My Sweet 16 Picks (Southeast/West Region)

The second weekend of March Madness provides great theater because we all wonder if Cinderella's slipper will still fit on Thursday or Friday, and what new storylines will develop for the weekend. Due to the new format being able to see every game, I feel more involved with this tournament than ones in years past. 

West Region

3.) Connecticut vs. 2.) San Diego State- I read an interesting stat via The Big Lead: "UConn Huskies are 0-7 since 1992 in NCAA Tourney games in opponent's state".  That makes me feel uneasy, but did anyone ever consider Kemba Walker?  D.J. Gay will struggle trying to get shots off against Walker for damn sure.  But I worry about who will actually defend Kawhi Leonard on the Huskies. They have a couple big bodies, but nothing at Leonard's level. I feel it will be a pro-Aztec crowd, but I am confident the Huskies will win. The Aztecs have not done anything remarkable, just beat teams they were supposed to. I think Kemba and the crew is on another level.  UCONN 77-68

5.) Arizona v. 1.) Duke- A lot of people do not think Arizona belongs here because of some bad calls in their last game against Texas. But Derrick Williams and his crew does not care. He is an absolute monster, and I do think Duke will have some problems against him. Williams could get the Plumlee brothers and Ryan Kelly into some serious foul trouble. Don't think I missed Coach K's comments about trying to get Kyrie Irving being more involved, which scares me because one of the best coaches is trying to sabotage a National Championship contender. The Dukies will get it together and get a big game out of Seth Curry, just feel it's his time to shine.  DUKE 73-66 

Southeast Region 

3.) BYU v. 2.) Florida- Jimmer got the SI Curse. It sucks when he will shoot about 10 for 32 with 18 points. The Cougars have faced two teams that are very similar to their style of play leading to much success. But now they run into the big bad Gators who are nothing like them. By the way, anyone else find it hilarious that they are a bunch of Mormons roaming Bourbon Street as we speak? What could they do there? Anyways, the Gators have a great combination of size with Alex Tyus and Patric Young plus the guard play of Kenny Boyton and Erving Walker. I believe the Gators will have too much size and speed for the Cougars. Sadly, this is where Jimmer time comes to end.  UF 81-67 

8.) Butler v. 4.) Wisconsin- A white boy wet dream!  Just kidding.  This game could go several ways, and I am stealing this thought from my buddy Ron. He told me last week his wish would be for Bo Ryan to have deep conversation with Rob Jeter about UWM's success against Butler. I personally think the Badgers need to go inside much more than they have been doing in the first two games.  The two biggest things I would like to see if I am a Badger fan would be to get Matt Howard into foul trouble and lock Shelvin Mack down. This will be a complete nail-biter with Jordan Taylor hitting the big shot in the final seconds.  UW 64-62

-Charlie. 

Beware of the Cougars

If you haven't noticed yet, I am trying to do a write up of most of the Sweet 16.  The reason? Well, I am not on a sweet Spring Break, only working a little bit, and this will be my school work for the week. Once again, you are welcome America.  Let's talk about everyone's favorite Mormons...

Like Thursday, the BYU Cougars were playing during the Wisconsin Badger game.  I watched the games with Badger fans therefore I missed Jimmer time twice. I am disappointed like a Mormon who cannot experience Bourbon Street, but from everything I have read, the Cougars are here to stay.  Some felt that Gonzaga would give BYU some problems with Robert Sacre and their large front line.  The Cougars proved they can out shoot anybody in the nation, and definitely could find themselves booking a trip to Houston.



Jimmer Fredette had a ho-hum 34 points with 7 threes last night. He is only one of five players who had 30-plus points in their first two games in the NCAA Tournament. Who is really worried about his defense right now?  I feel the people who wrote off BYU forgot how much Jimmer relishes being a part of the big stage.  Jimmer loves being the main actor in this NCAA Tournament movie. He knows people live and die on every shot he takes in March. If you disagree, then explain how both of his games have been worthy of the CBS billing, or how BYU-SDSU rated the highest out of the three games on a CBS Tripleheader Saturday. Everyone loves Jimmer, and CBS does it best to showcase his talents.  Every time he has the ball I and thousand others want him shooting the three.  

The thing that made BYU scary last night, more so than other nights without Brandon Davies, was the multiple scorers not named Jimmer.  Three others players scored in double figures for the Cougars. It showed me that if Jimmer has an off night, there will be people  who can step up maybe not at Jimmer's level, but can do enough to keep BYU in the game.  Who knows what the story will be against Florida, but all I remember is these two teams going to double overtime last year in a great game. In that very game, Jimmer had 37.  I expect a classic out of New Orleans.

-Charlie.

BYU Is A Roosterblock

I said earlier this week that Brandon Davies, the former BYU forward better have done something egregious to get him kicked off the team.  I also promised to send Chuck Sheen to Provo if it wasn't worth the suspension. Well look's who is sending Mr. Sheen.



Davies got busted for having premarital sex with his girlfriend. Obviously, most people with the mind of a sixteen to twenty-five year old thinks this utterly ridiculous.  Granted, every father with a daughter high school age or younger thinks this is the best school in America, and will immediately be applying their own child to go there.  I have a tough time with this too. If I could chart the conversations I have with close friends, it goes sixty to seventy percent about sports, twenty-five percent about something regarding sex, and maybe five percent regarding school.

Every single college kid always has sex on the brain, check that... every male college kid has sex on the brain. There is research proving me right, I don't feel like showing you but we all know males are sexually charged.  Sure, a coach could have a rule where they do not want their players to have sex during the season, or drinking, but a whole Honor Code banning them against ever doing it throughout their time at BYU is just a hard concept to think about if you are not Mormon or do not go to school there.

