The first weekend has passed with barely an upset. Xavier was on the brink of pulling the upset of the tournament and making The Dean look like a genius (see post from 3/9/07) but a missed foul shot, followed by a deep but uncontested three doomed the Musketeers and sent this guy on a search for an elixir.

In my opinion there was only one true upset in the first two rounds, and that was UNLV’s win over Wisconsin. Even that upset wasn’t all too shocking when you consider that UNLV is a senior dominated team and has a point guard that is not only the coaches son but also a 5th year player. What that says is, the Rebs have some experience, and that can’t be overlooked this time of year. On top of that, the Runnin’ Rebels came into the NCAAs hot and have kept it going. But aside from them, I will argue that none of the other lower seeded wins over higher seeded teams were actually upsets.

The ‘biggest’ upsets in comparing seeds were VCU over Duke and Wintrop of Notre Dame. If you lined the players of both teams up, ignored their uniforms and judged them solely on their talent, the best players were on VCU and Winthrop. This was without question a bad year for Duke and to be honest, they didn’t deserve a #6 seed. Is it really an upset if most people predicted it? I don’t think so. That segues nicely into the Winthrop-Notre Dame game. During the regular season the Eagles lost only 4 games, all on the road and to the following teams: North Carolina, Maryland, Wisconsin and Texas A&M. There is no shame in those 4 losses. The argument can also be made that Winthrop deserved to be seeded higher. An 8 seed for this team would not have been out of the question. Winthrop also had more tournament experience than the Fighting Irish, so to call this an upset, again, if you have to go ahead, but it really wasn’t.

Now on to the Sweet 16 and The Dean’s prediction of which teams will emerge and square off in the Final Four.

St. Louis Region: Florida

The Gators have won four of the last five post-season tournaments they have participated in; this team knows how to win at this time of year. Just like the New England Patriots, how do you go against Florida? Butler’s physical style may keep the game close, but Purdue was a physical team and the Gators eventually shed them. Neither Oregon nor UNLV has what it takes to knock off the Gators.

San Jose Region: Pittsburgh

UCLA prides itself on ugly wins. The Bruins next game is against the King of Ugly Wins. The Panthers are scrappy, resilient and have a big body in the middle (Aaron Gray) that will cause problems for UCLA. Let’s also remember back to UCLA’s lone game against a Big East foe this year, a loss at West Virginia. What carries Pitt passed UCLA will be what serves them well in the next round against either Southern Illinois or Kansas, and that is there defense.

East Rutherford Region: North Carolina

The Tar Heels matchup very well with USC and will then face either Georgetown or Vanderbilt. The Trojans played a great game against Texas, but North Carolina is not a one-man show like the Longhorns. I expect UNC to meet Georgetown in the next round, and that will be the premier game of the Elite 8. The Hoyas size, athleticism and quickness may prove too much for UNC but Roy Hibbert, the Hoyas 7’ 2” center has been proving to be too clumsy and awkward to be the difference maker he should be. Jeff Green is an awesome player and will show everyone his game, but The Dean sees the Tar Heels coming out of the swamplands and heading to Atlanta.

San Antonio: Texas A&M

The Aggies are essentially playing at home while Memphis needs to find a way to overcome the injury to leading scorer Chris Douglas-Roberts. It hasn’t been announced whether he will play or not, but even if he does he will be nowhere near 100% which is where Memphis needs to be in order to win this game. It is too bad he is hurt, as this great game will be a little diminished. Ohio St. didn’t deserve to win against Xavier, but that doesn’t change the fact that they have moved on. Their escape on Saturday is sometimes indicative of luck being on a team’s side which is never a bad thing to have, especially this time of year. Should the Buckeyes defeat Tennessee, they will be no match for A&M’s athleticism and defense. Xavier showed how to play Oden, and the Aggies have the people to do the same and advance to Atlanta.