i know you've been waiting - waiting for my in-depth ncaa tournament analysis, and so i present, as they would have appeared on Tuesday evening, my upset picks to you:

#12 seed BYU into the Sweet 16. The Cougars are big and slow and fundamentally sound. Check out their losses - Cal, Utah State, NC State, San Diego State, Air Force, Utah, New Mexico. Check out their wins - Okie State, UNLV-twice, Air Force, Utah...They only lose to good teams, and they beat a lot of them as well. Mark it down.

#9 Charlotte into the Sweet Sixteen. There are two key facets to this pick. First, immutable law of NCAA Tournament picking #1: Bobby Knight always - always - loses in the first round. #2: St. Joe's is so focused on disproving their doubters and pleasing coach Phil that they'll forget to do the research on the mighty 49ers. Mark it down.

#11 Utah into the Sweet Sixteen. BC's over-seeded because they're from the over-rated Big East. Utah's under-seeded because the MWC doesn't usually perform well in the postseason. But dig this: One fringe-bad loss, to New Mexico. They come in red-hot, off the tourney title. They're playing for the bed-ridden fat man in a red sweater. Talk about inspiration.


Don't be tempted by this upset:
#5 Providence - big - over #12 Pacific. And then mark down their victory over Kansas, and probably Kentucky. Doesn't Ryan Gomes feel a bit like, oh, Austin Croshere did six or seven years ago? Sweet Sixteen at least.


Of course, I was wrong on all of this. I was right on Manhattan, but that's about it.

It's funny, because I filled out three pool sheets this year, and named 12 different Final Four teams. I've already lost Michigan State, but that was in my #2 pool. Problem is, I also made gambles similar to those above - Arizona into the Sweet Sixteen...(even Florida into the Sweet Sixteen once) - that my pools are pretty much done.

What's strange is the fact that, while I fill out my sheets generally randomly and generally independent of each other, I picked BYU and Providence and Charlotte (see rule #1) and Western Michigan in every pool. It's strange, I think.

At least I've got all four left in the flax pool...and I've got PITT over Texas in the final. If that happens, I'd say hopes are probably good. And I like both teams a lot. I think Wisconsin's done - even with the home-crowd advantage.


In other news, Northwestern recruit Brandon Lee is leading Peoria Central in the state semifinals right now. He led Central in a big win over Farragut yesterday. Seems like a 'floor game' kind of guy. I haven't seen anything *outstanding* in the 20 minutes or so I've watched.