That's right folks, it's time for the real March Madness. The tournament to end all tournaments. None of this wrestling nonsense, because no one cares about wrestling that doesn't involve scantily clad women holding placards or hitting one another. This is a true, no holds barred tournament. Not of champions, but of anti-champions, to determine what BCS school possesses the bitterest fanbase in America.

So without further ado, Maize n Brew proudly unveils this year's field of twelve! 

The Rules:

Yeah. That's right. We've got rules the same way you've got billables you'll have to make up as you read this, lawya. But you don't need a law degree to figure this out. It's simple really. Only BCS teams qualify, regardless of regular season or post season performance. Why only BCS teams? Because unless you're in a real conference, you have no right to hope or expectation. You're just along for the ride. Complain all you want, when was the last mid major or mini-conference to win a national championship? Know why? Because we keep it that way. So if you qualify, the second step is showing that your sports following lives as a fans of the Universities in this field suck. Suck hard. We're talking Mega Maid level of suck.

Unimaginable pain is now imaginable, and pretty much common place. High expectations must be met with heart breaking anguish, miserable failure and/or complete team collapse at the moment of truth. If you've got a proud athletic tradition that is now a punch line, bonus points in the seedings. That's how we roll.

Twelve Teams is Perfect

None of this Tournament expansion crap here. Besides, 12 teams is about all I have jokes for. Deal with it.

The Seedings

Four byes, four play in games. You're always going to have a No. 1 and everyone else. That's how it is here. So here's who we got.

No. 1 Seed - Washington St. Cougars

There aren't enough tears in the combined ocular glands of the Chinese population to cry the river Cougar fans deserve. Since Ryan Leaf left town back in 1998, Cougar football has been a complete non-entity in the PAC 10 and national scene. Their basketball team, Pullman's only real source of hope, crashed and burned this season. Despite reaching the Sweet 16 back in 2007-2008 and the NIT in 2008-2009, it looks like the Cougars are going backward. WSU missed on every golden opportunity it had to make the NCAA's and instead will tip off in the NIT. This further proves that false hope is the worst curse any man can be given. That or saying "Woo! I'm going to WSU!" when you received your postcardletter of acceptance. But who am I kidding? Year in year out, there's no hope. So WSU get's the overall No. 1.

No. 2 Seed- University of Michigan Wolverines

A close No. 2 seed, but a two seed anyway. The Wolverines posted their first back to back losing football seasons at the conclusion of the 2009 season, including dropping rivalry games to MSU and OSU in ugly fashion. The Men's basketball team, despite being ranked #15 in the pre-season polls, finished the year under .500 and lost to OSU on a last second half court three pointer by the national player of the year. Did I mention he took the shot unmolested? The hockey team that hasn't missed the NCAA tournament in 16 years has to win the CCHA tournament just to qualify after a dismal year. Standing in their way? USCHO No. 2 Miami that throttled the Wolverines 5-1 early this season, at Yost. Then there's the pending NCAA football investigation, losing to Appalachian State, the whole Ed Martin thing, watching your rivals suceed at your expense, and so many other fun topics. If not for the sheer hopelessness of WSU, Michigan would've grabbed the top spot. Beat out again.

No. 3 Seed - UCLA Bruins

Up until this past year, bowl games for UCLA really weren't causes for celebration. They were reasons to throw things at your head coach. Personally I think Tennesse fans took their inspiration in nearly burning Lane Kiffin at the stake from the Bruins faithful. The Bruins constant underachievement on the football field can be creditted to Karl Dorrell and his inept coaching staff, which left UCLA's fan base with little hair to pull out. Until this years "triumph" over Temple in the Whogivesacrap Bowl (repeat the first part, "over Temple"), UCLA's last Bowl win was over Northwestern in the Sun Bowl (repeat that again, too). Then look on the harwood. Despite being a national power in men's basketball, UCLA ineplicably deteriorated into a 14-18 team. 14-18! This desptie receiving votes in this season's pre-season polls. Since John Wooden took over in 1948, UCLA had two losing basketball seasons (Steve Lavin's last year and Ben Howland's first). Basically, they were Michigan on the hardwood. After this season, they still are.

No. 4 West - Indiana Hoosiers

NCAA basketball royalty turned endentured servant. Jeeezus have the wheels flown off since Bob Knight was fired. Mike Davis. Run out of town Fail. Kelvin Sampson. Sanctions Super Fail. Tom Crean. Incomplete Fail. Tom is just 16-45 in two seasons at Indiana trying to deal with internal sanctions handed down because of Sampson's misdeeds. Six wins and Ten wins in two seasons. Ouch. Sadly, you'll probably never say that last sentence about the football team. The Hoosiers have been roadkill in the Big Ten joining the conference. Despite some promise, IU isn't anywhere near challenging for a bowl on a consistent basis and lost their heard coach to cancer in 2007. Seriously, cancer? Bitterness is almost as much a guarantee as losing.

