March Madness: The Madness Gets Started Early

It certainly didn't take long to find some upsets and buzzer beaters in this years' version of March Madness.  We're not even done with the first night and some high ranked teams have already gone down.  And I would just like to point out that I was the only one of those who voted that picked Richmond to upset Vanderbilt.  So let's get a quick recap of the upsets of the day.

As I said I picked this one :)  Richmond, from what I saw had the lead for most of the second half, and while it was a close game all the way to the end, they were able to hold off Vandy and hang on to the 12/5 upset.  Does that mean the other 5 seeds are safe?  West Virginia already won their game.  That leaves Kansas State and Arizona.

I think this is the one that no one saw coming.  Louisville has had a pretty good season, and they had a good run in the Big East Tournament.  And along comes little Moorehead State.  No way Rick Pitino can let his guys get beat by them.  Think again. Moorehead State hit a 3 with about 4 seconds left to win the game by 1.


Then there were the near upsets.  #4 Kentucky only managed to win by 2 over #13 Princeton.  And Temple and Butler each only won by 2 over their opponents: Penn State and Old Dominion.  It's been a crazy night, and I'm sure we can expect more of the same.  I love March Madness!

The Brackets Are In!

Selection Sunday has come and gone, and the brackets are complete.  March Madness has officially begun!  Fill out your bracket here!

I just want to hit on a few topics to get the wheels turning as you consider your brackets before the games start on Tuesday.

Top Seeds

I believe the top seeds are all very deserving.  Ohio State, Kansas, and Duke all won their conference tournaments, and you can't really argue with that.  Pitt also won the regular season of their tournament.  And coming out of the Big East, that is huge.  The question is which one do you think has the best chance to win it all.  I have Pitt taking the title.  I've been a fan of theirs all season, and they are always good.  I feel like this is their breakthrough year.

12/5 Upsets

Their always seems to be a 12/5 upset.  Which will it be this year?  You have UAB or Clemson vs Kentucky, Richmond v Vanderbilt, Memphis v Arizona, and Utah St. v Kansas St.  My pick for the upset is Richmond.  They have a history of upsets in this tournament, and I really don't think Vandy is all that good.  The other 5 seeds I think are pretty legit.  Kansas St had some down time this season, but they are peaking at the right time.  Kentucky is always a solid team.  I'm not as sure about Arizona, but Memphis isn't as good as they have been since Calipari left, so I think they are fine.  So I have Richmond in the upset over Vanderbilt.

Cinderella Team

The Cinderella pick is always the most difficult for me.  The teams that actually qualify as Cinderellas I never know enough about to pick them to go a long way.  I guess the biggest surprises I have are Penn State and Michigan State going to the Sweet 16, although I don't really feel like either one of those is a Cinderella.

So that's my initial evaluation of the brackets.  I haven't had too much time to research.  I'll follow up with my full bracket and maybe some more analysis later.  Have fun filling out your brackets.  Let me know what your picks are.