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Tournament Collective Wisdom Thread

We are all going to spend a lot of time the next few days filling out brackets (as an aside, I am very happy that we'll be hearing a lot of H. Jon Benjamin ads over the next few weeks; can't decide if I should be looking for Bob or Sterling Archer). As I make my second pass over the brackets, I have these burning questions, for which I humbly seek your collective wisdom in answering:

  1. Am I crazy for thinking that St. Louis could not just give Louisville a game, but actually beat them? Is Jim Crews getting any run for National Coach of the Year? In the media frenzy of dry-humping Louisville, we seem to have lost sight of the fact that they (to my layman's eye) appear to be a pedestrian offense if the opponent does not turn the ball over. And I suspect that the Billikens fit that mold of a low-turnover team. Plus there's the whole angle of "Let's win this for our dead, obese, misanthropic coach".
  2. The possible VCU/Michigan game in round 2 the round of 32 is tantalizing. I think that Michigan survives that and takes out Kansas (then loses to Georgetown). Am I crazy? And all of this ignores the advice that I am obligated to give you as an alumnus of the University of Akron: DO NOT SLEEP ON THE ZIPS.
  3. There's a part of me that thinks that Minnesota, finally free of the brutal Big Ten schedule, will shake off its fog and blaze into the Sweet Sixteen. And there's part of me that knows that this is just a flawed, flawed team that will inevitably disappoint. I know that they are better than UCLA. I should pick them to lose, right?
  4. Same sort of analysis for Illinois. All season long, we have talked about how their three-point reliance makes them a "dangerous" team in the tourney. I should disregard that altogether and pick Colorado, right?
  5. Anyone able to access odds on this Final Four: MSU, OSU, Michigan, IU. Not going to happen. But you could talk yourself into it, couldn't you?
  6. How long until Wisconsin's usual tournament curse catches up to it? There's a temptation to think that Ole Miss could knock them off. I think that it's much more likely that Wisconsin holds them to 35 points. It is not absolutely insane to think of a regional final between Bucky and tOSU is it?
  7. Many bytes have been spilt over the blueprint for beating IU and over its region. Obviously, Butler can beat IU. As can Illinois. And, for that matter, any of the other teams there can beat IU. Who do you think poses the greatest concern or challenge to IU in that region? Is there anyone you are worried about?

Flame away.

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