Will Vandy Dance?

Vanderbilt is a bubble team. They NEED to beat Florida in order to get into the NCAA Tourney. Can they do it? Come along and see:

1. Florida: at Vanderbilt. If you knew very little about basketball and looked at this match-up on paper (or even with any kind of logic) you would say that the Gators would easily win. Let's do remember, however, that the Commodores (without Lionel Richie) almost beat Florida in Gatorland nary 3 weeks ago, so we all know that they COULD pull off the upset. But will they? We think they can, BUT, they need to get more players involved in the offense (one player alone cannot beat the Gators), limit turnovers, slow down the game, and rule the offensive boards. So WILL they? We're going to go out on a limb here to say that Vandy will pull off a major upset here. Dance on, Commodores.

3. Wisconsin: host Penn State. Penn State has lost 10 in a row. They are not going to any post-season tournaments. BUT: they took Ohio State to the wire this week before losing by 2. But let's face reality. Win-consin just out-ranks PSU. The Badgers have more players that can score (although they do need to share the scoring load more in the NCAA tourney to be successful) and they have only lost 2 games this season. They are very good and very confident. Badgers win.

4. North Carolina: at #21 Boston College. Here's a couple of key factors in this game: number one, BC just lost to slowly-fading-out-of-the-NCAA-tourney Duke, and looked pretty damn lazy most of the game, so they will be more than ready to take on the Heels, especially at home; number two, looks like Brandan Wright will not be playing for UNC because of a shoulder injury. Losing 15 points and 7 rebounds a game there. NOTE: Brandan also did not play in the Heel's massacre of Arizona, at Arizona, and was not really missed. Bottom line? There are more than enough talented Carolina players who will be able to fill the loss of Wright. AND, the Heels are coming off a 1-point OT loss to the Virgina Tech Thugs--uh, we mean Hokies. So, who wins this game? We're going to have to say Boston College.

5. Pitt: hosts Washington. Hard to call this game because they are both fairly decent. Pitt is overrated, and the Huskies beat a very good Stanford team on Sunday. We think the Pac-10 is a much more competitive conference than the Big-East (except for Georgetown). We wish we could cite some statistical reason why one team is better than the other. Pitt plays more folks, but Washington averages more points per game. And, we don't see what all the hype about the Panthers is about, so we'll call an upset here. Huskies win.

6. Texas A&M: at Oklahoma. The Aggies must out-rebound the Sooners to win this game. Both teams are coming off a tough loss. Maybe were crazy, but we're going with another upset here as OK wins.

7. UCLA: at #24 Arizona. This is a must-win game for the Wildcats. UCLA had a bad scare against Arizona State this week, so they may be showing that they have hit the late-season wall--especially after losing to West Virginia. We're going to call another upset here. Zona wins.

8. Kansas: plays host to Nebraska. While the Cornhuskers are not a bad team (probably NIT-bound) they cannot manage a win at Kansas. Jayhawks win. Rebounding will be the key. No upset here.

9. Memphis: at Gonzaga. We'd lean towards an upset here if the Zags' leading rebounder and second-leading scorer Josh Heytvelt was playing. However, Josh will be watching this game from his dorm room as he was suspended this week after being slapped with drug charges after a traffic stop. Memphis will win with no problem.

10. Nevada: hosts Northern Iowa. No need to discuss. Nevada wins.

12. Butler: hosts #15 Southern Illinois. The Salukis (hound dogs) are just too deep for the Bulldogs, as this game just reminds us once again why Butler is all hype. Rebounds, or lack thereof, will be Butler's downfall. Southern Illinois wins.

13. Marquette: play host to Louisville. While this will be a great game, Marquette cannot lose three straight. We think the Golden Eagles will win, but if they cannot control their turnovers, then they will lose. We're still going with Marquette by a nose.

14. Air Force: hosts Colorado State. The Falcons have looked quite vulnerable as of late, but they should beat Colorado State (and that rhymed). We are talented in more areas than just college basketball.

16. Georgetown: at Villanova. The Hoyas roll. No contest.

17. Oregon: at Stanford. The Cardinals should be ranked, and they will beat the Ducks. Please don't call PETA about that last statement. We in no way condone the beating of ducks or any other types of animals.

18. Kentucky: at Alabama. Watch this game if you can. Both teams are 18-7. Both teams have lost 2 straight. Both have lost to Florida in the past week. Pretty eerie, isn't it (start creepy music). The stars are aligning for this game. We could go on and on about how the stats place these two teams dead even (points scored, rebounds, assists, assist/turnover, etc., etc., etc.). Difficult game to call? You bet. Four of UK's seven losses have been away, while only one of Bama's seven losses has been at home. The Wildcats have an eight-man rotation, and the Crimson Tide has a seven-man rotation. So, after all of that, and given Bama's record at home. we're going to have to say that the Tide will roll! OK, maybe not roll, but they will win.

19. Indiana: at Michigan. Wow, all of these games are tough to call. Indiana will win this one, but not by much. It could even go to OT. The Hoosiers will control the boards, though. What is a "Hoosier"?

20. Oklahoma State: hosts Missouri. The Cowboys take out the frustration of being embarrassed by Texas on the so-so Tigers. OK State wins.

22. West Virginia: plays host to Seton Hall. No need to comment. The Mountaineers win. Yee-ha!