Man o Manischewitz!!! What a weekend!!! People across America are tearing their brackets and throwing them out. Upset after upset after upset! This is why college basketball owns March and college football is barely a blip on the sports rader after New Years. So, lets see how my picks went:
UAB over Kentucky: There is not a single person who saw this upset coming. Kentucky was the top overall seed in the tournament and bowed out in the second round. What an amazing game this was!
Nevada over Gonzaga: Yet another cinderella who decided that the clock had not struck midnight just yet. Thanks to this and the previous win, the St. Louis Region is up for grabs. No one is safe and seeding means absolutely nothing. One other note on this, thanks to Nevada, a 10 seed, making the Sweet Sixteen, a 10 seed or higher has made the Sweet Sixteen every year for the past eight years.
Georgia Tech over Boston College: Another nail biter of a game. The one problem I had with Georgia Tech is its inability to not score in the final seconds. Rather than hold onto the ball after a steal, Jarret Jack of GT had to make a dunk to put GT up by 3 with 5.5 seconds left. If he hadn't scored, he could just run around and let time run out. Fortunately, BC couldn't hit a game-tying 3 pointer in the waning seconds, but if they had, Jack should have felt like an idiot.
Kansas over Pacific: The Jayhawks do look strong and should make the Elite Eight if not the Final Four.
St Joe's over Texas Tech: If someone told you that 2 #1 seeds wouldn't make the Sweet Sixteen, how much would you have bet that St Joe's was one of them. Well, their guard play has been strong and look to continue their march to the Final Four. So much for Billy Packer's analysis.
Oklahoma State over Memphis: Wow! Memphis was never in this game as the Cowboys just manhandled them. Eddie Sutton's team looks awfully good.
Pitt over Wisconsin: As predicted, this game was a war. The final score of 59-55 belies how exciting this game really was.
Wake over Manhattan: Not all cinderella's had a good weekend. Manhattan found out how good Chris Paul really is.
Duke over Seton Hall: Duke rolled and seems to be in command in this region.
Xavier over Mississippi State: Is there any team playing better than the Musketeers right now? Xavier proved to be another bracket buster across the country.
Texas over North Carolina: Is there any team as deep as Texas? All 11 players scored in this one. Their next match-up against Xavier will prove to be very interesting.
Illinois over Cincinnati: For all the talking the Bearcats did before and during the game, it was the Illini who came out fighting. Shooting an unbelievable 60+%. The Bearcats were never in this one. Say what you will, but Bob Huggins is NOT a good coach. He doesn't graduate players, he recruits thugs, and he makes early exits from the tournament. Why he isn't fired yet, I don't know.
Alabama over Stanford: So much for the great Pac-10. Fortunately, I called this one and so was ecstatic about this upset. Stanford, combined with Kentucky's loss, marks the 2nd time since 1985 that 2 #1 seeds did not make the 3rd round. Not a good mark to make.
UConn over Depaul: Maybe the double overtime against Dayton was just too much to recover from for Depaul, but they were never in this one. UConn jumped out to an early lead and stayed there. This bodes well for UConn since they were able to rest Okafor more than they might have expected.
Vanderbilt over NC State: I would like to give Vanderbilt its kudos for winning, but NC State blew this game. Fouling on 2 3 point shots and then a flagrant foul that gave Vanderbilt 2 free throws and possession (which they converted for 3 points). NC State showed its inexperience here, but should be back strong next year barring any major pro defections.
Syracuse over Maryland: Gary Williams couldn't pull out another miracle, but give credit to this spunky Terrapin team. Finding themselves down by double digits again, they managed to claw back into this game and wind up losing by just 2. Not only that, but they gave themselves an opportunity to win on the final shot, but just couldn't pull this one out. Suddenly, those brackets with Syracuse coming out of this Region don't look so far fetched.
St. Louis Regional
UAB over Kentucky: There is not a single person who saw this upset coming. Kentucky was the top overall seed in the tournament and bowed out in the second round. What an amazing game this was!
Nevada over Gonzaga: Yet another cinderella who decided that the clock had not struck midnight just yet. Thanks to this and the previous win, the St. Louis Region is up for grabs. No one is safe and seeding means absolutely nothing. One other note on this, thanks to Nevada, a 10 seed, making the Sweet Sixteen, a 10 seed or higher has made the Sweet Sixteen every year for the past eight years.
Georgia Tech over Boston College: Another nail biter of a game. The one problem I had with Georgia Tech is its inability to not score in the final seconds. Rather than hold onto the ball after a steal, Jarret Jack of GT had to make a dunk to put GT up by 3 with 5.5 seconds left. If he hadn't scored, he could just run around and let time run out. Fortunately, BC couldn't hit a game-tying 3 pointer in the waning seconds, but if they had, Jack should have felt like an idiot.
Kansas over Pacific: The Jayhawks do look strong and should make the Elite Eight if not the Final Four.
East Rutherford Regional
St Joe's over Texas Tech: If someone told you that 2 #1 seeds wouldn't make the Sweet Sixteen, how much would you have bet that St Joe's was one of them. Well, their guard play has been strong and look to continue their march to the Final Four. So much for Billy Packer's analysis.
Oklahoma State over Memphis: Wow! Memphis was never in this game as the Cowboys just manhandled them. Eddie Sutton's team looks awfully good.
Pitt over Wisconsin: As predicted, this game was a war. The final score of 59-55 belies how exciting this game really was.
Wake over Manhattan: Not all cinderella's had a good weekend. Manhattan found out how good Chris Paul really is.
Atlanta Regional
Duke over Seton Hall: Duke rolled and seems to be in command in this region.
Xavier over Mississippi State: Is there any team playing better than the Musketeers right now? Xavier proved to be another bracket buster across the country.
Texas over North Carolina: Is there any team as deep as Texas? All 11 players scored in this one. Their next match-up against Xavier will prove to be very interesting.
Illinois over Cincinnati: For all the talking the Bearcats did before and during the game, it was the Illini who came out fighting. Shooting an unbelievable 60+%. The Bearcats were never in this one. Say what you will, but Bob Huggins is NOT a good coach. He doesn't graduate players, he recruits thugs, and he makes early exits from the tournament. Why he isn't fired yet, I don't know.
Phoenix Regional
Alabama over Stanford: So much for the great Pac-10. Fortunately, I called this one and so was ecstatic about this upset. Stanford, combined with Kentucky's loss, marks the 2nd time since 1985 that 2 #1 seeds did not make the 3rd round. Not a good mark to make.
UConn over Depaul: Maybe the double overtime against Dayton was just too much to recover from for Depaul, but they were never in this one. UConn jumped out to an early lead and stayed there. This bodes well for UConn since they were able to rest Okafor more than they might have expected.
Vanderbilt over NC State: I would like to give Vanderbilt its kudos for winning, but NC State blew this game. Fouling on 2 3 point shots and then a flagrant foul that gave Vanderbilt 2 free throws and possession (which they converted for 3 points). NC State showed its inexperience here, but should be back strong next year barring any major pro defections.
Syracuse over Maryland: Gary Williams couldn't pull out another miracle, but give credit to this spunky Terrapin team. Finding themselves down by double digits again, they managed to claw back into this game and wind up losing by just 2. Not only that, but they gave themselves an opportunity to win on the final shot, but just couldn't pull this one out. Suddenly, those brackets with Syracuse coming out of this Region don't look so far fetched.
posted by Eddie at 13:48
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