Maddux Sports Blog

I’ll be here again for the first eight games of the day. Times are still mountain time, so adjust accordingly.

10:17 - We are just underway with Tennessee and American. The Eagles are out to a 4-2 lead. Watch out world, here comes American!

10:25 - Davidson and Gonzaga are about to get underway. This game is brilliant, and I am very excited about it, but it is a travesty that these two teams have to match up in the first round.

10:29 - Three minutes in and I already know that this one will live up to the hype. End to end action and sharp shooting.

11:06 - Tennessee is up by seven at the half. That’s probably closer than Bruce Pearl’s game plan.

11:16 - Gonzaga played that first half like they are tired of hearing how Davidson is the new Gonzaga. The Bulldogs have the edge, but the second half sets up to be a war. Davidson may want to find a way to guard freshman Steven Gray. He has a career high 15 points in the first half, and can’t miss from outside.

11:17 - Speaking of battles, the Drake - Western Kentucky game is a seesaw. The Hilltoppers took a lead, then the Bulldogs took one, and now Western Kentucky is back up. The Hilltoppers are shooting the lights out and are up by nine at the half. Like the Gonzaga game, it is a shame that these teams have to play in the first round, because both deserve a chance to play again.

11:23 - All of Australia rejoices as the St. Mary’s Gaels and their Aussie-heavy roster look very comfortable in leading Miami by five. Is it just me, or is Miami the least inspiring power conference team in the tournament?

11:30 - American will not go away. They have closed the gap to one three minutes into the second half. What is in the water for the 15 seeds this year?

11:55 - Looks like I spoke to soon about St. Mary’s -they have gone from five up to seven down in just over four minutes.

12:04 - Drake is down by 16 with 11 minutes left. I might be mixing up my fairy tales here, but Cinderella better find a prince to kiss soon before she turns into a frog.

12:05 - Stephen Curry has 32 points in 31 minutes. Any doubts about how freaking good this guy is?

12:29 - Adam Morrison was just shown on the sidelines at the Gonzaga game. He looked like a freak when he was playing, but that Morrison looked like a male model compared to the uber-freak he has become now.

12:32 - Heck of an effort by American, and a nice cover to boot.

12:37 - Davidson wins the best game of the tournament so far. I can’t say enough about Curry. Their game against Georgetown is going to be fascinating.

12:39 - I take back what I said about Miami. They came out and laid a serious beating on St. Mary’s in the second half.

12:48 - Going to overtime with Drake and Western Kentucky. There has been more drama in the first two and a half hours today than there was in 12 hours yesterday. Heck of a comeback by Drake to get this far. Now it’s just a question of whether the momentum can carry over to the second half. I’m torn on that - sometimes I think it does, other times I don’t. Helpful, I know.

12:59 - One of my favorite parts of the tournament is discovering players I didn’t know much about who shine in the spotlight. Win or lose, Tyrone Brazelton, the point guard for Western Kentucky, is one of those players. Incredible performance.

1:10 - Best shot of the tournament so far goes to Ty Rogers of Western Kentucky. His long, long three went through the hoop as time expired in overtime to give Western Kentucky the win. The last five minutes of regulation and that overtime are why college basketball is king.

1:16 - The higher seeds were just 1-3 ATS in the first group of games today. A reversal from yesterday. Had to happen eventually.

1:31 - Least shocking news of the day - a number 15, UMBC, is hanging tough with a two, Georgetown. They are tied 11 minutes in.

1:48 - Western Kentucky may be the new darlings, but conference-mates South Alabama are not faring nearly as well. They are down by 17 to Butler at the half. The Bulldogs look very good so far. They should - they are a four seed in seven seed clothing.

1:56 - The dream’s not dead for UMBC, but it’s on life support. Georgetown drove a dagger into the Retrievers’ ribs with a three at the buzzer to take a 12 point lead into the final.

1:57 - Texas has finally shown that it is possible for a two seed to exert their dominance early and maintain it. They took and early lead and haven’t really looked back against Austin Peay. The Longhorns are up by 15 and look to be in total control. Of course, the last time I said that about a team at halftime they lost the game by 14, so heed my opinion accordingly.

