Day One at the NCAA Tournament brought its usual excitement. There were the upstarts giving the more established teams a run for their money. There was the upset in the 5-12 matchuo we were all talking about. And, there was the usual - two number one seeds blowing away their competition.
So, how did you do yesterday? Personally, I went 12-4 using the new strategy that I started to employ. I'm glad I did better than President Barack Obama (he went 11-5 according to the ESPN guys). But, Tony Reali - from Around the Horn fame - went 15-1. I said 15-1! The world must be coming to an end.
Where did I go wrong yesterday? Well, BYU nearly got run out of the gym by Texas A&M. They made a valiant comeback towards the end of the game, but it wasn't enough. Had Butler not lost Matt Howard to fouls, maybe the Bulldogs would have wound up beating LSU. Clemson had their chance to tie Michigan and send that game into overtime, but the three that they tried at the end of the game was horribly executed. VCU came up just short against UCLA>
The good news is that these losses don't hurt me. I didn't have any of these teams getting past the second round anyway.
The bad news is that my wife, who picked the games by team nickname and color, also went 12-4. She did zero research whatsoever, and still had the same record as I did. Go figure.
So, that's where my bracket stands. Here are some of my thoughts on the other action we saw yesterday.
UCONN, UNC Cruise: Ty Lawson didn't play for the Tar Heels, and it might come back to haunt North Carolina down the road, but UNC didn't need Lawson yesterday, as they pounded Radford in the South Region. UCONN had little trouble with Chattanooga, but had to play without Jim Calhoun yesterday, who was taken to the hospital with an undisclosed illness. Calhoun should be back on the bench for Saturday's battle of the Huskies with Washington.
Western Kentucky does it again: Illinois might have been 24-9 heading into the game, but I was never impressed. That's why I had the Hilltoppers pulling off a first round upset for the second straight year. When you are as offensively challenged as Illinois has been at times (when you score 30-something points in a game you just aren't very good), you don't deserve to be a five seed.
Okay, Memphis fans. You can breathe now: Cal State Northridge almost wrecked a lot of brackets yesterday by giving Memphis a run for their money. Maybe John Calipari's Tigers couldn't get motivated for the game after not being given the number one seed they thought they deserved. Maybe Northridge is better than we all thought they were. Bottom line - the Tigers survived and advanced, but not before causing a lot of people who had them going to The Final Four reason to be concerned.
An upset that wasn't an upset: Maryland is clearly better than the ten seed they got. Greivis Vazquez led the Terps to a win over Cal in one of the most entertaining games of the day. If Gary Williams' job was in danger before the tournament started, it shouldn't be anymore.
Villanova survives: I'm one of the people who have Villanova going far in The Big Dance. Very far. All the way to the Elite Eight far. American almost made me rip my bracket sheet up yesterday, especially when Jeff Jones' team found themselves up by ten at half. But they stopped doing what made them successful in the first half, and 'Nova took advantage. Now that the scare is over, I expect Jay Wright's Wildcats to settle down and move on to the Sweet Sixteen.
All in all, an exciting first day at the NCAA Tournament. Today's games have a lot to live up to.
Check out my podcast and find out what I expect to happen today at The Big Dance!
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