First Round - What Did We Learn?

Well, for starters, maybe the ACC isn't quite the juggernaut that everyone thought it was. Four of the conference's seven teams went down, and all four were upset by lower seeded teams. Wake Forest was blown out by 13-seed Cleveland State, 7-seeds Clemson and Boston College were upset by Michigan and USC (respectively) and Florida State fell to Wisconsin in overtime. Only Maryland's mild upset of Cal saved the conference further embarassment.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I called the USC and Wisconsin upsets. Yee-aahhhh!!!

I watched the thrilling overtime finishes between both Ohio State-Siena (2OT!) and USC-Wisconsin last night, and I have to admit it was one of the most exciting sequences I have seen in some time. Siena and Wisconsin both hit timely three pointers to stay alive, and their opponents fell just short at the buzzer. As an OSU-hater, I especially enjoyed seeing Siena take down the Buckeyes.

The Mountain West has to be disappointed to see both of their teams crash out against lower-seeded teams. Earlier in the season, there was talk that the conference might earn three or even four bids. The poor showing shouldn't (but probably will) affect perception of the league next season.

And what about Dayton? Many experts were predicting West Virginia as a sleeper to reach at least the Sweet 16, so it's a great win for the Flyers. Kansas will be a tough matchup for them, but Dayton is playing with a lot of confidence right now.

Overall, though, the tournament is basically going according to plan. Wake Forest was the only team seeded fourth or higher that lost (although three 5 seeds lost) and the top contenders are all still alive. The second round tends to provide more of these types of upsets.

Of the one seeds, I think Pitt has the toughest matchup. Oklahoma State can run the floor and has beaten several top teams. LSU is a bit of enigma, but I don't see them hanging with North Carolina. Connecticut and Louisville should also be able to handle Texas A&M and Siena, although I've said before that Louisville makes me a little nervous.

Among the two seeds, I've already gone on record saying I expect Michigan State to lose to USC. Oklahoma could also be susceptible to an upset, but Michigan will need its threes to fall. Memphis and Duke would seem to be a little more safe. Memphis opponent Maryland has the capability of winning tough games, but they are not consistent. We've already seen the middle of the ACC exposed as perhaps a bit overrated, so I expect Memphis to win. Duke has been a prime candidate as of late for earlier-than-expected exits, but I am not impressed at all with Texas.

Well, the games start in less than an hour, so enjoy! Game number one is UCLA-Villanova,and once again I'm expecting another upset there.