In this corner, it’s the three-time defending NFC South champion New Orleans Saints and their record setting leader, Drew Brees. 

To the northeast of New Orleans, long-time gunslinger Matt Ryan readies his Atlanta Falcons for another challenge in 2020. 

In Charlotte, the Panthers’ new quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, and their new offensive coordinator, Joe Brady, reconnect after spending time together in New Orleans two years ago. 

But the NFC South’s biggest ripple is expected to come from Tampa Bay as former New England legend, Tom Brady, should add even more drama to this already-tough division.

In addition to Brady, the Buccaneers have now added Brady’s former swashbuckling tight end, Rob Gronkowski, after handing the Patriots a fourth round pick as Gronk ended his one-year retirement to play ball with his ol’ buddy from New England.

Arghh, matey!

Tampa’s Buccos’ will now have even more of the sports media’s focus (good for Saints/Falcons/Panthers fans) with the former Patriots’ dynamic duo on the squad.  With that, the post-season expectations for the south Florida franchise just took another leap, too.

For the current NFC South kingpins, the New Orleans Saints, the Gronkowski addition in Tampa will add more fuel to the fire. 

Head coach, Sean Payton, and Hall-of-Famer quarterback Drew Brees will not lay down and anoint the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Bucs as the best team in this division, either. 

With the NFL draft coming up on Thursday, the newest signings by Tampa Bay may alter the draft day decisions for New Orleans as well as Atlanta and Carolina. 

With an unexpectedly bad (5-11) season in 2019, the Carolina Panthers have been busy this year, too. 

They fired their long-time head coach (Ron Rivera – who is now the head coach in Washington) and then hired a “hot” college coach from Baylor named Matt Rhule. 

Along with the coaching change, the Panthers have been dealing with issues with key players, too.  Quarterback Cam Newton, a former overall number 1 draft pick and NFL MVP, has been told to hit the road due to his long litany of injuries and inconsistent play.   He is now a free agent looking for a new team to play for.

The Panthers replaced him with New Orleans’ Saints back-up quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, and his former Saints’ mentor, Joe Brady, as the offensive coordinator.  Meanwhile, the team just locked-up their current best offensive weapon, Christian McCaffrey, with an expensive four year deal with $64 million contract extension.

Defensively, the Panthers’ formerly-dominating defense will start this season without their best player in five-time All-Pro linebacker, Luke Kuechly.  The 30-year old linebacker announced his retirement after eight seasons in the NFL citing possible long-term health concerns.

On the surface, it appears that Carolina has a number of holes to fill in the NFL draft and via other acquisitions to become competitive again in the NFC South.  Carolina can become the spoiler in this season’s drama if the team is rejuvenated by a new coach and attitude.

In Atlanta, the Falcons made one of the league’s biggest splashes in the off-season by signing running back Todd Gurley in a deal with the Los Angeles Rams. 

At times, Gurley has been a beast running the ball while other times he seemed to fade into the background.  For the Falcons’ 30th ranked running game, Gurley should help the team achieve more offensive balance and preserve the careers of both qua...

Finally, a “normal” sports day is coming this week!  On Thursday night, Round 1 of the NFL draft will take place.  Round 2 and 3 are scheduled on Friday while Rounds 4, 5, 6, and 7 will wrap things up on Saturday.

Sure, there won’t be a big crowd to applaud and, for New York Giants fans, to boo their choices in person.  I’m going to miss that, aren’t you?

However, this is basically NFL’s version of going to the grocery store to select one or more items from various sections of the store to complete their team. 

Some of the NFL’s best teams in the past few years (New England, New Orleans,  and, lately, San Francisco) have been known to trade down for more late round “hamburger” picks rather than go for a first round “steak” selection.   The best teams always seem to know what they are shopping for at the NFL Draft Supermarket and are ready to make a deal to the perennial losers if the price is right.

Other NFL teams head to the annual draft with lofty aspirations and, a few years later, learn that their shopping skills were just plain terrible. 

Let’s take a look at the team with the #1 pick in this year’s NFL draft.  The Cincinnati Bengals were 2-14 last season and are now on the clock.  The entire football world expects the Bengals to select LSU quarterback (and native Ohioan) Joe Burrow with the first pick on Thursday evening. 