2:02 - San Diego is up by two over UConn halfway through the first half. Maybe the Toreros feel they have something to prove since the other two tournament teams from their conference had a rough morning.

2:13 - I’ve been waiting to hear if the injury to UConn point guard A.J. Price is serious. It seems to be a real knee problem, and that’s bad news for Calhoun and the boys. San Diego was tight with Price in the game, so they could be in decent shape now, and they have the bonus of believing that it is possible now. Price may be back in the second half, but this is going to be one to watch. San Diego is now up by six.

2:31 - San Diego is up by five at the half. I still would have to favor the Huskies because of who they are, but the Toreros do not look uncomfortable with the lead.

2:33 - Georgetown and Butler both look to be in cruise control.

2:58 - Is Butler this good or is South Alabama overrated? The Bulldogs are up by 25 with less than two left and are just ruthlessly efficient and impressive. Bruce Pearl is in the audience and, funnily enough, he doesn’t seem to be enjoying the game that much. Butler-Tennessee could be the game of the day on Sunday.

3:11 - San Diego may not hold on, but they deserve credit because they clearly want it more. They are too small to be out-rebounding UConn, but they have been doing it for long stretches of time. I fear a fall back to earth, though. If it’s coming for San Diego it will come back soon.

3:18 - Georgetown and Texas both held on to cover their big spreads. That’s 3-0 ATS for the higher seeds in this group, and 4-3 ATS for them on the day. Still profitable for a public-following monkey. UConn will have to work hard to cover their 12.5 point spread, though.

3:20 - I’m not giving up yet, but San Diego is in trouble. They look tired and UConn has woken up and is asserting their strength. San Diego is down, and now we get to see if they have what it takes to pick themselves back up again.

3:49 - Something crazy is going on in Tampa - two games, two overtime thrillers. I’m impressed with San Diego’s ability to hang on this long, though I bet that Ginty would like to have those two missed late free throws back. I’m not even going to guess what is going to happen now, other than UConn isn’t going to cover.

4:09 - Sometimes teams get exactly what they deserved. San Diego was incredible all day, and they earned that win in a big, big way. That’s the first time in 15 tries that Jim Calhoun has lost in the first round with the Huskies. That’s amazing. What an absolutely incredible game, and a great end to a great afternoon of basketball. Gyno Pomare is another one of those guys who rose up and amazed in the spotlight. Wow.

4:11 - Western Kentucky versus San Diego. You had that one on your bracket, right? For the record, a 12 has played a 13 five times, and the higher seeded team has won four of them.

4:12 - Enjoy the rest of the games today.

We are just a couple minutes away from the first tip-off. I’ll check in periodically throughout the day with thoughts and such. All times will be mountain time, so add two hours for eastern, subtract one for pacific and so on:

10:20 a.m. - We’re underway with Xavier and Georgia. It is very strange seeing a power conference as a 14 seed. Xavier is out to a very quick 5-0 lead. Hopefully the Bulldogs wake up soon.

10:30 a.m. - Watching Georgia play makes me realize that teams need some creativity in names. Bulldogs - Georgia, Butler, Gonzaga, Mississippi State, Drake. Wildcats - Villanova, Davidson, Kansas State, Kentucky, Arizona. Eagles - Winthrop, American, Oral Roberts (though there’s are Golden), Marquette (also Golden), Coppin State. Throw in two Cougars, a bunch of other varieties of wild felines, two Mountaineers, two Bruins (and a few bears by other names as well), a million teams named after some kind of soldier, and two shades of red playing each other and there isn’t a whole lot of uniqueness going on.

10:50 - The line actually dropped in the Kansas game after it was released (from 25 to 22). Apparently the public loves Portland State. So far it seems hard to understand why - they are down by 13 after 12 minutes.

11:10 - Georgia is up on Xavier by nine at the half after sinking the last six baskets. That is really not good news for my brackets. Dennis Felton is doing the best job of saving his job-in-jeopardy of any coach in the history of coaching.

