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Madness II

Very very dedicated readers of this blog will remember that I am mediocre at best when it comes to predicting the outcome of these NCAA basketball tournament things, and that I am a singularly ungracious loser to boot.  However, because it is rumored that there are some college basketball teams in the Research Triangle Park area, I stopped into a Chapel Hill bar last night and watched a couple hundred people go very, very quiet during the second half of the UNC-Murray State game.  Murray State, you’ll recall, is one of those perennially dangerous first-round teams, partly because no one can remember where they’re from.  That makes them very hard to locate when you’re trying to box ‘em out.  (In fact, almost forty percent of Americans are unable to locate a state named Murray on the map.) I did not endear myself to the locals by yelling every few minutes, “Go Murray State Salukis!  Lose by merely two or three in the final moments!” (And yes, I know that they’re not the Salukis.  Southern Illinois are the Salukis.  Murray State are the Erasers.) Maybe that’s why everyone was so quiet!

Anyway, I am getting crushed like a bug in the Atlanta bracket, where I picked UNC-Wilmington to beat a questionable George Washington squad who turned out not to be that questionable, picked Syracuse to “have momentum” rather than to “be exhausted,” believed that the Salukis (ahem) would upset the Mountaineers, failed to foresee Northwestern State (traditional crosstown rivals of Northwestern) upending Iowa, and, in a self-inflicted wound, picked Iona over LSU just for the hell of it.  However, to my credit, I do have George Mason over Michigan State in the Washington bracket, though I marred that one by getting a little upset-happy and picking Utah State over Washington and Seton Hall over Wichita State as well.  Like everybody else in the world, I went with Montana over Nevada in the Minneapolis bracket because it was a deadly 5-12 matchup (see Utah State-Washington, above), and I almost almost almost picked UW-Milwaukee, where I have some friends, over Oklahoma, where I have some other friends.  I also almost went with Alabama over Marquette in the Oakland wing (I’m sorry to report to Oaktown Girl that I had the NC State Wolfpack beating Cal’s Bears of Gold in the Atlanta bracket, though), and I do not care that Bradley beat Kansas last night because I have Pitt beating Kansas on Sunday anyway.

Overall, I’m 22-10 for the first two days.  Here’s hoping that Boston College smelled the Pacific coffee and is all ready for next week’s upset of Villanova.  And go Illini, beat Washington, and then lose to Connecticut by only two or three!

UPDATE:  Dammit, Illini, I said lose to Connecticut by only two or three.

UPDATE MARCH 19:  OK, be honest now—who had George Mason meeting Wichita State in the sweet 16?

Posted by on 03/18 at 12:13 PM

  1. 22-10 might not be stellar, but at this point you’re doing as well as, if not better than, about half of the ‘experts’ who displayed their most assuredly superior prognisticating. (Based on expert brackets posted by SI, USA Today and CBS Sportsline.)

    You are not alone in your mediocrity.

    Posted by  on  03/18  at  02:04 PM

  2. Just tell me you felt even the teeniest pang of guilt cheering for NCState when you knew I had a personal stake in Cal. (That’s OK if it’s a lie, just throw me a bone over here).

    Cal had not made it to the tourney for a couple of years. The big problem there, of course, is that in college hoop, that means basically no one on the team has any post-season experience, and that was certainly the case with my Bears.

    On the other hand, maybe this will convince our star player, Leon Powe, that he really should stay in college one more year until he can better handle the big-game double-teaming, and his support staff have at least this year under their belts.

    Ah...nothing like the selfishness of college alumi: stay in school, you don’t need no big pro contract, we can WIN next year!

    Posted by  on  03/18  at  02:11 PM

  3. I do, indeed, have a significant pang of guilt, O-Girl.  It’s a long trip home for Powe and the boys.  Then again, the guilt-thing is a bit offset by the when-in-North-Carolina thing.  I hope you understand.

    And thanks, Gatoscuro.  I think, however, that my problems in the Atlanta bracket won’t go away—I had Iowa and Syracuse in the sweet 16 (losing to Duke and Texas, though).  Everything else looks good, but I really need BC over Nova and Pitt over Memphis next week.  It would also be really nice if this turned out to be one of those years in which Gonzaga pulls off one of their amazing runs, as opposed to one of those years when they go home early and dejected.

