Where they stand after the first weekend of play
 
Mar. 19, 2007

The first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament was kind of like watching Tiger Woods play in a club championship -- total domination by those who were expected to win. Punctuated only by Duke's early exit, a feat which hadn't occurred since 1996, and a handful of upsets, the ides of March Madness left little to be wary of for the higher seeds.

For the most part, our team of professional golfers but bracket-picking amateurs did not call the first round well. With many expecting a large number of upsets, the lack of Cinderellas left their brackets as ugly as, well, the stepsisters.

The leader in the clubhouse after the first round was Nick Watney, choosing 26 of the 32 teams correctly. Watney's bracket was looking good, especially since he chose Duke to go out in the first round, but overestimated the VCU Rams' upset powers and incorrectly predicted them to make it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Troy Matteson was second following the first round, with 25 of 32 correct. Most of our golfers hovered around par, or approximately 22 out of 32 right. If this were golf and the player with the lowest score could lead, then the honor would go to Johnson Wagner, who was 18-for-32.

In the second round of the tournament, Matteson passed Watney, as he picked 12 of the Sweet 16. Zach Johnson and Dicky Pride each got 11 right. The golfers fared better in this round, with most at least getting nine correct.

The big basketball upset in the round of 32 was No. 2 seed Wisconsin falling to UNLV and only Charley Hoffman and Mike Hulbert called that one. Wisconsin native and University of North Carolina grad Mark Wilson wanted his two schools to meet up in the final game, but with Wisconsin bowing out early it looks like he'll have to wait until next year.

Only Pride, who foresaw Wisconsin as the last team standing, saw his pick to win it all go out of the tournament. Though Johnson Wagner must have had quite a scare, since his National Champion pick Ohio State pulled off a last-second three-pointer to push their game against Xavier into overtime, where the Buckeyes -- minus star player Greg Oden, who had fouled out -- eventually prevailed.

Nobody's perfect, including our golfers. Though none had a perfect bracket, Johnson has a pretty sweet eight, correctly picking the entire bottom of his bracket (the West and South regions) to head to the Sweet Sixteen.

The bracket race is simply still too close to call, with most of the golfers still standing a chance. And, just like the rest of the country, they'll have to wait and see how the (so far at least) less-than-exciting NCAA tournament pans out.

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