Breaking Down the 2015 Brackets

There’s really only one underlying question going into this year’s NCAA tournament. It’s only been done eight times since the tournament era began in 1938, and hasn’t been accomplished in thirty-nine years. Can the Kentucky Wildcats go undefeated and win the National Championship? More importantly, do you have the foresight and audacity to pick against them in your bracket?

The last team to run the table was the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers. Since then five teams have finished the regular season perfect, but succumbed to the entertaining and unpredictable lunacy that is March Madness. Under Coach John Calipari, the Wildcats began the season as the number one ranked team, and never gave up the top spot. They had notable out of conference wins over Kansas, Louisville and North Carolina before coasting through a meager SEC conference. They ended up with an average margin of victory of twenty points per game. The real debate might be are the Wildcats really that good, or have they yet to face a real challenge?

When there’s a team as good as Kentucky, it has the tendency to deflate the rest of the field. This year’s tournament is guaranteed to have the usual exciting moments and run of the mill upsets. Who will be this year’s George Mason or Florida Gulf Coast? Will Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski reach his twelfth Final Four and tie John Wooden for the most all time? Or will all of the focus be on Kentucky as they strive to make history? The tournament will have all of the answers, and hopefully your bracket won’t be in shambles after the second round. Once again, let’s see if we can make some predictions by taking a look at each region.

East

Player to Watch: Buddy Hield, Oklahoma Sooners

Most Intriguing Second Round Matchup: Michigan St. vs. Georgia

Most Anticipated Potential Matchup: Oklahoma vs. Virginia

Team with the Best Chance to Ruin Your Bracket: Michigan St.

Besides being cautious of the inevitable 12-5 upset, a couple of my common rules when going into the tournament are to mind teams riding hot streaks and always be on the lookout for Tom Izzo. The East has both. Next to Kentucky, no team’s recent play has been better than Villanova, peaking at the right time and winning their last fifteen in a row to take the once mighty Big East regular season and conference tournament titles. On the bottom side of the bracket is Michigan State and Coach Tom Izzo, who has the capability to take any of his teams on a deep run in March. Unfortunately for Izzo he’ll have a third round matchup against Virginia, winners of the ACC regular season. Even though Virginia has lost two of their last three, they are one of the best defensive teams in the country, and will make a run to the Final Four in Indianapolis.

South

Player to Watch: Jahlil Okafor, Duke Blue Devils

Most Intriguing Second Round Matchup: St. John’s vs. San Diego State

Most Anticipated Potential Matchup: Iowa State vs. Duke

Team with the Best Chance to Ruin Your Bracket: Utah

Let’s start with Gonzaga. Sure they won their regular season and conference tournament titles, and only have two losses on the year. But they do that practically every season. The Bulldogs rip through a meager West Coast Conference and then show their true colors on the tournament. As successful as Gonzaga has been in recent years (17 straight tournament appearances), they’ve never made it to the Final Four. I don’t see them advancing past Iowa State, winners of their last five to take their conference tournament against a strong Big 12. All things are lined up for Duke, with arguably the easiest draw of all of the number one seeds. They’ll meet a good Utah team in the Sweet Sixteen, but have the number one overall pick in this June’s NBA Draft in Okafor. Coach K will not only reach another Final Four and tie Wooden for the most all-time appearances, but will reach the finals to compete for a fifth NCAA championship.

West

Player to Watch: Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin Badgers

Most Intriguing Second Round Matchup: Wofford vs. Arkansas

Most Anticipated Potential Matchup: Arizona vs. Wisconsin

Team with the Best Chance to Ruin Your Bracket: Oregon

When the number two seed makes a legitimate case to be a one seed, you know it’s a strong region. Arizona won eight in a row to finish the regular season before rolling through the Pac-12 tournament. They will have a tough road ahead with potential matchups against Ohio St. and Baylor. On the other side of the bracket is top seed Wisconsin, winners of the Big Ten regular season and conference tournament titles. Like Arizona, Wisconsin’s path won't be easy, with an emerging Oregon team and North Carolina in their way. The potential for upsets are there, but I don’t see many happening. The streaking Wildcats and Badgers are two of the hottest teams going into the tournament, and they both will continue their quality play and meet in the Elite Eight. The game will be one of the most entertaining of the tourney, with Arizona sneaking out on top to make it to Indianapolis.

