Day 4

Play and survive was the tone Sunday with a number of great games decided by late buckets.

Ohio State/Iowa State had it all. Two teams evenly matched playing their tails off. A true March Madness buzzer beater that will enrich the highlight reels for years to come. Controversy... was it a charge or wasn't it a charge? In the end Ohio State moves on and sets up a classic match up of former Xavier coaches, Thad Motta and Sean Miller. You didn't think I wouldn't get a Xavier plug in did you.

Kansas found themselves down by nine at half to North Carolina and had made zero three pointers for their first three halves of the tournament before blitzing the 3-point arc for a quick 4 or was it five to take complete control over UNC and they move on.

Temple and LaSalle made the city of Philadelphia proud in their efforts Sunday although only LaSalle moves on. Temple battled tournament favorite Indiana to the every end before falling to the Hoosiers while LaSalle used a late tip in for their first appearance in the Sweet Sixteen since high top Converse were the rage.

The only question I have for Florida Gulf Coast is, how did you lose to Lipscomb twice this year? These guys are both talented and extremely entertaining to watch. I only wish more coaches preferred their fast breaking style of play.

It's now time for the Sweet Sixteen and time for the chalk to step up. I fully expect teams from the so called power conferences to take back the tourney. My picks for the Final Four are Duke, Michigan, Arizona and Indiana. Then again, I'm stuck near the cellar in my Tourney Bracket, so don't take these picks to Vegas.

  

Day 3

On the hits just keeping on coming.

Gonzaga, do you realize what you have done? Never again in the history of March Madness will a team outside the so called power conferences ever be trusted with a #1 Seed. You may be able to run the table in the weaker than weak West Coast Conference but you puked when it counted, March.

Best game of the day featured Butler vs Marquette and they didn't disappoint. These two teams met back in Hawaii in a game decided by a miracle three buzzer beater and judging how close the game was throughout they could keep this going for hours. Wait till next year when Butler joins the Big East.

VCU ran into a team with a handle and it was curtains for the hackers from Richmond. Great to see them get manhandled.

Arizona sent the Crimson of Harvard back to Beantown but let's give it up to a team of true student athletes and how college sports should be.

It's now time for the Sweet Sixteen and how's your bracket? Mine is utterly been destroyed but that's why we are hooked yearly on March Madness.

 

Day 2

Let me get right to the point. Georgetown is a fraud year in and year out. Given that John Thompson II only won one title over all the years he roamed and intimidated the sidelines with the talent he acquired on a yearly basis it's no surprise his kid, John Thompson III has no freaking clue what he's doing. My problem is I get hooked every year on picking these sorry saps to advance in my bracket and every year I get hosed by the Hoyas. The Princeton offense needs to be kicked out the door.

I am exuberant though over the early departure of the Wisconsin Badgers. I hate there style pure and simple. Slow and slower. Isn't it time for Bo-ball to be extinguished.

Nortre Dame needs a makeover and I'm not talking about the players. They simply need to tell Adidas to stuff those neon green uniforms. You are a great school with a great athletic tradition and you do not need any gimmicks. The Yankees don't break out new uni's at playoff time.

I need to give a shout out to the A-10. They have been dominate so far. As a Xavier alum, I'm proud of what our conference has accomplished even though it's sickening we aren't in the tourney.

UCLA is another flawed program that needs a makeover. I think that's coming rather quickly with Ben Howland being shown the door.

One last thing and it's about style. So called expects like to say the NBA is a players league and college basketball is about coaches. I would hope to think that after watching teams like Florida Gulf Coast that it is all about the players and their love of the game. Basketball at it best is meant to be played fast.

Day 1.

March Madness is off and running and there is plenty to talk about already.
First and foremost, New Mexico has to have been the most over seeded team in the history of the tournament. If I had seen even five minutes of any one of their games I would have had them losing right away instead of advancing to the Sweet 16. Go Crimson!
Hey Seth Davis and Jay Bilas, what sort of weed have you both have been smoking, considering your shout outs that Arizona and Syracuse were heading home early. Just a quick question, did you even see Belmont or Montana play this year? Belmont wasn't exactly blown out but they were never, never a serious threat. I turned off the Cuse game right away as it was blow out city.
You had to feel sick for Davidson. The played a near perfect game. Marquette, so far the luckiest team in the tournament was 1-10 from beyond the arc and then quickly flushed three 3's very late to get themselves back in the game. The ending was miserable as Davidson threw the ball away and then played no defense on a nearly uncontested layup for the Marquette victory.
Hey Zags, you were almost a trivia answer as to who was the first #1 seed to lose to a #16. It's tough sometimes to play that first tournament game but at least you won.
Great comeback by St. Mary's as they nearly provided one of those patented buzzer beater March Madness moments.
Finally, how many comericals are there? These kids can never get tired playing two minute shifts. Take the timeouts away from the coaches and we'd really see games decided by the players