Gonzaga totally screwed me. That's the thought that keeps running through my head as I look at the relatively smoking wreckage of my main bracket as we head into the Sweet Sixteen. Currently, on ESPN.com, I stand at 41.7% with a rank of 4,748,222. So needless to say, things are looking grim. Let's break it down by region:
Midwest:
Oddly enough, the Midwest and the East are two of the best regions I've got left so far. St. Mary's loss to Memphis, however, hurt- and hurt bad and I had St. Louis getting to the Sweet 16- which isn't to say that they weren't capable of that- however, I think Oregon was criminally underseeded. They're good- but I think if you're a 12 seed given the now almost tradition of 5-12 upsets, you should automatically assume that you might be better than your seed indicates. Not in every case, mind you but in a lot of them.
So it's Louisville and Oregon and Michigan State and Duke. I wanted to pick Creighton and give the Jays a little love but when Creighton depends on Doug McDermott having a good night to win, Duke pretty much shut him down (as I thought they would) and out they went. So it's Coach K versus the Izzo- that's the marquee matchup in this region I think and I like Sparty's chances. That's not to say that Duke isn't good- to get to the Sweet 16, I think you have to go be good, but they don't seem like the unstoppable machine of basketball armageddon that everyone has come to know and hate in years past. This Duke team can be beaten. I just hope Sparty's up to it.
South:
I give the nieces full credit for this one- because their love of Eagles (they're on a bird kick- Violet who at Halloween last year was nervous, scared and curious about Herky now has Herky on the brain and they've loved owls for even longer than that.) is paying off- Florida Gulf Coast is in the Sweet 16. I have a feeling that the party might be ending since they're up against a very good Florida team but at the same time, these guys beat Georgetown by ten and the Hoyas are no slouches, despite their recent tendency to go out and go out early. If people want to jump off FGCU's bandwagon, I get that but I think Florida is going to get all that they can handle and more.
Florida and FGCU could be one heck of a match-up but Michigan and Kansas should be the marquee match-up for this bracket. Michigan is looking good and Kansas had trouble with Western Kentucky and looked pretty damn rough the first half against UNC before pulling away fast in the second. I like Michigan in that one-- the pragmatist in me wants to say that it's Florida they'll be playing but FGCU seems to be making fools out of everyone. I won't bet against them.
West:
Let me say it again: DAMN YOU GONZAGA! I stood by my Zags and took 'em all the way but after the trouble they had with Southern in the opening round (or second round or whatever the hell it is now. Those play-in games so don't count as a round, I don't care what anyone says) I had a feeling they weren't going to make it there. I just thought they'd get further than the round of 32. As a result, the upper half of my bracket in this region is a total mess. Wichita State and Wisconsin- take a bow, because along with Gonzaga, it's all your fault.
The bottom half is better. My instinct about New Mexico taking a dump early was proven correct and although I was tempted by Belmont, Arizona is one of those teams that when they get hot, they get real hot- so that pick paid off too. Attempting to start an Ivy League Cindarella run to the Sweet 16? Not so much- so it's Ohio State and Arizona (the marquee match-up) and LaSalle and Wichita State... I'm taking Ohio State and why not- Wichita State. Because I want to make 'shocker' jokes along with everybody else.
East:
Indiana continues to make me nervous- but so far so good. I'm hoping the game against Temple was their one wobbly game of the Tournament and I give them credit for digging deep and actually winning the game in the end. Apart from not picking Temple and my belief in Butler over Marquette, I'm actually looking really good here. What we're faced with is Indiana versus Syracuse and Marquette versus Miami-- of all the Sweet 16 match-ups these two could be classics or they could be blow-outs that go either way. I'm still betting that Indiana and Miami prevail, however.
I threw up a 2nd Bracket as well-- it's doing a lot better- I'm sitting at 72.3% and a rank of 2,254,697 largely on the strength of picking Michigan and reversing myself on a few picks- I'll do a full comparison when we're completely done with all this mess. And I have to give a shout out to the Missus, whose bracket was completely demolished with Creighton's loss to Duke. She now stands at 6% with a rank of 7.654,064 (she took Gonzaga, Butler, Creighton and her one-time University South Dakota State in the Final Four. Gutsy picks, all of 'em- and in the case of all 'em entirely possible until unfortunate reality had to ruin an awesome dream.)
I will struggle on through the desolate ruins of my bracket however. BRING ON THE SWEET 16!
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