Poised to Make Some Noise

The college basketball season is well under way and you're starting to hear with words "quality win" and "bracketology" more frequently. That can only mean the Madness of March is around the corner. Poised to Make Some is going to be a series of articles that will look at some mid-major teams that could show that they aren't necessarily a little guy when it comes to tournament time.

Everyone has probably heard of the top twp mid-majors of this season, the Creighton Blue Jays and the Murray St. Racers. Both teams have been ranked for a number of weeks but let's mention a couple of other teams that are sneaky good. This week those teams are Wichita St. and Long Beach St.

The Missouri Valley is back this season and should get multiple bids to the Big Dance. Originally the Valley looked like it might get three invites but Northern Iowa has slumped since conference play began. Wichita St. returned almost everyone from last season's NIT Championship team and have quietly compiled a 16-3 record so far. The Shockers are tied for the MVC lead with Creighton and have some quality wins on their resume. They have beaten Colorado and knocked off a ranked UNLV team. The Shockers only losses this season were to Alabama, who was ranked at the time, Temple in OT, and the Blue Jays. The Shockers have one of the most experienced teams in all of hoops land and are no strangers to big games. A rumored matchup against Murray St. in the upcoming Bracket Busters will no doubt get the Shockers some national exposure and if they continue playing well, watch out in March.

The Long Beach St. 49ers are the defending Big West champions and currently undefeated in conference play. The 49ers are coached by Dan Monson, who brought Gonzaga to hoops prominence. Monson is duplicating his successful Zag's approach and isn't afraid to put anyone on the schedule. The 49ers are 2-3 against ranked teams this season. Senior guard Casper Ware leads the way and is the early favorite to add his second conference Player of the Year award. Long Beach St. will need a win in their Bracket Buster matchup to add to the post season resume, but they are a dangerous team and definitely one to watch in March.

UFC 141

With the preliminaries for UFC 141 starting on Facebook in a couple of hours, it’s time for some last minute picks. With Vegas already supercharged for New Years, a battle of behemoths combining for 500 plus pounds is icing on the cake. Throw some strawberry topping on top of that with the Diaz-Cowboy matchup, and now we really have an effin party. The card is stacked and props go out to Joe Silva for putting together some interesting matchups. The prelims are highlighted by the “Manvil” vs. Diego Nunez scrap but also includes Ultimate Fighter winners Ross Pearson and Efrain Escudero, as well as Matt Riddle and the “Stun Gun.” We’re really excited for this show. There is a guaranteed slobber knocker in the Castillo-Kjokuani tilt. Both of those guys are sluggers.

Let’s get to the main fights on tonight’s card. It starts with John Fitch and Johny Hendricks. Fitch is a very well balanced fighter and all he does is win. Fitch is perceived as a boring fighter because he doesn’t use exciting finishes. Hendricks is a powerhouse wrestler who could control this bout if he can get Fitch down. We’re pulling for Johny but the smart money says Fitch takes a unanimous decision.

In the co-main event, we have two firecrackers set to explode. Nate Diaz and Cowboy Cerrone have done a good job of promoting their matchup with the “flip of the cowboy hat” and random trash talking. This has all the makings of a classic. Both guys are relentless and have shown they can take a beating before turning the tables for a victory. Cerrone is the favorite. Although both a personal favorites, we’re also taking “the Cowboy.”

Last is the heavyweight smackdown for the title of “#1 Contender". Ha ha, that makes it seem like professional wrestling. MMA fans have been clamoring for Overeem in the UFC for quite some time and a welcoming committee of Brock Lesnar is just what we wanted. Lesnar has the wrestling advantage but Overeem has a huge striking and experience edge. It plays out with Lesnar trying to takedown Overeem but he’ll eventually get caught with a shin to the melon. Overeem by TKO in Round 1 which is bad since we're routing for Brock. Enjoy the fights as they should be great and keep an eye on the Hawkeyes in the Insight Bowl, which might not be so great.

