>I was badly wrong about how two conferences in particular would do. The Big Ten has already exceeded my expectations, with four more teams playing today. And the dismal performance of the Big East has shocked me. All hail Charles Barkley! At the beginning of the tournament he called them overrated.
>
>
>I was actually glad to see that my PIttsburgh pick was wrong. As for Charles B. and his "Little East" predictions, he's an embarrassment on that TV show.
>
>I'm not shocked at Villanova and Pittsburgh and WVU going down.
>
>As for Big 10, it's still a bit early to say they're exceeding any expectations. Having said that, KU will have a tough game tonight against Illinois.
>
>And I hope our resident UNC fan has accepted that Isaiah Thomas Jr is going to dazzle the Tar Heels today. At this point in the tourney, anyone can beat anyone.

Charles an embarrassment? Wow, we disagree there. Not exactly earth shattering news. In any case I was only commenting on his dead-on statement that the Big East came into the tournament overrated. I didn't hear anyone else saying that, certainly not the selection committee.

I said the Big Ten has already exceeded my expectations, which were minimal. I didn't think Illinois and Michigan deserved to be in the tournament and didn't think anyone besides Ohio State would win more than one game.

I don't think your Jayhawks have much to fear from Illinois. There has been unbelievable grumbling about them around here all season, particularly about the graduating seniors. They came in with a lot of hype and have not come close to living up to it.

Pitt is like Texas when March rolls around -- it's just a question of who is going to "upset" them this year. This is the fourth year in a row they have been knocked out by a lower seeded team.

Craig B. will probably cough up a hairball to hear this but I find myself cheering for BYU. I admired the way the whole Davies situation played out, including him being on the bench with the team after being kicked off the team. Granted, BYU's rules are not yours or mine, but they are their rules and they have stuck to them when many other top programs would have looked the other way. I also like the play of Jimmer Fredette. He led the country in scoring, plus that has to be one of the coolest names in basketball. I like the way he elevates for his jump shot. And so fast getting it off. There was one yesterday from behind the arc on the right side where he caught the ball with a defender all over him and drilled it like an assassin. The tiny opening was all he needed.