11:14 - Kansas is up by 23 at the half. They need to find a way to make these 1 vs. 16 games more interesting. Maybe something involving live alligators or water and electricity.

11:20 - Michigan State over Temple by nine at the half. This one was really close for quite a while, and then suddenly it really wasn’t. It is amazing how many easy baskets the Spartans have had.

11:40 - Xavier is down by 11 with 15 minutes left. They badly need a big run soon. The problem is that they aren’t really a team built for a big run. I have a bit of a sick feeling building up in my stomach over this one.

12:05 - Or maybe they can come back. Xavier is now up by three with seven minutes left.

12:37 - All three games are over and all three favorites covered. The public is having a good day so far. I was impressed by how Michigan State came out and took care of business against a pesky opponent, and I was very impressed with how Xavier jumped all over Georgia when the Bulldogs faltered.

1:06 - I’ll send the Mountain West conference some love while I still can. UNLV has jumped out to a nice 9-2 lead in a tough game against Kent State. I think it is a shame that both Mountain West teams were given eight seeds - they deserved better.

1:10 - I know that there were problems with the logo, but Marquette should still be the Warriors. The Golden Eagles just doesn’t sound as good, or have the history.

1:20 - Oral Roberts is leading Pitt more than seven minutes in. Clearly their prayer edge is paying off so far.

1:30 - Marquette by four at the half. This has been a good game, but neither team is playing particularly well. I think that the team that asserts itself first in the second half will take it.

1:31 - Someone needs to call the cops to protect Kent State. The Rebels, a one point underdog, are now up by 21 with three minutes left. This is an epic beatdown so far. Fear the MWC!

1:54 - What does a coach say to a team at halftime which has scored just 10 points in the first half? I would guess that there would be yelling. And chair throwing. And quite possibly murder.

1:57 - Purdue is up by 19 at the half. I’m a bit surprised that it is so one-sided, but my guess is that Baylor will tighten up a bit in the second half. Not enough to win, but enough to make it responsible.

1:58 - Pitt up by 23 at the half. Maybe prayer doesn’t work after all.

2:53 - Two more games over, two more higher seeds (Marquette and UNLV) with fairly comfortable wins and with covers. That puts the higher seeds at 5-0 ATS, and the favorites at 4-1 ATS because people didn’t respect the Mountain West. So far, a monkey could handicap this thing.

3:11 - That’s now 7-0 ATS for the higher seeds after Purdue and Pitt cruised. I guess that means that Stanford is the pick in the only game underway now. I’m okay with that. The Lopez twins look ridiculously huge when they are beside Ivy League guys.

3:23 - Cornell just needs to take a deep breath. They are outclassed, but they can put up a respectable effort if they relax and do what got them here. A 1-for-9 start shooting is not the answer.

4:05 - Cornell shot 5-for-32 from the field in the first half. Not a lot of winning is going to happen when you shoot that poorly. Just ask Kent State.

5:06 - 8-0 ATS for the higher seeds after Stanford crushed the life out of Cornell. Games that one-sided and uncompetitive are not at all fun to watch.

5:17 - K-State has come out swinging. They are shooting well, and their defense on Mayo is relentless. If this pace keeps up then this will be a classic. Beasley got his second foul less than five minutes in, though, so that doesn’t bode well.

5:31 - Two biggest things I have seen in the USC game so far: 1. When Beasley is on the court he is ridiculously disruptive - Bill Walker is all over the place because the Trojans are so worried about Beasley right now. 2. USC’s cheerleaders are far superior to Kansas State’s.

5:36 - If Belmont could play 15 minute games they would be deadly. They have hung tight early with UCLA and Georgetown before getting blown out in recent years, and now they are a point behind Duke with less than seven minutes left in the first half.

