[Cactus Jack]

Fun tournament so far.

Kentucky gets a rematch with Texas A&M, so we get a peek at how much we've actually improved.

Rick Barnes is in March form, having now lost two straight going into the NCAA tournament.

I was not worried about a rematch with South Carolina in the least and they are getting exposed as the fraud they are by Auburn. Mississippi State gets the winner of that one and will need a win to keep feel comfortable about getting in, so hopefully they at least soften up an Auburn team (who I'd like to avoid a rematch with) in the semi.

Florida/Alabama could be a fun watch. Hoping to see the Gators and a shot at revenge if the Cats advance. If Kentucky loses, we should probably be rooting for an Alabama-Auburn final so the overall of two of our biggest wins doesn't drop.

In the event that Kentucky and Alabama win, I think we match up well with them and don't know that anything other than a blowout loss would drop us too far.


Prediction:

Kentucky doesn't cover against a hungry A&M team, and narrowly beats Alabama (who squeaked in a cover against Florida) in the semifinal.

In the top bracket, Auburn continues their beat down of South Carolina and gets to rest some starters late. That helps propel the Tigers to a backdoor cover against a hungry Mississippi State team.

Unfortunately, the Tigers bring the Cats back to Earth as they defeat Kentucky and cover in the final.