Last year I did my rankings of the NCAA Tournament teams by how much I wanted to see them win. I started with Creighton at number one and went all the way to Michigan at 70 (out of 68 teams). The good news for this year is that Notre Dame is in the tournament and Michigan is going to score as many points in the tournament as they scored against Notre Dame in football last season (0). And Syracuse is not in the tournament either. In the words of Hubie Brown, this tournament has TREMENDOUS upside potential. This year, I'm going in reverse order. You already know who number one is. Here we go.
68. Kentucky
67. Louisville
These are the only two teams in the tournament that I hate. Last year I had Kentucky at 65 and Louisville at 66. I think that was a mistake. Calipari and his mercenaries should have been below Louisville. The fact that they're a big favorite this year solidifies it.
66. Ohio State
They are pretty hateable and they won the championship in football.
65. Maryland
64. Wisconsin
63. Indiana
62. Iowa
61. Purdue
60. Michigan State
The rest of the Big 10. I hate the Big Ten. We beat both Purdue and Michigan State and I like Tom Izzo, that's why those two are ahead of the others.
59. North Carolina
58. Duke
I'm one of the few people that hates North Carolina more than Duke. Beating them both in the ACC Tournament was so sweet.
57. Texas
They'd rank a lot higher if they didn't potentially stand in our way in the second round (which the NCAA calls the third round).
56. Kansas
Same thing as Texas. They're a potential Sweet Sixteen opponent.
55. Georgia
54. Arkansas
53. LSU
52. Ole Miss
SEC schools. Ole Miss and LSU rank ahead of the other two because of Eli Manning and Shaquille O'Neal
51. Oregon
Ugly uniforms.
50. Oklahoma
49. West Virginia
I put as many schools that play FBS football at the bottom as I could.
48. SMU
47. Cincinnati
I don't like Larry Brown. Cincinnati used to be in the Big East and I always rooted against the non-Catholic schools in the Big East.
46. Arizona
45. Utah
I don't have anything against these teams, but they play in a big conference that isn't the Big East or ACC.
44. Iowa State
43. Baylor
42. Oklahoma State
The rest of the Big 12 teams. Oklahoma State ranks the highest because of current Celtic Marcus Smart
41. NC State
An ACC team that I don't hate.
40. Boise State
Nick, my roommate for a semester at Notre Dame, was from Boise.
39. Wichita State
My lowest ranked team that doesn't play FBS football. They only rank this low because they could play Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 (and that's what I have).
38. Northeastern
They would rank a lot higher if we didn't play them on Thursday.
37. Wyoming
36. Buffalo
The play FBS football, but just barely.
35. Wofford
34. Eastern Washington
Whatever.
33. Valparaiso
This was a great tournament moment.
32. UNI
31. Georgia State
30. UAB
It would be cool for any of these teams to make a run. UAB just lost football, so they could use something good.
29. Virginia
An ACC school that cares about academics and isn't Duke.
28. Belmont
It's cool that there's a university named after the place where I bought beer when I was a student at Notre Dame.
27. Stephen F. Austin
26. Texas Southern
Don't mess with Texas.
25. New Mexico State
Last year my comment about them was that I couldn't think of a reason to ever visit New Mexico. Just remember that when you read a post that's coming in about a month.
24. UC Irvine
They're playing Louisville in the first round and I despise Pitino.
23. North Dakota State
The idea of a team from North Dakota winning a championship is appealing.
22. Davidson
I saw them play in Brooklyn. They lost, but whatever.
21. San Diego State
For Kyle and Lauren.
20. Harvard
Same comment as last year: I don't like the Ivy League, but I respect schools that care about educating their athletes and Harvard obviously does.
19. Hampton
18. Robert Morris
17. Coastal Carolina
16. Northern Florida
15. Lafayette
All the 16 seeds except for one. Lafayette ranks the highest because the Marquis de Lafayette is my favorite Frenchman of all time.
14. Albany
A bunch of people that used to work for me at camp went to Albany.
13. VCU
I had them at 32 last year. What was I thinking? Shaka Smart is awesome.
12. UCLA
I love Los Angeles and they're USC's rival. By the way, does anybody else remember the Tyus Edney play from 20 years ago? I not only remember it, but I remembered that it took place in Boise. How did I remember that? Because I remember Boise State's court. I hate the stupid standardized courts that they use now so very very much.
11. BYU
Mormons.
10. Butler
My rule about rooting against the non-Catholic Big East schools doesn't apply anymore since Butler is the only non-Catholic school in the Big East now. I love Brad Stevens, but I'm glad he's not there anymore. We could play them in the second round. If we lose to them, there are other teams that I'd root ahead of them, but not many. I wish they weren't a possible second round opponent.
9. Gonzaga
8. Dayton
7. Manhattan
The non-Big East/non-Notre Dame Catholic schools. Manhattan ranks the highest because they're a 16 seed. I saw Dayton in person so they come next.
6. Xavier
5. Georgetown
4. Providence
3. St. John's
2. Villanova
The Big East Catholic Schools. I was going to put St. John's at number 2 because I was I thought it was named for St. John the Evangelist (my favorite saint), but Wikipedia says it's named for St. John the Baptist. Now, he's also awesome, but he's my third favorite St. John behind John the Evangelist and John Paul the Great. Also, I'm expecting absolutely nothing out of St. John's in the tournament. I saw Villanova win the Big East Tournament, so they get the number two spot. And Providence has some players that I like.
1. Notre Dame
You knew this already. Go Irish!
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