The Dream Tourney Run

Ah yes the speculation of where teams will be placed and what is going to happen. The following is not in anyway really going to happen, unless something crazy happens like the selection committee reads this blog and thinks it is really good. If they did read it they would probably find the ideas strong, the writer good looking, and all the content above average. Obscure reference alerts in case you are lost.

So anyway it looks to me that Cleveland State, who enters their first NCAA Tourney in 23 years, will be a 12 seed or a 13 seed. There is a little speculation that they could jump up to an 11 seed. And I am going to run with that for a few minutes.

Why? Well it appears that the game locations are already determined, but the teams that will be there are not. The 12s and the 13s play at Boise, Portland or Miami. As a college student fighting his way through these tough economic times, none of those are really legitimate destinations for a fan trip. (Italics are used for sarcasm, because I have always found money to burn holes in my pocket and always seem to be on tough economic times.)

However one 11 seed will find itself in the Wachovia Center home of the Philadelphia 76ers, Flyers and the now-defunct-Kixx. That is a makable bus trip and/or carpooling road trip. I don't think that we can get their but if we did it would mean heading to Boston for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8, before driving up to possibly the worst place to watch a basketball game Ford Field. I say this because the difference between a football field and a basketball court sums up to this; 12 players, approximately 23,000 square feet, and stuff actually happens more than every other minute.

Realistically that is probably not likely so here is my ultimate CSU Vikings journey.
As a 12 seed in the South (Memphis) Bracket the team would head to Miami, for their first round game against a 5 seed. Different predictions lead to very different ideas so some predict Gonzaga as a 5 other predict Gonzaga as an 8. Gonzaga having to come all the way to Miami, unfair as it may be fits perfectly into the 2 hour-rule (team traveling to a city more than 2 hours time difference of their home lose and Gonzaga is 3 hours). CSU would have the time zone advantage and the Jewish retiree advantage (how many Jews do you know in Spokane?) and the fact that they actually play defense working for them against The Bulldogs.
They would advance to the Round of 32. Some would argue a 4 seed Syracuse team is a great option here, but not in my books. A team like Syracuse isn't going to get caught sleeping against us again, and I don't think we can pull off that upset twice. Here we look to a Big Ten team like Illinois. CSU LOVES playing defense and Illinois lost in a game that was 38-33. That benefits a great defensive team that scores in bunches. So after we beat them, it's on to Memphis, a flight to Nashville is pretty cheap on Southwest, and I might ask my Uncle for a ride to Memphis in exchange for some quality time with his eldest nephew. In Nashville we take a #1 seed. I don't care who it is because the important part is we beat them. It will be a huge upset no matter who it is so I don't really care what team, though I do think J'Nathan can handle Tyler Hasbeenbroken. So a UNC #1 would be cool, but unlikely as they would get to play in Greensboro if they are a #1 seed. Anyway after that.
We stick around for the Elite 8 game against arch-rival Butler who got shafted into a 7 seed. They take out the 10 and the 2, Dayton and Kansas respectively. If Kansas doesn't choke against #15 seed Kent State in the first round. We beat Butler on a buzzer beater, evening the season series at 2-2, and 2-0 in favor of the Vikes in games that actually mean anything. It doesn't have to be a buzzer beater but it would be OH SO SWEET. Though the Horizon League might have to move their offices to Cleveland if we start winning games at neutral sites and not Hinkle Fieldhouse
We go to the Final Four in Detroit and I could not care less what happens next. We could lose 100-0 and I would still have had a dream season, that is unless the team doesn't put in their reserves until the third quarter.