    Posted by  on  03/18  at  02:19 PM

  4. I picked the Braves over Jayhawks.  Besides that stroke of luck, I’m getting clobbered.  Or better put, I’m clobbering myself with my own ignorance and foolishness.  I have Nevada in the Final Four.

    Posted by Jeremías  on  03/18  at  02:20 PM

  5. Ummm...Mike Ol’ bean that’s Racers...not Erasers...but don’t worry I can’t seem to find Murray on a map of the U.S. either (I think the state was named after the kindly old Jewish tailor who founded it-State Motto: With the suit you get two pairs of pants).

    Don’t feel badly-My bruins were hoisted in the first round-no, not UCLA-Belmont!!-I’m a sucker for low-seeded teams that make the tourney for the first time.

    Posted by  on  03/18  at  02:25 PM

  6. I’m sorry… you picked Iona over… just for the hell of it?

    My heart is broken.

    But this now of course means that LSU will go on to beat Duke in the round of 16, just to spite you.

    Posted by KF  on  03/18  at  02:36 PM

  7. Arbitrary but fun suggestion?

    Favorite songs about the radio?

    Posted by  on  03/18  at  03:00 PM

  8. Regardless of the result of today’s Illinois-Washington game (I, too, was hoping for some of that 5 v. 12 magic to grease the skids for the Illini [magic being a very high quality grease]), I can go away from this tournament a happy man after the defeat of the Selfish Jayhawks.

    Hell hath no fury like an alum scorned.

    Posted by Dr. Drang  on  03/18  at  03:20 PM

  9. Gah.  I’ll be spending the first week in April in Kansas, and I was hoping (praying even) that Kansas would make it to the National Championship. That way the pain associated with being in the midwest could be somewhat eased by the opportunity to watch a town full of basketball-crazed lunatics during (and after) the title game.  Of course, given this circumstance, the Jayhawks would lose in the first round.  Ugh.  The tournament is dead to me now…

    Posted by Marita  on  03/18  at  03:27 PM

  10. I’m sorry… you picked Iona over… just for the hell of it?

    My heart is broken.

    But this now of course means that LSU will go on to beat Duke in the round of 16, just to spite you.

    I admit that I did have a moment of thinking, “now, what would KF say if she found out about this pick,” but it was only a moment.  I was hoping the Tigers would have trouble with Iona because no one knows where it is (see Murray State, above, if you can find it). And please do beat Duke next week—I really won’t mind losing them, even though I have them in the title game thanks to the oppressive sense of inevitability that surrounds everything they do.

    Marita, I think watching basketball-crazed lunatics on the road is one of the real joys of March/April.  I’ve threaded my way through hotels full of Kentucky fans in Philadelphia, Kansas fans in Indianapolis, Tennessee fans in Atlanta . . . treading carefully all the way, of course.

    Posted by Michael  on  03/18  at  04:11 PM

  11. Michael, how dare you?  I come here for the latest on Jamie, D’Ho, etc.  Now, here I am, reminded for the 643rd time that my Iowa Hawkeyes, a 3-seed, lost to NW St.(is that in Joliet?), a 14-seed. 

    I’ve avoided every mention of it in the media for 24+ hours and now I am reminded here, of all places.  Is there no respite?

    Posted by  on  03/18  at  05:59 PM

  12. Like everybody else in the world, I went with Montana over Nevada in the Minneapolis bracket because it was a deadly 5-12 matchup

    Per the ESPN National Bracket statistics that should be 17.3% of the world. Never no mind, I’m sure your researchers are to blame.

    Posted by  on  03/18  at  06:02 PM

  13. Hey, I’m having a spaz over here. The branch of the humanities that produced all those papers on Madonna a few years ago, with the Bilibin and the sites of resistance and all that....

    I’m trying to find a source and I’m stymied by brain-meltdown. What’s that branch called?

    Posted by Gavin M.  on  03/18  at  06:24 PM

  14. You’re thinking of dangeral studies, Gavin?

    Posted by Michael  on  03/18  at  06:27 PM

  15. "I did not endear myself to the locals by yelling every few minutes, “’Go Murray State Salukis!  Lose by merely two or three in the final moments!’”

