March Madness

Once again, it's March, which to college basketball fans, is the most exciting time of the year as the conference tournaments lead to the field of 64 known as "The Big Dance", or the NCAA College Basketball Torunament.
As usual there were some first round surprises that had pool players jumping out of windows. Many of the matchups were closer than they appeared in the rankings. There was not a huge dropoff of talent from the 5th spot down to the 12th. So, to the casual observer, when #10 Alabama took out #7 Marquette, it was a shocker. Marquette may have showed a better record than 'Bama, as they were 20-10 compared to the Crimson Tide's 17-12, but when you compare conferences and schedules, it isn't hard to understand how Alabama overtook Marquette.
However, there were some surprises that turned even the most seasoned analyst's head. Northwestern State, a team that many don't even know where they came from (most of us have heard of Northwestern University in Chicago, but not Northwestern State.) It was a complete surprise when they took out #3 Iowa, a game that eneded up crossed off of many a tournament pool sheet.
There were a couple of more upsets that had players drawing long red lines through their brackets. When #6 Oklahoma was bounced by #11 Wisconsin-Milwaukee, that game had some heads turning. Georgetown raised more than a few eyebrows when they (a 7 seed) ousted #2 Ohio State. I know that Georgetown did a number on my Minneapolis breacket as I had the Buckeyes going to the final four when I had them beaten by Villanova to represent the bracket.
Another shocker was when fourth seeded Kansas was ousted in the very first round by 13th seeded Bradley.
#7 Wichita State threw a wrench into the Washington, D.C. bracket when they upset second seeded Tennesee.
But without a doubt the biggest surprise in this 2006 NCAA Tournament is the #11 George Mason University. A law school in Fairfax, Virginia, Mason has been more competitive in the last few seasons, but no one expected them to pull off the feats that they have so far in the tournament.
First, they (an 11 seed) upset #6 Michigan State in the first round. Their next matchup was against North Carolina, the defending national champs. Nobody (including myself, a HUGE Tar Heel fan) expected Carolina to successfully defend its title, as we all know that 4/5 of that team bolted for the NBA after they won it all last season. But Roy Williams did a tremendous job with a team that everyone wrote off in the preseason as a having a rebuilding year for UNC due to losing too many players. But they finished at 22-7 and earned a third seed in the bracket. George Mason sent the Tar Heels home prematurely as they beat Carolina by five points in round two.
Now Mason goes up against Wichita State, who let's not forget knocked out Seton Hall and then second seeded Tennesee. So now Mason will try to once again knock off a higher seeded team and keep its Cinderella season alive. They beat North Carolina. Wichita State beat Tennesee. Both teams have beaten national powerhouses on their way to this meeting. It should be a great game, and hopefully this matchup, as well as some of the others, will give us the excitement that they first two rounds have.
My picks for the Final Four: Duke beats Gonzaga and UConn wins the other half of the sheet. I had them beating Ohio State, but now that is no longer possible. For the whole ball of wax I have Connecticut outlasting the Dukies, 72-69.
I'm not in an office pool, but I am in the ESPN pool for $10,000. Since my Elite Eight and Final Four teams are still alive (for the most part), I still have a great shot to win it all. Check in with me and let me know how you did in your pool. Who was your big underdog? Which high seed killed your picks? Where did you end up? Let me know.
Enjoy the rest of the tournament and good luck in your pools!