Bracket Buster Breakdown

I love the idea of the Bracket Buster. College basketball junkies (and gamblers) spend the entire year watching all these small conference teams battle each other. It becomes easy to get a sense of the haves and have-nots in each conference. What's more difficult is ranking the conferences themselves. Its hard to determine whether Akron (out of the MAC) is a better team than Nevada (WAC). If both teams didn't win their conference crapshoots at the end of the year, how would the committee determine whether they deserved an NCAA bid? It would pretty much be a guessing game.
that's where this weekend comes in. One game can't tell the whole story, but at least it is a start. With many power conference teams struggling to pad their NCAA chances, there is going to be room for a handful of mid-major at-large teams. If these teams want to move to the top of the list, a win this weekend would go a long way towards getting them in the field.
While Bracket Buster Saturday is a great chance for the Ionas and Pacifics of the world to get some national play, it could be better. Instead of giving the little guys their due and making this weekend an event, ESPN half-heartedly approaches it. Most glaring is the fact that the first game on ESPN Saturday is a marginal Atlantic 10 conference game between Fordham and Charlotte. This seems to happen every year. Find me someone excited about that game. Find me someone that would rather watch that than, say, Nevada-Akron. I could even live without Michigan-Michigan St. and Syracuse-Cincinnati. I wish ESPN would go full-force with the bracket buster. I guess Northern Iowa doesn't bring in the big ratings but I'm hard-pressed to believe that Fordham, Nebraska and Penn St. do any better nationally.
Here is a look at the important games and what is at stake:

• Albany at VCU (tonight, 7) - VCU is a fringe contender for an at-large bid out of the strong Colonial Athletic Conference. George Mason, Old Dominion and UNC-Wilmington would seem to be ahead of the Rams for an at-large. The final two rounds of the CAA tournament could be as good as anywhere in the country. VCU should handle Albany, who is the class of the America East. The Great Danes should win their way into the dance, but they are outclassed here.
  
• Akron at Nevada (tonight, 9) - Akron has come out of nowhere to lead the MAC at 12-2. Nevada came in with lofty expectations and an All American candidate (Nick Fazekas) and has been solid, if unspectacular, leading the WAC at 9-3. With the depth of the MAC and the weakness of the WAC, this may be an elimination game as far as an at-large. Both teams could win their way in, but if they want to be asked, they need this win.
• Buffalo at Iona (Sat., 12) - This should be an interesting game between cross-state rivals, but neither the Bulls, in the middle of the MAC, nor the Gaels, leading the MAAC can hope for an at-large bid. The Gaels should get there anyhow and tomorrow have a chance to gain some respect for the MAAC with two A's.
  
• Marist at Old Dominion (Sat., 4) - ODU, a tournament team last season, is a contender for a second CAA bid. A loss to MAAC also-ran Marist will end those chances.
  
• Missouri St. at Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Sat., 2) - Another elimination-type game. Mizzou St. comes in as the fifth best team in the strong Missouri Valley Conference. Wisconsin-Milwaukee comes in as the best team in the low-major Horizon League. Neither of those resumes would seem to be enough to get in, but a loss tomorrow would end all hope.
  
• Louisiana Tech at Southern Illinois (Sat., 6) - La Tech's at-large chances, if they existed, ended with the buzzer-beater loss in Nevada. Southern Illinois is a perennial dancer, but they are below three teams in the MVC and that shouldn't get you a trip this year. A home loss to the Bulldogs would be devastating.
  
• George Mason at Wichita St. (Sat., 8) - This is a game between two teams who, one way or another, will be on your bracket in a month. A win here will help seeding and help the committee determine whether the MVC or the CAA, arguably the strongest mid-majors, is the better league.
  
• Bucknell at Northern Iowa (Sat., 12) - Considered the best game of the lot, nationally ranked Bucknell and the Panthers of Northern Iowa are near-locks to get an at-large bid. Bucknell should have no problem winning the Patriot League tournament and Northern Iowa could well win the MVC. A win here would lock up a spot should they falter.
  
