Wisdom: Round 2

I am Orso'Grande.

Last Monday, in THIS post, we offerred to share our knowledge. We explained that our wonderfulness was not to be wasted on filling out brackets, so that idiots could crib them and wave them about in between rounds of beer-pong. No, indeed.

Instead, we identified eight games that presented serious possibility of upset. We did not guarantee that all eight games would produce upsets -- that would be ridiculous. But we gave you much to work with. What you did with it is your business. (And, as a bonus, we handed our readers the tie-breaker, by predicting a Monmouth victory in the play-in game. You're welcome.)

Herewith those eight games, and their outcomes:

• Texas A&M over Syracuse -- The Orangemen lose, Gerry McNamara scores 2 points.
  
  
• Southern Illinois over West Virginia -- The real Mountaineers show up, no upset.
  
  
• NC State over Cal -- The Wolfpack reminds us about the ACC, Cal reminds us about the Pac 10. Like I told you. Particularly sweet, as the Gentleman Farmer has an unaccountable soft spot for State.
  
  
• San Diego St. over Indiana -- Indiana shows it's not dead yet. We're wrong, but the important word is "yet."
  
  
• Utah State over Washington -- The Huskies win it, we're wrong, the Oldtimer is happy.
  
  
• George Mason over Michigan State -- Like we thought, State is "streaky." Not any more this year.
  
  
• Winthrop over Tennessee -- The vastly overrated Vols manage to pull out a two-point victory on a shot at the buzzer.
  
  
• Montana over Nevada -- Nevada keeps alive its streak of failing to beat anyone good, losing to Montana.

In the second round, the remaining 32 teams will play 16 games. We identified 8 potential upsets in the first round.

For the second round, with so many teams struggling, it's easier to pick an upset than it is to be confident about mortal locks.

One quarter of the second round games are locks. Bet the farm:

• West Virginia over Northwest State -- No more magic.
  
  
• Pitt over Bradley -- Cinderella loses her slipper. Pitt will underestimate NOBODY with the Sweet 16 on the line.
  
  
• UCONN over Kentucky -- The Huskies are embarrassed about Albany, and they should be. You can bet that no one missed bed check, no one was late for practice. UCONN in a walk.
  
  
• BC over Montana -- Like UCONN, BC got a wake-up call in the first round. They're thankful that they're around to answer the horn for the second round.

And one quarter of the second round games have high upset potential. Don't bet your lunch money, but think carefully about:

• Georgetown over Ohio State -- This was my favorite second-round upset BEFORE OSU was losing at half time to Davidson.
  
  
• Wichita State over Tennessee -- My second favorite. And not even because of WSU, but because Tennessee is playing so poorly they deserve to lose. And the second round (not the first) is where teams (good and bad) get what they deserve.
  
  
• George Washington beats Duke -- I said it. GW can play at the same level as Duke, while Duke has shown that they're more than capable of not playing at the same level as Duke. But I think GW has such a chip on their shoulder from being seeded 8, while losing only 2 games, that they'll pull it off.
  
  
• 'Zona over 'Nova -- I'm rooting for Villanova every game, but I think Arizona may be too much for them. Arguably the toughest 8-seed in town, Arizona has the players and the coach. They did it in the Pac-10, they were a top 10 team during the regular season, and they could do it to the guys from the Main Line. The game will rest on the shoulders of the injured Allan Ray who led Villanova to victory yesterday. Can he do it again?