What a wild ride that first week was, huh?  And this weekend’s games should be even better.

All things considered, I felt pretty good about picking twelve out of sixteen teams correctly to make it this far.  I know, 75% won’t make you much money in the betting world, but there were a lot of weird games with some really strange outcomes, so I’ll take it.

Let’s take a quick look at some of last week’s events before I head to this week’s games.

First, congratulations to La Salle University for ensuring that this stupid “Round One” format will continue.  Way to go!

Second, when was the last time that three #12 seeds won their first round game and knocked a #5 seed out of the tournament?  And here I was thinking I was clever for picking one of them!

Third, three double-digit ranked teams are in the Sweet Sixteen.  Now, is that because of three teams winning two upset victories each over the weekend, or is it a reflection on ‘questionable’ brackets?  Who am I to say? (BRACKETS!)

I was going to throw in the fact that ten out of the 32 games in the first, oops, second round were won by the underdog teams, but that has become pretty much a tradition in March Madness, so let’s forget that one.

However, with all of the conversations about upsets, have you noticed that three of the top four teams from three of the regions are in the Sweet Sixteen?  Only the west region followed their own path, finishing the weekend with #2, #6, #9 and #13 remaining to fight it out.

And finally, there is a very real possibility that we can have an all Big Ten Final Four.  Wouldn’t that be exciting?  Okay, don’t answer that!

So, which teams will I be going with now?  Well, it’s only fair that the teams I originally picked remain my choices as long as they remain in the tournament.  Therefore, the real question is which teams will replace my originally picked teams that left the party early?

In the Midwest Region, I was four for four, so I will stick with my original pick of Louisville making it to the final four.  They will beat Oregon and then survive a scare from Michigan State (sorry, I just don’t trust Duke).

In the West Region, I’ll stick with Ohio State getting into the final four, beating Arizona and then putting an end to the Cinderella story of _______ (you can fill in the blank).  I think Wichita State will beat La Salle, but wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t.

In the South Region, I had originally picked VCU to get to the final four, so obviously this block of games is changing.  I think the upsets will continue and Michigan will beat Kansas and then Florida to grab this region’s spot.  The way they dismantled VCU was more than impressive.  It was downright scary!

In the East Region, all four of my teams are there, so I will stick with Indiana prevailing, beating Syracuse and then Miami.

I’m sticking with my original choice of Ohio State defeating Indiana for the championship!

That’s the latest and greatest.  (I’m just thankful I remembered to include that disclaimer last week!)

See you next week!