Week in Review: Ides of March...Madness

Been a busier week than usual here at PHSports.

First off, check out the NEW POLL top right of the page. Vote on!!!!

Picture of the Week: Wesley Johnson flying high against the Zags

Credit: Yahoo! Sports

Let's check in on what transpired...

1) Pay posted his final bracket projections.
--> As always, job well done. 64 of 65 teams.
--> Pay's reflections can be found HERE.

2) I reflected upon Fab Five Memories and highlighted some potential for the week ahead.

3) Running commentary resumed. Highlights below...
--> Thursday
--> Friday
--> Saturday (I and II)

4) Kansas BUSTED some brackets with their loss on Saturday.
--> STONES: thy name is Ali Farokhmanesh.

5) Syracuse was impressive early Sunday afternoon.

Brackets BUSTED: Rock, Chalked Edition

So that happened. Rock, Chalk-nation just got a case of STONES!!!

Countless expert and novice brackets had Kansas winning it all.
So much for that.
Maybe my Georgetown pick wasn't so awful after all...
Credit: Yahoo! Sports

#1-overall seed Kansas was given an early exit, on Saturday of the opening weekend, by the 9-seed Northern Iowa, losing 69-67. More than just the Midwest "Bracket of Death" is shaken up now.

Although somewhere, Evan Turner is smiling a little bigger.

Hopefully, you saw the game. Assuredly, you'll see a detailed break-down of how things went down. Nevertheless, here's the 1 fact you need to know. STONES!

It took serious STONES for Northern Iowa's Ali Farokhmanesh to drain a wide-open 3 with 34 seconds remaining. With his team up 1 and the Jayhawks completely locking down the in-bounds attempts of the Panthers, a cross-court pass to Farokhmanesh left him wide open and behind the arc. Instead of waiting to be fouled or passing the ball to a teammate to help kill time, Farokhmanesh turned and drained the deep 3, clinching (by far) the tournament's biggest upset.

The announcers weren't the only ones in the building completely stunned at the shot attempt. I won't repeat the words I uttered. But funny thing is, I knew it was going in. So did Farokhmanesh, obviously. STONES!

I've getting too repetitive, but I can't stress enough that taking that shot takes incredible STONES. You know you are going to make it when you put up a shot like that. No need to pass to a teammate, attack the hoop (they had a 2-on-1 advantage), or wait to be fouled and go to the charity stripe. Show your STONES, drain the 3, and become another highlight in tournament (and of course, Northern Iowa basketball) history.

KU will still be loaded. Nevertheless, this one will sting for quite some time.
This was a LOADED roster and a clear-cut national title contender all season long.
Brackets across the nation...shattered.
Credit: Yahoo! Sports

A few other quick notes...
-Bill Self has a ring, but I still question this guy's coaching ability. He isn't in the class of the elite coaches...not yet.
-Sherron Collins was awful today. He knows it, too.
-Cole Aldrich isn't come back to Kansas. Don't pretend he will Jayhawk-nation.
-Something tells me Xavier Henry is 1-and-done as well. DraftExpress.com has him projected to be in the lottery.
-Northern Iowa is don't yet. This team is too well coaches and too gritty to stop now. -All of the 1-seed (even that one in the West I love) are on notice now.

What I'm thinking now??? Can Ish Smith hit open shots and keep Wake in contention to pull off another major upset? In the tournament, these things happen in pairs, not 3s.

Note: Running commentary isn't going anywhere tonight. I'll check in at HALFTIME of the Kentucky/Wake Forest game. BYU/Kansas State is also ongoing.