GIANT KILLERS: SWEET SIXTEEN TONIGHT!

Considering Kevin Love's clutch play at the end of the Texas A&M game—and the continuation of UCLA's late-game luck with the officials—the Bruins seem fated to make the Final Four. Besides, a Bruin take out a Barney any day.

MIDWEST
·Wisconsin (3) vs. Davidson (10)

JB: Davidson is an odd case. The Wildcats' GK score of six put them on the cusp of Giant Killerdom (as an aside, that first-round win over Gonzaga was not a GK win—they were only separated by three seeds). Their flaws included a leading scorer percentage of 31.9%, a 1.8% three-point percentage differential and only two wins by less than five or in OT. Here's what's interesting: that GK win over Georgetown gave them their third close victory, which puts them over the threshold and gives them seven GK points now. Plus, Wisconsin wasn't ranked in the preseason and has a relatively mediocre Magic Bullet number (41.1%). Give me Davidson in the Elite Eight.

IG: Really? I mean, I love the story. And I love Stephen Curry's game, not to mention his can't-see-me-if-I-stand-sideways frame. But Michael Flowers is licking his chops to have a chance at shutting down Dell's kid. Remember, Wisconsin—aka the team no one likes to play (or watch)—has the nation's most efficient defense according to kenpom.com. There's always one team in the Elite Eight that doesn't pass the eye test; they're either too slow or too unpredictable or too uninspiring. Wiscy's that team this year.

WRAP UP
It's quite possible that you're asking whether any of this matters. So let's look back on those crazy first two rounds that left us thinking about how to tweak our numbers next year. Below, you'll find all the teams who were potential Giant Killers entering the Tourney (with their scores), and what happened to them. (Winners in CAPS.)

·Cornell, 8: Yeah, we pumped them up. Yeah, they lost by 24 to Stanford. But are you really going to hold it against us? Have a heart.
·Kent State, 8: Never got to face a Giant, after their 10-point first-half debacle against UNLV.
·Portland State, 8: Hey, they were a 16-seed, okay? We don't believe in ALL our math …
·Saint Mary's, 8: Never got to face a Giant, thanks to that first-round loss to Miami.
·UNLV, 8: After that 8/9 win over Kent State, they got their shot against Kansas. After a tight first half, the Runnin' Rebels ran out of gas.
·Boise State, 7: They went down by 18 to Louisville. Stick to football.
·CS-Fullerton, 7: They lost by 15 to Wisconsin, but only trailed by two at the half. Hey, that's something!
·Oral Roberts, 7: Not even closelost by 19 to Pitt.
·WESTERN KENTUCKY, 7: A good call! Plus, we like picking against high-seeded mid-majors, like Drake.
·Belmont, 6: Oh, so close. But not good enough against Duke.
·DAVIDSON, 6: Hey, Georgetown? How's it going?
·South Alabama, 6: As a 10-seed who lost in the first round, they never faced a Giant.
·Texas-Arlington, 6: If they weren't a 16-seed, they might have done some damage. They scared Memphis briefly, but just didn't have the résumé to make history.
·Umbc, 6: Had a surprisingly solid GK number; hung with Georgetown for a while.
·Austin Peay, 5: Got zapped by 20 against Texas.
·George Mason, 5: They were living off past hype, as our numbers (and an 18-point loss to Notre Dame) showed.
·Mount St. Mary's, 5: Predictably, they were 39-point victims against Carolina.
·Winthrop, 5: They were a trendy upset pick, but not in our world. They lost to Washington State by 31.
·Mississippi Valley State, 4: 29 points. 'Nuff said.
·American, 3: Kept it close against Tennessee, but faded.
·Saint Joseph's, 3: Ha! We told you they were overrated!
·Temple, 3: Them too!
·SAN DIEGO, 2: Oops. What can we say? Should we add a provision for GKs that beat two other Tourney-bound teams to win a conference tournament? Should we make an exception for when your opponent loses its point guard to an ACL injury (A.J. Price)? Or should we just go bury our heads in the sand at La Jolla?
·SIENA, 2: And then there was this one. Nothing about Siena's profile indicated GK potential. No one had pulled off a GK upset with a score below five the last five years. This is a strong case for picking against a team, though, as Vandy carried two key warning signs entering this game—the Commodores were unranked in the preseason and carried a poor Magic Bullet number (54.7%).
·Coppin State, 2: Finally, some sanity. They didn't even make it past the play-in game.

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