Randy Smith
I am absolutely the last person anyone should take advice from when it comes to filling out an NCAA bracket. I have picked a couple of national champions before, but my picking skills from game one through the Final Four are lacking to say the least. I mentioned earlier that I would not fill out a bracket this season, but I have since changed my mind. The main reason? Because it's really hard to watch some of these games without pulling for one of the two teams that I picked to win. With that said, here are some random thoughts about this year's field of 68.
As no surprise to anyone, Kentucky is the runaway top seed in the men's bracket, while two time defending national champ UConn is the heavy favorite on the women's side.
If the Lady Huskies win a third straight title, it puts Coach Geno Auriemma in some heavy duty company. It would be his tenth national crown, and that would tie him with the legendary John Wooden at the top of the list. I would imagine the fact that there are two heavy favorites to win it all, is why I can't seem to get excited about this year's "Big Dances." The biggest suspense is which teams will finish second.
I must admit I have a keen interest in the women's tournament this year. The Chattanooga Lady Mocs are the seventh seed in the Spokane region, as they face tenth seeded Pittsburgh in round one. The number seven seed is the highest ever for the Lady Mocs, and they should be favored to beat Pitt. But shame on the bracket gods for putting them up against second seed Tennessee in round two if both teams advance. The Lady Mocs beat the Lady Vols in the early part of the season, but it will be hard for Coach Jim Foster's squad to beat the Lady Vols again. Remember this however; UTC has scored wins over second seed Tennessee and the Oklahoma City region's fourth seed Stanford this season.
One face missing from this year's event will be Georgia's Andy Landers, who announced yesterday he was retiring after 36 years as the only coach in Georgia history. HIs streak of twenty straight NCAA Tournament appearances ended with an injury plagued 2015 season, as the Lady Bulldogs finished 19-12. Coach Landers who was elected to the Womens' Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007 has more than 850 career victories. Tennessee's legendary Coach Pat Summitt tweeted a congratulatory message to Landers saying, "You were one of the best in the business. Rest. Renew. Enjoy!"
On the men's side, rarely has any team dominated college basketball as Kentucky has in 2015. The Wildcats are undefeated at 34-0 entering the NCAA Tournament and are heavy favorites to win it all. It would be the second national title for Coach John Calipari, who has created an unmatched recruiting philosophy. He gets the nation's very best players every season; now he may only have them for one or two years, but every other team in college basketball is chasing Kentucky. Am I picking Kentucky to go 40-0 and win the big trophy? Yes I am. Am I pulling for the Wildcats to win it all? Absolutely not! To quote Val Kilmer as Doc Holiday in Tombstone, one of the greatest movies ever, " My hypocrisy only goes so far."
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. He is currently teaching Broadcasting at Coahulla Creek High School near Dalton, Ga.
His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for thirty years.
He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century.
In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have four grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, DellaMae and CoraLee.