Four is the magic number this week as the NCAA Tournament, aka “March Madness,” is down to its Final Four. Not coincidentally, so is the TINK Sports Living Entertainers Bracket!
While you can’t influence the college basketball champion, you can vote for TINK Sports’ best living entertainer:
TINK Sports Entertainers “Bracket”
| Actors | Comedians |
| 1 Tom Hanks vs. | 8 Tina Fey |
| Music / Variety | Hosts |
| 1 Beyonce vs. | 2 Oprah Winfrey |
So, who’s your pick: The nicest actor in Hollywood? The comic genius behind 30 Rock and Mean Girls? The world’s hottest pop diva? Or the billionaire hostess with the mostess? Send your vote to mailto:[email protected]. We will reveal the winner in next week’s newsletter.
Men’s College Basketball
The NCAA tournament field dwindled from the Sweet 16 down to the Final Four this past weekend.
A rematch 77 years in the making. Oklahoma last met Oregon in the semifinals of the first-ever NCAA tournament in 1939. Oregon won that game and the finals as well. This 2016 matchup had a different outcome as Oklahoma’s player of the year frontrunner, Buddy Hield, tallied 37 points, leading his team to an 80-68 victory.
Cheesesteaks and Yuenglings all around! #2 Villanova showed Philly toughness and eked out a 64-59 victory over #1 overall seed Kansas. Villanova played tremendous defense and held Kansas’ best player, senior Forward Perry Ellis, to just four points.
“Orange” Party in Central New York…#10 Syracuse Orange used a 25-4 second half run to beat #1 Virginia Sunday. Syracuse became only the fourth double-digit seed to advance to the National Semis. The men’s team joins the women’s squad in the Final Four, as the lady Orange won earlier in the day to reach the women’s Final Four for the first time in school history.
#1 North Carolina showed that size does matter as they out-matched and out-rebounded the smaller #6 Notre Dame team, 32-15, en route to an 88-74 victory. UNC became the only #1 seed to reach this year’s Final Four.
Below are the men’s Final Four matchups in Houston. The semifinals will take place Saturday, and the championship game tips off Monday night.
| East | Midwest |
| 1 North Carolina vs. | 10 Syracuse |
| South | West |
| 2 Villanova vs. | 2 Oklahoma |
Women’s College Basketball
There is about as much suspense at the women’s Final Four as there is at the movies when “that guy” shouts out all the lines. The University of Connecticut (36-0) is an overwhelming favorite, beating opponents by an average of 45 points per game in the tournament.
Fourth time’s a charm…UConn is striving to be the first team to win four consecutive women’s National Championships. The squad is led by 6’4” senior Forward Breanna Stewart, who is looking to become the only four-time women’s NCAA Basketball Champion, and the Tournament’s most outstanding player for the fourth time. If successful, she could be crowned the best women’s college basketball player of all time.
Here is the women’s bracket (aka the UConn show), with games played Sunday and Tuesday in Indianapolis.
| Bridgeport | Dallas |
| 1 Connecticut vs. | 2 Oregon State |
| Sioux Falls | Lexington |
| 4 Syracuse vs. | 7 Washington |
National Basketball Association (NBA)
While everyone is talking about the NBA’s version of the Final Four, the Golden State Warriors & San Antonio Spurs in the West and the Cleveland Cavaliers & Toronto Raptors in the East, there’s another team making serious noise.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, winners of 10 of their last 12 games, are led on and off the court by mega-stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Durant has 59-straight 20-point games and a great sneaker look. Westbrook has a league-leading 16 triple-doubles (double digits in point, assists and rebounds in a game) and is a pitchman with swag, plus a roster of famous admirers. Durant, a former league MVP, is a free agent after the season, so this year’s playoff run is key for Oklahoma City and other teams trying to pry him away from “The Big Friendly.”
Second best isn’t good enough…OKC defeated the West’s second-best team, the Spurs, on Saturday night 111-92. OKC’s dynamic duo combined for 60 points in the win. The Thunder proceeded to beat the East’s number two team, the Toronto Raptors, 119-100 Monday in Drake’s stomping ground. Once again Durant and Westbrook scored a combined 60 points and Westbrook added a triple-double.
The misery continues for the retiring Kobe Bryant and his Los Angeles Lakers (15-59) as they lost Monday by 48 points to the Utah Jazz, matching the worst loss in franchise history. Only eight games left, Kobe.
Major League Baseball (MLB)
For the millions of baseball fans out there, MLB opening day is finally in sight. This Sunday marks the beginning of the 2016 season with four games on the slate, and the majority of teams starting on Monday.
Taking a “Sick Day” next week? Monday is a sports lover’s dream with baseball’s opening day (for most teams) and the men’s basketball national championship.
If you miss a game or two, don’t worry you’ll have plenty of opportunities to catch up: the MLB regular season is 162 games long and lasts until October 2. As a reminder, the Kansas City Royals are the defending champions, having beaten the New York Mets in last year’s World Series.
Remember at TINK Sports we watch the games so you don’t have to.
See you next time…
Recent Comments