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.

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. . . .

It was a convtroversial ending for anyone who watched — there was what seemed to be a pretty blatant charge against a Georgia player, and it went uncalled — but the game is over, nonetheless, and UGA walked out the victor over the Wildcats.

UGA will face Mississippi State tonight, just six short hours after their win today. As a Georgia Tech (and Tennessee) fan, it’s hard for me to actually root for Georgia, but let’s be real: UT vs. UGA is a lot more appealing than anything else; Felton’s squad is just above a high school squad, an though they’ve played great the last couple of days, I can’t see them keeping this kind of pace up against a Top 5 team.

In other College Basketball news, UNC is trailing VT right now by 6 points with 13:00 left in the second half; Wisconsin is down to Michigan State by three in the first half, Texas is up seven at halftime against Oklahoma, and Memphis beat the hell out of Division II Tulsa to win the Conference USA Championship, as if anyone really cares to win the Conference USA Championship.

Houston 64, Memphis 77: Every time I write about this team, it seems they’ve just played another .500 patsy. They play good defense on paper, but I think this might be a high-seeded, early exit come March Madness.

Kentucky 65, Vandy 67: Seems like a long time ago that everyone was getting pumped up about Kentucky’s game with Florida that might catapult them into the top 10 (they lost, of course). Kentucky’s lost four of their last five, and still have to play Georgia and then travel down Florida to finish the season. They lose those two, I’m not sure they’ll get a bid.

Duke 67, St. John’s 50: It’s unfortunate, but it also seems like a long time ago that we were discussing the possibility of Duke not making the Dance. They’ve rattled off four-straight, and Greg Paulus — who just seems really irritating to watch — is finally starting to contribute on offense.

North Carolina 87, Maryland 89: Well, you can go ahead and stamp Maryland as being in the tournament. I’m wondering who’s fallen faster: UNC, Wisconsin or Florida.

Ohio State 64, Penn State 62: The Buckeyes led this one 40-19 at halftime, but apparently a Nittany Lion is a pesky lion. Greg Oden had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and in the ESPN day of Greg Oden Goodness, nothing else matters. He shoots left handed, right handed, blocks shots, wins games, and occasionally saves a life. My question: Is this guy really only 18, or is this like the little league world series where you find out these kids aren’t 11 at all, but really 30?

Alabama 67, Florida 76: It’s going to be hard for me to not pick this team to win it all. I hate going with everybody’s favorite, but they’re just too deep: Four of their five starters had double digits, and they outscored ‘Bama 45-25 in the second half when they really had to turn it on.

Wisconsin 75, Minnesota 62: It’s been official for a while, but I’ll go ahead and announce it now: Alando Tucker is a badass. He had 29 points and 9 boards, but I still think that Wisconsin is going to get hurt in The Dance, because they simply don’t have guards that can shoot.

Memphis 69, Tulsa 52: Memphis held Tulsa to 16-50 from the field. You don’t need to see a score to know Memphis won (but I provided you with one, anyway; it’s called being generous). I hate to harp on something I’ve already mentioned 250 times, but one of Memphis’ three losses was to Georgia Tech. . . just hoping the committee is reading.

Utah 43, Air Force 69: This might be a popular sleeper come March. They control the ball, they shoot threes, and they have solid big men. Their one problem: No guards, much like Wisconsin.