East Side Story

The WWOD? Preview of Tonight’s Games in the East Regional

Since I've embraced the madness and made a self-diagnosis of my condition I figured that I need not be shy about the symptoms of my dementia. And, what shows off the mannerisms of my madness better than to add another tournament preview to the bonfire of unasked and unfounded prognostications? To put my late night ramblings into some context I’ve also included the pick from Vegas, the pick from noted college basketball blog Storming the Floor as well as the teams tapped by noted ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi.

#4 Washington State vs. #13 Winthrop
Thursday at 7:20 PM EST in Denver, CO
Vegas: Washington State (-9.5)
Storming the Floor: Washington State
Joe Lunardi: Washington State
WWOD?: This seems to be one of the trendy upset picks. And, I do love the trendiness. To the detriment of my bracket, mostly. I bet against Washington State once this season and they rocked USC in January. So, I'm afraid to bet against them again even though they are like the PAC-10 version of Big Ten team in my mind and I suspect them for this weird association I've conjured. Still, I'm going to pick them more often than not in this game. Though, I could see them going the way of last year's Wisconsin team. Because to me it is the same exact team. In which case, I'll feel like a jerk who tried to out-think the smarter people who made Winthrop the trendy pick in the first place. And, further down the rabbit hole...

#5 Notre Dame vs. #12 George Mason
Thursday at 9:50 PM EST in Denver, CO
Vegas: Notre Dame (-6.5)
Storming the Floor: Notre Dame
Joe Lunardi: Notre Dame
WWOD?: The thing is, I hate Notre Dame. I think they are consistently the most overrated school in every possible regard. In sports. In academics. In importance in the national consciousness. Only eighty year olds and BCS selection committees care about this school anymore. It's a nostalgia act. In this day and age this is a school for midwesterners and legacies that puts on one heck of a party a few Saturdays in the fall. And, that's it. BUT, somehow I've talked myself into thinking that they can make a run in this tournament. It's that Big East bias I mentioned earlier. I've somehow talked myself into trusting Harangody even though I think he is soft and goofy and one my best buddies (who is a ND grad and as much a homer for them as I'm a hater) told me himself that 'Gody is garbage. Maybe the real reason that I am tapping ND here is that I don't want to live another day hearing someone ask if "this year's George Mason is this year's George Mason." I would rather tear out my eyes and take a trip to South Bend during the Spring Semester than hear that again.