By Jeff Orvis
Long before I began writing this blog,
I was writing columns. Everybody has an opinion on something. I was
just fortunate enough to convince a parade of editors that my
opinions could be printed in a newspaper.
Each year, I have devoted one column
to the postseason basketball tournaments. In past years, I have
posted my fearless predictions on the NCAA men's tournament. This
year, there are no fewer than five teams from the state of Iowa in
postseason play, so I've had to broaden the scope of these choices.
Before going any further, I should
admit that some years ago, I put down a buck or two on an NCAA pool
orchestrated by a former city clerk in Independence. After careful
consideration, I would submit my picks just before the start of the
tournament. By either Friday morning or certainly by the following
Monday after the first weekend of the tourney, the clerk would stop
by and thank me for my “donation” to the pool. It was his
not-so-subtle way of telling me that I missed so many on the first
day, I had no chance of winning.
Despite my rather poor record, this is
an exciting time of year for college basketball fans. It all comes to
a close in early April, when the eventual NCAA champ is crowned and
CBS-TV ends its coverage with the playing of the theme song, “One
Shining Moment,” as highlights of the tourney are shown. It never
fails to bring a tear to my eye.
The postseason gets underway tonight
for teams from the state, as Iowa hosts Indiana State in the NIT. The
game will be shown on ESBN 2, starting at 6 p.m. Northern Iowa is
playing in the College Insider Tournament tonight, playing North
Dakota. But there's no television for this game.
The next action for Iowa teams is not
until Friday night, when Iowa State takes on Notre Dame at 9:45 p.m.
CBS has the coverage. On Saturday, the women open their tournament
play when Iowa State takes on Gonzaga at 3 p.m. That game is on ESPN
2. The Iowa women will open on Sunday against Miami. ESPN 2 also has
that game, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Another team I'm going to be watching
is the Creighton men. They are coached by Greg McDermott, former
coach at UNI and Iowa State. Their main man is the coach's son, Doug
McDermott, who could be the national player of the year this season.
Creighton opens against Cincinnati Friday on CBS at 2:45 p.m.
Actually, I stayed up past my normal
bedtime last night to watch Stanford beat Stephen F. Austin by a
point in an opening round NIT game. Stanford has a player who played
his high school ball at Rock Island and Stephen F. Austin has a
player to starred at Davenport Central.
Those are the first round games. Check
the web for times for all of our local teams that win their first
games.
That brings me to my fearless first
round predictions. The selection committee has done a pretty good job
of pairings this season. Of the first 32 games, I'm going with the
upper seed in all but five of the games. I think Missouri can beat
Colorado State in what could be a mild upset. In another eight-nine
match, I like Wichita State over Pittsburgh. And going with my heart
instead of my head, I've got Iowa State, the tenth seed, stopping
seventh-seed Notre Dame.
Over on the other side of the bracket,
I'm going with Minnesota over UCLA. The Big Ten is the best
basketball conference in the country this year. My other upset in
this half is Oklahoma State over San Diego State, another nod to the
Big 12 over the coast team.
The top seeds in each of the four
regions could go all the way to the Final Four. I think Duke might
take down top-seeded Louisville in the Midwest. Look for Gonzaga to
take its top seed to Atlanta for the Final Four. I like Indiana and
Kansas on the other side, just as the committee predicted.
So, get the snacks ready, the remote
control warmed up and the “reserved” sign on the recliner and get
ready for a ridiculous amount of basketball in the coming days and
nights. Go Hawks, Cyclones, Panthers...and Blue Jays (Creighton)!
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