NCAA Tourney Picks

Here they are...the winning picks in all of my NCAA tournament pools...As the tournament continues I will bold the games I have picked correctly.

Midwest Region
Louisville over Morehead St
Ohio St over Siena
Utah over Arizona
Wake Forest over Cleveland St
West Virginia over Dayton
Kansas over North Dakota St.
USC over Boston College
Michigan St. over Robert Morris

West Region
UConn over Chattanooga
Texas A&M over BYU
Purdue over Northern Iowa
Washington over Mississippi St
Utah St over Marquette
Mizzou over Cornell
Maryland over California
Memphis over Cal St. Northridge

East Region
Pittsburgh over East Tennessee St
Tennessee over Oklahoma St
Florida St over Wisconsin
Xavier over Portland St
UCLA over VCU
Villanova over American
Minnesota over Texas
Duke over Binghamton

South Region
North Carolina over Radford
Butler over LSU
Illinois over Western Kentucky
Gonzaga over Akron
Temple over Arizona St
Syracuse over Stephen F. Austin
Michigan over Clemson
Oklahoma over Morgan St.

SECOND ROUND
Louisville over Ohio St
Wake Forest over Utah
Kansas over West Virginia
USC over Michigan St

UConn over Texas A&M
Purdue over Washington
Mizzou over Utah St.
Memphis over Maryland

Pitt over Tennessee
Florida St over Xavier
Villanova over UCLA
Duke over Minnesota

North Carolina over Butler
Illinois over Gonzaga
Syracuse over Temple
Oklahoma over Michigan

SWEET SIXTEEN
Louisville over Wake Forest
Kansas over USC
UConn over Purdue
Memphis over Mizzou
Pitt over Florida St
Villanova over Duke
North Carolina over Illinois
Oklahoma over Syracuse

ELITE 8
Louisville over Kansas
UConn over Memphis
Villanova over Pitt
North Carolina over Oklahoma

FINAL FOUR
UConn over Louisville
North Carolina over Villanova

CHAMPIONSHIP
North Caronlia over UConn

Too Much March Madness???

On the eve of March Madness, I began to think about how much is too much. I was flipping through the channels tonight and came across Houston vs. Oregon State, a first-round game in the College Basketball Invitational.

For those who do not know, this is the second year of the College Basketball Invitational, another postseason tournament that is put on by the Gazelle Group.

Just when you thought the College Basketball Invitational was too much, a fourth postseason tournament was added this season, the CollegeInsider.com Postseason tournament.

Don't get me wrong, I love March Madness just as much as the next guy. But the NCAA tournament and the NIT is more than enough Madness for me. By adding 2 extra postseason tournaments, the NCAA is turning March Madness into March Mediocrity.

Of the 343 teams in Division I College Basketball, 129 now qualify for a postseason tournament. That is nearly 38% of Division I teams. Qualifying for a postseason tournament like the NCAA or the NIT is a reward for a great season, but adding these extra tournaments are a complete joke.

Here are the teams that are in the CBI and CollegeInsider.com tournaments.
-Teams in CBI...
Boise State, Buffalo, Charleston, Green Bay, Houston, Nevada, Northeastern, Oregon State, Richmond, St. Johns, Stanford, Troy, UTEP, Vermont, Wichita State, and Wyoming

-Teams in CollegeInsider.com
Austin Peay, Belmont, Bradley, The Citadel, Drake, Evansville, Idaho, James Madison, Kent State, Liberty, Mount Saint Marys, Oakland, Old Dominion, Pacific, Portland, and Rider

Oregon State finished the regular season with a 13-17 record, St. Johns was 16-17. Are you telling me that teams with losing records deserve to play in the postseason?! Give me a break.

I half expected to find the Iowa Hawkeyes in the field of the CBI or CollegeInsider tournament, that's just sad. But hey, who doesn't want to see The Citadel take on Old Dominion...

At this rate, anyone can start a postseason tournament. Be on the lookout for the IowaChicagoSports.Blogspot.com Postseason Invitational coming up in 2010.