There's really nothing better than a good NCAA Tournament upset - not the kind that makes you mad, like a No. 11 seed from some unknown conference dashing your hopes of flipping over cars in an intoxicated, glorious rage.
Rather, I'm talking about those awesome games where a heavy favorite, preferably not from the Big East, struggles with a directional state school - hey there, Central Connecticut - until the waning moments, when the upset is pulled. They are what makes the first two days of the tournament so captivating.
With that in mind, there are a few lower-seeded teams that struck me as I filled out my eighth bracket this week:
George Washington - No. 11 seed, East Regional
Obviously, being named after a Revolutionary War general, first president, father of our country and teen sex symbol is a plus for any team.
But there's at least two reasons I like them to spring an upset. First, GW coach Karl Hobbs is a protégé of one Jim Calhoun. If Hobbs can get as much out of his players as Calhoun did out of Marty Gagne, I'd feel pretty good about the Colonials' chances.
Second, of course, is GW's strategy. Like the school's namesake, their plan is to stay away from superior opposition, to delay open battle against better-trained foes. Then, when the chips are down, they will go kill Hessians and wait for support from the French.
The chances of all this happening? Much better than you'd think - George Washington 75, Vanderbilt 67.
Syracuse - Not important, South Regional
The Orange are a scrappy bunch, and they'll need every bit of that hustle to get past a tough first-round match-up with South Alabama. Of course, I just can't see them getting by that juggernaut Missouri State program in the second round.
I do expect that upwards of 8,000 or 9,000 people will jam, or at least sparsely fill, the 30,000-seat Carrier Dome for what should be an excellent weekend of pointless, pointless basketball.
On a serious note, I thought Syracuse getting shuffled into the NIT was a travesty, but I suppose that's what happens when you lose to prestige-less teams like Drexel, St. John's and UConn.
Jackson State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi - Nos. 15 and 16, Midwest Regional
I don't think I've ever thoroughly enjoyed a 15-16 combination like these two teams.
Jackson State brings an experienced pedigree to the NCAA Tournament. They defeated Rutgers at the Rutgers Athletic Center this season, automatically making them the 14th-place team in the Big East.
Plus, they have Trey Johnson, who scores 27 points per game and is the only JSU player CBS announcers will be legally required to research and talk about.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is a different story. Not only did they make the tournament in the first year in the Southland Conference, but their coach is named Ron Arrow. If I ever changed my name, "Ron Arrow" would be right up there with "Maximilian Bluffington" in my top two choices.
Two other things to watch: Jackson State has a player whose first name is Martinez, while Corpus Christi's fourth-leading scorer is Manuel "Scooby" Johnson, so that's always fun.
A sidenote regarding the Midwest region: please avoid taking No. 11 seed Winthrop over Notre Dame in the first round. That game is everyone's upset special. Literally, everyone. Even Notre Dame fans are picking Winthrop because the Eagles are 28-4 and took Wisconsin to overtime.
However, there is a principle here, which I'd like to dub the "Gonzaga Rule:" Mid-major teams with high expectations always fail early, while the surprises come when they are least expected.
In Gonzaga's case, they were a No. 2 seed in 2004 before getting demolished by 10th-seeded Nevada in the second round.
On the other hand, they made their famous run to the Elite Eight in 1999 as a No. 10 seed no one had ever heard of.
Similarly, since the common wisdom is that Winthrop is the most likely team to pull an upset, their expectations will be too high and they should roll over for the Irish. With that in mind, my final upset special is …
Gonzaga - No. 10 seed, West Regional
Here's an excellent chance for my rule to gain some evidence. The 'Zags lost two players, including star Josh Heytvelt, after being arrested with marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms reportedly in their possession. The expectation level for this team dropped considerably after that.
Thus, if the rule is true, they'll probably beat Indiana in the first round and take UCLA to the limit in the second round. Meanwhile, Heytvelt will celebrate his team's success before being attacked by a pack of imaginary wolves. You win some, you lose some.
Keep these teams in mind for the first weekend, and I'm sure your bracket will be just fine. I'll be sitting back, hoping our two CBS channels are showing different games and cursing out whoever knocks out my national champion pick in the second round.
Kevin Meacham's column runs every Wednesday. He can be reached at kevin.meacham @ uconn.edu.
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