The Sports Watercooler

Doesn't it feel good to have the tournament back after taking those few days off? And although none of last night's games were extremely revetting except for the West Virginia/Xavier overtime one, it was all just good basketball.

And, since my picks in yesterday's Watercooler were 75% right, I have no choice but to let that go straight to my head and offer more today. It also may be because my brackets are tanking and its a lot easier to pick after I have seen the teams play in the first two rounds.

Today's matchups feature:

Davidson versus Wisconsin. This game is the hardest for me to pick. On one hand, I have Wisconsin in my final four, and would like to see them win. On the other hand, who doesn't love watching a mid-major make a deep run in the tournament?! This one will be closer than everyone thinks. Wisconsin loves to slow the game down, yet a slower paced game means the starters won't get tired as quickly. And the more time Curry and Richards spend on the court for Davidson, the more they have a chance to win this thing. With a gun to my head, I am picking Wisconsin. Should be a great game.

Stanford versus Texas. Stanford has the inside presence, with the Lopez twins (twin Robin is dating Michelle Wie! No joke!), while Texas has the guards (most notably Augustine, I do not know who he is dating). I think Stanford should take this one fairly easy, but you never know. If Texas gets some hot hands shooting the rock (cliches!), the will score a ton. Official pick: Stanford.

Villanova versus Kansas. Most people are already writing Villanova off. Well, don't. Remember, even though Kansas has arguably the most talented team in the tournament, its still coached by Bill Self, and its still, well, Kansas, both of which are known to flame out in the tournament, and never meet expectations. I am still picking Kansas to win this, but it will be closer than you think.

Michigan State versus Memphis. This is the last of what should be 4 stellar games tonight. I have no idea what to expect from Michigan State. I had them losing in the first round. And now they have toppled my Final Four pick of Pitt. Nietzel is in his, what, 8th year of college? Memphis always gets a rap for only being good because they play in a weak conference. Well, I will give them some props. They have a solid team and a scumbag coach. Thats good for at least the Elite 8. My pick: Memphis.

The Sports Watercooler

The NCAA Tournament--you are a cruel, cruel mistress.

There are various levels of disappointment in the Tournament. The silver lining being, there are various levels of enjoy it as well.

The First Level: your team. As a fan, it doesn't matter what else happens. Your bracket, upsets, Cinderellas, none of that matters more than your team. And after this weekend, only fans of 16 teams are happy.

Obviously, there are varying degrees of happiness/sadness here. Like if your team took a number 2 seed to overtime, only losing at the last second, you can reflect back on a good run, a memorable tournament, and gain some experience for next year. Or if your team was playing a team of equal talent, yet could only score 41 points in the entire game, it may take a bit longer to recover from that one.

The Second Level: your bracket. There is money and/or bragging rights involved. Without your school to cheer for, at least you can cheer for a more personal victory--domination for your peers. Sure I would trade almost anything for a Notre Dame final four appearance, and the feeling isn't anywhere as good, but it is sort of nice to check out the Bike in Trees bracket pool on facebook and see that I am tied for first place. (Tied with a one Andrew Chungchansat). Likewise, its nice to point out to everyone I meet that I picked the Davidson over Georgetown upset, and remind them repeatedly.

The Third Level: F You. This is when you did have both Georgetown and Pitt in your Final Four. When your team has already been at the opposite end of an upset. Think you have nothing left to cheer for? Wrong! Start cheering for everyone to be as miserable as you. Cheer for every underdog. Cheer for the most popular schools to leave. Cheer for mayhem in the bracket world.

The Fourth Level: Ignore the rest of the tournament. Basketball is dead to you until next November. Baseball starts in a week!