    [Sound of rolling eyeballs] There’s at least one unreconstructed Northerner in every Tobacco Road crowd. Fine, mock our palpitations. But those final moments--indeed, seconds—-lasted years I tell you. Why, I’ll bet even Idelber was watching in consternation.

    And a fine month it is to be a hoops fan!

    Posted by  on  03/18  at  06:47 PM

  16. You’re thinking of dangeral studies, Gavin?

    Now I’m an object of fun.

    You smart kids keep chatting; I’m going to go smoke some marijuana and do Mad Libs.

    Posted by Gavin M.  on  03/18  at  06:58 PM

  17. I had Iowa in the Final Four.
    However, I got a few first round upsets right, like George Mason and Alabama.
    But I had Iowa in the Final Four!

    I can only take solace in the fact that the school I actually attend is playing for the DIII National Championship right as I speak [type].

    Posted by jon mcgee  on  03/18  at  07:52 PM

  18. s/b right *now,* as I speak.

    Posted by jon mcgee  on  03/18  at  07:54 PM

  19. No props for the local, where is that, now, team, the Bucknell Bison.  Come on, Michael, show a little love…

    Posted by  on  03/18  at  07:56 PM

  20. The Southern Illinois Salukis hardly had a chance, in their defense. Last year I picked West Virginia to go all the way, because they had a real chance (and because I live in Morgantown). They would up a single bounce of the ball away from the Final Four. This year I picked West Virginia to go all the way again, because again they have a real chance (and I live in Morgantown). If Northwestern State doesn’t become the Cinderella of the entire tournament, WVU has a team to go far because like last year they are full of future pros. Of last year’s graduates, D’Or Fischer went to the NBA and Tyrone Salley went to the Developmental League. Of this year’s seniors, Kevin Pittsnogle and Mike Gansey have been talked of as first round NBA picks, and Johannes Herber (the ESPN Academic All-American of the Year and member of the German national team) will play pro ball for a hefty sum in Europe. And the WVU coach’s son also plans to give the European league a shot next year. WVU was loaded last year, they’re loaded this year, they’re a threat to go very deep...assuming they get past Northwestern State on Sunday....

    Posted by Tony Christini  on  03/18  at  09:03 PM

  21. Go Golden Gophers!  Vindicate your status as the University With the Least Intimidating Mascot and advance reasonably far in that other tournament that no one cares about!!

    Posted by  on  03/18  at  10:18 PM

  22. Go Golden Gophers! Vindicate your status as the University With the Least Intimidating Mascot...

    I think the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs might take issue with that claim.  Come to think of it, as an Oregon State alum, I think we’ve got a pretty good shot at the Least Intimidating Mascot title as well.  We’re certainly hard to beat in the Most Snicker-Inducing Mascot category.

    Posted by Marita  on  03/18  at  11:22 PM

  23. Hey Sian - I’m calling you out.

    Click on the first link in Michael’s post above ("medicre at best") and read comments #22 (yours) and #23 (mine). You’ll see that’s it’s been almost a year and you still haven’t answered my question about which meat has the lower fat content - squirrel or opposum.

    I said it then and I’ll say it now - how are the Dems ever gonna take back the WH if even when us “blue staters” do our best to try to reach out to the “red state” folks, we just get snubbed?

    Anyway, my best city-girl guess is that squirrel has the lower fat content. Am I right? MMmmmmm...burgoo.

    Posted by  on  03/18  at  11:22 PM

  24. Go Golden Gophers! Vindicate your status as the University With the Least Intimidating Mascot...

    Minnesota may also be home to the high school team with the least intimidating mascot: the Blooming Prairie Blossoms.

    Posted by  on  03/18  at  11:31 PM

  25. The Blooming Prairie Blossoms?  As a mascot? I’m… fascinated.

    How does the mascot manifest?

    A flower-bedecked float carrying terraced flowerbeds of Living Mascot along with papier mache bison (to indicate “Prairie")?

    Or a whole bunch of people dressed up as flowers and, ah, wafting up and down the sidelines?