6:03 - Three games head to halftime at about the same time. Belmont hung strong, but the fact that they are wildly outclassed started to show later on, and I expect Duke to roll in the second half. Unfortunately. Winthrop is tied with Washington State at the half. It’s not a fluke. They are playing tough and matching the Cougars blow for blow. Washington State clearly has the edge, but they will have to be alert to avoid an embarrassment. Kansas State is up on USC by 10, and they have beat them up in every way, and without Beasley being the star. I will be watching very closely to see what the first five minutes of the second half look like. If they aren’t significantly different then this could get ugly.

6:23 - Great game between BYU and Texas A&M in Anaheim. The Cougars were down 11-0 to start, but they came back to tie it up at 20 at the half. BYU looks patient and controlled (Go Mountain West!). Now if only they could shoot free throws.

6:35 - Just looking back over the first eight of today’s games you realize how close they weren’t. Seven of the eight were decided by at least 11, and the one that wasn’t, Marquette’s, wasn’t as close as it seemed because Kentucky had no time outs and no choice but to foul in the last minute. Here’s hoping we get some tighter ones the rest of today and tomorrow.

6:43 - USC has answered the bell. They look like a totally different team than the first half, and they have closed the ten point gap in less than eight minutes. Washington State has found their game, too.

6:44 - Belmont is tied with Duke with 9 minutes left. An upset here, with apologies to my wife in regards to our wedding day, would make this the best day of my life.

6:45 - The look my wife just gave me tells me that I should mention that I am kidding. Sort of.

7:12 - Washington State ran away in the second to make it 9-0 ATS for the higher seeded teams. That’ll change in just a second thanks to Duke.

7:18 - Duke is very, very lucky. And I hate them.

7:22 - Very, very impressive win by Kansas State. Their next game against (presumably) Wisconsin will be fascinating. It would be harder to find a bigger clash of styles between the high flying Wildcats and the dull and plodding Badgers.

7:26 - Higher seeds are now 9-2 ATS. Not as good, but still surprising.

7:44 - Texas A&M was able to hold on over BYU in a very good game. That’s another lower seed.

8:00 - I wasn’t expecting to see Cal State Fullerton come out and score 10 in four minutes against the Wisconsin defense. It will be interesting to see if and when the Badgers tighten that up.

8:07 - It’s early yet but it doesn’t look like George Mason is going to be the next George Mason. They are down by 16 to Notre Dame halfway through the first. The Irish are probably just desperate not to repeat the travesty against Winthrop last year.

8:17 - Kevin Love has seven points and three blocks in the first four and a half minutes. His back seems fine.

8:38 - Very odd game in Omaha. Wisconsin looked sloppy early, locked it down and built and eight point lead, then let Fullerton back with an 8-0 before taking the two point halftime lead with a late basket It will be an interesting second half. Maybe. It also could be a Washington State-like second half.

8:44 - Arizona - West Virginia is going to be a great second half. I find the Wildcats very frustrating, but they sure have talent and I am a fan. Notre Dame - George Mason, on the other hand, probably won’t be that good. The Irish are up by 12 and are looking very good.

8:54 - The good news for UCLA backers is that the Bruins are up by 24 at the half. The bad news is that they still need nine points to cover the spread, and they will be playing the water boy and three cheerleaders in the second half.

9:39 - George Mason went down with a whimper. While their was little to learn from this game, it was nice to see that Luke Harangody is ready and willing to step up and carry his team in the tournament.

9:54 - It might be time to give up on Arizona. It’s been a long, long time since that program has lived up to potential, yet I keep falling for them. I can’t quit you, Wildcats.

9:57 - The UCLA game made the Kansas game look like a barnburner.

10:01 - Wisconsin got their act together and played like they can in the second half to cover nicely.

Final thoughts

The higher seeded teams ended up at 13-3 ATS. That is quite surprising to me, but indicative perhaps of how top-heavy the tournament is.

The most impressive performance was Kansas State. Beasley got in foul trouble early, but he had the discipline to calm down, get his act together, and dominate. As impressive - Bill Walker stepped up his game, and the Wildcats showed real depth. If they can do that again then Wisconsin could have their hands full.

