EL SEGUNDO/CERRITOS, CA (smt)- No double-digit seeds remain but #7MW-UNLV and #6E-Vanderbilt along with three #5 seeds will join 11 top seeded teams in the Sweet 16.  Three teams from Tennessee and two from Los Angeles will try to advance to the Elite 8.  A ho-hum tourney so far has kept 85 of the HWCI-record 98 entries still alive to win one of the top 4 money spots.  Adding the Bonus Prize, that means only nine people will be able to watch normal TV shows while the rest of us stress over the next round of the tournament. 

Only #5E-USC and #2S-Memphis have won both games by 15 or more points which means the #1 seeds have not had it easy.  But there has never been a tourney with all four #1 seeds... but then again, there was never a tournament (with 64-65 teams) when no #1 seeds made the Final Four before last year.  Back-to-back "never happened befores"?

Will the Pac 10 get some respect now that they have more teams in the Sweet 16 than the ACC and Big 10 combined?  #2W-UCLA is in a Regional where all four top seeds are still alive but play the weakest of the #3 seeds in Pitt.  #3MW-Oregon still would not have played a team from a major conference (Miami (OH), Winthrop, and UNLV)) while #5E-USC has only faced teams from the Big Six conferences (Arkansas (SEC), Texas (Big 12), and North Carolina (ACC)).

Now, 16 TV shows to watch....

1. BOSTON LEGAL:  I had done my research and found what station (and alternates) would be broadcasting the NCAA games in Boston.  So, at Legal Sea Foods, I was listening to the end of the BC-Georgetown game and BC's last gasp failed and it was clear they were going to lose.  So I was waiting for them to switch to the Vandy-Washington St. game which was going into overtime.  Still the BC-Georgetown game.  End of game.  Interviews.  What?  It didn't dawn to me about Boston College and this was the local broadcast.  Oh, no.  Switched to the two other sports stations... static.  Luckily, there was a bar clear across the other side of the restaurant, but I still had to be social, so, oh well.  Vandy won which is all I needed to hear.
2. 24:  Anyone afraid of Memphis' 24-game winning streak?  Besides beating up teams (none of which made the tourney) in Conference USA, they have beaten the Sun Belt (not to be confused with the Atlantic Sun conference) champion (North Texas) and the WAC (not to be confused with the WCC) champion (Nevada) thus far.  Now they'll face one of the big boys from the Big 12.   Now is the time to prove their #2 seeding.
3. HOUSE:  Home-field advantage could not help #6 Louisville (playing nearby in Lexington) overcome Texas A&M, which was put in an unfair position as the #3 seed.  But turnabout is fair play, as Texas A&M will have home field advantage in San Antonio facing #2 Memphis (and then possibly #1 Ohio St.).
4. MYTHBUSTERS:  It used be winning the conference tourney didn't buy you much, because the committee has pretty much placed the teams into their spots regardless of finish and they heavily weight your body of work over the whole season.  But this year, six of the top 7 seeds won their conference tourney (which means unlike previous years where two of the four #1 seeds were from the same conference, all 7 top seeds were from different conferences).
5. THE AMAZING RACE:  Vanderbilt (Nashville, TN) would have to travel from Atlanta (SEC tournament) all the way west to Sacramento (1st/2nd Round) then clear back across the country to East Rutherford (Regionals) and then back south to Atlanta in order to make the Final Four.  That round-trip covers 6,164 miles by car.  By air?  5 games, 3 cities, and 5,256 miles.
6. SHARK:  Well, it's not the same as when Tark the Shark was there, but UNLV is back in the Sweet 16.
7. SABADO GIGANTE:  Four days of basketball, only Saturday worth watching.  Three OT games including Ohio St. nearly falling to Xavier plus UCLA, Butler, and PItt squeaking out wins made it a big day for excitement and heart stoppers.
8. APPRENTICE LA:  UCLA's coach Ben Howland left Pitt to his assistant, Jamie Dixon, three years ago and now face each other in a Sweet 16 matchup.  Who cares?  Well, I guess I am writing about it... well, it would be interesting since they reportedly avoid scheduling each other and now have to play this Thursday.
9. TWO AND A HALF MEN: Texas A&M's Acie Law IV & Dominque Kirk are averaging over 18.5 pts per game with Joseph Jones averaging 13.  The three score 54.5 of the 70 pts per game the team has scored in the tourney.  Is that good?
10. THE L WORD:  ARPS and KOBERAJ have lost half their Elite 8 teams and are 2 of 7 entries to lose half their Final 2 teams.  Six have lost their champion.
11. COLD CASE:  After starting the 2nd round 10-0, MARINOMAC lost 5 of the next 6 games falling into a tie for 26th place.
12. WITHOUT A TRACE:  Thirteen entries, including defending champ DON'T PICK MY GATORS, have been eliminated with nine of those also out of the Bonus1 prize money.  Thanks for your donation and we'll see you next year.
13. EXTREME MAKEOVER:  With 3 SEC and 3 Pac-10 teams in the Sweet 16, how did SOURCE pick Kentucky, Stanford, Washington St. and Arizona?  Well, to be fair, he did have all 6 Pac-10 teams in.
14. THE COLBERT REPORT & EBERT & ROEPER:  Andy F has stopped his tradition of having names after Simpson characters (MAX POWER, REMBRANDT Q EINSTEIN, FRANK GRIMES, REX BANNER, ARTHUR FORTUNE), this time attaching himself to The Colbert Report's FILLIAM H. MUFFMAN.  But Vi N continues her tradition of tweaking movie titles, as this year she is LITTLE MISS SUNCHIPS (last year, VENDETTALESS).
15. ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5TH GRADER?:  Well, how about a 4-year old?  HALEY'S COMETS, picked by Troy and Kim B's four-year old daughter (but the entry is attributed to Troy), is still alive in the pool.  Is yours?
16. 1 vs. 100:  Well, we had just 98 entries, but still, only one will walk away with the record top prize of $450.  See the prize breakdown below...

1st Place   = $450.00
2nd Place   = $230.00
3rd Place   = $155.00
4th Place   = $105.00
Bonus Prize = $ 40.00