How Many Upsets Were There Today?

I ask that question because it feels like there were a lot when in fact there were only three. That’s right – 16 games, 3 upsets:

1. #11 Gonzaga outplayed #6 St. John’s in just about every way, winning easily.
2. #12 Richmond defeated #5 Vanderbilt in the final minute.
3. #13 Morehead State blew up 50 brackets by defeating #4 Louisville with a killer three-pointer and a “controversial” defensive stop in the final seconds.

And then there were the “almosts”.

• #13 Princeton almost upset #4 Kentucky until Brandon Knight made a driving layup with two seconds left to finally grab those pesky Tigers by the tail.
• #10 Michigan State almost put together the most miraculous comeback of the day. Down 23 at one point, they were within one point of #7 UCLA with the ball in their possession when Kalen Lukas traveled and sealed their fate.
• #10 Penn State almost got it done against #7 Temple before Juan Fernandez channeled the Jimmer and made the game winner just before the buzzer.

Then there were the upsets that weren’t. I personally jumped on the Belmont bandwagon and then was promptly run over by it when Wisconsin made them look silly. And as hard as Kansas State tried to lose to Utah State, Utah State just couldn’t help themselves and mailed it in anyway.

With regard to today’s blowouts, I want to acknowledge that BYU’s Jimmer Fridette is the real deal, Florida beat the ladies pants off the Gauchos, UConn shows no signs of slowing down after winning the Big East tournament, and San Diego State has a legitimate chance of redeeming the “Mountain Worst” in post-season play.

Notable Quotables

Normally I castigate CBS mercilessly for their ineptitude in broadcasting the greatest sporting event of the year. I must say that this year’s partnership with Turner is a welcome addition, and whatever gripes I’ve had with the network have nothing to do with what I consider to be a fine collection of announcers (with the exception of Jim Nantz, who drives me insane and should stick to golf). Just in watching the games today, I was treated to a few quips that I found amusing.

• Speaking of Belmont, Reggie Miller said, “I went to their practice yesterday. Their shirts were all tucked in. They were all wearing the same shoes. And I’m sure I didn’t see a single tattoo on the whole team. Most young players these days are all tatted up.”
• In the same game, Steve Kerr said, “Belmont had 52 substitutions but only 55 points.”
• Calling the Gonzaga-St. John’s game, one of my favorite announcers Vern Lundquist quipped, “Notice, Raf, that I have so far managed to call Sacre’s name without saying, ‘Sacre bleu’.”

Other Noteable Quotes

• “[Kansas State Coach] Frank Martin – that dude is like watching the Metallica bass player. Tapioca death stare!” – Brad Schafer, contest participant.
• “There are a lot of good basketball players out there.” – Mr. Obvious, Charles Barkley
• “Those shoes are ugly.” – My wife, Heather Little, speaking of the yellow shoes sported by some of the UCLA players.

Quasi-Random Observations

• #34 from UCLA could play center for any team in the NFL.
• I would rather lick stamps than watch Wisconsin play basketball. I fell asleep, in fact, while their game was on this evening.
• Shot-blocking seems to be a lot more common this year. I don’t know if it actually is. It just seems like it.
• After making the game-winning basket, Butler’s Matt Howard nearly punched out an Old Dominion player pumping his fist in celebration. I still don’t know how in the world Howard got that ball, let alone made that shot.

Day One Awards

Before I shut the contest machine down for a few hours, let’s hand out a few awards.

• The Teamwork Award goes to the seven members of the Risner family: Deborah, Jordan, Matthew, Megan, Scott, Shelby, and Toby, who realized their entries were listed alphabetically on the contestant picks page and set their aliases such that they read “Fe Fi Fo Fum I smell the blood of an Englishman”. My daughter, Amber, thought that was awesome.
• The Shameless Self-Promotion award goes, once again, to Blake “www.ImagesByBlake.com” Dieringer. I have no idea where he stands in the contest, but I know where to go if I want my picture taken.
• The Don’t Count Your Chickens award goes to Jim Cockrum who touted his 15-1 contest start on Facebook with props to the humble contest manager. Jim is currently tied for 12th.
• Speaking of 15-1, the Nearly Perfect award goes to Jim Cockrum, Ben Hodson, Kurt Emmert, and Anna Deaver, all of whom missed only one game today.
• The I Told You So award goes to Lucas Drone, who as you may recall, picked 28 upsets in the first round and, therefore, won only 4 games today. Lucas’ current rank? 164.
• The I Bet You Were The One They Always Had To Explain The Punchline To As A Kid award goes to RJ Wynn, who texted me today to reveal that he didn’t even realize his alias made such a great pun. As he tells it, R.J. “Just Broke” Wynn was supposed to communicate financial standing and not flatulence.
• The Next Time, Ask Watson award goes to Trevis Litherland who annually uses a self-developed, computer-programmed algorithm to make his picks. This year’s computerized prognosticator is not doing a very good job, frankly, having picked an astonishing number of ridiculous upsets.
• Finally, the Day One Contest Leader award goes to Jane “Go Urbana” Gomez. Jane has 12 wins and 33 points. Jane is also a contest rookie. Great job, Jane, and good luck tomorrow!

Ok, time to catch a few Zs so that we can do this all over again tomorrow. Remember to check the Contest Standings to see how you are doing, along with all the other great reports available on the web site.

The Wizard of Whiteland

Disclaimer: No five-year-olds were harmed in making this contest.

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