Midwest

Player to Watch: Melo Trimble, Maryland Terrapins

Most Intriguing Second Round Matchup: Buffalo vs. West Virginia

Most Anticipated Potential Matchup: Notre Dame vs. Kansas

Team with the Best Chance to Ruin Your Bracket: Kentucky

Kentucky is the best team and odds on favorite to win the national championship. They will be picked in a majority of brackets, and most “experts” are picking them to win it all. So how can Kentucky ruin your bracket? By losing, of course. The region has quality teams that could challenge Kentucky in Kansas, Maryland and ACC tournament champions Notre Dame, winners of eight of their last nine. Kentucky also had the benefit of playing in a SEC conference that gave them very little competition. Plus the tournament is not always about the best team, but who’s playing the best basketball. These are some conventional arguments against Kentucky, but are they logical? The truth is Kentucky is well coached, versatile, and have no weaknesses on either side of the ball. The only way they will lose is if they beat themselves. When all is said and done, Kentucky and Coach Cal will have accomplished the improbable and finish 40-0, and will be the last team cutting down the nets.  

So Long Pawnee

In most cases I tend to root for the underdog. I like to believe that most people do. So when this week's series finale of Parks and Recreation was moved to ten o'clock to make room for The Voice, I was a little perplexed. For one of the best comedies in recent years that lived in the eight o'clock hour for seven seasons, I viewed it as a sign of disrespect from NBC. I can understand that America needs its fix of singing competition shows, but the ten o'clock hour is reserved for crime dramas and comedies on cable networks that have a TV-MA rating (think It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia). For another smart and heartwarming comedy that had a history of fighting for ratings (30 Rock, anyone), Parks and Rec deserved a better send off.

The bottom line is that it's sad to see Parks and Rec have to end. I remember tuning in to the first episode and immediately thinking it was a poor rip off of The Office. Mind you that the show's creator Greg Daniels also developed The Office, so I understood that it was supposed to be another mockumentary and satirical comedy. Amy Poehler’s ambitious Leslie Knope took over for Steve Carell’s Michael Scott, but instead of a paper company she was the Deputy Director of the Parks and Recreation Department in Pawnee, Indiana, attempting to both further her career towards being the first female president and aggravating her likeable staff to find ways improve her town. At the time I felt The Office couldn't be duplicated, and for that I wrote off Parks and Rec and initially never gave it a chance. After several recommendations from friends and family that eventually resulted in some binge watching on Netflix, I quickly changed my tune.

In many ways, Parks and Rec is better than its predecessor. Both shows have distinguishable casts, and an argument can be made of which has the better ensemble. But I have to give the edge to Parks and Rec for its setting and supporting characters. The fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana, provided more presence and definition than Scranton, Pennsylvania ever did for The Office. Pawnee was the butt of more jokes that it could have been considered an actual physical character. The town even has its own website. As for secondary characters, maybe besides Todd Packer and Cousin Mose, The Office didn’t have many that stood out. What would Parks and Rec be without Jean-Ralphio, his twin sister Mona Lisa Saperstien, Ethel Beavers, Brandi Maxxxx, The Douche, Joan Callamezzo, Perd Hapley, Tammy 2, Councilman Jeremy Jamm or even Li’l Sebastian? Additionally where The Office might have gone on for a tad too long, Parks and Rec ended on the right note. The Office pushed on for two more lackluster seasons after Steve Carell left at the end of the seventh season. Parks and Rec wasn’t going stale and probably could have continued, but it would have been close to impossible due to the growing notoriety of the cast. Even though his season was cut short, it was satisfying to see the cast able to bring the show to an end.

The final thirteen episodes of Parks and Rec take place in the year 1917. The series finale went further into the future, providing glimpses of where the main characters end up after one last farewell at the parks department. We find out Garry continues as Mayor of Pawnee and lives until his 100^th birthday, Donna starts a non-profit, Teach Yo’Self, in Seattle, April and Andy begin their family in Washington D.C., Tom is broke after attempting to expand Tom’s Bistro, leading him to write the best-seller “Failure: An American Success Story,” Ron becomes head of Pawnee’s National Park, and Leslie becomes governor of Indiana. Even Chris and Ann make one last appearance. There were no surprises or shock effect, and it was a safe and happy ending that provided closure to its fans. Though like many other quality shows, the finale did not reflect the creativity of the entire series. What we have to remember and fall back on is the town of Pawnee and its beloved inhabitants. Regardless of the finale, Parks and Rec discarded its underdog status a long time ago, while winning the hearts of many and earning the respect it deserves.