We'll take a look at the first round match ups after the jump....

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I hate life.

[Update]

one for each loss this year and a dozen for that shot....

It's on like Donkey Kong! Go Blue!

• Live Audio | Live Stats | Live Blog
• TV: ESPN

You can try to explain Michigan's inexplicably close win over Iowa, or you can accept that it was just standard operating procedure for this particular team. Now we move on.

Michigan faces first seeded Ohio State in today's 11 CST tip off. Basically it comes down to stopping Evan Turner, DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris have to have huge games, and every bounce has to go our way.

So you're saying it's POSSIBLE.

Oh yes. It's possible. But hey, anything's possible as long as you're not dead. See you in ten for the liveblog.

Woo. Game thread.

TV/Radio/Etc:

• Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Blog
• TV: ESPN2 | ESPN360.com

More photos » Al Goldis - AP

Do not anger White Moses. He'll part your seas and make it rain pain. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

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Every year when the Big Ten Tournament rolls around fans of middle tier teams, like the Michigan Wolverines, tend to think the impossible can happen. Phrases like "if we get a couple bounces", "if we can hit our open looks", "if the other team is suffering from Ebola" engender hope that should have been abandoned months ago. Perhaps the reason for this blind optimism that all of sudden your arctic cold team will get hot stems from your first round match up. Witness, Michigan v. the Iowa Hawkeyes.

The standard Ken Pom-esque previews provided by mgoblog and UM Hoops.comgive you the general idea of how things have gone. Michigan wins comfortably at home, scrapes by on the road, and Iowa is really, really awful. It's so bad that on the day the tournament opens, one of the first links on BHGP is this:

Transfer Bug Resurfaces for Iowa Basketball

Jesus, and you thought Rodriguez' had a transfer problem. Tood Lickliter (Iowa's head coach) can't even keep his son around! So, as you can imagine, basketball isn't really on BGHP's or the Iowa fanbase's mind right now. Especially after a season that saw them go 10-21 (4-14). Geh. Not good.

But the way Michigan's season has turned out, you never know what could happen. Last time around Michigan let Aaron Fuller drop 30 on them, despite being Iowa's only legitimate scoring threat and being able to concentrate on not letting him shoot 11-13.

/pulls out hair in clumps
/screams

ahem....

Michigan shouldwin this game, but we've said that over and over again this season only to return to the fetal position muttering to ourselves. I do I think Michigan will win? Sure. Why not? It's possible. It's also possible they could lose by twenty. I don't know. What it boils down to is this tournament is our last chance to watch DeShawn Sims, Zack Gibson and Anthony Wright play in a Michigan uniform, and I think that means something.

(More after the Jump......................)

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Going into this season, like every one else, I was confident that Michigan would reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. What wasn't to love? Manny Harris was a Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year candidate. DeShawn Sims was finally living up to his billing. We had three big men ready to step in and allow Sims and Gibson time to play together. We had shooters, cutters, dunkers and a hot freshman to play point. Plus, we returned 90% of the team. The only guys leaving were walk-on seniors and Jevohn Shepherd. Granted the two walk-ons were our captians, but there was plenty of leadership to go around. Right? Another tourney berth seemed to be a guarantee.

But, like with so many guarantee and warranties, we neglected to read the fine print. No one actually quantified how important CJ Lee and David Merritt were to this team. No one took into account how much the extra playing time would affect Michigan's now sophomore starters. No one knew how success would effect John Beilein's exceedingly young team. No one accounted for how the bright lights and attention might change how Harris and Sims played. We forgot that Kelvin Grady had left the team. No one expected every big man on the roster, save Sims and Gibson, to get injured or red shirt. When you're a rebuilding basketball program, you're not going to get the breaks the established programs with depth get.  And Michigan didn't get any of them this year.

Obviously not a break we got.

Even with all that said, how'd we miss so badly on this team? How'd they miss so badly every game? There have to be reasons for this. There are. After taking a look at the rosters, the numbers and the season, we came up with some interesting thoughts. We'll admit, none of this is earth shattering stuff. But taken together it helps to explain what initially seemed like a lost season. Now, in hindsight, it may still be bad, but it ain't as bad as we thought it was.

Depth

Going into this season Michigan's only losses were Jevohn Shepherd, CJ Lee, and David Merritt. The incoming class included Darius Morris PG (4 star), Matt Vogrich SG (3 star), Jordan Morgan PF (3 star), Blake McLimans PF (3 star), Eso Akunne PF (w/o). It was also anticipated that Ben Cronin, a seven footer recruited the year prior, would recover from a hip injury and contribute minutes in the 2010 season as a true center. Also in the fray was 6'11" beanpole Eric Puls, who might be able to eat some minutes off the bench. Then there was Kelvin Grady, michigan's diminuitive point guard and best three point shooter on the team to help out at the point.

