The Unlikely Final Four

If you are an average American, it is inevitable that your bracket is totally busted right now. If it looked like mine, you would be pulling for Louisville to win it all. I cannot say I saw Syracuse, Michigan, or Wichita State making it this far, but I can say I have liked it.
This year's tournament has been outstanding. I haven't seen parody like this in all my years of watching the dance. I have lived in an era were all four 1 seeds made it to the Final Four and where many Cinderellas don't make it past the Sweet 16. There have been a few years of craziness such as the Butler, George Mason and VCU years, but never anything like this. The fact that we have a nine and two four seeds really makes me happy. It shows that college basketball, unlike it's football counterpart, will and is not dominated by one conference or team. It also shows that anything can happen once you make it to the postseason.  i
So what now? We have to the the mystique of this situation fade away and get down to the dirty facts. Honestly, I feel this is Louisville's championship to lose. They are the most complete team and have been the most consistent all year. I find it hard to believe that they will lose tonight. The Wichita State Shockers will come out with a lot of energy and will use there big men like they did against Ohio State. The problem is that Big East teams are built for tournaments. Coaches know they have to make their teams deep and strong if they are going to make it through a rigorous Big East schedule and grueling tourney. That is what will show tonight when Louisville plays Wichita. It will be close in the opening half, but Silva and the rest of the  Louisville team will show their superiority late and win 68-60.
On the other side, I believe the Syracuse zone is playing as great as it ever has. Coach Boeheim has his team ready for any offense that comes the Orange's way. Michigan's Trey Burke will not make it easy though. He has been coming alive as of late and the rest of his team is really helping him out. I'm just not sure if the Wolverines are ready for what is going to happen tonight. It will be close and I see it coming down to a final shot by the Orange that allows them to move on the the Championship 49-48.
So on the year of the Big East's swan song, the conference will go out with two teams playing for it all. How fitting!

Champions League Quarter Finals: Leg One

It's April, which signifies the end of March Madness. In Europe, an elite eight still have plenty of madness to endure. The last round saw a hand full of incredible games, some epic match ups and even a few blowouts. Real Madrid's controversial win over Manchester United was only overshadowed by the beating Borussia Dortmund laid on Shakhtar Donetsk and the massive comeback by Barcelona.
Overall, the first round had a little bit of it all and I'm certain all the best teams won. Let's review who made it through:

Barcelona
Bayern Munich
Borussia Dortmund
Galatasaray
Juventus
Malaga
Paris Saint Germain
Real Madrid

Not too many shockers there, but on March 15th the quarter final draw was made. I felt that there was a good chance we could see all the best teams matched up against each other, but something else happened. Almost all the good teams were drawn with the weaker ones which sets up the possibility for some interesting match ups for the semi finals, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Here's what the quarter final draw gave us:

Barcelona vs Paris Saint Germain

Bayern  Munich vs Juventus

Real Madrid vs Galatasaray

Borussia Dortmund vs Malaga

Right away, the Bayren - Juve tie stands out. It is the one match up featuring two teams that could really win the whole thing. This tie will be a tough one to watch. Both teams play with a style that isn't always the most visually appealing and can be very methodical. If there is tie that could end with a 0-0 draw and penalties, it would be this one. Both teams play great defense and have senior players that can handle pressure. I have to say Bayern have a better attack and are in better form. They just whipped Hamburg 9-2 this weekend and I think that attacking form will continue going into Tuesday. I think Munich will win the first leg 2-1 after a strong performance. Juve will be toothless for most of the match, but will snag a late away goal.
The next standout match is Barcelona - PSG. This is interesting because of the story lines with PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He used to play for Barca, but had a fall out with the club and blamed midfielder Lionel Messi for it. Now the Swed will to Camp Nou to face his old team. Besides that, I think this will be a pretty boring tie. Barcelona may have had their issues earlier this year, but they are back now. I see a 2-0 for the Spanish side which will put this tie out of reach long before it really begins.
Real Madrid and Galatasaray is another interesting tie. Real Madrid faced the biggest test in the first round and even though they had some help, they were able to do it. This allows me to believe that they will be prepared for what Galatasaray can throw at them. Madrid will over take the Turkish side early in this tie because of their home field advantage. They will take an early 1-0 lead, but Galatasaray will use Champions League legend Didier Drogba to pull level shortly after halftime. By this time, Real Madrid will wake up find two late goals from Cristiano Ronoldo to take the easy 3-1 win going into Turkey.
The last tie of the quarter finals is Borussia Dortmund vs Malaga. These will be the most lopsided matches of the round. Dortmund is a favorite to win it all and I think they will show it early. They just have too much star power and I think Malaga is the weakest team left. It has been a good run for the Spanish side, but their Champions League dreams will die when they lose 2-0 at home to Dortmund.

Thanks for reading!