    And do you wave bouquets instead of towels?

    Please tell.

    Posted by  on  03/18  at  11:52 PM

  26. The Illinois game made me want to vomit. It wasn’t the same kick in the tenders that last year’s championship game was, but it still hurt. It hurt real bad. Once again the Illini fouled like a game of drunk Calvinball.

    I’m off to rip up my bracket. Someone call me when UConn is cutting down the net.

    Posted by  on  03/18  at  11:52 PM

  27. I think everyone is getting killed in the Atlanta bracket, although I’m getting killed for somewhat different reasons.  Michigan State was supposed to go the Elite Eight. 

    Oh, and I picked Iona over LSU by accident.  No idea how that happened.  Stupid Internet.

    Posted by Chuck  on  03/19  at  12:27 AM

  28. Oh and BC will lose to ‘Nova (or else my bracket is in serious trouble).

    Posted by Chuck  on  03/19  at  12:28 AM

  29. Minnesota may also be home to the high school team with the least intimidating mascot: the Blooming Prairie Blossoms

    In contrast, in Michigan nobody messes with the Watersmeet Nimrods.

    Posted by Jeremías  on  03/19  at  01:54 AM

  30. Y’know, for a liberal blog there’s an awful lot of Midwest partisanship going on here. So, Marita (#9), in the immortal words of Ari Fleisher, you “need to watch what you say.”

    And jon mcgee (#17), Midwest partisanship is one thing, but you had Iowa in the Final Four? Iowa?!

    Despite the Ilinois’s unfortunate use of the “hands-on” defense, the day was not a total washout for Illini fans: Bruce Pearl lost.

    Posted by Dr. Drang  on  03/19  at  02:07 AM

  31. Dr. Drang, thank you so much for spitting on Bruce Pearl, who should be banned from NCAA basketball for life for his Deon Thomas caper.  But why is Midwest partisanship incompatible with the liberal blogosphere?  You think maybe Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa are wingnut strongholds like Indiana?  Hell, the upper Midwest invented Lutheran Liberalism!

    Posted by  on  03/19  at  02:36 AM

  32. I too was 22-10 after the first two days, in part because I somehow picked Bradley over Kansas.  I have no idea why I did that.

    I wonder what would happen if I actually, you know, looked up past form and all that?

    Posted by Linkmeister  on  03/19  at  03:32 AM

  33. Et tu, Chuck?

    **sigh**

    Posted by KF  on  03/19  at  10:06 AM

  34. All bow before mighty Yoo-Dub!

    Posted by Scot Lemieux  on  03/19  at  01:46 PM

  35. as opposed to one of those years when they (Gonzaga) go home early and dejected.

    Well damn it.  Now they go and win a second game and head to the sweet sixteen, which runs pretty much counter to nearly all the local rhetoric, which is strongly betting against their success, inspite of supporting them.  Mrs. Few has made some very choice comments criticizing the city for its expression of its frustration with her husband’s ability to get the team back to the sweet sixteen. 

    But worse, now i am in a lose/lose situation with Oaktown Girl’s town, sponsoring the Zags up against my precious alma mater.  It took the Bruins more than a decade to get back here.  The only win/win scenario for me now is to root for the prince from Cameroon and hope Morrison gets 40 in a loss; that would still put him on top of that “local” SEC boy (given that you are a Big 10 prof in the core of the heart of the SEC) for the trophy named for that great Bruin coach. 

    Possum (more tasty fat and significantly larger) is way better to eat than squirrel, but given the way all seem to be getting tanked in the brackets, squirrel is better than crow.

    Last but not least, last night Iowa did produce a NCAA win, and the Gophers proved that although they couldn’t quite complete the sweep of the year they planned, still pulled of three victories in losing the team title to the Cowboys of OSU.  But the hippy freaks did better than the repug jocks, with the freakiest of all freaks (we are talking really freaky) crushingly defeating his opponent who was favored.  And a long-haired lad from Oregon won, a first for that school in more than 30 years, and almost 50 years since Ken Kesey did it.  Oh, this whole thread was on basketball, not wrestling??

