Its been said that the closer your last game is to Selection Sunday, the more opportunities you have to improve your resume and impress the committee. One could argue the opposite is true, as well, and we're watching that happen right before our very eyes. Creighton is moving up the list, regardless of which pundit you believe, and are one or two upsets away from relative safety.
Even Jerry Palm, whose dog was run over by Dana Altman or something, now has the Jays in his bracket. I kid, but really, every time Palm talks about Creighton on the radio, it sounds like he's holding in a kidney stone. The guy just does not like the Jays, for whatever reason. So when he relents and puts them in, you know things are breaking your way.
Dan Patrick is on the bandwagon, trumpeting on his show Thursday morning that the Jays belong in. Mike & Mike said the same, with Golic going one step further and predicting the Jays could make some serious noise if only they're allowed in. Joe Lunardi now has them among his "Last Four In". Even Omaha's official Jays Haters on 1620 have started coming around.
And that's without even mentioning The Official TV Analyst of Polyfro.com, Doug Gottlieb, continuing his full-court press on the committee to put Creighton in. Seriously, even if Creighton gets left out, I owe Gottlieb a beer if I ever run into him at a bar. His work this week pushing the Jays has been a tour de force.
This morning on Mike & Mike, he asked Joe Lunardi straight-up about the Jays. Lunardi said they should root against Maryland, San Diego and Kentucky, because if those teams get upset, the Jays are virtually a lock. Then Lunardi, in passing, made this remark:
"I think Creighton will probably sneak in regardless, however."
Sometimes sitting idle for a week is a good thing, because it allows your competition to shoot themselves in the foot. Fresher wounds are more memorable. A wise man once told me that. Who was this wise man? Myself, ten minutes ago, in the mirror. Don't question the Man in the Mirror! The only man who can do that is Michael Jackson, and I'm not even sure he's a man anymore.
Now then, here's who to root for/against today:
Michigan State to beat Minnesota
North Carolina to beat Va Tech
LSU to beat Kentucky
Florida State to beat Georgia Tech
Mississippi State to beat South Carolina
Ohio State to beat Wisconsin
Memphis to beat Houston
Illinois to beat Michigan
Xavier to beat Temple
Texas to beat Baylor
Wake Forest to beat Maryland
BYU to beat San Diego State
Purdue to beat Penn State
Dayton to beat Duquesne
Auburn to beat Florida
Eastern Washington to beat St Mary's
I think by the time the sun rises tomorrow, we'll have a pretty good idea of whether the Jays are moving towards "safe" status or are drifting towards "popped bubble" status. They've gotten just about every break so far, and if it continues, Sunday night I'll be brainstorming ways to mock and verbally ridicule the Jays first round opponent.
You bet.
