This is the last hurrah with “One Shining Moment” looming in the distance.  By the end of the night four teams will be whittled down to two and the pieces will be in place for the ultimate prize.  Each team has taken different paths to this point and not many people expected any of them to be here.  Let alone us here in the Crew.   We’re resilient to say the least & are back with our picks for your amusement.
(5) Michigan State Vs. (5) Butler

The Flint-stones are back & rollin’ again.  Tom Izzo’s team has overcome adversity and is in line to make amends for their loss last year to North Carolina.  They’ve been able to overcome the loss of Kalin Lucas thanks to the emergence of Draymond Green & Raymar Morgan finally living up to the expectations that have been placed on him since his arrival.  Meanwhile, Butler is riding  in with a 24-game win streak and will essentially be playing a home game this weekend.  They’ll be relying heavily on Gordon Hayward, whose draft stock is continually rising, and Matt Howard on the inside to lead them to victory.  Both teams rely heavily on man to man defense and are adept to low scoring games, so look for this one to go down to the wire.

MZ | Patrick M. | J. Tinsley | Jason H. — Michigan State

(1) Duke Vs. (2) West Virginia

Whether they were in a easy bracket or not, Duke won the games that were placed before them.  Devoid of the singular star which lead prior teams, they’ve rode the Singler, Smith & Scheyer to this point and the balance they provide to spread the floor out.  Flying somewhat under the radar for most of the year, this is the Blue Devils best chance for a return to prominence in years.  The Mountaineers are carrying the hopes of an entire state on their shoulders, as they make their first trip to the Final Four since Jerry West was lacing up for them.  They kept rolling after the loss of Darryl Bryant midway through the tourney, thanks to the emergence of Joe Mazzulla & Kevin Jones.  Their guards will need to stay out of foul trouble and be effective with their 1-3-1 zone to win.

Patrick M. | J. Tinsley | Jason H. — Duke

MZ – West Virginia

Four teams. Two spots.  With the Mountaineers & Bulldogs awaiting their foes in the Final Four, it’s time to start coming to the realization that this magical ride is almost over.  At this point, you can pretty much throw statistics out the window and the only thing to expect is the unexpected. Read the rest of this entry »

Two number ones heading back to class, one coasted on Thursday, which leaves one left to play. If this tournament has proved anything – picking the Final Four is about as accurate as Craig Sager’s wardrobe choices. Judging from last night, we’ve hopefully got more upsets and overtime thrillers to come. The only question is who? Follow The Crew as we attempt to look like geniuses, with the all-too-real chance we look like fools come night’s end. Read the rest of this entry »

Between SXSW, this great weather most of country is experiencing and the NCAA Tournament, there haven’t been many complaints around the TSS headquarters. Sunday’s games represent the end of the first weekend of the tournament and a return to “real life.” At least until the games start back up next Thursday. By the stroke of midnight tonight, the Sweet 16 will be set in stone. Enough of the intros though, we all know the deal around here. Less talking, more predicting. Read the rest of this entry »

“Hey Mike… How my bracket look?”

Hopefully yesterday was favorable towards you & your bracket. But if your like most people (99.7% of the world) & had Georgetown advancing far in the tournament, just take solace that everyone is still on equal footing. But if you were one of those starry-eyed dreamers who had Richmond going far, just go sit in the corner. Congratulations are in order for Murray State & Ohio as well, for pulling off the upsets no one saw coming except for their student bodies.

Murray State FTW!

We’re here to do it again, licking our wounds from yesterday & throwing our two cents in the ring.  Take a look at how we see the day unfolding and prepare for tip-off. Read the rest of this entry »

Once upon a time, on the banks of the Red Cedar, former MSU football phenom Plaxico Burress shot himself in New York. If you’ve ever seen 300, you know Spartans are willing to lose an eye and keep fighting, so we needn’t worry about Plaxico’s future. He plead guilty to a weapons charge and will serve two years in the clink, so we may as well close the chapter on this book of Michigan-affiliated numbskullery now. What we really need to look at is why a 12-year-old shot and killed a woman in Detroit. Read the rest of this entry »

Normally when we break the week down we go through and pick what we deem worthy of being highlighted again or feel was missed the first time. But in reality, your remarks play a big part in what we around here and this week our comments section had the internets going nuts © Paul Wall so to speak. So for TWTW, we decided to go with what you deemed worthy, by tallying which posts had the most comments. Read the rest of this entry »