Of the group, only Darius Morris contributed in any meaningful way. Vogrich was simply not ready to step in and contribute. Jordan Morgan injured himself and has redshirted this season. McLimans redshirted. Akunne played a few minutes, but hasn't been able to crack anything but the garbage time lineup. Making matters more difficult, Morris struggled at point guard out of the gate (not uncommon for freshman point guards) and was eventually replaced by Stu Douglas at point for large swaths of the season. The young guns simply weren't ready or physically capable of stepping in. Ben Cronin's career came to an end because of his hip injury. Eric Puls left the basketball team and became a regular student in the engineering program. Making matters worse, Grady left the team to concentrate on football over the summer.

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 Maize n Brew gives you your daily (or semi-daily) rundown of all the Michigan Football, Michigan Basketball, College Football, and College Basketball news you need to get through the tedium of your boring desk job. For good measure we'll throw in a little irreverent information, comedy and commentary to help you salt away the time until the clock strikes 5pm.  Want it in 140 characters or less, follow us on Twitter! Or you can find us on Facebook!

If you're having any trouble posting comments, fanpost, fanshots, or even just logging in, please email me at maizenbrewdave@gmail.com. I think we've cleared this issue up, but just in case, please let me know if you have any problems. Alright, on the the Happy Hour!

Michigan Finally Unleashed It's Secret Four Armed Hockey Monster on LSSU (photo: Ariel Bond, the Daily)

Stuff You Should Read Right Now

Today is our new Athletic Director Dave Brandon's first official day on the job. We're thrilled to have you Dave. Go Blue!

Michigan Tops Lake Superior State in Game One of CCHA Playoff - Sometimes you need a little luck to get rolling. Michigan's first round opponent lost it's top line to the flu. Instead of feeling sorry for the Lakers, the Wolverines went out and hammered them. Then, the next day, Caporusso's Hat Trick Gives Michigan a Sweep of LSSU. 

Perhaps more important than Capo's Hat Trick is the fact that Shawn Hunwick stopped 28 shots for his first career shutout and playoff win. That's not bad for a kid that's sat on the bench for three years. Up until last weekend Hunwickhadn't seen the ice since his freshman year. His career won loss record prior to this weekend was 1-1, with both of those decisions coming against Notre Dame in the season's last regular season series. Here's hoping the offense woke up and Hunwick stays hot. Yost Built sums it up best: Where the Hell has this Been All Year? When you have an 11 goal outburst, especially from an offense that's struggled to score goals all season, Sometimes you've gotta scratch your head.  MSU is next. Bracket is 'mere:

Michigan played MSU tough in their meetings this year and is fully capable of taking it to the Spartans. The Spartans are rested, but Michigan finally is playing well. Puck drops at 7:05pm, Friday Night at Munn.

2010 Big Ten Basketball Tournament Bracket courtesy of UM Hoops. We get Iowa and, hopefully, Ohio State. We miss Purdue, but don't have to face MSU again until (conceivably) the finals. For the record, Michigan has to win three straight games to be guaranteed a .500 record on the season. I certainly didn't think I'd be writing that at the end of this year. NIT, let a lone NCAA Tournament hope is optional and not advised.

Terry Foster (Detnews) Says Michigan Basketball is Stalled and Other Stupid Things - Look. I don't argue with part of your premise, Terry. Not at all. Michigan is short. It doesn't shoot well. It's presently manned by kids who (for the most part) aren't Big Ten players. However, the rest of your article.... well.... is awful.

Ex. 1: "Sims will probably leave after this season..."

Probably? He's out of eligibility. So yes, he HAS to leave.

Ex. 2 "If you are in the Big Ten you should have at least a 50 percent chance of making the tournament."

No. You would have a 45% chance. There are 11 teams. If five make it (as with this year), you have a 45.454545...% chance. There is a difference between these numbers that is statistically significant. Based on the quality of Mid Majors and other conferences, the Big Ten is not guaranteed to send six teams to the Dance every year.

Finally, and my favorite:

Ex. 3 "Meanwhile Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Oakland University and of course Michigan State have all played in NCAA tournament games since Michigan last did."

What? Did you write this in 2008 and just publish this? No? This was published today. Wait. You site last year's tourney run. Alright. Just so we're clear tho, Michigan played in last year's NCAA tournament. You might have seen it. Was there another tournament I missed in between? No? Okay then. Then what the hell are you talking about?

Ex. 4 "I'm only bringing up reality."

No. You are bringing up an alternative reality. This is just piling on a rough season for this team rather than offering anything constructive. When I see columns like this, one thing comes to mind.

(More after the jump..............) 

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