There was a one point thriller, a five point game, and the 14 games that were fairly one-sided. This was not a day for dramatic finishes. Tomorrow, hopefully, is another day.

Good night.

When I was a little kid I was never able to sleep on Christmas Eve. I could hardly even stand to close my eyes. I would just lie there thinking of what was about to come the next day - the presents, the food, the people, the excitement. It was excruciating and torturous, and every second seemed like an hour. Now that I am older, that Christmas eve experience takes place on a Wednesday in the middle of March. The tournament starts tomorrow, and I absolutely cannot wait. Ever since the college football season ended my primary focus has been on college basketball, and it all leads to the three weeks of insanity that get underway tomorrow. I have played every game over in my mind a million times, and I have a hundred different theories about how it might all work out, but until it starts we can’t be sure which, if any, are correct. As I sit here willing the hours to pass until the first tip-off, here are the ten things that I am most looking forward to about the first two rounds:

1. O.J. versus Beasley. The USC - Kansas State game is overhyped and it might disappoint, but the chance to see two guys who are almost certain to be excellent pros, and who are the heart and soul of their exciting teams, is a dream for basketball fans. I just wish they weren’t playing on the first day - a game like this should be on the second weekend.

2. Davidson versus Gonzaga. Speaking of things that shouldn’t be on the first weekend. These are two mid-major programs that make a joke of the term mid-major because of their continued success and their willingness to seek out and challenge the best. Mark Few is a coaching machine, and Stephen Curry is as much fun to watch as any player in the tournament. The fireworks in this game should be crazy, and the winner stands a decent chance of moving on into the second weekend.

3. Butler versus Tennessee. Butler will have to get past a tough South Alabama team first, but if they do then their second game will be a classic. Both teams are very talented, and both will be highly motivated because they should be insulted by the seeds they were given. Tennessee was the last two seed when they had a legitimate claim at a number one, while Butler is better than they were last year when they were a five, and yet they got a seven. Feeling slighted often brings out the best in teams.

4. Watching Vanderbilt struggle. Shan Foster is a very nice player, but I have very little faith in the Commodores. They are maddeningly inconsistent, and I think that they are the worst of the number fours by a wide margin. They have tough games against Siena and then the winner of the Clemson-Villanova game, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see them fall before the weekend is over.

5. Swearing at Duke. Like many of the sports fans on this continent, I truly, deeply hate the Blue Devils. Every time I see Coach K I feel a very strong urge to slap him. I don’t like his team much this year, and I really don’t like how they are playing lately, so I am hopeful and cautiously optimistic that they will face a challenge that they are not up to.

6. Watching Memphis prove a point. I am a huge and unapologetic fan of John Calipari and Memphis, so I am very sick of hearing how they are overrated and won’t be competitive. I’m sure that the team is much more sick of it than I am. They have a fairly soft opening weekend, and I think that the feelings of disrespect will fuel them to come out and deliver a real message in their first two games. Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts match up well with the two best players on any team in the country, and I hope to see them prove it.

7. Seeing which Indiana shows up. The Hoosiers have some incredible talent and should be in a good position to do some serious damage in this tournament. They aren’t because the school hired the worst kind of human being as a coach, and he screwed them over. I am very curious to see if they can play up to their potential. If they can it will make for a couple of very interesting games. Unfortunately, my instinct is that they won’t.

8. West Virginia versus Arizona. Arizona is underachieving, and they have had to endure a truly bizarre coaching situation this year, but they have three legitimate first round draft picks on the roster, and they can play as well as any team when they are at their best. If they can get their act together they could go far. That’s a big if, but if they can pull it together then it would be very exciting. And yes, some of my motivation here is to see Duke lose.

9. Purdue versus Baylor. Purdue is an exciting team to watch which is just dripping with potential because of the incredible collection of young players and the solid coaching. Baylor’s resurgence is one of the more incredible stories in recent basketball history. This is one of those games that I wish both teams could win, so I will be overrun with mixed feelings as I watch this one. I just hope that it is a memorable game.

