March Madness: Breakdown of each region for Sweet Sixteen games

The Sweet Sixteen has plenty of stories, surprises and traditional powers in what might be the most exciting tournament of the modern era

Selection Sunday is the kickoff for every amateur Bracketologist to show their picking skills. Most find out that they’re picking skills is a shade below their local meteorologist who seems to get that snow forecast wrong every time.

Long ago, the excitement would start on Thursday but ever since the NCAA came up with the First Four, it has served as a hearty Tuesday-Wednesday appetizer.

Once Thursday gets here, fans all over the country make up sick days, stream games on the employer’s network, occupy bars and find excuses to start drinking alcohol at Noon Eastern Time. Fans are fed buzzer beaters, upsets, and heart-wrenching stories with a fire hose. What a time to be alive!

But as the statement goes, all good things must come to an end. As we get to the border of basketball overload, it backs off. The 96 hour rush from Thursday to Sunday ends faster than it started as the typhoon of games has left us with 16 survivors. As we look back at the damage it’s caused, we see brackets full of red marks, “could’ve been’s” and “what was I thinking’s”.

On Monday morning, we all become mathematicians trying to find any scenario we can to win the pool. We’re all amazed when we see who is in the first place. It’s THAT co-worker. We all know which one. The one who still thinks Rick Pitino coaches at Kentucky (true story). As we see the person’s name at the top of the pool, we contemplate the meaning of life. You know what makes it worse? When that person is walking around the office talking to co-workers like he/she is Joe Lunardi. (Sigh)

Before we accept that, for the fifth year in a row, we aren’t going to win our office pool, let’s take a look back at the remnants of the Tournament Typhoon.