You Can Pick Your Friends, and You Can Pick Your Bracket, But You Can't Pick Your Friend's Bracket

(SCSD now has multiple daily posts. Don't miss the others below.)

Longest title ever. Done. And don't worry, it doesn't really apply to anything. It's that kind of day.

First off, a quick story. We have this guy in our office who has a completely deadpan sense of humor, and can be totally hysterical. And we have this woman who is kinda batshit crazy, and always talks about shitty movies and tv shows as if they're real, and is pretty oblivious to everything. We'll call them Chris and Lana. Today in the mail room, I overheard this conversation.

Lana: Yo! Did you see that movie "Ninja Assassin"? That shit was the bomb!

Chris: Is that the one with Jamie Lee Curtis?

Lana: I don't think so. I don't remember her.

Chris: Oh.

Lana: Another good one is "Old Dogs," that one with John Travolta and Robin Williams. It's cute.

Chris: Do they have it in 3-D?

Lana: I don't think so. (Pause) I don't like that 3-D. I heard it gives people headaches.

I almost crapped my pants laughing when he dropped that 3-D line. If I'm the only one, I'll shut up.

Let's get some picks going, baby!

Butler vs. Syracuse

Onuaku's not playing, but it doesn't matter. Orange by 15. Butler looked good in the second half against UTEP, but they snuck by Murray State in less impressive fashion. Their only chance tonight is to bomb away, but Cuse's athleticism and length should keep them at bay. On the flip side, Wes Johnson is red-hot, and Boeheim's crew look like the unbeatable bunch that dominated the regular season. They certainly didn't miss Onuaku in the opening weekend, and they won't tonight.

The Pick: Syracuse 84, Butler 69


Washington vs. West Virginia

Have you noticed that when people talk cinderellas, nobody mentions the Huskies? It's because they're from a power conference, and won that conference's championship. Nobody will be erecting monuments to the Pac-10's strength this season, but UW still beat a good Big East team (Marquette) in round one, and dominated a supposedly tough New Mexico squad in round two. West Virginia lost their point guard, and everyone wants to ignore that their wins in the Big East tourney were all close, including one against Cincinnati. I'm gonna sack up and pick Washington. I don't know if it'll come true, but I'm fairly positive this game will be close.

The Pick: Washington 62, West Virginia 61


Xavier vs. Kansas State

Xavier is coming off two wins against fairly physical opponents (Minnesota and Pitt), so K-State's supposedly superior strength and athleticism don't worry me. I have a feeling that Martin will yell his guys into the ground, and we'll see some player scream back, and it'll be an "incident." Anyway, this game is the hardest to pick. I haven't really seen Xavier aside from their tourney games, and it's hard to read their conference, too; Temple and Richmond lost first round, but the teams that beat them were Cornell and St. Mary's, who both look pretty awesome. And Dayton and Rhode Island are going to the semis, though that little factoid is probably meaningless. Meanwhle, the Big 12 is down to K-State and Baylor. So I'll have to go with my gut, and that particular SOB is saying Xavier by 10.

The Pick: Xavier 72, Kansas State 62


Kentucky vs. Cornell

I would love nothing than for Cornell to win, and I will be rooting for them furiously. I will go nuts every time they make a basket, and fret every time the Wildcats strike back. It would be such an awesome story. That being said, Kentucky is going to drub 'em, and drub 'em good.

The Pick: Kentucky 91, Cornell 68