We are through Round 1, and whatever drama was lacking on Day 1 was more than made up for on Day 2. Two #4 seeds have been expelled, and neither are that much of a surprise. Vanderbilt lost to a very good Siena team in a game that was previewed by all the experts to go exactly as it turned out. Siena took it to Vandy from the get-go and showed the nation that just because Siena doesn’t play in a high-powered conference, it doesn’t mean they can’t play with the high-powered teams. UConn was the other #4 seed to fall, and while it was certainly an upset, it was an upset more in name than in reality. Much like Duke, this UConn team is not as good as the teams that have given the Huskies their well deserved reputation. On top of that, UConn did not finish the year strong and then lost their point guard to injury early in yesterday’s game. That being said, hats off to San Diego for salvaging a bit of pride for the West Coast Conference which took some shots for getting 3 teams in the tournament. (The other two were Gonzaga and St. Mary’s . . . both lost).

Going through the conferences, I believed and spoke loudly to all that would listen, about the strength of the Big East. They backed it up by going 7-1 in the First Round with UConn being the lone loser. Villanova was the lone Big East team to ‘upset’ their opponent, being a 12 seed and defeating 5th seeded Clemson. This reinforces what Tmac by the Bay spoke about on the show the other night, where the ACC is a top heavy conference and the Big East is strong throughout. Add Duke’s near loss to Belmont into the mix and you can make the argument that the ACC is a one-team conference this year, that one team being North Carolina. The same can be said for the Pac-10 where USC’s loss the other night leaves the Pac-10 in a position of showing their true colors of being a one-team conference, UCLA.

The Big East will really be able to claim conference supremacy with a good showing today by Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Marquette and West Virginia. Notre Dame and Marquette square off against two good Pac-10 teams, Washington St. and Stanford respectively. While Pitt plays Michigan St. and West Virginia faces Duke. Pitt is the only Big East team going today that is the higher-seeded team. From a betting perspective, this presents us bettors with tremendous value. I like both Notre Dame and West Virginia to win their games. Notre Dame is +2.5 and +125 and West Virginia is +4 and +160. I am a parlay freak, so expect me to double those two team together.

Marquette meanwhile will have their hands full with Stanford in a game that presents opposing styles of play and matchup problems for both. Marquette is +3 and +135. I am undecided on this game from a betting perspective, but all my rooting interests are behind the team from Milwaukee. Pitt finds themselves -2 and -140, not a bad bet but with Michigan State’s experience and senior leadership, certainly not a lock for the Panthers.

Speaking of the Big 10, Indiana showed their true colors last night in losing by 14 to Arkansas. Wisconsin, Michigan St. and Purdue remain from the Big 10. Wisconsin faces Kansas St. in a game of two very different teams. KSU is led by a superstar Freshman while the Badgers are the epitome of a team. Wisconsin can lull you to sleep and may not blow anyone away, but they are good and should prevail today. Purdue on the other hand beat a Baylor team in the first round that barely got in the tournament and today faces Xavier, a team that can play Purdue’s physical style and also run much better than the Boilermakers. Expect the Musketeers to win this game.

The other games not touched on are, Kansas vs. UNLV, and UCLA vs. Texas A&M. Neither top seeded team should have much trouble.