MARCH MADNESS, DAY TWO



The Midwest bracket took a battering. The 9,11 and 13 seeds all advanced against the 8, 6 and 4 seeds respectively.

1. Easily the shocker of the tournament so far, not only did 13 Cleveland State beat 4 Wake Forest, they beat them definitively, racing to a 17 point lead before eventually finishing them off 84-69. The shocking thing is the ability to shock. Millions picking by considering every possible scenario, can't recall anyone pointing this game out as a potential upset, hell, a potential rout. Well done, Cleveland State!

2. My Midwest bracket was crapped in twice, the second time coming with 11 seed Dayton's rather shocking defeat of 6 seeded West Virginia, a team along with Wake, I foolishly believed in. Hell, I thought West Virginia, on Bob Huggins' vicious coaching could advance into the next round with their eyes closed. Dayton had been 1-13 historically against Huggins. Instead, Chris Wright scored a career-high 27 points and had 10 rebounds in leading the Flyers whose reward is to face the defending National Champions, Kansas.

3. It took 2 overtimes but 9 Sienna overcame 8 Ohio State in the anyone say I told you so match. I remember this being a match up you could basically flip a coin on in your bracket. The snatches I saw of this was of a lethargic Ohio State team solidifying the perception that outside of Michigan schools, the Big Ten is a wasteland. (don't tell that to Wisconsin, of course. Their "reward" is to play #1 Louisville.

4. Top seeded Pitt was nearly upset by 16 seed East Tennessee State. Pitt played with fire up until there was only about 4 minutes left in the game, just avoiding getting burned thanks in large part to DeJuan Blair's 27 points and 16 rebounds. But they advanced and probably millions fewer had their brackets destroyed.

5. I actually had this in my bracket but #12 Wisconsin beating #5 Florida State is technically considered an upset. Florida State had the chance to put the game away with their 12 point lead at the half but Wisconsin's defence was simply too much and eventually the Badgers were able to put the game away with 2 seconds left in overtime on Trevon Hughes' spectacular little circus shot, with the foul, that made it an unsurmountable 3 point lead. Toney Douglas, who led the Seminoles to the ACC finale on his back alone, wasn't enough this time despite his 26 points.

6. Another "upset" that most people probably had was #12 Arizona beating #5 Utah. I mean, considering how many "experts" considered this Utah loss almost a given, despite the perception that Arizona didn't even "belong" in this tournament, you have to wonder about the seeding gurus on this one. When the 12 beats the 5 by 13 points and its not really a surprise, someone on the seeding committee better put their hand up. And I suppose now the watch word is Watch Arizona because with Cleveland State up next, they might be dancing into the Sweet 16 before you know it.

7. #10 USC "upsetting" #7 Boston College? Again, no mystery. After their performance in the PAC 10 tournament, most people likely had this result etched in their minds long ago. I know I did. I know I did and pretty much every bloody sports columnist who made their picks public. Can they overcome Tom Izzo's Michigan State team though? I'm still saying no. The fun stops here.

Notwithstanding the above, Friday's 2nd day went pretty much as planned.

Conference records from round 1:

Big East -- 6-1
Big 12 -- 6-0
Pac-10 -- 5-1
ACC -- 3-4
Big Ten -- 4-3
Atlantic-10 -- 2-1
SEC -- 1-2
Horizon -- 1-1
Mountain West -- 0-2

The ACC is embarassing. This maybe puts UNC's dominance in proper perspective. Wouldn't it be gorgeous if LSU beat UNC and Texas were to beat Duke? Ah yes, of course it would, leaving only Maryland to represent.

Realistically however, I'd say #5 Purdue over #4 Washington is the best bet for an upset on Saturday along with 10 Michigan over 2 Oklahoma and 12 Western Kentucky over 4 Gonzaga.

Best matchup of Saturday? Well without a doubt I'm looking most forward to No. 3 Villanova vs. No. 6 UCLA and No. 2 Memphis vs. No. 10 Maryland. Even though Memphis is my pick for Champion, I'll be rooting, I suspect for the Terps.