Good Start to the Day

Interesting three games to start the day. Let's go through them:


Pacific missed their chance to win in the second half and the first overtime. When trying to pull an upset, you have got to put it away as early as possible. The longer the game goes, the greater the chance of victory for the team with superior talent. For BC, however, this game only strengthens the critics of Al Skinner's tournament prowess. I'm one of those critics, and picked Nevada to take them out in my own bracket.

Seton Hall was the higher seed, yes, but few viewed the Big East team as a serious underdog against the Missouri Valley regular season champion Wichita State. According to ESPN.com's National Bracket, Wichita State was chosen by a mere 52.7% of bracket-fillers, the second lowest of any team seeded 7th or better. All week, the Missouri Valley had been panned by those who thought it ridiculous for teams like Bradley to get bids over the likes of Cincinnati, Florida State and Hofstra, and Wichita State was clearly trying to make a statement. And they did - although I'm still not buying their chances in the second round.

UWMilwaukee proved, yet again, that respect is so important in these early round games. I thought they might get a little bit more respect after their run last year, but I guess not - Oklahoma let them get ahead early and never showed any real sense of urgency. Personally, I'm thrilled to have Oklahoma out of this tournament, because no one in Division I plays uglier basketball. Their games are like football games, and they never show any sense of being able to win without physically beating down their opponents. If I never have to see another game with Bookout and Gray on the same frontcourt, it will be too soon.