Illinois vs. Louisville North Carolina vs. Michigan State
After watching my 'Cats go down to the Spartans tonight I have to say I am rooting for Tom Izzo's club (just not picking them). I have always been a fan of Izzo, and since he sent Joe Crawford back to Lexington earlier this year I have even more admiration for him. So a tough loss doesn' sting so bad when against worthy opponent. But man did it break to my heart to see Chuck Hayes with his head down at the end of the game. I NEVER thought I would see another Wildcat with a heart as big as the Unforgettables but Hayes certainly fits in the category. He was a warrior man. Great game to cap off a fantastic Elite Eight.
All that said, North Carolina is beating everyone that has been put in front of them. Same with Illinois and Louisville. This one is wide open, but I got to go with my original pick since I got 3 out of my 4 Final Four teams (darn you Syracuse) still alive.
Semis Louisville over Illinois North Carolina over Michigan State
Final North Carolina over Louisville
But if there are any Spartans fans out there, I am pulling for you. I will take 15 losses to Michigan State any day of the week over 1 loss to Duke- so thanks for knocking them out!
Strong argument that the Regional Finals of '05 go down in history as this generations version of the second round shockers of '81. Kentucky losing kills me, as I would have had 3 out of 4 in the Final Four with them.
Illinois vs. Louisville: Strength vs. Strength, and Illinois' stregth is better than Louisville's. Illinois wins
North Carolina vs. Michigan State: If Carolina decided to grace the public by playing 40 minutes of solid basketball, they would easily win the Tourney. However, they have show in the past month they can fall asleep for chunks of time. Michigan State will play hard throughout, and Izzo is a better coach than Williams. Michigan State in the upset, CBS executives rushed to the emergency room for slitting their wrists.
Illinois vs. Michigan State: Illinois is the better team and a bad match-up for Michigan State. Illinois wins.
Since my bracket got blown to bits anyway, I would have liked to see Wisconsin put UNC down and make it a 3/4 Big Ten Final Four. God, that would have been sweet. As it is, I am certainly rooting for the All Big-Ten Final.
Illinois over Louisville Michigan State over UNC
Illinois over Michigan State...
...which by transitive property makes your 2005 National Champions the OHIO STATE BUCKEYES! (We put the "1" in "36-1"!)
"Lita holds a Stone Cold Steve Austin home pregnancy test. What will the Bottom Line say? “Hell Yeah” or “Eh-EH”?" - Raw Satire, 6/15/04 (Apparantly ours said "Hell Yeah", 03/08/05)
If Louisville can beat the Illini and then beat the Tar Heels the dunkettes will be getting some new shoes and I will be able to feed Latrell's family.....
Louisville 88 Illinois 84
UNC 91 Michigan St 86
and the Finals.....
Louisville 84 UNC 81
www.creativeheartwork.org - we open the doors to our first facility on 4/14/05 - thanks to all for your support
I have all four teams left in the Final Four so I am pretty psyched. Of course, with the money I spent on various pools, even if I win I will proabbaly only break even! Oh well, it;s been a great tournament to watch.
My final four has Louisville over Illinois and UNC over State. And Louisville over UNC in the Finals. I was at Providence when Pitino took us to the Final Four. I will always have a spot in my pool for a Pitino lead team. I hope he pulls it off this year again, depsite all that has happened to his team.
I think you're an asshole. No, no, let me correct that, an immature asshole. Which is fine, except that you're marrying my daughter and I'm afraid that my grandchildren are gonna be little assholes.
For the fourth week in a row, the Sacramento Kings are atop CNNSI's Power Rankings. New Jersey has jumped from sixth to third.
Top five:
1. Sacramento Kings
2. L.A. Lakers
3. New Jersey Nets
4. Dallas Mavericks
5.