Bob Haynie: Bracket Busting
The second round of the NCAA tournament started on Thursday and, as you would expect, there were upsets. Upsets that really put a damper on my chances of winning the office pool.
When filling out these things, I try not to get too chalky. Especially this season. With no dominant team, anything is bound to happen over the next couple of weeks. So, picking chalk, although safe, doesn't guarantee success.
On Thursday, I felt the agony of defeat.
In the Midwest, I had high hopes for the 5th-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys. As a matter of fact, I picked OSU to get the Elite Eight. They rewarded my faith in them by going out and getting drubbed by 12th-seeded Oregon, 68-55. Quite frankly, the Ducks, Pac-12 tournament champs, should have been seeded higher.
It is in the West were I really got bombed.
I jumped on the New Mexico bandwagon in a big way. I had seen the Lobos play on a couple of occasions and came away impressed. Very impressed. So impressed, that they were my selection to win the West region. With New Mexico being a No. 3-seed, this choice was not far-fetched at all.
Harvard felt otherwise, The 14th-seeded Crimson shot 52.4 percent from the floor and made eight three-pointers to pull off the Shocker, 68-62.
Overall, I was 12-4 with my Thursday games.
But one of my Final Four teams is gonzo. Buh-bye. See ya.
I would also like to point out UNLV and Missouri as teams that didn't do me any favors.
Hopefully, the rest of the weekend will be kind to yours truly.
Enjoy your hoops people.