10. Four straight days of endless basketball. The two best days of the tournament are the first two days because of all the games and the crazy storylines that emerge every day. The second two days are almost as good for most of the same reasons. This weekend makes me happy to be a sports fan, and even happier that watching the games is essentially my job. Life is good.

If you have a pulse then you have probably already fill out an NCAA Tournament bracket, and you probably will fill out several more before Thursday. I’m not pretending that I have all the answers, but I’m also not that moron in every pool who makes the painfully stupid picks, either. I don’t win every pool by any means, but I’m usually fairly competitive. I’m not suggesting for a second that I am a genius or a guru. I just follow a few rules to avoid making dumbs mistakes. Here are 10 tips for a winning March Madness bracket. It’s not my fault if you win, but you can send me a cut of the winnings if you do.

1. Upsets are for losers. This is the hardest thing for most people to get into their minds. There were only three games last year that could legitimately be called upsets. There were many more the year before, of course, but it doesn’t matter - picking upsets is the way to lose. sadly, the best way to win a bracket is to be conservative and dull. Even if you manage to pick a crazy upset and that team wins a game or two it doesn’t ultimately do you much good because that team will be knocked out before they can earn serious points. On the flip side, if you go out on a limb and call a big upset and it doesn’t happen then everyone else will be earning points from the favorite team as they move through the tournament and you will be left behind.

2. Focus on the Final Four. Unless your bracket has a crazy scoring system, pools are won or lost in the Final Four. Your goal above all else has to be to look at which teams have a legitimate shot of making it through to the third weekend. It makes sense, then, to start there and work backwards.

3. Be loyal to the top two seeds. The one and two seeds earned that distinction for a reason, and they are rewarded for their accomplishments by facing the easiest possible tournament run (not that anything is easy about the tournament). You need to have a good reason to pick an upset for one of these teams. If there isn’t a good reason then assume they won’t lose. Only one championship game since 1989 hasn’t had at least one team from the top two seeds.

4. Be superstitious if you want to. The last nine champions have all come from the Eastern time zone. This proves nothing, of course, but superstition plays as much a part in a winning bracket as anything. If you’re more of a color person, then every team since 1987 has had blue on their uniforms.

5. Skip the bottom four seeds. A 12 seed can occasionally do some damage. No team below that is likely to. The 13s and lower are stuck at the bottom for a reason - they are the winners of lousy tournaments and the flawed teams from major conferences. They also play the best teams in the tournament. Crazy things can happen, but there is absolutely no percentage in betting that they will. If this sounds redundant that’s only because it is so important that I need to keep saying it until you get it.

6. Stick with the power conferences. The winner is going to come out of the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-10 or SEC. The only time that hasn’t happened in more than 20 years is in 1990 with UNLV. The Running Rebels were incredibly dominant that year. There are some good mid-majors this year, but none anywhere close to UNLV. Picking a team outside of the big six to win it all is an unnecessary risk.

7. Look for scoring teams. At least 20 of the last 23 winners have averaged at least 76 points per game during the regular season. They have also won their regular season games by an average of at least 10 points. Defense may win championships, but not if a team can’t score at will.

8. Coaching experience matters. A team that wins is a team that is coached by a seasoned veteran. Virtually every winner over the last three decades has been coached by a coach that has taken a team to the tournament at least four times in the past. Don’t get overly excited by Drake, in other words.

9. Pay attention to the conference tournaments. Seven of the last ten winners also won their conference tournaments. If you think that that is significant then you can narrow your search down to just six teams - North Carolina, Kansas, Pitt, Wisconsin, UCLA and Georgia. You can be pretty confident that Georgia won’t win it, too.

10. Have fun. Picking a winning bracket requires luck more than anything else. If you take it all too seriously you’re just opening your self up for mockery.

The bracket has just been announced, and I am sure my opinions will change the more I look at it, but here is what jumps out at me as my initial reactions:

Most generous seeding - Washington State. I thought they would be a six or a seven, not a four. I don’t like their chances against Notre Dame, though.

