Mr. Faded Glory is waxed – thoroughly exhausted, after nearly three weeks of constant business day trips to the nether regions of midwest Americana, and a few overnight stays smattered within.
However, we’d be remiss if we didn’t comment on our frustrated Friday morning post – in a stunning twist, Thursday’s NCAA results were less-than-admirable, yet Friday and Saturday we rebounded into actual, well, credibility. You’re welcome for those San Diego and Siena upset selections – no problem (Apologies, however, if you chose only Oral Roberts and George Mason. Although I was rightfully skeptical of Notre Dame and Pitt).
Still, we missed on Kansas State – a schizo team which showed up for the first time in two months against a moribund USC group. We talked ourselves out of Davidson for two rounds, simply to deflect the status quo. (Still kicking myself for that). MFG-adopted favorite Drake bowed out against a Western Kentucky squad way better than a 12-seed. And we failed to foresee Villanova playing Clemson exactly as it did Syracuse.
So we’re doing OK, thank you very much, with 12 teams left in play. No revision of picks here, you’re not going to read about North Carolina turning into the Harlem Globetrotters just ’cause they scored 100 twice. The real tournament starts now, and anything really can happen. We’re wavering on UCLA, just like last Wednesday. The Hilltoppers, in fact, could give the Bruins a real run for the money.
Louisville and Tennessee might be the game of the third-round; the Vols really have to run and ugly it up to defeat the slick waves of Cardinals. Kansas should roll into the Final Four (although Wisconsin is sadly better than I thought), and Texas and Xavier face stiff tests in Stanford and West Virginia, respectively. It appears, additionally, Michigan State did actually decide to show up in 2008.
So those are our thoughts. What, you expected a diatribe after another stunning Syracuse meltdown, this time in the NIT quarters (How many times can a team flush a one-point lead by throwing the inbounds pass away?)? Actually disappointing, but all we can say, confidently, is that they’ll learn. And no, we didn’t have them advancing in our NIT pool, anyway. Sigh.
