Pitarresi: No idea on NCAA pool

 

I’m sitting here trying to do my tournament bracket, and I’ve got no idea.

 

This one is for work. I made out one yesterday for another pool, didn’t bring a copy with me, and now I can’t remember who I picked to win or many of the picks in the early rounds. It doesn’t make any difference, I guess. I’m just going with my gut pretty much. The tourney is so wide open, but I still think the top seeds will go a long way.

 

I the pool I have Syracuse winning its first two games, but if the Orange face Oklahoma in the South semifinal, I think they’ll run into a wall. I don’t think they can deal with Blake Griffin. They’d have to play very well offensively to balance whatever he does. I wrote a column today saying SU has Final Four potential, and I do think so, but they have to play their very best. With money on the line – my money – I prefer Oklahoma or North Carolina in the South (I think I’ll go with UNC), Pittsburgh in the East, Memphis in the West, nipping UConn, and Louisville in the Midwest. I have Pitt and Louisville in the final, with Pitt winning 79-71. I think DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields give them the edge. I like both coaches, Jamie Dixon at Pitt at Rick Pitino at Louisville, except now I just remembered that the Cardinals lost to Notre Dame by 33, so maybe I’m making a big mistake.

 

The only time I’ve won an NCAA tournament pool outright was more than 25 years ago. A guy ran up to me after a game I’d just covered, told me to give him $10, and handed me a sheet. I scribbled out the teams as fast as I could so I could get back to the office and write my story, really hadn’t a clue as to what I was doing, and won something like $280.

 

This is kind of like betting on horses. You can try to dope them out – I can’t, but a lot of people think they can – but you might be better off doing what I do when I go to Saratoga. I bet on gray horses, horses with names you like, and horses with girl jockeys, if there are any around anymore.

 

Sometimes it works. Good luck with your pool.