Order Restored, Mostly

Posted: Monday, March 21, 2016 by Travis Cody in
1


Hokey smokes Bulwinkle!  What a wild ride so far.

So far.  The tough thing for all those double digits that won on Thursday and Friday is to carry the momentum through the round of 32 on Saturday and Sunday.  The favored seeds are forewarned now.  Typically the DDs that have an opportunity to advance to the round of 16 are those that can rebound effectively, play solid defense, stay out of foul trouble, minimize turnovers, and don't have an over-reliance on the 3-point shot.  It also helps to get off to a good start.

Of course, the same can be said for the favored seeds in order to avoid becoming the next upset victim.

On Saturday, the only double digit to get everything right was 11 seed Gonzaga.  The Bulldogs simply bulldozed 3 seed Utah to advance to the round of 16.  Gonzaga executed an outstanding defensive game plan in addition to overwhelming Utah in every offensive category.  It wasn't even close.  I followed the Zags throughout the season, and this was the best effort game I've seen from them.  They might be an 11 seed, but if this team continues to play with this kind of effort and efficiency, they could be very dangerous on Friday.

The only other upset on the day was 5 seed Indiana over 4 seed Kentucky.  YAY!

Although Saturday was tame in terms of upsets, Sunday did bring another double digit seed into the round of 16.  Of course, it was inevitable since there was a DD match up between 10 seed Syracuse and 15 seed Middle Tennessee.  But it's not an upset, since the favored seed survived.  The Orange will meet 11 seed Gonzaga in another double digit match up.

Wisconsin is no double digit, but the 7 seed Badgers hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to upset 2 seed Xavier.  And that's our 16th and final upset of the first weekend.

Whew!

Lots of chaos.  Although, take a look at the West Region.  If you went with all the favorites, you're perfect there.  And if you picked all of the 1 seeds to go to the Final Four, you've still got a chance to win your office bracket.

  • South Region features 5 Maryland vs 1 Kansas and 3 Miami vs 2 Villanova
  • West Region features 4 Duke vs 1 Oregon and 2 Oklahoma vs 3 Texas A&M
  • East Region features 5 Indiana vs 1 North Carolina and 7 Wisconsin vs 6 Notre Dame
  • Midwest Region features 4 Iowa State vs 1 Virginia and 11 Gonzaga vs 10 Syracuse
We've had upsets, buzzer beaters, fantastic comebacks, and overtimes.  I've still got Duke, Indiana, Notre Dame, and Gonzaga to follow into the round of 16, none of which is considered a favorite to win the tournament.  I'm just enjoying each of them for as long as they can stay in, and I can take any of them going out now without crushing disappointment.

And tonight is Dancing!

Life is good.

1 comments:

  1. Anonymous says:
    22 March, 2016 05:25

    KY Wildcats got ousted a little earlier than I though they would, but the word down in KY is the seeding "done 'em in". I dunno . . .

    I've been keeping an eye on Wisconsin and Notre Dame. Both had late game wins: WI with the buzzer-beater and Notre Dame won by one point at the 1 1/2 second mark. Now they play each other in the next round. Win-win for me I guess. I don't get to watch all the games, but I catch as catch can.

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