Before it even started, everyone could feel it.
Georgia became the first team to ever place last in their conference, but win the championship and get an automatic bid to go dancing.
I'll bet you my next paycheck that you couldn't name one player in that starting Bulldog lineup before the SEC tournament. It's OK, I don't have a paycheck. You have nothing to lose.
The Georgia Bulldogs were 13-17 and had four SEC wins coming into the tournament. Coming out, they were 17-17 and got four wins in that tournament alone.
Even though the game didn't look close, the game between Kansas and Texas was a classic game. D.J. Augustine already made a great reputation for himself before the tournament even started. Kansas is as deep as the blue ocean, but they are awfully coached. Bill Self (no relation to Hannah) has let me down the last three years. Kansas took the Big 12 title anyway.
When the first batch of games on, I didn't know what to expect because last year was a bracket full of high seeded teams advancing. The only big upset I recall was like Georgetown over UNC, which led to one of the greatest center matchups ever (Greg Oden vs. Roy Hibbert).
Now, because I only got one game wrong on the first day, I'm going to gloat.
Here's the thing, Michael Beasley ruined so many brackets. He proved why he deserved Naismith player of the year award. He single-handedly won that game for Kansas State (if you didn't know where that school was... it's in Manhattan... Kansas). Beasley is crazy, he's my hero, he's from D.C.! Imagine if he was on UNC, Duke, or Kansas for that matter... How crazy would that be?
Speaking of Duke, that game was the worst part of my day. The reason you picked Duke over Belmont was because you didn't know who Belmont was. The reason I picked Duke over Belmont was because (I like them) of Coach K.
Imagine that you have the ball, down one, with 4 seconds left on the clock. You have the chance to beat the number six seeded team in the nation, you have the chance to beat a legend at his own game. You have the chance to make one of the greatest upsets in NCAA history. You have a chance to make a name for yourself. You have been reading this paragraph too long.
The coach choked.
There's no other way to put it. He had a chance to put them away, but then the Belmont player threw the ball into DeMarcus Nelson's hands, and the game was over... er, it would've been, but then there was that shot at the end of the game that almost sunk my heart. Anyway, the coach drew up a bad play.
That was the only memorable game from day one... I hate BYU by the way
Day 2 was much more eventful than day 1.
American University out of Washington D.C. (right in my backyard) put up a better fight against Tennessee than the scoreboard showcased. Gonzaga ran out of gas because Stephon Gray took over by scoring 30 points in the 2nd half with 40 overall. St. Mary's shot too poorly to keep up with Miami.
and Drake?
They suffered the usual 5-seed loss to a 12-seed on the casual 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Everyone thought Drake was going to win when it went into overtime. Nope. Not this time.
These first four games set up what was to be a great day in March.
Butler, Georgetown, Louisville, Memphis, Arkansas and Texas just rolled.
My favorite/most hated part of the day
Today was the first day in NCAA history that four underdogs upset the higher seeds in one building. Villanova, Siena, Western Kentucky, and San Diego beat Clemson, Vanderbilt, Drake and UConn, respectively.
The most memorable out of all? Drake. Easily. Yet, San Diego over UConn? What a close second
I thought to myself, if this game goes into double overtime, there's now way San Diego wins this game because two players just fouled out. Yet, De'jon Jackson hit the game-winning shot with less than two seconds left on the clock, and made San Diego the second cinderella team of the day.
Personally, I did horrendously on the second day. I was on pace to go 30-32... but instead finished 24-32. That's 75%!!! HORRIBLE.
If you're wondering about my facebook profile... don't ask
If you're reading this... thank you, it means a lot
If you picked Drake or Connecticut, or both, I sympathize with you
If you picked a fight with Eve Rosenbaum... I sympathize with you.
If you had Joe Lewis and James Rumph talk to you... I sympathize with you
If you miss Anson Jeng... I sympathize with you
Round one is over... but round two can only lead to sweeter things
Song of the moment:
Shadowplay by The Killers
Song between this note and the last:
Dark of the Matinee by Franz Ferdinand