Slaps in the face - Tennessee thought they might still be a one seed and they were the last two. Ouch. Wisconsin was worse, though - I know the Big Ten wasn’t at its best this year, but it is still a major conference, so the regular season and tournament champ deserves better than a three. Butler is a very dangerous seven, too.

Best first round game - Two jump out. USC and Kansas State is a no-brainer. Beasley vs Mayo - it will be a slugfest. I like USC in this one, but it won’t be easy. The other gem is Gonzaga and Davidson. Tough break for the Zags. I think that Davidson could win here and against Georgetown, too, and especially since they are playing in their own back yard. They are shaping up to be one of those lower seeds that will make or break my brackets.

Best potential second round match-ups - Tennessee-Butler, Georgetown-Davidson, Wisconsin-USC, Xavier-Purdue, UConn-Drake.

Best teams at each seed - 1-UNC (though I love Memphis’ bracket), 2-Texas, 3-Wisconsin, 4-Pitt (Though this is a very weak group), 5-Drake, 6-USC, 7-Butler, 8-UNLV, 9-Texas A&M, 10-Davidson, 11-Kentucky, 12-George Mason (for old times’ sake), 13-Siena, 14-Georgia (based solely on momentum), 15-Austin Peay, 16-Portland State

Potential upsets - San Diego over Connecticut, Saint Mary’s over Miami, Davidson over Gonzaga, Saint Joseph’s over Oklahoma. If I had to go out on a limb with one I would take Siena over Vanderbilt - I like Siena and I really, really don’t like the Commodores.

First number one to lose - I really have no idea, and I’m not afraid to admit it. I have concerns about all four, but I could see all of them getting to the Final Four without a problem.

If I had to pick a winner right now - UCLA. Well coached, experience, Kevin Love, and a winnable bracket.

Drake couldn’t have got a better match-up for their first two games. This Cinderella could have wings.

It’s been an exciting couple of days in the world of college hoops. There have been a million things worth paying attention to. Here are 20 to start:

1. The Georgia Dome is obviously cursed. I blame Bobby Petrino.
2. Either the Georgia or Kentucky players are going to sleep well tonight. I wonder when the last time they played twice in a day was.
3. Seeing those two teams play in an empty arena is creepy.
4. Purdue should be ashamed of themselves.
5. So should Indiana. That was a crazy last second shot by Minnesota, though.
6. Minnesota vs. Illinois?!? Didn’t see that one coming.
7. I’m embarrassed to be a Michigan fan right now. That game against Wisconsin was disgusting. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I could have shot as well as they did. And I can’t really shoot.
8. Memphis would have got more out of a scrimmage than they did by playing Tulsa.
9. UCLA vs. USC was a classic. Both teams are poised to do some damage. I am incredibly impressed by how O.J. Mayo has played down the stretch.
10. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute left the game in the first half with an injury. He’ll reportedly be fine, but he’ll miss the game today. That’s a bit scary.
11. The Jayhawks played as badly as a team can play in the first half against Nebraska. They woke up and crushed them in the second half, but the no-show makes me a bit uneasy.
12. Either West Virginia isn’t as good as they have looked recently or Georgetown is playing great.
13. Michael Beasley is truly incredible. I wish we could have seen what he could have done on a team with some depth. He’d make it more fun to be a Miami Heat ticket holder in a hurry.
14. The hatchets are falling already - Providence and Rice have axed their coaches.
15. Xavier lost. I like the team a lot, but I am far from thrilled with their play down the stretch.
16. I find it hard to believe that there are still teams out there that have never played in the tournament, but there are at least three first-timers this year. It’s always fun to see how excited those teams and their fans are for the first five minutes of the game before they are down by 15.
17. Only three more days until the play-in game. Can you feel the excitement? No concept is more ridiculous or in need of a merciful death than that stupid game.
18. Tennessee did not play like a number one against SC. It is impressive how Lofton puts that team on his back when they are in trouble, though.
19. Vanderbilt is a bad joke. I will be very hard pressed not to bet against them in the first round.
20. Spectacular game by Wayne Ellington against Florida State. The Tar Heels are in form.