However, Cincinnati’s track record for building their team with first round talent has been a bust.  Below is a list of the Bengals top picks for the past ten seasons:

Other than the oft-injured wide receiver A.J. Green, there aren’t many names you might recognize on this list.  Most of the past ten top draft picks by Cincinnati have not developed into All-Star level talent. 

Though most of the blame is likely from lousy scouting and selection decisions on draft day, culpability may also be attributed to the coaching staff which was unable to develop the player’s skills and to the athlete for failing to work hard enough to improve his performance and eliminate deficiencies on the field.

Given that a franchise like Cincinnati needs a lot of help at other positions to become a playoff contender, would it make sense for them to trade this year’s number one overall pick and utilize additional draft picks in order to help fill the team’s multitude of needs?

Many questions like this abound as the NFL draft approaches on Thursday. 

Let’s play “NFL Draft – Deal or No Deal” and examine a few big questions coming up before the draft this week:

Question #1 – If Miami offers Cincinnati all three of their first round draft picks (#5, #19 (from Pittsburgh), and #26 (from Houston)) in exchange for Cincinnati’s overall #1 pick, should the Bengals take the deal?  

Evaluation:  Given the Bengals’ need to get a roster full of more talented players, this would appear to be a very good deal for Cincinnati.  At the #5 spot, the Bengals could grab one of the remaining top quarterbacks (likely to be Oregon’s Justin Herbert or Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa) and then add two additional talented players with the other two first round selections. 

On the other hand, we’re talking about a team which has bungled the majority of its first round draft picks the past ten seasons.   The probabilities would favor of Cincinnati making poor selections with at least two of these three first round picks.

SwampSwami says:  NO DEAL!  Cincinnati should keep the pick, draft Joe Burrow,

It’s been a bone-crushing week for promoter and corporate entrepreneur, Vince McMahon.

The second reincarnation of McMahon’s spring football league, the XFL, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy early this week.

On Thursday, McMahon’s wrestling corporation, the WWE, announced it has been forced to cut expenses as it released a significant number of the company’s wrestling performers. 

Vince McMahon, Sr. started his own wrestling business in 1953.  His son, Vince McMahon, Jr., has taken the company to new heights. 

The WWE went public many years ago (NYSE symbol: WWE) to generate more cash and allowed the family business to become a worldwide entertainment phenomenon.

In the case for both of his business ventures, the recent C-Virus pandemic has hit McMahon over the head with a virtual folding chair as the lack of paying customers put the nail in the coffin of the fledgling XFL spring football venture.  Meanwhile, McMahon’s WWE organization just laid-off wrestling talent and has cut other operating costs as revenues dwindle.

Let’s examine each of these issues separately.

First, McMahon’s new spring football league, the XFL, which had just played five games in 2020, filed paperwork for Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy earlier this week on April 13. 

The filing (which I have reviewed in detail – or the lack there-of) apparently isn’t required to reveal its assets, but it does list its top 25 creditors. 

Below is a list of the top creditors with a little more “color” than provided by the bankruptcy filing itself:

Remember, these are unsecured creditors and will likely receive a percentage of the amount owed depending on the outcome of the restructuring/bankruptcy proceedings.

In the case of the latest reincarnation of the XFL, the inability of the league to continue playing football games due to the recent C-virus pandemic might have been a blessing in disguise for Vince McMahon’s wallet. 

Though the television contracts and production for the new league were far superior than those for 2019’s ill-fated spring football venture named the Association of American Football (AAF), the number of fans in the stands was strikingly similar.  Weak.

At an average ticket price of $25-30 and average attendance of less than 20,000 fans per home game, the XFL’s revenue stream was simply incapable of covering the expenses of operating a professional football league.  Cash from operations is required to pay for coaches, players, referees, staff, stadium leases, and assorted other costs.

Even though McMahon’s XFL capped player salaries (except for quarterbacks) at $55,000 per year, the league’s expenses (just like the departed AAF in 2019) are much greater than the revenues being generated from television and the fans (tickets and merchandise).     

Yes, the XFL’s television presentations were more interesting to watch than the AAF and certainly had a solid production value.  However, just like the 2019 AAF, the television ratings and the number of fans in the stands were dropping by the week, too.

