I Quit

Here's what I said about St. Mary's last week:

• What they do well: Omar Samhan is one of the better big men in the country and he controls the middle both offensively and defensively. They don't have the guard play that they had last year when they were the first team left out of the tournament, but their guards can penetrate a little and shoot well from outside.
• Cinderella Watch (out of 10): 7. They come in hot, having blown out Gonzaga in tonight's championship game. They'll be a 10- or 11-seed, so they'll have at least one winnable game. I'm thinking of Cleveland State out of the Horizon last year who beat a ranked opponent (Butler in their case) in their conference championship game, came into the tourney rolling, and blew out a good team (Wake) in the first round. St. Mary's was on the bubble, so they were a good team to begin with. They are going to be a very tough matchup in the first round.

Here's what I said about Northern Iowa last week:

• I also saw Northern Iowa today for the first time this year. They are legit. They defend, they have size, they shoot very well from long distance, they go ten deep. If you don't count New Mexico as a mid-major, then there are three excellent mid-major teams this year with Gonzaga, Northern Iowa, and Butler. All three are very capable of going Sweet 16.

Well... I guess I analyzed them all right and I definitely would have had UNI beating Duke if it was that bracket. But Kansas? Kansas?!? Holy crap. I'm happy to break down teams, but never listen to any pick I ever make again.