March Madness Early Rounds Recap: Taste the Sad

That was a great weekend of basketball. I can't complain about the parity, I find more beauty in chaos anyways. These are some of my thoughts after the first two rounds of the tournament.

What I learned

- Setting up four TVs, delicately arranged in a way that would make Best Buy proud, elevates the first couple days of March Madness to minor holiday status (I am also grateful to be in college where I can take full advantage of my education by skipping classes on both Thursday and Friday).

- Villanova struggled worse than my Grandma on Chatroulette. I can't believe they survived the first round, and it was no surprise when they bowed out of the second round. They did not deserve a No. 2 seed.

- Brandon Jennings is a trendsetter; college athletes aren't flocking to Europe to play ball, but they do seem to appreciate his hairstyle . The faux hawk is in. I saw somewhere between 5-7 scrappy point guards sporting the hairdo in the first round of the tourney. Let's hope his new cut does not become popular next March Madness.

- Don't trust Mormon athletes with awesome names; Jimmer, you broke my heart.  

What I actually learned

- Cornell apparently is an offensive juggernaut, shooting above 50 percent from the field in both of their wins. Two dominating wins over two solid teams means Cornell is the first Ivy League team to reach the Sweet 16 since 1979. Mild celebrations occur all over Ithaca.

- Jordan Crawford is the real deal. His dunk over LeBron James last summer became an Internet phenomenon, but he is not a one-hit wonder. He is one of the best scorers left in the tourney, a sleek combination of a slasher with solid range.

- There's a good chance a team seeded No. 9 or higher will make the Final Four. Typically, these teams would be labeled Cinderella to exemplify their rags-to-riches story. I don't think Cinderella would be a fitting name this year. It should be something like Snow White; she was hot from the beginning, but she didn't get any love because she hung out with dwarfs (MVC, WCC, Ivy, etc.). Finally, the Prince hooks up with her and she wakes up, gains massive popularity, and then she makes the Final Four.

- Kentucky, West Virginia, Duke, Kansas State, and Syracuse all blew through their first two games. Look for the champion to come out of this group of teams. There clearly isn't a wide talent gap between teams, so their runaway victories mean they have the talent and the momentum to win it all. I did not add Ohio State to this group even though they have won their first two games in blowouts, because Evan Turner has been sub-par. Ohio State needs him to show up if they want a championship.

Without a doubt, this has already been the most exciting, frenetic March Madness I have ever witnessed. Let's hope that the rest of the tournament keeps the pace.