March Madness Picks – Last Stand for Calhoun, Huskies

The Connecticut Huskies might have salvaged their chance at restoring their pride with this run in the NCAA Tournament… and then again… maybe they didn’t. Like it or lump it, if the Huskies don’t make for great March Madness picks this year, they’re probably in trouble.

It is clear that the window of opportunity is closing on the Huskies. They know that superstar Kemba Walker is heading to the NBA after this season, and for good reason. He just really doesn’t have all that much help around him. Jeremy Lamb is the only other player that is averaging double digits in scoring, while Alex Oriakhi has really fallen apart in the second half of the season as the team’s lone post presence.

Walker is truly an amazing specimen. He is averaging over 27 points per game since the magical run through the Big East Tournament, and that includes the 36 he just put up against the San Diego State Aztecs in a de facto road game in Anaheim in the Sweet 16 to make for great March Madness picks on Thursday night. Walker put the team on his back and single handedly went on a 14-1 run without the help of any of his teammates.

This year hasn’t been all peaches and cream for UConn, though. Sure, this is a team that caught some fire and is now on the verge of the Final Four, but things weren’t always like this. Before the Big East Tournament, the team was probably just barely off of the bubble and on the right side of the dance, and a loss to the DePaul Blue Demons might have started all of the conversations about whether this team even deserved the chance to make for great March Madness picks. However, Walker put the team on his back for five days, played virtually every single minute in all five games, and got his team into the dance. The Selection Committee rewarded the Huskies with a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Still, Head Coach Jim Calhoun finally got busted for illegal recruiting practices, and the NCAA finally cracked down hard this year. Though there are no postseason sanctions on the team, recruiting handicaps and scholarship losses are the big time punishments. With a cupboard that already feels relatively bare without Walker, Calhoun certainly has his work cut out for him.

On top of that, the Big East is really doing nothing but getting better and better. All 16 teams in this league (17 once you include the TCU Horned Frogs) have at least had a few seasons of success here and there, and the other 15 teams can all say that they think they are going in the right direction.

Except UConn. The Huskies had better make the most of their time in this tourney, because once it is over, reality will soon set in. This team can forget about March Madness picks in the future. It’d just be lucky to go dancing.