically picking per your bracket.  You “use” a team, and then root against them BIG time the next round.  You don’t want to run out of teams.  Again, best tourney pool by FAR.
• Betting game by game of course.
• And a single bet on UVA to win it all, which will pay 500-1.

WHY YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO ME:

• I have watched more hoops than anyone not getting paid for it on television.

WHY YOU SHOULD NOT LISTEN TO ME:

• As Jay Bilas says, MY bracket is perfect.  But, sometimes the teams do the wrong thing oddly.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

• Sorry for the late notice on my bracket, but I have a new puppy, a job, and wife that was leaving town to spend time with.
• FIRST THINGS FIRST.  Do I think that it will be Gonzaga and Baylor?  Yes.  Is it probable?  Highly.  Is that my official answer?  Yes.  But, I have to go against the grain to win anything, right?  Otherwise, I will lose by minimal points in earlier games and not the final game.  Otherwise, it will be boring for everyone with chalk.  So, I chose the OTHER two teams in my Final Four as the title game contestants.  Crazy.
• This thing would be a BOOK if I broke down every region, so I will simply pass along my bracket and overall thoughts to you the night before brackets are locked.  I literally had the West thoughts all written out, and then realized how long this would be if I went game by game, lineup by lineup.  So let’s break this down…
• You can read a website for paid writer info.  You can read cheat sheets online too.  What I am writing isn’t revolutionary.  These are just my odd thoughts and feelings on the bracket and matchups, and getting my bracket out there on public record so I don’t sound like a hypocrite in future writings when I win (or lose badly).
• Fans like me are used to overextending Gonzaga every single year, hoping that it was the year and that my bracket would be different than others.  This year, you are odd if you DON’T have them to go to the Final Four…and with very good reason.
• For you non-hoops fans, YES, they are that good.  Offensively.  Defensively.  A devil’s advocate could argue that they aren’t ridiculously deep, but when the counter is that 4 of their top 6 guys could go for 20 any given night, they don’t lose sleep on their depth.  Their FOURTH best player is also the fourth best player in the CONFERENCE.  Jalen Suggs was the biggest recruit at Gonzaga ever.  He literally was the catalyst.  They had the studs already.  They just needed someone to stir the drink.  They got that and more, and he will go top 3 in the draft.
• Baylor has Mr. Butler and lots of help.  Just like Gonzaga is an offensive masterpiece, Baylor is the defensive enigma.  Scott Drew has taken a program in complete embarrassed shambles and made it a perennial contender.  They have been consistent all year.  You can’t outscore them.  You can’t out-muscle them.  You can’t really even outshoot them.  They are ALSO good, folks.
• No matter who you are rooting for, the two best teams are Gonzaga and Baylor with NO doubt.
• All three high seeds in the West got smoked by Gonzaga this year. Ironic, but also brings this thought into play. Tough to beat a team twice, let alone the SAME three teams twice.
• What a weird year.   But, without crowds, in a bubble, and somehow we are getting a conclusion to a full season of college basketball.  Resolution.  Some type of madness.  Finally.
• COVID still might have a final say in this tourney.  Know this.  Hold your breath that it doesn’t, but would any of us be phased if it did?  I already read an hour before releasing this that OU’s guard is out the first two games because of a positive test.  There will be more.
• No Duke.  No Kentucky.  So odd.
• Odd that the tourney is being held in the glorious basketball state of Indiana with no Indiana Hoosiers.
• There will be small crowds and earned regional seeding in pods is out the window and nonexistent.  But, we already lived through the NBA Bubble, so this will be more of the same.  But seriously, the regional placement really affects that the high seeds don’t have a crowd advantage this year.
• Overachievers in my book according to seed: UCSB, USC, Winthrop, Texas Tech, FSU, Michigan State, West Virginia, Oregon.
• UCSB has surprising height on the roster for a mid-major.  Creighton has surprising lack of height for a Power 5 Conference school.  Tag team this with the whole coach racist comments fiasco, and you have one of your 5-12 upsets.
• USC was cruising to a possible #1 seed midway through conference play.  Don’t be confused.  Their seed is out of whack, and the Mobley brothers will get them to the Elite 8.
• Winthrop has lost just once all season, and if their starters don’t get you, they have a guy named Adonis Arms coming off the bench that will.  Plus, Villanova has not been the same since Collin Gillespie went down for the season.  Not the same at all.  They are ripe for the taking.
• Texas Tech has beaten some of the best teams, and lost close to some others.  Their transfers reloaded their runner-up roster, and don’t listen to their 6 seed either.  I have them also in my Elite 8.
• Florida State was on its way to a #2 seed before a couple of losses late in the season.  They have their usual ridiculous height, their absurd depth, and this year they have lethal outside shooting.  Know this.  If they are hot from outside, they will destroy you.  Otherwise, they might just beat you.  I am taking them to win it all in my attempt to not be a part of the Zags-Bears crowd at the end.  73.8 FT percentage will take care of business at the end.
• Kansas is a very good team with Final Four potential.  That is a given.  I don’t like the depth on the team and their second-round matchup with USC.  KU’s year was LAST year, folks, when the tourney was cancelled.  Seriously.  They would have won it all had they played last year.  It is not this year.