According to reports, Vince McMahon personally sold hundreds of millions...

Gonzaga 76, Dayton 68

After 21 straight years participating in the annual March Madness college basketball tournament, the long wait is finally over for Gonzaga.

The Bulldogs, the West #1 seed in our (fake) 2020 SwampSwami.com Make Believe March Madness basketball tournament, finished off a stellar season with a convincing 76-68 win over the surprising Dayton Flyers on Monday night in Atlanta.

Coach Mark Few’s team has been knocking on the door for years.  Gonzaga , which has won the West Coast Conference regular season title 19 of the past 20 seasons, has bloomed from a perennial underdog in the March tournament into a national powerhouse over the past several years.  Their lone basketball resume blemish was the lack of a national championship in Spokane, Washington.

This time, though, it was the Zags cutting down the nets after Monday night’s finale! 

Gonzaga, which subdued South champion Stephen F. Austin on Saturday, continued to rely on its dominating frontcourt to provide enough offense to wear down the East #1 seed from the Atlantic 10 Conference, Dayton.  The Flyers trailed 39-36 at the half and kept the score close throughout much of the game.  However, several missed free throw attempts during the last ten minutes thwarted a final comeback attempt by Dayton.

The Zags were led in scoring by their sophomore third-team AP All-American, Filip Petrusev.  The 6’11” forward from Belgrade, Serbia scored a game high 25 points on Monday night while adding nine rebounds and two blocked shots.  He was named as the SwampSwami.com Make Believe March Madness Tournament MVP.

Dayton, which ended its season with a record of 35-3, put four players in double figures led by senior guard Trey Landers with 14 points.  First-team All-American forward Obi Toppin added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Flyers.  Toppin recently announced that he plans to head to the NBA rather than return for his final year of college eligibility at Dayton next season.

Dayton coach Anthony Grant, (who was fired after six seasons at the University of Alabama) just concluded his third year at the school and recently won national Coach-of-the-Year honors.  With his best player departing, Grant’s name is already being circulated for a number of high profile coaching positions.  

Gonzaga’s Mark Few has been with the program since 1989 as an associate and, since, 1999, as the head basketball coach.   With a career overall winning percentage of nearly 83% and a conference winning percentage of 90%, the soft-spoken Mark Few has quietly built Gonzaga into a men’s basketball powerhouse in Spokane.  

With this year’s triumph, the team’s actions on the court have spoken louder than their humble coach’s words.

Congratulations to Gonzaga!  They are the winners of this year’s first (and, hopefully, last) SwampSwami.com 2020 Make Believe March Madness basketball tournament.

The Cinderella season for Dayton will continue, but the clock finally stuck midnight for the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks on Saturday night in Atlanta during the SwampSwami.com 2020 Make Believe March Madness Final Faux national semifinal games. 

National Semifinal Game 1 – Dayton 82, Villanova 77

In the first game of Saturday’s MBMM doubleheader, the 34-2 Dayton Flyers’ dream season will continue after the East #1 seed took a hard-fought 82-77 victory over Villanova to advance to the national championship game on Monday night.

Dayton’s Naismith national coach-of-the year, Anthony Grant, took a page out of Villanova’s game plan with a methodical offense and stifling defense in taking down the Wildcats.  The surprising Flyers from the Atlantic 10 Conference, winners of 25 games in a row, forced Villanova into ten first-half turnovers in grabbing a 39-32 first half advantage.  Dayton has not lost a basketball game since an overtime loss to Colorado on December 21, 2019. 

In the second half, the pro-Dayton crowd in Atlanta lifted the Flyers offense as All-American forward Obi Toppin caught fire and threw down an impressive dunk during a pivotal 12-1 run.  Toppin finished with a game-high 26 points and added 11 rebounds with three blocked shots.  Guard Jaylen Crutcher nailed four straight free throws in the final minute to seal the victory for Dayton.

Villanova, winners of 11 of its past 12 games and champions of the Midwest Region as the #3 seed, kept the contest close, but Coach Jay Wright’s Big East team never led during this opening national semifinal game.  The Wildcats shot 40% from the field but missed a number of three-point attempts as they attempted to rally down the stretch.  Guards Justin Moore and Collin Gillespie led the Wildcats with 15 points apiece.  Villanova’s season ends with a record of 28-8.

