By Mike DeSanto
Sports Editor
Come on Villanova! What happened to that whole “going to be back-to-back champs” thing?
Admittedly, I didn’t think the Wildcats were going to win again (that spot is reserved for my favorite team, the North Carolina Tar Heels). But what I did think would happen was a Final Four appearance. But no, the reigning champions decided to lose to Wisconsin. The Badgers, who I didn’t even have playing in that game. I said they’d lose to Virginia Tech!
But the Wildcats and Badgers were not the only ones to end my million dollar dreams. Oh no, there was more.
Notre Dame
OK Fighting Irish, where was the fight? You barely snuck by Princeton, winning by two (60-58). Not exactly the most high-scoring affair for a team that has shown to be dangerous shooters.
But my mind set after that game was “ok, just some tournament jitters, they’ll be fine.” It then quickly shifted to “What are they doing? What are they doing?!” and finally, “They just lost to West Virginia.”
Now, West Virginia is a good team, I’ll be the first to defend the Mountaineers in that regard. But when they beat your second favorite college basketball team, who you had going to the Sweet Sixteen and only losing because they draw a team that has lost one game ALL YEAR (Gonzaga), one tends to become a tad irritated.
Florida State
OK, I’ll admit that I didn’t have complete high hopes for the Seminoles, but looking at the region they were put in and who they had to play, I thought they might make the Sweet Sixteen before losing to the Arizona Wildcats, who I can see playing for the National Championship.
But, yet again, my dreams were dashed. This time it came in the form of a blowout against Xavier. The Seminoles survived a tough test against Florida Gulf Coast, which made me confident in my choice.
But, as the old saying goes, the wheels fell off. Actually, the wheels fell off, then rolled into oncoming traffic, causing other cars to swerve and lose their wheels, followed by all of the cars sliding to a dead stop and leaving the drivers confused as to what just happened, and what to do next. Figuratively, of course.
Miami
Oh dear lord, what happened to you Miami? I mean Michigan State is a solid team with a great coach, but couldn’t you have at least kept up?
For reference, the Hurricanes lost to the Spartans 78-58 in the opening round. I had Miami moving on to face Kansas. Before anyone freaks out, I did have them losing to Kansas; I’m not crazy. Well, maybe I am a bit, but that’s not the point.
I mean, clearly it wouldn’t have mattered who Kansas played, since they put a beating on the Spartans 90-70. But considering the Hurricanes contended in the ACC, which is the best conference in college basketball bar none, I found no issue with picking them to win. But apparently it was an issue.
Duke
As a North Carolina fan (Go Tar Heels!), I am not bothered in the slightest to see Duke get knocked off early. As someone who would absolutely love to win one million dollars for simply filling out a bracket online, I am a bit perturbed.
The Blue Devils are the reigning ACC champions, how was I supposed to know they’d drop a second round matchup against South Carolina, and unfortunately that’s exactly what they did. They kept the game close, but ended up losing 88-81 to the Gamecocks.
I didn’t even have the Gamecocks making the second round! I had Marquette! This is your fault Marquette!
Ok, it’s not Marquette’s fault, but I had Duke going to the Elite Eight against Villanova. Anybody see the bigger problem there? My East Region has been destroyed.
As a side note to the destruction of the East for me, I also had SMU and Virginia making it to the Sweet Sixteen. SMU lost in the first round to USC and Virginia lost in the second to Florida.
Literally every single East Region team I had picked has been knocked out the tournament. This is my basketball life right now.
So, to all of you out there whose brackets have been busted by any of the teams that killed mine, or any team at all, I am with you in your nightmare.
desantmj13@bonaventure.edu
