Teams left to compete in the third round today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday) include Baylor (29-7), Cincinnati (26-10), Florida (25-10), Indiana (27-8), Kansas (29-6), Kentucky (34-2), Louisville (28-9), Marquette (27-7), Michigan State (29-7), N.C. State (24-12), North Carolina (31-5), Ohio (29-7), Ohio State (29-7), Syracuse (33-2), Wisconsin (26-9) and Xavier (23-12).
I look for Syracuse, Ohio State, Kentucky, Baylor, North Carolina, Kansas, Michigan State and Marquette to play their way into the Elite Eight.
Teams that I expect to see in the Final Four include Syracuse, Kentucky, North Carolina and Michigan State.
I look for Syracuse to edge by North Carolina and for Kentucky to beat Michigan State in the semifinal round on March 31. This would set up a showdown between Syracuse and Kentucky in the national title game.
Kentucky and Syracuse will be pretty evenly matched, so the big game may be one to remember. In the end, I look for Kentucky to win it all in a very close game.
Of course, we’ll have to wait nearly two weeks to find out because the national title game won’t be played until Mon., April 2, which will leave us plenty of time to debate the outcome.
Twelve major contributors to prep athletics were inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame on Monday night.
That’s a great honor, and it’s nice to see those who have worked so hard to be recognized for their accomplishments.
I’ve always thought that the late Wendell Hart would make a fine addition to the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame. The selection committee always recognizes someone each year for the Hall’s “old timer” category. This year’s old timer selectee was Roy Knapp, who coach high school football from 1939 to 1981 at schools in Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Hart’s sports life in Conecuh County spanned decades. Anyone who’s read our regular Sports Flashback feature over the past several years will have seen that Hart was not only a successful football, basketball and baseball coach, but he also excelled in those sports as a player.
Hart touched many lives, and there are still many of Hart’s former players and teammates in the community and elsewhere who have fond memories of Hart.
With that said, I am also sure that we also have a future hall of famer in our midst as well – current Hillcrest High School athletics director and head football coach, Larry Boykin.
When Boykin came to Hillcrest two years ago he was already one of the most successful prep football coaches in the state’s history, and his impact on Hillcrest’s football program was immediate. His resume features a long list of noteworthy and outstanding accomplishments, and he’ll be a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame when his time comes.
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