As For the Dance Itself...

Oh yeah, the tournament goes on even though Stanford is eliminated. Well, like everyone else I've heard, my bracket is in a shambles. I'm not mathematically eliminated in my pool yet, but I didn't do myself any favors by picking Gonzaga to beat North Carolina in the national title game. Let's just say I'll be picking a new bracketology strategy next March.

I think the most interesting team in the Sweet 16 is UAB. After watching their wildly entertaining first round game with Washington, I wasn't all that shocked to see them beat Kentucky. That's because their style of play is so unusual- nobody plays 40 Minutes of Hell anymore, so I could see how a stiff team like Kentucky could be flustered by it. Kansas coach Bill Self certainly has his work cut out for him.

I definitely don't want to miss a single game of the East Rutherford regional. It's the only region with the top four seeds still alive and on paper it produces the two best match-ups of the 3rd round. Oklahoma St is one of the teams I'm rooting for to go all they way, but I like Pitt's versatility. I still haven't seen a St. Joe's game all season, and I look forward to seeing what Wake's Chris Paul can do against Jameer Nelson. And I'm also wondering whether Delonte West is actually better than his Naismith Award-winning teammate. By the way, don't you love the fact that college basketball's player of the year award is announced without all the hoopla and fanfare of the Heisman?

Here's hoping that some quality games this weekend will allow me to enjoy the NCAA tournament as a neutral observer, rather than a devastated Stanford fan.