There were no upsets on Saturday.   Kentucky destroyed Iowa State.  Syracuse never seemed in too much danger against Kansas State.  Gonzaga gave Ohio State a battle, as did Murray State for Marquette – but both protected seeds found a way to win.   Wisconsin held off Vanderbilt, and Indiana battled its way back to ruin VCU’s second attempt to be Cinderella.  And in the night games, Louisville built a big lead and then held off a rally by New Mexico, while Baylor saved their run for the end of the game against Colorado – turning what had been a pretty close game into a blowout.

So, on Saturday, only protected seeds made the Sweet 16 – no one worse than 4.  Normally, it works out that someone gets upset.  A Cinderella story 12 or 13 seed.  At least one or two 5 seeds pull of a victory.

This has led Ella Flora to the lead of both the Standard and Upset pools – as she got all 8 of Saturday’s games right.  Nathan Standley is following closely – just 20 points behind.  And J Ford, June Degenhardt, and Steve Thornton are just 30 points behind.  And lets not forget the 16 people just 40 points behind and the 20 people just 50 points behind.

There are 173 entries stomping the Lunatic.  The last 6 games were not kind to his picks – especially the losses to Vanderbilt and Murray State.

Brace yourself for Sunday.   If relationships hold as Thursday and Saturday matched up – Cinderella could fight back with a vengence on Sunday.  It will be interesting to see if the craziness that happened in the arenas on Friday linger into Sunday, or if the top teams pull it together to continue their way towards the championship.