Written by Brian McPeek

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Happy St. Patty's Day!  Doesn't get much better than eating corned beef, drinking beer, and filling out brackets.  And that's what my To Do List has on it once I'm able to get out of the office today.  In our Monday morning staple, The Weekend Wrap, Peeker hits on the Buckeyes missing the big dance, gives us his pick to win it all, talks about the Cavs consistent inconsistency, and also addresses Andy Marte's big weekend down in spring training.

Buckeyes Get #1 Seed in Men’s Tourney

So it’s the NIT. What are you going to do? Could be a tournament match-up with Cleveland State though if things break right for both teams.

I’m not going to lie. I really don’t understand the need for the NIT tournament. What’s the point? 65 teams in the NCAA tournament and then the dregs play a few more game in a second rate tournament that few people care about and even less watch. Add in some other abomination of a post season tournament that debuts this year and damn near every college team that laces up shoes in November is playing in late March.

Ohio State lost their chance to play in an actual, meaningful tournament when they went down in flames to Michigan State in their first Big 10 tournament game on Friday. This Buckeye team just never got anything going all season and the reason was the lack of a clear-cut leader and dominant player. Jamar Butler was the guy heading into the season but Butler came up short in the leadership department and sulked and pouted to the point where his credibility as a leader on the floor disappeared completely.

That’s not to fully implicate Butler. He led the team in scoring and was a vital part of what limited success this version of the Buckeye basketball team achieved. But seniors and premier players lead in big games and despite a week when the Buckeyes beat ranked Purdue and Michigan State, Butler and the Ohio State just didn’t get it done.

The young Buckeyes need a full off-season of maturity to avoid a tournament denial next season as well. OSU returns everyone other than Butler, Othello Hunter and Matt Terwilliger next season. Kosta Koufos came on late but needs to further develop a back-to-the-basket game as well as some physical toughness. David Lighty will also be back and needs to consistently play at a level his athleticism and spurts of brilliance suggest he can.

Lastly, Head Coach Thad Matta needs to find a leader on the court and in the locker room for his program to return to the level we’ve become accustomed to them reaching.

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North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis and UCLA are all #1 seeds in the only tournament that matters. In a sport where the best players rarely stay for all four years of eligibility you have to look for experience as well as well as talent. Coaching is the kicker. If everything else is even, take the team with the Hall of Fame coach. That’s why it’s hard for me to pick against North Carolina this season. My own bracket pool may say something else given the fact that any number of 12 teams are talented enough to potentially win the whole thing and I may go with a less popular favorite, but no one should be surprised if the Tar Heels are walking off with the hardware when all is said and done.

Consistently Inconsistent

Get used to it folks. As long as the Cavs have a revolving door of injured players and players returning from injury, you’re going to get the highs and lows this team is currently providing. After losing to the emaciated Wizards on Thursday night the Cavs recovered to knock off the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday evening at ‘The Q’.

The Cavs are still searching for themselves weeks after the deadline trade that turned over half their roster. Throw in the fact that Zydrunas Ilgauskas played Sunday for the first time in over a week, Sasha Pavlovic took 6 weeks to recover from a sprained ankle and Daniel Gibson is still weeks away from making his return to the floor, and you’re looking at a team that will have precious little time to set their rotations and come together as a cohesive unit.

This can’t be overlooked when assessing the Cavs’ playoff hopes. They are much quicker, much more talented and much more dangerous given their depth inside and given their upgrade at the PG position. They also shoot the ball much better than before the deal, even more so when Wally Szczerbiak ultimately finds his stroke. But their timing and cohesiveness still is not where it will need to be come playoff time.

They’re not an easy out for anyone as long as LeBron James is on the floor. There is not a coach in the league that doesn’t fear James going ‘Pistons Game 5’ on their squad and James is capable of doing it each and every night. We longed for James to get some of his teammates to help out all season. He has the pieces in place to get some of that assistance thanks to the deadline deal. But the sand is slipping through the hourglass in regard to turning the four newcomers into contributors when it matters most.

That’s All it Takes?

Apparently from the perspective of the Plain Dealer Andy Marte’s two game stretch that saw the prospect hit 3 HRs with 6 RBI in two games is enough to keep him out of Buffalo and for him to earn a roster spot with the Indians as they head toward their opener on March 31^st.

Make no mistake about it. Marte would be packing a parka and snowshoes were he not out of options. He’s looked lost at times at both the dish and at 3b this spring. The Indians are scared to death that Marte will develop and turn into all they hope he can for another organization. You may remember a gentleman by the name of Brandon Phillips who now toils at an all-star level for the Cincinnati Reds. The Indians sure do. They want to make sure Marte doesn’t come back to haunt them (and our message boards) like Phillips has.

The 3 HRs in two days and the 6 RBI over those games is nice. But it’s nothing hundreds of players haven’t done before in the spring, most of who never sniffed a regular season big league at-bat. Marte’s prospect status makes his performance a bit more newsworthy. But it by no means makes him big league ready or a legitimate major league player. Not yet anyway.

Fans bristle at the prospect of watching Casey Blake take the field everyday at 3b for the Tribe. But to date, no one has threatened Blake’s hold on the job and no one has taken it away by outperforming the veteran incumbent. Don’t blame Blake for that. His numbers at the major league level eclipse Marte’s minor league numbers. The Indians can whistle past the graveyard with Marte and stick him on their major league roster should they so choose and it may well be the right move given his relative youth. But he has a long, uphill struggle to stick with the Indians much less unseat Blake or anyone on the field.

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Two weeks and counting until Opening Day. Don’t forget the new STO in-game feature that will be debuting at that time. Live chat, contests and much more. And you don’t have to be here in Cleveland to participate. Login, register and take part from anywhere you may be. It promises to be a lot of fun. Especially in a season that holds so much promise for the Tribe.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.