Final Four

Ohio State made the Final Four with a 77-70 win over Syracuse Saturday night. Big men Jared Sullinger and Evan Ravenel got into foul trouble, but the Bucks were still too much for the Orange. In the other game Saturday, Louisville came from behind to knock off Florida.

Kentucky had no trouble earning a Final Four slot with a easy win over Baylor. In yesterday’s other game, Kansas prevailed over a North Carolina team that played well despite missing their starting point guard.

For the Final Four I will stick with my original bracket positions. I had expected Kentucky to beat Michigan State and I will go ahead and say they beat Louisville. I had Ohio State over Kansas. The Bucks are playing well and I will stick with that, even if Sully gets in foul trouble.

But for April 2nd I don’t think the Bucks are a match for the Cats so I look for Kentucky to earn their eighth national championship.

The Kentucky women earned a spot in the Elite 8 with a 79-62 win over Gonzaga last night in Kingston, Rhode Island. Tuesday the Cats will play Connecticut for a spot in the Final Four.

The Kentucky baseball team lost their first game of the season Friday night in Knoxville but rebounded to take 2-of-3 from the Vols.

Elite 8

Ohio State made the Elite 8 with an 81-66 win over Cincinnati Thursday night. The Bucks will play Syracuse this evening.

Kentucky beat Indiana last night in a high-scoring but close affair. The Cats face Baylor tomorrow.

Of my Final Four picks, I have only lost Michigan State after their puzzling loss to Louisville Thursday night.

In the regional finals I see it as being a tough call between Florida and Louisville. Obviously if you get this far in the tournament you are playing well. Could be a fairly fast-paced game.

Syracuse is playing better than I expected in the tournament and are perfectly capable of beating my Buckeyes. I had expected the Orange to lose to Wisconsin, but their defense was much better than I thought.

Tomorrow, I don’t see Baylor having enough defensive intensity to give Kentucky any trouble. And I think North Carolina’s narrow win over Ohio proves they miss their injured point guard. So I look for the Jayhawks to advance.

The Kentucky women will play Gonzaga Sunday night in the Kingston regional.

The Kentucky baseball team finally lost a game at Tennessee last night. So the win streak stops at 22. Hopefully the Cats can rebound and win a game or two before leaving Knoxville.

 

A word about baseball

I don’t follow baseball very closely as it isn’t compatible with my Attention Deficit Disorder :-). Plus I don’t like to watch TV in the summer.

But after a very mediocre season last year, the Kentucky baseball team has looked awesome so far. They are currently the only undefeated team in college baseball with a 21-0 record. The all-time record win streak for a Southeastern Conference team was set by South Carolina a few years back when they won 22 straight.

Two-time defending national champion South Carolina came to town over the weekend and were swept by the Cats 4-3, 4-3 and 6-3. The SEC is always the toughest conference in baseball so there is a tough road ahead. But Kentucky is off to a great start.

In the NCAA men’s tournament both Kentucky and Ohio State made the Sweet 16. The Bucks will play Cincinnati in Boston and the Cats will play Indiana in Atlanta.

I’m glad I didn’t join in the whining about the Ohio State women being seeded 8th as they lost their first-round game to Florida in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Bucks have just never done well in the NCAA tournament under Jim Foster.

Last night the Kentucky women got way ahead of Green Bay then hung on for a 3-point win. Keyla Snowden was the hero down the stretch with a jump shot and two free throws late.

 

First two rounds in the books

With a lot of stuff going on lately, I’m way behind updating this blog.

No conference tournament championships for me this year, as Kentucky lost to Vanderbilt 71-64 in the SEC championship game, and Ohio State lost a close one to Michigan State.

It’s been a great NCAA tournament so far, with two #2 seeds losing in the first round. Missouri is a good team, but I noticed that defensive intensity was a bit lacking this year in the Big 12. Having said that, I picked Kansas to make the Final Four. That’s always a risky pick with the Jayhawks propensity to get upset early. North Carolina and Georgetown both look good so far in the Midwest.

I did not see much of Lehigh-Duke but that one is a real head-scratcher, especially with the game being played in Greensboro.

My other Final Four picks are Ohio State, Michigan State and Kentucky. It surprised me that Gonzaga handled West Virginia so easily, and they have the speed to beat my Buckeyes. Kentucky and Michigan State on paper have an easier road now that the #2 seeds in their regions lost. But tough games are ahead for both.

The Kentucky women were seeded #2 in their region and will play McNeese State today. Ohio State was seeded 8th and will play Florida tomorrow in Bowling Green Ohio. Winner gets top seed Baylor.

Chicago AMs off the air

An item of interest to those of you who like to “DX” on the AM broadcast band: On Saturday, March 10 from 3-6 AM EST, three of the big 50 KW AM stations in Chicago will all be off the air for maintenance. For those of us who hear these stations well, it will provide an opportunity to hear other stations on these frequencies. Stations involved are WSCR 670, WGN 720 and WBBM 780. Some of the other stations that use those frequencies are planning special test transmissions in the hope of being heard. It is a rare opportunity, and I will be making digital recordings on those frequencies during the time period.

Big 10 Champions

I had pretty much given up on the OSU men after their 2 home losses (Michigan State and Wisconsin). But last week the Bucks went to Evanston and eeked out a 75-73 win over the Northwestern. Then, after being behind by 15 in East Lansing yesterday, the Buckeyes rallied and senior William Buford hit a long 2-pointer with one second left for a 72-70 win. So Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State share the regular season championship with identical 13-5 records. That’s three titles in a row for OSU.

The Kentucky men easily handled Georgia on senior night, then went to Gainesville and won 74-59. So that was a perfect 16-0 and only the third time in history that someone has run the table in the SEC (Kentucky all three times).

Conference tournament semifinal losses for the ladies. For Kentucky, after yet another close win over Florida, the Cats lost to LSU for the second time this season. LSU went on to the finals and lost to perennial power Tennessee. Ohio State beat Michigan in the quarterfinals but then lost to Nebraska in the semifinals. The Huskers went on to lose the championship to Purdue in 2 overtimes.Now the ladies have a long wait until NCAA pairings are announced.

My area was not affected by Friday’s severe weather but many parts of Kentucky were. This morning we woke up to 4 inches of snow, but it has largely melted.