Random News Generator- Montenegro

Apparently, we're got basketball news today. Because professional basketball is totally... a thing... that I watch.

Philadelphia 76ers first-round draft pick Nikola Vucevic, who hails from Montenegro and went to USC, signed on Thursday a one-year deal to play for a club in his home nation, KK Buducnost Podgorica. He is the second draft pick to do so, and the first of the first-round picks.

Like many NBA players overseas, Vucevic would much rather be playing in the NBA. But with the lockout in place, that's not an option, so what he and a lot of other NBA players have gotten in their overseas deals is a clause that says as soon as the lockout ends and the NBA is up and running again- whenever that is- the players can immediately break their overseas contracts and go back to the NBA, no hard feelings. The overseas clubs are taking it as the unique, one-time opportunity that it is.

Some more than others. Grantland's Rafe Batholomew wrote in July about how the Philippines, a nation where basketball is the de facto national sport, managed to gather an A-list roster of NBA stars, including Kobe Bryant, Derrick Rose, Chris Paul and Kevin Durant, for a pair of exhibition games.

Vucevic and fellow Montenegran Nikola Pekovic (of the Minnesota Timberwolves but, for now, signed with Serbia's Partizan Belgrade for the balance of the lockout) will, meanwhile, be representing their country at Eurobasket 2011, the European championship for national teams, which begins on Wednesday in Lithuania and will involve some 28 NBA players in total, with a lot more having their rights held by some NBA team or other should they decide to play there. It will double as Olympic qualifying, and may be the last semi-meaningful basketball that fans are going to get for a while.

For the first time, 24 countries will participate instead of the usual 16. This decision was reached after qualifying had started, and in essence means everybody who participated in qualifying ended up going to Eurobasket. (Except Hungary. Everybody laugh at Hungary.) Montenegro did not need any of the additional qualifying spots; they won their qualifying group and would have gone through anyway.

The more marquee players involved in Eurobasket: Joakim Noah and Tony Parker (France), Zaza Pachulia (Georgia), Chris Kaman and Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Luol Deng (Great Britain), Danilo Gallinari (Italy), Andrei Kirilenko (Russia), Pau Gasol and Ricky Rubio (Spain), and Hedo Turkoglu (Turkey).

Montenegro has been drawn into Group C, which is sure to be highly contentious, as alongside them are Bosnia/Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Greece, and Finland, who must be wondering why it had to get drawn into this neighborhood. The only other component of the former Yugoslavia to be in the tournament is Serbia, who would have replaced Greece had they been drawn into the group. Serbia instead sits in Group B with Italy, France, Germany, Israel and Latvia. Pre-tournament favorite Spain is in Group A alongside host Lithuania, Portugal, Great Britain, Turkey and Poland. Group D contains Russia, Georgia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Slovenia.

Scroll Down For Wrong Predictions

Over about the past week or so, half of Watertown has worked oh-so-dilligently to give me whatever kind of horrible disease they came down with. As a result, now it's my turn to be sick. As such, I'm just going to punt today, and post my bracket. Not that I've been following college basketball this season, like, at all, but if office pools across America are any indication, that's actually how you win.

Since my Yahoo Exclamation Point bracket won't actually be visible to you until tipoff Thursday (as they don't let me pick the First Four), here's what I've filled in and, had the First Four been available, what I would have filled in...

FIRST FOUR
Texas-San Antonio over Alabama St.
North Carolina-Asheville over Arkansas-Little Rock
USC over Virginia Commonwealth
Clemson over UAB

ROUND 2

EAST
(1) Ohio St. over (16) Texas-San Antonio
(9) Villanova over (8) George Mason
(5) West Virginia over (12) Clemson
(4) Kentucky over (13) Princeton
(6) Xavier over (11) Marquette
(3) Syracuse over (14) Indiana St.
(10) Georgia over (7) Washington
(2) North Carolina over (15) Long Island

WEST
(1) Duke over (16) Hampton
(8) Michigan over (9) Tennessee
(12) Memphis over (5) Arizona
(4) Texas over (13) Oakland
(6) Cincinnati over (11) Missouri
(3) Connecticut over (14) Bucknell
(7) Temple over (10) Penn St.
(2) San Diego St. over (15) Northern Colorado

SOUTHWEST
(1) Kansas over (16) Boston U.
(9) Illinois over (8) UNLV
(12) Richmond over (5) Vanderbilt
(4) Louisville over (13) Morehead St.
(11) USC over (6) Georgetown
(3) Purdue over (14) St. Peter's
(7) Texas A&M over (10) Florida St.
(2) Notre Dame over (15) Akron

SOUTHEAST
(1) Pittsburgh over (16) North Carolina-Asheville
(8) Butler over (9) Old Dominion
(5) Kansas St. over (12) Utah St.
(4) Wisconsin over (13) Belmont
(11) Gonzaga over (6) St. John's
(14) Wofford over (3) BYU
(7) UCLA over (10) Michigan St.
(2) Florida over (15) UC-Santa Barbara

ROUND 3

EAST
(1) Ohio St. over (9) Villanova
(4) Kentucky over (5) West Virginia
(3) Syracuse over (6) Xavier
(2) North Carolina over (10) Georgia

WEST
(1) Duke over (8) Michigan
(4) Texas over (12) Memphis
(3) Connecticut over (6) Cincinnati
(7) Temple over (2) San Diego St.

