Rebuilding Rob

We started with 64 teams on Thursday. Going into Saturday, we were down to 32. By the end of the night tonight, we will be down to 16. Here’s how my picks are looking after Day 3 of “The Big Dance.”

• Highlighted schools = my picks

• X = games I got wrong

• Check marks = games I got right

Saturday Misfires & Random Thoughts

It figures that I would underestimate MSU. Michigan State may very well be the IBM computers of college basketball. They’re not flashy, they don’t dominate the regular season, and they don’t win the Big Ten tournament—but they do well enough to make it to “the big dance.” Once they’re there, they get the job done. They turned their matchup against 6-seed Louisville into a gritty, methodical 77–69 win. It’s no wonder that East Lansing recites the months of the year starting with “January, February, Izzo.”

I had Vanderbilt beating Nebraska, and as a 5/4 pairing, this one was a total tossup. It was a literal heartbreaker, too—Vandy’s Tyler Tanner had a half-court heave at the buzzer that rattled all the way around the rim before popping out. Nebraska survives 74–72 to reach their first-ever Sweet 16, and my bracket takes the hit.

My bracket was busted so badly in the South that I had neither Texas A&M nor Houston advancing to the Round of 32, so I was guaranteed an “X” regardless of who won their game (Houston cruised, 88–57). Along that same line, I had Wisconsin advancing on Friday, and they would’ve faced Arkansas. Since the Badgers fell, I’m officially out on that corner of the map as well, especially after the Razorbacks survived a 94–88 shootout against High Point.

Regarding the West region, I had BYU losing to Gonzaga in the second round. While I correctly predicted BYU wouldn’t make the Sweet 16, I was riding with the Bulldogs to advance. Unfortunately, Texas had other ideas. The Longhorns knocked off 3-seed Gonzaga 74–68, becoming the first team in five years to go from the First Four play-in game all the way to the Sweet 16. It’s a double-loss for my bracket since my Sweet 16 pick is now headed home.

Watching the Juggernauts

I caught parts of the Michigan and Duke games yesterday. Michigan (my pick to win the whole thing!) looks like an absolute machine. They dismantled Saint Louis 95–72 with a level of efficiency that makes them look like the clear favorite in the Midwest.

Duke also proved why they’re a 1-seed. They actually trailed TCU at halftime and it looked like a real dogfight for the first 25 minutes. Then, Cameron Boozer decided he’d had enough; he dropped 17 of his 19 points in the second half to turn a nail-biter into an 81–58 blowout.

The Final Tally

3-5 for Saturday’s games. Ouch! I fell down to rank 23.4 million. Here is the physical evidence of the damage:

If you’ve been following these posts for the last couple of days, you probably know the key to my bracket, but here goes again anyway:

• Highlighted schools = my picks

• X = games I got wrong

• Check marks = games I got 

According to espn.com, there are only two (2) perfect brackets remaining in their bracket challenge as of 11:52 PM Saturday night. I’m thinking I may enter ESPN’s “Second Chance bracket challenge” where everyone basically starts over with the Sweet 16 for next weekend!

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like 👍, comment, and subscribe below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media and check out my recent posts!

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