March Madness Day 4: The End is Nigh'

 

I'm admittedly crawling to the finish line of the Four Greatest Days in Sports, having reached my saturation point sometime close to the Gonzaga/Memphis game last night.

 It feels a little bit like that Super Size Me documentary where the guy eats nothing but McDonald's for 30 days just to make a movie about it. Instead of quarter pounders and fries, I've been consuming basketball and not much else lately and it's probably already rewiring my brain chemistry and lowering my sperm count. 

No matter how much I love basketball, doing this for 30 days in a row would be unlikely to end well for me. I woke up this morning and decided that doing it for four days in a row didn't seem especially appealing either, so I took it easy today. There wasn't a single game that I watched start to finish, and while there were a few more upsets and it sounds like Michigan State/Duke was a great game, I don't feel like I missed all that much.

My viewing schedule from Sunday:

• Final 5 minutes of Houston-Illinois
• First half of Villanova-Ohio State
• Michigan State-Duke highlights
• Second half of Purdue-Texas
• Final 10 minutes of Arizona-TCU

What I missed:

• Texas Tech making me wish I'd picked them to go farther. After showing off a championship level offense on Friday, Texas Tech shows off their renowned championship defense in smothering Notre Dame 59-53. One key to a long run in the Tournament is the ability to win games in multiple styles. There is little time to scout, no one is immune to that one random game where the ball won't go in the hoop, there seem to be more matchup imbalances than in conference play. This makes me think Texas Tech can go far like in 2019--maybe even all the way this time.
• Big Ten crashes and burns again. You know there's some resentment around the other conferences when the Big Ten gets 9 teams chosen for the second year in a row. Last year the conference underwhelmed. Now we move to the Sweet 16 and it's happening again. MSU and Ohio State get a pass, they were underdogs in pretty tough matchups. Illinois barely snuck by Chattanooga the other day and got waxed by Houston. Conference champion Wisconsin stunk for the vast majority of their two games, and 11 seed Iowa State finished off what Colgate started. That just leaves Michigan and Purdue, and if I'm being honest, I need to squint pretty hard to see Michigan winning another game, as fun as this postseason run has been. 
• Auburn was who I thought they were. Auburn was ranked #1 in early February, but they just never passed the eye test for me. I only tuned in to watch them play 3 or 4 times during the season, but it seemed like every time I did they either lost or struggled mightily. With a vicious 46-29 second half surge, 10 seed Miami did to Auburn what I originally thought USC was going to them. On paper, this was a sizable upset. Seeing only the final score thought, can't say I was very surprised by this one. 
• Iowa State was not who I thought they were. As far as I was concerned, Iowa State was the least deserving team in the 68-team field this year. How could a team that finished four games below .500 in conference play and lost their first conference tournament game by 31 not only make the Big Dance, but even avoid the play-in game? It doesn't matter. The Cyclones are headed to the Sweet 16. That's why people make such a big deal about "the Bubble" and the last few spots every year. How you got in and whether or not you "deserve" it becomes irrelevant; once you're in, there's a chance to go on a run and completely change the perception of your season. Same for Michigan. Same for UCLA and Oregon State last year. Same for someone every year.

The Greatest Four Teams from Sunday:

• Houston-- With all due respect, Houston's trip to the Final Four last year was pretty flukey--playing double digit seeds in every game until getting blasted by Baylor in the semis. After watching them pick apart a very good Illinois team this afternoon, it's clear that a return Final Four trip would be no fluke at all. As I write this, Arizona is trailing by three to TCU under the four-minute mark. Whether or not the Wildcats survive this, Houston may now be the favorites to win the South region.
• Texas Tech--  The Red Raiders' defense is relentless. They held five opponents' point total in the 40s this season, and with their most recent grind out win against Notre Dame, have kept another nine opponents in the 50s. They also put up 97 in a first round win, so even if a game turns into a shootout, they've still proven capable of producing offensive firepower when needed. 
• Duke-- Michigan State played arguably their best game of the season on Sunday,  hitting 11 of 22 threes, taking care of the ball (their Achilles' heel all year), and Marcus Bingham more than holding his own against Duke's big men. Alas, even then Coach K did not have his career ended by Tom Izzo, though the Spartans made a strong case. This just speaks to the talent of Duke, not just soon-to-be top 3 pick Paolo Banchero, but top to bottom. When they fell behind by five with about five minutes left, Duke found another gear that less than a handful of teams left in the tournament are capable of.
• TCU-- Entering the tournament, the Arizona Wildcats had every reason to believe that this was the team to capture their first National Championship since the days of Miles Simon and Mike Bibby. 31-3 overall, Pac 10 regular season and tournament champions, a do-everything superstar in Bennedict Mathurin. All of those things are still true for Arizona, but after being taken to the brink by a nondescript TCU team in an overtime classic, the victorious Wildcats are counting their lucky stars and must be feeling very mortal right now. 

