I have no idea what happens when the calendar kicks over to March on Tuesday, and that is a marvelous thing to contemplate. No one wants order in March. We want chaos, and NCAA brackets reduced to cinders, and a rending of garments that is mostly a false front for sheer delight.
Oh, man, why did I pick Kansas to beat Bucknell? Now my bracket is landfill! Also ... go Bucknell!
That sort of deal.
We want madness with our March Madness, or it's just not Madness. And if yesterday is any indication, we're going to get plenty of it when the curtain goes up on the NCAA Tournament in less than three weeks.
What happened yesterday was seven of the top ten teams in the nation got blackjacked -- including No. 1 Gonzaga, which lost by 10 to St. Mary's. Arkansas beat Kentucky. Baylor beat Kansas. Tennessee beat Auburn. Arizona lost to Colorado, Texas Tech lost to TCU, and Purdue stepped in it again, losing to unranked Michigan State in East Lansing.'
This makes the Purdues 24-5 and drops them a game behind front-running Wisconsin in the Big Ten. It also firms up the Blob's suspicions about them, which is that March could go one of two ways for them.
One, they play like they played against Illinois twice or Rutgers the second time or Iowa twice or Florida State or Villanova, and they get to the Final Four for the first time in 42 years.
Two, they play like they played at Michigan or at Indiana or at Rutgers the first time or against Maryland at home (a fortunate 62-61 escape), and some St. Mary's or Arkansas knocks them out in the second round.
I think it's 50-50 between the two. I could be wrong, of course. I frequently am, particularly in March.
Point is, everyone has players these days, and so chalk is not nearly as dependable as it used to be. This makes it much harder to stay inside the lines on your bracket. It's also what makes Da Tournament great.
Seven of the top ten going down, in late February?
Go, chaos.
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