[olderthanIusedtobe]

Here we go. Had an upset right out of the gate, with Virginia and Tony Bennett being the victims again. Later in the day Arizona went down with a thud. Who will be next?

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Virginia is no longer the only #1 seed to lose in the 1st Round. Purdue has joined that inglorious club, losing to Farleigh Dickinson. Oops. A couple other close calls but not many huge upsets (a #11 over a #6 happens so often it hardly even seems noteworthy). Zags had their hands full w/ Grand Canyon but moved on to Round 2.

[Slugman]

I was a little nervous for the UConn Huskies at halftime, down two points, the Iona Gaels dropping three pointers like pennies into a jelly jar. But the Huskies big men combined to shoot 75% from the field for the game, and it was over. Now the Huskies face….the Gaels? Yes, St Mary. I’m guessing this will be the record for facing teams named Gaels in consecutive NCAA tournament games. The tournament sure is more fun when my team is in it and advancing. And knowing they have an almost magical ability to win titles even if the team is not that great (2011, 2014).

[Tom]

And Kansas goes down as well.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

The college basketball landscape is so different now. Duke, Kentucky and Kansas all gone by the 2nd round, North Carolina didn't even make the Tourney. Baylor was looking like one of the new powers, but they're done too. What's left? Michigan St. and UCLA are familiar names. Gonzaga in a tight game, they could move on. UConn used to be a power but has been missing for a long time, they're still alive. Florida Atlantic in the Sweet 16? They are 33-3, gotta admit I know absolutely nothing about that team. Just looking at the #1 seeds, Purdue, Houston, Alabama and Kansas. 3 of those are not exactly the usual suspects. With one and done, NIL, transfer portal, it's just about impossible to know what to expect year to year anymore.

[Chief Joseph]

[olderthanIusedtobe]

During the post game show, they said the 16 teams left come from 11 different conferences. That's gotta be a new record, by a wide margin.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Sean Miller was much maligned toward the end of his tenure at Arizona. After a 1 year absence from coaching, he is back at Xavier for a second stint. He's won 27 games and has them in the Sweet 16.

[Slugman]

Only 8 titles have been awarded since UConn last was crowned champion. It does seem longer, since their conference exploded into shards and was reconstituted with UConn on the outside, then they got back in.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

That is more recent than I realized Slugman. Still you have to admit they haven't been as much of a powerhouse since Calhoun retired. Seems like that's been a while hasn't it?

[Slugman]

They won a title in 2014, after Calhoun. Oh, and it’s only been seven titles awarded since then, no title in 2020. But yes, it does seem like it was longer. I just took a writer at The Athletic to task for listing the “traditional powers” playing last Sunday, mentioning Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan State, but not UConn. I pointed out that Indiana hadn’t won a title since 1987, and most of Kentucky’s were won in the 1940’s and 50’s.

[Chief Joseph]

I really think the Zags will win against UCLA on Thursday. The Bruins don't impress me that much and one of their main inside players is just coming back from an injury so might be rusty and not at 100%. If the Zags can continue to hit 3's with the inside out game with Timme, they will be hard to beat. I still think Timme travels on a good percentage of his moves, but he does it so quickly the refs don't usually catch it. It's like he shuffles his feet, dribbles, and takes off all in one motion.

[Slugman]

Huskies crushed it today. Dogs are feasting on pulled pork tonight!

[Malachai Constant]

Watching Zags they have done a great job against Bruins but last few minutes will be the test. Prayers

[Malachai Constant]

Wow zags win great game!