ITS MADNESS

It's funny how this always happens. Every year the players change, some of the coaches change, venues change, but the drama and excitement remain the same. Headed in to the 2011 edition of March Madness, some were skeptical about the level of play without any premiere team this year or sure fire #1 pick in June. With parity comes chaos though, and through one weekend of play there has been quite a bit of it. Of the 16 teams remaining, there are only a small handful of them that have played their games to a convincing finish. Surprisingly, one of those teams is this years Cinderella, VCU, who has won not 2 but 3 games thus far having handily beat USC in their play-in game. Richmond too is a Cinderella contender, but at this point the sales clerk at Foot Locker is still checking to see if they have the slipper in their size. The three best individual players, Kemba Walker, Jimmer Fredette, and Derrick Williams, continue to carry their teams but its still tough to tell if the guys around them are enough to cut down the nets. Best team left: Ohio State. If Sullinger was two inches taller, he'd probably be the NBA's #1 pick this year should he decide to come out. Even at 6'9 though the freshman is still a top 5 player in the country, and the #1 is still a good possibility depending on who gets the pick. Also, the Buckeyes continue an almost surreal 3 PT shooting percentage that leaves their opponents in the dust. The scariest team left: Butler. Losing Gordon Hayward last year to the NBA was a big loss, but to draw this team in the brackets may be a death wish for anyone. After two highly emotional first-weekend games, momentum is the last thing you want a team with this much experience having. Couple that with one of the brightest young minds in college basketball, coach Brad Stevens, and they could easily find themselves back in the Final Four. So after one weekend of play, were right on track with everything you'd expect from the tournament -- unless you're the fan of a Big East team (11 teams made it in, in what's considered the best conference in the nation, and only two remain). Upsets, Cinderellas, Gus Johnson, Jimmer-Range, etc., everything that we have come to know and love is still in play. Including this excruciating 3 day wait until the next round of games starts again.