"The Stack" 3-13-17
Brandin Cooks is now a New England Patriot. The New Orleans Saints traded the wide receiver for a couple of picks including the last pick in the first round this year.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Stack is back on this Monday with not a whole lot to discuss outside of Selection Sunday and even with that there isn’t a whole lot to discuss. The committee did a very good job overall this year. Very few complaints. Now then, let’s get right to “the stack” for today, Monday, March 13th:
NCAA Tournament is set
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is set (see bracket here) and there really isn’t a whole lot of complaining this year which we haven’t seen since maybe ever. That has a lot to do with the fact that the bubble was so weak this year. More people have an issue with seeding than anything else. Syracuse fans are upset that they aren’t in the tournament. Know what? Win more games outside of Syracuse and New York and we’ll talk. I would have liked to see Illinois State get in over a USC or a Kansas State, but at the end of the day I really don’t have any issue with the teams that are in.
As for the seeding several things stand out. People seem to have an issue with UNC getting a one seed and Duke getting a two seed. Duke had eight losses during the regular season. Yes there run to an ACC Tournament championship was impressive, but like the committee chairman said in an interview on CBS, Duke jumped up from a four seed at the beginning of the week to a two seed. That is a significant jump. UNC’s regular season was impressive. Wichita State being a ten seed shows that the committee didn’t really value what Wichita State did this season, especially in the non-conference and with their RPI. Had they not won the Missouri Valley, they would not have gotten in. That is also why Illinois State probably didn’t get in. If Wichita State beats Dayton, they get a rematch with Kentucky and you know they want revenge after what happened to them a few years ago with Kentucky being the eight seed and getting paired in Wichita State’s region and beating the one seed. Vanderbilt as a nine seed seems a little high. Florida State as a three seed may be kind of high. Middle Tennessee State as a twelve seed seems a little low, but they have a pretty favorable matchup.
Speaking of teams that I could see pulling off an upset or two, I love some of the 12 seeds this year and who they are playing. Middle Tennessee State is certainly one of them getting to play a five seed in Minnesota who lost one of their better players in Akeem Springs for the rest of the season during the Big Ten Tournament. The contrast in styles is going to be fascinating with #12 UNC Wilmington and #5 Virginia meet up in the East Region. Wilmington loves to score. Virginia’s defense is going to be tested. Give me UNC Wilmington. Rhode Island as an #11 seed is playing their best basketball right now. They are incredibly dangerous and could take down #3 Oregon should they meet since Oregon lost big man Chris Boucher going down with a season ending knee injury. That is a huge loss for the Ducks. And #14 seed Florida Gulf Coast could take down #3 seed Florida State in the West Region. Dunk City is back. The likelihood of the 12 seeds beating the 5 seeds are ranked below per my opinion:
UNC-Wilmington over Virginia
Middle Tennessee State over Minnesota
Nevada over Iowa State
Princeton over Notre Dame
I see the first three matchups having a significantly better chance than Princeton taking down Notre Dame. It’s going to be very interesting to see how it all plays out.
My initial feeling is that #2 Arizona comes out of the west, #1 Villanova or #2 Duke come out of the East, #1 UNC comes out of the South and until someone can show me otherwise, #1 Kansas out of the Midwest. If Oregon were healthy I would take them no questions asked. It’s going to be a fascinating tournament. Fill out your brackets everyone!
Patriots trade for Brandin Cooks
The rich keep getting richer and that is what is taking place in Foxboro, Massachusetts, where the New England Patriots on Friday completed a trade that sent a couple of picks including the last pick in the first round to the New Orleans Saints for wide receiver Brandin Cooks. This is a huge weapon for the Patriots to get. Cooks can line up in the slot or outside and his speed will be a nightmare for opposing defenses. Pair him up with Julian Edelman and a healthy Rob Gronkowski and the secondary is going to have a very difficult time covering everyone plus whoever comes out of the backfield. Tom Brady is going to love having Cooks in his offense. With the Patriots also getting cornerback Stephone Gillmore to help bolster their defense and secondary, the Patriots are going all in again knowing that Brady’s time is limited and seizing on the small window and opportunity they have.
Coming up Tuesday: Tuesday’s First Four game picks plus other top headlines in sports
