You can view it here. And though I haven’t looked into next year’s rosters, and really have no clue who’s going to be good and who isn’t, I find it odd that they put UNC as the No. 3 team under the assumption that Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson return. If that’s the case, Danny Green and Tyler Hansboro will be the only players gone, Marcus Ginyard will be back, and Ed Davis will take over for Tyler Hansboro, and he showed in this tournament that he can definitely handle the load.

Anyway, enjoy the preseason, way too early top 25. It is what I thought it was.

[Rivals]

If you went through the bracket when they were first given, and you said, “You know what, I think I’m going to have the top 16 teams in the Sweet 16,” then you’re probably doing pretty well right now, given that Arizona and Wisconsin (both 12 seeds) are the only two “surprise” teams in there, if you can call them that.

The best game waiting in the flats? Mizzou and Memphis sure looks tasty, and I think watching guards play guards in Duke and Villanova will be fun. My original Final Four was Villanova, Mizzou, Louisville and UNC. If I had to go back and change it, I’d swap Mizzou out and insert Uconn, who’s been beating teams like they’re a high school Texas all girls team (it’s a hundred point reference, people).

The rest should be entertaining. The tournament resumes this Thursday.

…. everyone called in sick to work, even a mouse (yeah, couldn’t think of anything better than rhymed with house).

Tomorrow marks the madness, and it begins at 12:20, sharp, with Butler and LSU, then five minutes later kicks off the beating that will be Memphis and CS Northridge, and then five minutes after that we’ve got BYU and Texas A&M.

At 2:30 Purdue and Northern Iowa tip off, which should prove to be a very good game; UCLA and Virginia Commonwealth, thought to be another good one in the hopper, isn’t until after 9:00 p.m., same with Illinois and Western Kentucky, which might very well finish with an upset (if you can call W. Kentucky winning an upset).

All in all, it’ll be a good day. Call in sick to work, sit back, drink some beers (the doctor’s told me it’s a good way to cure the flu), and enjoy the first couple days of March Madness, which are surely two of the best days of sports. My Final Four: Missouri, Villanova, Louisville, UNC, with UNC beating Louisville in the title game. Enjoy the madness, everybody.

What a day it was. I would hvae written this a bit earlier, but a bit earlier I was a bit drunker. Anyway, here’s the recap of yesterday’s action, minus the Duke game (see below).

Kansas State 55, Wisconsin 72: When I filled out my bracket, I was this close to picking Wisconsin to the Final Four, and then backed out. Watching them dominate K-State the entire game yesterday, and watching Kansas struggle a bit, I’m wishing I went with my gut.

Purdue 78, Xavier 85: Purdue started strong, and Xavier started sloppy. The Boilermakers mounted a comeback in the end, but Drew Lavender and C.J. Anderson’s 18-point performances were too much to overcome.

Notre Dame 41, Washington State 61: I picked Notre Dame, falling for the Big East Irish hype. After a 19 point first half and 22 point second half, I was left scratching my head.

Marquette 81, Stanford 82: I was sweating watching this one. My bracket was falling apart before my eyes. The lanky guy for Stanford that sunk the game winning shot? Well, he’s my hero now. Really.

UNLV 56, Kansas 75: This game was actually kinda close, but Kansas has just got too much offense for the Runnin’ Rebels.

Michigan State 65, Pitt 54: Don’t be surprised if MSU makes it to the Final Four. I have them beating Memphis in the Sweet 16, and then losing to Texas in the Elite Eight, but if they made it, I wouldn’t be at all surprised.

Texas A&M 49, UCLA 53: I’m still sweating from this one. . . .

USC 80, Arizona 75: Nick Young and Lodrick Stewart both scored 26 points for USC, which pretty much sums up that they won. Some teams go without scoring 52 points in a college basketball game. This was Arizona’s fourth loss at home this year, and I can thankfully say I won’t be putting any of my eggs in their basket when it comes time to pick my Final Four. . . unlike every other year that Lute Olson deceives me with all the raw talent he has that never really pans out in March.

UCLA 67, Arizona State 61: It was on the road, which is no sure thing in college basketball, but UCLA should be winning by more than six points against a team that’s won as many games. Arron Affalo scored 24 points, and while UCLA is a sure thing to play defense every game, it’s not so certain they’ll have the offense every night.

Oregon 61, Cal 63: Looking at the scores today, you’d think it was Pac-10 night in college basketball. Cal upset the 17th ranked Ducks thanks to Ryan Anderson’s three point play (layup and a foul). Cal snapped a six game losing streak, and Oregon lost its second in a row.

Indiana 68, Purdue 81: David Teague scored 31 points for Purdue, who turned it on in the second half and beat the Hoosiers. Purdue is now 17-9, with some quality wins, which is a good thing for me: Georgia Tech, after all, beat them.