Spring Sanity?!

What happened to the madness in March? Instead of dramatic buzzer-beaters and Cinderellas and Bryce Drew, the first weekend of the NCAA college basketball tournament brought us the Greg Gumbel Invitational - about as goose-bumpy as a piece of white bread laying on a chunk of cardboard. A year after all...

By Richie Whitt

March 23, 2009

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What happened to the madness in March?

Instead of dramatic buzzer-beaters and Cinderellas and Bryce Drew, the first weekend of the NCAA college basketball tournament brought us the Greg Gumbel Invitational - about as goose-bumpy as a piece of white bread laying on a chunk of cardboard.

A year after all four No. 1 seeds made the Final Four, the top three seeds in each of this year's region have made it to the Sweet 16. The power conferences - the Big 12 is 9-3 - have dominated. Of the remaining teams only three - Gonzaga, Xavier and Mizzou - haven't been to a Final Four.

Cinderella is named ... Arizona? What in the name of Dick Vitale and "One Shining Moment" is going on here?

Geez, even President Obama picked 14 of the Sweet 16.

It's called sanity. And for those of us who believed in the hype of March Mayhem, it's a body blow to the bracket.

Playing the chalk has never tasted better. On ESPN's bracket challenge no less than 6,290 entrees picked the exact Sweet 16.

In other news, some of us got only 7 of the 16 correct.

Ouch.

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