Fool me once, Johnnies
Ineed to fill out a new bracket. I made a mistake. Arizona State (-1½) over St. John’s: When you’ve watched a team as talented and inconsistent and indifferent and electric as the Johnnies for nearly five months, it’s only natural to be as frustratingly unpredictable. Just 24 hours after picking the Red Storm to advance past the First Four, I can’t see them winning their first NCAA Tournament game in 19 years.
While I initially believed the clean slate would reinvigorate the reeling team, the Johnnies have repeatedly proven incapable of flipping a switch. Even if I were to overlook St. John’s four losses in its past five games — the lone win coming over last-place DePaul, which twice beat the Red Storm this season — I can’t ignore the momentum and experience of the Sun Devils, who played in the First Four last season, and have won six of their past eight games. Even if St. John’s is able to take advantage of Arizona State’s turnover-prone offense, and get out in transition, the Sun Devils will earn back plenty of extra possessions by hammering the Red Storm’s Achilles’ heel. While Arizona State ranked 38th in the nation in
rebounding rate this season, St. John’s ranked 338th, and put up some of its worst performances of the season when more physical squads — Xavier, Providence, DePaul, Georgetown — dominated the Johnnies’ undersized front line.
I apologize for the change, but the rest of my bracket is safe. Neither is beating Buffalo in the first round.
North Carolina Central (+5) over North Dakota
State: Finally, some teams that I’m familiar with.
In just another example of the absurdity of midmajor leagues opting for three days of excitement over an opportunity to send its best teams to the NCAA Tournament, a pair of 4seeds from their respective conference tournaments will face off for the right to be annihilated by Duke.
Clearly, both come in with momentum, but the Eagles have been here before, losing in the First Four the past two years. The Bison, who take nearly half their shots from the perimeter, haven’t been on this stage in four years, and could struggle to find their touch under a spotlight they’ve never seen. This season: 13-14-1 2011-18 record: 224-189-8