One of the worse things for Cinderella is the second round. Sometimes they have enough magic left in them to make it to the second weekend of games. But often by this point, a couple things happen. A top 8 team gets a scare (such as Duke’s close game with Siena). The other part that is tough is everyone realizes you are no longer a fluke. Teams can go into the first game thinking you have 27 wins mostly by double digits because you beat up on a mid-major conference. Then, you beat a team in the tournament and suddenly everyone knows they need to take you seriously.

That is what happened in our first game of the second round as Michigan never let St. Louis get into the game. They battled, but just as the Wolverines did against many of their Big 10 opponents, they jumped out to a double digit lead and never looked back.

The Michigan State vs Louisville game was certainly closer, but with both teams being so good defensively, the 6-8 lead that the Spartans had most of the second half looked insurmountable. So, two of the best teams in the Big 10 have made their way to the Sweet 16.

As for the current games, the Houston vs Texas A&M game has gotten very chippy – which makes sense on Houston’s physical defense and the the Aggie’s pressing defense. But the game to watch is the one of CBS, as #1 Duke is in another battle against TCU, as the Blue Devils and Horned Frogs are tied at 40 with about 15 to play.