First Day of the Tournament - I Need Sleep

(Western Kentucky pulls off another 12 over a 5 seed upset)

Day one of the NCAA Tournament is in the books. My brackets are doing surprisingly well, thanks in large part to having complete confidence in Maryland and Western Kentucky after I saw their first round match-ups. No big surprises to speak of. There is stuff to discuss, like the heavily tattooed white guys on Northern Iowa and the cardiac episodes induced by Memphis early on in the day. But I'll get to those things later. Right now...I desperately need to sleep for more than 4 hours. This will be the first time in a long while. In the mean time, please feel free to leave some comments about your thoughts on the first day of the tournament or anything else you'd like to rant about. I'd love to hear from anybody and everybody as we move towards the weekend. This blog is a blog of the people after all. Day two of the madness is a mere 9 hours away.

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Conference Tournament Results: March 9th & 10th

Seven more Conference Tournament Champions were crowned over the past two days. My winning percentage has improved slightly...that's the good news. The bad news is that Davidson and Butler did not win their conference tournaments. I really thought those selections were money in the bank. I was also a complete MORON for not picking Gonzaga. I apologize to you CJS, we totally had a solidarity thing going and I betrayed you. I'll make sure not to do that in the future. Again...these will not be the most interesting entries on my blog, but I want to be transparent with my readers and report my results.

West Coast Conference:

• Actual Champion: Gonzaga (12th NCAA appearance, 11th in a row)
• My Predicted Champion: Saint Mary's (lost in finals to Gonzaga)
• Bracket Winning Percentage: 71.4% (5 of 7 games correct)
• Overall Bracket Winning Percentage: 66.7% (24 of 36 games correct)
• Overall Predicted Champion Winning Percentage: 20% (1 of 5 correct)

Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference:

• Actual Champion: Siena (5th NCAA appearance, 2nd in a row)
• My Predicted Champion: Siena
• Bracket Winning Percentage: 77.8% (7 of 9 games correct)
• Overall Bracket Winning Percentage: 68.9% (31 of 45 correct)
• Overall Predicted Champion Winning Percentage: 33.3% (2 of 6 correct)

Southern Conference:

• Actual Champion: Chattanooga (10th NCAA appearance, first since 2005)
• My Predicted Champion: Davidson (lost in semi-finals to College of Charleston)
• Bracket Winning Percentage: 54.5% (6 of 11 games correct)
• Overall Bracket Winning Percentage: 66.1% (37 of 56 correct)
• Overall Predicted Champion Winning Percentage: 28.6% (2 of 7 correct)

Colonial Athletic Association:

• Actual Champion: Virginia Commonwealth (9th NCAA appearance, first since 2007)
• My Predicted Champion: Virginia Commonwealth
• Bracket Winning Percentage: 54.5% (6 of 11 games correct)
• Overall Bracket Winning Percentage: 64.2% (43 of 67 correct)
• Overall Predicted Champion Winning Percentage: 37.5% (3 of 8 correct)

Sun Belt Conference:

• Actual Champion: Western Kentucky (21st NCAA appearance, 2nd in a row)
• My Predicted Champion: Western Kentucky
• Bracket Winning Percentage: 75% (9 of 12 games correct)
• Overall Bracket Winning Percentage: 65.8% (52 of 79 correct)
• Overall Predicted Champion Winning Percentage: 44.4% (4 of 9 correct)

Horizon League:

• Actual Champion: Cleveland State (2nd NCAA appearance, first since 1986)
• My Predicted Champion: Butler (lost in finals to Cleveland State)
• Bracket Winning Percentage: 66.7% (6 of 9 games correct)
• Overall Bracket Winning Percentage: 65.9% (58 of 88 correct)
• Overall Predicted Champion Winning Percentage: 40% (4 of 10 correct)

Summit League:

• Actual Champion: North Dakota State (1st ever NCAA appearance)
• My Predicted Champion: North Dakota State
• Bracket Winning Percentage: 71.4% (5 of 7 games correct)
• Overall Bracket Winning Percentage: 66.3% (63 of 95 correct)
• Overall Predicted Champion Winning Percentage: 45.5% (5 of 11 correct)

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Conference Tournaments Starting March 4th

Many remember the joy and disappointment provided by a scrappy Belmont squad last season when they took the evil Duke Blue Devils down to the wire in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Located in Nashville, Belmont University became part of the college basketball lexicon for many that night. But if you had been reading this blog...you would have known about Belmont well before that, when I picked them to win the Atlantic Sun Tournament. One of the reasons I fill out 30 Conference Tournament brackets is because the act of doing so is ridiculous. Another reason is that it provides an opportunity (for the readers and for myself) to know about these smaller schools before their coming out party in the Big Dance. You're welcome in advance. Three more Conference Tournaments begin tonight in the Patriot, Atlantic Sun, and Sunbelt. As always, my predicted champion is in bold.

• Patriot League - American - I'm predicting them to win the Patriot League Championship game...providing a dramatic conclusion to my "Props To The Patriot League #2" column. Unfortunately for Bill Simmons, Bob Casey Jr., and many other Holy Cross alumni, American University is better. Should be a good tournament though...last year, all four first-round games were decided by three points or less. Notable Seeds: #1 American, #2 Holy Cross (props to Chaz), #3 Navy, #5 Lehigh, #7 Bucknell (props to Josh)

• Atlantic Sun - Belmont - Jacksonville is somehow the #1 seed in this tournament, but I GUARANTEE they don't win it all. Belmont has won this conference tournament and reached the NCAA's for three consecutive seasons. Mercer is a very intriguing 6 seed as they defeated both Alabama and Auburn on the road this season. Lipscomb is a great sleeper pick here as the #4 seed. They have won 8 games in a row, including victories over all three teams above them in the seeding. I'm going with Belmont to do it again. They've been here many times before and they know what it takes. This class of seniors will cap off their careers by making the Big Dance four times. Notable seeds: #1 Jacksonville, #2 East Tennessee State, #3 Belmont (props to Ben), #4 Lipscomb, #6 Mercer

• Sun Belt - Western Kentucky - South Alabama was one of my bracket busters last season, but they have fallen on hard times. Most of these teams are of no consequence except for Western Kentucky or Troy. Located in Alabama, Troy University is on fire...losing only 2 games since New Year's Day, by a total of 3 points. Western Kentucky is notorious for defeating my adopted Drake team last season in a classic #5 vs. #12 upset. If I can't beat them, I'm going to join them. Notable Seeds: #1 Western Kentucky, #2 Arkansas-Little Rock, #3 Troy, #4 North Texas, #6 South Alabama, #7 Denver, #10 New Orleans, #12 Arkansas State

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