My Favorite College Basketball Teams

With about an hour to go before the NCAA tournament begins, I figured I would write a post about my favorite college basketball teams (ie - the teams I've been rooting for, for years). Because I went to a small, private school whose basketball team was in Division III, I don't really have any alma mater loyalty when it comes to college basketball. All my favorites stem from my childhood and regional (shocker) fandom.

Georgetown



Before I really understood college basketball, I was a Georgetown fan. Being born in DC and living there as a kid and eventually moving not-so-far away to PG county, Georgetown was always the team that was consistently good and a team that I occasionally got to see. It was post-Patrick Ewing but I got to watch Alonzo, Dikembe, Allen Iverson, Victor Page, etc. as I was growing up and because of those guys I've always rooted for Georgetown. More recently, Jeff Green and Otto Porter have kept my Georgetown fandom alive.

North Carolina



This really is all about my stepdad. He is from North Carolina, used to go on-and-on about Dean Smith all the time, so I paid attention to UNC and rooted for them because my stepdad at one point had me convinced they were the best thing since sliced bread. But what was great about that was I got to grow up through the Vince Carter, Rasheed Wallace, George Lynch (yep, I said it), Rick Fox... "eras", lol. UNC had some great teams during that era.

Maryland



Thank Exree Hipp for this one. When he was playing for Maryland I used to play some video game on Sega Genesis I believe where Maryland was the only team I would ever play with because of this lanky-ass swingman. That was a pretty good Maryland team and Steve Francis pretty much made me a Maryland fan for life. Not because of what he did while he was playing there but because I watched this dude drop 52 points like it was nothing at a summer league game and from there I rooted for him and Maryland until he left. Throw Lonny "shoot-em-up" Baxter, Keith Booth, Juan Dixon, and even Chris "oh yeah, he was on that team too" Wilcox in there too when we're talking about Maryland players that made me like them and root for the team.

Tom Crean is great!

This is great. The chiding of the guy who "helped wreck the program" after beating him. And also the moment he had with Victor Oladipo and how true and honest it seemed. Spotted at Yardbarker.

NCAA Tournament Talk

I'm going to make this short and sweet...

South Region

The South region is what I refer to as the DEATH Region. Everyone's picks will most likely live-and-die by their choices in this region. The Ty Lawson factor combined with the fact that Oklahoma will undoubtedly blow any game that Blake Griffin gets shut down in (or under-performs in). I love Jeff Capel but anytime a team relies on 1 player to carry them I am very reluctant to put any hope in that team. Just ask Gary Williams the year Stevie Francis was a BEAST in the ACC. My prediction is that if Ty Lawson plays then UNC takes this one. Otherwise, I'm rolling with the Zags.

My pick: UNC
Plausible: Gonzaga
Longshot: Syracuse
Sleeper: Clemson

East Region

I don't like Duke so I refuse to believe that they're going to win this region even though they definitely have a pretty good shot. But if Villanova doesn't take them out, then I believe Pitt will. VCU will win in round 1. Please believe it (shot out to Blingenwroth on that).


My pick: Pittsburgh
Plausible: Duke/Villanova
Longshot: Florida State
Sleeper: Under-achieving a$$ Tennessee

West Region

My first thought was that UConn will jack that $ in this region but I think they'll be okay. Purdue is going to do well but I just don't think they have the talent to beat UConn when-and-if they play well. I was kinda torn between UConn and Memphis and in the end went with UConn in two of the three pools I'm in but I wouldn't be surprised in Calipari's boys win it.

My pick: UConn
Plausible: Memphis
Longshot: Marquette
Sleeper: Because I am a homer I'll go with Maryland even though they'll probably lose in the first round.

Midwest Region

This is Lousville's for the taking. If they play defense and their press is on-point, nobody in this region should beat them. And don't think for a second that Michigan State will beat them. Remember, Michigan State lost to Maryland early this year. And THAT my friends, speaks volumes.

My pick: Louisville
Plausible: Nobody but Louisville. Then again, maybe Wake Forest though I don't have any confidence in them.
Longshot: Utah or West VA
Sleeper: This region is a friggin' sleeper.

So there you have my final four: Louisville, Pittsburgh, Memphis, and UNC (if Ty Lawson is healthy). Boring, yes. But hopefully correct. And because I am not on the Louisville bandwagon as much as some others seem to be I believe that Pittsburgh will take it all.

"You could learn a lot from a dummy"