March Madness Round 2

Well, after the 2nd round of March Madness play, there have been plenty of upsets.

(12) Richmond took down (5)Vanderbilt
(13) Morehead St squeaked by (4) Louisville
(11) VCU slaughtered (6) Georgetown
(11) Gonzaga crushed (6) St. Johns
(11) Marquette destroyed (6) Xavier

Other matchups were very close as well, such as (13) Oakland vs (4) Texas, (12) Memphis vs (5) Arizona, and (8) George Mason vs (9) Villanova.

People were saying before the Dance started that there was a huge skill gap between the top tier teams and the rest of the field, but the amount of upsets that have already occurred and the fights the other lower seeds put up seems to disprove that thought. The Big East isn't having as great a showing as expected, as they went 7-4 in their first games of the tourney. 3 of the 4 lost to teams ranked considerably lower than them, with the exception being Villanova who lost another tough game to George Mason. I still believe the Big East can do big things to further prove they are the best conference in the country, and I think Marquette (East), Pitt (South East), Notre Dame (South West), and UConn (West) have the best chances to do that.

Now, with my National Champion team Villanova already out, that leaves me to pick a new team to win the title. I think it will come down to Pitt and Kansas. The winner of that matchup in the Final Four will win the whole thing. I think Kansas will win that game and go on to take it. That doesn't mean I wont be surprised if they lose that game or even get upset along the way. All it takes is for one team to get hot at the right time and blaze through the field.

As far as Round 3 goes, here are some more notable upsets and reasons:
(11) Gonzaga over (3) BYU --- Gonzaga torched St Johns on the boards in their first game, and with Davies gone for BYU I don't see Jimmer being enough to stop the size and strength of the Bull Dogs.
(11) Marquette over (3) Syracuse --- I think Marquette is the team that is going to get hot and do big things and bust some brackets. I feel like people are sleeping on them and they can come out of no where to shock some teams.
Not saying it will happen, but don't be surprised if (8) Michigan takes down (1) Duke. I definitely expect them to give the Blue Devils a scare, and almost expect them to push them right to the brink after that hot play against Tennessee. Michigan is just another team I can see catching fire.
Pretty much the rest of Round 3 I have going to the higher seed.


I'll be back to discuss the results and give more predictions for the Sweet 16.