Big Dance: Suckling from the Teat of the Sweet Sixteen

March 23rd, 2006 | Posted by PostmanE

It’s been three whole days since any NCAA tourney basketball has been played. Three whole days - way too long. This Postman has actually had to pay attention to his girlfriend. Needless to say, she’s been confused.

Thankfully, the tournament is back in full today with the Sweet Sixteen, a group that comprises upset-mongers like Wichita St. and George Mason, all four No. 1 seeds, and absolutely zero Big Ten squads.

Tonight’s action will feature two of those No. 1 seeds and two No. 2’s when Duke takes on LSU, Memphis tries to fight off Bradley, UCLA meets Morrison and Co., and Texas gets tourney-weathered West Virginia.

The Longhorns - Fightin’ Pittsnogles matchup is the obvious choice for game of the night, but I think Memphis might have the biggest challenge on their hands. Bradley is no true No. 13 seed; they handled a streaking Kansas team and a tough Pitt squad with equal poise. They play extremely solid, uptempo basketball on both sides of the ball for 40 minutes, and could give Calipari’s Tigers some serious problems.

(That said, Memphis will probably rock them by 30. What do I know?)

In any case, the real winners tonight are us, as we can resume the tourney position: legs up, laptop out, chips on stomach, remote unnecessary.

Tourney Scoreboard
Pat Forde’s Take
Hating Duke is Fun
George Mason’s Kryptonite Inspiration

(Those last two are irrelevant, but incredibly enjoyable anyway.)