Ok, so “awesome” and “upset” don’t usually work well together, but they define two consecutive NCAA D-1 basketball games from tonight. I didn’t watch any of the Duke and LSU game, so I cannot comment on that.

First
Western Virginia and Texas were really going at it tonight. 14.7 seconds – the fastest turn over of events I’ve ever seen in any type of game. So, it seemed like Texas had it in the bag. WV was close, but the only way they were going to get it was by getting some free throws, and like one two-shot. So, in an amazing display of tactics in about the last eight seconds, WV scores and amazing three-pointer to tie the score 71 to 71. So, seems like the game is going to go into over-time. But, wait for it…

In the last three seconds, Texas turns right around, flies down the court, and pulls what I’d consider a four-pointer shot, and wins, 74-71.

Second
Gonzaga vs. LSU. This one is either not as upsetting, because there was more time to act, or more upsetting, since Gonzaga was leading the entire game.

LSU was the higher seed this game, but the clear underdog. When the game switched over, they were down by at least eight points. In the next five minutes or so, they got the score up to within two, and then got a free-throw within the last ten seconds or so, to pull it up to one away. No way Gonzaga’s losing, right? Think again…

In the minute amount of seconds before the last 2.1 seconds, LSU flies down the court to pull a two-pointer, and then it all suddenly turned into a tackle football game, because they all went to mid-court, and piled on top of each other. However, here’s where I’m not so decided as to whether this end of game was more exciting than the Texas vs. WV game. Gonzaga had a lot of time to pull off a three-pointer, but didn’t do it. Now, having to lob the ball all the way down to the three-point line is hard, but they actually did it…and then missed the shot.

I think LSU deserved it, not only because they were down the entire game, but because of what I considered a faulty call against them several minutes earlier, where they lost two points off the score they should had gotten. Gonzaga was getting some pretty special treatment in the time I watched the game.

Alright, so how does this come out in the wash? Well, I’m no bracket-making kind of guy, but I can’t resist now that we’re this far in. I don’t know a lot about the remaining teams, so this is just a wild guess, but some of it based upon tonight.

Tomorrow: I don’t think home court advantage is saving Washington tomorrow night. I could be biased, since UConn is my home team, but seriously – Uconn’s winning. As for George Mason and Wichita State, I’m less decided. Consider that in this tournament both of these teams have won against teams with way higher seeds than their own, showing that seeding isn’t going to be much of a factor in the next few games. However, I’ll go with Wichita. As for the other two S16 games, I’m guessing Villanova, and Georgetown. But, who knows, considering the Duke vs. LSU game today.

E8: As for the regional finals, I’m predicting that Texas is winning for Atlanta, but that’s because I didn’t see the LSU/Duke game, and did see Texas’s awesome last minute tactics. Also, I don’t know why, but instinct tells me that UCLA is winning against Memphis, making for a duo 2 seed game for their section of the Final Four. As for the other side, I’m guessing that Villanova is going to the Final Four, and UConn as well. So, two 1’s against two 2’s.

Championship: Too far away to tell, but until more information comes in, rooting for the home team. They will, however, meet up with Texas.