I came up with this title earlier this morning when I had predicted that two Texas teams would make it to the 2nd round. It turns out only one, Texas, who knocked off Wake Forest, will be cattle herding it up amongst their
UTEP peers. Oh well, the title stays, not just because it's catchy, but because of my love for John Wayne.
Fast forward to 9pm and the list of winners has migrated to the right; that much closer to the middle of my bracket.
One note about my bracket, or should I say brackets. I have devised three different brackets to satisfy my own March Madness. The first, displays my heterotopian view of the teams that I want to win (fyi, some picks are about as likely to win as Elton John performing a singing tour for the troops), the second bracket determines who I think will most likely win, as far as RPI and talent are concerned, finally, the third follows the tournament in real time, where the blanks are filled in those who are actually moving on. I know, reality bites, like Winona Ryder said.As far as accuracy is concerned, the only surprises today with regards to my predictions, were Old Dominion's upset over
Notre Dame and
Ohio's victory over the Hoyas.
Murray State beat Vanderbilt, which probably shocked a few, but I don't have too much faith in the Ivy Leaguers -- remember they're not running for political office.
Before I catch up on my own Z's, I want to give a shout out to the teams I consider "Sleepers", starting with
St. Mary's. The Gaels hail from the West Coast Conference, where the only team that makes headlines is
Gonzaga.
Sandham and the rest of his Aussie Posse (nice rhyme if I do say so myself), took it to
Richmond with unmatched play in the interior from their Big Man, who combined for 29 points and 12 rebounds in the 80-71 victory.
Believe it or not, I think
Utah St. also has "Sleeper" potential. I've come to this conclusion after doing extensive research, including the donning of a lab coat, the use of a beaker, as well as exploding gasses -- er, I went on the teams' website and caught their conference championship game. The Aggies were 14-2 leading in the tourney and beat BYU earlier during the season. Just keep an eye on them as they take on
Texas A&M tomorrow, you might be shocked that Cache isn't just the valley their University is located at.
I won't delve into any more potential "upsetters" with the exception of the University of Washington. The beginning of their season showed a team stumbling like Bambi to find its legs post
John Brockman's departure to the NBA last year. However with 7 of 7 in wins leading into the tournament, not to mention the Pac-10 title, they have much to be proud of, and should not be taken lightly by any opponent, particularly when you have stars like
Quincy "Q-Pon" Pondexter and
Isaiah Thomas who along with their teammates, accumulate the most points per game in all the Pac-10. I see them making a big Splash on Saturday vs. New Mexico.
For the most part, the games today were excruciatingly close, depending on who you were rooting for. Both Kansas' annihilated their opponents, but no big surprise there. In fact, most of the matches were relatively close. Look at
Villanova's win over
Robert Morris - the Wildcats barely clawed their way to a victory.
However, now that the day is over, I'm able to slip into my Snuggee, turn on Project Runway and prepare for tomorrow's slurry of match ups. If today was any reflection of how tomorrow or the rest of the tournament will go, I look forward to watching who ends up being the fairest of them all. One thing is for sure, however, I'm going to have to replace my deodorant with a prescription strength version; one more suited for the perspiration inducing excitement of March Madness! Maybe I should ask Dick Vitale what he would suggest? He usually looks pretty greasy.
