Fortune Teller: Bracket Challenge

Brian: Now with the NCAA hoops tournament over, and (my pick) the Kansas Jayhawks pulling off the miracle in overtime, let's take a look at how we did ... brackets are here, here, here, here and ... here.

Jeff would have you believe he gave me a good beat down this year. Let's take a look at the tape. NOTE: point totals for each round are 1-2-4-6-8-10, and no bullshit bonus points for anything ...

Jeff: 24 - 26 - 16 - 18 - 0 - 0 - 84
Brian: 18 - 22 - 16 - 12 - 8 - 10 - 86

Yep, that's right. Take away bonus points, bonus questions and the like, and I edged out Jeff's bracket. Thus proving that it's not how you start, but how you finish. Add to this my brilliant analysis, "Missed free-throws will finally catch up to Calipari's cats," picking the right team out of the field of 65, and the severe beating I gave you in this year's college football bowl picks, and I'm feeling prett-ay good about this. Jeff, your thoughts?

Jeff: Fortunately for me that point system was never established and I had 44 correct out of a possible 63 while you had a mere 37 of 63. I WIN! And I'll get you next year in the bowl challenge ...

Brian: Well, based on your point system, picking Kansas to win it all was no more important than picking Miami in round 1. Makes a whole lot of sense. Plus that's the same scoring system used by Christian's dad's pool, a pool you took 2nd place in! You don't like the scoring system, then you should feel free to give back all the basketballs you won ... or use those winnings on booking a flight to Denver tomorrow morning. Go BC!

NCAA Ice Hockey Tournament and the Big Finish

On to Friday's big finish, NCAA ice hockey tournament style ...

Brian: Tomorrow's game is a showdown of freshman goalies catching fire at the perfect time of year. Jon Muse, who played every game for the Eagles this year, (21-11-8, 2.26, .919) will be up against Minnesota's Alex Kangas (12-9-9, 1.92, .932). BC has won 5 straight, while Minnesota comes into the tournament on a 7-3-2 clip. Who has the edge?

Jeff: Where is the game being played? Wooster, Massachusetts? Advantage EAGLES.

Brian: Playing in Worcester is a nice reward for winning Hockey East. BC has been placed in Worcester 3 times and has advanced to the next round twice, including in 2001 when we won it all.


Jeff: York goes for career win #800 against the Gophers. Quick questions: best York win at BC, and the toughest loss?

Brian: Best win was definitely the 3-2 OT victory against North Dakota for the title. There are a bunch of tough losses, especially in the Frozen Four. But the one that hurts the most has to be the 2-1 loss to Maine in the 2004 semifinal. We lost to a Hockey East rival, were clearly the more talented team, and had a chance to win another title in our backyard (Boston Garden).


Jeff: You lost a Final Four team in Tennessee last night. Give me your new Final Four based on what you've watched so far and who's still alive.

Brian: I was really pulling for BC alum Bruce Pearl, but they looked terrible last night. As much as it pains me to do so, I'll take UNC in a close one over Louisville. That gives me UNC, Kansas, Texas and UCLA, which would be 1 off from my original picks.


Brian: Last one, BC will live and die in this tournament on the play of Hobey-hopeful Nathan Gerbe. Make a prediction - how many points does Gerbe tally tomorrow?

Jeff: You're telling me that Minnesota's goalie is playing well so I'm going to say only 1 point for Gerbe but I wouldn't mind being wrong.

Fortune Teller: Final Four Bracket

These teams best not forget the Alamo.

On to the Final Four! These are the teams Jeff and I think will prove to be the best four in all the land and make the trip to San Antonio. No disclaimer this time. If you've actually used this information to fill out your bracket, you officially have no hope of winning that office pool this year.

Let us know we are certifiably crazy in the comments section.


Jeff's Picks

Final Four: North Carolina, Clemson, Memphis, UCLA
National Championship: Clemson, UCLA
National Champion: UCLA

Brian's Picks

Final Four: Tennessee, Kansas, Texas, UCLA
National Championship: Kansas, UCLA
National Champion: Kansas

Brian's "wisdom"

There is no doubt in Jeff's mind that the ACC is the best conference around this year. He has both the Tigers and the Tar Heels making the Final Four in a rematch of the ACC Championship (which he saw in person). I was impressed by what I saw in the Big XII final, and see both Texas and Kansas making the 4. We both agree on UCLA making the championship game. I see the West as the easiest road to the Final Four. Finally, I'm pulling for BC's own Bruce Pearl and his Volunteers to pull the upset in the Round of 8 and send Carolina packing.

Enjoy the games tomorrow, and go BC!

Fortune Teller: West Regional Brackets

Required stop on any West coast trip

Last up on our tour of the NCAA brackets is the West regional. The #1 here is formidable Pac-10 conference champion UCLA, winners of their last 10 games. The ACC representative? #2 Duke faces #15 Belmont.

One final DISCLAIMER! Read on at your own bracket's peril, and as always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section.


