Collideoscope

Posted by: David Bunch

That he's mad, tis true, tis true tis pity,
And pity tis tis true.
-From Hamlet (II, ii, 97-98)

The first big weekend of March Madness has wrapped up and we're down to the Sweet 16, baby! Now I'm not one to brag, but....I did finish up the weekend at #1 in the 90&9 pool and picked 13 of the 16 teams....

Honestly, I'm really not bragging because last year I finished almost dead last and was quite embarrassed because I'm supposed to be the college basketball expert (it is the only sport I follow with any consistency). So my strong showing this year is just gravy.

Apparently Bradley and his father (Big Mac) didn't eat enough peas because they are slowly falling behind. Brad's mom (affectionately known as Meme) isn't doing too badly, catapulting into the #5 spot.

Here's a good analysis of the dynamics of this year's Sweet 16 and the historical significance of it all.

For just the second time since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, no double-digit seed advanced to the round of 16.

Winthrop was the last of the teams seeded 10th or lower to have a chance to reach the third round, but the 11th-seeded Eagles lost 75-61 to Oregon on Sunday. The only other double-digit seed to advance to the second round, No. 12 Virginia Commonwealth, lost 84-79 in overtime to Pittsburgh on Saturday.

No double-digit seed reached the third round in 1995, and only five times since 1985 had only one moved on. The most to reach the round of 16 was five in 1999.