How are your brackets this morning? Woe to all of those folks who picked Kansas to not only obliterate Bradley, but also go on a deliver a spanking to Pittsburgh. How about Iowa? How far did you have them going? Michigan State's early exit wasn't all that expected, either - nor was Oklahoma's. So, the way its broken down thus far... The Big Ten and Big East are leading in major conference losses right now with 3 each. The highest seeded loser was Iowa at #3, followed by Syracuse #5. The other losers in the Big East were Marquette (7) and Seton Hall (10), while the Big Ten also had Wisconsin (9) and Michigan State (6) dropping out. The biggest winner overall was the ACC - a stellar 4-0 record in the first round. Their seedings included a 1, 10, 3 & 4. The SEC also performed well, tying the Big East with the most conference wins in the first round with 5. The mid-majors performed well, but how will they hold up today & tomorrow as they go against tougher, better teams? More important, did any of the big upsets zap your bracket? Not mine - I did have Syracuse and Seton Hall getting into the sweet 16, but I'd dropped Iowa and Kanasa in the second round games. My other bracket is completely intact - an amazing feat given my history at picking teams in this tournament. So long as UConn doesn't get upset early, I'm in good position. Otherwise, I've just donated some money to someone else. So at least I'm still hopeful! Of the teams that were upset, I don't think any of them were really major upsets in truth. I was shaky on both Iowa and Kansas - picking Big East teams to beat them to get into the Sweet 16. I rarely pick Cinderellas to go far - it usually plays out that the stronger seeded teams win in the end. The draw will get more interesting after today's game, and we'll be well on our way to finding the 2006 national champion.