UNITED STATES—Well the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament has come and gone and I must say it was a quiet one to say the least, but there were indeed some interesting games, where a few potential upsets were on the verge of transpiring. I nearly had to stop watching the Spartans matchup with Bradley because it looked like Bradley was giving them a run for their money. I mean this #2 seed was on the verge of being upset by a #15 seed. Not good, MSU, not good at all.
The Spartans weren’t the only ones with close calls. Tennessee struggled a great amount with Iowa; that was one hell of a game to watch, I mean Iowa came back from a massive deficit and forced the game into overtime, where Tennessee just barely clung on to victory. Some of you might be asking what all of this means. It means even the best of the best can be dethroned at any given time. Did you see the Duke and UCF game? Yeah, the Blue Devils are ranked the #1 overall seed and they nearly got tossed from the tourney by a #9 seed.
So all that speculation that Duke, Virginia, Gonzaga and North Carolina will have a cakewalk to the NCAA Final Four should be thrown out the window! The first weekend was fun, but those dogfights we come to expect in March Madness have not come to fruition just yet. Now that we’ve reached the Sweet 16, let the dogfights begin. In the West, we have #2 seed the Michigan Wolverines going toe-to-toe with #3 seed Texas Tech. In the East, the game to watch is MSU vs. LSU. I mean LSU only defeated Maryland by 2 points, so they’re going to have to step up their game majorly.
In the South region, a game to watch is the battle between the Oregon Ducks and Virginia. Oregon is the only low seed still in the tournament and they’re playing to win. I mean they defeated #5 seeded Wisconsin, which no one expected, so if anyone suspects they’re just going to roll over and allow Virginia a cakewalk to the Elite 8 think again. I’m also interested in watching the battle between Purdue and Tennessee; I want to give the edge to Tennessee, but Purdue will be a formidable foe to say the least.
Then we come to the Midwest, where I think the most exciting game to watch will be Kentucky going to battle with the University of Houston. I think the Tar Heels will have an easy battle against Auburn, but I am hoping that Auburn gives the Tar Heels something to be concerned out. So now it’s time to place your bets on who will be headed to the NCAA Final Four? I’ve placed my bets, but tell me do they match up with yours?