The whole world is taling about Maryland Baltimore County, and for good reason.  They went 1980 USA hockey/Buster Douglas/David v. Goliath last night and not just stunned the world by beating Virginia but absolutely pummeled them.  If you were going to make a bad sports movie about the scrappy rag-tag bunch of under-recruited misfits who beat the big bad bully, you would have to audition a point guard.  UMBC’s already has the role, right???  AMAZING.

But I’d rather talk about a more disappointing team than the Virginia Cavaliers.  And that would be my not-in-jest nominee for “most disappointing college basketball season in the modern era” the 2017-2018 Arizona Wildcats!!  (Applause! Cheers! Video Montage begin…NOW)

Beginning the year ranked #1 or #2 by any reputable publication, and ranked #1 by your humble Maniac himself, the Arizona Wildcats cemented their nomination with a humiliating blowout loss in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the hands of the Buffalo Bulls (no, not the Bills, they are the Bulls.  It’s kinda clever, right?).  But that’s not all folks!  No, no, no, no no! Upsets happen every year. The magic of the ‘Cats season can’t be limited to a mere upset loss.  This season began with an assistant coach named in a FBI corruption probe, included their upper-classman All American candidate getting suspended for testing positive for a banned substance; AGAIN, and led to an FBI wiretap (allegedly) surfacing with the Head Coach, Sean Miller, arranging a $100,000 payment to the best player….

Ladies and gentleman, the Oscar for Most Disappointing Season in the Modern Era… the 2017-2018 Arizona Wildcats!  In leiu of awards this season, the committee will be handing out pink slips, subpoenas and orange jump suits!

(Whether or not I had them deep in my bracket is inconsequential to the comedy of this column.  Let’s just move on…)

 

 

TODAY’S ROUND OF 32 FREE PICKS:

Seton Hall vs. Kansas -4.5

Why do people keep doubting the Jayhawks?  The won the best conference in the nation by two games, won the conference tournament, and LOOK like one of the two of three best teams in the country.  Yet they are only favored by four and a half on a neutral floor against a good but far from great Seton Hall team on a game played IN KANSAS???

This feels dangerously like free money, which is my only pause in getting too carried away.  Kansas is the far better team and they are playing a de facto home game.  It’s is nearly impossible not to put this game at the top of my board today and no other game is even close.

Of course, there is NO WAY Virginia EVER loses to UMBC if  they played 1,000 times.  So… yeah.  Wagr responsibly during the Ides of March.

MY PICK:  KANSAS JAYHAWKS -4.5

 

Buffalo vs. Kentucky -5.5

The tournament has a funny way of letting Cinderella shine on Thursday, only for things to level back out a bit over the weekend.  Fool me one… shame on me, right?  The nation will have a very inflated opinion of Buffalo today, and deservedly so – they punched one of the most talented teams in the nation square in the face Thursday night and bludgeoned a couple of future NBA’ers.  Now, they simply have to do it again against a team even slightly less talented.

But I think Kentucky is peaking at the right time.  A team like Davidson; methodical, poised, willing and able to shoot from three to four feet behind the arc, is a tough matchup for Kentucky.  A team that wants to play a little quicker and more athletically is a better fit; Kentucky isn’t going to get out-quicked or out ‘athleted’ by many teams.

Their terrible Round One shooting is a concern, but when you figure that is the first time Kentucky hasn’t made a three pointer in a game since before Rick Pitino arrived in Lexington, I’m willing to overlook that as an anomaly.

I like UK to win and cover once again – provided their eyes haven’t gotten too wide with the WIDE OPEN path to the Elite Eight that has materialized magically in front of their (very) young eyes…

MY PICK:  KENTUCKY WILDCATS -5.5

 

Those are my number one and two picks on the board, in order.  Here’s are my favorite leans of the day, if you are interested in my take on this insane tourney of randomness… lol

• Gonzaga -3.5
• Florida +2
• Houston +4