Southwest:
Kansas: Tourney chops looking good. Can do it in many ways, and making the final is looking better.
UNLV: had the talent, but looked like a deer in the headlights. I trusted their tournament chops too much and looked to closely at that close loss to SDSU at home.
Richmond: Should have believed in them more. Louisville caught me and many others by surprise. Check back for more info. Richmond could be a danger to Kansas.
VCU: I knew that they could upset Georgetown, but beating Purdue? They eviscerated the Boilermakers' vaunted defense, playing the exact type of drive and dish game you need to beat "better" teams. Moore was terrible, and I didn't expect that bad of a showing from him.
FSU: I knew that their defense would cause problems, but I believed ND could have two good shooting games in a row. Obviously, I was wrong.
Southeast:
Butler: huge win over Pitt. I couldn't believe the colossal mental mistakes at the end of it though. I have to believe that living dangerously will catch up to the Bulldogs, but it could be that they are just hitting their stride. Pitt always had a tough road in my mind (contrary to what others said), so I'm not surprised by this as much as others are.
Wisconsin: I really had no faith in this team, thinking their only big win was at home to OSU, but obviously, I should have trusted the advanced stats more in this one. Belmont had the statistical showings of an upset candidate, but the Badgers played will against them AND the Wildcats. Surprise, surprise.
BYU: I thought the Gonzaga game would be closer, but the BYU roleplayers dominated and Gonzaga's big men did not get the dedicated usage they needed to slow this game down. Gonzaga succumbed to BYU's pace, and Jimmer is going to have another week of rest, which will only make him more dangerous.
Florida: I thought the UCLA game was a push, and it basically was. They did a great job closing, though. BYU will be tough: this is basically a re-match of last year's first round game with no significant personnel changes on either side. BYU has been playing well without Davies (when they are rested), so Florida cannot take a game off. My gut tells me that BYU will win on Jimmer's unbelievable stat line.
More to come: reflections on my bracket.
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