Bracket Watch Week 2: The Bracketing

Well, last week was an eventful one in the NCAA Tournament as it always is. Upsets galore, close games, and Kansas lost early. Everything you could ever want in an NCAA Tournament.

However, I don't care about most of that garbage.

I care about how the divine gods of chance have fared so far in the tournament.

The answer. Not bad.

As a reminder here's the final bracket.

Now here it is with blood on it to mark the defeated.

Notice just how much red there is on the bracket. The tournament was not extremely kind to the coin flip gods. The South and East regions both escaped from the brunt of the wrath. Five of eight made it through to the Round of 32 in the South and a wildly good six of eight made it into the East. Both regions suffered greatly into the Sweet Sixteen though. Only Stanford and Virginia won their second game, but they seem instilled by the destiny of the coin to persist. Both teams are supposed to make the Final Four, and the national champion, Stanford is still alive.

The right side of the bracket is a blood bath. The West and Midwest held a great, frightening and terrible battle the world has not witnessed since the Battle of Antietam. Louisville and SLU barely had their battle and SLU fell to the mighty bird in the Round of 32. Mercer did actually defeat Duke, but the toll the Blue Devils took was too much for the young upstarts. American University, the supposed savior of the 15 seeds lost in the first round and became the first casualty of the coin flip's Final Four.

Michigan, however, endures.

So, in short only three Elite Eight teams remain, but so do three Final Four teams. And the National Championship game is intact. Stanford plays Dayton in the Sweet 16, so the Cardinal may have a chance to get into the Elite Eight and fulfill their prophecy as the coin flip champs.

When we break it down by points as ESPN does. This bracket scores a 180 of 320 for the first round, but just an 80 out of 320 for the second for a total of 240 points. That's definitely somewhere in the bottom 10 percent of the country.

A strong week will bring Stanford, Virginia and Michigan to the gates of Heaven and a berth into the Final Four. It has been foretold and pre-ordained.

Godspeed.

Exactly how it will happen

Okay, let's get started by examining the first round selections. You'll probably have to click on the pictures of the bracket to zoom in and see the whole bracket.

FIRST ROUND

First round sees some huge upsets in the first two days of play - namely the complete meltdowns of two No. 1 seeds, Arizona and Wichita State. Shockers, that's what happens when you don't schedule any teams to actually play against. The Wildcats don't even have an excuse. Not only has a No. 1 seed never lost in the first round, but but two will happen this tournament.

American University and Eastern Kentucky also pull off huge upsets to advance to the second round. The No. 15 seeds look like serious dark horse contenders, even this early. Eastern Kentucky may have been a fluke though considering they only beat legendary choke school, Kansas.

A lot of other high seeds lose their cool and fall on the first day. Iowa State, Michigan State, Duke, San Diego State, and UCLA all pack their bags and head home. It's a truly devastating day for many well established teams. Virginia and Florida keep their heads though.

SWEET 16

Florida loses in a nail-biter to Pitt, leaving only Virginia as the only No. 1 seed left after just two rounds of play. Stanford proves that Eastern Kentucky got lucky, but they'll need some luck of their own to get past Ohio State into the Sweet 16.

Mercer beats U Mass, and become perhaps the most blatant Cinderella team in a bracket full of them. Knocking off Duke in the first round and then destroying the Minutemen. SLU beats Louisville on a buzzer-beater, and American University continues to win by beating BYU after some questionable officiating. New Mexico State raises eyebrows with a win over Oklahoma. Darkness and chaos descend upon the world.

ELITE EIGHT

After upsetting VCU, Stephen F. Austin had a much easier than anticipated road to the Elite Eight, and the No. 12 seed managed to get there after beating Pitt. Stanford continues their run to clinch the other spot in the South, which became a wasteland for high seed teams.

Virginia stands firm for the sanity of the selection committee, and the historical dynasty of the Tarheels find a way to beat Villanova in the East to prove that the world has not gone completely insane.

SLU tops the Wildcats in another close one, but they'll need to beat the No. 2 seed Michigan Wolverines to get to the Final Four. It's another more conventional matchup.

The West remains the most interesting. If just for the fact that American has won again, this time over Baylor. The DC-based school has toppled Wisconsin, BYU and Baylor to make it to the Elite Eight. Now, the true Cinderella just needs to beat Gonzaga to get the school's first entry into the Final Four.

FINAL FOUR AND CHAMPIONSHIP

Infants cry in the streets as the world crashes down around them. Virginia and Michigan both live up to their seedings and make it into the Final Four, but two upstarts in Stanford and American have also made it. Riots erupt on the two campuses in Palo Alto and D.C. The schools eagerly await the final matches to see if they make it to the big dance.

But after the dust settles from the Final Four skirmishes, only on of those schools remains. Michigan triumphs over American at last. But Stanford puts down the last No. 1 seed remaining in the tournament when it beats Virginia by twenty points.

In the final game, the Cardinal takes on the Wolverine. Though neither team ever leads by more than three points the entire game, Michigan goes on top 75-73 with 3.5 seconds left on the clock. Stanford inbounds it and Chasson Randle throws one up from around his own free throw line. The world waits as the buzzer goes off, and the ball sails through the air. It goes through the basket with a satisfying swish. Stanford wins.