Well, the opening round of the NCAA tournament this year has certainly been one to remember.  There have been some pretty crazy upsets, including the big Northern Iowa win over Kansas.  That game was AMAZING, and I just knew that at the end, Kansas was going to overtake them, even if the refs had to get involved.  However, the game was called pretty fairly there at the end, and the incredible 3-point shot that Northern Iowa hit to seal it will be a highlight for years to come.

Duke continued its difficult trudge through the incredibly challenging South region (Yes…I’m being sarcastic).  It continues to irk me just how easy their region is.  Purdue decided to show up for a game yesterday, knocking off Texas A&M, one of the teams that might have actually given Duke trouble, and ensuring they’ll move on to the elite eight next weekend.  Nice going, Purdue.

Syracuse is one of the scarier teams in the tournament, to me.  I’ve thought for a while they are a team built to win it all.  A Syracuse/UK showdown would be one to remember, I suspect.

Speaking of the Cats, they have handled their bidness in the first 2 games, but now they will face a team named after my favorite sandwich at Giovanni’s, The Big Red.  Seriously.  That is their name.  This could actually end up being a tough game for the Cats.  Or, they could blow them out of the water.  I suspect this game is going to be a bit harder for UK than the first 2 have been, but if some of the players not named Patterson, Wall, or Cousins continue stepping up like they have been, it shouldn’t be as close as folks think it will be.

Another problem with this game is that it will basically be a home game for Cornell, and I’m sure their fans will be out in force.  However, I would imagine that lots of UK fans bought their Syracuse tickets early on, just expecting the Cats to get there, so I would imagine that UK will have good support.  It does suck that the game isn’t on until 10pm Thursday.

It also sucks that we get the same announcing team for this one, Jay Bilas and Dick Enberg.  First off, there is something about their voices that makes it extremely difficult to tell them apart.  It is in the same frequency or something.  Also, neither of them seems to get very excited or worked up during the games.  Don’t get me wrong…I don’t want Dick Vitale over there screaming.  But at least give us Jim Nantz!  Jay Bilas is awfully knowledgeable about the game, however, so he does give some good insight.  However, he also picked Cornell to beat UK, so he can go fly a kite.

So…how about YOUR bracket?  Does it look like mine?