NCAA Bracket 2011: Lessons Learned from Day 1 of Sweet 16

Day one of the Sweet 16 round is behind us now.

Four teams are now in the Elite Eight.

The Sweet 16 had four great games, and we saw another two "upsets."

Butler advanced and is looking for another Final Four appearance, and Arizona upset the reigning champions.

Before everyone glues their eyes to the games tonight, we should look back at last night's games and find out what we learned from them.

1. Butler Is for Real

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WASHINGTON - MARCH 19: Ronald Nored #5 of Butler University celebrates with teammate Shelvin Mack #1 following their game against Pittsburgh in the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at Verizon Center on March 19, 2011 in Washington

Brad Stevens is turning quickly into a March Madness legend.

His Butler Bulldogs have now made two straight Elite Eight appearances.

They look to get back to the championship game for the second straight year as well.

Heck, the way they are playing, they may just pull it off.

The No. 8 seed is far from a Cinderella. They were seen as a dangerous team coming into the tournament with the experience that they had from last season.

Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack make Butler once again a team to cheer for heading into the Final Four.

2. Derrick Williams Is the No. 1 Pick

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ANAHEIM, CA - MARCH 24: Derrick Williams #23 of the Arizona Wildcats reacts after defeating the Duke Blue Devils during the west regional semifinal of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the Honda Center on March 24, 2011 in Anaheim, California.

Last night's performance may have solidified Derrick Williams as the top pick in the NBA draft this year.

Williams had one of his best games of the season against the reigning national champions.

Thirty-two points and 13 rebounds against one of the top teams in the country only solidifies him as the top prospect coming out of college.

Many people, because of the time difference, do not know about Williams or have not been able to watch his games.

The NCAA tournament has exposed the star to the rest of the country.

3. UConn Is Not Just About Kemba Walker

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NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: Jeremy Lamb #3, Kemba Walker #15 Charles Okwandu #35 and Roscoe Smith #22 of the Connecticut Huskies warm up before their game against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the quarterfinals of the 2011 Big East Men's Basketball Tourname

One weakness of the UConn Huskies was supposed to be that the team relied too heavily on Kemba Walker.

While Walker does lead the team by far in scoring, several players have stepped up over the course of the season.

Freshman Jeremy Lamb has been the No. 2 guy behind Walker in the tournament. This postseason, Lamb is averaging 15.6 points per game, which is more than five points over his season average.

4. Jordan Taylor Has Choked

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NEW ORLEANS, LA - MARCH 24: Jordan Taylor #11 of the Wisconsin Badgers reacts during their game against the Butler Bulldogs in the Southeast regional of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at New Orleans Arena on March 24, 2011 in New Orleans, Loui

OK, "choked" may be a little harsh for the Wisconsin leader.

However, Jordan Taylor has not lived up to his regular-season production in the postseason.

In the Big Ten tournament and the NCAA tournament, Taylor shot only 29 percent from the field.

He still scored 20 points in two of those games, with most of his scoring coming from the free-throw line.

Taylor had two terrible games in the NCAA tournament. In the games against Butler and Kansas State, Taylor was taking terrible shots.

It is a good thing Jon Leuer played well, or else Wisconsin would have never gotten to the Sweet 16.

5. Gus Johnson Has to Do the Championship Game

This has nothing to do with the teams, but Gus Johnson should start a social media campaign to promote himself to call the national championship game.

Around the younger generation, Johnson is the premier announcer in all of sports.

His loud and crazy calls have captured the public eye.

Johnson has had a little bit of bad luck this postseason. He has only had really one good game to call, which came in the second round.

If Johnson ever got a chance to call the finals, it might be the best game ever to listen to.