No Surprises
With the first half of today’s games completed, there were very few surprises. Even the one real upset, Maryland over California, hardly came as a shock, with 327 of us picking that game correctly. Unfortunately, I was not among the 327.
Holy Blowouts, Batman! Connecticut’s coach Jim Calhoun was taken to the hospital prior to the game, but it was Chattanooga that needed an ambulance. The Huskies racked up the third largest margin of victory in NCAA history with a 103-47 humiliation. I want to hear CBS analyst Seth Davis tell us again how, in our lifetime, a 16 seed will beat a 1 seed.
Memphis Sees Red, Beats Matadors. 2 seed Memphis nearly became the story of the day, trailing 15 seed Cal State Northridge for much of the game. Under the category of whatever it takes to win, Memphis’ Roburt Sallie scored 35 points to give the Tigers a win that was a lot closer than the final score indicated. By the way, Mr. Sallie’s season scoring average is 4.5 points per game! That’s 4 point 5, not forty five. Talk about playing out of your head.
Speaking of Tigers, the LSU Tigers roared into the second round with an impressive win over Butler. Butler did not play poorly in this game. LSU can score the ball in a big way. That second round matchup with North Carolina could be very entertaining.
Watch Out For That Tree! Washington’s diminutive Venoy Overton was leveled by a bone-crushing pick he never saw coming in the second half of their game with Mississippi State. It was so violent the crowd groaned in near perfect unison. Unfortunately for Mississippi State, and all those contestants who picked them for the big upset, that was about the only highlight of the game. Unlike the Memphis game, the final margin of 13 points in this one was a lot closer than the game ever was.
Awards
The All Too Easy award, sponsored by Darth Vader, goes to the 32 contestants who picked all 8 games right this afternoon. With only one upset, this was more common than usual. I am too lazy to type all 32 names. You know who you are. Congratulations.
The It’s Not Easy Being Me award, brought to you by Kermit the Frog, goes to Connie Randazzo, who managed only a single win this afternoon.
The Living Up To Your Name award goes to Lilly “I don’t know what I’m doing” Richardson, currently tied for 452nd.
The Always Bet On Blue award goes to Bethany Davis, whose alias reveals her picking strategy. Bethany’s record today: 7-1.
That’s all for now. Look for the day one awards in late tonight or in the morning.
By the way, you do not have to wait for each commentary article to show up in your inbox. You can follow the contest blog here.