Monday, March 24, 2008

Syrupy sixteen (men)

Welcome back, double digits! After last year's chalk-like opening weekend, we were due some upset excitement.

As expected, at least by me, Duke was one of the high-seed casualties. After almost losing to Belmont -- is it wrong to admit that by the end I was rooting for the 15 seed? -- they finally succumbed to West Virginia, a team that just wanted it more. To put some salt in the wound, keep in mind two things: (1) Coach K lost to Bob Huggins, and (2) the Mountaineers are undersized and not that deep.

After all the huffing and puffing over West Coast versus East Coast bias (what is this, 1990s hip-hop?), the Pac-10 and Big East each put 3 teams in the Sweet 16. The lowly Big Ten managed to sneak in 2 teams, while Kansas and Texas played to form in representing the Big 12. The ACC and SEC showed their true colors, each getting a lone team to survive the weekend.

The men's Sweet Sixteen:


East (Charlotte) Regional
01. North Carolina
08. Tennessee
09. Louisville
16. Washington State

West (Phoenix) Regional
02. UCLA
07. Duke
10. Xavier
15. Connecticut
26. West Virginia
47. Western Kentucky

South (Houston) Regional
03. Memphis
06. Texas
11. Stanford
14. Pittsburgh
17. Michigan State

Midwest (Detroit) Regional
04. Kansas
05. Georgetown
12. Wisconsin
13. Vanderbilt
37. Davidson
45. Villanova

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