FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Yes, indeed. My Baylor Bears are going to the Big Dance. A couple of weeks ago it looked like a foregone conclusion that they'd make it in the NCAA Tournament but they sure did make it nerve-wracking. They lost eight of the last 13, including becoming the first team ever to have a first round loss to a 12-seed in the Big XII tournament.

But even with that, they made it in. We're an 11th-seed with our first game up against Purdue. I think that's a winnable game. Why can't we be this year's George Mason? It'd be bittersweet for me if they made it to the Final Four though. Sure, I'd be excited and proud. But the Final Four is in San Antonio...just an hour south of me...and I'll be out of the country on business that weekend. Like I said: bittersweet.

One interesting side note: my alma mater, as well as both my sister's and brother's all made it into the Dance this year. My sister's University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks get the good fortune of being the first victims of the Memphis Tigers. Meanwhile, my brother's University of Texas Longhorns are the 2-seed in the South.

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The Kansas-Texas Big XII final was a great game. Kansas ended up winning but I think that was actually better for Texas. If they had won, there's a good chance that they would have been a 1-seed. But they would have been the fourth 1-seed and likely been playing pretty far from home. By losing, they became the best 2-seed out there, which puts them in the South region, which will be in Houston. That's as good as it gets to playing near home. And if they can make it to San Antonio...thing look pretty good for the Longhorns. They also look good for Bill Simmons' Ewing Theory.

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The Houston Rockets have won 22 games in a row. That's incredible. They've won more consecutive games than the Miami Heat will win in total this season. During this stretch they've gone from 10th in the Western Conference to first. Watching them against the Lakers today showed what makes them such a good team. Tracy McGrady had a bad game, but a role player stepped up for them. Today it was Rafer Alston who hit eight three-pointers. Also, Shane Battier played incredible defense on Kobe Bryant, which reinforced why he's one of only two Duke alums (Elton Brand being the other) for whom I root.

Actually, that's an interesting thing about this season. I'm actually rooting for two division rivals of my Mavericks: the Rockets and the Hornets. I'm rooting for the Rockets because I'd really like to see T-Mac win a first round series, Battier plays the game the right way, coach Rick Adelman is one of the most underrated coaches in the league and deserves more, and it never gets old watch Dikembe Mutombo wave his finger.

I'm rooting for the Hornets because of Chris Paul. Other than LeBron James, I think he's the player for whom I would pay the most to see live. This is premature but if he plays the way he's played this season for the rest of his career he enters the discussion of best point guard of all time. Besides, if people can talk about Kobe being the next Jordan, I can talk about CP3 being the next Isiah Thomas. Just keep it on the court, Chris. Please don't become a coach/GM and ruin proud franchises or get accused of sexual harassment.