Also NYC Barstool made such a valid point about Jimmer Fredette and his girlfriend, it's hard for me to believe that the Jimmer is pure. It's like saying Justin Bieber is pure, you know there is no way in the entire world these guys are clean. Tim Tebow might be the only one I believe, but he is even trending water. Another person to add to that list from the other side was Britney Spears at age sixteen which we all know was a complete farce. Basically, I never believe when nationally known people say they are clean unless they are A.C. Green.

While she did not have sex on the Real World New Orleans I, Julie from BYU went completely nuts in the Nola. She had been caged up at BYU, and just went buckwild so there is precedence from both sexes. I am just saying if you keep these locks on people who are Mormon or not, it's hard to believe people will not rebel.  I understand these are the rules put in front of them, but if you are not a Mormon, why you would want to go to this school.

-Charlie.

Could I Survive BYU's Honor Code?

As I got home from learning about the frontiers of the 19th century, I saw that BYU forward Brandon Davies, the team's leading rebounder and third leading scorer got dismissed for violating the BYU honor code.  Let me tell you right now, Davies better have done something pretty stupid for this to happen because this team is a number one seed, contender to get to the Final Four, and if this is due to someone swearing I might have to send Chuck Sheen to Provo. Let's take a look at the honor code being discussed.

1.) Be honest:  Simple enough for most people, I think I could do that one but what if your girlfriend asks you 'does this make me look fat?' Do you tell her yes and explain I am just following the Honor Code. How about if you ate someone else's leftovers on accident? Honesty is usually a good policy, but it can get you into trouble. 

2.) Live a chaste and virtuous life: This in polite terms means you will not have any sort of sex while you are at BYU and you will have high moral standards. Obviously, nobody at BYU has been to Picklefest in Eau Claire where both of these get thrown out the window by 11 am.  

3.) Obey the law and all campus policies: Now, I have friends who do not stay out of trouble, but most of them do. This is probably the simplest rule of the nine.  Just don't be an idiot, and don't cheat on tests, there ya go.     

4.) Use clean language: This might be the hardest one. I curse like a sailor at times, especially when I have had a few cocktails in me. Sometimes it just rolls off the tongue, not even thinking about it.  Can I just tell people on campus to use earmuffs? Because Vince Vaughan taught me if I say earmuffs, I can say whatever I want.

5.)  Respect others: If BYU took a look at my apartment, we would break this code in about an hour. It's not like we hate each other, it's just we like to give each other shit all the time. That's what guys my age do.

6.) Abstain from alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee, and substance abuse: Well seeing as I have already had four cups of coffee in the first hour of waking up, this one would also be hard for me. I honestly think I could go without boozing, but that as well would be pretty damn hard. I wonder where they keep their flasks.  

7.) Participate regularly in church services: This is a layup really. If you don't booze it up on the weekends, it's not hard to go to church on Sunday. 

8.) Observe the Dress and Grooming Standards: Some people would have a problem with this, I myself would not. I always try to look nice when I go to class because if I dress lazy, I tend to doze off... can't explain why it happens. Mike, my SnoTap writer would struggle as he tweeted a week ago he had to wear jeans for the first time this semester.

9.) Encourage others in their commitment to comply to Honor Code: This makes no sense, do you have regular meetings with people saying are you honoring the Code? Does Ty Detmer come back and talk about the Code? I need answers

BYU will miss Davies, but it will not affect their seeding. I remember Kenyon Martin who was Cincinnati's best player going down for the number one Bearcats during the Conference USA tournament and still got a top seed.

-Charlie.

Teach Me How To Jimmer

I actually am not a fan of this version. I don't like the voice they use in the chorus, but it's four minutes of Jimmer highlights. I started to consider if I wanted to order a 'you got Jimmer'd' t-shirt. The guy is awesome, and he will be a valuable energy guy for an NBA team. I don't think his stroke is as good as J.J. Redick, but Jimmer can do a lot of the same things that Redick does for the Orlando Magic.

-Charlie.

Welcome To Jimmer's World

If you kept up with my past work, you would know that I have never been the biggest BYU fan in any sport. I have no idea why, maybe it's the Mormon thing or I just liked making fun of all the white guys they had on their teams.  Anyways, that changed last year when Jimmer Fredette burst onto the scene and now he is the man of the hour in college basketball.

I really think if you have unbelievable range and knack for getting buckets, people are going to love you all over the country.  I will put it this way, I put up with a horseshit feed to watch Fredette play on Wednesday night against 4. San Diego State because I thought it was that important. I wanted to see how Fredette handled himself on a big stage in a meaningful game.  All he did was dropped 43 points and go 5/8 from long range. I would say he handled that well, wouldn't you?

People are always looking for comparisons and wondering if he will be a good NBA player. My response is Stephen Curry 2.0 despite what Andy Katz tells you.  Jimmrt is a complete scorer with unlimited range, and in my opinion, he might better slasher than Curry was in college.  I think he will be a great NBA role player for a playoff contender.  Jimmer can be a great energy guy for the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics, etc. But what if they have a run in the tournament? 

Remember, Curry wasn't considered a top 10 pick before the NCAAs.  Most people thought he should go back to school for another year. Then Curry dotted everyone he faces creating this huge buzz and nearly carried a 10 seed into the Final Four. Fredette has the ability to do the exact same. He relishes the opportunity to live in the big moment and always tends to step up.  Watch out for the Cougars come March. 

-Charlie.