National Semifinal Game 2 – Gonzaga 86, Stephen F. Austin 82

#12 South seed Stephen F. Austin excited the crowd in the first half of their game with West Region champion Gonzaga, but the Zags’ dominating front line delivered the decisive blow as Gonzaga (36-2) grabbed a thrilling 86-82 win over SFA in the SwampSwami.com Make Believe March Madness national semifinal nightcap game in Atlanta on Saturday.

The darlings of this year’s MBMM event and winners of 19 straight games heading into the contest, Stephen F. Austin raced to an early 8-0 lead and forced Gonzaga Coach Mark Few to burn an early time-out.  The pro-Lumberjack crowd roared its approval as SFA’s defensive energy led to eight fast-break baskets during the first half as the team headed to the locker room leading 45-40.  Starting guards Kevon Harris and Roti Ware pressured Gonzaga into ten first-half turnovers which led to several easy buckets for the Lumberjacks. 

After halftime, Gonzaga protected the basketball much better and then methodically worked the ball into the lane to their much bigger front line.  Gonzaga sophomore Filip Petrusev dominated the game down the stretch as the 6’ 11” forward scored 22 of his game-high 28 points in the second half as the Zags finally snagged the lead for the first time at 75-74 with just over four minutes remaining in the game. 

The Southland Conference champions, Stephen F. Austin missed a few key free throws in the final two minutes as the upstart Lumberjacks concluded the most successful season in school history at 32-4.  The Atlanta crowd gave SFA’s starting five a lengthy standing ovation as the starters came off the court in the final seconds when Lumberjacks head coach Kyle Keller called a time-out to empty his bench and salute his starters once the...

After a sizzling weekend of

men’s college basketball action, the SwampSwami.com

Make Believe March Madness field has been whittled down the just four

teams.

Yes, the 2020 Final Faux field has now been set!

With the actual college

basketball season ending in a less than satisfactory manner, SwampSwami.com

determined a make-believe field of 68 worthy teams for this year’s

season-ending basketball tournament.  After

the play-in games narrowed the field to 64, we have now completed four rounds

of (fake) college basketball to determine the last four teams in the field.

Over the weekend, the

Regional Final games were played as eight teams competed for the final four

spots.  Let’s now take a look at these

games and who will advance:

East Region:

Dayton 83, Kentucky 78 – The Dayton Flyers were not intimidated by the

long-time success of the Kentucky Wildcats. 

Dayton, the East Region #1 seed and winners of the Atlantic 10

Conference, traded baskets the entire game with the SEC champions and

eventually took an 83-78 win over Kentucky. 

Kentucky took advantage of a

shaky start by Dayton, but the Flyers’ balanced scoring attack put Dayton

within a point at halftime, 43-42.  The

Flyers shot an impressive 52% field goal percentage, while Kentucky’s shaky

three-point shooting failed the Cats down the stretch. 

Coach John Calipari’s Kentucky

team (which finished 27-6) applied defensive pressure to Dayton throughout this

game and caused the Flyers to commit a season-high 16 turnovers.  However, the pinpoint passing and teamwork of

Dayton’s starting five created numerous easy buckets as the Flyers never

blinked.

Dayton, now 33-2, cut down

the nets and now heads to Atlanta this Saturday for the national semifinals.

Midwest Region:

Villanova 77, Kansas 68 – Another year, another season-ending disappointment for

the Kansas Jayhawks.  Kansas, the #1 seed

in the Midwest, trailed throughout in Indianapolis as Big East champion

Villanova grabbed an early lead and never trailed as the Wildcats pummeled the

Jayhawks 77-68.  Villanova, the #3 seed

in the region, will now play East Region champion Dayton this Saturday in

Atlanta.

Villanova, which improved to

28-7, relied on a balanced scoring attack with all of its starting five hitting

double figures.  Guard Justin Moore led

the way with 16 points on 7 of 8 shooting from the field.  Coach Jay Wright’s team has become a fixture

at the Final Four while snagging two of the last four national

championships.  Kansas, champions of the

Big 12 Conference, heads home with a final record of 31-4.