Sunday Recap

• Madness Level: 4 out of 10
• Arizona vs TCU in the nightcap was far and away the best game of the day. In the end, top seeded Arizona survives and advances, but it took a superhuman performance by Bennedict Mathurin to save their season against the 9th seeded Frogs. Win or lose, Wildcats fans will have nightmares involving Eddie Lampkin for years to come.
• Iowa State out-Wisconsins Wisconsin, Miami dominates Auburn, sending another two double digit seeds in to the Sweet 16.
• The Dukies took Sparty's best punch, but Coach K lives to coach another game. 
• My top takeaway from the day is that I'm very impressed with the Houston Cougars. 

• Buzzer Beater Chances: 0 out of 1
• This was bar none the craziest sequence of the day: Arizona's Mathurin hits a do-or-die three to tie the game at 75 with 15 seconds left. TCU brings it up the court, expecting to take the final shot. Arizona's defense sends the house on defense in the closing seconds, with a halfcourt trap that looks more like more like an all-out blitz. TCU's guard is pretty clearly fouled at the halfcourt bracket logo, but there's no call and the ball comes free with about three seconds left. Dalen Terry of Arizona sprints ahead of everyone and layup/dunks it...a few tenths of a second after the buzzer. No basket, and the game goes to overtime.

• Status of My Bracket: At least I have Arizona (barely)
• 6 correct picks, 0 misses, 2 no contest
• If I could go back and do it again, I would probably pick Houston to knock off Arizona next, but as it stands my champs are still alive.
• Got 10 teams into the Sweet 16, but only four that could make the Elite 8 and two that could make the Final Four. 
• If Arkansas upsets Gonzaga next week and Arizona keeps winnin, I'll have a good shot at glory in this year's family pool.

Thanks for following along with me during the Greatest Four Days in Sports. Time to recharge my basketball taste buds, and next Thursday we'll see whether the next four days of March Madness can be even greater.

March Madness Day 3: Warning Shots Heard

 

[Photo credit: USA Today]

                                 

While Baylor's gasping, thrashing, flailing, fouling attempt at perhaps the tournament's greatest ever comeback ultimately fell short, their valiance down the stretch in the noon game felt like a warning shot to the remaining 14 teams yet to play on Saturday. 

This is the type of day it's going to be. You'd better bring it for all 40 minutes, maybe even more. No lead is safe. No seed is safe. Forget what you think you know about this sport. 

The Greatest Four Games of Saturday

(8) UNC 93 (1) Baylor 86, Overtime

I had a friend text me reminding of back when we were in college, how we used to debate exactly how big of a lead a team needed to have to be absolutely certain that they were going to win. We settled on 27 or 28 points, so by our old logic, UNC's win still wasn't quite a sure thing even though they were up 67-42 with ten minutes left.

Because if you're only up by 25, someone like Jeremy Sochan, operating from the Dennis Rodman school of trolling, can still do just enough agitating to turn the game on its head. Sochan first baited Carolina star Brady Manek into an elbow throwing ejection--Baylor immediately goes on an 11-0 run and suddenly it feels a little bit like a game again. 

Then Sochan executed a perfect Dennis Rodman/Karl Malone leg entanglement to bait Carolina's other star Armando Bacot into a technical. Baylor got it within ten.

For Sochan's final act, he banked in a three from just off center in the final thirty seconds to cut it to three, and now Carolina pulling the collapse of the century indeed became a true possibility. Carolina missed two free throws, and an and-one drive from Baylor completes the 25-point comeback and forces overtime.

You have to hand it to North Carolina for somehow calming down from a meltdown of power plant proportions and playing a clean overtime period. Baylor's legs seemed completely dead by that point, evidenced by shooting 1-11 in the extra frame. Carolina survives. 