SOUTHWEST
(1) Kansas over (9) Illinois
(4) Louisville over (12) Richmond
(11) USC over (3) Purdue
(2) Notre Dame over (7) Texas A&M

SOUTHEAST
(1) Pittsburgh over (8) Butler
(5) Kansas St. over (4) Wisconsin
(11) Gonzaga over (14) Wofford
(2) Florida over (7) UCLA

SWEET 16
(1) Ohio St. over (4) Kentucky
(3) Syracuse over (2) North Carolina
(1) Duke over (4) Texas
(3) Connecticut over (7) Temple
(4) Louisville over (1) Kansas
(2) Notre Dame over (11) USC
(1) Pittsburgh over (5) Kansas St.
(2) Florida over (11) Gonzaga

ELITE 8
(1) Ohio St. over (3) Syracuse
(1) Duke over (3) Connecticut
(4) Louisville over (2) Notre Dame
(2) Florida over (1) Pittsburgh

FINAL FOUR
(1) Ohio St. over (1) Duke
(2) Florida over (4) Louisville

FINAL
(2) Florida 76, (1) Ohio St. 63

Because It Is Federal Law

My bracket. Please note that I only started paying attention last week.

PLAY-IN (because some of us actually try to pick that game)
Winthrop over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (Pine Bluff is dancing for the first time)

FIRST ROUND

Midwest:
Kansas (1) over Lehigh (16)
Northern Iowa (9) over UNLV (8) (when you get right down to it, aren't 8 and 9 basically the same seed aside from who gets to wear a home jersey in the first round?)
Michigan St. (5) over New Mexico St. (12)
Houston (13) over Maryland (4)
San Diego St. (11) over Tennessee (6)
Georgetown (3) over Ohio (14)
Oklahoma St. (7) over Georgia Tech (10)
Ohio St. (2) over UC-Santa Barbara (15)

West:
Syracuse (1) over Vermont (16) (if a 16 is going to beat a 1, look here; Vermont upended Syracuse before in the tournament not too long ago)
Gonzaga (8) over Florida St. (9)
UTEP (12) over Butler (5)
Vanderbilt (4) over Murray St. (13)
Xavier (6) over Minnesota (11)
Pittsburgh (3) over Oakland (14)
BYU (7) over Florida (10)
Kansas St. (2) over North Texas (10)

East:
Kentucky (1) over East Tennessee St. (16)
Wake Forest (9) over Texas (8)
Temple (5) over Cornell (12)
Wisconsin (4) over Wofford (13) (Wofford dancing for the first time)
Marquette (6) over Washington (11)
New Mexico (3) over Montana (14)
Missouri (10) over Clemson (7)
West Virginia (2) over Morgan St. (15)

South:
Duke (1) over Winthrop (16)
Louisville (9) over California (8) (thus wiping out the Pac-10 in the first round)
Texas A&M (5) over Utah St. (12)
Siena (13) over Purdue (4) (yes, I have two 13 seeds winning, so sue me)
Notre Dame (6) over Old Dominion (11)
Baylor (3) over Sam Houston St. (14)
Richmond (7) over St. Mary's (10)
Villanova (2) over Robert Morris (15)

SECOND ROUND

Midwest:
Kansas (1) over Northern Iowa (9)
Michigan St. (5) over Houston (13)
San Diego St. (11) over Georgetown (6)
Ohio St. (2) over Oklahoma St. (7)

West:
Syracuse (1) over Gonzaga (8)
UTEP (12) over Vanderbilt (4)
Xavier (6) over Pittsburgh (3)
Kansas St. (2) over BYU (7)

East:
Kentucky (1) over Wake Forest (9)
Wisconsin (4) over Temple (5)
Marquette (6) over New Mexico (3)
West Virginia (2) over Missouri (7)

South:
Duke (1) over Louisville (9)
Texas A&M (5) over Siena (13)
Baylor (3) over Notre Dame (6)
Richmond (7) over Villanova (2)

SWEET 16
Kansas (1) over Michigan St. (5)
Ohio St. (2) over San Diego St. (11)
Syracuse (1) over UTEP (12)
Xavier (6) over Kansas St. (2)
Wisconsin (4) over Kentucky (1) (hooray for homerism!)
West Virginia (2) over Marquette (6)
Duke (1) over Texas A&M (5)
Baylor (3) over Richmond (7)

ELITE 8
Kansas (1) over Ohio St. (2)
Xavier (6) over Syracuse (1)
Wisconsin (4) over West Virginia (2) (hooray for homerism!)
Baylor (3) over Duke (1)

FINAL 4
Kansas (1) over Xavier (6)
Wisconsin (4) over Baylor (3) (hooray for homerism!)

CHAMPIONSHIP
Kansas (1) over Wisconsin (4)