Yes, it's THAT time of year again! You mean the Spring Classics Matt? Well, yes, that is true....but not what I mean...I'm talking about COLLEGE BASKETBALL!
And it's really kind of funny as I'm not a BB fan at all normally. But during the month of March every year, the nation turns towards the 64 teams that made it to THE SHOW! I love this tournament as it's the ONE big sport where any team in the country actually has a chance to win the National Championship. Not so in Football....if your a smaller school or in a lesser-status division you don't really have a chance, no matter how great you play.
I always like to fill out a bracket just for fun...to see how far a guy who knows pretty much NOTHING about the teams can do. Last year I did pretty good, but I didn't end up picking the eventual winner (Villanova)...I picked Duke. This year I AGAIN picked Duke to win...this time over North Carolina. They are both #1 seeds in their divisions, along with the other #1 seeds Gonzaga and Virginia (really it was hard to choose between those 4...and not surprisingly I have all 4 of them making it to my final 4).
Anyway...the 32 games over the lst 2 days were typical...a lot of expected wins and a few upsets. In the East I did NOT pick #12 seed Liberty to beat #4 Mississippi, nor #10 Minnesota to beat #7 Louisville. In the West I missed Baylor (who I totally meant to pick, have no idea how I had Syracuse on my bracket), Murray State and Florida, all winning over higher seeded teams...Murray State also a #12 seed.
In the South I missed Oklahoma (another one that I THOUGH I picked but my bracket shows otherwise), Oregon (another #12 seed winner), UC Irvine (the lowest seed to win, they were #13), Iowa, Utah State, Ohio State (sorry, I can't EVER pick them no matter the seeds...it just goes against my very soul), and Wofford (who won over Seton Hall...and I have to ask...just who the HELL Is Wofford??)
It seems every year I do far worse in the South and Midwest for some unknown reason...you'd think I'd be pretty average in my division losses being as I am TOTALLY GUESSING every single game. But I lost 7 of the 16 games in those 2 divisions, and only 5 of 16 in the East and West. Of the upsets, #4 Kansas State and #5 Marquette and #5 Mississippi were the highest ranked to lose in the opening round...and of course I picked all 3 of them to go into the 2nd round.
And so....round 2 starts TODAY and there will surely be more upsets. I do have to say that I LOVE the upsets...and even though I didn't pick them, I will be rooting HUGE for Liberty, Murray State, UC Irvine and Wofford to go past the 2nd round. Those upsets are what makes March Madness so MADDENING and yet wonderful! As of this moment they all have a chance to win the National Championship. THAT is what makes the College Basketball tournament every year such an amazing thing. Hoping for a Cinderella Story...another Miracle on Ice out on the hardwood. Are there any Giant Killers in this years tournament? We shall see soon enough. Certainly there will be a higher seed than Kansas State at #4's to lose in this next 2 days...who will it be? Will one of these relative unknowns wind a HUGE game? Wofford plays #2 Kentucky which is the highest ranked team playing one of the lower ranked teams in this next round (even though Wofford was at #7, I'd still rank that as a HUGE underdog...I gave them virtually NO CHANCE against the usual powerhouse Seton Hall).
So....all I can say is GO WOFFORD!!! GO UC IRVINE! GO MURRAY STATE!! And last but not least, GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!!! (sorry...got a bit dramatic there).
Ahhh...March. And hey...did you know there are some AWESOME BIKE RACES happening too?
What's not to love about March?
GAME ON!