(1) Kansas 79 (9) Creighton 72

With an up-close view Baylor's demise, revival, but eventual elimination from the tunnels of Fort Worth's Dickies Arena, the Kansas Jayhawks heeded that lesson wisely. Against an outmatched but locked in Creighton team, Kansas struggled early, and even after finding its rhythm, couldn't get much separation from the mid-major Bluejays until late in the second half.

Even then, Creighton wouldn't leave them alone, chipping a nine-point deficit down to one and dribbling up the floor with a chance at the lead as the final minute approached. With the game in the balance, Kansas star Ochai Agbaji  made the play of the game with a steal near half-court and lefty dunk on the ensuing break. Creighton wouldn't score again, and one seeded Kansas survived.

(11) Michigan 76 (3) Tennessee 68

   [Photo credit: Associated Press]

Remember how I said Michigan's win over Colorado State on Thursday really didn't feel like an upset? Well, Saturday's shock over the orange hot SEC Tournament champs from Rocky Top certainly fits the bill.

Tennessee came into the game winners of 11 out their last 12, a top ten team in both the rankings and advanced metrics, with legitimate aims at a trip to the Final Four and beyond. Michigan snuck into the tournament behind a brutal schedule and some solid wins down the stretch, but hadn't even strung back-to-back wins together in over a month. 

What reason should anyone have to think Michigan's inexperienced and shorthanded team could match the Vols' athleticism and defensive intensity for 40 minutes? 

Because this is the type of day it's going to be. Forget what you think you know about this sport.

(1) Gonzaga 82 (9) Memphis 78

As soon as the bracket was released, this one was going to be a premier matchup of the opening weekend. We had the number one overall seed going in Gonzaga against a talented and hyper-athletic Memphis team that's on a tear and finding their peak at just the right time. 

The final game of the night didn't disappoint--well, it did disappoint me, since I picked a Memphis upset. In terms of great basketball though, it was a welcome antidote to whatever the hell was going on in that monstrosity of a New Mexico State-Arkansas game in the other game.

I didn't catch the first half, which was the wrong viewing choice, but right or wrong I was invested in the Arkansas game. Memphis stormed the beaches though and led by ten at halftime over last year's tournament finalist. By the time I flipped it over, Drew Timme had started his second half tear and the Zags had already erased the lead. 

If Memphis could hit a few threes and stay out of foul trouble this would have been a true heavyweight clash to the very end; as it played out, Gonzaga (Timme and Nembhard specifically) was just too steady, taking the lead for good with five minutes left and staying a half-step ahead the rest of the way.

Saturday Recap

• Madness Level: 9.5 out of 10
• The final ten minutes of Baylor-North Carolina pushes the madness level to at least a 7 on its own, and there were still seven more games to be played. An ejection, a modern-day Rodman imitator, a 25-point comeback, and the defending champions are done dancing at the hands of an 8 seed.
• Top overall seed Gonzaga getting everything they can handle from a 9 seed but outlasts Memphis behind a huge second half from Drew Timme.
• Michigan gets it done over Tennessee and soars into the Sweet 16 as an 11 seed.
• Arkansas and New Mexico State were tied 30-30 with under 9 minutes left in a hideously poor offensive game.
• 15 seed St. Peters is the story of the tournament and now going to the Sweet 16.  Turns out that sudden legend Doug Edert of the Peacocks has an uncle that works on the CBS Sports production team. Is this thing rigged? Does the Edert family have that type of clout?

• Buzzer Beater Chances: 0 out of 1
• After their 25-point meltdown, Carolina still had one final possession in regulation. A poor offensive set devolved into a rushed step-back three that came up short and never really looked like it had a chance. UNC showed some resilience to come through in OT, but couldn't break the seal on this year's buzzer beater drought.

• Status of My Bracket: At least I have Arizona (for now)
• 4 correct picks, 2 miss, 2 no contest
• Another of my Elite 8 picks (Baylor) is gone; that makes four.
• Called Michigan over Tennessee, but I don't have them going any further.
• I called for the Memphis over Gonzaga upset, which was looking pretty good for a half but wasn't meant to be.

March Madness Day 2: An Absence of Greatness

 

After three overtime classics and the biggest upset in about five years yesterday, Friday was comparatively a snoozer across the college basketball landscape. If you're a fan of a 1, 2, or 3 seed, that's a good thing. If you're that guy who only picks the top seeds in your bracket challenge, consider yourself a Day 2 winner as well. Of the top ranked teams in Day 2, Wisconsin came the closest to stumbling, but Johnny Davis refused to have his college career ended by a bunch of toothpaste.

