Caveman

The two number one seeds in action today each got a scare, but ended up winners. Ohio State had to grind it out in OT without Manchild (and potential GEICO caveman) Greg Oden who fouled out in regulation as he shoved a Xavier player (above picture) for his 5th foul. And North Carolina had to rely on Tyler Hansbrough's season-high 33 points to overcome a pesky Michigan State team. NOTE: Tyler started out wearing "The Mask" but took it off for good before the first TV timeout.

Two upsets as Vandy surprised everyone by beating 3-seeded Washington State, and Butler surprised the hell out of us with a win over 4-seed Maryland. We are still not big on Butler, though. They will not advance now as they most likely will play Florida in the sweet-16.

So, you ask, how did we do with our picks for today? Let's have a look-see:

Xavier(9) v. Ohio State(1): Xavier squeaked by BYU. Can they beat the Buckeyes? No. Ohio State wins. It took some doing, but the Buckeyes advanced.

Butler(5) v. Maryland (4): Don't let the seeding fool you. The Terps will turn up the volume and beat Butler. Obviously we were wrong. Butler goes ahead, but will be going home after losing in the sweet-16 to Florida.

Louisville(6) v. Texas A&M(3): Upset. Louisville wins. Wrong again. We were certain that the nearly-home court advantage would push the Cardinals over the top, but it was not so.

Vandy(6) v. Washington State(3): No upset here. Washington State wins. And another miss. We are a little comforted that it took 2 OTs for Vandy to knock of WSU.

BC(7) v. Georgetown(2): The Hoyas are probably the strongest #2 seed in the Tourney. They will beat BC. And they did. BC had signs of life in the first half, but, as usual, they were not able to finish.

VCU(11) v. Pitt(3): Pitt is perhaps the weakest #3 seed and they will have some real challenges with VCU. Upset. VCU wins. Oh, and it almost was. But VCU looked tired in OT as they fell to the Panthers.

Indiana(7) v. UCLA(2): The Bruins win. No upset here. The Bruins won this low-scoring affair. Indiana had a measly 13 points in the first half.

Michigan State(9) v. UNC(1): This could be an upset. If the Heels continue to lose focus they will lose. If they play with defensive intensity and stick with the fundamentals on offense they will win. We call this a win for Carolina. Carolina won, but they must defend-defend-defend to advance any further in the Tourney. Hansbrough was sensational, but if he is forced to spend his energy defending the likes of Kevin Durant will he be able to do what he did tonight?

The games on Sunday will be no less exciting than today. Here's what we think:

Tennessee(5) v. Virginia(4): Yeah, UT scored 121 against Long Beach State on Friday, but they will have a much more difficult time defending and scoring against Virginia. We like Chris Lofton, but he will have his hands full with Sean Singletary and JR Reynolds. Virginia wins this one, but look for OT.

Purdue(9) v. Florida(1): Florida had 62 rebounds in their first-round game against Jackson State, and Purdue's starters are all 6-7 or shorter. Get the drift? Florida wins.

UNLV(7) v. Wisconsin(2): Without Brian Butch, Wisconsin is very vulnerable in this game. We're going with the upset here. The Running Rebels win. Sorry to our cheese-loving friends. But, your after-dinner drink was a hit with us.

Virginia Tech(5) v. Southern Illinois(4): The third-leading scorer for the Salukis, Matt Shaw, will either not play or be limited in his ability to move after spraining his ankle in the game against Holy Cross. This will make a huge difference as Southern Illinois relies on a 5-man defensive attack. This is going to to an ugly game, and the Hokies will win.

Winthrop(11) v. Oregon(3): Winthrop beat Notre Dame, but don't look for them to advance any farther as they lose to the Ducks.

Nevada(7) v. Memphis(2): Memphis' #2 seed is questionable as they play in a very weak conference. But, give them their props, as they are extremely athletic. They suck at free-throws, though, so if the game comes down to scoring from the charity stripe then they will be challenged. However, despite their shortcomings, we think Memphis will win.

Kentucky(8) v. Kansas (1): Barn-burner. This could be an upset. But will it be? No. The Jayhawks win.

USC(5) v. Texas(4): Kevin Durant, on his college basketball farewell tour, will be too much for USC. The Longhorns win.

El baloncesto es maravilloso!