South Region:

Stephen F. Austin 94, Michigan State 91 (OT) – The dream season will continue for Stephen F.

Austin as the Lumberjacks survived a late game collapse but prevailed in a

thrilling overtime win.  SFA grabbed the

South Region championship with a 94-91 win over #3 seed, Michigan State.   The

Southland Conference Lumberjacks become the first #12 seed to advance to a

national semifinal as they will next play on Saturday in Atlanta.

Fans at the Houston South Region

finale roared their approval as the underdog Lumberjacks hit the first eight

points in overtime and Michigan State went cold.  The Spartans,

As we continue with the SwampSwami.com Make Believe March Madness

college basketball tournament with games played this week on Thursday and

Friday, the number of surprise teams continues to make news!

Since that REAL basketball

tournament was K-O’d by a certain not-to-be-named virus, we continue to play

imaginary games on the same days as the regular tourney was scheduled.  The teams were selected and seeded according

to my best research (see my initial post dated March 17 for how this worked).  I attempted to keep most teams (and their

theoretical fans) in regions relatively close to their geographic

location. 

Now that we have recapped how

this works, it’s time to summarize the Round of 16 games played this week and learn

which men’s college basketball teams will play in this weekend’s Regional

Finals.

East Region:

Dayton 87, Auburn 81 – In Madison Square Garden, the #1 East seed Dayton Flyers endured #5 Auburn’s

full court pressure and advanced to the East Region finals with a six-point

victory.  Dayton (now 32-2) was led by

their All-American Obi Toppin with 23 points and a team-high ten rebounds.  Coach Bruce Pearl’s Auburn Tigers closed the

gap in the second half to one point, but the team’s shooting faltered down the

stretch.  The Tigers head home with a

final record of 27-7.

Kentucky 95, Duke 85 – In an eagerly awaited rematch of these two perennial college basketball powers, the Kentucky Wildcats, #2 seed from the SEC, wore down third-seeded Duke 95-85 in the East Region nightcap.  Coach John Calipari’s Wildcats used their bench depth to force Duke’s Blue Devils into ten uncharacteristic turnovers in the second half.  The win moves Kentucky to 26-5, while Duke heads back to North Carolina with a 26-7 mark.

Midwest Region:

Kansas 73, Louisville 72 – In Indianapolis, the #1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks

survived an upset bid by #4 Louisville as a last second shot by the Cardinals

bounced off the rim at the buzzer. 

Louisville trailed by 15 at halftime, but the Cards whittled-away Kansas’

lead in the second half.  The game was

briefly tied at 68 points with less than two minutes to go.   Kansas

All-American big man, Udoka Azubuike, dominated the paint with 18 points, 15

rebounds, and six blocked shots to lead the 31-3 Jayhawks into the SwampSwami.com Make Believe March Madness

Midwest Regional finals. 

Villanova 84, LSU 68 – The third seed in the region, Villanova, jumped to an early lead

over the cold-shooting LSU Tigers and never trailed in a relatively easy

win.  The seventh-seeded Tigers from

Baton Rouge missed 12 of their first 13 attempts from 3-point range and shot

just 20% from the field in the first half. 

Villanova, which has won nine of its last ten games, had four players in

double figures led by junior guard, Collin Gillespie, with 17 points.  LSU finishes the season with a record of

23-11, while the Wildcats from the Big East Conference (now 27-7) move into the

Midwest Region finals to play #1 seed Kansas. 

South Region:

Stephen F. Austin 79, East Tennessee State 75 – In Houston, the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks continued

to grab the headlines by downing the other surprise team in this bracket, East

Tennessee State, 79-75.   Buoyed by thousands of East Texas fans in the

stands, the #12 seeded SFA endured a slow start but hit several key free throws...

Over the weekend, the SwampSwami.com

Make Believe March Madness college basketball tournament produced some

great games and even more interesting match-ups for the upcoming Round of 16 later

this week.

Our faux field features a #12

seed (Stephen F. Austin), a #8 seed (East Tennessee State), and a #7 seed (LSU)

advancing to the third round of this year’s (fake) tournament.

In addition to those surprise

teams, a few colorful match-ups will materialize this week as well.  Long-time bluebloods Kentucky and Duke will

square off yet again in the East Region semifinals in New York City, while a

battle of green teams takes place in Houston with Baylor taking on the Michigan

State Spartans in the South Region semifinals. 

