Trash My Bracket (Day 4)

Notes from Day 3

• My picks for yesterday’s games turned out about as well as I could’ve hoped, thanks to the higher seeds finally playing like they deserve the lofty rankings. The only game I missed was Gonzaga-Indiana and I had the Hoosiers bowing out to UCLA in the Sweet 16, so my bracket was spared for the most part.

• Somehow, I’m in first place in the office pool. Yeah, I don’t understand it either.

• I had to work from 3:30 to midnight yesterday, so I missed most of the live action. I have to work again today, so it looks like another day of obsessively clicking refresh on internet scoreboards for me…..umm…..hypothetically.

• If you find yourself with internet access but without access to a television, CBS SportsLine offers live streaming video feeds of every game. The only downside is that they black out the game being broadcast in your local area, so the video feed may cease to be an option in the later rounds.

• The best part about the video feed – and, honestly, one of the sweetest things I’ve ever seen – is the “Boss Button”. With a single click, the video window disappears, the audio is muted, and an Excel spreadsheet appears in your browser window. It’s the perfect solution to get away with watching basketball at work…..umm…..hypothetically.

• I knew Tennessee sucked. It’s just that I picked them to lose one game too early.

• If I had to label any one phrase as my mantra for the tournament, it would have to be: “Make your damn free throws!!”

Oakland

5 Pittsburgh vs. 13 Bradley

1 Memphis vs. 9 Bucknell

My bracket says:

Kansas over Pittsburgh

Memphis over Bucknell

In hindsight, I know why I picked Kansas to go to the Final Four, but I overlooked a very critical factor, as one reader astutely pointed out. “Kansas? Come on. They get bounced in the first round every year.” You can’t argue with the truth.

Washington

3 North Carolina vs. 11 George Mason

1 UConn vs. 8 Kentucky

My bracket says:

North Carolina over Michigan St.

UConn over Alabama-Birmingham

George Mason throttled Michigan St. on Friday. With second-leading scorer Tony Skinn returning for the game to face an inexperienced UNC team that was unimpressive at best in the first round, I wouldn’t be surprised if GMU became this year’s Cinderella.

Continuing with the Cinderella theme, if UConn loses, I might shit a pumpkin.

Atlanta

6 West Virginia vs. 14 Northwestern St.

2 Texas vs. 10 NC State

My bracket says:

Iowa over Southern Illinois

Texas over NC State

We are two very likely results away from the West Virginia-Texas matchup I started hyping on Friday. Nick Gaudio informed me that all of his orifices have been corrupted, so Mikey and he will have to wager something less funny than sodomy on the game. Luckily for them, that’s everything.

Minneapolis

2 Ohio St. vs. 7 Georgetown

1 Villanova vs. 8 Arizona

My bracket says:

Georgetown over Ohio St.

Villanova over Arizona

I went out on a limb taking Georgetown over Ohio St. here. This is a make-or-break type game for my bracket, as very few others predicted it. The Big Ten’s piss-poor showing thus far bodes well for the pick. Best conference in the country my ass. (Not to be confused with “Best conference in the country: my ass.”)