THE SWEET 16!!!!

                 

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BIGGEST UPSET:  It has to be Wisconsin-Milwaukee beating Boston College.  Think about it...BC was 20-0 at one point...yet couldn't get to the Sweet 16.  The Panthers aren't a bad team at all and looked much better than Bama or Boston.  Nice to see a 12th seed in the round of 16.  Hey..all you got left to do is beat Illinois in Chicago!  No big whoop!

CONFERENCE THAT SUCKS:  I still say it is the SEC.  Kentucky won an emotional game against Cincinnati....but nothing else remains.  Alabama and LSU lost in the first round.  Mississippi State lost a tough game to Duke.  Florida was routed by Villanova.

CONFERENCE THAT SURPRISED:  The Big Ten.  Like the ACC, the Big 11 has three teams left alive.  Of course, they've had to beat FDU, Nevada, Northern Iowa, Bucknell, Old Dominion and Vermont to do so.  That is ZERO teams from the "BCS conferences" if you are counting.

THE BEST CONFERENCE:  I'll still say the ACC.  Sure, Georgia Tech was pummelled by Louisville and Wake Forest was upset by West Virginia.  Duke, North Carolina and NC State remain and all could be in the Elite 8 this weekend.  As I said about the Big Ten, the ACC has had some pushovers...but they've also beaten UConn, Charlotte, Iowa State and Mississippi State.  A little better strength of schedule.

BEST GAME:  Oh...the best game of the tournament was Wake Forest-West Virginia.  Forget who won...what a freaking game!!  Big shot after big shot.  To me, the clutch moment of the game was Eric Williams blocking a sure game-winning layup for WV as time expired in overtime.  WOW!!!  Gansey hitting shots for the Mountaineers on one end....Downey knocking down big shots for theDeacs on the other.  We had players foul out and hearts gushing all over the floor.  Excellent college basketball game!

WORST GAME:  North Carolina-Iowa State.  Sure, there were some other games that were won handily...but UNC jumped out on ISU and basically toyed with them the rest of the way.  Only the Arizona-UAB game was even remotely as handled.

BEST PLAYER:   Ivan McFarlin.  Who???   Exactly.  We always name those big names at times like this.  But McFarlin, for Oklahoma State, dropped 31 pts in for the Cowboys as they beat a game Southern Illinois team. 

WORST PLAYER: Jihad Muhammad.  Who?  He's the guy that cost Cincinnati their game against Kentucky.  In a close game Muhammad felt it was "Jihad Time" and began to gun from everywhere on the court.  He did finish with 14 pts....but had to go 5-17 to do so.  And single-handedly cost the Bearcats a win.

BRACKET OPENED UP FOR:   North Carolina.  Coming into the tournament, Kansas, UConn and Florida posed huge threats for the Heels getting to St. Louis.  They are all gone.  The Heels have a tough opponent in Villanova left...but then face beatable Wisconsin or NC State in the Elite 8.

BORING BRACKET:  I guess Austin would be it.  Duke, Kentucky, Utah and Michigan State are all around...so this makes it the most conventional bracket out there. 

LOOKING LIKE A CHAMPION:    North Carolina.  After watching all of these games, the Heels are right now playing on a different level.