    Posted by  on  03/19  at  01:59 PM

  36. oops.. i keep typing SEC when i intend to type ACC.. mmmm must be some slip regarding how Carolina schools are linked to a Boston one??  And now i have to try to remember all those Big East ones that aren’t from the northeast.  never.

    Posted by  on  03/19  at  02:07 PM

  37. Michael (#31) (1:36 am! don’t you ever sleep?), you are, of course, right about the Midwest and liberalism. If my grandfather were alive today, he’d still be voting for Paul Douglas. I was simply trading on some well-worn stereotypes held dear in those “coastal enclaves” that Andrew Sullivan likes to talk about--and live in.

    And yes, the stereotype does hold for Hoosiers.

    Posted by Dr. Drang  on  03/19  at  02:29 PM

  38. Spyder - you’re a UCLA boy? (Girl?) Man, my city is about to be positively overrun with your “Peeps”.  I hope they comport themselves with at least a modicum of decorum. I do want to cheer for them you know, being PAC 10 and all. Besides, the Zags don’t need me on their bandwagon, what with the yearly Gonzaga love-fest in full effect and now whipped into a Sweet 16 frenzy.

    And thanks for answering my squirrel/opossum question from last year (no thanks to you, Sian!) But Spyder, I could barely make sense out of much of your last post, so maybe you’ve been eating too many of those exotic dishes?

    Posted by  on  03/19  at  02:49 PM

  39. For those curious, Murray State is from Kentucky.  It’s not so hard to figure out, as “murray” is an abbreviated form of the local dialect’s name for America.  Unfortunately, Kentucky also harbors Morehead State (distinct from Moorhead State, in Minnesota).  Even fellow Kentuckians sometimes confuse the two, as they’re both the same sort of bubble team when they get into the tournament.

    As for the Iona and Northwestern State, I see little difficulty in figuring out where they are.  By the principle of letter substitution, Iona is obviously in Iowa.  NWS actually tells you where it is in its very name—it’s from a Northwestern state. This narrows it down to Seattle or Portland, or to be generous, Alaska.  My bet is on Portland, as they tend to be humble people, willing to refer to their state in only directional generalities.

    Posted by  on  03/19  at  03:03 PM

  40. I think watching basketball-crazed lunatics on the road is one of the real joys of March/April.

    Ah, yes...one year in the 80’s, the American Oriental Society conference was in Seattle the week before the Final Four. Throughout the week, the average height in the hotel lobby increased, and we kept witnessing scenes of people we Should Recognize greeting each other and asking how things had been since last year.

    (They were also mostly incapable of understanding that a woman waiting in the hotel lobby might be waiting for an academic colleague to have dinner with.)

    Posted by alice  on  03/19  at  07:05 PM

  41. What happened to the Buckeyes? I went to feed a neighbor’s cat and came home to that? The Big 10 is sliced and diced this year. Damn. And all I have is several extra cats to take care of.

    Posted by A. G. Rud  on  03/19  at  08:17 PM

  42. does angelina jolie have march madness?

    Posted by skippy  on  03/19  at  08:26 PM

  43. Skipster, she will, if Mizzou can resurrect itself in the post Quin era.

    Posted by A. G. Rud  on  03/19  at  08:30 PM

  44. Talk about mania bordering on dangeralness. I arrived at the Asheville NC airport years ago to scope out where we would soon move for my new job. It was the early evening in March, and as I stood in line at the airport hotel front desk, I overheard a patron say to the clerk, can you give me a wake up call at midnight so I can watch the last half of the Carolina game?

    Posted by A. G. Rud  on  03/19  at  09:04 PM

  45. KF, in my case it really was an accident!  I knew *nothing* about Iona, but oddly enough, now if LSU beats Duke, it would probably help my (surprsingly successful) bracket.

    Posted by Chuck  on  03/19  at  11:26 PM

  46. What happened to the Buckeyes?

    It appears they lost to Bill Clinton’s alma mater by 38 or 48.  Which is kind of a shame for my brackets, really, because I had them beating Duke in the final.