Wisconsin-Colgate got interesting for a while, MSU-Davidson had some nice moments, and in a battle of early 2000s college football dynasties, the final ten minutes of Miami-USC had an instant classic feel to it. Other than that, opening Friday of this year's March Madness was underwhelming in a lot of ways. 

The only "upsets" on the day involved talented middle-of-the-pack power conference teams, and those are never any fun. The only "game winners" on the day were free throws, which no matter how pressure-packed, just don't make for very memorable highlights. Two of the best games on the day were offensively anemic matches stuck in the 50s.

The tourney's leading scorers on the day were role players both averaging under double figures for the season: Cormac Ryan of Notre Dame (29 pts, 10-13 shooting, 7-9 three pt.) and MSU's Joey Hauser (27 pts, 9-12 shooting, 4-6 three pt.). So much for star power.

If Friday was one of the Greatest Four Days in Sports, then my sports fandom has rightfully entered an existential crisis, but the show goes on. March waits for no one. Here's the recap from March Madness Day 2, just in time for the machine to crank back into gear in a few more hours.

The Greatest Four Games from Day 2: 

• Miami 68 USC 66 

The first half of this one was about as ugly as it could get, with Miami's woeful outside shooting taking on USC's atrocious handling. By about the ten-minute mark of the second half though, the brick and turnover fest had tightened up to the point where it was starting to feel like "one of those games", destined to come down to the final possession.

USC turned the ball over 18 times, and unless you're Creighton, it's nearly impossible to beat a tournament level team when you do that. All the same, the Trojans very nearly stole the game in the final 40 seconds. Trailing by 7, Drew Peterson hit two threes and a layup (with a Miami turnover and free throw mixed in) to tie up the game. 

Charlie Moore of the 'Canes got in the lane and found a pretty ticky tack foul to get on the line and hit two free throws to save Miami and knock out another of my Final Four picks. Unlike Kentucky's loss to St. Peter's yesterday, I didn't have quite the same enthusiasm for this bracket buster.

• Michigan State 74 Davidson 73

I wanted this one badly for Foster Loyer. After being a frequent target of hysterical criticism from his own "fans" at Michigan State, Loyer was eventually nudged out the door by some upgrades at point guard and I'm sure some gentle encouragement from Coach Izzo. He ended up at Davidson via the transfer portal and captained them to the Atlantic 10 regular season title. 

And just like Happy Gilmore and Shooter McGavin, wouldn't you know it? They've been paired together. And you what? Scratch that Foster Loyer stuff, I just wanted State to lose, I have no feelings either way towards Foster Loyer.

This was an entertaining game from start to finish. I hate watch quite a few Michigan State games, and all I'll say is that I haven't ever seen Joey Hauser play like that before, and don't expect to again anytime in the near future, but the kid had a great game. 

Aaron Hoggard can get to the basket in a way that Loyer simply isn't physically capable of, and his other replacement Tyson Walker has emerged as State's most reliable guy in the clutch. It's safe to say that MSU won the Foster Loyer trade, but this one got very interesting when Davidson took a five point lead midway through the second half.

State has a chance to end Coach K's kareer on Sunday.

• Texas Tech 97 Montana State 62

Back in 2000 on The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem asked the age-old question: "whatever happened to catchin' a good old fashioned passionate ass-whoopin', and gettin' your shoes, coat, and your hat tooken?"

Two decades later, he finally gets a definitive answer: Montana State, Eminem. That's what. Montana State. 

• Illinois 54 Chattanooga 53

For this game to crack my Friday's best says quite a bit about the relative lameness from Day 2, because this was not a great game. In fact, it wasn't even a good one and even 13 seed Chattanooga's upset bid couldn't garner the usual amount of excitement and nerves watching it because it was just such ugly basketball the majority of the time.

The two teams combined to shoot 7-32 from behind the arc, turn the ball over 24 times, and miss 16 free throws. Chattanooga had only 6 assists and committed 21 fouls... and they  somehow had the lead for about 39 of the 40 minutes in this one!

One thing you can say about Day 2 of this year's tournament is that we've seen some clutch free throw shooting. In this case, it was Alfonso Plummer knocking down two with twelve seconds left to supply the Illini with their winning points. Chattanooga's Malachi Smith had a solid look at a game winner down at the other end, but he shot 4 for 20 on the evening, and his final shot went just a bit long.

