The Madness Comes to The Gambia

It is March, and therefore, it is absolutely the worst time to be living in a hut in the middle of Nowhere, West Africa.

The tournament is beginning, and excitement is spreading throughout America, but here, the term "Selection Sunday" causes no grins, no shivers of excitement, not even a glimmer of recognition of the greatness the term embodies.

I've done all I can to bring the madness to The Gambia. I distributed a bracket to my Peace Corps people, and most said, "I don't know any of the teams". Of course I told them that NO ONE DOES. THIS IS AFRICA! Many refused to do it, and others succumbed, picking winners such as 13 seed Oakland... it could happen.

To at least make it a little more like home to me, I chalked a GIANT March Madness bracket on the inside of my hut wall (see below). I made a bracket for what might be for dinner when I get home (white rice with sauce is sure to be the champion), and have been filling out bracket after bracket, trying to follow where my heart leads me, because this year, that's all I have to go on.



In the past, I watched games, read articles, and analyzed upsets that are bound to be. This year, I know nothing. I know Michigan State and Illinois were disappointing, UNC sucked and then was good, and Northwestern almost made it for the first time. From the last week I've spent in Kombo, I've learned that Colorado got screwed, and VCU got lucky. I've learned nobody cares about the First Four.

I wanted to do something really creative for my bracket. I wanted to pick teams with most native Africans to move on in the tournament, or pick the team with the most Gambian sounding names. However, my love of the sport preventing me from doing this, and instead, I went with the little I knew, and my heart.

So, here are the picks. Sorry if it's hard to follow.

THE EAST

FIRST ROUND

OSU vs. PLAY IN WINNER OSU by 34 points. Duh.

GEORGE MASON vs. VILLANOVA George Mason, the team of destiny in perhaps one of my favorite tournaments of my young life, will prevail again, by 12 points.

WVU vs. CLEMSON Upset! I pick Clemson to ride a big win from last night and keep rolling. The Tigers win by 6, although I would love to see a rematch of the Appalachian elite 8 game of last year.

KENTUCKY vs. PRINCETON Wildcats by 17

XAVIER vs. MARQUETTE If it were a fashion show, Marquette would win hands down. Despite their fly uniforms, they lose to Xavier by 9.

SYRACUSE vs. INDIANA STATE Larry Bird is left with a single tear running down his cheek as his alma mater is stomped by Syracuse, by 14 points.

WASHINGTON vs. GEORGIA I like Washington. Their city is sweet, their campus is beautiful, and the climate is the opposite of what I'm experiencing right now. Their tendency to have short yet incredible ballers (Isaiah Thomas, Nate Robinson) makes them irresistable to me. Huskies by 11.

UNC vs. LIU I don't know what LIU stands for, but I wish them the best. Despite my intense waves of hatred shooting across the Atlantic Ocean into the hearts and souls of the Tar Heels, they win by 18 against poor Lower Idaho University.

Second Round (I'm not putting point values in, because I feel like I should know the actual match ups before I decide the point differential.)

OSU over George Mason
KENTUCKY over Clemson
SYRACUSE over Xavier
WASHINGTON over unc (those bastards)

Elite 8

OSU over Kentucky
SYRACUSE over Washington

Final 4

OSU over Syracuse


THE WEST

First Round

DUKE vs. HAMPTON Duke by 21

MICHIGAN vs. TENNESSEE Although I seem to remember that Tennessee can't win a big game unless I am in the stadium to see them do it live, they still beat the Wolverines by 3.

ARIZONA vs. MEMPHIS Zona by 7

TEXAS vs. OAKLAND Texas win big, by 19 points.

CINCINNATI vs. MIZZOU Mizzou beat us in the Border Battle this year, which means they've got to be good. I remember they are well conditioned, and that leads them past Cincinnati. Tigers win by 13.

UCONN vs. BUCKNELL We once played Bucknell in the first round, and we beat them. Thusly, UConn will too. By 25 points.

PENN STATE vs. TEMPLE I heard that Temple's team is full of thugs and gangsters. It still can't get them past the preppy Penn Staters. Penn State by 2

SDSU vs. N. COLORADO San Diego State University by 8

Second Round

DUKE over Tennessee
TEXAS over Zona
UCONN over Mizzou (although this one is close)
SDSU over Penn State

Elite 8

TEXAS over Duke
UCONN over sdsu

Final Four

TEXAS over Uconn

THE SOUTHWEST

First Round

KANSAS vs. BOSTON U Kansas wins by 14

ILLINOIS vs. UNLV Illinois wins, obviously, but does not play to its potential. They will use this as fuel to ignite their impending duel with Kansas. Illini by 7

VANDERBILT vs RICHMOND I have an irrational hatred for Vandy and an unnatural love for the Spiders of Richmond. So, the underseeded underdogs beat the Commodores by 9.

LOUISVILLE vs MOREHEAD STATE I read somewhere that Morehead State is one of the most likely upsets, but I still pick the C A R D I N A L S to win by 6.

GEORGETOWN vs PLAY IN WINNER Georgetown beats their exhausted opponent by 19

PURDUE vs SAINT PETERS Purdue by unlucky 13

TEXAS A&M vs. FLORIDA STATE I know some new Peace Corps volunteers from A&M, so the Aggies win by 5.

NOTRE DAME vs. AKRON It's hard for me to imagine Notre Dame as a two seed, and even harder for me to pick them to win any games, but I think they win this one by 17.

Second Round

KANSAS over Illinois (but Illinois plays great! Kansas wins on a lucky buzzer beater for sure.)
RICHMOND over Lousiville
PURDUE over Georgetown
NOTRE DAME over Texas A&M

Elite 8

KANSAS over Richmond
NOTRE DAME over Purdue

Final Four

KANSAS over Notre Dame


THE SOUTHEAST

First Round

PITT vs UNCA Pitt by 23

BUTLER vs OLD DOMINION Butler, although not the Cinderella team of last year, beats ODU by 12

KANSAS STATE vs UTAH STATE I heard Utah State got wicked underseeded... so they win by 4

WISCONSIN vs. BELMONT Badgers by 11

ST JOHNS vs GONZAGA St. Johns zigs the zags by 8

BYU vs WOFFORD I believe in the power of Jimmer. BYU by 28

UCLA vs MICHIGAN STATE Coach Izzo's teams don't struggle during the playoffs - they'll be ready for the Bruins. State by 10.

FLORIDA vs UCSB Florida by 14

Second Round

PITT over Butler
UTAH STATE over Wisconsin
BYU over St. Johns
MSU over Florida

Elite 8

UTAH STATE over Pitt
BYU over MSU

Final Four

BYU over Utah State

SOOOO... my final four teams are

BYU
KANSAS
TEXAS
OHIO STATE

Kansas and Ohio State move on to the championship game, and Kansas brings it home again. But only because Bill Self learned all he knows from coaching at the University of Illinois.

There they are. If you win, be proud, but if you lose, be very very very ashamed.