Posted: Thursday, March 18, 2010, 11:24 AM | 24 comments |
 

Live blog: NCAA Tournament Round 1 Day 1
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The ball is tipped
And there you are
You're running for your life
You're a shooting star

At long last, the 2010 NCAA Tournament has arrived. I am not traveling to any venues this year, so I'll be taking in March Madness on TV along with all of you. I will be hosting live chats all day today and tomorrow, starting when CBS goes on the air and not ending until Greg Gumbel calls it a night.

In addition to the chat, you'll want to keep our live scoreboard open as another tab in your browser. It includes a dynamic bracket that will update automatically as results come in.

There's one more thing I need to do before today's games tip off: tell you who I think will win the national semifinals and the championship game. It's pretty simple.

National Semifinals

M1. Kansas over W3. Pittsburgh
E2. West Virginia over S2. Villanova

National Championship

M1. Kansas over E2. West Virginia

I have seen all four of these teams in person this season. As Kansas and West Virginia both played in Philadelphia this season, I'm sure many of you have seen them in person as well.

It has become clear that the Jayhawks are the best team in the country. By winning the Big East Tournament, and considering the teams they beat in doing so, I believe the Mountaineers proved themselves to be the best team in the nation's best conference.

It's fitting, then, that these two programs should play for the national championship. They will bring a spectacular array of talent to the floor of Lucas Oil Stadium, and hopefully they will produce an entertaining contest.

A knockout-style tournament carries the inherent risk that the best team will not win on account of one bad game out of several in a season. But especially in this recent years, the best team in the field has stood atop the mountain in the end.

My pick is easy, but it's also the right one to make: Kansas wins the title.

Now, finally, the wait is over. Shall we dance?
Posted by Jonathan Tannenwald @ 11:24 AM  Permalink | File Under: NCAA Tournament | | National | | Riffs | 24 comments
24
Comments   
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:19 PM, 03/18/2010
    being a person that can't see the chat b/c im at work.. anyone mind posting the score?
    — sasquatches
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:50 PM, 03/18/2010
    Nova losing by 6 at the half...hahahhaha!
    — Leron
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:58 PM, 03/18/2010
    lol losing by 6 Sams Club T Mobile Cell Phone (HTML deleted)
    — nfdeeesd
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:15 PM, 03/18/2010
    I have stated this several times over the past year..."Jay Wright is over-rated as a coach". Villanova plays without any discipline whatsoever, and that is a reflection of the coach. They just jack up shots, and turn the ball over with grade school passes. They don't deserve to win this game today! And for those who tout Wright as a possible coach for the Sixers...forget about it, his in game coaching decisions are worse than Eddie Jordan.
    — daqueen123
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:47 PM, 03/18/2010
    Anyone else think the internet is f'ing over-rated? Trying to watch live feed, stopped because of bandwidth no doubt, trying to get updated score, cannot. Does anyone actually get to watch a game on their phones like they advertise? i just find it hard to believe.
    — Owatagoofiam
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:57 PM, 03/18/2010
    owatagoofiam - you can thank the government for not forcing the providers to use the billions of grants they were given to expand bandwidth... thats the problem. - but on a sports note how the heck is villanova staying in this.
    — sasquatches
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:15 PM, 03/18/2010
    Brilliant job by the selection committee on this one!
    — El Luchador
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:18 PM, 03/18/2010
    nova got every break, and still barely won
    — primo
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:31 PM, 03/18/2010
    Just joined in. I didn't see the game but heard a little on the radio. what was nova's problem?
    — bigdawg__1
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:40 PM, 03/18/2010
    After a putrid showing by Nova its become obvious Temple is the best Big Five team after all. Btw Nova supporters, you will be lucky to win another game in this tournament.
    — Joshua Soffa
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:44 PM, 03/18/2010
    THOSE REFS SHOULD BE ARRESTED!!! WHAT A JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HOPE THE SPIDERS TAKE DOWN SAINT MARYS THEN THE NOVA-RATED KITTYCATS!
    — rw5381
  • Comment removed.


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About Jonathan Tannenwald
I fell in love with the Big 5 at first sight upon moving to Philadelphia in 2002. At various points in my journalistic career, I've covered all six of the region's Division I teams. During that time, I've eaten many soft pretzels from the Palestra's concession stands, which is how this blog got its name.

I write primarily about the University of Pennsylvania and the Ivy League, but I also cover the other basketball and football teams across the city from time to time. In the spring, you'll find coverage of the Penn Relays here.

In addition to all of that, I write Philly.com's soccer blog, The Goalkeeper.

You can contact me by email by clicking here.

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