If Illinois is looking to shake off the ghosts of last year's early exit to Loyola-Chicago, this isn't it. But they survive and advance, and unfortunately this was one of the better games of the day.

Day 2 Recap:

• Madness Level: 2.5 out of 10. 
• Friday offered a handful of close games, most of them involving overrated Big Ten teams, but for the most part the teams that were expected to win got it done in the end. Not particularly mad in that regard.
• Three more double digit seeds advanced on Friday. Notre Dame and Iowa State both won their 11/6 matchups, and Miami in a 10/7. Similar to Michigan yesterday, none of these really felt like upsets as all involved high major teams.
• A heavy dose of snoozers, especially in the earlier games, really brought down the excitement level from Day 2. There were margins of victory of 35, 27, 24, 22 20, 19, a couple 17, and several more 10+, nearly all in favor of the better seeded team.
• For the second day in a row, no buzzer beaters. A couple of clutch free throws from Miami's Charlie Moore with 3 seconds left against USC are still the only "game winning" points from this year's tournament.

• Buzzer Beater Chances: 0 out of 2. 
• Drew Peterson of USC had a desperation heave from about 35 feet that very nearly banked in, but instead sent my dark horse Final Four pick home.
• Trailing by one, Chattanooga had a clean jumper from the wing that went just a bit long and caromed off the iron right before time expired. Illinois escapes with one that they probably didn't deserve. 

• My Bracket Status: Threat Level Midnight
• Picked 13 of 16 games correctly, but another Final Four pick goes down. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Arkansas loses to Teddy Allen tomorrow, which would only leave Arizona.
• Losses were USC, LSU, and Seton Hall--who rivals Indiana for the worst showing in this year's tournament.

March Madness Day 1: Everything but the Buzzer Beater

When I first published The Ghost of Five Mile Creek last spring, my friend Brandon did a classic friend-of-a-writer move on me.  In this move, you give your writer friend a cool idea "for their next book", and then sit back and wash your hands of it while waiting for your friend to put in the 2,000+ hours of research, writing, and agonizing over it that might make it a realistic possibility. 

The book idea: The Greatest Four Days in Sports: Opening Weekend at the NCAA Tournament. 

Brandon's thesis was that the first four days* of March Madness are indeed the four greatest days of the sports calendar each year, and that a book by me would be the best way to celebrate it for the remaining 361 days. 

I'm not going to lie and say that's not an awesome idea for a book, because it is, and it's one that I would probably read cover-to-cover numerous times if it existed. But I'm also not going to lie and say that it's something I see myself having the skill or motivation to do properly anytime in the near future.

So here is my compromise: the 2022 edition of the Greatest Four Days of Sports have arrived, and I can blog about them if even if I'm not ready to book about them just yet. 

The Greatest Four Things I Saw in Day 1: 

• Frankie Collins sparks Michigan comeback: My Wolverines shrugged off a rough start against a hot shooting Colorado State team and, in the 12:15 time slot, avoided being the very first team eliminated from the tournament this year. Trailing 28-13 and without starting point guard DeVante' Jones, Michigan was struggling in all areas and finding their tourney hopes on early life support. A ten second sequence where Frankie completed a twisting and-one drive, then pickpocketed the CSU ballhandler and put down a two-handed dunk (there's no way he's 6 ft) on the other end got Michigan right back in the game. They went on to outscore the Rams by 23 points the rest of the game and advance somewhat comfortably.

• St. Peter's Busts My Bracket: Yes, I picked Kentucky to make it all the way to the championship game. However, anyone reading this probably cares about my bracket to the same degree that I care about their fantasy football teams, so whatever. To be perfectly honest, I don't care much about my bracket either, so give it up for St. Peter's. The 15 seed went toe-to-toe with the one-and-dones and pulled off an overtime upset that really didn't all that flukey. They just fought hard for 45 minutes and matched every punch from a Kentucky team that couldn't hit much from the outside and didn't appear like they wanted to work quite as hard as the... as the St. Peter'ses. I don't know their mascot. Hell of an upset though.

• Creighton Creightons SDSU in overtime: This is everything that an 8/9 matchup is supposed to be. This is everything Creighton is supposed to be. They're a squad that shows up in the tournament as a mid-seed often enough, never advances all that far, but manages to have some classic moments from time to time. My first Creighton experience was Terrell Taylor hitting a game winner over Florida in the 2002 tournament; tonight's episode of Creighton involved a 9-0 run in the final minutes to force overtime and Trey Alexander with a huge stepback two and an and-one finish at the basket to put the Blue Jays over San Diego State in OT. 