    Posted by Michael  on  03/20  at  12:41 AM

  47. Damn, we got de-rolled.  Was it the religion? Or the cussing?

    Posted by Anthony Paul Smith  on  03/20  at  01:29 AM

  48. It was neither the religion nor the cussing, Anthony.  The truth is that Ralph Luker made me do it.  He said they’d turn Mark Bauerlein over to the Truth and Reconciliation tribunal if I’d renounce you. I thought it was a reasonable suggestion.

    No, actually, you’re under “Fabulous Ones.” And you are fabulous ones, aren’t you? 

    Posted by  on  03/20  at  01:50 AM

  49. I hope you’ve got your money on the Florida Gators. They are going to the Final Four and with a little luck, will take it all. They have 3 NBA 1st rounders (all Sophs.), Brewer 6-8, Horford (Titos son)6-10, and Noah 6-11 they run the floor like guards, block shots, rebound.

    Watch this kid Noah (his dad is the former French Open winner Yannick(sic? ) because hes going to be a superstar. Hes practically averaging a quad-double/game since Jan. and kinda reminds me of Magic the way he attacks on both ends and loves to play the game.

    Oh yeah....Go Gators.

    Posted by  on  03/20  at  04:11 AM

  50. My apologies, Oaktown Girl--too busy last year dejinxing the universe and too busy yesterday eating crow. Spyder’s right on the low-fat squirrel (though I differ on the preferred victual).

    Eliot was wrong; March is the cruelest month.

    Posted by  on  03/20  at  09:52 AM

  51. In addition to not noticing our link I posted this in the wrong thread!  So stupid!

    Fabulous, yes that’s us.

    Posted by  on  03/20  at  11:20 AM

  52. Marita, you’re right.  A Gopher can take a Banana Slug any day.  Wait, what IS a Banana Slug?  I’ve never heard of them before.  Maybe it’s a particularly large, fearsome slug with sharp pointy teeth!

    Posted by  on  03/20  at  11:21 AM

  53. Screw the NCAAs. Tar Heels lost. Life sucks.

    P.S. Do banana slugs live in banana hammocks?

    Posted by ae  on  03/20  at  02:10 PM

  54. NWS actually tells you where it is in its very name—it’s from a Northwestern state. This narrows it down to Seattle or Portland, or to be generous, Alaska.  My bet is on Portland, as they tend to be humble people, willing to refer to their state in only directional generalities.

    Dave, I was as surprised as everyone else is likely to be when I learned that Northwestern State is actually in Louisiana (there’s a subtle hint in their logo).  This makes perfect sense, since parts of Louisiana are north or west of at least four U.S. states.

    Posted by Will  on  03/20  at  03:32 PM

  55. Banana slugs are exactly what the sound like--big yellow slugs that actually look like a banana peel (or a yellow ficus tree leaf if they’re young’uns) . . . They’re kinda cool from a distance, but up close, not so much . . . not teeth, just rather, well, sluggy.

    And the UCLA mascot actually wasn’t much to be scared of in the early days--a Bruin is actually a baby bear (or at least that’s what they tell us on campus tours)--hence the baby blue uniform colors.

    but don’t mention that to the Morrison kid.

    Posted by  on  03/21  at  01:59 AM

  56. Sigh. I had the “Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold, Roy” bracket with KU over NC in the finals, like any good 3rd generation Jayhawk would hope for. So I’m left with the “reasonably reality-based” alternate bracket with the Zags winning it all (though I did have Murray State winning, since it is my namesake school). Another $10 down the drain.

    And as for Wichita State, “Shockers” is a contraction of “Wheat Shockers,” for what it’s worth.

    Posted by  on  03/23  at  02:09 AM

  57. I admit that I did have a moment of thinking, “now, what would KF say if she found out about this pick,” but it was only a moment.  I was hoping the Tigers would have trouble with Iona because no one knows where it is (see Murray State, above, if you can find it). And please do beat Duke next week—I really won’t mind losing them, even though I have them in the title game thanks to the oppressive sense of inevitability that surrounds everything they do.

    Heh.

    That’s all I’m saying.

    Posted by KF  on  03/23  at  10:41 PM

  58. Heh.

    That’s all I’m saying.

    Indeed.

    Posted by Michael  on  03/24  at  11:28 PM

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