My favorite time of year...

We're a couple hours away from tip-off. The NCAA tournament is about to begin and as expected, I'm giddy. I now know what the Sports Guy feels like when he writes his preview columns before his fantasy drafts. It's kind of tough to write preview columns and not reveal your secrets or your real thought processes. That is the reason I've waited to preview the NCAA tournament until now.

I'm not going to break down the entire thing but I'll make some notes and give some of my thought processes.

First of all, I think the selection committee did a great job in setting the field up. I think they got the right 65 teams in and any of the teams that got left out (Va. Tech, Arizona St., Illinois St) can't have a real beef. I think the one or two knocks I would have with the field is that Duke is overseeded (but not suprising) and the Big Ten was a little disrespected. I think Wisconsin and Duke should've been flipped. Wisconsin won the Big Ten regular season championship and conference tournament. I know they only got 4 teams into the tournament, but so did the ACC. Winning a major conference has to be worth something. But with that being said, it's a very minor thing.

I think the tournament sets up for a lot of chalk but there are some teams that could make runs that may be off the radar. Arizona is one of the most talented teams in the country and they played one of the toughest schedules this year. They have two players who can take over games in Budinger and Bayless and they've played tough games all year, so they shouldn't be intimidated in big games. Marquette is another team that could win a couple games. They have very talented guards and backcourts usually win in the tournament. If they can hit shots, they could be dangerous. Butler has assumed the role of Gonzaga from year's past. They are the "mid-major" who can knock off the big teams. Butler went to a sweet 16 last year and has a similar team. Another thing of interest is the fact that Butler's possible section round opponent is Tennessee. The same Tennessee team that they beat last year in the regular season.

I've been on Kansas all year and have thought they were the best team since the season began. I think they have the best makeup to win 6 straight games. They are talented, deep, and versatile. They have solid guard play as well as guys who can score with their back to the basket. They have a couple options to go to when they need a big bucket and they can also get a big stop when they need one. Chalmers is a legitimate lockdown defender and Brandon Rush is playing some good ball right now and can score the ball if need be. I think the one guy that makes them go and gives them a leg up on other teams is Sharron Collins. He is a legit sparkplug coming in off the bench and can provide some energy to the team should they need it. He is the difference that I pick them over UCLA in a well-played championship game. The other reason I like them over UCLA is I don't know if they have a guy who will make a big shot if they need it. I like Rush over Shipp in a late game spot.

I'm looking forward to the tournament getting started and I'm hoping for some exciting, well played games. This is the best weekend in sports, so let's get it started.

Oh, and if you're looking for an NIT selection, let's go CUSE. BLEED ORANGE