• Ja Morant and Bill Russell would be proud: I'm partially lying about 'seeing' this one because I went to bed as they went into overtime, but the often-overlooked alma maters of Russell and Ja capped off the night with a flourish. San Francisco, wearing some minimalist uniforms that wouldn't have looked out of place in Bill Russell's day, rallied back from eight down in the final two minutes. In the extra frame, the part I slept through, Murray State wouldn't fold, making enough plays for a 92-87 win. Now all Murray State has to do to reach their first ever Sweet 16 is to knock off a 15 seed. 

The Greatest Four Players I Saw in Day 1:

• Teddy Allen, New Mexico State: The journeyman Allen is playing at his fifth different college in five years, and he just became a legend in the state of New Mexico. While he seemed to be trying really hard to get a technical for taunting/showboating down the stretch yesterday, Allen also dominated 5th seeded UCONN to the tune of 37 points (tournament high for the day) in an upset win.
• Doug Edert, St. Peters: Listen, this scene plays itself out on pickup courts across the country every single weekend: If you're the little skinny white guy with a moustache, you're going to be left wide open until it's too late. Edert came off the bench firing, and by the time Kentucky started throwing defenders at him, he was already unconscious. Edert hit a few crazy contested ones down the stretch, knocked down 8-8 free throws, and scored 20 points on only 7 field goal attempts. 
• Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky: Every other player and coach on the Kentucky team will deserve the tomatoes and cabbages likely to greet them on arrival back in Lexington, just as long as they leave Tshiebwe out of the crossfire. On a night that will live in infamy in the Bluegrass State, it's hard to pin much blame on a guy who put up 30 points and 16 rebounds, even in defeat.
• Brady Manek, North Carolina: Paul Bunyan's long-lost great-grandson absolutely went off for the Tar Heels yesterday; 28 points, 11 rebounds, 5 threes, and a 95-63 obliteration of Marquette in an 8/9 game. 

Day 1 Recap:

• Madness Level: 9 out of 10. 
• There were four different double-digit seeds that advanced on Thursday. I don't really consider Michigan's 11/6 win over Colorado State to be a true upset, but Richmond and New Mexico State's wins definitely qualify. St. Peter's over Kentucky was the game of the day, and an upset that will go down with some of the all-timers. 
• Vermont and Akron couldn't quite pull off upset bids, but they had traditional powers Arkansas and UCLA sweating profusely in two of the late-night games.
• We also had three overtime games on the night slate, two of them involving pretty fierce comebacks to force OT. 
• A pathetic series of buzzer beater attempts (seen below) was the only thing preventing a chaotic bliss of pure unadulterated March Madness on the opening day. 
• Buzzer Beater Chances: 0 out of 4. 
• Creighton and San Diego State each had a chance, both failing in pretty comical fashion. Creighton ended regulation way down on the baseline past the basket and airballed an attempt a Larry Bird-style over the backboard shot. Trailing by 2 at the end of overtime, San Diego State fumbled away what would have been a solid look from the top of the key.
• Tied at 73-73, Murray State was able to run down the final 15 seconds of regulation but couldn't even get a shot off. 
• Kentucky probably had the best look of any potential buzzer beater, a 17-footer from the wing. However, St. Peter's defense held strong (it was actually Doug Edert again on the close out), and TyTy Washington was forced into a rushed shot that airballed by several feet. 
• My Bracket Status: On life support, but crisis sort of averted.
• Picked 11 of 16 games correctly.
• Losses were Iowa, Kentucky, S. Dakota State, UCONN, Indiana
• The only "upset" I picked right was Michigan. I was never going to pick against them, and it wasn't really an upset in my book, so no back pat for that.
• Kentucky was a major loss, had them in the final game.
• I really didn't want to pick Iowa to go far since they choke in the tournament with alarming regularity. I just felt like they had a soft side of the bracket, so against my better judgement I picked them in the Elite 8. Of course, they went on to have a vintage Iowa NCAA tournament performance and got bounced by perennial giant-killer Richmond.
• I have Arkansas in the Final 4, so if they'd gone down too, that would have been the death blow, but as it stands all is not lost just yet.

*The first four real days obviously. I don't think the play-in games would even crack the top 320 in terms of greatest sports days in a calendar year.