Mizzou and SEC

The SEC has announced their 2012 conference schedule and Tiger fans are excited. All I've heard today on the radio is Missouri hosts Alabama. The Crimson Tide is coming to Columbia. The Tigers ended up in the traditionally weaker East Division and the schedule is actually pretty favorable. Mizzou still has yet to announce three more non confernece games but with home games against Georgia and Arizona St also, it'll be a great time to get season tickets. Speaking of Mizzou tickets, they offer a Family 5 Pack deal on season tickets for just under $600. That seems like a steal with the SEC boys coming to town.

Missouri Tigers 2012 Schedule (so far)...
Sept. 8: GEORGIA
Sept. 15: ARIZONA STATE
Sept. 22: at South Carolina
Oct. 6: VANDERBILT
Oct. 13: ALABAMA
Oct. 27: KENTUCKY
Nov. 3: at Florida
Nov. 10: at Tennessee
Nov. 24: at Texas A& M

FCS Playoffs and the Heisman

It's Awards Week in college football. Most of the major awards were handed out on ESPN but the big one remains for tonight. But before we announce RG3 as our Heisman vote recipient, WHOOPS, let's take a quick moment to pick the rest of the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs. In last night's showdown the Northern Iowa Panthers visited the Montana Grizzlies and apparently forgot how to tackle. The co-Big Sky Champions hammered the co-Missouri Valley kings as Grizzly QB Jordan Johnson pretty much dominated the game. It was brutal for us UNI alum. But a great season none the less for the Panthers.

Here's our picks for the rest of the FCS Playoffs...
North Dakota St -9.5
Lehigh and North Dakota St enter the game with 11-1 records. Lehigh's All-American wideout Ryan Spadola has being suspended for the game for retweeting an offensive message. Spadola had 96 catches, 1600 receiving yards, and 11 touchdowns. That's too much to overcome so we'll take the fourth-ranked Bison to cover.

Maine +7.5
Maine takes on Southern Conference Champion Georgia Southern. Don't now much about either team other than Georgia Southern hung around with 'Bama for a bit a few weeks ago. Dj Gallo said the CAA is the SEC of the Football Championship Subdivision so we'll take the Black Bears and the points.

Sam Houston St -8
Top seeded and undeafeated on the season, Sam Houston St hosts Montana St. We'll take the top-ranked team at home. We gotta cut this short as they're kicking off now.

And finally our vote from Heisman, if we actually had a vote, goes to Robert Griffen III. He's been the most exciting of the finalists all season long and has turned Baylor around the past two seasons. RG3! RG3!
Enjoy the weekends everyone and drink a couple of your frosty beverages. We'll take some Black-n-Blues.

Championship Weekend Pix

Welcome to Championship Weekend. The dust will settle and six conferences will crown their champs starting Friday night with the MAC and the Pac-12. Speaking of the Pac-12, when the powers that be were envisioning their inaugural title game, I wonder if they saw a 6-6 team “sneak” in and be a 31 ½ point underdog? Now that’s real exciting stuff for the Pac-12. Besides the Ducks’ backers, who doesn’t want to see UCLA pull off the huge upset and roll into the BSC Bowls. Oklahoma and Oklahoma St face off in the Bedlam Game with the winner claiming the Big 12 title, which still came down to the final week even though restructuring wiped out it’s championship game. The Football Championship Subdivision’s playoffs continue as there are eight Second Round games to follow. Go Panthers! The final question, can Michigan St and Wisconsin repeat their epic finish from earlier in the year. Here’s this week’s “6 Pack O’ Championship Pix” and a couple bonuses…

Ohio +3.5
Oregon/UCLA Over 66
Houston -12.5
LSU -13
Virginia Tech -7.5
Wisconsin -9

Bonus Picks...
Oklahoma +3.5
Baylor -2.5
New Mexico +48.5