The Sweet 16 is set. No eye-popping surprises yet. So far, it has been March without the Madness.
A few Laker notables filled out brackets for NBA.com and some of their picks are more intriguing than the actual tournament.
Let's dissect their picks and see who they like to cut down the nets in Detroit.
AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
Shannon Brown
The co-leader of the Laker pool so far with 51 points. Not too shabby.
The West and South regions have been awfully nice to guard Shannon Brown, while the Midwest has been downright cruel. Like many of us I presume, Brown had Wake going deep into the Madness. A surprising loss to Cleveland St. squashed that notion.
Brown, a Michigan St. Spartan, is certainly showing his love for the Big 10, though. He had Minnesota over Texas in the first round, followed by Minny knocking off Duke in the second. The Gophers didn't make it past the Longhorns, as you probably know. Perhaps Brown's Big 10 bias got the best of him there. It happens.
Who does he like for the Final Four? Michigan St., Pittsburgh, UConn, and UNC. Nothing shocking about those teams except -- oh yeah! -- Michigan St., his alma mater.
Not bad picks by any means, but do I need to tell you who Brown has cutting down the nets? Didn't think so.
Adam Morrison
Sharing co-leader duties with Brown, Lakers newbie Adam Morrison also weighs in with 51 points thus far.
Morrison had a few first round slip-ups but nothing completely unforgiveable. He decided to shake things up with a couple early upsets like Utah St. over Marquette and Western Kentucky over Illinois. Only the latter proved true.
Morrison had Florida St. in the Sweet 16. Hmm. Perhaps he overrated them just a bit seeing as how the Seminoles were narrowly edged by Wisconsin in the first round. Going with an ACC team is sometimes the safe bet, though.
Maybe the most stunning aspect of the bracket is his UNC over Gonzaga pick in the Sweet 16. Kudos to Morrison for not succumbing to his presumed Bulldog bias. I guess I just expected it. My bad.
Morrison likes Louisville, Pittsburgh, Memphis, and UNC as the Final Four, with the Tarheels winning it all. Hey, same as Obama. Collaboration maybe?
AP Photo/Alonzo Adams
Luke Walton
Not far off the lead is forward Luke Walton with 49 points.
Like Morrison, Walton was drawn to Utah St. as a Tourney sleeper and picked the Aggies to be a Sweet 16 darling. Wow. That's bold. Gotta love it. What is it about Utah St. with these guys?
Walton also followed Morrison's lead in selecting Florida St. as a Sweet 16 team. Not that it matters, but is there some collusion going on here? Did they fill out their brackets together? We'll call it a coincidence until further evidence is uncovered.
From there, Walton sets off the Bias Alert, picking every Pac-10 team in site and predicting Washington and Arizona St. as Sweet 16ers. To his credit, though, neither was a bad pick.
Arizona, Pittsburgh, Memphis, and UNC are his Final Four picks. Wait, Arizona?! We just witnessed a Stage 5 Bias Alert, folks. Try not to breathe too deep, the 'homer-ism' is pretty thick.
Although Walton picks his alma mater to reach the National Championship game, he doesn't, however, like the Wildcats to be National Champions. That right is reserved for UNC, apparently. Phew!
Derek Fisher
Derek Fisher is a few points behind with 47, but never underestimate his veteran prowess.
Fisher got off to a slow start with his first round predictions. He rolled the dice with a few upsets: VCU over UCLA, Temple over Arizona St., and -- sigh -- Utah St. over Marquette. OK, now I'm starting to think these guys have beef with Marquette. What's the deal? I need to know.
Unlike his aforementioned teammates, Fish picked Kansas to represent the Midwest region in the Final Four, with Pittsburgh, UConn, and UNC rounding out the bunch. That's a veteran move, as they say. Kansas is a sneaky presence in that region.
Fish likes UNC to emerge victorious in the final against UConn.
No sign of bias or 'homer-ism' in Fish's bracket because, well, Arkansas-Little Rock was a no-show. Maybe next year. A savvy veteran like Fish would never openly play favorites, right?
AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
Jordan Farmar
Fiesty guard Jordan Farmar is right on Fisher's heels with 46 points.
The young fella had some early stumbling blocks but mostly found trouble in the second round. His Sweet 16 is a sea of red. The kind of red you found on that Calculus test you didn't study for. Ouch.
Following in Walton's footsteps, Farmar went a little crazy with the Pac-10 picks. What did you expect from the former UCLA Bruin?
Farmar had Arizona St. and USC in the Sweet 16. USC? Really? A Bruin giving the Trojans credit? I think hell just officially froze over. Farmar might never be allowed to set foot on UCLA's campus again.
Most bracketologists are finding that their Final Four picks are still alive. As long as that's the case, you have a chance in your pool, if only a slight one. That said, it appears Farmar is in the minority.
Guess who he liked not only to make a Final Four appearance, but also take it all? The answer to both is U-C-L-A. Kansas, UConn, and UNC are also in the mix. Apparently he wasn't counting on strong showings from Villanova, Duke, or Pittsburgh.
By unanimous decision, Farmar wins the 2009 NCAA Tournament 'Homer' Award.
Josh Powell
Last, but hopefully not least, is the mighty Josh Powell with 40 points.
Safe to say the man likes those first round upsets, and he was counting on quite a few to kick off March Madness. Powell liked Mississippi St. over Washington, North Dakota St. over Kansas, and, of course, Utah St. over Marquette. Ugh.
Powell sent Utah and Texas to the Sweet 16, as well as West Virginia and Clemson to the Elite 8. Obviously, those didn't quite pan out for him.
But Powell can strut around the Lakers' locker room boasting to Farmar that his Final Four picks are still breathing. So, you know, he has that going for him... which is nice.
He has Louisville, Pittsburgh, Memphis, and UNC. Pitt knocks off Louisville to win it all, he says. Being the lone picker of Pitt, Powell could creep up the rankings in the coming weeks if the Panthers rediscover their stride.
Best of all, Powell, like Fisher, escaped 'homer-ism' since North Carolina St. is also a Tourney absentee.
We will soon find out who stayed afloat at the Lakers pool party.
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