Madness

As a U.S. President once said, “…well my fellow Americans, it’s that time again.” March Madness has begun to determine this year’s Men’s and Women’s Division I Basketball champions. As I do each year, the following are my annual picks on the men’s side of the coin. Don’t look for any incredible analysis on my part, other my personal POV and eye test. So, without further adieu:

East Region: This region has the overall #1 seed in the Duke Blue Devils. They come into the tournament with two starters probably out. It’s a region of haves and have nots. While I see the usual suspects advancing, for me, Tom Izzo’s Michigan State teams always play their best this time of year. They are my final four pick from this region defeating a strong St. Johns team in the regional final.

South Region: This region has the defending champions in the Florida Gators. Aside from the second seeded Houston Cougars (another final four team from last year’s tourney), nobody really sticks out. But that also means that this division is up for grabs with teams who have had solid seasons, such as Vanderbilt and Illinois. At the end of this day, Houston will beat Illinois and Florida will beat the Commodores to reach the regional final with Florida making a return trip to the Final Four.

Midwest: This region is also a mixed bag of teams that can win it with a hot streak. For me, teams that fit this bill include fourth seed Alabama, Tennessee, and Texas Tech. While I am very tempted to pick my upset special here, I’m staying “chalky” with a Michigan/Iowa St. regional final. For Iowa St., this will be their furthest advance since their sweet sixteen appearance in 2024. More on this Final Four pick later.

West: I call this region the Blue Blood division. From Villanova to Gonzaga to Purdue, some think that the champion will come from this region. While it looks like a wild card region, I still think (?) that the cream will rise to the top with an Arizona vs. Gonzaga regional final. While I would not be surprised by a different outcome, I am still going with the Wildcats in the Final Four.

As for the Final Four, I’ll make it plain: Iowa State will defeat Michigan State in the title game to win their first national championship in their school’s history.

As always, this is for entertainment purposes only, so please, no wagering.

Rooting

In my previous life as an Assistant Sports Editor for my college newspaper back when there were more newspapers than blogs (The Towerlight), one of the many beats I covered included Men’s Varsity Basketball. It was during this time that I met Mike Dukes. He was one of the leading scorers for Division I Towson University as well as team captain.

But before knowing Mike the student athlete, I personally knew Mike from being on the “yard.” Whether between classes or seeing him down at the “Union”, I always enjoyed when we were, as the kids now say, “chopping it up”. So, when one of my other college friends told me about what he was up to these days, I knew I had to give him a shout-out.

He is currently the Women’s Head Coach of the Pikesville Panthers in the Maryland High School Class 1A division. This upcoming Saturday his team (24-2), currently ranked 10^th in the state, will be going for their sixth league title, their fifth in a row. His team’s calls it the “Drive for Five.”

They have won 16 out of their last 17 games, including winning twenty games this year by 23 points or more. Since joining the team in 2017, his teams have won more than 85% of their games.

How does he do it? “You know, we need to stay grounded and focused. Grounded and focused,” Dukes said in a recent interview, repeating it for emphasis. “Our mindset is we are going to work harder. We know that people are certainly trying to amp it up and that bull’s-eye on our back is bigger. It’s bigger than ever.”

Knowing Mike, I know that this is already too much talk about him. But I just want him to know that I wish him the best of luck and continued success in the future.

Pursuit

This week’s blog post is about pressure. And I’m not talking about the songs by Billy Joel and Ari Lennox. I’m talking about pressure on the most critical position on the football field: quarterback. If the recent Super Bowls have proven anything, defense is back in style. More precisely, effective pass rushing. Six of the top ten sack leaders this season were on playoff teams. In fact, the top five teams that led the league in quarterback pressures this past season were playoff teams. The Denver Broncos (who set a record with a 42.9% pressure rate) had only six more than the second-place team, this year’s Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

You don’t even have to sack the quarterback to be effective. You only have to threaten to sack him.

Because I’m a Law & Order guy at heart, I don’t believe in coincidences. Apparently, the league is also catching the vapors. In the mock drafts that I’ve been perusing, the emphasis is on this year’s crop of edge rushers. In speaking at the recent NFL combine, Washington Commanders head coach Dan Quinn (who’s team was 22^nd in pressures this season) made it plain: “You want to see someone who has demonstrated speed and initial quickness to beat somebody on the field.”

Here is a quick look at the ones that I will have an eye on in this year's draft:

·       David Bailey (Texas Tech): Led the nation in sacks. Also had the fastest time in the 40 yd. dash at his position. Most of the mock drafts I have seen have him in the top three players to be selected overall.

·       Rueben Bain (University of Miami): Had 9.5 sacks this past season. Played half of the season against the top 20 teams in the country, including an eight tackle (1 sack) performance in this year’s national championship game.

·       Here's a two for one: Arvell Reese (6.5 sacks) and Sonny Styles from Ohio State. Hard to separate the two even though Reese was the edge guy and Styles was the linebacker. What peaked my interest was that the previous year Styles had 100 tackles and six sacks before switching to linebacker.

·       My dark horse candidate is Cashius Howell from Texas A&M. He had 11.5 sacks this past season and was clocked running ten yards in 1.58 seconds at the combine. Not a typo. Less than two seconds.

Here’s hoping that your team gets the guy that they want. And always, this is for entertainment purposes only so please, no wagering.