I guess I should thank Purdue. We have tickets to see Les Miserables through the Richmond Broadway Under the Stars season tonight. Katie is super excited about getting to see the show.

If Purdue had done what they were supposed to, they would be getting ready to tip off against Kansas State, and I would likely have made the decision to skip the theater. And knowing that Purdue’s weakness is fast, athletic guards, I would probably not be happy watching them try to stop Markquis Nowell.

Instead, I can watch the first half of the game and then go enjoy the theater for the night. I might go tomorrow and watch the replays on the March Madness app if they games are close – I suspect that they will be. Gonzaga vs. Connecticut should be a fantastic game tonight. And Florida Atlantic has been amazing.

It is interesting – normally I talk about how impressive it is that all the conference champions are winning to this point. This year, with all the upsets there is a little bit of a twist.

Instead of the Big 10 champion, we have Florida Atlantic – the Conference USA champion. Instead of the SEC champion, we have San Diego State – the Mountain West champion. Instead of the Pac 12 champion, we have Gonzaga – the West Coast champion. We do still have a couple of the power conferences represented as Miami (the ACC co-champ) and Texas (the Big 12 tournament champ).

This might finally be the year that a non-champion makes it. Kansas State looks really good as a second representative from the Big 12, which was considered the best conference this year. And even though Marquette was upset, the Big East still has two teams left in Creighton and Connecticut (and I think Vegas has both of them as favorites).

But lets all admit it – if our team is eliminated, wouldn’t it be fun to watch Florida Atlantic, San Diego State or Gonzaga break through and have a non-power conference win it all.

Should be a fun weekend – I will do my best to update the standings during intermission. As Les Mis sings, I Dream a Dream – four teams this weekend will have that dream come true. Enjoy the games.