The Anchor’s Desk: What to Watch For and How to Watch the 2009 NCAA Tournament

DVR was the greatest thing to happen to live sports. Hit pause, let 30 minutes run off, and then control the action and skip the commercials. Or just DVR the whole thing and watch as much or as little as the wife allows. (Notice how “DVR ”has achieved verb status.)

Can the sports fan possibly top DVR?

He can now…with an even more powerful acronym: MMOD.

March Madness On Demand is the greatest thing to happen to sports since the invention of inflatable balls. If DVR makes regular sports-watching seem like kid stuff, MMOD makes DVR seem like yesterday’s news.

CBSSportsline.com allows you — for free — to watch any 2009 NCAA Tournament game live. Instead of praying that the network decision-makers switch to that 5-12 upset bid you’re praying for, you get to replace those people and direct your own viewing experience. Miss a buzzer-beater? No one to blame but yourself. But wait! You can go back and watch any game again whenever you want! You can’t lose. And it’s all free and on-demand. Many, many screens on your computer, all waiting to be clicked. Hence the name MMOD.

American companies reportedly lose $2 billion in productivity during March Madness (although these estimates have been shot down by some). That number will surely skyrocket now. Watch MMOD with confidence, because there is a “boss button” to hit when “the Man” comes towards your workplace. Hit the button, and your game is immediately replaced by a fake spreadsheet! Pure genius. Read the spreadsheet and you’ll see there are actually hidden jokes in it. This is year three of MMOD. In 2008 there were 4.8 million viewers, a jump of three million from ’07. Of those 4.8 million last year, the boss button was clicked 2.8 million times!

Now that I’ve hopefully got you on board, here are some things to chew on while you fill out your bracket.

When picking a champion, don’t pick the team everybody else is picking.

This year, that’s UNC. Unless you are convinced UNC is gonna win it, don’t pick them. Picking the champ everyone else picks is VERY risky. Let’s say half your buddies pick UNC, then you have to outpick all those people the rest of the way. If you pick another quality team that isn’t getting chosen a lot, then you can afford to suck most of the way and still have great chance once the final weekend rolls around. It’s all about playing the odds. With other quality 1 seeds like Louisville, UConn, Pitt, and quality 2 seeds like Duke and Memphis, there seems to be enough viable alternatives to bet on.

Picking a Final 4: Are you gonna walk the walk, or chalk the chalk?

Okay that made no sense, but was fun to say.

Last year was the first year four No. 1’s made it to the Final 4. All those years, and its only happened ONE time. Yet Sunday night on ESPN, nearly all the analysts picked the four No. 1’s to make it to Detroit. Explain that to me, Dickie V!

Picking all 1’s in your final 4 is a safe strategy that won’t get you beat early, but it probably won’t win you the pool either…unless you pick the champion correctly (see above).

First weekend: Don’t pick 1-4 to lose. Do pick 5-8 to lose.

It’s so rare that a 1-4 loses in Round One, it’s not worth wasting a game on the slight chance it will happen. If you want a 3 or a 4 seed to lose, have them go down in round two. There’s a MUCH better chance of that. But go ahead and advance all your 1s and 2s to the Sweet 16.

The Day One upsets REALLY start happening in the 5-12 games. Happens every year. This year’s hot pick is #12 Arizona to knock off #5 Utah. Arizona has three possible NBA players on their team in Chase Budinger, Nic Wise and Jordan Hill. I’m a diehard college hoops fan, and I can’t name one Ute. Based on that alone, I’m going with ‘Zona.

The 6-11, 7-10 and 8-9 matchups are usually toss-ups. Just do some reading and take the hot team that plays better defense and has low turnovers.

Darkhorse teams and upsets that make sense:

I mentioned Arizona. Here’s another Pac-10 school I love right now: USC.

They won the Pac-10 Tournament by beating Cal, UCLA, and then Arizona State, who all made the NCAA tournament. UCLA and ASU are ranked teams, and USC looked way better in those wins. Their best player, Taj Gibson, has a TON of heart and does it all down low. He’s also the Pac-10 defensive player of the year.

They also have a veteran coach, Tim Floyd, and freshman DeMar DeRozan has exploded lately and become a human highlight reel. He knows his draft status soars if USC makes a run. They are motivated and have senior leadership. The Trojans are the #10 seed in the Midwest. If they beat BC in round one, they most likely next play Michigan State, who I consider a weak number two. USC wins both games and even gives KU a run in the Sweet 16 game.

Other upsets: Marquette (underrated) over Mizzou (overrated) in Round Two, and Gonzaga (ignored) over UNC (hurting) in the South Sweet 16.

Running a Pool for Cash? Here’s a must do.

Last place person gets his/her entry fee back. This simple rule keeps the tournament relevant for a LOT of people. If you start tanking the first weekend, you then get to root against your picks in the hope of recovering your original investment. Hey, whatever makes it interesting, right?

One Final Tip:

Don’t fill out more than one bracket. If you do, keep them very similar. Otherwise, it’s impossible to root for anyone. Those of you in multiple Fantasy Football Leagues know exactly what I’m talking about.

Good luck, enjoy the games.

Scott Reister is a featured contributor to Midwest Sports Fans. He is a Sports Anchor for the NBC affiliate in the Tri-Cities and Spokane, WA. To learn more about Scott, visit the Scott Reister bio page on Midwest Sports Fans or check out the Scott Reister bio page on Midwest Sports Fans or check out the Scott Reister bio page on Midwest Sports Fans or check out the Scott Reister bio page on Midwest Sports Fans or check out the Local Sports page on KNDU.com.

To contact Scott: sreister@hotmail.com

Tags: 2009 NCAA Tournament, College Basketball, march madness, scott reister, Tim Floyd

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