Up is down, black is white; cats are living in harmony with dogs. It must be March, and by this point college basketball's crazy little championship is in full swing. After the pounding I took last year (let me once again thank Manhattan), this time I was prepared. I actually watched some games prior to the tournament, and had a solid idea of how the 64 teams stacked up. My Final Four looked solid with North Carolina, Wake Forest, Illinois and Syracuse. It was Spring Break, and besides the three projects that had to get done, I had nothing to do but sit back and watch as my bracket predictions would become reality. Looking back, I was quite na??ve.
The first day of the tourney, there was so much green on my espn.com bracket it looked like a Christmas tree. For a day I was actually in first place on the Tournament Challenge rankings (tied with probably a hundred thousand other fans, but in first nonetheless). Not a hint of red. By the second day my madness had transformed from simply a euphemism to Jack Nicholson-level crazy in "The Shining."
Reviewing some of my choices, I think I actually had to be insane when I picked them. Some were unavoidable, I mean, Bucknell over Kansas? The Patriot League was 0-12 in the Big Dance. Everybody's bracket was reeling after that one. But I have a feeling I was one of the few who picked George Washington over Georgia Tech and Saint Mary's over Southern Illinois. I was red-lining. By the second round, I had so many transparent team names (meaning they had been eliminated) you'd think we were already into the Sweet 16.
March Madness defies all laws of science and sports gambling. For instance, if a team is profiled as the pre-game show's feel good story of the day, you're screwed. I had UAB with the upset over Arizona. The day of the game, right before tip off, CBS shows a segment on Arizona's star Salim Stoudamire, and how he wasn't fitting in to the program early on, but now he's found his game and Lute Olson couldn't be happier. That's great. The outcome: UAB heads home and my bracket takes another hit. However, we move to the next round with Arizona taking on Oklahoma State in Eddie Sutton's potential last game as head coach. Clearly a "last game" scenario could trump Arizona. State should come out roaring, looking to get one more "W" for their coach. What happens? The Cowboys lose by one. Oh, March Madness, you're adorable. Thankfully Illinois gave it right back to the Wildcats on Saturday, and as long as UNC makes it through, my Final Four is still half there.
The ultimate upset of the tournament had to have been Vermont over Syracuse. I mean, did anyone see this coming? Yes, yes they did. But even though I picked Vermont as a very plausible Cinderella, I did not trust my instincts as I penciled Syracuse in for the Final Four.
After Vermont won, though, I began to rationalize what had happened, and that's another tell-tale sign you got the madness. I'm ashamed to even admit it, but after Vermont beat Syracuse, I actually started comparing them to the 1985 Villanova team that beat a powerhouse Georgetown team. Like Villanova that year, Vermont started with a victory. It was perfect. Plus Vermont had the first potential NBA draftee in its history with Taylor Coppenrath and it was coach Tom Brennan's final season. They already beat a quarter of my Final Four selections in Syracuse, so why not just go straight on to St. Louis? Or they could lose in the second round to Michigan State, either way.
I should have realized early on that my bracket was in trouble, as I had the exact same Final Four as Andy Katz, and was one off from Dick Vitale's. You know you are in trouble when you're aligned with the experts; although, there are a handful of commentators and analysts who are actually knowledgeable of the sport. For instance, if Jay Bilas or Clark Kellogg makes a pick, you can trust that to be an informed, conscientious guess from a person who is at least aware of the fact that he can only guess. But apparently Billy Packer and Seth Davis wake up each morning already knowing who's going to win, so I don't even know why they bother watching the games. It must get pretty boring being right all the time. Packer at this point probably just throws a dart at whichever team he picks to win since he's too busy color coordinating his shirt and ties with his color highlighter.
But Davis is the most arrogant analyst yet. He doesn't merely pick the winner: he tells you who is going to win, period. Can't we all agree that when we live in a day and age when we can't even predict the weather accurately, we should be content with simply guessing the winner in a tournament which has "madness" in its title?
At this point, though, we have a Final Four comprised of Louisville and Illinois, with UNC, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Kentucky all vying for the last two spots. By the time you read this article, I'll either be one for four thanks to the Illini, or two for four if Roy Williams can get through coaching 40 minutes of basketball without a total collapse.
My March Madness has turned into a full blown March Malaise. There's not enough Zoloft in the world to cure my bracket at this point.
