The life has been sucked out of this town since the Sunday of round 2. It’s amazing to see how many people living here in Lawrence don’t really care about basketball– just KU basketball. Everyone I talked to said “wait until March Madness, the town is so fun around that time.” I guess that was assuming the Jayhawks would make a deep run in the tourney. After what I have seen out of Naadir Tharpe the past few weeks, I’m no longer as confident about Kansas’ title chances come next year. Am I out of line for questioning this guy’s judgment?

We’re down to the Final Four. If you picked Wisconsin, Florida, Kentucky, and UCONN in your final four, then congratulations, you’re a liar…. the sweet sixteen was anything but sweet for my bracket, and now I only have one team left standing. The dream is over. I had KU taking it all last year, and my bracket then wasn’t anywhere near as disastrous as this year (and this is the MOST college hoops I have watched in a very long time). Regardless of how I picked ’em, I’m very happy with the match-ups for next weekend. The last two rounds brought some phenomenal games–especially the ones involving Kentucky. Let’s pause for a minute and reflect on the run UK is on. K-State, an undefeated Shockers team, Louisville in an epic game, then Michigan in a barn burner–you gotta give Coach Calimari props.

Poor officiating aside (been a long running story all season), its been a heck of a tournament. I really enjoyed the Iowa State -UCONN matchup. Shabazz Napier went ham, and has made me a believer. He was in control of the game the whole time, and got to the rack whenever he wanted. Deandre Kane only got 16 points on 18 shots, but it was only a matter of time until they ran out of steam after losing their starting center. Props to Iowa State for the season they had. With the “Mayor” running the helm up in Ames, I feel confident that they will push KU next year for that Big 12 regular season title.

Frank Kaminksy and the Wisconsin Badgers have made me question my beliefs about the Big Ten conference. Even though they are so boring to watch, they still find ways to win. They play defense and they are well coached. I’m not sure if they’ll have enough to keep Kentucky from making it an all SEC final. The same can be said for UCONN and Napier.

I really enjoyed Grant Hill’s analysis and insight this tournament. He has a great sense of humor and wears awesome suits. It’s hard to freely give so many compliments to a Duke guy, but man the cat is as smooth off the court as he was on the court. I hope I can raise a son to grow up to be that classy.

Lastly, I’m sorry to say goodbye to the last set of really hot cheerleaders. University of Arizona is a close third to UCLA and Arizona State for hottest cheerleaders in the nation. I see now how they get recruits down to that part of the country. If I were a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers, Pac-12 games would be my bread and butter. It’s probably a good thing I’m not one, because you’d probably find me on Reddit, with a selfie of me and two of Arizona’s finest. Some good games this week, and I’m not just talking about the tournament. Don’t get too excited about the Spurs-Thunder on Thursday night. It’s a back-to-back for San Antonio and “Pops” will probably rest the starters. Just saying.