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With the always entertaining, and sometimes shocking opening weekend of this year's Men's NCAA Tournament in the books, many fans like myself are left with a bitter taste in their mouth. There were no true buzzer beaters, no huge upsets (Wisconsin was a paper tiger), no George Mason reincarnate, and no story lines that left us drooling lunatics wanting more.

Duke did not make it out of the first weekend? They were not supposed to.

The lowest seed left is a 7? Perhaps the selection committee deserves a pat on all ten of their backs.

The ACC only has one team left? Someone inform Dick Vitale! This must be a mistake!

Have no worries, college basketball fans. The remaining sixteen teams have plenty of intrigue left. Three mid-major schools still remain along with last year's title game entrants as well. Rest assured, this weekend's festivities should suppress our fix for nail biters and clutch performances galore. Let the predictions for the second weekend commence!

MIDWEST REGION

In my annual pool with high school buddies, I picked Florida as the sole #1 seed to make it to the Final Four. In this article, I predict them to lose to Butler. My how times change in a week.

Hot commodity backcourts are hard to come by in the remaining teams, and Butler has the goods to keep up with any team left in the draw. Juniors AJ Graves and Mike Green have battled and bled to guide the Bulldogs to consecutive victories over Old Dominion (everyone's darling Sweet Sixteen pick) and Maryland, while the Gators chomp seemed to be tamed by the likes of a middle of the road Big Ten school. Considering what the highly touted Wisconsin Badgers and Ohio State Buckeyes have displayed in this year's tournament, Billy Donovan's Gators' struggles against Purdue should not be taken lightly. The Gators' outside shooting has been atrocious, and their ability to get to the free throw line bailed them out. The leadership of Butler's backcourt appears to be in top shape for a big upset, and I want to be the first in line to jump on this thriller's bandwagon. Graves at the buzzer... Good! Pandemonium ensues! Butler 78, Florida 77

My collegiate allegiance outstanding (as an Oregon State alum), I have enjoyed watching the Oregon Ducks over the last few weeks. They were in the depths of a meltdown as recent as February 17, having just endured a 19-point loss at Stanford, capping a stretch of losing six of eight in the Pac-10. Since then, the Ducks have ridden an eight game win streak, including an impressive

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