the tindog coffeehouse

It’s only the end of first round of the NCAA tournament, and my bracket is already pretty bruised. Out of the 32 first-round games, I missed 9, giving me a percentage of 72%. Ouch.

Biggest upset: Murray State’s win over Vanderbilt, who I’d picked to make it to the Final Four. Seriously, did anyone in America pick No. 13 Murray State to pick off No. 4 Vandy? No, of course not! Not even the mother of the Murray State coach. Other big upsets: No. 14 Ohio over No. 3 Georgetown, No. 12 Cornell over No. 5 Temple, and No. 11 Old Dominion over No. 6 Notre Dame.

Upsets I actually got right: No. 11 Washington beating No. 6 Marquette and No. 9 Northern Iowa beating No. 8 UNLV.

Closest call: No. 2 Villanova’s 3-point overtime victory over No. 15 Robert Morris. Others: BYU’s double-overtime win vs. Florida, Tennessee’s 3-point win vs. San Diego State, and Michigan State’s 3-point win vs. New Mexico State.

Not even close: Kentucky’s beatdown of East Tennessee State, 100-71.

Biggest disappointment: The Longhorns’ 1-point loss in overtime to Wake Forest. Not that Texas would’ve made it past Kentucky, but it would’ve been nice to win at least one game. It was, though, a fitting end to what has been a miserable season. As one sports commentator put it, “From No. 1 to one-and-done.”

Prognostications: No. 1 seeds Kentucky, Kansas, and Duke looked pretty solid, but Syracuse was a little shaky. As a result, I’m thinking Kansas State may be the Final Four choice for the West region. And if Villanova makes it to the Elite Eight, I’ll be shocked.

Alright, bring on Round 2!

Previously:
March Madness 2010: My picks