(Bump. I'd say this mirrors a lot of my feelings; I'm still organizing my feelings from Thursday into a blog post. I'll have something later tonight. - Pete)

One of the most difficult things about filling out a tournament bracket is getting past the little numbers next to each team’s name. The seeding, especially in this day and age, can be very misleading. We want to buy into the selection committee’s rankings (after all, they’re the supposed experts), and we end up accepting the seedings as absolutes, thinking that one team is definitively better than the other. The seedings are, obviously, an imperfect ranking system, with little bearing on any outcomes of the games. Michigan State was a #1 seed, and Louisville was a #4. In reality, there’s little difference between MSU and Louisville- at least not to the discrepancy where every single writer and analyst picked MSU to beat the Cardinals. If MSU were to play Louisville ten times, they would probably split the matchups five and five, with one team maybe winning six. Louisville would win their games by hitting 3’s, turning us over, and playing solid defense (a la Thursday night). We would win by taking care of the ball, scoring in transition, and establishing our bigs down low. The point is, it was easy to assume that MSU should have won because of a ranking, or because of prior results during the season, but that is imprudent.

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Despite the end of our run, the contest must go on. Standings prior to the Sweet 16 are here.

There were 66 possessions in the final.

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According to the Freep Trey Burke is strongly considering leaving for the NBA this season. According to scouts, they tell Trey he will be taken in the first round, I've heard as high as 18. I personally don't believe he would be taken this high and they are overrating his draft stock to induce a decision. If this indeed goes through it would be a crushing blow after Smotrcyz, Colton and one other left. Also, Michigan's second consecutive PG to jump to the NBA early. Michigan also has no PG on the roster or being recruited next year. Will Hardaway leave to considering he has no PG and he definitely not create enough by himself. This will be interesting to follow in the next couple days.

(Bump, because good writing will always have a place here. -- Pete)

"Sports are not frivolous, and not without substance. They speak directly to the most basic needs and feelings that we as humans have. The need to come together, socialize, to know each other. The need to compete with each other, to prove our worth and measure ourselves as men and women. They speak to our need to go beyond the call of duty and persevere above all possible opposition. We as humans always strive to go beyond what is possible, and sports are a reflection of that. We struggle to finish what we set out to do, we fight and compete for an esoteric ideal that unites a nation, and we challenge ourselves to go outside our comfort zone to honor others."

- Nick Petrilli

A week ago, nearing the end of the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, the North Carolina State Wolfpack were told, on live television via Greg Gumbel, they were the last team in the field of 68. They erupted into fervent cheer and celebration, the likes of which have rarely been seen by a team that had simply been granted entrance into a playoff. And I smiled.

Then, much of the country watched as NC State upset both San Diego State and Georgetown, doing so in rather dramatic fashion, to reach the Sweet Sixteen in Mark Gottfried's first year as head coach. And I smiled.

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There is no doubt that Draymond Green's leadership ability has surpassed that of any MSU basketball player since Mateen Cleaves.

In my opinion, what makes Draymond's leadership so dynamic is three-fold:

1. Ability to run the offense - Draymond has taken on the role/position of point-forward the past two years. He is Izzo's go-to guy in crunch time. What differentiates Green from other players is that he can shoot a jumper, leaner, hook shot, runner, turn-around, layup, dunk, three-pointer, or pass the ball. Talk about a coach's worst nightmare.

2. Defensive stopper - A big man that can defend the perimeter is priceless. Day-Day is a multi-tool defensive specialist that can guard 3-4 different positions depending on matchups in any given game. Blocks. Steals. Rebounds. Nuff said.

3. Single-mindedness with Tom Izzo - I don't mean that the two don't disagree or get into arguments; they fight nearly every game. What Green and Izzo share is the same toughness, will to win, energy and passion for MSU basketball. If there was one player that best defined the program as a whole it would be Draymond Green by a long shot. It has been said many times before because it is so accurate...Draymond is an extension of Tom Izzo on the floor.

With Green graduating this year, who will step up to the plate and be the leader of the 2012-2013 team? Four options with their respective pros/cons are after the jump.

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So,.... it's come to this. Once again Louisville and Michigan State will meet again in the NCAA Tournament. My heart was cheering for Sparty this afternoon, but my brain was telling me I wanted SLU to prevail. I don't think I need to remind any of you why my fanhood was split this afternoon, but just in case,... here.

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This post will be updated daily during tournament action. Old standings will be left in place, but the newest will be on top.

Standings After Round 2

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I used to be a sucker for a golden bracket (ie. only filling out one - or at least using the same template for each contest) but these days I'm an egregious multi-bracketer... but a pattern is beginning to emerge from my bracket chaos.

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I have Michigan State in the Final Four where Michigan State is to play Duke who upset Kentucky in the south. In my bracket I have Michigan State beating Duke 85 - 79. In the finals Michigan State will play Kansas. Kansas has some pretty good defense but Michigan State has better defense and offense. I'm sure Kansas will try to wear down Michigan State wit a fast break almost every play. I'm also sure Kansas will play a solid press.

I wrote about this once and after I hit publish and thought more about it, I didn't like the results of my first effort to try to quantify defense with simple box score stats.

So, I tried to come up with the best way I could to take the defensive ratings from Sports-Reference's College Basketball Site and turn them into a defensive version of KJ's PORPAG. All data is from either Friday or Saturday; don't remember when I grabbed it, exactly.

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