2008 NCAA Tournament Bracket Reaction

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Brackets! Yes! Sorry for the delay: I've been cranking on my usual morning Sporting News column, which will go up tonight (hopefully in a few minutes), because -- let's face it -- why wait for the morning the same analysis that I'm totally geeked up to offer an hour after the brackets are revealed? Here's the link. I'll update when it's up.

Let me throw out a few thoughts:

Nothing in the bracket reveal made me question my long-standing pick that UCLA would win the national title...

I do not think that any of the other three 1-seeds will make it to San Antonio...

Texas losing the Big 12 title game to Kansas will prove the best thing that could have happened to them, because they are the 2-seed... in a region that ends in Houston...

I love that Drake is a dreaded 5-seed...

I love that Georgia is a 14-seed (and that they are in the Tournament at all -- apologies to whichever at-large team was bounced to make room for them)...

I love that Butler drew South Alabama -- in Birmingham...

I love that we're going to see Michael Beasley vs. OJ Mayo in the first round (though remember what USC did to Kevin Durant last year in the first weekend)...

I am fascinated that the last team in is so obvious (Villanova, the only at-large 12-seed) but equally fascinated how unimpressive the 11-seed and 10-seed at-large teams are...

I have no sympathy for Arizona State, even in comparison to Arizona (which seems damning on its face). Every year someone gets screwed, but it's at the margin -- every team left out had plenty of opportunities to not just crack the edge of the field, but get squarely into the 9-seed/10-seed range. Honestly, I feel for Arizona State fans, but it happens.

I do not like how many of the Top 16 teams I have in my Sweet 16...

"Gut" Final Four based on my as-they-are-announced pass through the bracket (plus long-standing biases that inform them): UCLA, Texas, Tennessee, Georgetown. (Champ: UCLA over Tennessee... although I could talk myself into picking Hoyas over Vols in the semifinal.)

Much more tomorrow. Leave your own thoughts in the comments. I'll be checking the list and updating the comments all night and early tomorrow.

UPDATE: Read this in the New York Times. I did, then about 10 seconds after finishing I emailed the author for the URL to his rankings, which he kindly sent me.

I usually don't second-guess my picks, but his rankings have made me seriously re-think KO'ing Clemson in the first round to last-team-in Villanova (who I then take to the Sweet 16, ignoring how good Vandy has looked at times this season -- not to mention their Tournament success a year ago). Oh, and did I mention that I have Kent State beating Kansas, before beating the winner of that Clemson-Nova-Vandy-Siena sub-region? (Conveniently overlooking that I have NEVER SEEN KENT STATE PLAY.)

Ack: The top half of my Midwest region is FREAKING. ME. OUT.

-- D.S.