• If you are looking for a reason why Baylor might NOT make it to the promised land, look at their second round.  Both Wisconsin and North Carolina have the bigs to match up with them.  Did I have the guts to pull that trigger?  No (mainly because it is not a given which of them will win the first-round game).  But, both CAN beat Baylor on a given day.  CRAZY that both schools are in the same 8-9 matchup.
• I have watched Bama and Arkansas play several times this year.  As my bracket indicates, I am not a believer in either.  I like Arkansas’s coach (Musselman), but not the team.  Bama plays bi-polar.  They are either unstoppable or a train wreck.
• I wrote in this blog a month or two ago that my Final Four teams, pre-bracket, were Michigan, Gonzaga, Baylor, and West Virginia.  They all ended up in separate regions, so I still could do that.  When Isaiah Livers went down for Michigan, I started doubting them.  He might be back, but I started liking Florida State more from that region.  Stress fractures are not an injury you think someone is making it back in weeks.
• I still like West Virginia and not sure why they aren’t getting more expert run.  They play D, but have offensive firepower different from years past.  Folks, they only lost by FIVE to Gonzaga earlier this year.  They have experience, a couple of sharp shooters, size, depth, a coach who has gotten them close, and my feeling is with them.
• When deciding to join the Cade Cunningham bandwagon, remember that Liberty team they face in the first round is no pushover.  I also am already ON that bandwagon, but I didn’t advance them as readily as I thought I would.
• I love Illinois and respect their dominance.  But, when they run cold, they run VERY cold.  I don’t see them winning six straight.  I almost pulled the trigger on the Loyola/Chicago upset over them if Sister Jean had anything up her sleeve, but I have watched Illinois play.  They won’t go down THAT early.  It will take something special from a player like Cade Cunningham to out them.
• Sister Jean DID do one thing possibly.  I was going to take Georgia Tech, but then found out that Moses Wright, the ACC Player of the Year, suddenly can’t go.  And, to add insult to injury, the next round will match up little brother Loyola-Chicago against inconsistent Illinois??  You can’t write this stuff.
• Don’t know any of the Houston players?  Don’t worry about it, as most people don’t.  But, if that Quentin Grimes name rings a bell, he was a five-star recruit at KU that transferred.
• I think Michigan State will make a mini-run and at least take out Texas.  Did you see the Texas huddle fight in the WVU-Texas game?  Their synergy is not there, folks.  Don’t have them going too far.  Massive talent, but divisive in a way I can’t place.
• If I had to bet on one 7 seed going down in the first round, it would be Clemson.  They have looked BAD lately and luckily had earlier work done to make the tourney.
• There is UCONN with James Bouknight and UCONN without him.  This is the one WITH him, folks, which changed that first round pick for me.
• Iowa is really good, but missing Wieskamp for the early rounds might be dangerous.  It takes pressure off of Garza inside.  I almost took Oregon over Iowa, but Garza will personally not let that happen.
• Listen, I love my Cavs, but here is the deal.  They have the coach, the system, and the depth to win it again.  But, they don’t have the stars they had.  They literally had four different guys literally light up the scoreboard in separate games.  I think they only have 1-2 guys this year that can do that.  Not enough stars.
• I haven’t discussed the other “The University” yet.  Ohio State is solid.  They can play with anyone.  I have watched them in about 5 games.  But their leading rebounder averages only 6.4 boards a game.  I think they get beat up inside by someone.
• In my opinion, what wins this tourney?  Coaching (need to have been to one Final Four to win it (stats support that)), guard play (to break pressing teams and handle ball at end), defensive efficiency, and one star player who can carry the team if needed.  Do something special.  Yeah.
• Deep thoughts by The Fillerbuster.  The winner of the UVA-Gonzaga third round game will win it all (in my perfect world).  And, Florida State will make a run with West Virginia in the lower regions.
• Finally, I tried REALLY hard to not pick Gonzaga and Baylor, but they are that good, and wouldn’t it nice to see a clash of the titans. There are other good teams that can do it, and Baylor has the better shot at going down, but I didn’t see it happening. This is a collision course, and know you will win your pool by the OTHER two Final Four picks. Hopefully, I helped.
• Oh.  One LAST thought.  If MSU doesn’t win tonight, expect a reposting to fix my east.  It doesn’t make sense advancing UCLA that far, UK transfer Johnny Juzang on the team or not.
• TWO BIG CHANGES AFTER FIRST FOUR: One, with no MSU, I am advancing Texas to the Elite 8. Not as much because I believe in them, but I don’t trust any of the other teams and Texas is the most talented of the bunch. Two, I lacked one other true sleeper. I am going with Liberty. Cade is so good, but Liberty is a solid team and I need my Robin to my Winthrop Batman.

Below are screenshots of my bracket on record.  Good luck, all, and I hope that your end of the road lasts until the title game.  We will be surprised and happy if teams besides Gonzaga and Baylor make it, but we will be happy if we get to watch the juggernauts that have been on a collision course from Day 1 get to battle it out. 

Now let’s go listen to that March Madness song over and over!!!

Hope you enjoyed or are at least more informed.  Remember two things.  First, feed yourself, feed your family, but always, always remember to…feed the wolf.  Second,  if you can’t spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker.  Will I blog again?  That is a CLOWN question, bro.  As one shepherd said to the other shepherd, let’s get the flock out of here.