• Picks of the Day:
  
• VCU (-8) over Albany
• Loyola Maryland (-6) over High Point
• Yesterday: 1-2
  

Quick Hits

• What does it say about American hockey to have John Grahame netminding in the Olympics? I have seen this guy give up six goals the the Lowell Lochmonsters. He's a fringe NHL goaltender who has spent a great deal of time in the minor leagues. It is hard to believe that he is the best we have to offer.
• NASCAR needs to clamp down on the cheating or it is going to ruin the validity of the sport. Jimmie Johnson was on ESPN yesterday saying that everyone cheats, that it is just part of the sport. He just happened to get caught. Is adjusting the height of a trunk on par with injecting steroids? Of course not. But for a sport that is trying to maximize its audience to pretty much encourage cheating is ridiculous. It is time for cars to be parked and drivers, not crew chiefs, to be suspended. Otherwise, the sport is going to become a mockery.
• It should be interesting to see Darko Milicic play basketball. Despite being the second overall pick, we haven't seen him play yet. Now, he is in a position where he is going to play and, if he wants to avoid being the butt of jokes, he is going to have to produce. Ultimately, I'd bet that Detroit got the better end of the deal, with a solid draft pick (could be 6th overall) and some extra cap space at the end of the year.
• Excuses are few at this point in Syracuse's basketball season, but I can't help but notice that they get their opponent's best game every time out. Cincinnati, over the last month, has been sleepwalking through the Big East with only eight scholarship players. They have been blasted by Louisville, Georgetown and struggled with South Florida at home. Last night, they can't miss. Maybe it is the 2-3 zone, maybe it is the lack of an offensive gameplan, maybe SU just isn't good. But it seems like every team turns into a Final Four contender when they come to the dome.
  
• PICKS OF THE DAY:
• Murray State (-4) over Tennessee St.
• Phoenix/Houston Over 203
• Georgetown -2 over Marquette
  

Pierce Shines, Celts Lose

Nothing new to report here. Paul Pierce produced an MVP-caliber performance last night only to watch the Celtics lose yet another heartbreaking game to the Cleveland LeBrons in double overtime last night at the Garden. If you don't know this, it is probably because ESPN quickly passed by it or made you more than aware of LeBron's triple-double. If it was LeBron who had scored a career-high 50, it would not only have lead Sportscenter, it would have catapulted us into a "Fact or Fiction: Is LeBron Jesus Christ Reincarnated?" segment with Tim Legler.

Now I'm not arguing that Paul Pierce is a better player than LeBron James. It would be hard to argue that (although LeBron does have better pieces around him and hasn't appeared in a postseason game since high school). But Pierce certainly could be mentioned in the same breath as James. Only, he hardly ever is. Pierce is never mentioned as being one of the NBA's brightest stars with the LeBrons, TMacs and Kobes of the world. McGrady has never won a playoff series. Bryant couldn't will Chris Mihm, Jumaine Jones and Chucky Atkins (not to mention Lamar Odom and Caron Butler) to the playoffs. Pierce has accomplished both.

When the All Star selections came out and Pierce was a reserve for the fifth straight year, I knew the criticism was coming. The Stephen A. Smiths, the Leglers and the Barkleys were ready to pounce claiming that Pierce, being on a 20 win team, had no business in the All-Star game. Luckily, the All Stars are voted in by the coaches, the guys who have to try to stop Pierce on a nightly basis. Smith, Legs and Barkley probably haven't watched more than 20 minutes of Celtics basketball all year. They are too busy heaping praise on LeBron James.

Paul Pierce has pretty much been left to try to win games by himself, a formula that just doesn't work in the NBA. Consider that, last night, he probably only had three other legitimate NBA players on his team (Lafrentz, West and Wallyworld). LeBron, conversely, has a pass-first point guard (Snow), a true back-to-the-basket forward (Gooden), two weak side shooters (Jones, Marshall) and an All Star calibur center (Ilgauskus). Not to mention a twenty point scorer (Hughes) who is currently on the shelf. Pierce has been going to war with Orien Greene, Ryan Gomes, Brian Scalabrine and Michael Olowokandi. And yet, he has still put together an All Star season. It's too bad no one has noticed.