Friday's Gamesin the NCAA Tournament

First off, I'm not even going to go over how my picks went, because it wasn't pretty. So far, I've lost 4 (ouch!) Sweet 16 teams, and one Elite 8 team in Michigan St. My hopes rest on Georgetown making the Elite 8, and LSU beating Duke to make the Elite 8, and then getting my Final Four and Title picks right. Needless to say, I'm not optimistic. Anyway, let's look at the best and worst from Firday's action.

Best play: Do I even need to write this out? Jermaine Wallace's fade-away three with 0.5 seconds to beat a senior-laden Iowa team in what might have been Steve Alford's last game at Iowa. An instant classic, and one that goes into the video archive for future viewing.

Most Disappoing Teams: Kansas and Michigan St. Iowa lost as well, but they at least should have won if not for a miracle shot in the end. Kansas and Michigan St., however, were just outplayed the whole game. I realize Bradley is a very good club, but Kansas was playing so well. They just beat Texas last week to win the Big 12 Title. By the numbers, they were the most efficient defensive team in the nation. But Bradley just beat them all over the place. As for Michigan St., we probably should have seen this coming. Loads of talent, but no D. George Mason, without their 2nd leading scorer, did whatever they wanted offensively against the Spartans. Shocking to see from a Tom Izzo coached team.

Best Announcer: As usual, Bill Raftery stood out. I love this guy.

Least Excited Announcer: Len Elmore. Don't get me wrong, I still like him, but SHOW A LITTLE EXCITEMENT. Maybe this is only noticeable because he was working with likeable but very exciteable Gus Johnson, but the only times I heard Elmore get excited is when he was sarcastically correcting Johnson, which got a little annoying.

Worst Announcing Duo: Jim Nantz and Billy Packer. Like Elmore, I don't mind these guys, but I like them less than I used to. Maybe it has to do with having to hear their conversation with Craig Littlepage last week, but for some reason I don't like them as much. Give me Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery everyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

The "You Guys are Probably Going to Need to Play Better Than This to Win in Future Rounds" Award: Texas and Connecticut. UConn trailed 16 seed Albany by 12 with as little as 11 minutes left, and I don't think they took the lead for good around the 6 or 7 minute mark. This one week after they got beat by Syracuse. As for Texas, they struggled the whole game against Ivy League champion Penn. Maybe I forgot to mention this, but these two teams are in my National Title Game. I'm a little worried. Honorable mention goes to North Carolina and Ohio St., who barely snuck by a 14 seed and 15 seed respectively.

The "Oh they had a game today?" Award: Wisconson. Did these guys forget to show up. I realize Atrizona is an athletic team, but 94 POINTS? Against a Bo Ryan coached team in the NCAA Tournament? Shocking.

Some other awards for the weekend:

Best game of Saturday: Washington vs. Illinois. Two good teams, each with a star player, even play good defense, and each are well-coached. That should be a fun one to watch.

Best game of Sunday: Villanova vs. Arizona. As Arizona showed today, they've got a high-powered offense. Villanova certainly didn't show theirs today, but they have one too. This will be high scoring, and a lot closer than the seeds indicate.

The "My Bracket's Hopes Rest on This Game" Award: Georgetown vs. Ohio St. Aside from the obvious, like keeping my Final Four teams involved, I need a Georgetown upset. Anything less and you can stick a fork in my bracket.

The "Game Most Likely to be Hyped up Because of the Names of the Teams Involved" Award: Connecticut vs. Kentucky. Despite a win today, Kentucky is not that good. On paper, they have no business staying anywhere near UConn. But we all know these games aren't played on paper but by the little men in our TV sets.

And with that, I wish you happy viewing of the Tourney this weekend!