Just a quick recap of what I saw in my Sportz Room -- filled with TVs that I can watch all four games going on at the same time.
GAME OF THE DAY: Indiana vs Kentucky. Two schools who have a fierce rivalry that don't play during the regular season anymore. Kentucky threw some good punches, but Indiana had a steadier array of jabs. It was a great atmosphere where both fanbases were loud, both teams battled and stars shined. However, Kentucky just didn't have enough horses to stem the Hoosier tide and stopped the Wildcats typical magical tournament stay.
UPSET OF THE DAY: Gonzaga vs Utah. It isn't a surprise that Gonzaga beat Utah, but how badly they beat them. The Bulldogs had a 30 point lead at one point and the Utes just looked horrible. With the Zags on to play the winner of Syracuse-Middle Tennessee, they have a legit shot at a Elite Eight appearance. And this is their down year?
CONFERENCE OF THE DAY: ACC. The ACC is now 10-1 in the NCAA Tournament and on Saturday locked in four spots in the Sweet 16. Yeah, 4 of the 8 spots in the Sweet 16 are already occupied by ACC.
CONFERENCE WITH A BAD DAY: Big East. Let me pause from dumping on the Pac-12 some more (you too, Utah?), and say the Big East had a bad day. Both Butler and Providence ended their tournament runs as they ran into No. 1 seeds. Nothing to be ashamed of, but still a tough one.
DUD OF THE DAY: Iowa State vs Arkansas-Little Rock. The Cinderella run of Little Rock is over. And we didn't hear much about it. The Cyclones jumped on the Trojans and didn't let up.
DOMINANT PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY: Gonzaga. The Zags defense was outstanding in this one as they shut down Utah. Again, it wasn't so much the upset of Utah but how badly they beat them.
UNDERLYING STORYLINE OF THE DAY: A bit of order. Per usual, order was restored. Of the eight games today, only two were won by the lower seed ... and one was No. 5 Indiana ousting No. 4 Kentucky which isn't a big upset. All three No. 1 seeds advanced.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
*Virginia is having its road to the Final Four just beautifully paved. No. 2 seed Michigan State went down on Friday, No. 3 Utah was spanked on Saturday. The Cavaliers play No. 4 Iowa State in the Sweet 16 and then either a No. 10, 11 or 15 seed in the Elite Eight.
*That Des Moines pod was pretty remarkable today. You had Kentucky (8 titles), Indiana (5), UConn (4) and Kansas (3).
*Man Doug Gottlieb has a weaselly voice.
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