Preseason Final 4 Picks: Part 1 (of 4 part series)

My Preseason Final 4 Predictions

If there is one thing I know about college basketball, it’s that I don’t know much about college basketball. (If you’re thinking ,"Then why the hell am I reading this?", please ignore that thought.) What I mean is that I have displayed a Skip Bayless-like severe lack of expertise over the years with my NCAA Tourney picks.

There is a truism that I swear by though: home court advantage is huge in college hoops. So my Final 4 Predictions are based to a large extent on where the NCAA Tourney Regional Rounds (3&4) will be played. Yes, my “system” would make a lot more sense if I knew which teams would be playing in which region. Anyway, below is the first of my Final 4 picks. The other 3 will come soon. If by chance these picks are so ridiculous that you can’t help but laugh, consider them the humor portion of this installment.

1.MEMPHIS REGION – Hmm. What team would have a good chance winning in Memphis? When asked, my buddy Gary replied, Tennessee. Not the obvious answer, but I concede, somewhat reasonable. Vanderbilt? Come on. Belmont? Please. Austin Peay? Libscomb? Tennessee-Martin? No! No! No! I then realized that my buddy Gary was engaging in his favorite activity - tormenting me. He was also displaying an uncanny ability to rattle off names of Div I schools in the Volunteer State.

Obviously I’m talking about the Memphis Tigers. Yes, I know that they lost a lot from last year, but they have a new kid from Philly, Tyreke Evans - 6'-6" and supposed to be a big time scorer. They also have Pierre Niles who at 350 lbs serves two purposes: a force down low and a distraction from how fat Calipari is getting.

You say that wouldn’t be fair having Memphis play in Memphis? A persuasive contention if the NCAA actually cared about fairness. If you think there is any way that they are going to pass on the possibility of huge revenue that would come from all those hometown fans filling the FedEx Forum, then you probably think that the main reason for even having the tournament is to crown a true champion. As Grandmaster Flash once said, “It’s all about money; ain’t a damn thing funny.” (Yeah, I’m going old school rap on you).

Now when it comes to rooting for Memphis, I’ve always been torn. I have relatives who graduated from there, taught there and currently live there. I’m also a bit of an Elvis fan - assuming that having a life size cutout of the King in my office qualifies me as a “bit” of a fan.

On the flip side is the somewhat smarmy Coach Cal who last year described his team as “Princeton on steroids.” I believe that makes him the only person in history to find any similarity between the Univ. of Memphis and an Ivy League school. As for being “on steroids”, not really a positive, but instead, pretty stupid. So maybe what Calipari was really trying to say was, “We’re like Princeton, except much dumber.” Regardless, my pick: MEMPHIS.

(A thanks goes out to Mark Hoover who contributed to this post.)

Pick # 2 coming soon.

Take it easy,
Dave