Let’s take a look at this weekend’s

results.

East Region:

Dayton, the

top-seed in the East with a 31-2 record, moved into the Sweet Sixteen by

downing #8 seed, Providence, 79-62.  Playing

in front of a Cleveland arena packed with Flyer fans, Dayton led this game from

start to finish. 

The Flyers will now meet fifth-seeded Auburn from the SEC.  The Tigers weathered a furious last minute rally by the #4 Seton Hall Pirates to preserve an 85-82 victory.  Coach Bruce Pearl’s Auburn squad moves to 27-6 with the win and will face Dayton this week.

The Yale Bulldogs were

overmatched against the East Region’s #3 seed, Duke.  The Blue Devils scored

an amazing 64 points in the paint to dismantle Yale 92-65.  Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s ACC team will travel

to New York City to play an old foe from the SEC.

The East #2 Kentucky Wildcats may have been caught

looking ahead to a potential match-up with Duke but eventually prevailed over the

Missouri Valley champs, Northern Iowa. 

Kentucky scored 15 points in a row during a decisive five minute stretch

in the second half as the Cats prevailed over the Panthers 78-70. 

South Region:

The #1 seed in the South

Region, Florida State, picked a bad day to go cold from the field as the #8

seed, East Tennessee State, knocked

out the ACC champions by a score of 70-63. 

The Buccaneers from the Southern Conference won their 14th

game in a row to move their record to 29-4 on the season.

The Bucs will face the other

giant killer in this year’s SwampSwami.com Make Believe March Madness

event, Stephen F. Austin.  The #12 seeded Lumberjacks, fresh from

downing the defending NCAA champs from Virginia, put on their running shoes and

took a 92-88 win over #4 BYU.  The

Southland Conference champs rolled off their 15th straight win to

move to 30-3 on the year as they head to Houston for the Sweet Sixteen.

In the other side of the

South Region bracket, the #2 seed, Baylor,

shut down the #10 seed, Saint Louis, 61-47.  

The Bears suffocating defense (ranked #7 nationally) pressured the

Billikens guards as Saint Louis shot just 28% for the game. 

The Bears now advance to play

long-time NCAA tournament fixture, Michigan

State.  The #3 seeded Spartans

eliminated #6 Houston 78-65 as second-team All American guard Cassius Winston

scored 28 points to lead Sparty to victory.  

The Cougars finished the season at 24-9 and missed their chance to play

in front of the hometown fans as South Region play concludes this week in Houston.

After Thursday and Friday’s first round games from the (fake) SwampSwami.com Make Believe March Madness college basketball tournament, the defending champion has been dispatched in a stunning first round upset.

The University of Virginia’s past

three years of tournament basketball have been, literally, “Lose Big or Win Big”.  Two years ago, UVa became the first #1 seed

to lose to a #16 seed as the Retrievers of University of Maryland Baltimore

County (UMBC) eliminated the Wahoos in Round 1.

In 2019, Virginia exacted

revenge on the field in winning its first NCAA March Madness event.

In the SwampSwami.com Make

Believe March Madness event, Virginia received a #5 seed (23-7) and was paired

against the 12th seeded giant-killer from East Texas, Stephen F.

Austin.  You might recall that the

Lumberjacks pulled-off the regular season’s biggest upset by winning an early

season game at Duke. 

On Friday in a South Regional game (played in, ironically, Spokane, Washington), Stephen F. Austin beat Virginia at their own game in a 48-44 upset victory.  Virginia’s reputation for slow-down games is legendary.  The Lumberjacks surprised the Cavaliers by doing their own version of the slow-down offense in building a first half lead and holding on down the stretch to grab the victory over the defending champs.

SFA moved to 28-3 on the

season and into a second round game on Sunday against #4 seeded Brigham Young

University.

That was the biggest upset of

this year’s first round. 

In the other South Region

games in Spokane, BYU breezed by #13 Belmont 85-71.

In the South’s Greensboro, North

Carolina regional, #3 seed Michigan State survived a sluggish start and

prevailed over #14 New Mexico State 66-58. 

