I mentioned this when we started having our bracket conversations on Monday…almost as important as finding the teams you love, is finding the teams you hate. The teams you know, once that bracket comes out, I’m fading them @ the first real chance I get. And that might be round 1, it might be round 2…it might not be till the elite 8…but you’re doing it.
So, for today's toilet read...I would like to present to you – the Kravitz list of 'auto-fades':
Purdue- Now, full disclosure, I guarded myself with a light futures play on them to win the tournament, because I do love me some Zach Edey, all 7’4 of him, but Purdue is not to be trusted. Last year is a great example of this, they had the great Jaden Ivey, Zach Edey was on that team. They still couldn’t get past Saint Peter’s. Matt Painter has been their head coach since 2007, in that time, they’ve been bounced in the first or second round 6x. Only made it past the Sweet 16 once. No trust there for me.
Tennessee- I’ve got them out of round 1 vs the Rajun Cajuns, but I was licking my chops to send them packing in round 2. I was all over this team last year, I loved Kennedy Chandler, thought he was good enough to take them deep. Nope, out 2nd round vs Michigan. This is a program we’ve seen lose to Long Beach State in the tournament. They were a Loyala Chicago victim back in 2018. Rick Barnes, highly decorated coach, he recruited KD to Texas…but he has consistently come up short.
Kentucky- Once the college basketball world started copying John Calipari’s tricks when it came to recruiting, it just doesn’t seem like he’s been the same. They’ve had some deep runs in the tournament, and their talent is always good enough for them to potentially hang around, even if they have a perceived down year, but, this is a very fade-able team that usually comes in over-seeded because of brand value.
Arizona- With all the great talent they’ve had over the years, this team hasn’t made it out of the Elite 8 since 2001! It was Sean Miller for the longest time, now they’re led by a guy by the name of Tommy Lloyd, but it was the same story last year. Loaded roster- Koloko, Mathurin…I was sold once we got mid-way through the tournament last year that this would be the year they broke through…nope. Lost in the regional final to Houston. Arizona lost to Buffalo in round 1 in 2018 and Wichita State in round 1 in 2016.
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