NCAA Tournament: Sunday Games Open Thread

Most of the plucky underdogs have been swept aside, but as Butler and Pitt showed us last night, there's no shortage of madness left in March.  The ending of that game was positively mental.  So what madness might today bring? Perhaps another 1-seed going down?  Some Gus-inspired lunacy?  Let's find out (all times CST).

* 11:15am: #2 North Carolina vs. #7 Washington (CBS; Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg)
* 1:45pm: #1 Duke vs. #8 Michigan (CBS; Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg)
* 4:15pm: #1 Ohio State vs. #8 George Mason (CBS; Gus Johnson, Len Elmore)
* 5:10pm: #4 Texas vs. #5 Arizona (TNT; Marv Albert, Steve Kerr)
* 6:10pm: #3 Purdue vs. #11 VCU (TBS; Spero Dedes, Bob Wenzel)
* 6:45pm: #3 Syracuse vs. #11 Marquette (truTV; Gus Johnson, Len Elmore)
* 7:40pm: #1 Kansas vs. #9 Illinois (TNT; Marv Albert, Steve Kerr)
* 8:40pm: #2 Notre Dame vs. #10 Florida State (TBS; Spero Dedes, Bob Wenzel)

If life was more like our dreams -- well, a lot of things would be different (Iowa basketball would be playing this weekend, Drew Tate would be an NFL MVP, and I'd be sitting on a throne of solid gold, for starters) -- but in  this case the Fab Five would be sitting behind Michigan's bench today (I guarantee Jimmy King and Ray Jackson are available) and Hurley, Laettner, et al would be behind Duke's bench.  Oh, and this time Michigan would finally beat Duke.  I guess we can still hope for that part.

Aside from that game, there's an enticing opener between North Carolina and Washington that ought to be so fast-paced that it would have Bo Ryan and Todd Lickliter hyperventilating by the first media timeout, the return of one of our favorite Cinderellas (George Mason), and a trio of other double-digit seeds (VCU, Marquette, Florida State) looking to shock the world.  Oh, and it could be a banner day for the Big Ten; if either Illinois or Michigan can topple a giant and make it four Big Ten teams in the Sweet 16 (assuming Ohio State and Purdue can fend off their own prospective giant-killers, of course).  So come on, come all and join in this bounty of basketball.

The usual rules of open threading apply: no porn, on illegal online streams, no slurs, no politics, no religion, and suchlike.  You know the rules.