In the nightcap, the University of Houston (#6) routed conference foe

Memphis 75-58 and will play Michigan State on Sunday.

Thursday’s South Regional games in Tampa saw #2 Baylor shut down the Little Rock Trojans 59-42.  The Bears advanced to play again Saturday and will face #10 seed Saint Louis.  The Atlantic-10 Conference Billikens bounced the Big Ten’s Iowa Hawkeyes (#7 seed) 73-65.  

Also Thursday in South Region games played in Omaha, Nebraska, #1 seed Florida State crushed #16 UNC-Greensboro 92-73 and moves on to play #8 East Tennessee State.  The ETSU Buccaneers won its 13th game in a row and moved to 28-4 on the season after shutting down #9 seed Richmond 72-61. 

In East Region games played

Friday in Albany, New York, the University of Northern Iowa pulled the most

exciting upset of the region by downing the #7 seed from the SEC, the Florida

Gators, 68-67 in overtime.  Florida

missed two straight shots in the final five seconds of overtime before going

down to defeat.

The #10 seeded Panthers from

the Missouri Valley will now face another SEC foe in #2 seed Kentucky.  The Wildcats toyed with #15 Winthrop early

and then turned on the gas in the second half to easily win 94-78. 

Also on Friday in East Region

action in Cleveland, #3 Duke handily defeated #14 seed Hofstra 79-58.  The Blue Devils will take on surprising #11Yale

on Sunday.  The Ivy League champions jumped

ahead early and easily dispatched the #7 seed Illinois by a score of 70-58.

In Thursday’s East Region

games in Tampa, the #5 Auburn Tigers rolled past 12th seed Furman of

the Southern Conference 84-71.

I’m ba-a-a-ck!  After a brief vacation which ended before this medical lockdown started, the sports world has gone into its own shutdown over the past week and left many of us feeling a bit out of sorts.

Seriously, it’s time to be smart and listen to the experts right now.   This, too, shall pass.  Eventually.

You might be stuck at home with

a couple of young kids.  Others might be

still working every day in the medical field or another service

profession. 

Most people are doing well

and not going into panic mode (other than Mr. Whipple and the Great Cornholio,

that is!). 

We need a pleasant distraction!

Without the annual NCAA men’s

basketball tournament being played for the first time since 1939, sports fans could

use an outlet to take their mind off other issues right now.

SwampSwami.com feels your pain!  We deserve a chance to root for our favorite men’s college basketball teams and see how they do in the post-season tournament.

The SwampSwami Selection Committee (me) has spent countless hours determining a fair way to choose the participants in the 2020 Make Believe March Madness men’s basketball tournament. 

First, your Selection

Committee established some criteria for teams chosen for the field: 

* Automatic bids were

awarded to conference tournament winners (there were a few before “you-know-what”

ended the games last week).  * Conference

regular season champions (as awarded by their respective conferences) were

next.* All teams in the

most recent AP Top 25 were included in the field.* No teams in our

tournament shall have a losing record in their own conference.* Preference is

given to teams with 20 or more wins for the season.* The NCAA’s own

ranking system was also considered and weighed for decisions.* All decisions are

final.  If your team wasn’t selected, the

“Make-Believe NIT” awaits for the next 32 basketball teams. (I will reveal

those teams and the rankings at the end of this post as well!)

Without further ado, below are the teams which will play (beginning tonight) in the SwampSwami.com Make Believe March Madness basketball tournament!

I have greater sympathy with

the NCAA’s annual Selection Committee members after this effort.  However, I didn’t travel to Indianapolis or

spend a fortune on airfare, hotels, and food, either! 

Let’s now address some issues

from fans of teams which have been left out of my tournament.  

If your team did not win more

games in the conference than they lost, what are your realistic chances of

winning the national championship? 

Answer:  Nearly zero.

Same goes for those teams with double-digit losses on the season.  There have been zero teams which have won the national championship in the new century with more than nine losses on the year.

Over the past twenty years, the

average national champion has won 28 games and lost just five times before

entering the March Madness tournament.

Time to answer a few

questions:

How is this going to work?

Easy.   I’ll

pick the winners and then publish them (with a faux write-up of the games) on the

day after the “games” were to be played.  I’ll then adjust the brackets accordingly a...