Jeff's Picks

First Round: UCLA, BYU, Western Kentucky, San Diego, Purdue, Xavier, Arizona, Duke
Second Round: UCLA, Western Kentucky, Xavier, Duke
Sweet 16: UCLA, Duke
Final Four Pick: UCLA

Brian's Picks

First Round: UCLA, BYU, Drake, Connecticut, Baylor, Xavier, West Virginia, Duke
Second Round: UCLA, Drake, Xavier, West Virginia
Sweet 16: UCLA, Xavier
Final Four Pick: UCLA

Brian's "wisdom"

I do not see many upsets here. Although being on the east coast clouds my psychic abilities, hearing that UCLA has quietly won their last 10 games in a tough Pac-10 conference tells me they are built for the long haul. ACC representative Duke is very overrated in my opinion as a #2. They could easily make an early exit the first weekend, falling to #7 West Virginia. Our buddy Christian is high on Drake, and this bracket is particularly heavy on the mid-major - Xavier, BYU, Western Kentucky, and WCC champion San Diego.

Fortune Teller: Midwest Regional Brackets

The Midwest's "amber fields of grain ..."

Our journey from coast to coast next takes us to the Midwest regional. A lot of people, me included, like #1 Kansas, the Big XII champion. Could this be the year that Kansas finally doesn't bust my bracket? Jeff lets his tiger stripes show and is picking the sole ACC representative, #5 Clemson, to go to San Antonio.

DISCLAIMER! Read on at your own bracket's peril, and as always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section.


Jeff's Picks

First Round: Kansas, UNLV, Clemson, Vanderbilt, USC, Wisconsin, Davidson, Georgetown
Second Round: Kansas, Clemson, Wisconsin, Georgetown
Sweet 16: Clemson, Georgetown
Final Four Pick: Clemson

Brian's Picks

First Round: Kansas, Kent State, Clemson, Vanderbilt, USC, Wisconsin, Davidson, Georgetown
Second Round: Kansas, Clemson, USC, Georgetown
Sweet 16: Kansas, USC
Final Four Pick: Kansas

Jeff's "wisdom"

If we were playing "Buy or Sell" and the choices were certain conferences in the tournament I'd be buying the ACC because the top 3 teams, UNC, Duke and Clemson, can flat out play. And I'd be selling the Big 12 and Big Ten. Remember the ACC/Big Ten challenge this year? ACC won 8 of 11 and both games that included two teams now in the tournament. One of those was a 24 point win by Duke over Wisconsin.

Fortune Teller: South Regional Brackets

My favorite destination in the South, a close second being visiting Jeff in SC

Next up, the dirty dirty. The South Regional features C-USA champion #1 Memphis and Big XII runner-up #2 Texas. From the ACC, Miami (FL) is the #7 seed, who has a tall order against #10 St. Mary's.

Again, a disclaimer. Read on at your own bracket's peril, and as always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section.


Jeff's Picks

First Round: Memphis, Mississippi State, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Stanford, Miami, Texas
Second Round: Memphis, Michigan State, Stanford, Texas
Sweet 16: Memphis, Texas
Final Four Pick: Memphis

Brian's Picks

First Round: Memphis, Oregon, Temple, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Stanford, St. Mary's, Texas
Second Round: Memphis, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Texas
Sweet 16: Pittsburgh, Texas
Final Four Pick: Texas

Brian's "wisdom"

Jeff would have you believe that Texas won't get past Memphis in the Elite 8s, since they didn't win either the regular season or conference title in the Big XII. If you follow my advice though, Memphis isn't going to get past Big East champion Pittsburgh. Missed free-throws will finally catch up to Calipari's cats. The road for the C-USA champs was all too easy (#27 SOS) and Pittsburgh is playing great basketball, having knocked off G'Town in the Big East final. I see #2 Texas emerging from this bracket. They played great basketball in the Big XII title but still fell short to Kansas.

Fortune Teller: East Regional Brackets

Brian: So the Big Dance moves on without BC. Because this fact saddens me greatly, I need to pique my interest in March Madness by beating down on Jeff with meaningless blog competitions. If you’ll remember, I cleaned up on our bowl predictions back in December. Expect more of the same. Disclaimer: Even though Jeff would argue otherwise, we are not college basketball experts. We accept no responsibility for completely taking your office pool's bracket and roundhouse-kicking it in the face. Read on at your own bracket's peril. As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

First up, here’s a look at the East bracket, with the #1 overall seed from our very own Atlantic Coast Conference, North Carolina.

Ahh, the East: Don't be fooled though, the weather isn't that nice.

Jeff’s Picks

First Round: North Carolina, Indiana, George Mason, Washington State, Saint Joseph's, Louisville, Butler, Tennessee
Second Round: North Carolina, Washington State, Louisville, Tennessee
Sweet 16: North Carolina, Tennessee
Final Four Pick: North Carolina

Brian’s Picks

First Round: North Carolina, Indiana, Notre Dame, Washington State, Saint Joseph's, Louisville, South Alabama, Tennessee
Second Round: North Carolina, Washington State, Louisville, Tennessee
Sweet 16: North Carolina, Tennessee
Final Four Pick: Tennessee

Jeff's "wisdom"

UNC is rightfully so the #1 seed in the tournament and therefore an easy pick to make it to the final four out of this bracket. Tennessee is a solid team but remember the SEC had a down year and they were unable to do well in their conference tournament. George Mason over Notre Dame in the first round is partially attributable to my hatred for ND and also because I believe the Big East is a little weaker than most do. Still a great conference, but I expect ND to lose or at least struggle to get past the first round.