Everyone was a college basketball expert this week.
The 2017 NCAA Tournament tipped off Thursday, ending several days of bracket-induced agony. Fans everywhere have been exposed to a crazy amount of hoops analysis — as they are every March — since Selection Sunday, and it’s finally time to see which teams are for real.
But if there’s one thing from the lead-up to this year’s tourney that we all should appreciate, it’s radio host Mike Francesa’s clinic on how to break down a (potential) NCAA Tournament game you know absolutely nothing about. Seriously, his analysis is so bad it’s incredible and so vague it’s almost irrefutable.
Of course, if we wanted to, we could poke holes in Francesa’s assessment of a potential second-round West Region matchup between No. 3 seed Florida State and No. 6 seed Maryland. But why would we do that?
Even though Francesa has his own radio show and probably should be somewhat knowledgeable on the topic, his struggle isn’t any different than the one casual fans go through every March, when everyone suddenly acts like they know what they’re talking about with regards to college hoops.
Sure, maybe you’re one of the folks who knows college basketball. But if you’re going to sit there and tell me you’re well-versed on the defensive scheme of UC Davis or the offensive tendencies of Texas Southern, I’m sorry, but I’m just not buying it.
In other words, if you’re at a bar this week talking about games you know nothing about, just follow Francesa’s lead and babble on about one team being “hot and cold” and how either squad could emerge victorious, because it’s a toss-up at the end of the day. That’s the safe play, at least.
