2nd Round Day 1 MegaCap

(4) West Virginia/(5) Notre Dame: This is the only game I didn't watch religiously because I had to take a practice ACT (high school, am I right ladies?), but from what I heard, West Virginia had control the entire game and Notre Dame just couldn't get going. I was somewhat surprised at this, as I thought ND would have the offensive firepower to overthrow Press Virginia. 

(1) Villanova/(8) Wisconsin: 

If I was somewhat surprised at the ND result, then you know I was completely stunned by this one. Wisconsin beat Villanova, creating all sorts of nostalgia about Villanova's second round struggles. But seriously, this was more about how great Wisconsin played. They exploited Villanova's weaknesses inside, something that few teams managed to do all year, and Bronson Koenig could not miss a shot. They have a great shot at the Final Four now. 

(1) Gonzaga/(8) Northwestern: 

While Gonzaga dominated about 31 minutes of the game, the headlines will written about the Zach Collins goaltending call that well, wasn't called. It was a blown ruling that the referee should've made. It turned a should-be 3-point game into a 7 point one as Chris Collins got a technical foul arguing over the call. Despite all this, Gonzaga was clearly the superior team and deserved to move on. That said, Northwestern had one helluva year. 

(3) Florida State/(11) Xavier:

Things weren't looking great for the Big East, but then Xavier came along and steamrolled FSU by 25 points. This run is especially impressive because of the absence of Edmond Sumner, their star point guard. Trevon Bluiett, Sean O'Mara, JP Macura and Kaiser Gates have all stepped their games up and as a result, this once despondent team is now in the Sweet 16. 

(4) Butler/(12) Middle Tennessee:

I was really impressed with Butler big man Andrew Chrabascz in this game. Middle Tennessee had no answer for him as he impacted the game inside and out. Middle Tennessee did not play well either, as their starting backcourt combined for zero points. Butler's poise and experience showed in this one as they went wire to wire for the second straight game and stomped out any Middle Tennessee rally. 

(2) Arizona/ (7) Saint Mary's:

Saint Mary's played very well in the first half and took a lead into halftime, but then Arizona decided to wake up and win by nine points. Even though they lost, I thought Saint Mary's bowed out in impressive fashion. As for Arizona, they showed their versatility in tonight's win. They can play big or small, fast or slow. This type of adaptability should be beneficial in later rounds as it was tonight. 

(4) Florida/(5) Virginia:

What the hell. Virginia just got blasted by Florida. They only scored 39 points! Once again, Virginia's style screwed them in the tournament. They were down 12 at half and just never recovered. Florida, I will admit, looked really good. I didn't think they would have it in them to fly into the Sweet 16, but they proved me wrong. Now they have a good chance to get to the Elite Eight as they will battle Wisconsin. 

(4) Purdue/ (5) Iowa State:

It sucks to see Monte Morris go out like that, but man what a game. Purdue led by 19, blew that lead, and then came back to win 80-76. I'm sill catching my breath from that one. What a great way to end an entertaining day. Purdue looks legit, and they will need to stay that way if they want to get to the Elite Eight and beyond. Back to Monte Morris, this is one of the guys who has been a face of college basketball for the past four years. I'm going to miss hearing about how great his assist to turnover ratio was. Hats off to an amazing player.